Anyone alive?

Hello out there! Our trip was fantastic and so was Colleen's to Africa. I took a road trip with Mom and Dad to Dallas to visit Jeff and Kacy (his fiancee). It was like old times with me in the back and bugging Dad by asking when we were going to stop to go to the bathroom, when will be get there, I'm bored, etc. Of course, now, I can also be a backseat driver and bug him even more-I did succeed at that!

Fall has arrived by the calendar, but not by the temperature. We are still having 90 degree weather, but we are expecting a cool down to 79 on Sunday! YES! Other then this little bit of news, there is nothing new happening.

Family tree

Does anyone have a family tree of the Sawatzke family? Dad found some info on his Dad and I'm looking for information on Gramma. Please contact me at lcrozier@triad.rr.com.

Lisa

Danube cruise

Jim and I had a great time cruising down the Danube or Donau. The Viking Sky was wonderful as were the crew and staff. Everyone spoke English and we were able to learn about their lives and how they came to work on Viking River Cruises. The highlight of the trip was sailing into Budapest at night; it was just breath takingingly beautiful. My favorite cities were Czesky-Krumlov, Czech Republic; Bratislava, Slovakia and Budapest. The colors, the architecture, the scenery..... We did lots of walking and I'm proud to say that despite 5 course meals for almost all of our meals, I only gained 1 pound!!!!! I've been exercising and watching my intake! I took LOTS of pictures, almost 1400 in total; I was starting to drive Jim crazy! The first picture is of Jim and I in Czesky-Krumlov and the second is of our ship docked in Budapest; we were on the Buda side and our ship is docked on the Pest side of the city.

Colleen wants to go back to Africa; she loved the 3 weeks she spent there and had many close encounters with the wildlife. She's looking for internships for next summer and is looking at Africa again-stateside would be better and cheaper. Caryn has spent the summer in Boone working two part-time jobs. I just came back from moving her from her sub-let into her apartment for the school year. Colleen will be moving back in mid-August.

Jim's office is in the process of transitioning to electronic medical records. He's not pleased with the idea as he will have to concentrate more on the computer then on the patient. He feels it will interfere with the doctor/patient relationship. I agree with him. It is actually more time consuming then paper.

Mom and Dad will be coming down the w/e we move Colleen back to school. I'll be driving down with them to visit Jeffer and Kacy in Dallas. I'm looking forward to spending that time with them and with Jeff. While in TX I'm hoping to meet up with Jim's brother and sister and their families and maybe see some high school friends.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Lisa

Yes, I'm out here!

It's been an exciting start to the summer here in NC!

I spent a couple of days up in Boone moving Caryn out of the dorm and into her summer sub-let; at least the weather was reasonable, but lugging all of her belongings up to the third floor was not fun. Three days later, Jim and I were in Raleigh moving Colleen out of her dorm and home. I spent a couple of nights in Raleigh with her and spent most of Mother's Day alone, as Jim had to come back home for call and Colleen was studying at the library for her last exam. After a whirlwind 4 days at home, we drove back to Raleigh to send Colleen off to Africa for 3 weeks. She is apparently having lots of fun! They have experienced a very rare rain fall in the desert, seen Klipspringers( a small, 22", 40#, rock climbing deer/antelope. The Klipspringers are monogamous and had a baby. They have also been very luck to see desert elephants and were mock charged by the group of 16 and then had to spend some time sitting on a hill, because the elephants were between the group and their vehicle! Later after the herd dispersed, they had to run back to the truck 2x2 in case the bull charged! Just what I am wanting to hear thousands of miles away from her. Oh, let's not forget walking over the very poisonous puff adder snake and not realizing it! She'll be home Friday, so I look forward to a two hour car ride of tall tales and fun and then the pictures. She figured out how to get up close pics of the animals by pointing her camera through the binoculars and got very clear pics. i can't wait to see! Caryn is living and working 2 jobs in Boone, one her regular singing gig at St. Mary's in the Hills Episcopal Church and the other at the Hanes Outlet store in Blowing Rock. She's learning how to support herself this summer! YES!

Jim and I leave on the 25th for our 25th anniversary trip! We'll be traveling down the Danube, from Passau, Germany to Budapest, Hungary. We are so excited and figuring out what to pack. Wish us luck.

Hope everyone has a great summer and look forward to hearing from folks.

Lisa

Anyone out there?

Had an unusually cooler winter in Texas this year. Glad to be back home, but wish it would warm up. Plan to take a trip to the west coast to visit Dixie's family this summer. We'll also go to Crofton a couple times for the Eggers and Zart family reunions. One of our grandsons graduates this year. His party is next week.

Planted my garden this week. One topsy Turvy tomato. Tried it last year and got only 6 scrawny tomatoes. Hung it in a different place this year where it will get more sunshine Hope Dixie has to can the excess.

Picture was taken for our church members book in Texas. A little older and much grayer.

Hope all is well with all of you.

Greenwood/Crozier

Hello Everyone,

I hope this finds everyone well. We have had a cold winter, by North Carolina standards. We had about 3 significant snowfalls, the most being about 8 inches; I know for those of you in the north and mid-west this is not much, but.....

Caryn is a senior vocal performance major and had her junior recital this past December. It was beautiful to hear her sing and to hear how much her voice has grown. Next week she will be in the opera "Elixir of Love" as one of the 2 female leads. Mom and Dad are driving down to see her performance which means a lot to her. She has decided to audition for the AF Singing Sergeant's next year. I would say we, as in Dad, Jim and I, but it was an outside opinion-her voice professor who helped her make the decision with the same arguments we used. Colleen is a sophomore by year at NCSU, but will be a senior by credit hours. She remains dedicated to her future as a vet, Dean's List all 3 semesters and straight A's last semester. It is so wonderful to see them grow and mature into beautiful, capable, caring young women.

Christmas was wonderful. Mom and Dad came down, picking up Chaney and Blaine (Jeff's girls) along the way. Jeff and his fiance, Kacy joined us from Texas with their dog, Sasha. We had 10 of the 2 legged variety and 4 of the 4 legged variety making it a little hectic and noisy at times. It was wonderful to have everyone together at the Christmas.

The summer will find the Crozier's quite busy. One week after school ends for Colleen, she will be off to Namibia, Africa for a 3 week study abroad and will then come home to do an unpaid internship with an equine vet an hour away. This spring break has found her getting shots and malaria medication for the trip. Three weeks after she gets back Jim and I will be heading for a river cruise down the Danube in celebration of our 25th anniversary in October. Caryn will be living in Boone while she continues to sing and get paid at a local church and hopefully finds another job during this economy. Job hunting has been difficult due to all the snow they had up there. I think the public schools had only gone to school for about 5 days by mid-Feburary. Caryn's spring break felt very short as she stayed at school to sing and then came home for a day and then left for the beach for a couple of days. She is 22 and an adult as we are frequently reminded and I guess as she is about ready to graduate next year we are getting a gradual dose of decreasing visits from her.

It has been a great week; sun, warmth, trees budding overnight and the birds singing. The unfortunate problem this spring has been a new guest in our attic! A pregnant squirrel who has built quite the nest in our attic and is very adept at avoiding the traps. Colleen would like to re-habilitate her and or one of her babies, but I have quickly and definitely nixed that idea.

Happy Spring,

Lisa

Summer at the Shabin

Mom & Dad spent the day with us at the "Shabin"... and Kristen got a golf lesson.

Eggers Reunion 09

Attended the Eggers reunion in Crofton today (6/14/09). Turnout much better this year. Wish more Sawatzkes would attend. Amelia's family once again had the largest turnout by far. Here are a few pics.

Look Who's been Married 54 years...

Looks like these two are headed to a "Disco"..... Happy Anniversary.

Hello From Lou (Buschelman/McCabe) in Texas

GOD BLESS ALL OUR HEROES DURING THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND--2009. I AM PROUD TO HAVE SO MANY SERVICEMEN/WOMEN IN MY FAMILY AND LIFE. I WISH I WAS ABLE TO DECORATE ALL THE GRAVES OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THIS GREAT COUNTRY. GOD BLESS AMERICA.....L