Josh and friends on recent hike.  We backpacked a few miles to practice for his upcoming 50 mile hike in June 

black racer holding his ground

A few weeks I ago I was in SLC and had a nice evening in Provo with Shirley and our kids- even Madi was visiting that evening.

Alicia with her piano students at her last recital here in FL

FL Rileys (and kids) update

Since I haven't posted anything here for over 6 months, for those of you not on Facebook or our daughters' text message speed dial, here are a few pics.  Again, I'd love to have any of you recipients post here, or send me pics and I'll post them.  Its' easy.  Love to you all- Lyrad and Alicia

Rachel Got her mission call to Milan, Italy!  We're all excited for her.  Reports to MTC 3 May.

Madi and Eliza got together this weekend in Provo.

We had all 6 kids (including bonus daughter Sandra) for Christmas!

Just one of the things I love about our little southern town, is their nativity display.

IsaacandSandra

We got a friend to take a few pictures at the beach while we were all together in December.

Halloween- with doctor friends.  Only funny if you've seen the movie Inside Out about the emotions in a girl's head.

short clip of Josh's amazing marching band

Alicia and Josh after Field Show.

Our new back yard. We've decided that after retiring from the Air Force this summer, we'll take a new job in Grand Junction, CO.  I'll be teaching in a family medicine residency program overseeing the instruction in obstetrics (much like what I do now- but no longer in uniform.

Love to you all.

Isaac and Sandra Muecke's wedding(s) 17 and 19 May 2016

8 hour wedding party in a beautiful hall decorated like an old German farmhouse.  Here is the first dance.  Great German meal and fun skits, music and dancing.

Dance with parents (Roland and Alicia)

Isaac's new in-laws, the Mueckes- a really great family with four children.  They live in a picturesque little German town east of Stuttgart, where we lived from 2004-7.

Cutting the wedding cake

Roland loaned them a sweet convertible BMW for their honeymoon

Isaac is a grown man (note the beard), but still has a playful streak- loves to pull faces for pictures

The wedding party hall

The beautiful couple on the Muecke's front steps

Sorry pictures are out of order.  But as explanation- Germany requires a civil wedding as it doesn't recognize the temple wedding, so the mayor of the local town performed a civil wedding on the 17th of May, and we traveled to Bern Switzerland for the sealing ceremony on the 19th of May.  

trading rings after the civil ceremony.  Madi was the ring girl

On the steps of the Bern Switzerland Temple.  (Some innocent elderly lady photobombed them).  My phone battery died right after this, but there will be more pics for anyone interested after the professional photographer gets them ready.

Madi is home from her mission! Here are highlights of 12-country-trip:

In Zurich after all-night flight from Florida, waiting for a train to Slovenia.  We were exhausted but enjoyed walking around the city a bit.

After taking the train to Slovenia, we got a rental car and drove to Split, Croatia (because the Swiss companies wouldn't let us drive their rental cars to Albania, which I figured out AFTER buying our plane tickets- oops.)  We had a nice evening here, ate some yummy Croatian food and and saw Diocletian's palace area and walked along the cost in the sunset.

The next day we drove as fast as we could to try to get to a missionary farewell dinner in Tirana, Albania.  We had to go through Bosnia and Montenegro, over some sketchy roads and construction, so we were a bit late, but we made it!

This is Madi's mission president and wife, the Wiedmans.  We were abe to listen to their farewell meeting with departing missionaries, which was neat. 

For the next couple days, Madison introduced us to many of her friends in several cities in Albania and Kosovo.  It was great to see how much they loved her.

This was some of the worse stretch of road between the countries ...

Madi's friends were so generous, and loved to feed us delicious foods.

another very hospitable family we visited

A stop in a Macedonian city (Skopje) after leaving Kosovo.  Alexander the Great statue in the back.

After driving through Serbia we waited for hours for an overnight train back to Zurich.  It was rainy, but we were lucky and there was a market, a traditional band playing, and a neat castle to tour.  This is Madi by the "Dragon Bridge."

Madi by the Ljubljana Castle.  She was released by Skype by her stake Pres so she could wear pants and dance at Isaac's wedding.

After the overnight train, back in Zurich.  With all of our luggage, we only had 2 beds between the three of us- part of the adventure.

Sunday picnic near Mulhouse, France.

interesting walk around Colmar France

Madi scaling a city wall in the little French town where we stayed (Neuf-Brisach) the night before getting to Germany.

Picturesque canola fields in Germany

Isaac's wedding party- see next entry for more on that

At Bern Temple for Isaac and Sandra's sealing two days later.  It was neat to go back here, because 10 years ago we came with the kids to do baptisms here when we lived in Germany, and stayed in the same little temple dorms.

Finally back home in Florida.  Our plane had mechanical problems in New York, so we missed the connection in Charlotte, but we made it safely, and are so glad to have her back for the summer before she goes back to BYU-I this fall.