the girls, lately

I cut Lydia's hair short for the summer.  I cut off a lot of Julianna's too, but it's hardly noticeable since hers is just. so. long.  It's beautiful though, both of them have great hair.

and this one is looking more and more like me every day :)

And then I took both girls to the optometrist this morning.  If it sounds simple, trust me, it's not.  The health care system here is a crazy mess.  I dread, dread, dread trying to do just about anything involving medical professionals.  But this particular task worked out spectacularly well.  I was concerned Julianna needed glasses but she doesn't, at least not yet!  Both Matt and I wore glasses early, so I'm assuming they are in her not-too-distant future ... but it's nice to scratch this concern off my list, (for now)!

Our weather these days is incredibly muggy, humid, wet.  It's not super hot, but the air is so moist.  Not my favorite.  Tonight after dinner Matt went out to play soccer with the older three while I read books to the littler two.  Isaac especially loves to play soccer, and he especially loves to do it without the mini-brothers at his side!  Our days aren't nearly as long as ND summers, but the late sun sets are nice and it's fun to get outdoors after dinner.

I love changing seasons.  And I'm excited about our summer.  This time last year we were landing here, re-establishing a home and place and routine for our family after seven months in the U.S.  The year flew by.  

today's uniform

The boys are pretty big fans of dressing alike.  On those mornings I hear them calling out to one another to "wear this" or "find that" and at times a concerned "you should check the dirty clothes pile".

Isaac sometimes joins in, sometimes opts out.  But these two are faithful.  If one of them suggests a match, the other is always game.  [On the other hand, many many many days they don't match at all.... but when the idea strikes, they jump.]

I can't help but grin when I look at these two.  In so many ways they are the unlikeliest of brothers.  But there's a lot more than just matching clothes - the Lord orchestrated a beautiful brotherhood, matched or not!

And right down the hall the girls were doing their own match.  Julianna and Lydia are less likely to wear the same thing (unless you count their school uniforms, in which case they wear matching clothes every single week day afternoon during the school year!)

Crazy that they ended up in UND gear the same day my littlest two were in UNC gear.

They can be pretty ridiculous.  Especially at the end of a fun-packed day when bedtime looms and the crazies tend to come out in full force.

Isaac was a wardrobe lone ranger today.  I only have one picture of him, taken at an ice skating birthday party this afternoon.

Another busy summer day, written in the books.  I accomplished a few big-o house projects in the past two days.  Moved furniture in the guest room, relocated a bookshelf, bought a new (used) shelf for our school porch, pulled every last thing off the school porch and put much of it back where it belongs.  I still have a few things on my list (ha!  or maybe more than a few!) but it feels real good to have those behind me.

riverside bike rides

Matt is always on the go.  Always.  He wears many hats, juggles many roles, leads many leaders, and loves his family so very well :)

Saturday afternoon he lead a super-duper bike ride along the river.  I love these pictures.  This is the world my kids are growing up in - urban urban urban!

We had Luke on the back of my (borrowed) bike and John Paul on the back of Matt's. [John Paul is technically a bike rider but he's not really into it, rarely wants to ride, and is not ready for this kind of adventure!  Everyone's blood pressure is lower when he's safely strapped on the back of Matt's bike!]

With the littlest two off the ground we can really cover some serious territory.  It's so fun!  We were running a bit late and only had a brief moment to stop and rest, but this bridge was irresistible.  We crossed four or five bridges and next time we'll maybe even picnic on this one.  So much to see :)

Isaac is a bit of a study in contrasts.  He is chill, laid back, calm, easily content.  But there is a very intense part of his personality too.  It really comes out on the soccer field, or when he straps on his roller blades, or when he's climbing the bridge supports :)

We biked home, and declared it a big success.  Hopefully we will do this exact same ride next weekend!

a bear with a ring

Maybe the best part about John Paul's wedding party excitement is hearing him call himself "the Ring Bear".  His older siblings capitalized on this mistake and even taught him to hold his hands up like claws and make a growly bear face.

It's crazy cute.  And he was crazy excited about his Ring Bear day.  I was a tad nervous he might get scared and not walk, just like last time.  We talked about being brave even with the big crowd of people watching him.

Last time I made a rookie mistake - sat about three rows from the back and John Paul walked straight to me and quit, refused to go any farther.

This time I sat three rows from the front.  But he didn't even need me.  Proudly strutted down the aisle, handed the rings to the groom (who gently pointed out that he should hand them to the best man!) and then ran back to meet me, cute as a button and having accomplished exactly what he set out to do!

Fun times for everyone, the Ring Bear success, the reception afterwards.  This couple has a pretty amazing story and it was a treat to be a part of their big day.  And a blessing to call the Ring Bear one of my own!

my excuse (it's a good one)

So I've really slowed down here and I know why.  I started reading!  I was a voracious reader before I left the land of libraries and easy book access.  Add a few kiddos and the typical stresses of expat living and I really haven't read consistently in years.  sniff.

But in the past two months I've flown through all 7 Narnia books and a few novels.  A good book can cause me to neglect parenting duties!  I'm serious.  This week I hid in the guest room trying to get though a few more pages.  Isaac found me.  [The book that had me this week was Country Driving by Peter Hessler.  Highly recommend.]

But there is still plenty to document around here and I'm committed to this digital family journal.  I print this blog annually and it's such a treat to have now... I know it's value will multiply as the years pass.  Here goes a photo update of the last five days -

Books have a sightly different affect on John Paul!  This happened one afternoon when Lydia read to him after lunch.  She eventually realized he stopped moving and came to find me to show me what happened :)  

We found out on Monday afternoon that the dean of academics officially excused the girls from final exams.  So we've temporarily quit school - when the exams finish the girls hope to return for the last day or so before summer vacation, to enjoy the end of a school year euphoria with their friends.  On their last 'official' day (Tuesday) Isaac took this picture of the three of us at school pick up.  Lydia is holding a notebook she had her favorite classmates sign with their names and phone numbers.  Both girls are hoping for some summer fun with their school buddies.

We hosted a stomach bug this week that sent several littles into troubled waters.  Isaac took the worst hit and spent the wee hours of Wednesday morning throwing up dinner.  He woke up asking for food but I like to ease back into that kind of thing.  School was out of the question so he nibbled on toast and joined the girls and I on our second jaunt to the international school library.  It's open to families Wednesday mornings in June.  We might be their best customers :)  

I asked Isaac if I could take a picture of him with the books he checked out (as a means of keeping tabs on our family total).  He wasn't interested in my proposal so I propped his selections around him and snapped my picture.  

With the girls out of school the afternoons seem delightfully easy to fill.  I'm loving it!  We hit the local sporting goods supply store and bought new summer shoes for John Paul and Lydia.  

Our family can easily pass an hour here and not realize where the time has gone!  Julianna is in the market for some fins for the pool and Isaac hoping for a new mask.

And last one for this post - my Julianna has lost 4 teeth in the last 3 weeks!

She definitely leads the pack with a total of 12 teeth lost.  Lydia is right behind her, 8 teeth lost.  Isaac is desperate for his first loose tooth and wiggle-checks them weekly.  But nothing yet :)

Today we celebrated a friends wedding.  What a great party!  And our John Paul had his second stint as 'Ring Bear'.  Last fall he never made it down the aisle but this time he knocked it out of the park!  Strutted down the aisle grinning the whole way.  I'll get those pictures up soon.  

the boys, again

The past few days have seen a whole lot of this.  

Jenga blocks and matchbox cars and the possibilities are endless.... 

Isaac creates scenes, each car with a role and personality (a lot of it modeled on castle times - kings, guards, servants, etc)

Isaac has spent a significant chunk of his life laying on the floor pushing cars around.  I'm not kidding.  Even as a young toddler he would spend HOURS doing this exact thing.

Today was the first day of mini-camp for the older three.  A fellow expat in the city organized a camp for expat kids.  It runs Tuesday/Thursday mornings for two weeks, so only four sessions, from 9 to 11:30 in the morning.  I'm so grateful for a chance for my kids to something so 'normal'.  And a chance to socialize with some other kids in the city.  It's a fairly small shindig, about 30 kids, which is perfect.  Fun for all of us to have some organized activity with other expat kiddos!

these three boys

These three brothers are so much fun.  They can drive me bananas [of course] and what they do to a bathroom is, well, disastrous.  So it's not all smiles and clean bathrooms around here, but the delightful moments far outshine the others :)

John Paul led the charge on this particular fishing expedition.

Three large sticks, no fishing line, no hooks, no bait.

Safety first around here.  Incredibly, no one smacked another with a stick.  Our only injury was John Paul (he's definitely the clumsiest... sorry buddy, but it's true).  So head over heels infatuated with his stick that he forgot to look in the direction he was headed (a common mistake for this guy) and walked right into a piece of playground equipment.

They never did catch anything.  But they had a great time trying.

And one last pic that's just really fun.  A new favorite is to wear one of Matt's tshirts as pajamas.  It's one size fits no one but they are just so cute anyways :)

And proud to be 'just like Daddy'.

cleaning out

Earlier this week the girls launched a massive clean out of their room.  I was LOVING it!  [In fact, it was most definitely my idea!]

These treasured treasure shelves are full of, well, treasures.  And just about everything else.  We had huge piles of trash, give away, & re-locate to another room in the house.   They found enough hair ties and pony tail holders to open a small shop.  Glitter and sequins and sparkly stickers and beads and who-knows-what-else.

Their endeavors got me thinking about doing something similar on the school porch... it'll be nice to have a fresh, organized place to start up again in August.

We've had some normal days and some not so normal days this week.  Tonight was somewhat chaotic -   our car got towed to the repair shop (seems to be a fuel line problem) and while Matt was out handling those issues Luke walked up behind me dripping blood.  He has a fairly large scab on his forearm that pulled loose and there was blood everywhere.  It definitely caught me off guard and took me a minute to realize where all the blood was coming from!  Luckily he was fresh out of the shower and blood cleanup is a lot easier when it's skin, not clothing!  But a naked three year old with blood on both hands, all appendages, and dripping on the floor is a startling sight!

The girls were with me and launched into full big sister mode.  We got both little boys cleaned up (the bloody scene involved both of them as they showered together, then were in their bedroom changing into pjs when the scab pulled loose) and in the bed in a jiffy.

Just another day in the neighborhood?  Hope not.  I'd like a bit calmer end to the day tomorrow.  In fact, I'm hoping for a calmer summer.  We shall see what the days hold......

the first week of summer?

Our first week of summer flew by.  Of course it doesn't totally feel like summer since the boys are still in school (mornings) and the girls are still in school (afternoons) but I'm not home schooling, so that feels like summer! 

I'm not a huge fan of this schedule, but it should only last another week or so and then we'll be into to full-on summer, so I'm trying to just hang tight and enjoy these weeks for what they are. 

Honestly, the mornings that the boys are in school and my girls are home but not home schooling feel odd.  Empty.  I should probably be using them to really get bigger projects done but this past week I wasn't super productive.  One morning I had some walking errands and the girls came along on their roller blades.  We laughed a lot :)  Mostly at/with Lydia who tends to squeal when she gets a little wobbly.  

With everyone home and no school to accomplish there's just lots more time for everything.  And the house gets really really messy.  Oh well.  

One afternoon we dropped the girls at school and went shopping.  Because everyone knows shopping with these three guys is an adventure.  They were the only ones with an agenda (spending money for two new matchbox cars, each) and I was just along for the ride.  

I mostly shop online and at the local fresh market, so it's rare that I enter this type of mega store looking for groceries.  Because I hate it.    I hate the crowds and the noise and the constantly changing stock selections and the stress of it all.  But Thursday I realized that if I just shop with them for what they want, and we go early afternoon when the crowds are thin, it's really an enjoyable way to spend an hour.  We might do it again this summer :)  

Sunday night and summer week #2 is headed our way.  woohoo!

summer surprises

You just never know with packages.  We have more "lost in transit" stories than I care to count.  But this spring my father in law proved his sleuthing skills and actually managed to track down a package that was listed as "damaged, undeliverable".

It was damaged, but undeliverable?  nope.  Not after he (via USPS) logged a claim and tracked down a phone number for us.   Matt was able to touch base with the mail facility and find out that the package had been sitting for months in a mail sort facility just a mile or two from our apartment!  

So here I am, with a stack of Christmas cards.  yay!  I was so so so sad to miss getting these, I love reading, love the pictures, love putting them up in my kitchen.  Dear testimonies to the Lord's faithfulness and sweet reminders to pray.

There were a few missing pieces from the package (ugh!) and it's certainly odd to receive long sleeve tees when the outside temps are closing in on 90 degrees, but fall is coming and we will wear them then!  [Big bummer that I had ordered Riverside tees for all five kids but only three made it all the way here.  I wonder where those other two shirts are, and who is wearing them!?!??!]

It's closing in on dinner.  I have chicken in the oven and rice in the cooker and my five are all outside.  Matt works late Wednesdays this semester so it's a nice quiet house to enjoy before the noise of the evening begins.

And tonight I'll be finishing up my stack of Christmas cards!  Most definitely better late than never!

Paradise Island (last days with Grandmama and Granddaddy)

As a grand finale to my parents (almost) 7 week visit we headed to a hotel with attached water park.  It was great fun for everyone.  And a fun way to spend our last two days together.  Mom and Dad are now in Bangkok, and next week will return to their home in the States after six months in Asia!  Pretty incredible trip!

The water park was everything you imagine.  Huge. Loud.  Wet.  Fun.  Chaotic.

I will say that this particular place caters to just about everyone.  There were crazy insane rides that I couldn't even look at without getting queasy (Dad and Matt rode them - ahhhhh!).  There were water slides for elementary aged kids, a huge (I mean, H-U-G-E) wave pool, sand pits, hot springs pools, littler water slides for littler people (think Luke and John Paul) and everything else you ever imagined a water park could have.

I laughed the hardest on this lazy river ride.  My three boating companions were terrible boaters.  The  general concepts of  how to use a paddle, which direction to paddle and coordination with the other paddlers was just not something they have been exposed to.

As a result we spent the 15 minute ride trying to catch up with Matt and the little boys and never succeeded.  Considering Matt's boat was frequently piloted by the little guys alone, and there was manufactured current spurring us in their general direction, it's quite a testimony to our ineptitude that we never did get ahead of them!

I determined to just sit back and enjoy the chaos.  We can work on boating skills another time :)

We returned to our apartment late Sunday and put tired kiddos in bed.  Tired parents and grandparents soon followed and the next morning it was packing time.

The children and I headed to the airport for final goodbyes.

And pictures.

We miss them so much already.  Treasured memories of much time together.  Just a gift that they would come and spend this time with us!

my birthday

On May 24th yet another birthday passed me by.  The years speed along faster and faster.

I had a great day and Mom outdid herself with a fancy dinner and angel food cake and the girls collaborated on home made chocolate covered cherries that were scrumptious!

In the afternoon Matt and I took the five to a new (to us) park in a wetlands area south of town.  The older three on roller blades and the younger two on scooters.  Only a few crashes and tumbles and the afternoon passed by quickly.

Matt took pictures with each of the kids and their cards.  I have similar pictures from Mother's Day so I'll just post one set.  Love love love these precious little people!

Happiest of birthdays to me.  I only wish I had gotten a picture with just Matt!