2010 for the Allan & Joseli Neal Family

2010 was an exciting year for the Neals.

Allan:
I was able to study for and pass my Amateur Radio Operators license exams and got my Technician and General at the same time in January and then upgraded to Extra in June. I'm currently serving as the 1st counselor in the Elders Quorum Presidency and helping quite a bit with scouts, I enjoy camping as much now as I did as a boy. I'm still working at Turner Broadcasting helping get our configuration management system to manage all our applications, no small job.

Josie:
Josie worked hard as the Assistant Cub Master until she was released in the fall. She has continued to help and has taken on the roll of Cub Scout advancement chair. She is still overseeing the records and making sure the boys get the awards they have earned. Josie went on a one week trip with her best friend, Susan, to Bangkok, Thailand in the fall. They had lots of fun and brought back some cool souvenirs. Spending money on this fun trip came from Josie making a wedding dress for a friend of the family.

The dress is beautiful and Josie was thanked for making her dream wedding dress. Josie also got her Technician Amateur Radio license. Her call is KJ4VPP.

Ethan:
Ethan finished Elementary School and moved on to Middle School. With the start of 6th grade comes the choice to start learning an instrument and joining the band. Ethan has chosen the trumpet, which is good as Dad has his old trumpet around. Ethan is enjoying learning to play the trumpet. The braces he received this year haven't been much of a hindrance. Ethan also, as an 11 year old scout, worked his way up to the Rank of First Class Scout. He has earned several merit badges including a couple of Eagle required merit badges. Ethan also studied for and got his Technician Amateur Radio Operators license. His call is KJ4VPO. In December both grandpas helped ordain Ethan a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.

Corinne:
Corinne finished the dreaded 3rd grade and is now in the 4th grade. She really likes her teacher this year as do Mom and Dad. He is a good teacher. Corinne has started learning to use the sewing machine this year and has made some pajamas for her American Doll, Elizabeth. She has her mom's talent for sewing. Corinne is doing chorus again this year at school. Corinne attended the Sewing Expo with her Mom and Grandma this year as well and is looking forward to attending again. Another skill she has learned this year was felting, decorating fabric with wool fibers and a barbed needle.

We had a lot of fun flying out west this summer and visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Thanksgiving Campout

We went camping at Tallulah Gorge for Thanksgiving in 2009.  It was a bit chilly.  Uncle Derek came up and spend the week with us from SOS training in Alabama.

Disney World

It's taken me a while to get this posted, but here it goes.

In July we went to Disney World for a week. We had loads of fun. Thanks go to Dean for helping us with the reservations and restaurant suggestions.

Here we are with Safari Donald Duck

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and had a great "Safari" view from our room, Here are some of the animals.

The Princesses

Our Princess

This was an awesome chance.  Evidently these three are rarely out for pictures.  We got a great picture with these straight out of the movie "characters."

Neal Family Vacation, Boston Day 5 (Friday)

Friday was a fun day. We took the bus out to find Pluto in the community solar system. They got their rubbing and where very happy.

Then back in Boston at the harbor we took a harbor tour to Spectacle Island and *** Island. Spectacle Island use to be a garbage dump. They sealed it off and used the dirt from the I-93 "Big Dig" in Boston to cap it off and return the island to a more natural state. From the top you can get a really great picture of Boston across the Harbor. The kids and Josie even did a little wading in the harbor water at the beach. Swimming didn't open for another week so ankle deep is all they could do.






Georges Island is an old fort. Lots of fun discovering old passages to rooms deep within the structure. We missed our intended ferry off the island and ended up having to wait an hour for the last one of the night. It was kind of nice to relax and just sit for a while.








Once back in Boston we got to eat dinner at the famous Boston Legal Seafood Restaurant. Fresh seafood is really good.

Then after dinner we went and found Uranus and Jupiter, the last two planets we didn't have yet, that where still available. Saturn and Neptune had been returned to the Museum as the building they where in are under construction.

Finally, we had seen everything we came to see and found enough stuff that we couldn't do to spend another week.

Neal Family Vacation, Boston Day 4 (Thrusday)

Thursday there were many celebrations and parades to mark the Celtics winning the NBA championships, so we decided to leave town for the day.

We drove out to Old Sturbridge Village. This is a small village that is set in the time 1790 - 1840. the "Interpreters" are all in costume and character. They will come out of character a little to explain things sometimes, like to them the "cars" means the Steam Locomotive (train). It is a functioning village with all old authentic buildings and about everything needed to run a village in 1790. Many of the building have been acquired and moved to the village, some of them are original to the village location. There is a Saw mill, grist mill, and carding mill all run by the small damed pond there in the village. They use these to make the boards to repair the village and make new buildings if required, grind up the feed for the animals and make flour for their own bread and to "card" the wool for spinning into thread to make cloth and clothes. Everything is made in the village. Ethan and Corinne even caught a fish in the pond. Unfortunately we forgot to get Ethan in the picture, but he baited the line and cast it out, then Corinne pulled the fish out as Ethan had placed the hook just right with his "cast."

Neal Family Vacation, Boston Day 3 (Wednesday)

Wednesday we decided to start walking again. We went to see the Constitution First. Unfortunately they are doing some restoration work on it, so it is not at it's full glory. It was really neat to see the ship anyway.








After that we hiked up to Bunker Hill monument and somehow figured we would walk up to the top. 294 stairs later I was sweating like a horse and feeling every muscle object to being out of shape. The kids liked it though. Pretty good view of Boston from up there out the little windows at the top.









After that we went to the Liberty Trail again through North Side. We visited the Old North Church where the lanterns where hung to signal the British where coming by sea. We visited the Paul Revere house, the oldest timber structure in Boston and of course got some souvenirs.