Christmas in Columbia 2011

This year we ventured to Columbia, SC with Simon and Max so they could experience their first Hildreth family Christmas. Plus my mom has been here for a few weeks and also was able to join us for Christmas, a first for her too.

Amy very relaxed at her mom's house.

If we would have let her, Cheryl would have held both boys 24/7.

Checking out Columbia with my mom on Christmas Eve and we stopped for lunch at Andy's deli.

It is now Christmas morning and this was the first Christmas for my mom in America.

Georgia always looks very festive.

Amy is ready for Christmas.

Cheryl had prepared the tasty breakfast casserole with a bit of help from my mom.

Making sure the boys are never too far from Georgia.

My mom got this stunning scarf from grandmama Georgia.

A beautiful necklace for Amy combines her birthstone and the birthstone of Simon and Max.

Making sure that Amy finally has an image of dad and the boys.

Georgia is now fully digital with this IPad she got from various family members.

My mom got various South Carolina items from Ron and Amy incliding these delicious grits.

Beautiful wooden cutting board for Amy and I from Ron and Amy.

The morning after Christmas and Max seems to have aged quite a bit, mostly of course because of those britches.

Simon also looks like a little old man with this outfit.

It is Advent again

It is almost Christmas again and we are counting down the days with our hand crafted Advent calendar. By now we are on day 3 and since I get to eat the "odd days" it was my turn today. Yummy.

Usually we make quite a few of these for family and friends but this year our hands were full with the twins and we only mad a couple.

Oh my

We are so glad we have boys. :-)

Of course having girls would not mean putting up such a stupid stunt with them.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at home in Winston-Salem and had a few friends over. We are especially thankful to have such great friends as Luke and Liz Burnett and Anna Miller and Greg Lee.

Liz and Luke brought these very nice flowers.

Anna Miller and her husband Greg Lee recently moved into our neighborhood and we are very glad they did.

Greg might have one of the coolest t-shirt collections and he is quite the chef. They brought a great pie, casserole and an interesting brussels sprouts salad.

Liz Burnett prepared an awesome Thanksgiving feast for us with an amazing salad, a delicious turkey, stuffed onions, superb mashed potatoes and lots more and even had time to hold Simon.

It was also great to have Luke Burnett here

Amy with Max after everybody had a meal

Bonding

A bit of bonding time with Simon, who seems to be very fond of dad's big nose. :-)

Big lunch date

Amy and I went on a very nice lunch date to Mozelle's Bistro in Winston-Salem yesterday, understanding that we might not be able go there so easily any time soon. Well, at least not without a babysitter.

Simon and Max

Our sons Simon and Max arrived on this earth on Wednesday morning and we are absolutely thrilled with them. The two of them might turn out to be Spitzbuben, but until that is in fact determined, we decided to give the two their own website.

Warren Buffett's 5 minute plan to fix the deficit

An interesting note from Warren Buffett was posted on CNBC

_*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*_

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Don't you think it's time?

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete.

It is getting closer and closer

Snapped this picture of Amy this morning on her way to the car. She looks just stunning and we are both super excited about the pending arrival of those twins.
We even got names for the boys. :-)

Cowboy up

Slowtwitch co-worker Timothy Carlson shot this image of me in Kona. Reminds me of the times when I did all the guerrilla marketing efforts at the bike check-in.

Facebook fun

I guess we could call this very temporary facebook fun.

Pretty in red

There is no longer hiding the fact that Amy is pregnant and it also is seemingly obvious that we are having twins. Amy though is feeling well and looking awesome.

The nursery

Yesterday both the dresser/ changing table and the 2nd crib were delivered and the nursery really is starting to take shape. We also have a rocking chair in the works.

The dresser / changing table is quite large. We should be able to fit in quite a few clothes in there.

Although we will not need the 2nd crib yet, it is good to know that it is in place.


These mobiles are from Germany, and the cute mouse version is over the orange crib.


The one with the sheep is also quite adorable and hangs over the green crib.

The family wagon has arrived

Yesterday we picked up our new Ford Flex family wagon at Parkway Ford in Winston-Salem and it is now at home in the West End. Still looks very clean and smells so new.



Never had a car that had such low mileage. The MINI came to me with about 200 on it.

All hat and no cat

Either this guy needs a bigger head or smaller hat. :-)

Mofa Race in Ebersbach, Germany

A Mofa is a motorized bike with a 25cc engine (actually 50cc limited to 25cc) which you are allowed to ride as a 15 year old in Germany. The next step up is a 50cc but you have to be 16 to ride one of those and you need a specific drivers permit. A new fad in Germany is to race these 50cc bikes and Jan Ullrich has been spotted at a few of these events. At the end of Eurobike I was able to check out the Mofa race in Ebersbach, very close to where I grew up.

No entry fee for this annual event



Yes, that is 22km through the speed trap



And an aggressive pass



A big sand pit for the kids right next to the course



Not the ride desired



Trouble in pit lane



All kinds of interesting rides



No words needed



We think running might have been faster



Skilled and fast



The pits were very busy



Quite a large support staff / crew here



Day over for this team.



It is not about the speed, but the style. :-)



But some guys really were fast.



Like a scene out of Mad Max



How much longer before that front end breaks off?



The action is getting faster



But the audience is chilled