Wow.....long time no post

Yikes! Apparently, it has been 3 months since I last posted! How to catch up?? Well....I'll just start where we are. 9 years of wedded bliss today! :) We're celebrating by not celebrating. We have a house guest. But we have the promise of friends staying with our kids overnight one night in the coming weeks such that we can go out on the town. We anxiously anticipate our night away.

Here's what the kids are saying....

Lu's top two phrases:
"I want to ____________ all by MYSELF"
and "I don't want to _____________ ANYMORE"

The filled-in-blanks range from totally understandable to completely ridiculous. I will have to write down the next one so I can report it.

Moo, on his first week of official summer vacation...
"Today is a stay at home day? Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!"
"When will (such and such) happen?" (Mom replies, "tomorrow") Moo: "You mean the next day? Okay"
"Lydia can't sing happy birthday to dad because it has to snow first and be my birthday!"


M:   "Lydia, do you remember when you hadn't popped out of Mom yet?"
L:     "Yep. We went to the park."

We are going to the park or beach nightly to cool off from our hot summer days which are currently in the 80s. I'll post photos when I can find them. :)

Happy July all!

Emergency!!!

Well, an unexpected twist arrived to our Saturday when our biggest monkey slipped while jumping on the couch....he fell off and bumped his head...wide open on the coffee table!! He was a super-trooper though! He cried at first, but stopped as Mom prayed....and then never cried again (about this particular accident). Upon discovering our taxi stand was devoid of taxis, Dad walked Moo out to the main road, caught a mini-bus to the nearest hospital (about a 5-10 minute ride depending on traffic) and stepped right into the ER. While the doctor worked, Moo & Dad told stories under his "surgery-tent" and then headed back home via mini-bus. He walked in the front door as happy as could be, as if his momma's heart had not stopped beating 2 hours earlier. So here he is, with his "happy mac-n-cheese home from the hospital" meal...ready for Easter the next day.

St. Patrick's Day

Another fun day of our favorite green holiday - Moo talks about green milk all year long in anticipation.

We started the day with our traditional breakfast: green milk and green waffles.  We had dinner with rainbow water (ice cubes). The drinks were a bit cold for these "European-Americans"....but they liked those colors!

Aquarium

 Last weekend we had a rainy Saturday and a desperate need to get out of our apartment. We traveled across the city and found a gorgeous aquarium with different rooms/exhibits for all the surrounding waterways. Mom & Dad loved it and the kids liked the stairs and touch screen interactive computers.

The last room was a tropical rain forest with humidity and everything. It was just like being back in Africa. A fun trip out.

Rainy days or not

 Hide-n-go-seek in Mom and Dad's closets!

And fishing off the top-bunk....what better catch than sleepdog???

Up-close, chores, & sillies

 Testing out the small portion of our park that has been completed. (renovated)...catching some rays....but still cold.

 A daily morning activity: making Mom & Dad's coffee. Lu adds the sugar cubes. Micah adds the flavored syrups. They both get to stir. And Mom & Dad get yummy coffee during our Bible study time.

 Lu and Dolly in their matching PJs - thanks Grandma Ginny! (And a monkey hat - because, why not?)

 Moo showing Lu videos of themselves - they must be pretty funny.

 And - our little Lu - reading a book about construction trucks while wearing a fairy dress and babysitting her baby who is learning to use the potty.

Yummy packages!

 Wow - we keep getting blessed by our family! Check out the looks on these happy fruit-snack-filled smiles! Thanks Grandpa Mike! Yum!

 Check out the kids' latest dress-up additions...super Lu and super Moo to the rescue! Thanks Grandma Jane! Also - check out Lu's crazy hair. It is growing...seemingly around her head and not from her head....or straight out...I don't even know. I think her sleepy hair twiddling is causing the stuff on top to grow. Wild woman!