.

Bienvenue!

2012-01-20T14:54:00.001-05:00

We are going to have a French visitor this summer! I am so excited! She will come stay with us for a few weeks and we will explore the area. I am so looking forward to speaking French again! I am so out of practice as was evidenced by my horrible French on the phone today with her mother. But as I speak it more regularly, my tongue does loosen up. But I am so excited! What a fun summer we are going to have!

Decorating

2012-01-18T12:31:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was really nice. My parents drove down for the weekend. We had thought about planning something fun to do but in the end we just hung out and it was marvelous. Saturday we all went out to lunch and then my mother and I went shopping. It was so fun! We bought a few tables and things for my living room. I am so pleased with how it turned out! I will have to post pictures. Now, if only I could get the motivation to finish the rest of the house.

We also gorged ourselves on some really good food. I was referred to the site Perry's Plate and it is divine! It seems that most of the dishes are based around roasted vegetables which, if you know me, is just what I love. We tried the Chicken and Roasted Broccoli with Goat Cheese as well as the Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna. Both were delicious! I have a few more recipes to try out and am so looking forward to them!

And Monday was nice. We went and did a little Christmas gift exchange shopping, had lunch at the Olive Garden, and dinner with friends. It was so great to have a relaxing day. Poor Terry is being worked ragged at work planning an exercise to begin next week and I think the day off was very welcome. I will be very happy when he can relax again and this operation will be behind him-about mid to late February. We will make it! In the meantime, we will relish these lazy days.

Change

2012-01-13T11:44:00.001-05:00

I did not intend to write about the serious changes occurring in my family for some time. However, I naively thought that an obscure facebook comment would go unnoticed. Since it has caused quite the stir, I feel it only just that I address my recent decisions on my blog.

I am leaving the LDS church. This decision has not been easy to make. Our way of life, our friends, our beliefs-everything stems from this church. I feel that by making a break with it, I am in essence changing not only my life forever but that of my family's as well. However, I feel so strongly about this that it must be done. I can no longer continue attending and believing in the LDS church.

This decision has been coming for many years. To begin with, I was baptized in to the church without a testimony or belief in Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. However, I had good feelings about it and felt that a belief would develop. I was wrong. I have however, made wonderful friends I hope for life and love the emphasis on family that the church provides. I believe that the people in the church are some of the kindest and most service oriented people that I have met.

But I can no longer pretend to believe the doctrine of the church. Recently, I came across some information provided by LDS sources that confirmed some of my reservations about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Until then, I had not listened or given much credence because I was sure that the 'proof' stemmed from individuals out to attack the church. However, when sources from the church have confirmed these questions, I could no longer continue.

I have had these feelings for at least the last six or seven years and only now have had the courage to act on them. I know many will not understand. I know many will want to argue with me. I hope that is not so. I do not intend to cause dissension or belittle what people believe. Just because I am disillusioned does not mean that I wish to persuade my LDS friends to come with me.

Terry has chosen to remain active in the church and I respect that. We have a lot to work out as far as what will be best for our family in the future. I know that I have added a new level of difficulty in my marriage but I can no longer sit by passively. For me, I feel better than I have in a long time. I feel like I am waking up from a long sleep and am looking forward to what the future may bring. I hope that we can look to our friends and family for support during this time as we face new obstacles. The road will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

Resolutions

2012-01-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

We made some new year's resolutions and I'll post them so that we will be held accountable:
Terry is going to go to the doctor more! (I think this is a great one-hope he keeps it)
Ryann is going to drink less soda.
Emilie is going to be nicer to her brother and sister.
Madi is going to make more friends.
Timmy is not going to hurt Emi or Madi (I wonder how long this one will last).

Other than that most things are back to normal, the house is put together again, the guests are gone, school is back in. Although, I did mess up the days that the girls went back and so they got another day of holiday vacation. I don't think that they have minded. I am exercising again which feels good. Timmy is living in the lap of luxury being home with mom although he doesn't like to shop as much as we need to go. However, he goes along good natured enough when we get out the door. Terry is soon to go out with the ships and will be gone a few weeks. We will miss him but we are planning on a few trips to keep us busy:) So far, we are making the best of 2012.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T14:07:00.001-05:00

For New Year's Eve, we were invited to Tom and Jen's for one last get together before Bill and Marilyn left.

We had fantastic food!

A bit of tomfoolery:)

Lots of cuddles.

A chance to meet Kayla's boyfriend, Richard. Kayla is just gorgeous!

Rock band was played. The ball dropping was watched.

Emi spent some good quality time with me:)

John and Timmy bonded.

Then Timmy got tired and came back to be with me.

Then Madi got tired and came to cuddle as well. But all three kids made it to midnight!

After having Bill and Marilyn for a a full two weeks, we realized that we had not gotten a group photo. so here we are, nearly at midnight, posing for last minute pictures. Happy New Year!

Last visitors

2011-12-31T15:05:00.000-05:00

The day after Timmy's birthday, my mother and grandparents came down to visit with us. Again, I LOVE having them here. It was especially nice because they got to see Terry while they were here. I like to hear my grandfather and Terry talk sports-they are so at ease with each other-as if Terry had grown up with them. We had a lovely visit. :Mostly we hung around and just talked. In the evening, we did end up going out to the beach again to see the lights which everyone enjoyed. We also watched a movie together that night. I really do wish that I was able to see my grandparents more frequently as they really are quite special to me. But I am really grateful that my children are having the opportunity to spend time with them.

We have been really blessed this Christmas season to spend so much time with both sides of our families. It has been hectic and busy, but also very special as it does not happen so often. It has definitely been a Christmas to remember!

Timmy is 5!

2011-12-31T14:59:00.000-05:00

Timmy turned five on the 28th and requested big donut cakes for it. The vanilla cake had chocolate pudding in it!

He decided to have two friends over and we went to a cinema cafe which was brillant! It is a movie theatre that has a restaurant so they feed you dinner while you watch the movie. For the price of a regular movie, we all got admission and dinner and it was cheaper! I think this may be a regular event for us from now on!

Afterwards, we came back to the house for birthday cake. Bill and Marilyn, Tom and Jen, Jaylynne and John, all came over to celebrate with us.

Timmy was a happy guy!

I had gotten this a while ago and thought it would be a flop but look at that smile! He was thrilled! Must admit that it has been a pain in the rear to assemble though. All in all, Timmy felt very special and had a fantastic birthday!

Boxing Day

2011-12-31T14:52:00.000-05:00

On Boxing Day, the kids and I drove up to my parents house to visit with my family. Terry stayed behind and saw everyone off at our house as he had duty the next day. We had a great time! Cele came by and found her little friend again and bonded.

The kids opened more gifts. The angry bird hats were a hit! They also got spoiled rotten yet again. My favorite gift was season passes to the local water park! I cannot wait until it gets hot and we can use them:)

Such a great shot!

While we opened gifts, my grandfather taped it all from above:)

Me and my dad. I never got a picture with either my grandparents or my mother. Oh well. Next time.

Emi and my grandmother.

Seemed like everyone had a turn holding Kailey-she is such a cuddly dog. Sadly, she did not do so well with her potty training at their house. I felt very bad for all of her accidents! But she got me back on the drive back as she peed in my car-it was very sad.

While at my parents house, we ate lots of tarts and basically sat by the fire and chatted. I LOVED it. It was so relaxing and so nice to be a guest and not the host for a day! I wish that we lived closer to my grandparents-I miss seeing them every week. I could have sat there for a week and been very satisfied:)

Christmas afternoon

2011-12-31T14:24:00.002-05:00

Madi is always ready to cuddle! And what a beautiful make up job she did!

After the room was mostly cleaned up, Terry, Troy, and Madi quickly got a game of keep away going. You can see, Madi was just an inch away from getting the ball! Soon after this, we headed out to church. We didn't stay long and came back to begin cooking Christmas dinner. It was delicious!

That night, all sorts of games were played. Terry and Troy devised this weird ball tossing game which the kids loved!

There was also wrestling and Ashlyn did some sort of martial arts thing. By the end of the night we were all exhausted! I think I was in bed by 9! A most fabulous Christmas!

Christmas morning

2011-12-31T13:59:00.002-05:00

With so many people in our house, our kids slept on an air mattress in our room on Christmas Eve. That is how I know that they were up at 4am, 5:23am, and finally up for good at 6. We had already told the kids that they were not to wake anyone before 8. So at 6:20, I dragged myself to the shower and then headed downstairs.

The rule in our house is that you are allowed to open your stockings before everyone is up for the day. The kids wasted no time and got started right away!

Soon everyone was up and I think the present opening began shortly after 7. Everyone but me and Terry were in their Christmas jammies!

I loved the smiles all morning long! We had some very happy people!

Em was very pleased with her gifts-highlights included money (always a winner). her own camera, and a sewing machine.

Timmy's favorites were his guitar and new Wii games.

Madi loved her many new necklaces, jewelry, and Pet Shops.

After the presents were all opened, the kids played, the adults relaxed, breakfast was made, and the conversations never stopped. It really was a lot of fun to have so many people together for Christmas morning. Everyone felt so loved.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-31T13:12:00.002-05:00

We had a nice Christmas Eve. Some of the family went to church. The rest of us stayed home and cooked and played. After dinner, Terry and I got a bit romantic:)

We watched Elf and the kids opened one present.

They all chose the same present by chance and it was a huge donut cake maker!

My kids especially loved them!

After we got the kids in bed near ten at night, we set about getting all of the presents out. It looked like an avalanche of presents! But then again, all of those presents were for 14 people. After arranging all of the presents, we adults stayed up shooting the breeze for a while. It was really nice to have almost all of the family together-we were only missing two of the granddaughters. A fantastic Christmas Eve!

Family fun

2011-12-31T12:33:00.001-05:00

We have had loads of caroling with Em and Madi providing the music. When Troy came, he also spent quite a bit of time playing music for all of us.

But before music, came a lot of wrestling! They were having a marvelous time until Timmy got flipped over and that signaled the end.

But then they found other games such as beat up the cousins as well as soccer. I find it too funny that both Kelly and Marilyn kept trying to shut down the indoor soccer games while Terry insisted that it was his house and his rules. It was really amusing to watch!

The kitchen also proved to be quite the congregating area. Tom, Jen, and Ashlyn catching up.

A LOT of rock band was played. Terry also got two country rock bands for Christmas so I can see us playing for a long time yet.

I could not believe how big Ashlyn was! Just a few days ago, she turned 16! Amazing how fast time flies! And Kelly looks like she hasn't aged a bit:)

Troy and Kelly. I really think Kelly is gorgeous in this picture! What you cannot see is Kailey curled up in Troy's lap. He loved her! When they are ready for another dog, I think they have found their next breed.

Grandma and Boompa

2011-12-31T12:18:00.000-05:00

Most nights, this is where Bill and Marilyn could be found. They each took up one end of the couch with their ipads. However, most of the time they had kids hovering around them watching what they were doing! Many sports games were watched and lots of food was eaten. Terry also took them to downtown Norfolk to visit Nauticus and the USS Wisconsin.

This is what I made them this year. I didn't want to post anything before Christmas lest I gave the surprise away. There are four Celtic knot pillows and a Christmas lap quilt. I really had a lot of fun making these. One day maybe I'll make an entire quilt from them. And the quilt came out nicely as well-just a quick Christmas lap quilt. I think that Bill and Marilyn liked their gifts so all is well!

Company

2011-12-20T14:42:00.004-05:00

Sunday night, Terry's parents came into town. It has been a long time since they have come to visit with us so it is a nice change! We have done a lot of shopping while they have been here. Terry and his dad have also done a good amount of singing while Em plays the piano. I think it is very sweet and it is really great to have the sound of good singers in the house! Hopefully, there will be many more nights of caroling to come.

Last night, we also drove down to the beach to see the light display. We drove on the boardwalk from 2nd Street to 37th. There were all sorts of light displays-mostly nautically themed. The kids absolutely loved it! I think we may do it again next week. A great start to the family visit!

Ginger Bread Houses

2011-12-20T14:38:00.002-05:00

We have been studying the symbols of Christmas and how they are related to Christ and his birth this December. One night we discussed ginger bread houses so of course we had to make them! We were lucky enough to have Emi's friend over as well as cousin Jaylynne.

I don't know why Timmy insisted on decorating without his shirt but we didn't fight it. We had five mini houses and a large Christmas tree-enough for everyone to have their own!

The kids made a huge mess-icing all over them, their clothes, the floor-but they had a fabulous time!

Great weather

2011-12-20T14:19:00.003-05:00

We have had some really beautiful days down here so we have been spending a lot of time outside. Madi is on her thinking chair.

We did many races around the park. Timmy was getting so upset that he kept losing to Madi. So Emilie very graciously and happily offered to race him. She also let him win every time. My Emi has such a kind heart!

Of course we had to climb trees and roll down the hills.

We have to give mommy love for taking them on bike rides and to parks:)

And we had to practice our upper arm strength. It was really a lovely bunch of days and we definitely made the best of them!

Kid fondue

2011-12-20T14:15:00.000-05:00

After our adult party, we have a had a few kid fondue nights! The kids loved getting the leftover chocolate and I was happy to see it not go to waste!

Kailey

2011-12-14T15:06:00.002-05:00

This dog of ours is absolutely adorable. We are completely smitten with her and for good reason. She is quickly learning to potty train, plays with the kids marvelously, and loves to cuddle. Unfortunately, she is also proving to be a very expensive dog. Besides the actual price of her, we have learned that she has disjointed patellas (knees) and that they are pretty bad for a puppy. There is a possibility of them firming up on their own but none of the three vets that we have seen think that is likely. So in about six to eight months, we will learn if she will need surgery. A surgery that will cost about $2500 per knee! Yikes! We are waiting to see if she is actually in pain before we do the surgery. Some dogs have this problem their entire life and never need surgery. We are hoping for that outcome:)

Also, poor Kailey is sick right now. She has had this awful productive cough that racks her entire little body. Took her to the vet to find that she has pneumonia. We are hoping that the increased meds will help her recover quickly. She has not been with us a month yet, and already I feel as if she is one of my kids. I"m worried about her. We brought her into our room at night so we could listen to her breathe and just like a baby, both Terry and I woke up at the slightest sound from her. Our little puppy is sick and we are so hoping that she gets better soon!

Patriotism

2011-12-14T14:58:00.001-05:00

The other night at Terry's work party, one of the men put together little video montage of what it is that they do at this command. It was really very moving to see how their efforts are just a small part of a global operation. In fact, it was said that his command actually oversees something like 15,000 people! I actually teared up a bit seeing how everything was working together and was a small part of the Navy which was then a small part of the entire US military machine.

Then today as I was listening to Pres. Obama's speech at Ft. Bragg commemorating the end of the war in Iraq, I became emotional. Again, listening to his words about the hardships that the military members and their families have endured really touched me. Although I come from a long line of military service, I have always felt somewhat inadequate in that I have merely been the daughter and wife of a service member. I feel like I need to be more proactive and do more for our military. Somehow be an active participant without being on active duty. I need to do more. Perhaps in this next year, I will be able to find more ways to reach out and give of my time to make a difference for our military members. I just have this intense and burning sense of patriotism and duty to our country and I need to put that passion to use. I can be of help to someone-I just need to explore my options of how to do that.

Cookies!

2011-12-14T14:49:00.002-05:00

A week ago I made 12 dozen cookies for my cookie exchange but the kids did not get to help. So we made some sugar cookies together. They love to get involved and help!

The first night, we made the cookies and the next night we frosted them. Seven different colors and 12 different sprinkle toppers.

The finished products! The kids wanted to dog in the picture and as soon as they picked her up, she tried to eat the cookies:)

Made some more today-chocolate cookies with peppermint frosting and sprinkles.

A close up.

The cookies we will keep.

And here they are all wrapped up nicely. We are going to deliver them to the ladies I visit teach tonight. We are also going to sing some carols as we deliver them. Hoping it will be a fun and rewarding night of service with the kids!

Parties

2011-12-11T11:50:00.001-05:00

This was a fun week. On Tuesday, I was able to attend a cookie exchange. I made 12 dozen cookies and then brought home 12 dozen different cookies. Was a great way to spread the joy of Christmas! The kids all brought cookies to their teachers and we also played secret santa by anonymously leaving cookies on the doorsteps of some new members to our ward. The kids LOVED it so much, we may do it again!

We also attended Terry's mandatory holiday party. I wish I had gotten a better picture of my dress and curled hair-a very rare occurrence:) Although the side shot is not bad. We had a good time. There were a lot of marines and some very outgoing men who gave pretty funny commentary the whole night long. We also enjoyed watching a couple get down and dirty on the dance floor in front of everyone-was just a tad bit awkward! I also found it remarkable that of the hundred or so people there, most of them were 04s or above. There was one small table of enlisted sailors but other than that, there were some pretty senior officers there. It was odd.

Last night we also threw a holiday party. I still do not feel like I know a lot of people in the ward (still no calling) so we threw a party. We invited people who looked like fun and they were! All in all, we had twelve guests and it was a great crowd. We had a huge fondue spread and surprisingly most of them had never had fondue! They ended up loving it so we may have to throw more parties:) We played games and had a white elephant exchange. It was a lot of fun and I hope we get to do it again soon!

Fun

2011-12-11T11:44:00.001-05:00

The last day that Timmy went to preschool, they went on a field trip to a local farm. Despite his smiling face, I had to drag him there and he complained most of the time about how much he did not want to be there.

However, he did love the chicken coup! He ran around and caught the chickens, posed for the picture, and then very gently put them down. In fact, he got very upset when the other boys and girls were mean to the chickens!

The Christmas tree. Have to say that besides the chickens, it was not all that interesting. But it filled a morning!

We have also been outside climbing the trees. Trying to enjoy the lovely blast of warm air that we had for about a week or so! Now the temps have come down and it feels more like December.

Thoughts

2011-12-08T11:20:00.001-05:00

Since we have moved, I have been involved with a military wives' support group sponsored through my church. More than anything, it is a chance to meet other women in the same situation as me. At the last meeting that I attended, the lecturer put forth some interesting ideas. She said that mothers of young children should not have hobbies and projects. It was quite controversial in the class and we had a good discussion. But I agreed with her. When my children were little, I did not really have any other interests other than my family. I remember quite clearly every birthday and Christmas, my mother getting quite cross with me because I could not find anything to give her for a gift list. It was all family related. My life was my childrens. I was devoted to my kids and did what they needed or wanted. And I was fine with that. It was the stage in life that I was at. Fast forward a few years to when all of my kids were in school and that is when I began exercising, taking photography classes. quilting, etc. All of my hobbies began when my kids were no longer at home with me.
It has now been two years of me having time away from the kids when they were at school. And that is all about to change.

For some time now, Timmy has been complaining about his preschool. He said he didn't like the teachers, no one would play with him, and that in general it was not fun. I have kind of just blown him off knowing how much he loved preschool in England. However, it has reached a head and we have made the decision to pull him out of school. It is just preschool and not really necessary so he will now be home full time with me. It will be an adjustment. But in the end, I think it is the best decision for Timmy. It will give us more time together to explore our new area. And in all honesty, he will probably learn more at home with me than he would have at this preschool.

I'm curious to see how life with Timmy at home will work out. No more grocery shopping kidless. No more quilt classes with out a little man. I'm trying to work out how I will exercise with him home and without joining a gym. Life will be different but I'm looking forward to having my little man at home with me again. At least until September:)

Curtains

2011-11-27T11:53:00.001-05:00

I really wanted to have my curtains done for Thanksgiving but it just did not happen. But three days later, here is my newest creation.

I did add another grommet to the end to keep it facing back.

I really love the grommets. They were very easy to use and make such a nice clean line. I really like these curtains! Possibly my favorite yet. And we are getting very close to finally having privacy in all of our windows!

Thanksiving

2011-11-27T11:37:00.001-05:00

I was so excited to finally use all of my china that I purchased last year!

I thought the table was beautiful! And the kids made these beautiful turkey name placers and we also made these oreo turkeys. Some of them looked like they were oozing red blood but all in all -they were super cute!

The kids table looked pretty fabulous as well:)

Celia and Scott came down to share the day with us. We loved having them! Cele had a go on the trampoline and loved it! However, when she saw the camera, she quickly got off.

Terry got on with the kids as well. We had a gorgeous day!

Emi and the other kids took over the camera and I found some interesting pictures. Good thing they did because otherwise, we would not have any pictures at all.

Tom and Jen came with all four kids: Kayla, Bailey, John, and Jaylynne. We hadn't seen Kayla and Bailey in several years and were shocked at how much they had grown-they were women, no longer girls!

I think this was the only picture of me. Lovely apron yes?

Scott enjoying the day.

The kids found this remote control car and Kailey was enthralled. Chased it for a really long time.

Kayla and Bailey relaxing. We loved seeing them again!

Madison playing in the box. We also had our friends Mike and Sarah as well. It was a really great mix of people and everyone got on very well. We laughed and laughed! Football was watched, games were played. The food was outstanding. Possibly the best turkey to date and we had an enormous amount of desserts! A wonderful thanksgiving!

Kailey

2011-11-20T08:21:00.001-05:00

We picked up our little lady yesterday. After a family vote, her name will be Kailey (which was coincidentally what I wanted to name Madi:)

She is a tiny little thing. We have to be very careful not to step on her!

Terry had a nice little cuddle with her while she napped. It seems that is the safest place to sleep with so many kids dying to play with her.

I predict that training her will be a challenge. This little lady only pees a tablespoon at a time-it is hard to catch her in time.

She also has the cutest little growl and bark when you play with her.

Welcome to the family little Kailey Isabelle!

Children's Museum

2011-11-20T08:18:00.001-05:00

I met up with a girl I went to high school with at the local Children's Museum. It was small but the perfect size for Timmy!

He loved the bubble room. The bubbles he made were awesome!

And firetrucks are always cool!

Just chillin.

Even though he is getting so big, he is still my little cuddler.

Just like his grandfather-riding a motorcycle!

Timmy and Daniel. I had a great time reconnecting with my girlfriend. Love how you can not see someone for ten years and when you finally get together, you still click. Hopefully, we'll have many more outings to come!

Dog!

2011-11-14T14:26:00.001-05:00

As promised, we are getting a dog. She is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Her mom was 13 pounds and her dad was 16 so we are not expecting her to get really big. In fact, I was super surprised by just how tiny she was!

Can you feel the joy in Em's face? She was so happy!!! We went to visit her and check her out. We actually get to bring her home this weekend and the kids are counting down the days! I am excited about the dog but also a tad bit apprehensive. After all, it will be me doing most of the training and taking care of her. I'm also nervous that the kids will run over her as she is so small! But it does feel so wonderfully amazing to see the happiness on the kids faces. Only five more days till she is ours!

Back Garden

2011-11-14T14:19:00.001-05:00

We had a fabulous time visiting with my family this weekend. We went shopping with Cele, fishing with my dad, birthday shopping with my mom, ate a wonderful birthday dinner with plenty of birthday cake. It was action packed!

Tim, Madi, and I took some time out to explore the woods behind my parents' house. Normally, they don't go in there for fear of bugs and spiders but since the first frost has come already, they were up for it! We found some fantastic sticks!

I love that we are close enough to visit my parents on a weekend! We had such a great time!

Autumn

2011-11-14T14:18:00.001-05:00

We have had some stunning leaves this autumn. Here are just a few!

Love the red!

I'm not sure what these were, but I loved them!

Williamsburg

2011-11-14T14:14:00.001-05:00

All over the country, various businesses were offering veteran's free items for Veteran's Day. We decided to take advantage and decided to go to Williamsburg on the way to my parents' house. The kids LOVED that their were British flags all over-they felt very much at home.

We had a perfect day to go. There was a slight chill in the air and the foliage was beautiful! I loved that we had to warm up by carrying spiced apple cider. It was just perfect!

We wandered through the gardens and came across a maze. Although, it was not such a good one. The trees that they used were not very dense so you could totally see through the maze! But we enjoyed it nonetheless.

The kids liked going into the houses because most had a fire going and it warmed us up! They especially liked this kitchen as it had a pigs head on the table!

The kids in the stocks. I have so many pictures of me in these. Even one of me and Terry from when we were were newlyweds! I love Williamsburg!

My model in the making:)

Tim had a huge leaf collection which he was quite proud of. However, he ended up ditching them in favor of some very nice sticks.

I loved this tree tunnel! Made me so nostalgic for the gardens in England. These were pretty with the fall colors but lacked the artistic flair that we have come to expect in the gardens. However, it was a perfect day to be outside exploring!

Emilie is 9!

2011-11-14T14:13:00.001-05:00

I can't believe my baby turned nine! Her last year in single digits. She is such a doll and I love that as she is getting older she is also becoming a good friend-may it stay that way forever! For her actual birthday, we brought cupcakes to her class and I also came in with a Wendy's frostie and had lunch with her. I think that was a very special treat:) Unfortunately, she did have to have a piano lesson but afterwards we headed to IHOP where she chose to have her birthday dinner. Again, they sung to her and she LOVED it! And then home to her ice cream birthday cake. We love this little girl to pieces and were thrilled to celebrate her birthday!

Jill

2011-11-14T14:08:00.001-05:00

Jill and her girls decided to come down and visit us for a few days. We had a blast with them! They spent a lot of time in the back yard jumping and making restaurants.

We took them to the beach and had glorious weather! Warm enough to not need a jacket in the sunshine!

We spent hours on the beach and they just played and played.

The girls dipped their feet in the water.

And Jill and I sat and watched the kids. Such a great way to spend the day!

Happy kiddos!

We wandered down the beach a bit and Em found Neptune and a playground!

Madi and Lizzie at bedtime. We had such a wonderful time with them and can't wait until they visit again!

Em's quilt!

2011-11-04T13:51:00.001-05:00

When we moved into this house, my parents gave us a queen size bed that they were no longer using. It has since become Em's bed. Since I did not have a kid comforter for it, I decided to make one. So this is her new quilt!

They back side as well. Just stripes. I also made the curtains-just a simple pleated design but I'm not sure if I like it. I may change them yet. But I have other projects to finish before then so it will have to wait. Glad that it is done though and I think it looks great!

Halloween

2011-11-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

We had a really fun Halloween. Terry's brother invited us over to their neighborhood to trick-or-treat. After filling up on pizza we headed out!

Emi was Cleopatra, Madi was a vampire, Timmy a transformer, I was a baby (and I got so incredibly hot with my three layers of clothes!), Jen was raggedy ann, Jaylynne was a witch, and John was a ghoul. Timmy only lasted about 20 houses and then headed home. But the rest of us pushed on. Turned out that we were in Halloween heaven. People drove from all over to come to this neighborhood and good reason too. There was an entire street with every house amazingly well decorated. Some house did not have an inch of space left for any more ghouls! And these houses gave out full size candy bars or bags with many pieces of candy in them. Needless to say, we have more candy than we have ever had. I would throw it out but it is all really good candy! Overall, a fantastic night!

Fall festival

2011-11-04T13:42:00.001-05:00

Timmy's preschool also had a fall festival. I naively didn't realize that it was a dress up event. Luckily, my kiddos did not seem to mind. Also, these are not the best pictures from our phone but enjoy anyway!

Pin the bones on the skeleton.

Halloween play-dough fun.

More pin the tail.

Cauldron toss.

I loved that many of the prizes were spider rings and such rather than candy.

I volunteered to work the gross table which had a covered bowl of spaghetti and grapes with prizes intermixed. The kids reached their hands in and groped around to get a prize. Emi came over and was my helper and got so into it! I am so amazed at how giving she is-always ready to help! We even ended up winning frozen yogurt because I correctly guessed the number of ghosts in the jar! What fun!

Farm

2011-11-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

I recently got to be a chaperone for Timmy's preschool's field trip to a farm. We even got to ride in a school bus which was super exciting! Timmy played in a huge pile of straw.

Got to pick out a pumpkin. He took a really long time because he wanted a clean one. Since he could not find one, he settled for this one but was still pretty happy about it.

We took a hayride with his friends!

And got to play on a huge tractor. We even went to a fast food place with a playground after all of this fun. All in all a fun day out with my little man!

Church talks

2011-10-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

Today in church I had to give a talk. I felt that it went really well. At first, I was assigned a talk that was not well received upon which to make my remarks. It was about homosexuality and pornography. I decided against using this and went with something that I am much more comfortable with. I ended up talking about war and tying it into what the ward can do to help military members and families in their wards, and finally tied it all into the approaching Veteran's day. I felt it went well and I will post it at the end here.

After I was done, it was Terry's turn. He was recently called as the ward mission leader and was to base his remarks on missionary work. Before he began however, he spoke of the love languages and then shared that my love language is praise. Then he proceeded to tell me how wonderful my talk was and that I would really love it if everyone else in the ward would tell me how fantastic it was as well! Have to admit that I was embarrassed and probably bright red but have to be honest-he was totally right!

As a result, more people talked to me in church today than ever before. I think I also got more praise for any other talk I have ever given before. Today was also a combined meeting for the third hour an as the bishop got up to speak, he thanked everyone for their participation in the days meeting. Especially, to Sis. M who gave such a wonderful talk today. Everyone had a nice chuckle about that. I do have to admit that today was the first day that I actually enjoyed being at church. I did not sit alone (of course it was a combined meeting so I had Terry near me). All in all, a good day:)

My talk:

My name isRyann M. My husband, Terry, and I movedinto this ward in August from near Cambridge in England. We have been married for 11 ½ years and havethree children. Emilie will be nine intwo weeks, Madison is 6, and Timmy will be five in December. My husband and I met at the University ofAZ. Shortly after graduating, and withno other employment options on the table, my husband joined the navy. Really, it was a logical choice for us. My father in law was in the AF and my ownfather was a marine. In fact, both of mygrandfathers were in the military as well as both of Terry’s. Our military line goes back even further thanthat. For me, the military was a naturalfit for us.

Terry hasnow served in the navy for a bit over ten years. I calculated once that with his deployments,underways, watchfloors, and just in general long working days, Terry has beenhome about as much as he has been away from his family. But that is what service in the military islike in these days. Our country is stillin a time of war.

In Gordon BHinckley’s April 2003 Conference Talk entitled War and Peace he states:

War, of course, is not new. The weapons change. The abilityto kill and destroy is constantly refined. But there has been conflict throughout the ages over essentially thesesame issues. The book of Revelationspeaks briefly of what must have been a terrible conflict for the minds andloyalties of Gods children. The accountis worth repeating: And there was war inheaven: Michael and his angels fought againstthe dragon: and the dragon fought andhis angels. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more inheaven. And the great dragon was castout, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the wholeworld: he was cast out into the earth,and his angles were cast out with him.

We can seethat war has been with us from the beginning. Men and women have always had to stand up and fight for what theybelieve to be right and just. This isthe same today as it has always been. And that requires men and women to volunteer to fight for what theybelieve in. Many in our church todayserve in the military.

Gordon BHinckley continues, ”It is clear ...thatthere are times and circumstances when nations are justified, in fact have anobligation, to fight for family, liberty, and against tyranny, threat, andoppression. When all is said and done,we of this Church are people of peace. We are followers of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is thePrince of Peace. But even He said, “Think not that I am come to send peace onearth: I came not to send peace, but asword.”

In our threeyear tour in England, we were blessed to travel quite a bit. We took many trips to WWII sights as I have aslight obsession with the topic. InOctober of 2009, we visited Normandy in France where the D-day invasionsoccurred. We were able to walk on Omahabeach, explore the pill boxes and defensive positions of the Germans atPoint-du-Hoc, and Saint Mere Eglise where there is a memorial to theparatroopers. I was truly renderedspeechless by the courage that these Allied soldiers possessed to mount anattack into such a highly defended position. At the end of the day, we found ourselves during sunset at the Americancemetery. During our visit, everyonestopped for several minutes and listened at attention while taps wasplayed. I wept at this emotional displayof love and reverence for our soldiers who had laid down their lives forfreedom.

Pres.Hinckley continues, “ Even when thearmaments of war ring out in deathly serenade and darkness and hatred reign inthe hearts of some, there stands immovable, reassuring, comforting, and withgreat outreaching love the quiet figure of the Son of God, the Redeemer of theworld. We can proclaim with Paul: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, norlife, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, northings to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able toseparate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I havealways felt that men and women who are fighting for just causes are watchedover and protected by our Lord. I feelthat the millions of prayers said on their behalves help to strengthen them intheir fight. But I do feel that whilemuch of our attention is focused on the service member, we must not forget thefamilies that are left behind.

Faithfulhome and visiting teachers can often ease the burden of these families. Whether it be by offering to do a repair thatthe absent family member would normally do or by stopping by in the evening tocomfort a lonely spouse. I have foundthat in my husband’s absences, a phone call to check on me can make all thedifference in the world for my mood to improve. Or when I have had friends offer to take my children so that I can havea few moments to myself.

In 2006,just days after we learned that I was pregnant with our third child, Terry camehome with the devastating news that he would be leaving in less than a monthfor a 13 month tour in Iraq. I rememberfeeling absolutely devastated and then angry and finally extremelyapprehensive. I already had two youngchildren and each day I was becoming more and more sick and exhausted with thepregnancy. I did not know how I wouldbe able to manage for a full year without Terry where I would need to getthrough a difficult pregnancy and care for a newborn alone. But one way or another, I would have to getthrough it.

The ward Iwas in at the time greatly came to my aid. I was too sick with my pregnancy to cook so the Relief Society broughtmy little family meals for a month and a half. I was assigned a newlywed couple to sit with me during sacramentmeetings to help me with my children which was a huge blessing as I was soonoutnumbered three to one. I was alsoassigned a High Priest and his wife to be a combination home and visitingteaching companionship. This couple wentabove and beyond for me. They cut mygrass, frequently checked for any repairs that they could perform in my house,and babysat my children so I could sleep. But what I appreciated the most was how they made me feel like a part oftheir family. We were frequent dinnerand family home evening guests. Theymade sure that I always had a place to go to for holidays. In short, they made me feel like I was notalone. I have found with many of mymilitary friends that the hardest aspect of the spouse being gone is being alone. Frequently weekends were the hardest days of the week because Idid not want to bother any of my friends and intrude on their family time. I would strongly urge ward members to adopt military families and forgestrong friendships so that you can be of vital service when the inevitableseparations occur.

However, aboveall, I have found that the best coping mechanism is to pray. Keeping a strong relationship with God andJesus Christ can lead to peace in trying times. The Holy Ghost can bring comfort to those of us who suffer and needsupport. John 14 states, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me...PeaceI leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither letit be afraid.” These verses have helpedme get through some very lonely nights when Terry has been deployed.

The prophetconcludes his talk by saying, “This life is but a chapter in the eternal planof our Father. It is full of conflictand seeming incongruities. Some die young. Some live to old age. We cannotexplain it. But we accept it with thecertain knowledge hat through the atoning sacrifice of our Lord we shall all goon living, and this with the comforting assurance of His immeasurable love.”

Veterans dayis in two weeks. I pray that we allshall remember the sacrifices that our military men and women have made for us. I pray that we remember thefamilies left behind and help to make their separations a little easier. I pray that we may take time out of our livesto thank these veterans and their families. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Kites

2011-10-23T08:46:00.001-05:00

We decided to go fly some kites yesterday. It was a gorgeous and crisp day but without a lot of wind.

We met Jen and Tom there and luckily they brought several kites that flew really well. Unfortunately, we learned that our kite needed at least seven mph winds to really fly. As a result our kite didn't get up very high but it still looked darn fierce!

Tom and Jen flying the kite! They wisely dressed for the weather. Meanwhile me and my kiddos froze!

Jaylynne, Timmy, and Madi together. It has been really nice to have Tom and Jen around. We have done quite a bit with them and they are always willing to hop up and go with us! Since we still don't have friends, it has been really nice to have family around!

Candy Corn

2011-10-20T14:24:00.001-05:00

Emilie is having a Halloween party at Activity Days this evening and was in need of a treat. So I found these cute little candy corn cookies.

They are just colored sugar cookies with various toppings. They were fun!

Gave me a nice project to do today.

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-10-18T13:18:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we took the kids and their cousin, Jaylynne, to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate Emilie's birthday. We have not been almost three years and it was such a blast! The kids have all grown and could ride everything (Timmy was excluded from only one ride)! It was so much fun to be able to be their buddies and ride all of the slides together! Although it was fun, it was exhausting! Those kids sprinted up the stairs all day for two days! Very tiring for us parents but great exercise!
I did not even take that many pictures because I was so busy playing! We had a great buddy system going which was perfect. Everyone had to have a partner at all times. I loved how everyone wanted to have everyone else as a buddy the entire time. We all traded and it was great! The wave pool was a big favorite as well.

We ate dinner at a jungle themed restaurant which the kids loved. The waiter was especially fantastic. He came out with the other waiters and sung happy birthday to Em and gave her some cake. I loved watching her face-probably my favorite moment of the entire trip. She was so thrilled!

We also let the kids get magic wands this time and they played this scavenger hunt game for hours. They absolutely loved it. Perfect for their age as well! We had such a fabulous celebration for her birthday! Madi loved it so much that she said that is what she wants for her birthday as well! I really hope so because it was that much fun:)

Raking

2011-10-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

This has been a fun week. We were surprised Tuesday night by Terry's brother, Troy, coming into town. We have not seen him for almost four years so it was such a treat! We had a great time visiting with him. Tom and his family came over Thursday night for dinner which is always fun. And then we got more time with Troy on Friday. I even had all three brothers together for a brief moment! Sadly, none of them were up for pictures. But it was a good time nevertheless!

The kids have been asking about how they can start earning some pocket money. Em is the keenest and I wonder if there is some item that she is saving up to buy. So we came up with a list of extra chores that they could do to earn a little money. Raking leaves was in there. Seeing as it is just gorgeous outside, I suggested that they get busy with the raking and they were so eager to do it!

Emilie was by far doing most of the work but it is happy work so they actually like doing it! By the way, I must add that it is mid October and I had to put the AC back on! I'm so longing for the cool autumn days that we have become used to.

One of our trees is now nearly bare but the other has not even begun to drop its leaves. I believe we have many, many more days of raking to come.

Timmy definitely preferred to play in the leaves rather than raking. But to his credit, he did clear off the trampoline:) We try to have a family movie night every Friday. So last night there was a fundraiser at the girls' school which was a movie night outside! They set up a huge projector screen and we watched The Zookeeper. The movie was alright (I was annoyed when they used hell three times-come on it is a movie for kids!). The kids had a blast running around and playing as well as sitting every now and then for the movie. It did get chilly so I was glad that I brought a big blanket as well as sweaters for everyone. It was really a lot of fun!

Sundays

2011-10-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

The kids had their Primary presentation at church today. My parents came along to support them. Although they did not know all of the words to the songs (some were sung in Spanish), they all were outstanding in their speaking parts! All there spoke clearly and loudly. And they were so cute!

Afterwards, we came home and had some ice cream sundaes to celebrate. They also had a fantastic time outside helping popo wash his car. They even changed into their bathing suits to really get the full effect. It still feel so unusual for it to be so warm in October!

It was so nice to have my parents come down for the weekend. We even enjoyed a few acey-deucy games! Sadly, I did not win any but I'll keep at it! I love that it is so easy for them to visit. A three hour drive is nothing! Thanks for coming!

2011-10-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

Saturday, we met my parents at a pumpkin patch and farm in Gloucester. I almost felt for a minute that we were in England! It was a beautiful and warm day though which brought me back to VA:)

First thing we did was head into the 7 acre corn maze! It was huge! After a while, we ended up at the beginning of the maze again. Timmy decided that he was not interested so my dad and Terry joined him at the little maze and the jumping castles. Meanwhile, I took Em and Madi went with nana and we set off again to conquer the maze! Emi and I finished it and had a great time. My mom and Madi gave a good effort but eventually decided that they did not care about winning the maze and would rather get a cool drink.

After the mazes, we headed over to the pumpkin patch. I'm not sure that we have ever picked our own pumpkins and it was fun.

Madi and Em were not picky about which pumpkin they wanted. Timmy, however, was determined to choose just the right pumpkin and therefore took his time. So long in fact, that he stumbled upon some stinging nettles. Poor guy was not pleased.

Madi enjoyed just running around the patch:)

Aren't my men good looking?

I really enjoyed being outside all day. Was really gorgeous and a great activity to share with nana and popo.

After we chose the pumpkins, we rode the tractor back. All in all a great day out!

Timmy on the hill

2011-10-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

At the park, Timmy decided to roll down the hill. Made me laugh because he didn't go down the hill. Rather, he did this horseshoe shaped roll. I think we need some more practice!

Mount Trashmore

2011-10-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

After preschool, we met an old friend at the park to play. Timmy was really excited to pose for many, many pictures!

The playground has been completely redone since we lived here 8 years ago. Very clean.

It was fun to play with my little man and the weather was gorgeous!

Posing, posing.

The park was actually a project to turn a landfill into a nice place to be. As a result, they have this huge hill to climb and a nice sized lake.

Me and my little man!

A little fun

2011-10-05T14:04:00.001-05:00

The kids school hosted a fundraiser at Chuck E Cheese the other day. I am all about easy entertainment so after school we headed out. It was a lot of fun. There are so many new games!

And yesterday, the girls only had half a day of school. No idea why but we decided to play outside for the afternoon. It was perfect weather!

We grabbed the neighbor Naomi, and rode to the park. It is really nice with a playground, huge playing fields, and a little wooded area. Been a great place to run in the morning.

Gotta love the tire swing!

We also found a few hollowed out tree trunks. Was fun to go exploring. I could possibly get used to half day school!

Lieutenant Commander

2011-09-29T10:32:00.002-05:00

After nearly 14 months since being selected, Terry pinned on Lieutenant Commander! I'm so proud of him! I've been really impressed with how much he has grown in the navy from a young college kid into a experienced man. Well done Terry-you deserve this!

Projects

2011-09-29T09:10:00.001-05:00

I finished the curtains for the TV room. Well, almost, I did run out of some trim so one panel is missing that. But I've ordered it and so it should be done soon. Here they are closed.

And open. I have to admit that I liked making the curtains. So much less fussy than quilting! I think I may have found my sewing calling:)

Here is a close up of the tassels. I thought they were really cute. And without them, you would not really notice the fold over detail at the top. So another room done, now to move on to the curtains for the room below.

I've also finished the quilt top for Emi's bed. It is actually for a queen bed but with the drop over on it, I think it could easily fit on a king as well. This sucker is huge! Am not really looking forward to quilting it because it is going to be so heavy! Maybe a very simple design is needed for that:) Em is pretty thrilled though. She picked out the fabric-wanted a kind of sea color scheme. And I chose the log cabin design. Was a lot of work but seeing as I have nothing to do but sew and clean, I figured why not? So that is what I have been up to lately. Not bad for a couple of weeks work I think!

Mr. Cuddles

2011-09-25T08:55:00.001-05:00

This weekend, Madi was chosen to bring Mr. Cuddles home for a visit. We treated him to movie night. Did you notice Em's swimsuit? It has been raining so much lately and Em decided to go out and play in it. That is until, I stopped her. It wasn't just raining,, it has been thundering and lightning! At first, I thought it was fun to have thunderstorms again as we didn't have them in England but rarely. I'm now over that and they can go away.

He really enjoyed the popcorn apparently.

Saturday, we went to a free play at the Little Gym. Everything was on it's lowest settings hence the reason why Em is practically touching the mat.

Mr. Cuddles had to come as well:)

They were extra cautious at the free play. There were so many kids in too small a space and most of them were babies. So my kiddos didn't get to be nearly as wild as they wanted to.

The rings were a huge hit with our kids.

Timmy also loved the beam. Most of the time, he ran across so fast that the helpers didn't get him. He would also give some spectacular jumps off of the ends.

Timmy could also swing forever on those rings. The girls currently are enrolled with gymnastics here but maybe Timmy would enjoy it as well. Overall, a nice time was spent running around while it was raining outside. A good deal!

Bit Better

2011-09-22T08:01:00.000-05:00

I went to the school yesterday for a drop in with the teachers. I'm glad that I did. Had a good talk with Emi's teacher. Turns out that they do six weeks of review. I find this ridiculous! That is an entire half term in England-shouldn't they be learning something during that time? Six weeks seems way too long. However, I am glad that it explains why Em's work has been so darned easy. Did also learn that they have been having spelling tests. They are placement exams to see where the kids' levels are at. So far, Em has missed on word: between-she spelled it betwean. As a result, she will be in the top spelling group when that starts sometime in October. She has also been placed in all of the GT groups for reading and math but as I've stated, they still have not started learning anything new. There is a meeting next week about the testing for the GT program and I will be there to learn more about it. So overall, I still really do like Emilie's teacher and feel that she is going to be a great fit for her.

I also stopped by Madi's teacher. Have to admit that I'm not all that thrilled with her. She is a very small woman, very fit, but it is as if she has so much energy bursting out of her that she cannot contain it all. She jumps from subject to subject (often meandering to her favorite TV shows) and can't seem to sit still. In fact, she does not sit at all-rather she flits around the room. So she is hard to handle. I did learn that Madi was tested for her reading level. She was a 14. I guess at the end of first grade, the kids need to be a 16 and since they only have even numbered levels, she is just one shy of her end of the year goal. There are two other children who are 16s and Madi has been paired with them. I think that will work out fine. Like Emilie, she is still reviewing which is so incredibly basic but I am going to be patient.

I do have a few observations about American schools though. I cannot believe how much money they ask you for! Not only did we have to buy school supplies times two, but now I had to buy more. Em's class asked for six 6 inch Styrofoam balls at $5 each! Really? What about kids who can't afford these things? I think it is terrible. If you don't have the materials in your class, then pick another activity! Not only are the teachers requesting extra supplies but I was also asked to send in money for parties. And on top of that, the school is asking us to fund raise! And if you don't want to, you can just give a donation. I mean really, what the heck? I though public education was free in the US. I thought that the demands in the British school for donations after concerts were bad, but these schools are down right awful. This has been a big shocker for me and I'm still not liking it.

Also, I've been really surprised at how aggressive the school is about having parent volunteers. In England, they were getting so many parents in the classes that they said no more and parents were no longer allowed to help in the classroom. To be honest, that was fine with me. But here, every time I interact with Madi's teacher, I am bombarded with requests to volunteer. When can I come in? When can you do this? When, when, when. I guard my free time zealously. Lately, it is all being focused on getting my house ready. Really I'm trying to learn to sew curtains because I have a job opportunity with it. So no, right now, I will not spend every day in the classroom helping out. I really don't have the patience to be in a classroom with 1st graders anyway. I love my children but a room full of 6 and 7 year olds is not my idea of a good time. The entire school needs to back off with the pressure. I did sign up to help with certain events and to help from home but they need to stop bugging me about it.

Maybe in time, I'll feel more comfortable with the school. The girls will actually begin learning, I won't be asked to give more money (like that is realistic), and they'll back off with the volunteering persistence. One can only hope:)

Lately

2011-09-20T13:58:00.003-05:00

For the first time in forever, I just do not feel like blogging. Mainly because I don't have much to say and what I do want to say sounds a lot like complaining. So first the good stuff. I have been really busy working on a quilt for Emi's bed. She now has a queen bed and we didn't have any cute comforters for it. I have the top nearly done and just need to get a bit more fabric for the back as I underestimated what I would need. Hopefully, I'll have it to a point that I want to take a picture of it very soon. I'm really trying to do it as fast as I can because my fabric for my curtains has arrived and I'm anxious to get those started as well. But I don't want to be buried in work even though I already feel I am. So one project at a time.

The kids seem to be settling into school. But I am not pleased with any of the school yet. I often wonder if we made a mistake by putting the kids in British schools. They are SOOOOOO far ahead. And so far I am not seeing a great deal of effort by the teachers to help my kids. I was especially annoyed with Madi's teacher because she was sending home a lot of items with n o explanations on them. For instance, she assigned all of the parents a Freedom Friday responsibility and week but left no explanation as to what that was-just a calendar. After many unanswered emails, I was getting really frustrated. Finally she called and what should have been a 10 minute conversation took 30 because she kept rambling on about random things. Madison can already read the first 200 sight words. She is well ahead in the math. They don't even have spelling tests-they just have to be able to recognize the words. This is not acceptable and I told the teacher this. She is working with me slightly as in now Madi will have to spell the words while the other kids do not. But that is just one subject. They still haven't even brought anything home to read yet! I worry more about Madi because in first grade they do not have any type of advanced placement. So we just have to work with the teacher or move her up a grade and I want her to remain with her social peer group.

Em's class is not much better. However, with her we have a garantee that she will be tested for advanced classes in the first nine weeks of school. It is really hard to be patient and wait for this when she is adding 4+3 in class when she was doing multiplication and division last year. She also is not bringing books home or doing spelling words either.

I even specifically spoke to the teachers about my concerns about my kids being ahead. Did not even say advanced because I do not know if they are but they are most definitely ahead. I'm trying to be patient but how long do you wait? I'm giving it to the end of the week and then I"m going in to get some things changed.

Even Timmy's school is not reading with him like his last Montessori was. Even after I specifically asked for them to be doing it, brought in the words that he can already read, and wanted them to begin. I'm not sure how much he even likes it as he isn't especially excited to be going yet.

So overall, I have been spending my time worrying over my kids' education or rather a lack of it right now as well as sewing. Hopefully, soon I will meet some women and gain a social life as well. All in time, all in time.

Friends

2011-09-12T13:39:00.001-05:00

Every time we move, I tell myself that it will take months to get settled. It will take months to make friends. And every time we move, I want it to happen faster. It does not help that I was very spoiled in England. Our first Sunday to church, we were invited to dinner at two different families' houses. Within the first month, I already had visiting teachers who actually visited as well as a few invitations for play dates. The Huntingdon ward set a really high bar for our next ward.

Unfortunately, the standard has not been kept. I have been to RS twice now and both times no one introduced themselves or welcomed me. I did corner the Sunday School teacher with a few questions and ended up having her sit by me in RS though. No greetings in sacrament meeting. No handshakes. No bishopric introductions. In other words, I still have no friends.

But I keep telling myself that it takes time. Be patient. Friends (and with it a social life) will come. I can wait. I can do it. Just need to keep repeating these words until it happens...

First curtains

2011-09-09T17:22:00.000-05:00

Our new house does not have curtains. Or blinds. Or any window coverings at all. So I'm going to attempt to make some. On the first day of school for the kids, I worked hard and made my first ever curtains.
Here are Timmy's. They were so easy! And Madison's. These were much more labor intensive but worth it. Now I really need to get working on the downstairs. I feel like everyone can see in and watch us!

And here was my project today. Please forgive the picture as it is just off of my phone. But now I have fresh seats again! I need to go spray some Scotchguard on it before the kids get in there!

First Day of School

2011-09-09T17:17:00.001-05:00

First day of preschool at the new Montessori. He said that his teachers were nice but that the kids didn't play with him. Luckily, by the end of the week, he has made some friends. Although, I still really miss his old school.
Madison is starting first grade! She looks so big to me. She came home and said that she loved school and that she made one friend. By the end of the week, she has made several and loves riding the bus.
Emilie said that her favorite part of 3rd grade is definitely riding the bus. She also said that in school she came up with the highest and lowest numbers: 900,900,900 and -900,900,900 respectively. Guess the class was pretty impressed as their highest guesses were 100. Have to admit that so far I am less than thrilled with her math-her homework was 5+2 for goodness sake. Emi was doing multiplication and division last year and this is where we are? I'm giving it a week to settle and if it does not change, I'm meeting with the teacher.And all three kids. They were so excited! Bring on 2011-12:)

Beach Day 5

2011-09-09T17:13:00.000-05:00

On our last night at the beach, we took family photos. It was really sad to see me try to take this on a timer and run back and forth. Thankfully, a runner stopped and helped us out. (Might be time to invest in a tripod:) This was the entire beach group: Ernie, Diane, Leah, Madi, my dad, my mom, Timmy, Terry, Emi, me, Celia, Scott L., Scott M., Jennette, and Conner.

The Phillips family or in Scotts case, the soon to be Phillips family?
Our kiddos!
Leah and Madi so cute in pink!
Brothers. Funny, but when I took this picture Ernie was on his tiptoes to appear taller. Was really funny. I loved that I actually got my dad with a real smile!
The Munnelly's. Last summer, Jennette was pregnant and now has a baby. However, she is pregnant again! So, I enjoyed asking her if this is a pattern and will she be pregnant again next summer. She laughed but is definitely hoping not to be:)
Ernie, Diane, and Leah. I loved having them at the beach and am hoping they return (with their boys) next summer!

Cele and Scott. I loved watching them during the week. So affectionate and loving. I remember that stage...over 11 years ago now!
Nana and Popo with their beloved grandchildren.
The original Phillips family!
I loved this picture of me with the kids. Adorable!And our whole family. Such a great picture. Such a great week at the beach! Can't wait until next year!

Beach Day 4

2011-09-08T09:54:00.003-05:00

Often in the mornings we would head out to the pool. This morning, we all went out. It was a great way to start the day-all together:)
My adorable little man.
I love that we get to spend a week together with my family. My kids love Nana and Popo and Aunt Celia. I love that they know them and better yet that they like them!
These kids were like fishes. If they were not at the beach, they were in the pool. Goggles and masks were a must! I think most of the time they were underwater. Even Timmy! My kids made such huge progress over the course a month. They all swim independently! I LOVE it!
Cele and me! I love that now, I can just call her on the phone anytime I want to! It is fabulous!

Beach Day 3

2011-09-08T09:46:00.009-05:00

I think for the first time at the beach, I really did not take my camera out that much. Rather, I just sat back, participated, and enjoyed my family in the moment.

Madi, Leah, and Em enjoying the beach.
Timmy man!
My little model.
I think every night that we went to the beach, I told the kids not to get wet. What a lost cause! Here Timmy is playing in his underwear as his shorts got soaked. But that was ok-it was like he was in speedos!
I love my parents!
That night, my dad played some music for us all. Each year, he brings his guitar and we have several sing alongs. Unfortunately, it seems that the only people who can sing in our family is Terry and my mom. So you can imagine how we all sound. We try and get Terry to sing really loudly and then we are all like his back up singers. But it is really fun!
I took a lot of pictures of the sunsets but this one was the best. Enjoy!

Beach Day 2

2011-09-08T09:43:00.005-05:00

We were really getting into the vacation by day 2. Everyone was relaxing and enjoying the beach.
I was really happy that Scott, Cele's boyfriend fit right in. It can be intimidating to join your significant other and her family for a week at the beach but he was fantastic! A great fit!
Madi and daddy cuddling:)
Here is the gang at dinner. We have a great system that each family has to cook one night. This happened to be our night and we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.
My parents loved having a little deck off of their room. Very relaxing. It was a great way to end the night-listening to the waves while enjoying a glass of wine.

Beach Day 1

2011-09-08T09:37:00.005-05:00

Early Tuesday morning, we hit the road and got to the Outer Banks in about an hour and a half. Best drive ever followed by some of the worst traffic ever. But all ended well. We were unpacked in the house by noon. Then off to the beach we went!
This year we bought more boogie boards. Madi was a sport and tried it. Although, she had a good time, it is not her thing. She much preferred to build sand castles.
Emilie, however LOVED boogie boarding. She went out everyday to do it! She was getting pretty good at it and was virtually fearless. I think it really helped that her second cousin was right by her side doing it. I also appreciated my uncle who was in the water right next to them coaching them on how to catch the big waves.
Here is a view from our house to the beach. We just walked over that sand dune and we were there. We also lucked out because the house across the street and to the left was empty so we took advantage and used their wooden path to the beach often. It was a great location!The first night ended with us all gorging ourselves on fondue. A delicious desert to end the night!

Boardwalk

2011-09-04T13:58:00.007-05:00

Due to hurricane Irene, we could not go to the Outer Banks in NC as planned. We were postponed due to impassable roads. So instead, everyone came to stay at our house! I was so excited to have visitors!
So we headed down to the beach to walk the boardwalk.

The kids were so excited to get on the beach! They barely stayed still long enough for me to snap this picture.

Me and my aunt Diana.
The kids were so excited to go to the beach! I think that our kids were especially happy when they realized that this is where we live-with the beach only 15 minutes away! However, they were also a bit disappointed because our plans were to just walk the boardwalk and not go swimming. But we did let them play for a while before we headed off.
Madison really loved my uncle Ernie! She would walk and grab his hand.
She would also snuggle right up to him!
After lunch, my mom found a temporary tattoo artist. Emi and Timmy were game. Em got this awesome dragon! I have to admit thought that it was startling to see this big dragon on her ankle-kept forgetting it was just paint!
While Timmy got an angry bird. I was surprised that they lasted as long as they did.

We had a great time on the boardwalk. Makes me excited to take the kids back now that we live here!

Earthquake and a Hurricane

2011-09-04T13:49:00.002-05:00

We have been welcomed to Virginia Beach with a bang! First, we felt an earthquake. More to the truth, Emi and Madi felt the hurricane. Timmy and I were outside at the pond feeding the ducks and never noticed a thing. Terry was out shopping for his elliptical and did not notice anything. The girls, however, were playing the Wii and thought it was really strange that the whole house seemed to shake. Luckily, they were not frightened-more curious. I did not even know an earthquake hit until I checked my facebook account!

We have also had our good delivered from storage. Only one more delivery to go and then we are done! Although nearly everything is unpacked, nothing is decorated yet. Have been putting that off but now that school is starting next week, I may get on that. Terry can help me as he now has the next month off!

Next, hurricane Irene headed our way. Was really looking like a nasty storm headed directly for us! So we packed up and went to stay with my parents. Unfortunately, many others decided to evacuate with us. It took us six hours to get to my parents house-double what it would have taken normally! But it was so worth it! My aunt and uncle from Arizona arrived along with their daughter. It felt like a huge holiday gathering-even Celie and Scott came over! I loved it!

I also got to go birthday shopping and it was so much fun! My mom, sister, aunt, and Madi had a day out. I wanted clothes for my birthday because I'm ready to get out of this t-shirt that I am always wearing. So off we went! It was great. They picked out all of the clothes and I just tried them on. Then I would model and they would give the verdict. Best way to shop ever! We were fast and efficent and I came home with practically a whole new wardrobe! I'm so excited to wear them!

So after our fun filled weekend at my mom's house, we returned to our house to find that the hurricane left our house virtually untouched. We still had power and nothing was damaged. Besides a LOT of sticks in our yard, we were largely unscathed!

The move

2011-08-21T18:10:00.003-05:00

Terry successfully joined us on Saturday. It was a long drive full of traffic for me but I picked him up and drove him to my parents' house. The kids were very happy to have daddy home! Lots of cuddles and playing ensued. Terry was also introduced to Plants vs. Zombies and has a new addiction!

Sunday evening, Scott, Celie, and Jennette came over for my birthday dinner. We had a really nice evening. Great food (made by me:) was had and it was a great night. I felt very special!

The next day, my birthday no less, Terry and I drove to Baltimore to pick up our van. It was a really easy process. Timmy was especially thrilled with the van. I think a piece of his torn up world was back in order. He now often asks why we aren't driving that car! I also had a meeting about beginning a window covering business. I'm going to have a go at making my own and if it looks good and I enjoy it, I may just jump in with both feet. Apparently it is a great stay at home job, can pay well, and is easy to do. I'll keep you all posted! That night, Terry and I were able to go out on a date with our great friends Andrew and Jill. We went golfing and it was so much fun! We hadn't done it in so long and it was lovely. A great way to spend my birthday night!

Then the big move. We packed everything up and drove to our new house. Went grocery shopping which was a whopping $650! But the first one is always big. To be honest, I'm in a bit of sticker shock. I was sure that things would be cheaper here in the US. But really, they are not. Very disappointing. That night Terry's brother Tom and his wife Jen came over and we had a great time visiting! So nice to have family super close!

Our movers have also been. We made them open all of the boxes again. Really forces you to get in there and get it done. Nearly everything is done. Not decorated but at least there is a spot for it. I think that we need to buy some furniture to really finish it off! Now to get Terry on the same level:)

We also went to church today. The ward was considerably smaller than what we are used to. However, the building was so much bigger. I almost felt uncomfortable with so much space. Our pew was immense! And there was so much parking! It was incredible. I did not find that the people were overly friendly on our first visit. For instance, I sat all by myself in Relief Society and no one spoke to me. But I'm not giving up. It takes a while to make friends. Sadly enough, we did know one man in the ward. When we moved to VA Beach 8 years ago, we went to the wrong ward and met this couple. It was great seeing him again! Sadly, his wife that we knew was killed in a car accident two years ago. Really shocking. I remember watching conference with them and being at her baby shower. So sad. But maybe we can renew the friendship with the man and his new wife.

So that is where we are at. A lot going on. But we are still alive and kicking! And now that we have the Wii working, we have happy kids. Here they were before we left for church today. I must add that I didn't like this room so now it only contains the piano. It is a work in progress!

Reunion

2011-08-21T17:57:00.005-05:00

I have loved being back in Northern VA and being able to see so many good friends. Jill hosted a lunch at her house where we were able to visit with Rachael who recently moved back from Japan, and with Chanda who was visiting the states from Zambia. It was wonderful!
The kids all played so well together. I was happy to see that they were as excited as I was to see my friends!
I have often found it funny that boxes are the best toys. Really, why do we spend money on anything else?

All of the kids together. I was really taken with just how sweet Caleb was-just adorable! And I loved seeing how big Ruby and Maeve were! So fun to see the kids!

But the best part were my friends! I love that we can not see each other for YEARS and then pick up right where we left off.

And one more for fun! I love these ladies! Such a shame that we only get together every few years. But at least we all make the effort when we are near each other. I had such a good time visiting with them!

Coconut

2011-08-21T17:36:00.006-05:00

The kids have been curious for some time now about coconuts. So we bought one for fun one night. My dad cracked it for us.
We then all tasted the milk-not so great. None of us liked it but at least we all tried it!
Next, we scraped out some of the meat. Again, not tasty. Em said that she prefers the coconut that we buy. I told her that she likes it better because it is sweetened:)

And then my dad provided the entertainment for all. A fun and educational project!

Wicked

2011-08-13T07:46:00.004-05:00

My mother bought tickets to go see Wicked with my dad. However, my dad was not keen on going so my mother generously gave the tickets to me for a date with Emilie. It was so special to be able to take her to a Broadway play! We got all dressed up (which she really did not want to do) and we headed into DC.

From the minute we entered the Kennedy Center, Em was mesmerized. There was a dragon above the stage which she adored (as she is somewhat obsessed with dragons). She was nervous when the play began as she thought it would be too loud but after a few minutes, she was fine. And she had so many questions! How did they make the colors on the stage change, how did they make the smoke, were there microphones and if so where? She had loads of questions. And she was so observant. At one point there is a group number and in the background is a shadow of Alpheba on the wall that I had never noticed but she did! Eventually, she did crawl in my lap and we cuddled for the entire second half of the play. I was worried that the people behind us would mind but they were so gracious and said that kids are only little once and for me to enjoy it-so sweet! Emi was really amazed by the entire play. She loved Glinda and has since frequently recreated some of her more ditzy moments for her brother and sister. Em loved the play and was surprised to find that it was 10:30 when it ended! We didn't get home till just before midnight and Em held up so well. Such a special occasion to share with her! A lovely night with my little girl!

Chuck E Cheese

2011-08-08T20:56:00.005-05:00

The first Monday we were back, we headed down to Chuck E. Cheese to meet up with some old friends. My kids were ecstatic to be there and it was so much fun to reunite and see how big the kids had gotten!
Madi and Jordan instantly bonded!
Which was fantastic, because Emi and Lizzie got along so well! Timmy loved being with Spencer as well! It was so nice to see the kids getting on after such a long time apart! And their mothers and I did not miss a beat!
The girls getting crazy!
It was so nice to be around everyone again. And it felt so normal! Since then, we have had swimming playdates, gone to the movies, out to lunch, and hung out at each other's houses. It has been so nice to have instant friends and activities to do while we are waiting to move down to VA Beach. We have loved being with our friends!

Family

2011-08-08T20:54:00.002-05:00

We have been enjoying our time with family! After our pretty perfect flight, we quickly got comfortable at my parents house.
My dad and I spent a full day and a half car shopping and found a great van for a fantastic deal! It is behind my dad-a 2011 Chysler Town and Country-our very first new car ever! Still getting used to all of the bells and whistles but I'm still pretty happy with it! And Timmy loves motorcycles, so my dad pulled his out and let Timmy hop on board which he loved! I have really loved seeing my dad interact with the kids-he's played a lot of pool with them, swam with them, and generally taken a keen interest in his grandkids-it is fabulous!
We've also spent a lot of time swimming. I think the first few days we were here, we were in the pool everyday! Here the kids are taking a dip in the hot tub in the back yard. Before we left for England-Madi and Timmy could barely touch and now they are all so big!

We also got to have dinner with Ce's boyfriend, Scott. My first impression was that he was an adult. Cele cannot push him around and better yet she really respects him. And even though I had just met him, he fit in with our family as if he had always been there. Needless to say, I really liked him. During dinner, Em asked me if they were getting married so we asked. My mother then chimed in that yes, in fact we'd all like to know the answer. They did look uncomfortable but in all honesty, Ce has already told us that they have discussed it so we didn't feel that badly. Em later followed up by saying that she would really like to be a bridesmaid in a wedding. So cute! I then added that it would be really convenient for me if they did it in the next two years as we will be living nearby. I have to admit that it was really fun to tease Cele like that! Such joys of being an older sister! But in all seriousness, Scott really does seem to make her happy-we shall see what the future brings!

Bon Voyage!

2011-08-08T20:46:00.006-05:00

The Saturday after school ended, we threw ourselves a going away party at the Brampton Memorial Centre. It was a perfect location-a big room for adults to socialize and a great playground and football field to entertain the kids!
Emi and her friends being crazy!
Em with her very best friends: Erin, Elsa, Marissa, and Abby. She is really going to miss these girls!
Madi with her friend Amy-I love her sassy pose!
Madi with Cerys and Megan admiring her gifts. My kids loved having the party and playing with their friends for three hours really unattended. I only intermittedly checked on the kids and they had a blast!
We love Megan-she is just the sweetest, most wonderful little girl. I really hope that we will see her again!
Timmy hanging out with his boys: McCauley, Ryan, and Brady.
Here is a photo of most of the preschool friends: Michael, Ali, Annie, Laura, and McCauley!
We had invited both of the girls classes, Timmy's class, as well as the entire ward. Have to admit that I was really disappointed at the lack of attendance from the ward. Very few people came but those that did were truly wonderful friends. Like Donna, my neighborhood buddy! I am going to miss her!
Katrina, Megan's mom, and Helen, my neighbor, will also be greatly missed! I hope that I will get neighbors as good as these women in my new house!
My Katy. I adore this woman. She has definitely made it into my cherished inner circle! And as usual, although the party was a joint farewell for Robin's family as well as our own, I do not have any pictures of us together! Robin is also a keeper! This party was so much fun-we all felt that three hours just flew by. We continued it with pizza afterwards with Donna and her kids followed by a fun Bunco with my ladies' group. Such a fun day!

Timmy Sports Day

2011-08-08T20:11:00.005-05:00

Timmy last day of school was his sports day. He had been so excited about it! When they practiced, he would always tell me who had won which race. In the races that mattered, Timmy seemed to always win:)
There was a sack race, egg and spoon race where Timmy was dead last-he really wanted to make sure that he did not drop his egg and went really slow, the running race where he was first, and the dress up relay race. On all of the team races, Timmy was always with the girls-I think because he was one of the faster ones and would be balanced that way. I was very happy to see that although his team lost all of the team races, he was still a great sport!
Here is Timmy with his teachers Sharon, Donna, and Lindsay. They have been the most fabulous teachers ever! A great introduction to preschool. Timmy's new teachers have some pretty big shoes to fill!
Here is Timmy with his buddies from school: Laura, Carson, and Ruby!
I thought that it was really cute that they did the races in two heats of littleys and biggies. At the end of the day all of the biggies got a ribbon because they were graduating to reception (except Timmy who has another year of preschool).
And of course the happy daddy-son picture! I love my boys!

Last Day of School

2011-08-08T19:27:00.013-05:00

On the last day of school, Emilie took a camera with her to school. She took almost 200 pictures! Em got all of her favorite hiding places on the fields, her friends, basically her memories. Super, super cute!Em took loads of pictures of Madi with her friends as well. My kids are not in uniform because I had given them all away by this point. But it makes it easier to find them!I loved that she got pictures of the lunch room. I bet it will look much different in the states. They had super fresh ingredients at this school and I loved their school dinners. At the school, they all had house teams named after trees: birch, beech, ash, and willow. My girls were in willow. Each of the trees were planted on the field. Also, pictured above are the hiding places that Em would use at break times as well as a hoverfly which they loved to catch.Here is Em with many of her friends. Her two best friends, Elsa and Abby are in the top left corner as well as the bottom right. We had many play dates with them and they will be terribly missed by Emi.Em in her class on the last day of school. Mostly, they watched movies and did artwork. I was really grateful that they were so accommodating with Em and her camera.
They all went outside to take pictures of the class. Em and Madi were really nurtured by this school and learned loads at this school. I am really hoping that the next school will do as well!

The end

2011-07-28T05:07:00.003-05:00

Getting tickets out of England was a mess. Terry went in the Monday after he returned from Turkey to sort them out. Only to learn that the woman working his travel had never received the paperwork for me and the kids to leave. She said that she would do her best to get us to DC the following week but that it would be difficult. Then she left it as she would stay in touch. After not hearing anything, Terry went back in on Friday to get our tickets for Monday. However, no one was in. The woman working our case had left for the afternoon and everyone in Rota was gone by the time Terry got a phone number. So he left and we had no idea when we would be leaving. Monday morning came and we learned that we could fly Wednesday to Philidelphia and then on to Norfolk. Not so convenient considering we were planning on staying with my parents in DC for two weeks. Thankfully, my mother agreed to pick us up in Phili so it was then all sorted.

The wonderful thing about being two days later than planned was that I was able to spend more time with my very dear friends. Robin, who was also moving at the same time, needed some help with her daughter. I was really happy to oblige because firstly, the kids get along great, and secondly, I would get to see her again. I porbably have not mentioned it enough but Robin was my co-parent. Her husband is also deployed and we have done everything together for the last six months. In fact, when Terry returned I was worried about leaving Robin alone! So we just included her in our family events-because that is what she is -family. And Terry was so wonderful about just letting her join right in. I picked the best husband and have the greatest friends!

I also got to have extra time with my super fantastic, amazing friend Katy who I adore. I was putting it off as long as I could. You know, making time to be together but then having another date just so we would not have to say good-bye. We had such a great dinner and afternoon play with her the night before we left. It was so normal and yet us moving was just lingering there along the edges. I didn't want to leave her. Still am sort of in shock that I did.

With all of my adventures and movings, I have always accepted it as ineveitable. But this really was the first time that I would have liked to have stayed where I was. I loved our house, my friends, our lives there. I think I am still in denial that we have left them. I feel like I'm on holiday visiting my family and will be returning in a few weeks time. At least, I do have great taste in friends. These women are keepers. I will see them again. Funny, but when I left VA three years ago, I made a promise that I would go on a cruise with them in 2015. Maybe I need to make these promises every place that we move from so that I'm garanteed to see them again! Sounds like a pretty good idea to me!

Nearly there

2011-07-20T04:22:00.002-05:00

Last night was our last night in our house. It has been a fabulous place to live and I am going to miss it. In fact, this was the first single family home that we have lived in. The first neighborhood where our children have gone to school. The first place where I let the kids go play at the neighbor's house without me with them. Where we have given up all diapers, pacifiers, and baby items. This was a good house.

Tonight we move into the hotel on the base. I have everything packed and ready to go and as usual I'm just waiting. Tomorrow, the last of our things will be packed to ship to the States and our temporary furniture will be taken away. All that will be left to do it clean.

It is so hard to believe that three years have gone by since we came to England. They flew by in the blink of an eye. We will miss England. We will miss all of our international travels. We will miss all of our British friends who we may not see for a very long time. I will miss the weather! I am not looking forward to the heat and humidity that is awaiting us. This has been an absolutely incredible experience and it is sad that it is coming to an end.

At the same time, we are excited to be moving nearer to family. We will be so close to Terry's brother as well as my parents and sister. We will get to have family gatherings at holidays again! We will have the beach minutes away. We will have all of the conveniences that come with living back in the United States. However, it is always bittersweet to move but our time has come again to jump off into another adventure.

Cheers England! You have been brillant to us!

Emi's camera skills

2011-07-19T13:06:00.004-05:00

When Em snags the camera, she does the most random things. Here is her latest creation. I should point out that it was actually clean laundry.

Table soccer

2011-07-19T13:06:00.002-05:00

When you have nothing else to do in the house-we play table soccer! We had loads of competitions: boys vs. girls, kids vs. parents, one on ones. It was great fun!

Emi's piano concert 2011

2011-07-19T13:05:00.003-05:00

Emi learned her music really quickly for her piano concert. As a result, she learned both of the pieces to Harry Potter but only performed the first. She did a fantastic job!

Madi's piano concert

2011-07-19T13:05:00.002-05:00

Madi worked so hard on her piano piece. And she performed so well! We are very, very proud of her!

Daddys home!

2011-07-16T05:46:00.003-05:00

Last night the kids and I went down to Heathrow to pick up Terry! I was afraid of traffic so we left in order to be right on time. Which we were. However, we ended up having to wait for an hour and a half for him to come out! The kids were getting rather impatient and just when I thought they would burst, out he came. The kids ran so fast to get to him and clobbered him with huge hugs. I was really regretting not bringing my camera at that very moment but I will always remember.
This morning we all got up about the same time and again covered daddy with kisses and hugs. It seems almost surreal that he is here! We are LOVING it! And today is also his birthday. As we had no wrapping paper, the kids made their own and we gave him his presents.

My mother bought Terry a Liverpool jersey which he immediately put on. Timmy then ran and got his matching kit as well! I love my boys!

Post presents with all of the kids! They have been so excited to be near him. Cuddling, loving, playing. Later today we are headed to the cinema to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 and out to dinner. Tomorrow we will have a special birthday dinner with some friends and continue to celebrate his return! Life is so good!!!

New house!

2011-07-09T14:55:00.002-05:00

I am really excited because we found where we will be living when we move! This is the house! It has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and is just under 2700 square feet. I love the layout and the feel (at least by pictures) of the house. It is the first house on a cul-de-sac of 11 houses so the kids can ride their bikes relatively safely down the street. Six of the neighbors have pools in their back yards. There is also a pool in the neighborhood that has a swim team! I'm really excited for that! Across the street (left of picture) is a soccer field and a pond where people were seen to be fishing:) The neighborhood also has two parks on either side of it-as in big woodland parks hopefully with playgrounds. And from what I've found about the school, it had good test scores and is just over a mile away so we may be able to ride our bikes there! All in all, we're super happy with it! And would love to have visitors! Did I mention it is only around 20 minutes to the beach?

London

2011-07-06T07:10:00.007-05:00

Robin and I found out about an event in Grosvener Park where an unveiling of a new Ronald Reagan statue was being erected. We excitedly got tickets and planned to go. Condi Rice would be there as well as the American Ambassador (the park is right in front of the US embassy), as well as some very well placed British digintaries.
We got the tickets and then saw how early we needed to be there and combined with how expensive the train tickets were during peak times, we opted to show up late. After all a 4th of July celebration was to take place. Well, when we got there, the only celebration was a teeny, tiny bag of Jelly Bellies. Needless to say, the kids were not at all impressed with going to see a statue! But I did get a picture with Robin! We have toured all over Europe and the UK and only have maybe two pictures of us together so this was a treat!

I also got to meet up with my high school friend, Hannah, who is staying in London for a few months. It was so great to see her and catch up! It would have been much better if Timmy was in a better mood. To say it bluntly, he was a pain all day.

We went to the Natural History museum and looked at all sorts of displays, had lunch, and wandered around. The entire time, Timmy was whiny, clingy, and on the verge of a tantrum saying that he wanted to go home. Madi and Lauren fed off of him and together, it was very hard to keep a good attitude. Timmy relented for a few minutes, however, when I let him take a picture of us!

And when he could jump around like a madman as well.

I love the building that houses the museum. Absoutely stunning! But soon after these happy shots of Timmy, Hannah left, and then Robin and I decided we were going to take the early train home. The kids were just being too awful. But then Emi got tears in her eyes and was clearly trying not to cry, trying convince us to go to the Science museum. She promised that she would watch over Timmy so that we could. Emilie broke my heart. So we trudged to the Science museum which was next door. To be honest, I was not looking forward to fighting with Timmy through another museum.

Emi post cry but hopeful on the way to the Science museum.

And then our luck changed. After walking through the medical instruments and history (where Em was in heaven), we went to the basement and found an interactive are for young children. They had water tables, sound experiements, building blocks, you name it. Madi, Timmy, and Lauren were in heaven!

Since the young ones were happy, Emilie and I slipped away and explored the museum. She absolutely loved it! And I was really glad that we could be alone together if only for a little while. After spending a couple of pleasant hours in the museum, we decided to eat at a little Italian restaurant where surprisingly, the kids behaved. They were even really good on the super hot, extremely crowded tube ride back to King's Cross. So for a day that began so horribly, we ended well with very tired kiddos. But I was glad that we got to go to London one last time and on the 4th of July no less!

4th of July

2011-07-05T09:40:00.007-05:00

Last Friday night, my kids spent the night with the Lines' family which gave me an entire night and day without my kids. So I had a lovely dinner out with some very special women. Had a really fantastic time. However, I have to admit that I felt kind of lost on Saturday without the kids. I had no more books at home and not TV-even facebook could not entertain me all day.
Finally, I met my kids at the base for the 4th of July celebration!

Timmy rode the teacups and they all jumped on the enormous trampolines.

We played the jousting game. All of us winning at least one round. Timmy absolutely loved this!

I fought Madi and was worried about dominating her. I needn't have been. In the second round, she hit me full on in the face that sent me flying! Unfortunately for her, I dodged her first shot in the last round and she lost her balance and fell. It was great fun though!

Twister was Em's favorite ride!

I thought when Timmy was riding this that he was going to fall right out. Thank goodness he hung on!
Timmy's favorite by far was this slide. He would take four or five bounces at the top, then fall off the side and land 2/3rds of the way down! He was crazy and a bit scary for me! But he LOVED it!

As it got darker, it also got colder. I learned from last year and brought jumpers and blankets for everyone. We even ended up buying hot chocolate as well! I am going to miss our freezing fourth of July fireworks!

We had a fantastic time! We didn't get home till 11:30 as the fireworks didn't even start until it was dark about 10:45. I let the kids sleep in and the girls didn't even wake up until ten! They really needed to catch up on their sleep so it was a good choice. Overall, we had a fabulous celebration!

Gatherings

2011-07-05T09:36:00.003-05:00

I feel like time has completely run away from me. Since the movers came on the 13th of last month, I have been so busy, it has become insane! I have now completed the big project of painting the entire house. And it looks so much nicer! I am very hopeful that we will be getting back most, if not all, or our security deposit. Tomorrow I have our pre-inspection inspection to see. Today I also dropped off our van to be shipped. So right now, I have no car. But I will be getting a rental tomorrow. The kids' school work has suffered as I have not bothered with it in ages. I figure that they only have three weeks left-let them rest!
I did also manage to get to my monthly book club. I've only been able to get to two meetings since Terry was deployed with last week's being my second so it was a real treat. They surprised me with a little going away which was really lovely. The ladies gave me a great book on the history of Huntingdonshire and all signed it just as if it were a yearbook! They were so thoughtful. I am really going to miss all of them greatly.

I was also able to go to Em's class assembly. They have been studying Greek mythology so they put on a play about Perseus and his quest to slay Medusa. Can you guess who played Medusa? Emi always seems to play the bad guys! But she does a great job. I was really happy to see her let loose and get into it. A very proud mommy moment!

Brighton

2011-07-03T05:51:00.008-05:00

On the 25th, we headed to Brighton almost directly south of London on the seaside. We had a great deal on train tickets-eleven pounds for ten of us to go and return! The down side was that it was basically an hour drive to the train station and then a three hour train ride. So eight hours of travel for about six hours there. But when traveling with friends, it is always fun!
First thing was the sea life center. It was small but had a walk through aquarium which is always fun. Next, we headed to the beach which was all rocks and pebbles. Seeing that it was supposed to be twenty degrees, we went with sandals and shorts. Man, were we sorry! It was FREEZING and wet. But we made the most if anyhow. Timmy had a great time throwing rocks in the water.

The girls in the water. Can you see it was cold by Madi's reaction? There was even an old man crazy enough to go bathing in the water!

After the beach, we headed indoors to a really great Italian lunch. Being a bit warmer, we headed to the boardwalk to see the games. We found these gerbil ball things and the kids had a go. It was a lot of fun to watch them! As they were running inside, they got so hot that they took off their jumpers only to have them keep falling on their faces. I was glad that they warmed up as it was pretty chilly.

It seemed that as soon as one of the kids got up on their feet, the other would fall down. I could never get a shot with all of them standing up at one time. But it sure was entertaining to watch!

I had told the kids that they only got one ride and then Timmy found games with a Toad for a prize! But he was so good, just ran over and asked that I take his picture with him! Such a cutie!

The entire seaside was really dated. In fact, all of the beaches and coasts that we have been to look like they have not been updated since Victorian times. Sometimes that adds to their charm but in others, like Brighton it just looked tacky.

There was a nice long pier and we headed there. We found a casino with loads of gambling games for adults as well as kids. There were also rides at the end but since we had already spent our ride money, we had a stop for an ice cream for the kids and a hot chocolate for me!

Happy kids! After checking out the pier, we headed into the city itself and explored the Lanes a bit. They were really quaint little streets with cute shops and secluded restaurants. Really picturesque. And then we met up with our friends again and headed home. Overall, I was glad to have an outing but was not overly impressed with Brighton.

Forts

2011-06-19T09:37:00.003-05:00

The movers came and went. Took them two very long days but our house is now empty save for temporary furniture and clothes. We do have some toys as well. Wouldn't be so bad if it hasn't been so darned cold! I have been freezing-have the heat on and the fireplace and I"m still sleeping with a sweatshirt. So I caved and asked to borrow some blankets.
Immediately after church, the kids went to work with the blankets and some leftover boxes and began making forts. It was a great activity considering we no longer have a TV and we need to be creative.

We eventually had two rooms with a tunnel between. These pictures are pre-decoration as now the boxes are very colorful. The girls had a blast in them-even set up the computer and they watched a movie inside. I am just very grateful for people willing to help us!

Sleepovers

2011-06-19T09:04:00.004-05:00

The weekend before the movers came, we had two sleepovers. I really don't know what I was thinking! But we survived. This is the group from the first night. Emi had two friends and Madi had one. They were all really sweet and all went well. Until bedtime. Abby just would not go to sleep. So I finally removed her from Em's room and then she was terrible! Did not even get in bed until after 11pm, then woke me up at 3, 4, 4:20 she tried to wake up Emi and Elsa, I took her out again. At 4:40 I finally caved and let her back in the room only to hear her try to wake the other up again at 5am! I was beyond mad. What I should have done was called her parents. But I did not and they were up for good at six. But all of the others were angels but man I was so tired!

Luckily, the next night went much better. I know these kids better and warned them of the girl from the night before. So they all cooperated beautifully for me! We had an ice cream Sunday bar as we watched a movie.

Then we made a huge bed downstairs and they all slept here. Minus Timmy-he was too squished and left straightway. But the others all had a big sleepover. And thankfully, within 5 minutes of me telling them to sleep-they were all snoring logs! Loved that! The two sleepovers were a lot of work for me-especially right before the move but I'm glad I did it. The kids were really happy and that made it all worth it!

Miniaturk

2011-06-13T09:14:00.010-05:00

On our last day in Istanbul, we decided to do something for the kids. Really, when we were looking for kid friendly activites, hardly anything came up. Good thing our kids are used to being dragged to all of these historical sites! But we did find a place called Miniaturk-a park with miniatures of various sites from Turkey and some that belonged to the Ottoman empire but are currently outside of Turkey's borders. The kids LOVED this place!

Here we are overlooking the models. The kids were so excited that they barely wanted to stop for a picture!
Terry and the kids in front of Parliament which is in Ankara. We drove by this building many, many times during our stay.
There we are in front of the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, and Hagia Sofia. It was fun to hear the kids say-"Hey-we've been there!" They were so excited when they recognized something!
Blue Mosque and Hippodrome from a different angle.

Hagia Sofia and daddy.
I don't remember where this one was but I loved it. Wish we could have gone there!

Terry on the corner is in front of Cappadochia. He went there about two months ago with friends and saw these really fun rock formations. And his hotel was in a cave! The kids were also playing at being Godzilla and destroying the city. Madi also by the cisterns which we visited.
Terry was overjoyed to see this stadium. It is the same one where Liverpool played and won The Champions League a few years back. See how happy he is!

We had a nice lunch and then made our way to the playground. It would have been a lot nicer if it wasn't so darn hot. There was black asphalt all over and we were boiling. But it was a great way to release some energy before the drive back to Ankara. It was a good choice to go to Miniaturk on the last day. We left Istanbul with very happy kids:)

Evening

2011-06-13T08:40:00.000-05:00

After a really lovely dinner, walked by the Hippodrome one last time. It was so beautiful. About 7 at night and people were out all over just enjoying the atmosphere. We stopped to take a few photos. Me and my sweetie (who by the way just celebrated 11 years of marriage!).

The kids had a good time playing with the dogs on the lawn. Sometimes they are a bit too fearless. For instance, unbeknownst to me, Emi was chewing on a balloon she found on the ground. Lovely. But she is still alive so not to worry that she was poisoned:) We LOVED Istanbul! Wonderful people. Amazing history. I would go back to Turkey in a heartbeat!

Topkapi Palace

2011-06-13T07:45:00.010-05:00

We went to the Topkapi Palace which was built in 1478 by Mehmed II. This place was enormous at 80,000 square meters and is only a fraction of the original 700,000 square meters size.

Before going in, we let all of the kids have a go at taking a family picture. I thought Timmy's was the best (minus Em) so here it is. Behind us is the Gate of Dynasty leading into the palace.
Once you entered the courtyard, there was a huge green space with buildings off to the sides. I really wanted to go to the Harem so that is where we headed first. Behind Terry is a corner of the harem.
The harem is where the Sultan and his family lived. It consisted of three main areas. When you entered there was a huge hallway that kind of reminded me of a prison walk because many women were brought there for the harem and then did not leave. Above right was the concubines courtyard. It was the smallest and least ornate of all of them. I did love the detail in the tile work throughout the living quarters-beautiful.
Timmy posing just before we entered inot the concubines hallway. I was surprised that the entire place was really bare. The only rooms with any type of luxury was the Sultans room-the only room with a bed, and the heir apparent rooms which had pillows, carpet, and drapes. Otherwise, the rooms were bare.

The mother of the Sultan also held a very revered status in the household-more so than the Sultan's wife. She had her own rooms and servants.
Terry and Timmy are outside of the heirs room which overlook the largest courtyard. Also, over the ledge is a pool. It was empty but in the times of the sultans was full of water.

Once we left the harem, we wandered around the grounds. They were beautifully manicured and again the architecture was really intricate. I wished that I had taken more pictures of it. However, after we did the harem the kids were not really interested in going into the other museums on the grounds. We did go in to another building that housed religius relics such as the tooth and beard of the prophet Muhammad as well as his sword, his bow, and an autographed letter of his. These rooms were so packed full of people that you could barely move let alone get close to the glass where these items were. But the Muslims were craning their necks and pushing to see them. I have to admit that I was pretty ignorant of Muhammad's history and didn't really care but Terry was in awe. After pushing our way through the building, we let the kids play on the grass with some Turkish kids of an hour or two. We caught snails and basically lounged around on the grass-it was wonderful.
Upon leaving, we grabbed one more shot of the Blue Mosque. I really enjoyed being in an Ottoman Empire's palace. It was so different from all of these European castles that we have visited. They were much more colorful and open with beautiful courtyards.

Gulhane Park

2011-06-13T07:30:00.002-05:00

After the Cisterns, we decided to let the kids run around at Gulhane Park. We were expecting to find playgrounds galore but only found a huge open green space. Still the kids did get to run around.
And climb on a statue of Ataturk. Even Terry got in on it! Actually, he went up there to keep an eye on the kids and make sure none fell off (just for you nana:).
Madi loved this fountain. She spent quite a bit of time sitting there watching the water or putting sticks or leaves in the water.
On the way out, we found shishis. We cannot resist them! We spent about an hour and a half in the park and it was a good energy release for the kids. A lovely place to spend the afternoon!

Basilica Cistern

2011-06-13T07:22:00.005-05:00

The Basilica Cisterns were recommended to us and I'm so glad that they were! They were absolutely amazing. Roman Emporer Justinian built them in the sixth century to bring water to Istanbul. They are still standing and still draw water to the city. In order to get to them, we had descend about three hundred stairs. It always amazes me just how much we build our modern cities above ancient ones.
Madi was wearing sandals and did not like getting her feet wet as there was water all over the floor and it was quite slippery. All of the kids liked the fish though!
Gorgeous! Pictures came out almost exactly how they looked in person. The space was immense-143 meters by 65 with 336 marble columns that were 9 meters tall. Huge!

There were two Medusa heads in the North corner. One was upside down and the other was on her side. Rumor has it that they were placed in order to protect it from evil.

Istanbul Streets

2011-06-13T05:12:00.007-05:00

Everywhere that we went, we found cats. At one point we began counting them and I think we hit something like 50 before we gave up. And of course the kids wanted to pet every single one of them. Lucky for us, they were mostly content to just watch.
There are also fountains all over Turkey. Free taps where people drink, wash hands, clean pets-you name it. We rinsed our hands but that was about it-we would not let the kids drink the water. But they liked posing with them!
Here is the fountain in front of Topkapi Palace. I loved just walking and taking pictures of the architecture. Although, I have not posted hardly any-Terry is a big fan of having people in his pictures:)

And here we are at another Mosque near Sirkeci Gari. The entire time that we were in Turkey, they were campaigning for their upcoming elections. In this square were tons of people trying to get you to support various candidates. They would blast this really loud Turkish music to lure you closer. I loved it!

Bazaars

2011-06-10T14:51:00.012-05:00

Next, we traveled to the Bazaars. Our first stop was a proper rug store. They brought us into this enormous room which benches along the sides, served us apple tea (which was like warm apple cider and delicious!), and then brought out loads of rugs for us to see. I so wanted to buy one but resisted- barely.
Then we walked down to the Grand Bazaar. Can you tell the girls were excited to go shopping? The Bazaar is 4,000 shops spread over 12 major buildings and has 44 gates. It was enormous! Here we are at the entrance. We go there just in time as it started to rain. Was a nice way to stay dry.

They had the most beautiful pottery. We bought a plate which I love-similar to these but much nicer. I could have spent some serious money there if I didn't have Terry there!
Both girls got jewelry. I so got taken. Paid ten Turkish Lira for a necklace that I later found for one. Oh well, the girls were happy. Timmy insisted on getting some Ray Ban sunglasses that were much too big for him. Oh well.
I loved these lamps!

Afterwards, we walked through the textile area. It was so crowded. Normal people were packed on the streets mixed with tourists. On two separate occasions I lost sight of Timmy and Madi and could not find them and they were only a foot away from me. I was really scared that we were going to lose our children in the streets. But we made it to the Spice Bazaar and decided to stop for some ice cream.

Timmy really enjoyed his!
Spices were lined up all over! It was tempting to reach in and buy some.

These were some desserts. Most of them are sweetened with fruit or honey-not sugar. Would explain why the Turkish are a slim people.

And the dried fruit was so good! And better than the real stuff as we all had a little stomach discomfort from the water in the food. Terry even warned us not to brush our teeth with the tap water-only bottled.

I am so glad that we saw the bazaars. Not only were they huge, but crammed full of people. And so many great photo opportunities!

Hagia Sofia

2011-06-07T14:48:00.015-05:00

The Hagia Sofia is just across a big garden from the Blue Mosque. Makes for a very large tourist area.

The Hagia Sofia was first a Christian church dedicated in 360AD. It was briefly Catholic in the 1200's and then in the 1400s, it became a mosque. Normally, when churches were converted from Christianity to Islam, all images were destroyed. However, the Hagia Sofia is unique because the images were merely covered. It was truly incredible to stand looking at a mosaic of the Virgin mother next to huge portraits of Islamic scriptures.

I loved the detail in the church.

We were still on the tour here, but the kids were not so interested. So Terry listened while I wandered and took pictures of the kids. It worked out well.

I loved the middle dome-gorgeous!

It was really large and quite dark. Made me really feel just how old it was.

Above this area was a huge picture of Mary holding a baby Jesus on her knee. At one time, it would have been a very reverent and holy building. Now it is just a museum.

This was the abolutions font-the largest in the world. I think Timmy and Madi hoped it was a large bathtub:)

I loved this mosaic as well. I found it interesting that the emporers wanted to be remembered at the church as well. The details on this were amazing but don't really come out well in the picture.

This fountain was outside of the Hagia Sofia. Apparently, it is quite famous. Wish that I would have gotten one of us in the picture but oh well. The Hagia Sofia was Terry's favorite place in Istanbul. He loved seeing all of the different religions meshing so beautifully in one building. It really was quite remarkable.

Blue Mosque

2011-06-04T12:08:00.012-05:00

Our first morning in Istanbul, we decided to take a tour. Best decision ever. We did not have to wait in line to get tickets and we had someone to explain to us what we were seeing. To be fair, Terry and I took turns listening while the other watched the kids but it was still fun.
First place we went was to the Hippodrome. It was first made in 325 AD by Septimus Severus and was a huge chariot race track. The stadiums could hold 100,000 spectators! At one point, it must have been massive. Now, only two of the obelisks remain. This one was actually taken from Egypt by the Romans and deposited here because Istanbul was once the capital of the Roman empire.
Here is a shot of the Blue Mosque, the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets and was built in 1617. It is known as the blue mosque because of the blue tiles in the interior.
This was the outer gate. I really enjoyed seeing the Islamic writing. Turkey is 99% Muslim and the Blue Mosque is still used for daily prayers. They close the mosque to visitors one hour prior to the prayers and then only the faithful are allowed to enter.
The kids enjoyed the outer courtyard!
The whole family as we waited to enter the mosque. At the door, you must remove your shoes. The women also were given shawls to cover arms and legs if they were bare. But our heads did not have to be covered.

Tim and Em right before we entered.

I found the mosque to be absolutely beautiful. The details in the tile was just gorgeous. I don't think that I took a picture, but the floors were all carpeted and there were not any chairs. All the space was open so that they could kneel during their prayers.

Candles came down from the ceiling. I thought it was just beautiful.

A pic of Timmy and me outside of the mosque. In Turkey, they have a call to prayer 5 times a day. It came from speakers on the minarets and they played a man singing in Islam. I found it quite calming and a very fitting way to call people to prayer. A lovely place to visit.

Istanbul

2011-06-04T11:37:00.004-05:00

Now, when I think of Turkey, I have always pictured rocky desert. I was completely wrong. Ankara has huge rolling hills -maybe small mountains is the better word. And between Ankara and Istabul, you have to drive through mountains. Lush, green, lake filled, beautiful scenery. Nothing at all how I pictured. Turkey was breathtakingly scenic. Just gorgeous!
Have I mentioned how crazy the drivers are in Turkey? Here was this guy on the highway selling water! And several were just crossing the street on the highway! I mean it seemed like they had a death wish! Besides the crazy driving, the kids did really well in a sedan for the 5 hour drive from Ankara to Istanbul. Minimal fighting which was such a relief to Terry and me!
When we finally made it to the hotel, we decided not to go into the city. Our hotel was near the airport and on the waterfront. It was perfect. I had chosen it because of the pool which were both conveniently closed for cleaning. Luckily, there were tons of playgrounds and we had a good time after all playing near the hotel.
This was our little cove directly behind our hotel. Water was cold and the beach was rocky but we did not mind in the least. Terry was teaching the kids how to skip rocks on the water.
Everyone in Turkey LOVED how fair Madi and Timmy were. People were constantly patting their heads as we walked on the streets. They also showered my kids with food: candy, half eaten bread donuts, pretzels, anything you can imagine. At first, we were very wary of these gifts but as it became apparent that this was just their culture we gave in and let the children take the gifts. On the beach a man gave the kids some pretzels which they devoured.
Emi of course has to find the most disgusting items to play with wherever we are. She found a floating door, seaweed, and some other interesting stuff.

Madi just liked getting wet!

Our hotel right behind the kids. We decided to eat at the very overpriced hotel restaurant because it was convenient. Food was ok but we ate on the outside deck and directly below us was a wedding. Timmy was so cute-he asked if it was Kate and William! Such a sweetie. We enjoyed the entertainment and then went up to our upgraded suites for bed. A nice, relaxing day!

Playing with daddy

2011-06-03T03:29:00.003-05:00

After a day exploring Ankara, we had a fun playtime with daddy!

I caught them wrestling and playing-basically having a ball!

Plenty of tickling and laughing.
And no time was complete without a lick war. They loved it!

Ankara zoo

2011-06-03T03:24:00.003-05:00

We went to the Ataturk zoo next. It was really fun. The kids haven't been to a zoo in a really long time so they were really excited about it. They loved the monkeys. Apparently, in zoos in Turkey, it is acceptable to feed the animals. So you can see the monkey above who has his hand sticking out and people would throw food at him. The kids loved watching them!

The kids loved playing in the shark's mouth as well. It worked out well as we had to wait for our lunch to cook. I must say that I loved Turkish food. The kebabs were absolutely delicious! They always had chicken, grilled tomatoes, and something like a jalepeno pepper which was sometimes super hot and other times very mild. I learned just not to eat them. And their rice was wonderful-very different from any other rice I've ever had-a perfect consistency. Additionally, they have the best salad dressing I've ever had and that is saying something as I normally don't even use any. It was pomegranite juice. I was lucky enough to get some in the airport on the way home!

We loved these white peacocks as well. They were quite aggressive-vibrating at all of the other peacocks and peahens as they approached. Very entertaining to watch. As we were watching them, we were accosted by a group of twenty middle school kids. Seriously, they heard us speaking English and surrounded us peppering us with questions such as where were we from, what were our names, and telling the children how beautiful they were. These kids offered to take us to the tigers and followed us for quite a while. It was flattering and frightening at the same time.

Ataturk Mausoleum

2011-06-03T02:58:00.007-05:00

After meeting up with Sandy, she took us via taxi to Ataturk's Mausoleum. I should state here that Turkish drivers are insane! Often, there are no lane markings so people weave in and out of traffic at will. I swear that you pass with mere inches to spare. In fact, it is considered nothing if you hit side mirrors while driving-you don't even stop. What's more body work is ten times less expensive in Turkey due to the high number of accidents. They were insane drivers!

Ataturk founded the modern country of Turkey at the end of WWI. He is revered all over the country. Statues, busts, pictures of him are everywhere. It was almost cultish.

Here are the girls with Sandy. She was the most sincere, sweet, lovely lady. I felt privilidged to spend the day with her. Such a kind soul.

This mausoluem was enormous. It had to be huge in order to really remember him properly-they idolize him.

Emi really liked this hieroglyphics wall.

This is the building that actually houses Ataturk's grave. Everyday, a group of children or similar chosen person, will reverently place a wreath of flowers on the grave.

Here are the girls in front of his grave.

Can you see just how huge this place was?

There was also a lion decorated walk leading to two gazebos overlooking the city. By this time the kids were hungry and the sun had also come out so they were complaining that it was too bright.
We walked to the end where they found a bit of shade and then we grabbed a taxi to our next more kid friendly stop-the Ankara zoo.

Genclik

2011-06-03T02:00:00.001-05:00

Terry had to work on the Thursday, so he gave us directions to meet Sandy and Doard Pederson, the senior missionaries who run the branch in Ankara. On the way, we found this park and had to stop and play a bit.
In fact, we returned to this park later in the day. They loved the merry-go-round. I think they spent over an hour on it!

They also had a huge playground here and swings. I loved that it was shaded as it turned out to be a pretty warm day.

They also had a nice little lake complete with fountains. I think at one point the kids got so hot, they wanted to jump in it!

But there were birds all over and it would not have been all that clean.

The park was also teaming with pigeons. I never did get a picture with all of the pigeons. I think at one point there must have been at least one hundred. The scene above was typical. Madi would sit very nicely trying to pet a pigeon while Emi would try to scatter them.

The Turks do not believe in throwing bread away. So loads of people would come to the park and drop their bread for the birds. Many shared with the kids and it was a lot of fun.

I enjoyed sitting and people watching at the park. The only negative about the park was that everyone smoked. It was really sad to be outside at a beautiful park and not feel like you can get a fresh breath of air. In fact, it was a trend everywhere we went. Even when eating. The law does not let anyone smoke in a restaurant but they can smoke in outdoor seating which just permeates indoors. So nasty!

Flight

2011-05-26T12:59:00.003-05:00

We left on our flight without any problems. The kids were angels and behaved very well during the flight. It was not until near the end that they started to get antsy and I did not have a watch to see what the time was. But just as they asked, the pilot announced our descent! Hooray! The kids were so excited to get off of the plane and find daddy! So we headed to the immigration counter, only to be directed to the side to buy a Visa. Terry had not told us about it and I was really worried thinking that we would be denied entry until I realized it was just a tax that we paid in the airport. But they only took cash and I did not have any. In addition, the ATM was OUTSIDE of the customs and immigration. That was a problem. Luckily, a Briton took us under his wing and got me permission to get outside to get money.

The bad side was when we did see Terry I was not very pleased. I didn't say hello or nice to see you, I asked where the ATM was. Got the money and swept the kids back into the airport. But when we reemerged the second time, it was a happy reunion! Everyone was very excited to see Terry and kept hugging and kissing him. It was really lovely to see!