England 2009
We flew out of SeaTac on Thursday, landing in England early Friday morning. Paul’s sister, Ann, and Mick met us at the airport and took us to their house in Wakefield for a quick meal and a “one hour” nap. After three hours of sleep, Ann finally woke us so that we could make our way to York for the weekend’s festivities.

Most of the family arrived in York on Friday, and we all met for drinks and dinner at the Doormouse pub across from the hotel, where Frances was thrilled to enjoy some fish and chips – a recurrent theme throughout our trip. While we were enjoying the visit, we had to make our early excuses so that we could catch up on our sleep. Of course, we were wide awake by 3:30 the next morning. [more...]

Snow \'snō\ (noun; often attributive)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English snāw; akin to Old High German snēo snow, Latin niv-, nix, Greek nipha (accusative) Date: before 12th century
(1a): precipitation in the form of small white ice crystals formed directly from the water vapor of the air at a temperature of less than 32°F (0°C) (1b): a descent or shower of snow crystals (2): a mass of fallen snow crystals (3): a four-letter word often muttered with disgust by those living in northern regions
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A Christmas Story
The Christmas season started in the Ryan house on December 6 when we went to pick out a Christmas tree at the North Butte tree farm just down the road from our home. It was our first year picking out a live tree, and we were excited to have a fresh-cut tree in the living room. After selecting our tree we went to the town’s annual Christmas Lights Parade followed by a welcome gathering for all newcomers to the community. [more...]