New Obsessions

My "popped" pretzel dough and
the boy wanting to inflate it.

Ted and I continue to be amazed (and a little jealous) at how fast our boys can speak the national language and how comfortable they are in talking to just about anyone. Recently Lucas has been saying a lot more in the national language and has learned "kid talk" since he spends all day outside. His recent obsession is saying the national word for popped (i.e. the ball is popped) as well as the word they use for inflating something. He will go around squeezing bike tires and saying they are popped. At a recent trip to a hotel they had a cushioned toiled seat which he informed me was popped. Last week I was making pretzel dough and had placed in it a bowl to rise. Lucas came to me a little later and told me that someone had inflated it (using the national word) and that he had popped it. He wanted to know if he could inflate it again. It is so funny to hear him insert these national words into an English sentence. In passing I will say that he once grabbed my arm and told me that it was popped - but that is not nearly as funny as the other times he has used the word!

Back to School

Excited about learning to write in cursive!

Caleb (always wanting to look the part)
chooses a collared shirt for the first day of class.

The boys started school again a couple of weeks ago. Josiah's started first grade and Caleb started third. Maybe you are like me and cannot believe that they are that old, but they are. The boys use a DVD program and as I watched Caleb's first day I was struck by how big the kids looked. "These kids must be big for their age" I thought "because Caleb isn't that big yet". BUT, he is! At a recent doctors appointment he was in the 75th percentile for his height. You don't really notice how fast they are growing even when it is happening before your eyes. They are plugging away and (for the most part) working hard. Interestingly enough the boys have the same favorite subject - penmanship!

Anniversary Trip - Rome

Last week Ted and I were able to take a trip celebrating our 10th anniversary. This was our first solo vacation since we've had children (8 years). After leaving the boys with friends (who took wonderful care of our boys) we headed to Rome for three days. Living on this side of the world has its advantages - cheaper airfare in one of them. It was nice to be able to relax, talk without interruption, and eat a meal without having to cut up food or clean up a spill. Its amazing how easy life becomes when all you have to worry about is you! Not having to work around nap time and bed time meant that we were able to see all the major things in Rome. We had a wonderful time but we are glad to be back for our boys. I think they missed us too.

Village Cherry Festival

On Sunday a new friend of Ted's (Murat) invited us to his village festival. His village is about 2 hours from our home, right in the middle of the mountains. At 7am our family and Murat's - his wife, daughter, and mother - piled into our car and headed to the festival. Stop for a minute and see what comes to mind when you think of a festival. Okay, it wasn't like that. Sadly, there was no one there selling sweet corn or cotton candy. The festival started with a presentation by men I assume were village politicians. For the most part the men and women sat separately. After the presentation the women and children were ushered into an open field where we ate rice and meat. After the men ate we picked cherries and did a little sightseeing in the mountains. We enjoyed our time with these new friends and were grateful to be able to spend the day with them.

Hmmm!

So there is a mulberry tree pretty close to our house. The problem is that the tree is outside of our gate, which means that Lucas is not allowed to go there. Lucas came in the house covered in purple 'stuff' so I ask "Lucas did you go to the berry tree?"
"No, I didn't"
"Are you sure?"
"I DIDN'T!"
Hmmm?! He probably would have gotten away with it had the neighbor boy not pummeled him with squished mulberries.

Nana 's Visit

We are sad to say that my mother made her way back to the states last Friday. =( While she was here the boys enjoyed lots of ice cream, candy, silly talk, sleeping in Nana's room and watching Reba! As with almost any visit from a grandparent we have had to do a little detox. A couple of days after my mother left we pulled into a store parking lot and before getting out of the car Caleb said to Josiah "Don't ask for anything because Nana isn't here".
We were also able to visit a really neat city about three hours from our home. We did a lot of walking and cave exploring.

Nana's Here!!!!

This picture pretty much says it all! The boys are enjoying having Nana around. What is not to enjoy when you get candy, ice cream, soda, etc, etc.? Though the boys have not seen Nana in over a year it didn't take long for them to warm up. Caleb and Josiah, of course, have the most memories of Nana so they were excited to see her. They go to her room each morning before they come see their parents!!! About every other day Lucas asks "Are you going home today?" or "Are you going to be here when I wake up?". Even Micah, who was just a few weeks old the last time Nana visited, is wanting to cuddle and be held by Nana all the time. We are so grateful that Nana made the trip to see us and we wish the days would go by slower.