I can't believe June is over! It just flew by. Granted, we have been very busy with summer activities. Mostly the weather has been nice, quite a bit of rain, but enough dry days that we've been able to enjoy parks and swimming.
Ethan kicked off the summer with Especially For Youth in Minnesota. Meredith and I drove him up (8 hours) and then I drove by myself to pick him up. The drive to get him was easier without Meredith (it's a bit long for her!) and I listened to an Agatha Christie to keep from getting bored. I missed Ethan while he was gone, but he had a great time and made some good friends. I hope he's able to do EFY again next year.
Ethan spent last week at scout camp. He and three other boys from our troop were the only ones there to do the "iron-man," a 20 mile hike with 30-40 lb. backpacks, a mile swim, and a survival night outside without a tent! What a tough kid! Scott and Meredith drove up to camp Friday night and slept in the car, then they and Ethan drove home yesterday. Ethan had time to take a long shower and rest for a little while, and then he and Scott left for a trip to Italy. Scott and I would have liked to go together, but it's just too hard to find someone to watch both Meredith and Noah for a whole week. So instead Ethan is going. I'm a little jealous, but I know my two men will have a great time.
Poor little Meredith came back from her "camping trip" completely covered with mosquito bites. They slept with the car windows open, the the skeeters apparently loved her soft baby skin. I feel so bad for her! She has about 40 bites on her arms, legs and face. Other than that she is doing great! We're so excited for her birthday in a week. Actually we gave her a big present yesterday - - a giant teddy bear about 5 times bigger than she is! (Gotta love Costco!) She was so excited she was screaming with happiness.
We're going to church in a few minutes, and she is so excited for nursery. She has never shown the least bit of reluctance to go in, in fact she's usually pretty anxious for sacrament meeting to be over so she can go in and play. She loves the songs, and at night she likes to sing "Twinkle Twinkle," "Eensie Spider," and "Wheels on the Bus." Speaking of nighttime, she and Noah both have slept in their beds every night for the past couple of weeks. This is a huge accomplishment!!!! Also, she counted to 10 the other day with no prompting. I wish I could take credit for that, but I think it's mostly because of Sesame Street . . .
Noah had a week off of school and then started summer camp. He loves it and has settled into the routine nicely. This is his 3rd or 4th year. It's 4 days a week from 9:15 to 3:15. They swim twice a week, walk to the library on Mondays, and walk to McDonalds and order their own lunches on Wednesdays. I am so grateful for the wonderful staff that work with him. I was feeling a little down recently because of all the frankly horrible things that are happening in the world, and then I thought about the dedicated angels that work with kids with special needs and it made me feel a lot better.
We have a fun guest in our home right now: Beanie! She flew out all by herself a week ago and it is so nice having her here! She is quite the helper, and I don't know what I'd do without her, especially with Scott and Ethan gone. She is doing a wonderful job of watering the plants, and is a great babysitter. She loves to swim and we've gone a couple of times and are planning many more. We've gone shopping and had movie night and are hoping for a day at a museum next week. It's so good for Meredith to have an older girl role model around! Thanks, Barkers, for lending me your little Bean!
I have been picking up some extra hours at work, filling in for vacationing co-workers. Also busy with my church calling, stuff for the Down syndrome group, and trying to keep the house and yard presentable. Sometimes it feels like one step forward and two steps back, but that's life!
Scott had a scary experience driving to scout camp with Meredith - - there was a head-on collision right in front of him. This is the third accident he's been on the scene for (I was with him for the first 2). It was a pretty bad accident involving 4 people with multiple injuries, but fortunately none of them fatal. Pretty scary for Scott, but he's a great person in an emergency. I'm just so grateful that he and Meredith weren't hurt!
I'm thankful that the Lord watches over us and helps us every day. Blessings and love to you all!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
It's Summer!
Well, not technically, but almost. The weather has been crazy here. One day last week it was over 95 and terribly humid, the next day it was 55! I prefer cool weather, but maybe not quite that cool! The good thing is that we've had plenty of rain and (not to brag) my yard looks great! I have plants in about 30 or 40 pots all over the front and the back 2 patios. I did a bunch of different color schemes and I really like how they turned out. I bought almost everything from the nursery down the road - - they are so nice and knowledgeable there, and although you might pay a little more, the selection is wonderful. I have so much fun deciding what flowers look nice together. Meredith has helped a lot, she loves following me around and saying "helper?" when she wants to take part. Ethan is my plant waterer, he loves when it's raining because it lets him off the hook!
Ethan will be leaving for EFY tomorrow. I'm driving him to Minnesota. It's about 7 hours away, so it will be a 2 day trip for me and Meredith, who is coming along for the ride. Because Ethan's summer is so full of scout stuff it was hard to find an EFY that worked, but I'm so glad we did. I think it will be a wonderful experience for him. He finished up 8th grade and graduated with high honors, having been on the high honor roll every semester of middle school. I'm so proud of his hard work! He's been taking it easy this week, but next week he'll start his summer schedule and stay pretty busy all the way through. He's getting prepared for seminary as well. Oh how I took released time for granted - - he's going to be getting up pretty early to make it to his 6 a.m. class!
Ethan also has been running - - over Memorial Day weekend we went downtown and he and Scott ran the Soldier Field 10-miler. Ethan kept up a great pace, especially considering the farthest he'd run previously was only about 3 miles. He told me he likes to watch movies about people going through war and stuff like that, and then he thinks about it when he's running and it makes it seem less painful. Whatever works, right?
While we were downtown I took Noah to "Peter Pan." It was the original J.M. Barrie production, extremely well done, in a theater-in-the-round format. Noah loved it. This has been a big month for him because he's finished up with elementary school. Fortunately the teachers worked hard to help him with the transition, and he's very excited to be attending Bernotas. He starts summer camp on Monday, which will be great. He's looking forward to seeing his friends and doing the activities.
Meredith got her first big "owie" last week, she fell and hit her head on the corner of a coffee table. It didn't bleed all that much, and wasn't a big cut, but was a little deep, so I took her to a doctor and she glued it shut! It's the best way to avoid leaving a scar for wounds like that. She was very brave and the doctor and nurse just loved her. She is growing up so fast! A little bit of the 2 year old attitude - - Noah (unfortunately) taught her to blow raspberries, which she does, extremely impudently, when she is upset. She's also added the phrase, "Go out of my room!" which she also got from Noah. Sigh . . .
Scott is still travelling a lot for work, but he has signed some very big deals and is enjoying his job a lot. I've been trying to go to the gym with him more often, although we don't play tennis together - - he tried once to teach me and it was not so great for our relationship.
I'm done with my classes and enjoying the break, I'll start up again in the fall. I'm enjoying time with the kids at home, and looking forward to a fun summer. A visit from family or friends would make it even more fun :)
Ethan will be leaving for EFY tomorrow. I'm driving him to Minnesota. It's about 7 hours away, so it will be a 2 day trip for me and Meredith, who is coming along for the ride. Because Ethan's summer is so full of scout stuff it was hard to find an EFY that worked, but I'm so glad we did. I think it will be a wonderful experience for him. He finished up 8th grade and graduated with high honors, having been on the high honor roll every semester of middle school. I'm so proud of his hard work! He's been taking it easy this week, but next week he'll start his summer schedule and stay pretty busy all the way through. He's getting prepared for seminary as well. Oh how I took released time for granted - - he's going to be getting up pretty early to make it to his 6 a.m. class!
Ethan also has been running - - over Memorial Day weekend we went downtown and he and Scott ran the Soldier Field 10-miler. Ethan kept up a great pace, especially considering the farthest he'd run previously was only about 3 miles. He told me he likes to watch movies about people going through war and stuff like that, and then he thinks about it when he's running and it makes it seem less painful. Whatever works, right?
While we were downtown I took Noah to "Peter Pan." It was the original J.M. Barrie production, extremely well done, in a theater-in-the-round format. Noah loved it. This has been a big month for him because he's finished up with elementary school. Fortunately the teachers worked hard to help him with the transition, and he's very excited to be attending Bernotas. He starts summer camp on Monday, which will be great. He's looking forward to seeing his friends and doing the activities.
Meredith got her first big "owie" last week, she fell and hit her head on the corner of a coffee table. It didn't bleed all that much, and wasn't a big cut, but was a little deep, so I took her to a doctor and she glued it shut! It's the best way to avoid leaving a scar for wounds like that. She was very brave and the doctor and nurse just loved her. She is growing up so fast! A little bit of the 2 year old attitude - - Noah (unfortunately) taught her to blow raspberries, which she does, extremely impudently, when she is upset. She's also added the phrase, "Go out of my room!" which she also got from Noah. Sigh . . .
Scott is still travelling a lot for work, but he has signed some very big deals and is enjoying his job a lot. I've been trying to go to the gym with him more often, although we don't play tennis together - - he tried once to teach me and it was not so great for our relationship.
I'm done with my classes and enjoying the break, I'll start up again in the fall. I'm enjoying time with the kids at home, and looking forward to a fun summer. A visit from family or friends would make it even more fun :)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Ethan's Tale of Mount Taranaki
CLIMBING MOUNT TARANAKI
On spring vacation this year I went to New Zealand to visit my grandparents. Of course, I did more than just visit them. I explored the cities and saw museums. But the best and most exciting thing that I did was to climb Mount Taranaki.
I learned some geological facts about Mount Taranaki. It is the most symmetrical mountain in the world. It is 8,261 feet high. It is also technically an active volcano, millions of years overdue for an eruption. But it’s very unlikely to erupt for a couple more million years.
When my dad and I got to the lodge at the base of the mountain, we found a “fatality list” dating back to the late 1800s. There were about 63 fatalities, and most of them involved slipping on ice and exposure. Because we visited during New Zealand’s late summer, we didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing. However, some of the fatalities were things like, “being crushed by a boulder,” or “fell off of a bluff,” or even “got lost.” Seeing the fatalities list right before we climbed didn’t help our morale much, but it didn’t stop us from going. After all, this wasn’t the first mountain I’ve climbed. I also climbed Wanu Picchu in Peru.
Mount Taranaki is about nine miles up and down and takes eight to ten hours to hike. At the start of the hike my dad and I were making great time. All we were doing was walking up a slightly sloped trail across the side of the mountain. We were averaging 30 minutes per mile, but the hike got more difficult with every mile. The path got more sloped as we walked, and soon enough we got to a different path that was at a 40 degree angle. That path was about a mile long, but at the end of it was a lodge where we could eat and rest.
When we got to the lodge my dad and I both ate a granola bar and then got back on the trail, but the trail was pretty much gone. Instead, there was a path of rocks that led to some old wooden stairs. Climbing the rocks took about 20 minutes, and it was actually pretty easy, compared to the stairs we had to climb. There was about a mile of stairs, and each stair was about twelve inches tall and six inches wide. The high altitude made it even harder. And the climb got even more difficult after we cleared the stairs.
Past the stairs we had to climb up a 45 degree angle of really loose gravel. We would take two steps and then fall back one step. That went on for another mile and then we got very close to the top (The top was the mouth of the volcano) .The view was pretty sweet, but my dad and I didn’t stay long.
After six grueling hours of climbing up, we started down. We slid down the gravel, ran down the rocks, and made it back to the lodge. We spent about 20 minutes eating at the lodge and then we left. My dad and I talked about politics for the last three hours of the hike. We talked about the economy, and the conflicts in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
When we got back to the base lodge we got in our car and drove back to the hotel and slept. I was literally asleep before my head hit the pillow. Overall it was a fun hike and a great experience. I had fun talking to my dad, and the bragging rights are great.
On spring vacation this year I went to New Zealand to visit my grandparents. Of course, I did more than just visit them. I explored the cities and saw museums. But the best and most exciting thing that I did was to climb Mount Taranaki.
I learned some geological facts about Mount Taranaki. It is the most symmetrical mountain in the world. It is 8,261 feet high. It is also technically an active volcano, millions of years overdue for an eruption. But it’s very unlikely to erupt for a couple more million years.
When my dad and I got to the lodge at the base of the mountain, we found a “fatality list” dating back to the late 1800s. There were about 63 fatalities, and most of them involved slipping on ice and exposure. Because we visited during New Zealand’s late summer, we didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing. However, some of the fatalities were things like, “being crushed by a boulder,” or “fell off of a bluff,” or even “got lost.” Seeing the fatalities list right before we climbed didn’t help our morale much, but it didn’t stop us from going. After all, this wasn’t the first mountain I’ve climbed. I also climbed Wanu Picchu in Peru.
Mount Taranaki is about nine miles up and down and takes eight to ten hours to hike. At the start of the hike my dad and I were making great time. All we were doing was walking up a slightly sloped trail across the side of the mountain. We were averaging 30 minutes per mile, but the hike got more difficult with every mile. The path got more sloped as we walked, and soon enough we got to a different path that was at a 40 degree angle. That path was about a mile long, but at the end of it was a lodge where we could eat and rest.
When we got to the lodge my dad and I both ate a granola bar and then got back on the trail, but the trail was pretty much gone. Instead, there was a path of rocks that led to some old wooden stairs. Climbing the rocks took about 20 minutes, and it was actually pretty easy, compared to the stairs we had to climb. There was about a mile of stairs, and each stair was about twelve inches tall and six inches wide. The high altitude made it even harder. And the climb got even more difficult after we cleared the stairs.
Past the stairs we had to climb up a 45 degree angle of really loose gravel. We would take two steps and then fall back one step. That went on for another mile and then we got very close to the top (The top was the mouth of the volcano) .The view was pretty sweet, but my dad and I didn’t stay long.
After six grueling hours of climbing up, we started down. We slid down the gravel, ran down the rocks, and made it back to the lodge. We spent about 20 minutes eating at the lodge and then we left. My dad and I talked about politics for the last three hours of the hike. We talked about the economy, and the conflicts in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
When we got back to the base lodge we got in our car and drove back to the hotel and slept. I was literally asleep before my head hit the pillow. Overall it was a fun hike and a great experience. I had fun talking to my dad, and the bragging rights are great.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
April flew by so fast I can barely remember what happened! Ethan started track, which kept us both running. He didn’t like it as much as cross-country. He does enjoy running for fun though, and he and Scott have been running, swimming, and lifting weights at the gym on Saturdays. Ethan wrote a research paper for school on “Nuclear Deterrence Theory.” I had no idea what that even was until I typed the paper for him. He did a great job researching and writing it, and I was impressed by the way the teacher taught his class how to do it. Boy is research different now that we have the internet!
Ethan also got something new last month - - an electric guitar! He has been taking lessons on an acoustic guitar for about 3 years now, and he was ready for something different. He really likes it (he is, thankfully, not a rocker, and it isn’t any louder than the acoustic). His teacher commented on how well he was doing at his lesson last week. I’m proud of him. I wish he’d stuck with piano lessons (and someday he’ll wish it too,) but I’m so glad he’s playing an instrument. He still likes the Beatles, and is starting to get interested in the Big Band Era sound.
Noah gave a talk in Primary today. He did a very nice job. He struggles to be reverent in church sometimes, but he is a great helper to the primary leaders. He puts lots of things away and is always excited when he gets an assignment. He’s enjoying school very much. They had a field trip to a high school a few weeks ago. Some of the high school kids took Noah’s class around the school - - they’d prepared some fun activities for them. It was really fun.
Noah also got to go to the first ever Down syndrome luau dance party. We had it at the church and the young women were mostly in charge. One of them did a lot of work on it as a project for her Young Womanhood Recognition. We had great decorations, snacks and music, and everyone had loads of fun. The young women were wonderful ambassadors of the church. Noah especially had a good time dancing and hanging out with his friends Leah and Vanessa.
Meredith has hit the “terrible twos” a little early. She is still just as sweet as can be and so much fun, but she also has learned “no!” and says it frequently. Maybe it’s because she’s had to hold her own against her two big brothers, but she can be a little aggressive. She’s just as smart as can be, and knows almost all of her upper-case letters. She is talking more and more. Today I gave her a lollipop and she said, “I like it!” She especially had fun when Mom and Dad and Hilary were out here. I’m glad she’s such a friendly little bug, not shy at all!
The family visit was lots of fun, but it was way too short! Because of car trouble, Mom and Dad and Hil got here much later than planned and were only here about 3 days. They may have been glad to leave though, because our hot water heater broke and we had to shower at the gym! Also I had to work one of the days, and I had to take a test for one of my classes. Everyone was so helpful, watching Meredith and Noah for me while I worked and studied.
One of my classes is over. For my last assignment I had to refute something in our text, a book by Martha Nussbaum. In her last chapter she compared Notre Dame to BYU, with BYU coming in a very distant second. She was almost ridiculously biased, completely discounting BYU’s awesome language programs and study abroad programs. It wasn’t hard finding plenty of evidence to refute her arguments. And I got an A+ on the paper. So yay for me! I still have one test to take in my other class and then I am done. I’m not going to take a class this summer because Scott is just traveling way too much and I don’t have the time. But I’ll start up again in the fall. I love learning!
Scott is finally going to be home all week, after 2 months of being gone every single week for at least 2 nights, sometimes more. He had his 15 year business school reunion a couple of weeks ago in Virginia, and he took Meredith with him! I enjoyed a little break, and he had a great time with her. What a wonderful dad he is!
And what a wonderful mom and dad I have. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I am so excited about your mission! We will sure miss you, but we’ll be able to stay in close touch through skype and email. Good luck these last couple of weeks!!
Ethan also got something new last month - - an electric guitar! He has been taking lessons on an acoustic guitar for about 3 years now, and he was ready for something different. He really likes it (he is, thankfully, not a rocker, and it isn’t any louder than the acoustic). His teacher commented on how well he was doing at his lesson last week. I’m proud of him. I wish he’d stuck with piano lessons (and someday he’ll wish it too,) but I’m so glad he’s playing an instrument. He still likes the Beatles, and is starting to get interested in the Big Band Era sound.
Noah gave a talk in Primary today. He did a very nice job. He struggles to be reverent in church sometimes, but he is a great helper to the primary leaders. He puts lots of things away and is always excited when he gets an assignment. He’s enjoying school very much. They had a field trip to a high school a few weeks ago. Some of the high school kids took Noah’s class around the school - - they’d prepared some fun activities for them. It was really fun.
Noah also got to go to the first ever Down syndrome luau dance party. We had it at the church and the young women were mostly in charge. One of them did a lot of work on it as a project for her Young Womanhood Recognition. We had great decorations, snacks and music, and everyone had loads of fun. The young women were wonderful ambassadors of the church. Noah especially had a good time dancing and hanging out with his friends Leah and Vanessa.
Meredith has hit the “terrible twos” a little early. She is still just as sweet as can be and so much fun, but she also has learned “no!” and says it frequently. Maybe it’s because she’s had to hold her own against her two big brothers, but she can be a little aggressive. She’s just as smart as can be, and knows almost all of her upper-case letters. She is talking more and more. Today I gave her a lollipop and she said, “I like it!” She especially had fun when Mom and Dad and Hilary were out here. I’m glad she’s such a friendly little bug, not shy at all!
The family visit was lots of fun, but it was way too short! Because of car trouble, Mom and Dad and Hil got here much later than planned and were only here about 3 days. They may have been glad to leave though, because our hot water heater broke and we had to shower at the gym! Also I had to work one of the days, and I had to take a test for one of my classes. Everyone was so helpful, watching Meredith and Noah for me while I worked and studied.
One of my classes is over. For my last assignment I had to refute something in our text, a book by Martha Nussbaum. In her last chapter she compared Notre Dame to BYU, with BYU coming in a very distant second. She was almost ridiculously biased, completely discounting BYU’s awesome language programs and study abroad programs. It wasn’t hard finding plenty of evidence to refute her arguments. And I got an A+ on the paper. So yay for me! I still have one test to take in my other class and then I am done. I’m not going to take a class this summer because Scott is just traveling way too much and I don’t have the time. But I’ll start up again in the fall. I love learning!
Scott is finally going to be home all week, after 2 months of being gone every single week for at least 2 nights, sometimes more. He had his 15 year business school reunion a couple of weeks ago in Virginia, and he took Meredith with him! I enjoyed a little break, and he had a great time with her. What a wonderful dad he is!
And what a wonderful mom and dad I have. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I am so excited about your mission! We will sure miss you, but we’ll be able to stay in close touch through skype and email. Good luck these last couple of weeks!!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Marching On
You have to admire that I'm writing this post from New Zealand, where we're visiting Scott's parents. They've been here for about a year on a mission, and wow were they excited to have some family come to see them! We Skype with them regularly, and Meredith had no problem at all recognizing them - - she calls them by name and has given them a million hugs and kisses. And she has cried when we've left their home to go back to our condo.
A word about other March happenings before I go on talking about our trip. At the beginning of the month our friends Todd and Carrie Brotherson came to Chicago for a visit. We knew them when Scott was in business school. They are wonderful people! Right now they both work at SVU - - Todd is the head of the business department and Carrie works on setting up travel for students. Anyway, we hadn't seen them for quite a few years and it was so fun to catch up! We stayed downtown with the kids (Ethan babysat while we went out to dinner). We ate at Morton's Steakhouse. You do not go there with dieting in mind. I had the best shrimp of my life, colossally sized, and lightly coated in bread crumbs with a cream sauce. Awesome!
Ethan is preparing for Philmont and went on a 7 mile hike with the scouts a couple of Saturdays ago. We're getting all his stuff gathered - - good shoes, good backback, first aid kit, etc. Also, Ethan received his Life Scout in March. He's been working hard to get those merit badges done and we're hoping to have his Eagle earned in 6 months. Once high school starts he's going to be so busy, and it will be nice to have his Eagle all done with.
Well we left on our trip on March 23rd. The boys had to miss a few days of school, but I don't think they minded all that much. Packing is getting more and more of a pain with all these people to pack for! But we've pretty much got it down to a science. Anyway we had a 4 hour flight to L.A. and then a 16 hour flight to Auckland. Both flights were delayed, but at least we didn't have to rush. The Admiral's club at LAX was amazing, with a great little play area for the kids. Good for them to work of some energy before having to sit for so many hours.
All the kids were good on the flights, and the one to NZ was quite pleasant. We flew Qantas, and even in coach it was fairly comfortable (in contrast with Iberian Air, which we flew last year. That was awful!) Anyway, we got to the airport in Auckland and it took forever to get through customs. They're very careful about anyone bringing in any outside fruit, etc. They even checked our shoes to make sure they didn't have any dirt on them. Once we were through we had a 5 hour drive to get to New Plymouth, where we're staying. We met Del and Carol and then together we went to our hotel. It's not really a hotel though, just several condos set up kind of like duplexes. Ours is very spacious, with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room. The view is just unreal. Outside there is a hill going down and then a stream, and then another hill just covered with every color of green vegetation. It is, as Carol said, therapeutic. Just lovely. And very laid back - - the place is run by a couple of brothers who seem to do all the work themselves. The grounds are immaculate and gorgeous, and there are sheep here too!
I forgot to say that although our 5 hour drive was long and we were so tired and grimy, it was beautiful. This is such a green country! And we saw about a million sheep and cows and even some alpacas. It's fall here, so most of the flowers are done blooming, but there are a few left. Oleanders and hibiscus and the most amazing pampas grass I've ever seen just growing wild on the roadside. Carol and Del have really enjoyed being here.
We all had dinner at our condo, which Carol had thoughtfully prepared, and then we took much needed showers and went to bed. We have had no jet lag at all, which is amazing. We'll see if we're that lucky going back!
Saturday it rained most of the day, but we had fun anyway. After breakfast at Del and Carol's we went to a nice museum in Puke Ariki (pronounced poo-key, but Ethan and I had a good snicker about visiting the puke museum!) Anyway there were lots of interesting historical artifacts about the Maori people and then the first Europeans to come. We had lunch at an Indian place in the mall near the museum, and then we drove to a lovely park. It stopped raining long enough for us to take a nice walk and let the kids play on the playground. We met a man who had a 14-year old son with Down syndrome and had a good chat.
On Sunday we went to church, and Del spoke in sacrament meeting. He gave a great talk about the 4 cornerstones of a successful family - - prayer, scripture study, f.h.e., and temple attendance. Everyone was very friendly and we had fun visiting with another couple who had a daughter Meredith's age. After church we had a relaxing afternoon at Del and Carol's home. They have a nice back yard, and Meredith loved playing outside. She is definitely an outdoor girl!
Monday we went for a boat ride in the Tasmin Sea around some very small islands. Our captain, Captain Chaddy, is very well known in these parts. He was so sweet to Noah and let him steer the ship when it was calm. But it wasn't very calm most of the time - - it was one of the roughest boat rides I've ever been on! I'm so glad none of us got seasick! We did get soaked, however, and boy does that salt water do a number on your hair and skin! But the views were beautiful and the water was beautiful, and it was pretty exciting to be tipping all over like that. And we saw some seals on the rocks and a stingray near the shore. The captain takes care of blue penguins that get orphaned, but they've all left for the winter, unfortunately. That would have been fun to see!
Tuesday we got an earlier start, had breakfast with Carol and Del, and then drove to the base of Mount Taranake (also known as Mount Egmont). It is a dormant Volcano, and looks a lot like Mount Fuji. It's a very important part of the culture of the area, and there was a lovely visitor's center. Ethan and Scott had gotten their backpacks all ready and set off on a long hike. While they were exerting themselves with the hike, Carol and Del and I exerted ourselves watching Noah and Meredith. Not easy, because Meredith was tired and a little cranky. We were going to go to a small zoo, but it was closed. So we went for a nice walk in the park, and then set off in search of another zoo that some people told us about. It was a bit of a drive, but we found it at last. It was such a funny zoo - - very small, you could have walked it from end to end in 10 minutes. They had goats and emus (or rheas, not sure) and sheep you could feed, and there were ducks and chickens and pigeons just running around wild. Meredith and Noah just loved that. Then there were a couple of monkeys and apes, some very smelly pigs, and some beautiful white birds that said "hello." And then, of all things, 3 white royal bengal tigers! They were amazing! There were also 3 lions, sitting right up against the fence so we could get a very close looks at them. We really had a nice time.
Ethan and Scott didn't climb all the way to the top of the mountain, but they did get pretty close. I'm glad they didn't go any further, because it's very gravelly and dangerous up there. They hiked for almost 6 hours. Ethan is getting ready to start track as soon as he gets back in school, and he'll be in great shape! He and Scott have gone jogging several times here as well.
We are so so excited for Mom and Dad's mission call, especially because it's such an easy flight to go there to visit! I know you will be awesome missionaries!
We love you all!
A word about other March happenings before I go on talking about our trip. At the beginning of the month our friends Todd and Carrie Brotherson came to Chicago for a visit. We knew them when Scott was in business school. They are wonderful people! Right now they both work at SVU - - Todd is the head of the business department and Carrie works on setting up travel for students. Anyway, we hadn't seen them for quite a few years and it was so fun to catch up! We stayed downtown with the kids (Ethan babysat while we went out to dinner). We ate at Morton's Steakhouse. You do not go there with dieting in mind. I had the best shrimp of my life, colossally sized, and lightly coated in bread crumbs with a cream sauce. Awesome!
Ethan is preparing for Philmont and went on a 7 mile hike with the scouts a couple of Saturdays ago. We're getting all his stuff gathered - - good shoes, good backback, first aid kit, etc. Also, Ethan received his Life Scout in March. He's been working hard to get those merit badges done and we're hoping to have his Eagle earned in 6 months. Once high school starts he's going to be so busy, and it will be nice to have his Eagle all done with.
Well we left on our trip on March 23rd. The boys had to miss a few days of school, but I don't think they minded all that much. Packing is getting more and more of a pain with all these people to pack for! But we've pretty much got it down to a science. Anyway we had a 4 hour flight to L.A. and then a 16 hour flight to Auckland. Both flights were delayed, but at least we didn't have to rush. The Admiral's club at LAX was amazing, with a great little play area for the kids. Good for them to work of some energy before having to sit for so many hours.
All the kids were good on the flights, and the one to NZ was quite pleasant. We flew Qantas, and even in coach it was fairly comfortable (in contrast with Iberian Air, which we flew last year. That was awful!) Anyway, we got to the airport in Auckland and it took forever to get through customs. They're very careful about anyone bringing in any outside fruit, etc. They even checked our shoes to make sure they didn't have any dirt on them. Once we were through we had a 5 hour drive to get to New Plymouth, where we're staying. We met Del and Carol and then together we went to our hotel. It's not really a hotel though, just several condos set up kind of like duplexes. Ours is very spacious, with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room. The view is just unreal. Outside there is a hill going down and then a stream, and then another hill just covered with every color of green vegetation. It is, as Carol said, therapeutic. Just lovely. And very laid back - - the place is run by a couple of brothers who seem to do all the work themselves. The grounds are immaculate and gorgeous, and there are sheep here too!
I forgot to say that although our 5 hour drive was long and we were so tired and grimy, it was beautiful. This is such a green country! And we saw about a million sheep and cows and even some alpacas. It's fall here, so most of the flowers are done blooming, but there are a few left. Oleanders and hibiscus and the most amazing pampas grass I've ever seen just growing wild on the roadside. Carol and Del have really enjoyed being here.
We all had dinner at our condo, which Carol had thoughtfully prepared, and then we took much needed showers and went to bed. We have had no jet lag at all, which is amazing. We'll see if we're that lucky going back!
Saturday it rained most of the day, but we had fun anyway. After breakfast at Del and Carol's we went to a nice museum in Puke Ariki (pronounced poo-key, but Ethan and I had a good snicker about visiting the puke museum!) Anyway there were lots of interesting historical artifacts about the Maori people and then the first Europeans to come. We had lunch at an Indian place in the mall near the museum, and then we drove to a lovely park. It stopped raining long enough for us to take a nice walk and let the kids play on the playground. We met a man who had a 14-year old son with Down syndrome and had a good chat.
On Sunday we went to church, and Del spoke in sacrament meeting. He gave a great talk about the 4 cornerstones of a successful family - - prayer, scripture study, f.h.e., and temple attendance. Everyone was very friendly and we had fun visiting with another couple who had a daughter Meredith's age. After church we had a relaxing afternoon at Del and Carol's home. They have a nice back yard, and Meredith loved playing outside. She is definitely an outdoor girl!
Monday we went for a boat ride in the Tasmin Sea around some very small islands. Our captain, Captain Chaddy, is very well known in these parts. He was so sweet to Noah and let him steer the ship when it was calm. But it wasn't very calm most of the time - - it was one of the roughest boat rides I've ever been on! I'm so glad none of us got seasick! We did get soaked, however, and boy does that salt water do a number on your hair and skin! But the views were beautiful and the water was beautiful, and it was pretty exciting to be tipping all over like that. And we saw some seals on the rocks and a stingray near the shore. The captain takes care of blue penguins that get orphaned, but they've all left for the winter, unfortunately. That would have been fun to see!
Tuesday we got an earlier start, had breakfast with Carol and Del, and then drove to the base of Mount Taranake (also known as Mount Egmont). It is a dormant Volcano, and looks a lot like Mount Fuji. It's a very important part of the culture of the area, and there was a lovely visitor's center. Ethan and Scott had gotten their backpacks all ready and set off on a long hike. While they were exerting themselves with the hike, Carol and Del and I exerted ourselves watching Noah and Meredith. Not easy, because Meredith was tired and a little cranky. We were going to go to a small zoo, but it was closed. So we went for a nice walk in the park, and then set off in search of another zoo that some people told us about. It was a bit of a drive, but we found it at last. It was such a funny zoo - - very small, you could have walked it from end to end in 10 minutes. They had goats and emus (or rheas, not sure) and sheep you could feed, and there were ducks and chickens and pigeons just running around wild. Meredith and Noah just loved that. Then there were a couple of monkeys and apes, some very smelly pigs, and some beautiful white birds that said "hello." And then, of all things, 3 white royal bengal tigers! They were amazing! There were also 3 lions, sitting right up against the fence so we could get a very close looks at them. We really had a nice time.
Ethan and Scott didn't climb all the way to the top of the mountain, but they did get pretty close. I'm glad they didn't go any further, because it's very gravelly and dangerous up there. They hiked for almost 6 hours. Ethan is getting ready to start track as soon as he gets back in school, and he'll be in great shape! He and Scott have gone jogging several times here as well.
We are so so excited for Mom and Dad's mission call, especially because it's such an easy flight to go there to visit! I know you will be awesome missionaries!
We love you all!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Dear Family,
Ok, Mom, here’s the family letter, so I expect to see you on video-skype thanking me for it!
I usually end up being grateful that February is a short month. We started out with a huge blizzard (now called “the Blizzard of ’11). It was actually kind of fun - - Scott was out of town but he had helped to stock up on all the necessities, so we really had no need to go anywhere. The storm struck at night, and in the morning, wow! What a lot of snow! The wind had blown it right up against the front of our house in drifts as high as 5 feet. Obviously school was cancelled, for 2 days, actually, while people dug themselves out. I got the snow shovel and cleared a path from the front door to the driveway - - it took about an hour and a half. Ethan did some work on the driveway too, but then a snowplow guy came along and offered to do the rest of the driveway for $50. We jumped at the chance - - it would have taken us the rest of the day.
So we enjoyed our cozy time in the house together, and cabin fever only set in by late Friday. Fortunately Scott got home then and I was able to turn the kids over to him and have some much needed alone time!
The last 2 weeks of the month were marred by everyone in the house being sick with something or other. Meredith had the worst of it - - she was fussy and feverish and congested for several days so I took her to the doctor, and it turned out she had a double ear infection and one of her eardrums had ruptured! I felt so bad, I had no way of knowing her ears were involved! (This is the first time she’s had an ear infection.) She’s much better now, although still pretty moody and clingy. But she is absolutely wonderful about taking her medicine, unlike some other kids I could name!
Other than being sick, Mer-bear is doing great! She loves nothing more than to sit and read books with me, and she now knows (and constantly points out) the letter “o.” She has also learned all of her colors, and now we’re working on shapes. She’s saying quite a few words, although they’re mostly not so easy to understand. I recently bought her a couple of new shirts with butterflies and an elephant on them and she loves them! She is such a darling girl, truly the light of our lives!
Noah is doing great too. He found a long advertisement for “Shrek Live (the Musical)” on his Shrek 4 DVD and has watched it about a thousand times. That’s the new big bribe - - if he isn’t behaving we just ask if he wants to go see Shrek and he shapes up very quickly. He’s been drawing some wonderful pictures lately, many of them from Shrek, with lots of detail. It’s so fun! What a sweet little boy he is!
Onto my sweet big boy - - Ethan. Wow does he look grown up lately. He got a very nice haircut and is so handsome! I took him shopping for some clothes at Kohl’s recently, and I’m happy to say he has very nice taste - - just plain t-shirts with no writing on them, and plain button-down church shirts. He always looks very clean-cut. (I have to say, though, that he hated shopping, and I didn’t enjoy it much either - - next time he can go with Scott!)
We’re busy planning out our summer, and it is going to be crazy! Ethan has a week of scout camp, 2 weeks at Philmont (a scout camp in New Mexico) and a week of EFY. In between that all he’s somehow got to learn to type, and start gearing up for the start of both high school and seminary in the fall. Noah will have his summer day camp for 6 weeks, as well as a week-long overnight camp especially for kids with special needs. And if we can swing it he’ll do the weekend at Camp River Run in Idaho.
Scott and I are busy planning out the summer as well. We really hope to be able to go to Idaho at the very beginning of August to see those of you who live out that way. Scott continues to travel quite a bit for work, and play tennis here at home. He’s planning a trip for us for next Christmas - - he just loves the intricacies of finding the best and cheapest flights!
I’m busy with my calling in Primary - - boy do I love those kids! It is so fun working with them and coming up with creative ways to keep them singing. A couple of Sundays ago I let them pick animals for the song “Do as I’m Doing.” The best was when one kid picked the monkey. So we all sang and scratched like monkeys. You really have to be pretty uninhibited and unembarrassed to do what I do!!
On a completely different note, I’m studying Descartes and Hume in my online classes, and I’ve written several papers. Sometimes I feel like my head can wrap itself around all the information, but I do enjoy it, and so far I am doing well. I’m so glad I’m doing this, it’s nice to be able to do something completely different once in a while.
We love you all! Have a happy March and look forward to Spring!!!
Ok, Mom, here’s the family letter, so I expect to see you on video-skype thanking me for it!
I usually end up being grateful that February is a short month. We started out with a huge blizzard (now called “the Blizzard of ’11). It was actually kind of fun - - Scott was out of town but he had helped to stock up on all the necessities, so we really had no need to go anywhere. The storm struck at night, and in the morning, wow! What a lot of snow! The wind had blown it right up against the front of our house in drifts as high as 5 feet. Obviously school was cancelled, for 2 days, actually, while people dug themselves out. I got the snow shovel and cleared a path from the front door to the driveway - - it took about an hour and a half. Ethan did some work on the driveway too, but then a snowplow guy came along and offered to do the rest of the driveway for $50. We jumped at the chance - - it would have taken us the rest of the day.
So we enjoyed our cozy time in the house together, and cabin fever only set in by late Friday. Fortunately Scott got home then and I was able to turn the kids over to him and have some much needed alone time!
The last 2 weeks of the month were marred by everyone in the house being sick with something or other. Meredith had the worst of it - - she was fussy and feverish and congested for several days so I took her to the doctor, and it turned out she had a double ear infection and one of her eardrums had ruptured! I felt so bad, I had no way of knowing her ears were involved! (This is the first time she’s had an ear infection.) She’s much better now, although still pretty moody and clingy. But she is absolutely wonderful about taking her medicine, unlike some other kids I could name!
Other than being sick, Mer-bear is doing great! She loves nothing more than to sit and read books with me, and she now knows (and constantly points out) the letter “o.” She has also learned all of her colors, and now we’re working on shapes. She’s saying quite a few words, although they’re mostly not so easy to understand. I recently bought her a couple of new shirts with butterflies and an elephant on them and she loves them! She is such a darling girl, truly the light of our lives!
Noah is doing great too. He found a long advertisement for “Shrek Live (the Musical)” on his Shrek 4 DVD and has watched it about a thousand times. That’s the new big bribe - - if he isn’t behaving we just ask if he wants to go see Shrek and he shapes up very quickly. He’s been drawing some wonderful pictures lately, many of them from Shrek, with lots of detail. It’s so fun! What a sweet little boy he is!
Onto my sweet big boy - - Ethan. Wow does he look grown up lately. He got a very nice haircut and is so handsome! I took him shopping for some clothes at Kohl’s recently, and I’m happy to say he has very nice taste - - just plain t-shirts with no writing on them, and plain button-down church shirts. He always looks very clean-cut. (I have to say, though, that he hated shopping, and I didn’t enjoy it much either - - next time he can go with Scott!)
We’re busy planning out our summer, and it is going to be crazy! Ethan has a week of scout camp, 2 weeks at Philmont (a scout camp in New Mexico) and a week of EFY. In between that all he’s somehow got to learn to type, and start gearing up for the start of both high school and seminary in the fall. Noah will have his summer day camp for 6 weeks, as well as a week-long overnight camp especially for kids with special needs. And if we can swing it he’ll do the weekend at Camp River Run in Idaho.
Scott and I are busy planning out the summer as well. We really hope to be able to go to Idaho at the very beginning of August to see those of you who live out that way. Scott continues to travel quite a bit for work, and play tennis here at home. He’s planning a trip for us for next Christmas - - he just loves the intricacies of finding the best and cheapest flights!
I’m busy with my calling in Primary - - boy do I love those kids! It is so fun working with them and coming up with creative ways to keep them singing. A couple of Sundays ago I let them pick animals for the song “Do as I’m Doing.” The best was when one kid picked the monkey. So we all sang and scratched like monkeys. You really have to be pretty uninhibited and unembarrassed to do what I do!!
On a completely different note, I’m studying Descartes and Hume in my online classes, and I’ve written several papers. Sometimes I feel like my head can wrap itself around all the information, but I do enjoy it, and so far I am doing well. I’m so glad I’m doing this, it’s nice to be able to do something completely different once in a while.
We love you all! Have a happy March and look forward to Spring!!!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Snow!
Wow! January went by so fast! We got home from our Christmas trip and just dived right back into school and work. Keeping busy distracts us from the grim weather. We’ve just experienced the “Blizzard of ‘11” - - about 2 feet of snow with heavy winds. The snow blew right up against the front of our house and it took me over an hour just to shovel a little pathway from the front door to the driveway. The snow was 4 ft. high in areas. Luckily we have not had to go anywhere and the power has stayed on, so we’re warm and happy. The kids haven’t had school for 2 days, but they will go back tomorrow (the blizzard was followed by sub-zero temps, which is what kept them home today). Scott is out of town and was concerned about us but we’ve been fine!
Scott has been traveling extensively, 3 or 4 nights almost every week. It’s stressful, but hopefully things will ease up in a couple more months. At least he enjoys what he is doing. The travel isn’t always fun for him though; I got an email from him yesterday bemoaning the fact that he was stuck on an airplane between 2 aggressive gum chewers. His worst nightmare!
I’m taking 2 classes this semester. One of them is just one credit: introduction to liberal studies. It’s pretty easy, just information about logic and arguments and how to write a convincing paper. The other class is much more time consuming. It’s called “Ways of Knowing,” and is about the scientific method, philosophy, etc. I’ve had some very challenging assignments. So far I’m doing ok, but I definitely have felt my brain working!
Meredith is such a cutie-pie! She is talking more and more. The other day she was carrying around a big bag over her shoulder like a purse. She would bring me a domino and set it down, then say “bye,” and go back to Noah’s room for another domino. She did it for about 30 minutes, over and over. So funny! She just loves to read and be read to, and we have about a million books, so I spend a good part of my day reading. She also loves Elmo and gets very excited when we watch and Elmo video together. She’s in nursery now and loves it. She plays very well with the other kids, although she finds it difficult to stay in her seat when I come in for singing time!
I love my calling as primary chorister and I am having so much fun coming up with ways to teach new songs to the kids. It’s a great calling because I’m only busy on Sundays, and I can do the prep whenever I have time during the week. I never pictured myself as a chorister, because I’m not much of a singer, for sure! But I really am enjoying myself.
(Meredith just came in the room and bit the end off of a crayon.) She loves to draw, but for some reason she keeps biting the crayons. Colored pencils are a better bet for her.
Noah has been doing a lot of drawing himself, and his pictures have become more detailed and recognizable. He likes to draw the family, the seasons (they’ve been discussing them in school), and animals. He drew a great lion the other day. He also has a little crush on a girl at school named “Hannah W.” He talks about her all the time. He’s been wearing his Sunday suit to school fairly frequently lately, maybe to impress her?
Ethan is working hard at school, especially on his math, which has become much more challenging. He will be registering for his high school classes in February, which is scary! He’s been accepted into several honors courses, which is great, but I don’t want him to get burned out. He went to the Klondike Derby last weekend and he and his fellow scouts worked very well together. He has fun hanging out with his friend Adam on the weekends. I’m proud of what a fine young man he is becoming!
Happy winter!
Scott has been traveling extensively, 3 or 4 nights almost every week. It’s stressful, but hopefully things will ease up in a couple more months. At least he enjoys what he is doing. The travel isn’t always fun for him though; I got an email from him yesterday bemoaning the fact that he was stuck on an airplane between 2 aggressive gum chewers. His worst nightmare!
I’m taking 2 classes this semester. One of them is just one credit: introduction to liberal studies. It’s pretty easy, just information about logic and arguments and how to write a convincing paper. The other class is much more time consuming. It’s called “Ways of Knowing,” and is about the scientific method, philosophy, etc. I’ve had some very challenging assignments. So far I’m doing ok, but I definitely have felt my brain working!
Meredith is such a cutie-pie! She is talking more and more. The other day she was carrying around a big bag over her shoulder like a purse. She would bring me a domino and set it down, then say “bye,” and go back to Noah’s room for another domino. She did it for about 30 minutes, over and over. So funny! She just loves to read and be read to, and we have about a million books, so I spend a good part of my day reading. She also loves Elmo and gets very excited when we watch and Elmo video together. She’s in nursery now and loves it. She plays very well with the other kids, although she finds it difficult to stay in her seat when I come in for singing time!
I love my calling as primary chorister and I am having so much fun coming up with ways to teach new songs to the kids. It’s a great calling because I’m only busy on Sundays, and I can do the prep whenever I have time during the week. I never pictured myself as a chorister, because I’m not much of a singer, for sure! But I really am enjoying myself.
(Meredith just came in the room and bit the end off of a crayon.) She loves to draw, but for some reason she keeps biting the crayons. Colored pencils are a better bet for her.
Noah has been doing a lot of drawing himself, and his pictures have become more detailed and recognizable. He likes to draw the family, the seasons (they’ve been discussing them in school), and animals. He drew a great lion the other day. He also has a little crush on a girl at school named “Hannah W.” He talks about her all the time. He’s been wearing his Sunday suit to school fairly frequently lately, maybe to impress her?
Ethan is working hard at school, especially on his math, which has become much more challenging. He will be registering for his high school classes in February, which is scary! He’s been accepted into several honors courses, which is great, but I don’t want him to get burned out. He went to the Klondike Derby last weekend and he and his fellow scouts worked very well together. He has fun hanging out with his friend Adam on the weekends. I’m proud of what a fine young man he is becoming!
Happy winter!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Merry Christmas
December was a crazy month for us, filled with lots of travel and family fun. We started out by celebrating Noah’s 11th birthday. Can you believe he’s that old? We’d given Noah “Toy Story 3” a little early so he could watch it on our Thanksgiving trip, and he just loved it. When we asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he wanted a Toy Story 3 birthday cake. Even though Noah doesn’t like cake, he knows you can’t have a birthday without it! So I bought a Cosco cake and decorated it with little TS3 figurines. I took it to pack meeting so that Noah could celebrate with his church friends, and it was a big hit! Noah also wanted a computer for his b-day, and we found a cute play laptop. It’s fun to watch him use it - - he tries so hard to look just like his dad.
The next big event was the FINDS Christmas party. I’d been involved by making the invitations, which turned out really nicely. We had a lot of people come, almost 200. Just like every year, we had a big brunch and fun door prizes. The entertainment was a lady who danced with the kids, always a surefire hit. It was hilarious to watch Noah dancing with his little friends Leah and Vanessa. Meredith danced too, and everyone said how cute she was and how much she has grown. It was a great party.
As usual, I had to have all the Christmas stuff ready a week early, because we celebrated before we left on our trip. There was no way to take our presents or even our stocking stuff to Florida, our car was just too full (more on that later). So we celebrated Christmas one week early. As I told the young sons of a friend of ours (after his mom gave me a panicked look), we asked Santa to come a week early so we could celebrate before we left on our trip. (The son said, “I didn’t know you could do that!” and I replied that it was for special occasions only and required a lot of paperwork.)
We had planned to leave by noon, but after opening our presents and stockings we were just exhausted and the kids wanted to play with their stuff. Ethan got an “air-soft gun,” which is a rifle that shoots tiny bee bees, using compressed air. His friends all have them and enjoy playing together. It was a big deal for me to finally say yes to one, but Scott and Ethan wore me down. He has to always wear the safety gear and only play in certain areas outside. Ethan actually is a great shot, he did really well in target shooting at camp last summer. So he took his gun and played for a while at a friend’s house.
Noah got a zoo, it’s by Fisher-Price, and has 26 animals, one for each letter. It’s really cute. He was pretty excited when he got it. It is so fun to watch Noah open up his presents because he’s always so overjoyed with whatever he gets, even socks.
Meredith was so fun to buy for this year! She got some cute puzzles, some stuffed animals, and an Elmo doll. She loves Elmo. The doll she got says, “I love you” when you push on his hand. She was excited about the toys and wrapping paper. She also got a “feel” book about animals with fur or scales on the pages. In the picture she is feeling the fuzz with her face. She is so cute!
I gave Scott a framed picture of him with Ethan at Machu Picchu (thanks for the photo-editing, Mom!) He got me some cute matryoshka measuring cups from Signals. And Santa got us AT&T Uverse for the house (like Tivo but better). We’re sick of our internet/cable provider, too many glitches.
So after all the gift opening and playing and packing we didn’t leave until about 7 p.m. We’d discussed renting a minivan so we’d have a little more room, but once we got the car all packed we couldn’t bear the thought of unpacking and repacking everything, so we just said, “let’s go!” And we did. Scott is amazing at powering through and we drove all the way to Louisville, Kentucky. We got in around 2 a.m. and slept well. We left around 10 the next morning and drove straight through to Orlando, arriving again at about 2 a.m. We were packed in the car like sardines, but we made it work. Noah was in the far back, surrounded by suitcases, with his toys and pens and paper. He did wonderfully well. Ethan and Meredith were in the middle seat, with snacks and the diaper bag stacked in between them (so everyone had their own little space.) Meredith was a great little traveler too, and of course Ethan had his gameboy and DVD player, so he was loving life. We had the overhead DVD going too - - way too much Barney, but it kept Mer and Noah happy.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo in Orlando, which was great because we had space and a kitchen and laundry facilities. That is the way to do it if you’re staying for a while! The first day we were there we didn’t do much besides recover from the long drive. The resort had a kids’ club, so I took the kids over there and hung out for quite a while. There was a climbing thing and Meredith did a great job climbing up and going down the slide. It was so fun to watch her! That night we had dinner with one of our adoption agents that we had worked with the whole way through but had never met. It was wonderful to spend time with her, and she was so happy to be with one of her "success stories." Meredith was her usual darling self and the other kids were well-behaved. We had a great time.
The next 5 days we did 5 parks. Not the way I’d recommend it, because it’s very tiring, but there was a lot we wanted to see. Disney World is Noah’s favorite place on earth, so he was in heaven. The first day we went to Animal Kingdom, which was fun for Noah and Meredith. They got to see a lot of cool animals. Animal Kingdom is usually the least busy of the parks, but it was still pretty crowded.
The next day we went to Universal Studios and met up with our friends the Worthams. Their son Adam is one of Ethan’s best friends, and the 2 of them had a great time together. I was so glad they could hang out together, because my one worry about going to Disney was that Ethan would get bored with all the little kid stuff. It was good for Adam, too, because I don’t think he would have gone on the roller coasters without Ethan to egg him on. So we all had a lot of fun together. Universal opened up a Harry Potter section of their park in June, and we were looking forward to seeing it. I have to say I think the creators grossly underestimated how many people would be interested in it - - we had to get a ticket for what time we could enter that section of the park (and it wasn’t until about 6:00). It was so crowded! There was a line to get into the section, even though we had tickets. There were lines for all the rides. And, good grief, there were lines to get into the shops! Talk about a money maker. I did stand in line with Amy Wortham and her daughter Amanda to go into one shop (Honeydukes/Zonkos). It was fun, there were some cute candies and tricks, but it wasn’t amazing. What was amazing was the price - - $8 for a chocolate bar’s worth of chocolate in the shape of a wand. I was tempted by the “U-no-poo” candies, but even I could tell they were just m&ms in a fancy jar. I did buy some butter-beer for everyone though, after a 15 minute wait, and it was quite good - - like a very rich cream soda with a marshmallow-cream head on it. I would have regretted not tasting it. I wish they’d served it hot (they only served it cold or frozen). It was pretty chilly by then. Anyway I wouldn’t recommend going to Harry Potter land unless you’re a maniac (and there were a few people there in full wizarding robes!) until it gets a little less crowded!
The next day Ethan hung out with Adam at his family’s condo and Scott and Noah and Meredith and I went to the Magic Kingdom. This was the most fun for Noah because he got to go on the Peter Pan ride, his very favorite. Noah is a great person to go to Disney with because he gets a special needs pass and can go to the front of the lines. It is very helpful, especially when the lines are over an hour long! It was really fun taking Meredith on the little kid rides like Dumbo.
We went to Disney Hollywood Studios the next day, and then Epcot Center on Christmas. It was kind of weird already having had our Christmas, but we had a fun day. We really lucked out with the weather, it was cool but not bad and it only rained on the day that we left.
We drove to South Carolina and spent the night with some friends (Scott and Michelle) who have a beach house there. We’d known them for several years, and Michelle’s mom is our attorney (she specializes in special needs trusts). They have such a cute house, all the houses in the area are painted bright pastels, like the color of sherbet. Scott and Michelle have 2 cute boys, and the younger one was so enchanted by Meredith. He was 8, and he followed her around and wanted to help her and play with her, it was so cute! They also have a dog, a really old one, who is more like a rug than a dog, and Meredith fell in love with it and climbed all over it. Amazingly patient animal!
In the morning we walked on the beach and saw 2 dolphins less than 50 yards away. It was such a fun surprise! We walked around the cute little town a little, but it was really really cold. We left around noon and drove straight through to DC.
The next day Scott took Ethan and Meredith to Charlottesville, Virginia, to visit the UVA campus, and then they went to Buena Vista, where Southern Virginia University is located. They visited some friends of ours there as well. Noah and I hung out at the hotel and slept and then had dinner with Kim and Val and their kids that night. We went over to their house and hung out - - Noah and Spencer really bonded! It was so great to see them!
The next day Val and Ellie and I went shopping together. It will be so fun when Meredith is old enough to enjoy shopping (right now she kind of hates it!) Ellie is such a cutie and I was stunned by her bravery in getting her ears pierced without even a wince. We went to some cute stores and had hot chocolate and soft pretzels. So much fun! I wish we lived closer together!!!
We stayed in a hotel downtown the next 3 nights, a really nice one with a wonderful breakfast (yes, I pigged out). On Thursday Scott went to the Holocaust museum with Ethan and Meredith and then we met Kyle and Linzi and Evy for lunch at a Lebanese place. So great to see them, and I’m excited that they’re having a girl! Ethan went back to the hotel, but Scott and Noah and Meredith and I spent the afternoon at the National Zoo and had a blast seeing the animals. I love zoos.
The next day we visited some other friends that live in DC, Dave and Andrea and their son Jacob. Jacob has autism, so his mom and I had a lot in common to talk about. They used to live out here but we hadn’t seen them for quite a while. Andrea is a doctor (general practice). It was interesting to talk to another parent of a child with special needs. Autism is so difficult, and Jacob has some tough behavioral issues. He played nicely with us, but when our time was up he was very anxious for us to go! We made plans to see Dave and Andrea again sometime, without the kids, so we can have an uninterrupted conversation.
Then we went to Kim and Val’s house for New Year’s Eve. Kimball and Kyle were working in the basement and Scott went down to lend them moral support. He felt bad that he couldn’t help out but they were grouting tile, which you have to do on your knees, and Scott can’t kneel. Also he knows nothing about grouting. Val and I and Kimball did some cooking - - Ethan helped to make a delicious chicken salad. The kids had fun playing together - - although Taylor was a little wary of Meredith and she was fascinated by him and wouldn’t leave him alone! Noah and Spencer played Wii most of the time and got along great. It was fun to watch Ellie and Evy play with Meredith too. I was amazed at Val’s cooking skills, she made Betiza (spelling?) and it was amazing. We had lots of delicious food when we finally got the men to come upstairs and join us.
Then we went to the living room and had a long, involved discussion about . . . well, bathroom issues. I don’t know why we always end up talking about poopy accidents and hemorrhoids, but somehow we do. I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt. It was so fun! Oh I hope Kim and Val and Kyle and Linzi and the kids can all come and visit us in Chicago sometime!!! The best part of the whole trip was spending time with family!
The next morning we visited Katie and Dan, who had been stuck in NYC in the snowstorm. I wish we could have visited them for longer, but we had fun talking anyway. Then we hit the road and drove straight through to home. I don’t know how Scott does it, but he sure can drive for long periods of time!!!
We will be sending out individual thank yous, but we do appreciate the wonderful Christmas gifts from you all. I wish we all could have been together over the holidays, but I’m glad we could at least be with the East coasters. We wish you all a wonderful 2011!!!!
The next big event was the FINDS Christmas party. I’d been involved by making the invitations, which turned out really nicely. We had a lot of people come, almost 200. Just like every year, we had a big brunch and fun door prizes. The entertainment was a lady who danced with the kids, always a surefire hit. It was hilarious to watch Noah dancing with his little friends Leah and Vanessa. Meredith danced too, and everyone said how cute she was and how much she has grown. It was a great party.
As usual, I had to have all the Christmas stuff ready a week early, because we celebrated before we left on our trip. There was no way to take our presents or even our stocking stuff to Florida, our car was just too full (more on that later). So we celebrated Christmas one week early. As I told the young sons of a friend of ours (after his mom gave me a panicked look), we asked Santa to come a week early so we could celebrate before we left on our trip. (The son said, “I didn’t know you could do that!” and I replied that it was for special occasions only and required a lot of paperwork.)
We had planned to leave by noon, but after opening our presents and stockings we were just exhausted and the kids wanted to play with their stuff. Ethan got an “air-soft gun,” which is a rifle that shoots tiny bee bees, using compressed air. His friends all have them and enjoy playing together. It was a big deal for me to finally say yes to one, but Scott and Ethan wore me down. He has to always wear the safety gear and only play in certain areas outside. Ethan actually is a great shot, he did really well in target shooting at camp last summer. So he took his gun and played for a while at a friend’s house.
Noah got a zoo, it’s by Fisher-Price, and has 26 animals, one for each letter. It’s really cute. He was pretty excited when he got it. It is so fun to watch Noah open up his presents because he’s always so overjoyed with whatever he gets, even socks.
Meredith was so fun to buy for this year! She got some cute puzzles, some stuffed animals, and an Elmo doll. She loves Elmo. The doll she got says, “I love you” when you push on his hand. She was excited about the toys and wrapping paper. She also got a “feel” book about animals with fur or scales on the pages. In the picture she is feeling the fuzz with her face. She is so cute!
I gave Scott a framed picture of him with Ethan at Machu Picchu (thanks for the photo-editing, Mom!) He got me some cute matryoshka measuring cups from Signals. And Santa got us AT&T Uverse for the house (like Tivo but better). We’re sick of our internet/cable provider, too many glitches.
So after all the gift opening and playing and packing we didn’t leave until about 7 p.m. We’d discussed renting a minivan so we’d have a little more room, but once we got the car all packed we couldn’t bear the thought of unpacking and repacking everything, so we just said, “let’s go!” And we did. Scott is amazing at powering through and we drove all the way to Louisville, Kentucky. We got in around 2 a.m. and slept well. We left around 10 the next morning and drove straight through to Orlando, arriving again at about 2 a.m. We were packed in the car like sardines, but we made it work. Noah was in the far back, surrounded by suitcases, with his toys and pens and paper. He did wonderfully well. Ethan and Meredith were in the middle seat, with snacks and the diaper bag stacked in between them (so everyone had their own little space.) Meredith was a great little traveler too, and of course Ethan had his gameboy and DVD player, so he was loving life. We had the overhead DVD going too - - way too much Barney, but it kept Mer and Noah happy.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo in Orlando, which was great because we had space and a kitchen and laundry facilities. That is the way to do it if you’re staying for a while! The first day we were there we didn’t do much besides recover from the long drive. The resort had a kids’ club, so I took the kids over there and hung out for quite a while. There was a climbing thing and Meredith did a great job climbing up and going down the slide. It was so fun to watch her! That night we had dinner with one of our adoption agents that we had worked with the whole way through but had never met. It was wonderful to spend time with her, and she was so happy to be with one of her "success stories." Meredith was her usual darling self and the other kids were well-behaved. We had a great time.
The next 5 days we did 5 parks. Not the way I’d recommend it, because it’s very tiring, but there was a lot we wanted to see. Disney World is Noah’s favorite place on earth, so he was in heaven. The first day we went to Animal Kingdom, which was fun for Noah and Meredith. They got to see a lot of cool animals. Animal Kingdom is usually the least busy of the parks, but it was still pretty crowded.
The next day we went to Universal Studios and met up with our friends the Worthams. Their son Adam is one of Ethan’s best friends, and the 2 of them had a great time together. I was so glad they could hang out together, because my one worry about going to Disney was that Ethan would get bored with all the little kid stuff. It was good for Adam, too, because I don’t think he would have gone on the roller coasters without Ethan to egg him on. So we all had a lot of fun together. Universal opened up a Harry Potter section of their park in June, and we were looking forward to seeing it. I have to say I think the creators grossly underestimated how many people would be interested in it - - we had to get a ticket for what time we could enter that section of the park (and it wasn’t until about 6:00). It was so crowded! There was a line to get into the section, even though we had tickets. There were lines for all the rides. And, good grief, there were lines to get into the shops! Talk about a money maker. I did stand in line with Amy Wortham and her daughter Amanda to go into one shop (Honeydukes/Zonkos). It was fun, there were some cute candies and tricks, but it wasn’t amazing. What was amazing was the price - - $8 for a chocolate bar’s worth of chocolate in the shape of a wand. I was tempted by the “U-no-poo” candies, but even I could tell they were just m&ms in a fancy jar. I did buy some butter-beer for everyone though, after a 15 minute wait, and it was quite good - - like a very rich cream soda with a marshmallow-cream head on it. I would have regretted not tasting it. I wish they’d served it hot (they only served it cold or frozen). It was pretty chilly by then. Anyway I wouldn’t recommend going to Harry Potter land unless you’re a maniac (and there were a few people there in full wizarding robes!) until it gets a little less crowded!
The next day Ethan hung out with Adam at his family’s condo and Scott and Noah and Meredith and I went to the Magic Kingdom. This was the most fun for Noah because he got to go on the Peter Pan ride, his very favorite. Noah is a great person to go to Disney with because he gets a special needs pass and can go to the front of the lines. It is very helpful, especially when the lines are over an hour long! It was really fun taking Meredith on the little kid rides like Dumbo.
We went to Disney Hollywood Studios the next day, and then Epcot Center on Christmas. It was kind of weird already having had our Christmas, but we had a fun day. We really lucked out with the weather, it was cool but not bad and it only rained on the day that we left.
We drove to South Carolina and spent the night with some friends (Scott and Michelle) who have a beach house there. We’d known them for several years, and Michelle’s mom is our attorney (she specializes in special needs trusts). They have such a cute house, all the houses in the area are painted bright pastels, like the color of sherbet. Scott and Michelle have 2 cute boys, and the younger one was so enchanted by Meredith. He was 8, and he followed her around and wanted to help her and play with her, it was so cute! They also have a dog, a really old one, who is more like a rug than a dog, and Meredith fell in love with it and climbed all over it. Amazingly patient animal!
In the morning we walked on the beach and saw 2 dolphins less than 50 yards away. It was such a fun surprise! We walked around the cute little town a little, but it was really really cold. We left around noon and drove straight through to DC.
The next day Scott took Ethan and Meredith to Charlottesville, Virginia, to visit the UVA campus, and then they went to Buena Vista, where Southern Virginia University is located. They visited some friends of ours there as well. Noah and I hung out at the hotel and slept and then had dinner with Kim and Val and their kids that night. We went over to their house and hung out - - Noah and Spencer really bonded! It was so great to see them!
The next day Val and Ellie and I went shopping together. It will be so fun when Meredith is old enough to enjoy shopping (right now she kind of hates it!) Ellie is such a cutie and I was stunned by her bravery in getting her ears pierced without even a wince. We went to some cute stores and had hot chocolate and soft pretzels. So much fun! I wish we lived closer together!!!
We stayed in a hotel downtown the next 3 nights, a really nice one with a wonderful breakfast (yes, I pigged out). On Thursday Scott went to the Holocaust museum with Ethan and Meredith and then we met Kyle and Linzi and Evy for lunch at a Lebanese place. So great to see them, and I’m excited that they’re having a girl! Ethan went back to the hotel, but Scott and Noah and Meredith and I spent the afternoon at the National Zoo and had a blast seeing the animals. I love zoos.
The next day we visited some other friends that live in DC, Dave and Andrea and their son Jacob. Jacob has autism, so his mom and I had a lot in common to talk about. They used to live out here but we hadn’t seen them for quite a while. Andrea is a doctor (general practice). It was interesting to talk to another parent of a child with special needs. Autism is so difficult, and Jacob has some tough behavioral issues. He played nicely with us, but when our time was up he was very anxious for us to go! We made plans to see Dave and Andrea again sometime, without the kids, so we can have an uninterrupted conversation.
Then we went to Kim and Val’s house for New Year’s Eve. Kimball and Kyle were working in the basement and Scott went down to lend them moral support. He felt bad that he couldn’t help out but they were grouting tile, which you have to do on your knees, and Scott can’t kneel. Also he knows nothing about grouting. Val and I and Kimball did some cooking - - Ethan helped to make a delicious chicken salad. The kids had fun playing together - - although Taylor was a little wary of Meredith and she was fascinated by him and wouldn’t leave him alone! Noah and Spencer played Wii most of the time and got along great. It was fun to watch Ellie and Evy play with Meredith too. I was amazed at Val’s cooking skills, she made Betiza (spelling?) and it was amazing. We had lots of delicious food when we finally got the men to come upstairs and join us.
Then we went to the living room and had a long, involved discussion about . . . well, bathroom issues. I don’t know why we always end up talking about poopy accidents and hemorrhoids, but somehow we do. I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt. It was so fun! Oh I hope Kim and Val and Kyle and Linzi and the kids can all come and visit us in Chicago sometime!!! The best part of the whole trip was spending time with family!
The next morning we visited Katie and Dan, who had been stuck in NYC in the snowstorm. I wish we could have visited them for longer, but we had fun talking anyway. Then we hit the road and drove straight through to home. I don’t know how Scott does it, but he sure can drive for long periods of time!!!
We will be sending out individual thank yous, but we do appreciate the wonderful Christmas gifts from you all. I wish we all could have been together over the holidays, but I’m glad we could at least be with the East coasters. We wish you all a wonderful 2011!!!!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thanksgiving Trip
Happy Holidays! This is what I like to call the crazy season. As Christmas nears I get more and more nuts. This year I’m trying to step back and just enjoy the spirit of Christmas. And if everything doesn’t get done perfectly that’s ok, right? (Mom, why did you raise me to be such a perfectionist?)
We had a fun and eventful November. The big thing was our Thanksgiving trip. It is difficult to get good, cheap flights within the US this time of year so, as usual, we went somewhere else. (It’s a good thing we didn’t try Idaho, because we probably would have been held up by the snow, always a risk out there in winter. One night in the Malad middle school is enough for me!) Anyway Scott had a trip to Spain all planned out for us. Remember how he said travel would slow down after our flight benefits ran out? Ha! He’s traveling so much for work that he has a ton of frequent flyer miles and hotel points, so we can still get around and satisfy his wanderlust.
The flight to Madrid was fine until we were landing and Meredith threw up all over Scott. It was awful, and he couldn’t take her to the bathroom because the seatbelt sign was on and we were about to touch down. Very messy and smelly. Otherwise it was ok and Noah did quite well. We had a long layover and then a flight to Malaga (only an hour) and about an hour’s drive to Marbella, where we stayed. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo - - it was so nice to have a kitchen and laundry! It was late so we went to bed, trying to stave off jet lag. It worked pretty well, and the kids slept soundly. Meredith really did great sleeping-wise.
The next day we kind of had a lazy day recovering from the flying. It was nice to just hang out together. We’d given Noah “Toy Story 3” as an early birthday present and he watched it about a million times. He just loved it, and it was fun to see him enjoying it. Noah is very active when he watches movies, he uses his toys to act out the scenes and sings along with the music - - it’s really cute.
For dinner we went into Marbella and ate at a delicious Lebanese restaurant. Wonderful food! I’m so glad my kids are adventurous about eating! I hope Meredith grows up to be as good an eater as her brothers. After dinner we wandered around the town and looked in the shops. Marbella is right on the coast and is a very popular place with wealthy Europeans, especially those from England. The shops were very expensive, but I was still tempted by the darling baby clothes (I resisted).
In the morning we went to a little town called Ronda, which is famous because it is built around a very deep ravine. Pretty amazing views! The places we visited on this trip were a fair distance away, one to two hours, but we didn’t mind the drive. We’d rented a mini-van, and Noah had the back seat to himself, where he quietly played with his stuffed animals and drew. Meredith and Ethan had the middle seat, and Ethan’s ipod kept him happy. And Scott had his GPS, which made us both happy.
The next morning we went to the Alhambra. I’d read about it but really didn’t know what to expect. It was amazing! The tilework was beautiful. We spent a good amount of time wandering around the gardens. We got to take a tour inside, but we had to make it kind of quick because Mer got fussy. The ceilings were pretty spectacular. We also met a nice young man from England (Leeds) who took a cute picture of Noah and Meredith and later emailed it to us. We always meet such nice people when we travel!
One thing you can easily get in Spain is good pizza, pasta, and gelato, so that’s what we had for dinner. When we eat out with Noah and Meredith it is usually a pretty fast meal. We have to be able to make a quick getaway in case of an outburst. One of the things we do when we travel is take along Trivial Pursuit cards and ask questions during the meal. We make up animal questions for Noah, and he loves to answer them.
The next day was Wednesday, and we didn’t do a lot until the afternoon. We’d brought games and we had internet access. Scott and Ethan went swimming with Meredith and Noah went to the kids’ club, which gave me some time to work on my paper for my class. (I’m still working on it, it’s due December 17th.) This was the first trip where I brought along my Kindle, and it was wonderful! No heavy backpack full of paperback books! I really enjoy it for travel, although I like regular books when I’m at home. One problem with the Kindle is a lot of the books you download have typos - - one of them was entirely unreadable. Anyway in the afternoon we went to the town Mijas, which was very cute, and had a nice dinner. It was fun walking around together.
On our trip I got a little owie, Meredith bonked the back of her head into my eyebrow bone, leaving me with quite a shiner. It looks like I’ve got very vibrant green and purple eyeshadow on. And it’s still there, almost 2 weeks later! When Noah sees it he says, “yook!”
Thursday was Thanksgiving. We’ve had some unusual Thanksgivings, and this was no different. We got up early-ish and went to Gibraltar. It is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. Its isthmus connects to the north with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region and about 40,000 people live there. The Rock itself is pretty amazing, it is huge! It ended up being most cost effective to hire a tour guide to drive us (we didn’t take our car there, we parked it in Spain. You have to go through customs to get into Gibraltar.) Our guide was very nice and knowledgeable. We first went to some neat caves with lots of stalactites and stalagmites. Then we went to an area where we saw the famous apes of Gibraltar (they are Barbary apes). They were very friendly and we had to hold the little kids back a little. I was nervous, having been menaced by monkeys twice before, but this time they left me alone. We got some great pictures.
Next we visited another set of caves which were used during WWI and WWII. The whole area had been made into a museum, which was quite interesting. Our guide took us back to the main square where we had lunch and then spent some time shopping. Everything was very expensive, but it was fun to look! When it came time to go back we had to cross an active runway. This was Scott’s favorite part of the trip. There is only one runway at the airport there, and only a few flights a day go in and out. So a large street crosses the runway and they shut it down when a plane is landing or taking off. Pretty cool!
After a long day we were too tired to go out to eat (and I doubt the kids would have made it). The hotel had a Thanksgiving dinner special, but it was very expensive, and we’d had breakfast at the restaurant there and it wasn’t all that great. So instead we went to the grocery store and bought bread and crackers and cheese and salami and fruit and cookies and ice cream. Ultrafeast! A non-traditional but very fun Thanksgiving dinner, and we counted our blessings. We truly are so thankful for our family and for the gospel.
Our visit to Morocco was the best day. We had to drive to Terife, Spain, where there was a ferry that took us across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier. Morocco is part of Africa, and we were able to take pictures at the northernmost point of the continent. Our guide met us when we got off the very, a very nice man named Aziz. He also was the guide for Rick Steves, who has a travel show, and we actually saw an episode they did about Spain and Morocco and Aziz was in it! He really bonded with Noah and later sent us a couple of very sweet emails, including one to Noah for his birthday.
Ethan’s favorite place was Morocco, because the movie “The Bourne Ultimatum” had several scenes filmed there. Aziz and our driver (Mohammad) had both worked on the set of the movie, so they took us to all the spots, including a café, a place where a car bomb exploded, and the scene of a rooftop chase (Ethan and Scott actually got to go up to the rooftop!) It was very exciting for him!
Morocco is a very interesting country. It is a mixture of many cultures and religions. Officially it is an Islamic country, but Aziz pointed out a Catholic church and a Jewish synagogue before we came to our first mosque. The official language is Arabic, second is French (there is a lot of French influence there, and the street signs are in both Arabic and French). The third most common language is Spanish, and the fourth is English. The people there were all very friendly, and they were entranced by Meredith and her blond hair. One little girl came right up to her and kissed her on the cheek! And people were very friendly to Noah as well.
Aziz drove us through some of the wealthy areas, past where the king of Morocco has a palace (the capital is Rabat, which is where the main palace is.) For many years Tangier didn’t have a great reputation, but over the past 10 years, since the king came into power, it has undergone great changes, a big clean-up and more new construction than I’ve ever seen anywhere. There is a lot to recommend it as a tourist destination, including beautiful preserved land and pristine beaches.
On the side of the road was a “camel stand” for tourists - - you paid a few euros and got to ride a camel. There were 3 big ones and a baby (cute!) So of course we stopped, and Scott and Meredith, Noah and I, and Ethan all rode the 3 big camels. We got some great pictures and it was very fun. Afterwards Aziz said he’d take us to the best restrooms in Tangier to freshen up. Turns out he knew the owner of a gorgeous small hotel, and we got to go in and use the facilities (which were as lovely as promised.) Aziz seemed to know just about everybody; he was a wonderful guide. Ethan was happy because it was the same hotel where Matt Damon stayed during the filming of the Bourne movie.
We visited some very interesting ancient caves next. They are called the Hercules caves, and the outermost part was formed naturally. But the inner rooms were made by early people carving out huge flat circular stones to grind grains. You could see where some partially carved out stones were. It was fascinating.
We had lunch at a very typical Moroccan restaurant - - the most delicious couscous with a topping of vegetables and raisins, of all things. They were boiled and very sweet and tasty. We also had chicken and lamb kabobs. Then to work off our feast we walked around the downtown, including a neat outdoor market (there were plucked, headless chickens hanging up, causing Noah to ask, “What happened?”) Really cool displays of many different types of olives. The climate there is very temperate and they can grow all kinds of fruits and veggies.
Our last stop was a rug shop. It was kind of a hard sell, but we enjoyed it anyway. Meredith just roamed around on the carpets, while we learned about the different types and styles. Scott was a great haggler and we bought a small rug for a very good price, a nice souvenir of our trip that is now in the music room. We really enjoyed ourselves, especially Noah, who pretended he was selling rugs too. We were sorry to say goodbye, it was such a fun day!
We were so lucky, weatherwise, on this trip. Almost every day rain was forecast, but we didn’t get rained on at all. On the day we went to Morocco it rained as we were driving to Terife, then stopped the whole time we were out. About 5 minutes after we got back into our car to go back to the hotel it started pouring. It did rain all day the next day, but we’d planned on having a lazy day and just hanging out at the hotel anyway, so it was fine.
So our Saturday was a lazy day and then the next day we flew home. Our flights were uneventful - - but here’s a tip: never fly Iberian airlines. The food was inedible and the service was poor. Both Meredith and Noah behaved themselves, although Mer only slept about 30 minutes on the 9-hour flight. Wow, were we beat when we got home! Now we’re on reverse jet lag, where we fall asleep early and wake up at 4 or 5:00. I get so much done in the mornings, but I’m pretty useless after about 7:00 p.m. We’re finally unpacked and getting into the swing of the holiday season. We wish you all joy as you prepare for Christmas. Remember the reason we celebrate this holiday!
We had a fun and eventful November. The big thing was our Thanksgiving trip. It is difficult to get good, cheap flights within the US this time of year so, as usual, we went somewhere else. (It’s a good thing we didn’t try Idaho, because we probably would have been held up by the snow, always a risk out there in winter. One night in the Malad middle school is enough for me!) Anyway Scott had a trip to Spain all planned out for us. Remember how he said travel would slow down after our flight benefits ran out? Ha! He’s traveling so much for work that he has a ton of frequent flyer miles and hotel points, so we can still get around and satisfy his wanderlust.
The flight to Madrid was fine until we were landing and Meredith threw up all over Scott. It was awful, and he couldn’t take her to the bathroom because the seatbelt sign was on and we were about to touch down. Very messy and smelly. Otherwise it was ok and Noah did quite well. We had a long layover and then a flight to Malaga (only an hour) and about an hour’s drive to Marbella, where we stayed. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo - - it was so nice to have a kitchen and laundry! It was late so we went to bed, trying to stave off jet lag. It worked pretty well, and the kids slept soundly. Meredith really did great sleeping-wise.
The next day we kind of had a lazy day recovering from the flying. It was nice to just hang out together. We’d given Noah “Toy Story 3” as an early birthday present and he watched it about a million times. He just loved it, and it was fun to see him enjoying it. Noah is very active when he watches movies, he uses his toys to act out the scenes and sings along with the music - - it’s really cute.
For dinner we went into Marbella and ate at a delicious Lebanese restaurant. Wonderful food! I’m so glad my kids are adventurous about eating! I hope Meredith grows up to be as good an eater as her brothers. After dinner we wandered around the town and looked in the shops. Marbella is right on the coast and is a very popular place with wealthy Europeans, especially those from England. The shops were very expensive, but I was still tempted by the darling baby clothes (I resisted).
In the morning we went to a little town called Ronda, which is famous because it is built around a very deep ravine. Pretty amazing views! The places we visited on this trip were a fair distance away, one to two hours, but we didn’t mind the drive. We’d rented a mini-van, and Noah had the back seat to himself, where he quietly played with his stuffed animals and drew. Meredith and Ethan had the middle seat, and Ethan’s ipod kept him happy. And Scott had his GPS, which made us both happy.
The next morning we went to the Alhambra. I’d read about it but really didn’t know what to expect. It was amazing! The tilework was beautiful. We spent a good amount of time wandering around the gardens. We got to take a tour inside, but we had to make it kind of quick because Mer got fussy. The ceilings were pretty spectacular. We also met a nice young man from England (Leeds) who took a cute picture of Noah and Meredith and later emailed it to us. We always meet such nice people when we travel!
One thing you can easily get in Spain is good pizza, pasta, and gelato, so that’s what we had for dinner. When we eat out with Noah and Meredith it is usually a pretty fast meal. We have to be able to make a quick getaway in case of an outburst. One of the things we do when we travel is take along Trivial Pursuit cards and ask questions during the meal. We make up animal questions for Noah, and he loves to answer them.
The next day was Wednesday, and we didn’t do a lot until the afternoon. We’d brought games and we had internet access. Scott and Ethan went swimming with Meredith and Noah went to the kids’ club, which gave me some time to work on my paper for my class. (I’m still working on it, it’s due December 17th.) This was the first trip where I brought along my Kindle, and it was wonderful! No heavy backpack full of paperback books! I really enjoy it for travel, although I like regular books when I’m at home. One problem with the Kindle is a lot of the books you download have typos - - one of them was entirely unreadable. Anyway in the afternoon we went to the town Mijas, which was very cute, and had a nice dinner. It was fun walking around together.
On our trip I got a little owie, Meredith bonked the back of her head into my eyebrow bone, leaving me with quite a shiner. It looks like I’ve got very vibrant green and purple eyeshadow on. And it’s still there, almost 2 weeks later! When Noah sees it he says, “yook!”
Thursday was Thanksgiving. We’ve had some unusual Thanksgivings, and this was no different. We got up early-ish and went to Gibraltar. It is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. Its isthmus connects to the north with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region and about 40,000 people live there. The Rock itself is pretty amazing, it is huge! It ended up being most cost effective to hire a tour guide to drive us (we didn’t take our car there, we parked it in Spain. You have to go through customs to get into Gibraltar.) Our guide was very nice and knowledgeable. We first went to some neat caves with lots of stalactites and stalagmites. Then we went to an area where we saw the famous apes of Gibraltar (they are Barbary apes). They were very friendly and we had to hold the little kids back a little. I was nervous, having been menaced by monkeys twice before, but this time they left me alone. We got some great pictures.
Next we visited another set of caves which were used during WWI and WWII. The whole area had been made into a museum, which was quite interesting. Our guide took us back to the main square where we had lunch and then spent some time shopping. Everything was very expensive, but it was fun to look! When it came time to go back we had to cross an active runway. This was Scott’s favorite part of the trip. There is only one runway at the airport there, and only a few flights a day go in and out. So a large street crosses the runway and they shut it down when a plane is landing or taking off. Pretty cool!
After a long day we were too tired to go out to eat (and I doubt the kids would have made it). The hotel had a Thanksgiving dinner special, but it was very expensive, and we’d had breakfast at the restaurant there and it wasn’t all that great. So instead we went to the grocery store and bought bread and crackers and cheese and salami and fruit and cookies and ice cream. Ultrafeast! A non-traditional but very fun Thanksgiving dinner, and we counted our blessings. We truly are so thankful for our family and for the gospel.
Our visit to Morocco was the best day. We had to drive to Terife, Spain, where there was a ferry that took us across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier. Morocco is part of Africa, and we were able to take pictures at the northernmost point of the continent. Our guide met us when we got off the very, a very nice man named Aziz. He also was the guide for Rick Steves, who has a travel show, and we actually saw an episode they did about Spain and Morocco and Aziz was in it! He really bonded with Noah and later sent us a couple of very sweet emails, including one to Noah for his birthday.
Ethan’s favorite place was Morocco, because the movie “The Bourne Ultimatum” had several scenes filmed there. Aziz and our driver (Mohammad) had both worked on the set of the movie, so they took us to all the spots, including a café, a place where a car bomb exploded, and the scene of a rooftop chase (Ethan and Scott actually got to go up to the rooftop!) It was very exciting for him!
Morocco is a very interesting country. It is a mixture of many cultures and religions. Officially it is an Islamic country, but Aziz pointed out a Catholic church and a Jewish synagogue before we came to our first mosque. The official language is Arabic, second is French (there is a lot of French influence there, and the street signs are in both Arabic and French). The third most common language is Spanish, and the fourth is English. The people there were all very friendly, and they were entranced by Meredith and her blond hair. One little girl came right up to her and kissed her on the cheek! And people were very friendly to Noah as well.
Aziz drove us through some of the wealthy areas, past where the king of Morocco has a palace (the capital is Rabat, which is where the main palace is.) For many years Tangier didn’t have a great reputation, but over the past 10 years, since the king came into power, it has undergone great changes, a big clean-up and more new construction than I’ve ever seen anywhere. There is a lot to recommend it as a tourist destination, including beautiful preserved land and pristine beaches.
On the side of the road was a “camel stand” for tourists - - you paid a few euros and got to ride a camel. There were 3 big ones and a baby (cute!) So of course we stopped, and Scott and Meredith, Noah and I, and Ethan all rode the 3 big camels. We got some great pictures and it was very fun. Afterwards Aziz said he’d take us to the best restrooms in Tangier to freshen up. Turns out he knew the owner of a gorgeous small hotel, and we got to go in and use the facilities (which were as lovely as promised.) Aziz seemed to know just about everybody; he was a wonderful guide. Ethan was happy because it was the same hotel where Matt Damon stayed during the filming of the Bourne movie.
We visited some very interesting ancient caves next. They are called the Hercules caves, and the outermost part was formed naturally. But the inner rooms were made by early people carving out huge flat circular stones to grind grains. You could see where some partially carved out stones were. It was fascinating.
We had lunch at a very typical Moroccan restaurant - - the most delicious couscous with a topping of vegetables and raisins, of all things. They were boiled and very sweet and tasty. We also had chicken and lamb kabobs. Then to work off our feast we walked around the downtown, including a neat outdoor market (there were plucked, headless chickens hanging up, causing Noah to ask, “What happened?”) Really cool displays of many different types of olives. The climate there is very temperate and they can grow all kinds of fruits and veggies.
Our last stop was a rug shop. It was kind of a hard sell, but we enjoyed it anyway. Meredith just roamed around on the carpets, while we learned about the different types and styles. Scott was a great haggler and we bought a small rug for a very good price, a nice souvenir of our trip that is now in the music room. We really enjoyed ourselves, especially Noah, who pretended he was selling rugs too. We were sorry to say goodbye, it was such a fun day!
We were so lucky, weatherwise, on this trip. Almost every day rain was forecast, but we didn’t get rained on at all. On the day we went to Morocco it rained as we were driving to Terife, then stopped the whole time we were out. About 5 minutes after we got back into our car to go back to the hotel it started pouring. It did rain all day the next day, but we’d planned on having a lazy day and just hanging out at the hotel anyway, so it was fine.
So our Saturday was a lazy day and then the next day we flew home. Our flights were uneventful - - but here’s a tip: never fly Iberian airlines. The food was inedible and the service was poor. Both Meredith and Noah behaved themselves, although Mer only slept about 30 minutes on the 9-hour flight. Wow, were we beat when we got home! Now we’re on reverse jet lag, where we fall asleep early and wake up at 4 or 5:00. I get so much done in the mornings, but I’m pretty useless after about 7:00 p.m. We’re finally unpacked and getting into the swing of the holiday season. We wish you all joy as you prepare for Christmas. Remember the reason we celebrate this holiday!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thank Goodness it's nearly November
Parts of October were great, but the last 3 weeks have been pretty incredibly stressful. The first 10 days Scott and Ethan went to Peru. Yeah, I know. Amazing! Really they did have a fantastic time as you can see from the pictures. I was a little bit jealous, but I also had fun because Omi came out to visit me! She brought out lots and lots of fabric and put together some really cute quilt kits for the hume room. I had projects too. I was recently called as the new primary chorister and Omi helped me (actually she did most of it)make a really fun poster of a thumbs up/thumbs down (for when the kids are singing well, or not so well.) I made a couple of other posters too. We got a babysitter a couple of times and went shopping sans kids, which was a real treat. Amazing how many stores you can visit when you aren't dragging the kids around. But the most fun we had was with the kids. Noah was thrilled to see his Omi, even though it kind of upset the even tenor of his way. Noah likes his little routines, and I think he associated Omi coming with Scott and Ethan going, because a couple of times he told her to pack her suitcase. Maybe he thought that would bring his dad home sooner. But he really did enjoy having her visit and they had some nice talks. The one who really bonded with Omi for the first time was Meredith. They hadn't been able to spend much time together prior to this and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that Omi totally fell in love. Meredith is such a friendly little sweetheart and she gave Omi lots of hugs and loves. She is at the most fun age, learning new words, toddling around, and being so interested in everything and everyone. Her first word was hi, and she says it to everyone, including people in stores, parking lots, she just loves the world. She loves the animal kingdom too, especially dogs. Our neighbors have a very large dalmation and Mer has become very fond of it. She says "dog" and "woof woof" a lot. She also has expressed a preference for "Clifford" on PBS. I kind of hate Clifford but I let her watch it anyway, she loves the dog so much.
This morning before church I was in the primary room and Meredith pointed to the big picture of Jesus and said, "Jesus" just as clearly as could be. She did it several times, and later pointed to another picture and said it again. She also folds her arms for prayer, she just started doing that on her own. So cute! She gives high fives and fist bumps (the scouts taught her that) and everyone loves her. Ian and Brandon, the sons of my friend Darla (who babysits for me on Mondays) just adore her and want to play with her all the time. She is the joy of my life! And boy did Omi and I have some great fun shopping for clothes for her and looking at fancy little girl dresses. I recently bought a toddler bed and cute owl bedding from Target but we don't have the bed put together yet. So many things on the to-do list.
A little more about my new calling - - I love it! I was sad to say goodbye to the young women after 3 years, they are wonderful and we have had some great times together. But being the primary chorister is a lot of fun! I was kind of thrown into the deep end because the annual program was just 3 weeks after I got called (and one of those weeks was conference!) But the kids sang beautifully. Oh and Noah did such an amazing job with his part. I wrote it out for him, "Jesus said, 'if you love me, keep my commandments'" and we practiced it over and over. But you never know with Noah if he's going to do something silly. Well not this time - - he got up and said every word perfectly and clearly. He did as well as any other kid there. I was bursting with pride, and I guess he was too, because on his way back to his seat he raised up both his arms and said, "yeah!" What a doll! He works so hard and it is beautiful to see his progress. Omi mentioned to me how much clearer his speech has become.
Well Scott and Ethan got back on Monday, October 11th, but Scott had to leave again the very next day. He has been gone every week for at least 3 days. It is not easy being a single parent. The worst was week before last. Noah was sick, throwing up, all Sunday night. Ethan and I both got sick Monday night, and Scott left Tuesday morning. This was a yucky flu, lots of barfing (Ethan set the record with 27 upchucks) and terrible body aches. We were miserable, but I was better by Wednesday night. Ethan was not. He came into my room that night just doubled over in pain. He had been so stoic during his illness that I knew he was really sick. I was scared and grabbed the other kids and raced to the hospital. My wonderful friend Darla met me there and took Noah and Mer back to her house to spend the night. Ethan and I spent 5 hours in the emergency room. Fortunately his pain subsided somewhat. I was worried that his appendix had ruptured or something. He was dehydrated from so much vomiting so they gave him a lot of IV fluids, then he had to drink this yucky contrast stuff and have a cat scan. His appendix was fine but there was fluid around his liver and his liver enzymes were elevated. I had to take him to the dr. the next day, but he was quite a bit better by then. I think it was mostly caused by dehydration and not eating. Poor kid! He's fine now, but still hasn't gained back all the weight he lost. Sadly, I have.
Another busy thing we had was houseguest for a few days, our dear friends the Felsteds were moving to North Carolina. They're stuff had already shipped so we invited them to stay with us and we had a going away party for them. They have 3 kids, and their youngest, Henry, is just a few weeks older than Meredith. It was fun to watch them together. The party was a big his and we had about 40 people here and lots of good food. It went on a little longer than we'd planned, but once things get going they're hard to stop (ha ha). Mostly it was just difficult to round up all the kids! We're going to miss the Felsteds, they are really fun people.
We had 2 other parties this month - - 2 Saturdays ago was our annual Down syndrome Halloween party. I was in charge of some of it, and as in the past couple of years we had it at the church. This was the best party we've had yet, a big turnout (60 people) and lots of fun. Noah had a great time with his "girlfriends" Leah and Vanessa. He dressed up as a cowboy, and wore the awesome hat Scott brought back for him from Peru. Last night was our ward party, and it was packed with people. They had a chili and cornbread cookoff - - yummy, as well as cake and pumpkin decorating contests. The pumpkin winner had carved his so it looked like it was barfing out its own seeds and guts. Disgusting, but so hilarious! Meredith looked absolutely adorable in a little zebra costume and won 2nd place in the girls' age 0 to 6 category. She and Noah had fun trick-or-treating tonight at our neighbors' houses. I love the cute little kids who come to our door, but I hate the teenagers who don't even bother to dress up, they just show up and demand candy. I'd say no, but I don't want my house to get egged. Sometimes they're a little scary.
I'm not crazy about Halloween as a holiday, but I do love that it's Mom's birthday and we all wish her a very happy one!
This morning before church I was in the primary room and Meredith pointed to the big picture of Jesus and said, "Jesus" just as clearly as could be. She did it several times, and later pointed to another picture and said it again. She also folds her arms for prayer, she just started doing that on her own. So cute! She gives high fives and fist bumps (the scouts taught her that) and everyone loves her. Ian and Brandon, the sons of my friend Darla (who babysits for me on Mondays) just adore her and want to play with her all the time. She is the joy of my life! And boy did Omi and I have some great fun shopping for clothes for her and looking at fancy little girl dresses. I recently bought a toddler bed and cute owl bedding from Target but we don't have the bed put together yet. So many things on the to-do list.
A little more about my new calling - - I love it! I was sad to say goodbye to the young women after 3 years, they are wonderful and we have had some great times together. But being the primary chorister is a lot of fun! I was kind of thrown into the deep end because the annual program was just 3 weeks after I got called (and one of those weeks was conference!) But the kids sang beautifully. Oh and Noah did such an amazing job with his part. I wrote it out for him, "Jesus said, 'if you love me, keep my commandments'" and we practiced it over and over. But you never know with Noah if he's going to do something silly. Well not this time - - he got up and said every word perfectly and clearly. He did as well as any other kid there. I was bursting with pride, and I guess he was too, because on his way back to his seat he raised up both his arms and said, "yeah!" What a doll! He works so hard and it is beautiful to see his progress. Omi mentioned to me how much clearer his speech has become.
Well Scott and Ethan got back on Monday, October 11th, but Scott had to leave again the very next day. He has been gone every week for at least 3 days. It is not easy being a single parent. The worst was week before last. Noah was sick, throwing up, all Sunday night. Ethan and I both got sick Monday night, and Scott left Tuesday morning. This was a yucky flu, lots of barfing (Ethan set the record with 27 upchucks) and terrible body aches. We were miserable, but I was better by Wednesday night. Ethan was not. He came into my room that night just doubled over in pain. He had been so stoic during his illness that I knew he was really sick. I was scared and grabbed the other kids and raced to the hospital. My wonderful friend Darla met me there and took Noah and Mer back to her house to spend the night. Ethan and I spent 5 hours in the emergency room. Fortunately his pain subsided somewhat. I was worried that his appendix had ruptured or something. He was dehydrated from so much vomiting so they gave him a lot of IV fluids, then he had to drink this yucky contrast stuff and have a cat scan. His appendix was fine but there was fluid around his liver and his liver enzymes were elevated. I had to take him to the dr. the next day, but he was quite a bit better by then. I think it was mostly caused by dehydration and not eating. Poor kid! He's fine now, but still hasn't gained back all the weight he lost. Sadly, I have.
Another busy thing we had was houseguest for a few days, our dear friends the Felsteds were moving to North Carolina. They're stuff had already shipped so we invited them to stay with us and we had a going away party for them. They have 3 kids, and their youngest, Henry, is just a few weeks older than Meredith. It was fun to watch them together. The party was a big his and we had about 40 people here and lots of good food. It went on a little longer than we'd planned, but once things get going they're hard to stop (ha ha). Mostly it was just difficult to round up all the kids! We're going to miss the Felsteds, they are really fun people.
We had 2 other parties this month - - 2 Saturdays ago was our annual Down syndrome Halloween party. I was in charge of some of it, and as in the past couple of years we had it at the church. This was the best party we've had yet, a big turnout (60 people) and lots of fun. Noah had a great time with his "girlfriends" Leah and Vanessa. He dressed up as a cowboy, and wore the awesome hat Scott brought back for him from Peru. Last night was our ward party, and it was packed with people. They had a chili and cornbread cookoff - - yummy, as well as cake and pumpkin decorating contests. The pumpkin winner had carved his so it looked like it was barfing out its own seeds and guts. Disgusting, but so hilarious! Meredith looked absolutely adorable in a little zebra costume and won 2nd place in the girls' age 0 to 6 category. She and Noah had fun trick-or-treating tonight at our neighbors' houses. I love the cute little kids who come to our door, but I hate the teenagers who don't even bother to dress up, they just show up and demand candy. I'd say no, but I don't want my house to get egged. Sometimes they're a little scary.
I'm not crazy about Halloween as a holiday, but I do love that it's Mom's birthday and we all wish her a very happy one!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
It's Autumn Time!
I am so glad it's finally Fall! This was a long hot summer and I'm grateful for the cool, crisp weather. September was really a beautiful month. The kids got settled back into school and are enjoying their new classes. Ethan is doing well in his last year of middle school. He decided to do cross-country this year, since a couple of his buddies were doing it. It was not easy, he had practice almost every day after school and one to two meets per week. But he did great! I was so proud of him sticking to it. He turned out to be a great runner, continually bettering his times for the two-mile. He especially was good at pouring on the steam during the last 50 or so yards. He enjoyed it so much that he plans to do track in the Spring. Yay Ethan! Ethan is also working hard on merit badges for scouts, and continues to learn about World War II in his free time.
Noah is also loving school. He had to miss a few days in the middle of the month to go to the hospital for a "colon cleanse." It's even worse than it sounds. He had to have a naso-gastric tube (through his nose and into his stomach). He was fed gallons of solution through the tube until his entire digestive tract was empty. It took 3 days. Noah was really tough. He pulled out the tube onece, but after we stuck it back in he realized we meant business and after that he wouldn't let anyone touch it. Even though he felt sick at times he was a great patient. Thank goodness for his DVD player and Barney and Elmo DVDs.
Noah continues to study hard and his speech has become quite clear. He loves to write numbers and letters and draw pictures. It's pretty unusual for him not to have a pen and paper in hand.
Meredith is such a little doll! She is walking very well now and can go up and down the stairs. Her first word was, "hi," which is typical of her extremely friendly nature. She can also say "Mama" and "Daddy" and "nose." She loves books and has finally stopped chewing on them and started looking at the pages! She is such a sweetheart and we are all just crazy about her. She smiles constantly and likes to give high fives and fist bumps (the scouts taught her that.) She also, on her own, folds her arms for prayer. It's so cute!
Scott is traveling a lot for work, 2 or 3 days every week, usually. When home he loves to take Noah and Meredith to the gym so he can play tennis. We've also gone out to eat with friends a few times, which is always fun.
I am enjoying my graduate class (Information Literacy) more than I thought I would. I have learned so much and it's great to feel like I'm putting my brain to work. I am learning about researching, especially academic journals, and I've started work on a 20 page paper about the benefits of signing to individuals with Down syndrome (my choice of topic, obviously.) I also recently was called to be the primary chorister and have been busy getting ready for the primary program. And the Down syndrome group keeps me occupied with various activities and the bi-monthly newsletter.
It was great to take a break from all that stuff and go out to Utah for Kyle and Linzi's sealing! How wonderful to see them after so long, and it was great to see Linzi's family again (they're so much fun!) I stayed with Beebs and she and Heidi and I stayed up late talking and laughing like crazy. We also enjoyed an all-girl shopping spree that lasted most of Friday. Fun! Beebs is always such a great host and it was great to hang out with family. I was pretty bummed when I had to leave, but glad to see Scott and the kids again. Wow do I wish we lived closer together sometimes!
Love and miss you all so much!
Ali
Noah is also loving school. He had to miss a few days in the middle of the month to go to the hospital for a "colon cleanse." It's even worse than it sounds. He had to have a naso-gastric tube (through his nose and into his stomach). He was fed gallons of solution through the tube until his entire digestive tract was empty. It took 3 days. Noah was really tough. He pulled out the tube onece, but after we stuck it back in he realized we meant business and after that he wouldn't let anyone touch it. Even though he felt sick at times he was a great patient. Thank goodness for his DVD player and Barney and Elmo DVDs.
Noah continues to study hard and his speech has become quite clear. He loves to write numbers and letters and draw pictures. It's pretty unusual for him not to have a pen and paper in hand.
Meredith is such a little doll! She is walking very well now and can go up and down the stairs. Her first word was, "hi," which is typical of her extremely friendly nature. She can also say "Mama" and "Daddy" and "nose." She loves books and has finally stopped chewing on them and started looking at the pages! She is such a sweetheart and we are all just crazy about her. She smiles constantly and likes to give high fives and fist bumps (the scouts taught her that.) She also, on her own, folds her arms for prayer. It's so cute!
Scott is traveling a lot for work, 2 or 3 days every week, usually. When home he loves to take Noah and Meredith to the gym so he can play tennis. We've also gone out to eat with friends a few times, which is always fun.
I am enjoying my graduate class (Information Literacy) more than I thought I would. I have learned so much and it's great to feel like I'm putting my brain to work. I am learning about researching, especially academic journals, and I've started work on a 20 page paper about the benefits of signing to individuals with Down syndrome (my choice of topic, obviously.) I also recently was called to be the primary chorister and have been busy getting ready for the primary program. And the Down syndrome group keeps me occupied with various activities and the bi-monthly newsletter.
It was great to take a break from all that stuff and go out to Utah for Kyle and Linzi's sealing! How wonderful to see them after so long, and it was great to see Linzi's family again (they're so much fun!) I stayed with Beebs and she and Heidi and I stayed up late talking and laughing like crazy. We also enjoyed an all-girl shopping spree that lasted most of Friday. Fun! Beebs is always such a great host and it was great to hang out with family. I was pretty bummed when I had to leave, but glad to see Scott and the kids again. Wow do I wish we lived closer together sometimes!
Love and miss you all so much!
Ali
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Back to School
August was a busy month for us and a lot of things happened. The biggest happening was the return to school for Ethan and Noah. Ethan is in 8th grade and seems to be enjoying himself. He wrote a funny paper telling about himself for his language arts class - - some phrases were, "here are a few fun Ethan Garner facts," and "my brother Noah has Down syndrome with a side of alopecia," and "my family is equipped with the standard issue mom and dad." Not sure how I feel about being called "standard issue," but it was pretty funny anyway.
Ethan is doing cross-country this year, his first school sport. It requires a certain amount of effort on my part, because Noah's bus comes at the same time that Ethan finishes running, so I have to pick them both up from school every day. It's worth it though, and I'm very proud of Ethan for running, even when it's so humid and hot outside. I'm also proud of Ethan's work in scouts; he has earned enough merit badges to become a "star" scout (next is "life" and then "eagle.") He wants to get his eagle by the end of next summer, which would be great, because he'll only be busier once he gets into high school.
Noah is a big fifth-grader now. Somehow over the summer he grew taller and looks skinnier. I'm relieved he's so fit, because a lot of kids (and adults) with Down syndrome struggle with their weight. Luckily he has pretty healthy eating habits - - I don't know any other kid who likes V-8 as much as he does!
We recently took Noah in for an MRI (under anesthesia) of his lower spine. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to discuss the results. We're trying to discover the reason for his lack of sensation in his . . . bowels. Just another step in the long long road to continence.
Noah did 2 weeks of extended swim/play camp at the beginning of the month. He is really fearless about getting in the water, and I hope we can continue to work on his swimming skills. He was really excited about our annual DS picnic, but on the day it was held he got a high fever and Scott had to take him home. Ethan and I stayed and had a great time. I'm still writing the bi-monthly newsletter for our group - - I really enjoy my association with the good people that volunteer.
Scott has been traveling like crazy, he's gone this week from Monday to Friday. When I told him I missed him he said, "do you miss me or my help with the kids?" I had to admit it was a little of both. I don't know how single mothers do it! But Scott is very helpful when he is home and allows me some "me" time. He loves taking the kids swimming at the gym and they love to go with him!
Meredith is getting so big (literally - - she is off the charts for height!) She is at such a fun stage, learning new things all the time, toddling around everywhere, and babbling in her sweet little voice. She loves to sing along with music in the car and she has a funny little dance she does, too. She points at everything and says babble-words in an inquiring voice. I'm enjoying reading books to her and playing with her. She's also into everything, makes giant messes, and squawks when she doesn't get what she wants. But she's so cute that I just have to smile and give her even more hugs and kisses. Her bangs got so long that we finally trimmed them, she was looking like a sheepdog! Now her hair is a little more "styled." I love buying new clothes for her, still haven't gotten over the novelty of having my own little dolly to dress.
My own big news is that I've started a graduate program. I found an online one that I really liked - - it's a Master's in Liberal Studies with a focus on the Humanities at Fort Hays University. I have a lot of freedom and can take just one class a semester, which is perfect. I started my class on Monday and I'm enjoying it, even if I feel a little stressed out. I haven't done critical thinking and writing like this for a very long time. I'm also still learning how to use the online discussion board. But the topics are fascinating (the class is "Information Literacy: Applied Research for the Digital Age".) I have 2 exams, a 20 page paper, and weekly discussion questions. So it's a little overwhelming right now, but this is really something I've wanted to do for a long time, and in 5 years I'll be 5 years older whether I do it or not, so why not just do it?!
I'm super excited to go to Kyle and Linzi's sealing next weekend - - Scott is going to be watching the kids so I'll be free to hang out - - yay! Not that I don't love my little ones, but everyone needs a break now and then, right?
Love and miss you!
Ethan is doing cross-country this year, his first school sport. It requires a certain amount of effort on my part, because Noah's bus comes at the same time that Ethan finishes running, so I have to pick them both up from school every day. It's worth it though, and I'm very proud of Ethan for running, even when it's so humid and hot outside. I'm also proud of Ethan's work in scouts; he has earned enough merit badges to become a "star" scout (next is "life" and then "eagle.") He wants to get his eagle by the end of next summer, which would be great, because he'll only be busier once he gets into high school.
Noah is a big fifth-grader now. Somehow over the summer he grew taller and looks skinnier. I'm relieved he's so fit, because a lot of kids (and adults) with Down syndrome struggle with their weight. Luckily he has pretty healthy eating habits - - I don't know any other kid who likes V-8 as much as he does!
We recently took Noah in for an MRI (under anesthesia) of his lower spine. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to discuss the results. We're trying to discover the reason for his lack of sensation in his . . . bowels. Just another step in the long long road to continence.
Noah did 2 weeks of extended swim/play camp at the beginning of the month. He is really fearless about getting in the water, and I hope we can continue to work on his swimming skills. He was really excited about our annual DS picnic, but on the day it was held he got a high fever and Scott had to take him home. Ethan and I stayed and had a great time. I'm still writing the bi-monthly newsletter for our group - - I really enjoy my association with the good people that volunteer.
Scott has been traveling like crazy, he's gone this week from Monday to Friday. When I told him I missed him he said, "do you miss me or my help with the kids?" I had to admit it was a little of both. I don't know how single mothers do it! But Scott is very helpful when he is home and allows me some "me" time. He loves taking the kids swimming at the gym and they love to go with him!
Meredith is getting so big (literally - - she is off the charts for height!) She is at such a fun stage, learning new things all the time, toddling around everywhere, and babbling in her sweet little voice. She loves to sing along with music in the car and she has a funny little dance she does, too. She points at everything and says babble-words in an inquiring voice. I'm enjoying reading books to her and playing with her. She's also into everything, makes giant messes, and squawks when she doesn't get what she wants. But she's so cute that I just have to smile and give her even more hugs and kisses. Her bangs got so long that we finally trimmed them, she was looking like a sheepdog! Now her hair is a little more "styled." I love buying new clothes for her, still haven't gotten over the novelty of having my own little dolly to dress.
My own big news is that I've started a graduate program. I found an online one that I really liked - - it's a Master's in Liberal Studies with a focus on the Humanities at Fort Hays University. I have a lot of freedom and can take just one class a semester, which is perfect. I started my class on Monday and I'm enjoying it, even if I feel a little stressed out. I haven't done critical thinking and writing like this for a very long time. I'm also still learning how to use the online discussion board. But the topics are fascinating (the class is "Information Literacy: Applied Research for the Digital Age".) I have 2 exams, a 20 page paper, and weekly discussion questions. So it's a little overwhelming right now, but this is really something I've wanted to do for a long time, and in 5 years I'll be 5 years older whether I do it or not, so why not just do it?!
I'm super excited to go to Kyle and Linzi's sealing next weekend - - Scott is going to be watching the kids so I'll be free to hang out - - yay! Not that I don't love my little ones, but everyone needs a break now and then, right?
Love and miss you!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Turning 40
See my dedication?! I'm writing my family letter, even though I should be curled up into a ball weeping about turning 40. I guess I'll have to put that off until tomorrow.
Actually this has been a very nice birthday so far, and Scott is taking me out to dinner tonight, so that will be even better. The best present was picking Ethan up from camp, where he had been for almost 2 weeks. I missed him so much! It was a "Christian Youth" camp up at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. The first week was spent at the huge campground there. The boys stayed in cabins (there were over a hundred boys Ethan's age) and did all kinds of activities: paintball, rock climbing, banana boating, swimming, archery, etc. Ethan said the food was great and he had a good time. I asked him about the church aspect of it and he said, "it made me so glad I was a Mormon because I went to chapel and I couldn't really feel the spirit." He said he was so excited to come home and go to church. One of his cabin mates had a good friend who was Mormon, and he and Ethan had some good talks about the church. Ethan said he did appreciate very much that there was no swearing or taking of the Lord's name in vain.
The second week was spent with 18 other boys hiking and canoeing all over Wisconsin. On the Tuesday Ethan crashed his bike into a tree and sprained his wrist pretty badly and got scraped up. (Of course when I saw him today with his wrist brace and scratches I felt terrible that I hadn't been there for him - - my poor baby!) He recovered ok, but had to miss out on the rock climbing, which was a bummer. The counselors were very nice and took him to the nurse so he was well taken care of. He made some great friends, and helped out a couple of boys that had special needs. I'm so proud of him, 2 weeks is a long time to be away from home, and the last week was pretty strenuous, but he toughed it out.
Noah has been going around today telling me, "Happy birthday . . . forty!" Well it is true, I am forty. Yikes! But what a great life I have, with a wonderful husband, 3 fantastic children that I adore, and great friends and family. I certainly don't feel 40!
Having a 1 year old is either aging me rapidly or keeping me young. Meredith is on the verge of walking well (she takes lots of steps, but also falls down a lot). And she is into everything! I just bought a gate for the basement so she can play without me constantly dragging her away from the stairs or other no-nos. She is a very happy girl, with an infectious laugh. Her hair is getting long, in fact her bangs hang into her eyes, but I don't want to cut them (I'm afraid I'll do a terrible job - - how on earth would I get her to hold still?) I put in barrettes, but she often pulls them out and then tries to eat them. She has suddenly gotten very picky about food, so we're trying to creatively cram fruits and veggies into her. She is a little bundle of fun and it's so great to listen to her babble. Still waiting on an official first word, but I have a feeling it will be "DAD" - - she sure loves her pop!
Noah finished up his day camp, but he has 2 weeks of extended camp coming up. Yesterday he went on a field trip to the zoo, his favorite place ever. He has become very helpful around the house - - when I ask him to pick something up or help me in some way he always replies, "okay!" or "of course!" and it is so sweet! While we were out in Idaho Noah spent 3 days and nights at "Camp River Run," a special camp for children with medical problems or special needs (most of the kids didn't have developmental delays, but they are expanding their camp to include more of them). Scott actually met the guy that runs the camp on an airplane and that's how Noah was invited to attend. It's a free camp and run by all volunteers. They did lots of fun things like fishing and horseback riding. They said Noah was great and not too homesick. He came back with two new phrases: Camp River Run and Wild, Wild West! I'm so grateful for the wonderful people who choose to work with individuals with special needs. Noah has been so blessed with wonderful teachers and helpers, who continue to inspire me with their patience and love.
While Noah was at camp, Scott and Meredith and I flew up to Spokanne, Washington, and then drove to Sand Point, Idaho, where our friends John and Cynthia have a beautiful summer home. It's right on Lake Pend Oreille, and it is truly lovely. They are such generous people, and it was so restful to be there. We ate out a couple of times, put together a fun puzzle, played Trivial Pursuit, and Cynthia and I made a fantastic pie to enter into the summer pie making contest. They were very accommodating of Meredith too, which was lovely. I wish we could have stayed for a month!
The rest of our Idaho trip was much too short, but lots of fun. I actually had to fly out a few days late because of a bad sinus/ear infection (I have learned my lesson about flying with a stuffed head - - I have had times where I truly feared it would explode in some way!) So Scott, amazing man that he is, flew out earlier with all 3 kids! They attended the Garner family reunion, as well as the mission farewell of Scott's nephew Nate. I'm so grateful for Ethan's wonderful Garner cousins and their good examples to him!
I flew into Idaho Falls on a Sunday, the same day Scott and the kids drove to Sugar City (and also Meredith's 1st birthday!) She got 2 parties and cakes! I can't believe my precious baby is already one! Wow has the past year flown by. She is so darling, taking little wobbly steps and babbling so sweetly. She claps her hands and pats me on the arm when I'm holding her. Everyone comments on her constant smile and cheery disposition. She is such an angel! I can't believe how lucky we are to have her in our lives.
We had a great time visiting in Sugar City. Dad took the cousins to Craters of the Moon, which was great. He also tried to take Ethan and Milena to cave falls, but unfortunately the cave was closed. But Ethan and Beanie had a great time anyway. Heidi and I took all the kids swimming for several hours. It was wonderful to see everyone and hang out and talk. Thanks so much for the hospitality and the birthday gifts for Meredith! I wish so much we could have stayed longer!
Ethan stayed with Scott's brother Mike and his family while we were in Sand Point. He had a lot of fun swimming and hanging out, and maybe even learned to do a little bit of manual labor by digging holes for irrigation lines. It's awesome to have family on a farm (and with animals) because it gives the kids such a different experience when they get to visit.
I'm writing the rest of this post the day after my birthday, so I can tell you how wonderful it was. Scott had arranged to take me out to dinner, but I didn't know he'd also arranged a surprise party for me at the restaurant! When we got there I saw a big table full of people, all with their menus covering their faces, and I knew something was up! It was so much fun and I felt so loved! There were thoughtful gifts and a beautiful cake, decorated by my talented friend Michelle, and best of all such a nice feeling of love and friendship. It was one of the best nights I have had in a long time. It was great! And Scott also got me a Kindle (electronic reader), which I have tried out and really love! It can hold thousands of books, and will certainly change travel for me, since I will no longer have to carry and extra suitcase just for reading material. What a great and thoughtful husband! So turning 40 wasn't bad at all - - thanks to my sweet brothers and sisters for their happy wishes. I'll return to favor when you all turn 40 (it's coming sooner than you think!!!!!)
Actually this has been a very nice birthday so far, and Scott is taking me out to dinner tonight, so that will be even better. The best present was picking Ethan up from camp, where he had been for almost 2 weeks. I missed him so much! It was a "Christian Youth" camp up at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. The first week was spent at the huge campground there. The boys stayed in cabins (there were over a hundred boys Ethan's age) and did all kinds of activities: paintball, rock climbing, banana boating, swimming, archery, etc. Ethan said the food was great and he had a good time. I asked him about the church aspect of it and he said, "it made me so glad I was a Mormon because I went to chapel and I couldn't really feel the spirit." He said he was so excited to come home and go to church. One of his cabin mates had a good friend who was Mormon, and he and Ethan had some good talks about the church. Ethan said he did appreciate very much that there was no swearing or taking of the Lord's name in vain.
The second week was spent with 18 other boys hiking and canoeing all over Wisconsin. On the Tuesday Ethan crashed his bike into a tree and sprained his wrist pretty badly and got scraped up. (Of course when I saw him today with his wrist brace and scratches I felt terrible that I hadn't been there for him - - my poor baby!) He recovered ok, but had to miss out on the rock climbing, which was a bummer. The counselors were very nice and took him to the nurse so he was well taken care of. He made some great friends, and helped out a couple of boys that had special needs. I'm so proud of him, 2 weeks is a long time to be away from home, and the last week was pretty strenuous, but he toughed it out.
Noah has been going around today telling me, "Happy birthday . . . forty!" Well it is true, I am forty. Yikes! But what a great life I have, with a wonderful husband, 3 fantastic children that I adore, and great friends and family. I certainly don't feel 40!
Having a 1 year old is either aging me rapidly or keeping me young. Meredith is on the verge of walking well (she takes lots of steps, but also falls down a lot). And she is into everything! I just bought a gate for the basement so she can play without me constantly dragging her away from the stairs or other no-nos. She is a very happy girl, with an infectious laugh. Her hair is getting long, in fact her bangs hang into her eyes, but I don't want to cut them (I'm afraid I'll do a terrible job - - how on earth would I get her to hold still?) I put in barrettes, but she often pulls them out and then tries to eat them. She has suddenly gotten very picky about food, so we're trying to creatively cram fruits and veggies into her. She is a little bundle of fun and it's so great to listen to her babble. Still waiting on an official first word, but I have a feeling it will be "DAD" - - she sure loves her pop!
Noah finished up his day camp, but he has 2 weeks of extended camp coming up. Yesterday he went on a field trip to the zoo, his favorite place ever. He has become very helpful around the house - - when I ask him to pick something up or help me in some way he always replies, "okay!" or "of course!" and it is so sweet! While we were out in Idaho Noah spent 3 days and nights at "Camp River Run," a special camp for children with medical problems or special needs (most of the kids didn't have developmental delays, but they are expanding their camp to include more of them). Scott actually met the guy that runs the camp on an airplane and that's how Noah was invited to attend. It's a free camp and run by all volunteers. They did lots of fun things like fishing and horseback riding. They said Noah was great and not too homesick. He came back with two new phrases: Camp River Run and Wild, Wild West! I'm so grateful for the wonderful people who choose to work with individuals with special needs. Noah has been so blessed with wonderful teachers and helpers, who continue to inspire me with their patience and love.
While Noah was at camp, Scott and Meredith and I flew up to Spokanne, Washington, and then drove to Sand Point, Idaho, where our friends John and Cynthia have a beautiful summer home. It's right on Lake Pend Oreille, and it is truly lovely. They are such generous people, and it was so restful to be there. We ate out a couple of times, put together a fun puzzle, played Trivial Pursuit, and Cynthia and I made a fantastic pie to enter into the summer pie making contest. They were very accommodating of Meredith too, which was lovely. I wish we could have stayed for a month!
The rest of our Idaho trip was much too short, but lots of fun. I actually had to fly out a few days late because of a bad sinus/ear infection (I have learned my lesson about flying with a stuffed head - - I have had times where I truly feared it would explode in some way!) So Scott, amazing man that he is, flew out earlier with all 3 kids! They attended the Garner family reunion, as well as the mission farewell of Scott's nephew Nate. I'm so grateful for Ethan's wonderful Garner cousins and their good examples to him!
I flew into Idaho Falls on a Sunday, the same day Scott and the kids drove to Sugar City (and also Meredith's 1st birthday!) She got 2 parties and cakes! I can't believe my precious baby is already one! Wow has the past year flown by. She is so darling, taking little wobbly steps and babbling so sweetly. She claps her hands and pats me on the arm when I'm holding her. Everyone comments on her constant smile and cheery disposition. She is such an angel! I can't believe how lucky we are to have her in our lives.
We had a great time visiting in Sugar City. Dad took the cousins to Craters of the Moon, which was great. He also tried to take Ethan and Milena to cave falls, but unfortunately the cave was closed. But Ethan and Beanie had a great time anyway. Heidi and I took all the kids swimming for several hours. It was wonderful to see everyone and hang out and talk. Thanks so much for the hospitality and the birthday gifts for Meredith! I wish so much we could have stayed longer!
Ethan stayed with Scott's brother Mike and his family while we were in Sand Point. He had a lot of fun swimming and hanging out, and maybe even learned to do a little bit of manual labor by digging holes for irrigation lines. It's awesome to have family on a farm (and with animals) because it gives the kids such a different experience when they get to visit.
I'm writing the rest of this post the day after my birthday, so I can tell you how wonderful it was. Scott had arranged to take me out to dinner, but I didn't know he'd also arranged a surprise party for me at the restaurant! When we got there I saw a big table full of people, all with their menus covering their faces, and I knew something was up! It was so much fun and I felt so loved! There were thoughtful gifts and a beautiful cake, decorated by my talented friend Michelle, and best of all such a nice feeling of love and friendship. It was one of the best nights I have had in a long time. It was great! And Scott also got me a Kindle (electronic reader), which I have tried out and really love! It can hold thousands of books, and will certainly change travel for me, since I will no longer have to carry and extra suitcase just for reading material. What a great and thoughtful husband! So turning 40 wasn't bad at all - - thanks to my sweet brothers and sisters for their happy wishes. I'll return to favor when you all turn 40 (it's coming sooner than you think!!!!!)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
June
I can't believe the month is over! It's been busy and fun and full of mosquitos. We have had a lot of rain here, including some violent thunderstorms, and the mosquitos are worse than I ever remember them being. I've been spending a lot of time outside, too, because I've been working in the yard. There was a great sale on perennials at Lowe's and I went a little crazy buying plants. It took forever to get them all in the ground, but they look very nice! I think this is the best our yard has ever looked. Now I just have to keep it weeded . . .
Ethan finished up the school year with a bang, and stayed on the high honor roll. He had a couple of lazy weeks (although he'll tell you I badgered him to work most of the time) and now he's off at scout camp. I really miss him! Ethan is great company and we enjoy chatting and having "megafeasts" and watching Seinfeld or the Office. But I know he's having a fun time. The camp is a full week, and Ethan planned to earn several merit badges, including swimming, archery, tracking, and rifle shooting (!) At home we've been working on merit badges as well: medicine, dentistry, music, disability awareness, reading, and family life. Ethan is continuing with guitar lessons over the summer, and is volunteering as a "book buddy" at the library (he listens to a younger boy read and helps him out). He's had fun hanging out with friends and is looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer.
Noah had one week off (during which he missed school very much!) and then started NISRA summer camp (Norther Illinois Special Recreation Association). It's 4 days a week from 9:15 to 3:15. Twice a week he goes swimming, on Mondays he visits the library, and on Wednesdays he gets to go to McDonald's and order a meal. He loves camp! On Friday's he's signed up for some fun field trips. Last week he went with a group to a children's museum in Milwaukee. Noah is Mr. Social, so the camps are awesome for him. Today he didn't go to camp so he could attend the ward cub scout day camp instead. It was a really beautiful day, sunny but not too hot, and he swam and played soccer. We have great kids in our ward who really go out of their way to include Noah in the activities. It was so sweet to watch them let Noah kick the ball in soccer.
Noah is so funny, when he's at home he likes to set up a little work table for himself. He goes through reams of paper, writing numbers and letters and drawing funny little pictures. He has a little magnifying glass shaped like a megaphone that he uses as an inkwell - - it's a hoot watching him pretend dip his pen in it. Last week he set up his table with paper, pens, a magic wand, his plastic briefcase . . . and a nasal aspirator. Guess he wanted to be ready for anything!
Little Meredith is getting bigger and bigger (she'll be one in 11 days!) Her hair is long enough now that I can put a barrette in it! She has such a sweet temperment, and is always willing to give hugs to our friends. She's "cruising" (walking around holding on to things) and I'm sure she'll be walking very soon. She loves to get into things, open cupboards, and make messes. And everything goes in her mouth. I have a missing library book, and I'm beginning to think that she might have eaten it.
One of the adoption caseworkers has parents in our neighborhood (what a coincidence, right?!) and was in town this week. She's the one that was there when Meredith was born and watched her all day. She got to come over and visit and it was wonderful to see her and show her how big our baby has gotten. Hard to believe it's been almost a year, and yet I can't even imagine our life without her!
Scott is such a great dad. We honored him with some fancy chocolate and a nice father's day dinner (kabobs on the new grill). He's been travelling a lot for work and we sure miss him when he is gone! He went up with Ethan for a couple of days at scout camp and will be picking him up on Saturday. He's still playing tennis, and even gets free lessons from one of the pros at the health club.
I got to spend a night up at girl's camp last week (well actually they didn't have room at the cabin, so the yw pres. (Sarah Felsted) and I shared a hotel room, which was awesome!) It's a beautiful camp, more like a resort really, and if it's at the same place next year I'll go for the week! Sarah and I had lots of fun talking during the 3 hour drive up and back. We really have awesome young women in our ward, and it was beautiful to see how well they were all getting along. The theme this year was "superheroes" and our girls were the "wilderness adventurers" from the movie Up. They came up with some really cute things!
I'm staying busy driving kids to various activities and working in the yard. But I still make time to read and play word bubbles on lumosity.com (check it out, it's awesome!) And I'm working on applying to a graduate program in the humanities. Got to keep my brain from turning to mush. I should probably try to keep my body from turning to mush as well. I only have one more month of my 30s left, better make the most of it!
We're really looking forward to seeing everyone this summer in Idaho/Utah!
Ethan finished up the school year with a bang, and stayed on the high honor roll. He had a couple of lazy weeks (although he'll tell you I badgered him to work most of the time) and now he's off at scout camp. I really miss him! Ethan is great company and we enjoy chatting and having "megafeasts" and watching Seinfeld or the Office. But I know he's having a fun time. The camp is a full week, and Ethan planned to earn several merit badges, including swimming, archery, tracking, and rifle shooting (!) At home we've been working on merit badges as well: medicine, dentistry, music, disability awareness, reading, and family life. Ethan is continuing with guitar lessons over the summer, and is volunteering as a "book buddy" at the library (he listens to a younger boy read and helps him out). He's had fun hanging out with friends and is looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer.
Noah had one week off (during which he missed school very much!) and then started NISRA summer camp (Norther Illinois Special Recreation Association). It's 4 days a week from 9:15 to 3:15. Twice a week he goes swimming, on Mondays he visits the library, and on Wednesdays he gets to go to McDonald's and order a meal. He loves camp! On Friday's he's signed up for some fun field trips. Last week he went with a group to a children's museum in Milwaukee. Noah is Mr. Social, so the camps are awesome for him. Today he didn't go to camp so he could attend the ward cub scout day camp instead. It was a really beautiful day, sunny but not too hot, and he swam and played soccer. We have great kids in our ward who really go out of their way to include Noah in the activities. It was so sweet to watch them let Noah kick the ball in soccer.
Noah is so funny, when he's at home he likes to set up a little work table for himself. He goes through reams of paper, writing numbers and letters and drawing funny little pictures. He has a little magnifying glass shaped like a megaphone that he uses as an inkwell - - it's a hoot watching him pretend dip his pen in it. Last week he set up his table with paper, pens, a magic wand, his plastic briefcase . . . and a nasal aspirator. Guess he wanted to be ready for anything!
Little Meredith is getting bigger and bigger (she'll be one in 11 days!) Her hair is long enough now that I can put a barrette in it! She has such a sweet temperment, and is always willing to give hugs to our friends. She's "cruising" (walking around holding on to things) and I'm sure she'll be walking very soon. She loves to get into things, open cupboards, and make messes. And everything goes in her mouth. I have a missing library book, and I'm beginning to think that she might have eaten it.
One of the adoption caseworkers has parents in our neighborhood (what a coincidence, right?!) and was in town this week. She's the one that was there when Meredith was born and watched her all day. She got to come over and visit and it was wonderful to see her and show her how big our baby has gotten. Hard to believe it's been almost a year, and yet I can't even imagine our life without her!
Scott is such a great dad. We honored him with some fancy chocolate and a nice father's day dinner (kabobs on the new grill). He's been travelling a lot for work and we sure miss him when he is gone! He went up with Ethan for a couple of days at scout camp and will be picking him up on Saturday. He's still playing tennis, and even gets free lessons from one of the pros at the health club.
I got to spend a night up at girl's camp last week (well actually they didn't have room at the cabin, so the yw pres. (Sarah Felsted) and I shared a hotel room, which was awesome!) It's a beautiful camp, more like a resort really, and if it's at the same place next year I'll go for the week! Sarah and I had lots of fun talking during the 3 hour drive up and back. We really have awesome young women in our ward, and it was beautiful to see how well they were all getting along. The theme this year was "superheroes" and our girls were the "wilderness adventurers" from the movie Up. They came up with some really cute things!
I'm staying busy driving kids to various activities and working in the yard. But I still make time to read and play word bubbles on lumosity.com (check it out, it's awesome!) And I'm working on applying to a graduate program in the humanities. Got to keep my brain from turning to mush. I should probably try to keep my body from turning to mush as well. I only have one more month of my 30s left, better make the most of it!
We're really looking forward to seeing everyone this summer in Idaho/Utah!
Monday, May 31, 2010
May Flowers
It's hard to believe it's the last day of May! We're planning on having a picnic with some friends from the ward, as long as it's not raining. It really stormed this morning, but it's dry now, we'll see if it stays that way!
Scott is off playing squash with a friend, and the kids and I are having an enjoyable afternoon. Meredith is napping, Noah is coloring, and Ethan is playing a video game. I just love my kids! Here's what they've been up to lately:
Ethan turned 13 on May 16th. I can't believe I have a teenager! And so far it isn't as hard as I thought it would be! Truly, Ethan is a great kid. He has done so well in school this year, and is very self motivated. He wants to be a doctor when he grows up (specifically a "hospitalist," which is a g.p. who works in a hospital setting.) He has his college all planned out, and recently expressed his goal of getting straight As in high school so he can get good scholarships.
Ethan and I have started working on some of his merit badges. This summer is a good time to do them, because he'll only be busier once he starts high school. We're working on reading, dentistry, medicine, family life, music, and disability awareness. He's also got scout camp coming up next month, and he'll get a lot done there.
Ethan has done a lot of running in gym, and is getting pretty good! Maybe he'll take after Scott and do marathons someday. I hope he can be in cross-country in the fall, we'll see.
Noah is finishing off his 4th grade year with a bang. He has learned so much and done so well this year, I am really proud of him! He just brought a cute little "note" into me, with a picture of him and me and a spaceship. He's learning to write more, and speaks much more clearly. He and his friend Leah and I went to the movie "Shrek Ever After" and had a great time. He's signed up for summer camp and is really looking forward to it. We've worked very hard on potty-training during the last month, but unfortunately with little success. We're planning to take him to a specialist again, because there is definitely a physiological problem there! So wish us luck.
Meredith continues to grow into the most darling little girl ever! Her hair has gotten much longer and thicker. It no longer sticks up, which is kind of sad, but pretty soon I'll be able to put barrettes in it! I love dressing her up, although it's challenging, because she is a very wiggly little thing! She crawls very fast all over and get into everything (and puts everything into her mouth!) So I have to watch her very carefully. Scott loves taking pictures of her and we've got some really cute ones. The boys are so loving to their little sister! And she makes the sweetest little sounds all the time, I just love listening to her!
I recently read "Devil in the White City," about the Chicago World's Fair (and a serial killer who lived at the same time, in the late 1800s). Fascinating! I hosted book club and made devil's food cake in honor of the book. I really enjoy our book group. I also read "The Book Thief" and loved it - - Ethan is reading it now.
The mosquitos are out in full force, but it hasn't stopped me from planting my "garden" (three earth boxes with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that I grew from seed). I've also filled some of my flower pots and have several more to fill. Ethan is my helper with watering, and I sure appreciate it. I'm hoping to get a porch swing for the back patio so I can sit out there with Meredith and enjoy the sunshine!
Love you all!
Scott is off playing squash with a friend, and the kids and I are having an enjoyable afternoon. Meredith is napping, Noah is coloring, and Ethan is playing a video game. I just love my kids! Here's what they've been up to lately:
Ethan turned 13 on May 16th. I can't believe I have a teenager! And so far it isn't as hard as I thought it would be! Truly, Ethan is a great kid. He has done so well in school this year, and is very self motivated. He wants to be a doctor when he grows up (specifically a "hospitalist," which is a g.p. who works in a hospital setting.) He has his college all planned out, and recently expressed his goal of getting straight As in high school so he can get good scholarships.
Ethan and I have started working on some of his merit badges. This summer is a good time to do them, because he'll only be busier once he starts high school. We're working on reading, dentistry, medicine, family life, music, and disability awareness. He's also got scout camp coming up next month, and he'll get a lot done there.
Ethan has done a lot of running in gym, and is getting pretty good! Maybe he'll take after Scott and do marathons someday. I hope he can be in cross-country in the fall, we'll see.
Noah is finishing off his 4th grade year with a bang. He has learned so much and done so well this year, I am really proud of him! He just brought a cute little "note" into me, with a picture of him and me and a spaceship. He's learning to write more, and speaks much more clearly. He and his friend Leah and I went to the movie "Shrek Ever After" and had a great time. He's signed up for summer camp and is really looking forward to it. We've worked very hard on potty-training during the last month, but unfortunately with little success. We're planning to take him to a specialist again, because there is definitely a physiological problem there! So wish us luck.
Meredith continues to grow into the most darling little girl ever! Her hair has gotten much longer and thicker. It no longer sticks up, which is kind of sad, but pretty soon I'll be able to put barrettes in it! I love dressing her up, although it's challenging, because she is a very wiggly little thing! She crawls very fast all over and get into everything (and puts everything into her mouth!) So I have to watch her very carefully. Scott loves taking pictures of her and we've got some really cute ones. The boys are so loving to their little sister! And she makes the sweetest little sounds all the time, I just love listening to her!
I recently read "Devil in the White City," about the Chicago World's Fair (and a serial killer who lived at the same time, in the late 1800s). Fascinating! I hosted book club and made devil's food cake in honor of the book. I really enjoy our book group. I also read "The Book Thief" and loved it - - Ethan is reading it now.
The mosquitos are out in full force, but it hasn't stopped me from planting my "garden" (three earth boxes with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that I grew from seed). I've also filled some of my flower pots and have several more to fill. Ethan is my helper with watering, and I sure appreciate it. I'm hoping to get a porch swing for the back patio so I can sit out there with Meredith and enjoy the sunshine!
Love you all!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
April Showers
Scott has been a real traveling man lately. He is now working for a company called Open Mind, based in San Francisco. His job entails forming marketing partnerships with (mostly) travel based companies. Or something like that. Anyway it has kept him out of town quite a bit. And then he had the wonderful opportunity to go on a "Spiritual Retreat" to Israel with our friend John and some other men (2 of whom were ministers). He was gone for about 11 days and had a wonderful time. So that I wouldn't be too lonely while he was gone, we invited Heidi and her 3 kids to come and visit. 2 adults + 6 kids = one crazy household! But it was loads of fun. Although Rowan and Meredith are a little too young to play together, they did seem quite interested in each other. Meredith kept stealing Rowan's binkie and chewing on it. Meredith is quite a bit larger than Rowan, she really is tall for her age. Beanie was a huge help taking care of the babies and allowed Heidi and me to have some enjoyable "down time." Ethan had a great time teaching Beanie how to play ping pong, she got so good she almost beat me! The cousins played a lot of board games and Tallis and Milena enjoyed playing the Wii while my kids were at school. Noah was thrilled to have Tallis around to play with. He was so excited to see his beloved cousins!
On the Saturday Heidi was here we girded up our loins and hit the road for Milwaukee (minus Ethan, who had to do mulching to earn money for scout camp.) Thank goodness for my GPS, we had no problem getting there (it's about 2 hours away). First we went to the zoo, which was very nice, if a bit overpriced. The weather was just beautiful, and the babies behaved themselves very well. Noah was a bit difficult, but he does love zoos.
We had lunch at a nice greek place, good food and it was very quiet (which was good, because we were pretty noisy!) Then we went to the art museum. I'd never been there before, it was great! We saw a beautiful tryptich, some lovely paintings, and the highlight, "Woman with Veil" by Rafael, a response to the Mona Lisa. The exhibit was extremely well done. There was a very nice children's section as well, with information about 3-D imaging. The kids got to dress up and have their picture taken, very cute! It was a long and tiring day, but I'm so glad we did it! I love having so many wonderful museums, zoos, etc. so close to where we live!
The best part was having Heidi to hang out with and talk to and watch tv with and eat food with. I'm impressed with the amount of work she puts into her home-schooling - - I don't think I'd have the patience! But the program is an excellent one. I wish Heidi and I had been able to do some shopping together, but taking all of the kids was just not a great option. Maybe another time.
While Heidi was here I went through all of Meredith's clothes so she could take the outgrown ones to Beebs. It left me with very few clothes that fit! Meredith is just growing like a weed! She is such a sweet happy baby, and we're so glad to have her in our family. She has become quite noisy, making cute and funny squawks all the time.
Noah is undergoing intensive potty-training. His teachers are really working with me on this, which is super. I spent an inordinate amount of money on special training underwear (although they are worth it, I have to say) and a device called "Flippee the toilet protector" (don't ask.) He is doing a great job staying dry, but still has trouble with #2. Your prayers on his (and our) behalf are requested. Noah is a sweetheart, he came home from church today just filled with excitement because he had candy for me for Mother's Day. He's such a loving boy!
Ethan wrote a funny Mother's Day card for me - - "You have the hardest job with the worst pay, but the best perks." I agree. One of Ethan's teachers told Scott at parents' night that Ethan has a very sophisticated sense of humor. Sophisticated for a 7th grader anyway. Ethan does have a great sense of humor and I love chatting with him. I try to read all the books he reads so we can talk about them together. I can't believe he'll be a teenager in a week!
On the Saturday Heidi was here we girded up our loins and hit the road for Milwaukee (minus Ethan, who had to do mulching to earn money for scout camp.) Thank goodness for my GPS, we had no problem getting there (it's about 2 hours away). First we went to the zoo, which was very nice, if a bit overpriced. The weather was just beautiful, and the babies behaved themselves very well. Noah was a bit difficult, but he does love zoos.
We had lunch at a nice greek place, good food and it was very quiet (which was good, because we were pretty noisy!) Then we went to the art museum. I'd never been there before, it was great! We saw a beautiful tryptich, some lovely paintings, and the highlight, "Woman with Veil" by Rafael, a response to the Mona Lisa. The exhibit was extremely well done. There was a very nice children's section as well, with information about 3-D imaging. The kids got to dress up and have their picture taken, very cute! It was a long and tiring day, but I'm so glad we did it! I love having so many wonderful museums, zoos, etc. so close to where we live!
The best part was having Heidi to hang out with and talk to and watch tv with and eat food with. I'm impressed with the amount of work she puts into her home-schooling - - I don't think I'd have the patience! But the program is an excellent one. I wish Heidi and I had been able to do some shopping together, but taking all of the kids was just not a great option. Maybe another time.
While Heidi was here I went through all of Meredith's clothes so she could take the outgrown ones to Beebs. It left me with very few clothes that fit! Meredith is just growing like a weed! She is such a sweet happy baby, and we're so glad to have her in our family. She has become quite noisy, making cute and funny squawks all the time.
Noah is undergoing intensive potty-training. His teachers are really working with me on this, which is super. I spent an inordinate amount of money on special training underwear (although they are worth it, I have to say) and a device called "Flippee the toilet protector" (don't ask.) He is doing a great job staying dry, but still has trouble with #2. Your prayers on his (and our) behalf are requested. Noah is a sweetheart, he came home from church today just filled with excitement because he had candy for me for Mother's Day. He's such a loving boy!
Ethan wrote a funny Mother's Day card for me - - "You have the hardest job with the worst pay, but the best perks." I agree. One of Ethan's teachers told Scott at parents' night that Ethan has a very sophisticated sense of humor. Sophisticated for a 7th grader anyway. Ethan does have a great sense of humor and I love chatting with him. I try to read all the books he reads so we can talk about them together. I can't believe he'll be a teenager in a week!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Our Trip
I posted my pictures of this trip on facebook, so I'm not going to repost them here. This was our spring break trip to Europe.
Day 1
Sunday. After church we came home, frantically finished packing, and then took a late afternoon flight to Munich. Ethan and Noah and I sat together, and Scott sat with Meredith. She was the best traveler of us all - - not a peep out of her. She is such a happy little girl! We slept pretty well on the flight and arrived the following morning. Somehow all her diapers got packed with
Day 2
Monday. Usually after a long flight we like to head straight for a hotel, but today was a little different. The flight was the last one we took as non-revenue passengers, because our benefits expired April 1st. We wanted to leave earlier, but the flights were too full. So we had to shorten our trip just a bit. It worked out fine, but we were pretty tired and gross feeling by the end of the day! We got our luggage and picked up our rental car and then headed to Neueschwanstein Castle, about a 2 hour drive. The weather was great, sunny and cool (I don’t like it too hot, especially when we’re hiking around). Scott got a great little mini-van for us and we were able to fit everything in (amazing!) Noah sat in the far back with his backpack full of random toys. Ethan and Meredith sat in the middle row, and Ethan did a great job of looking after his baby sister. He was so helpful throughout the trip, I don’t know what we would have done without him. Scott and I sat in the front and used his Garmin (GPS) and the car’s navigation system and did a pretty good job of not getting lost. Even with the GPS I would have been terrified of driving all over (7 countries!) but Scott did great. Even on the autobahn, where cars were passing at incredible speeds. I did pound the imaginary brake a little bit, but Scott was patient with my back-seat driving, and I did help out a little bit looking for signs and things.
What a beautiful drive we had! In some ways I wish it had been later in spring, the grass was green and a few flowers were up, but not many. On the other hand there were much fewer tourists and the weather didn’t get too hot. I would love to go back sometime in late spring, though, to see the blossoms.
We parked at the bottom of a steep hill and then hiked up to see the castle. Our incentive for Noah was the possibility of seeing “the Beast” - - he just saw the Broadway show and was very excited about the enchanted castle. The views from the top were beautiful, and it felt great to stretch our legs after so many hours of sitting. We did a guided tour of the castle, which was built by “Mad” King Ludwig in the late 1800s. I was amazed at what great shape it was in. The murals on the walls were gorgeous. Ludwig was obsessed with Wagner and had several of the rooms painted to represent different operas, like Tristan and Isolde, Lohengrin, and Parsifal. Everything was quite ornate. King Ludwig may have been crazy, but he did build a very beautiful castle - - it was one of 3 he had built, and I would have liked to see the others. I was interested in learning about his life!
We got back in the car and drove on to Dornbirn, Austria.
Day 3
Tuesday. We got up, ate at the hote,l and drove to Appenzel, Switzerland. We were hoping to be able to see Sonja Elkuch, but she didn’t respond to our email. We loved the town though. We went to a couple of the most amazing florist shops I’ve ever seen (and you all know how much I’ve always wanted to be a florist). Easter is really big in Europe and the decorations were wonderful. In Switzerland, especially, the displays were so elegant and beautiful. We had a mediocre lunch (the Swiss aren’t known for their food, except for specialty items like chocolate and cheese, and everything is so expensive!) But we finished up with delicious gelato, a family favorite. And then Scott discovered a shop devoted entirely to cheese. It smelled so bad inside! Just like an old, forgotten baby bottle. But the cheese was very good and we all enjoyed our little snack, especially the boys.
We drove through Liechtenstein and took a few pictures, but really didn’t have time to stop and see much. I wish we could have seen the Elkuchs or Rudisuhlis, but maybe another time.
Day 4
Wednesday. Got up and checked out after breakfast. We first drove to Innsbruck, Austria, specifically to see the alpine zoo. Again, we had a lovely day. It rained just a little bit, but not enough to spoil our fun. Thanks to our portable DVD players, the kids were awesome in the car. Scott made some fun CDs to listen to as well. Anyway, the alpine zoo was pretty neat. It probably qualifies as the world’s steepest zoo, since it is basically built right into the mountainside. The specialty, of course, was alpine animals. They did have some farm animals too, and I took pictures of the goats, and a really ratty looking sheep. While I was doing that a cow mooed very loudly and scared Noah. He screamed and ran down the hill hollering and waving his arms. It was pretty funny. He has ridden elephants and a camel and not been fazed, but the cow freaked him out.
We saw some other fun animals, including a lovely brown bear. Noah just loves zoos, and it was a big bribe to keep him happy on the plane. We had lunch there in Innsbruck, and would have liked to spend more time there, it’s a cute little town. Our pizza was wonderful, best I’ve had in a long time. And of course we had to have some more gelato. A day without gelato in Europe is a wasted day, in my opinion.
We had to leave quickly in order to get to Balzano, Italy, before it’s natural history museum closed. There they have an exhibit of the world’s oldest man, Otzi. Ethan had learned all about him in school last year so it was very interesting to see him in real life (so to speak). He was found on the border of Italy and Austria (just barely on the Italy side). Extensive scientific tests have been done on him to show how he lived, what he ate, and what his life and death were like. Along with the mummy itself they have all of the clothing and tools found with him, as well as a fount of information about him. It was very well done, and only a little creepy.
We drove on into Italy and stayed in Padua (Padova). It took us longer than we expected to get there. We drove through miles and miles of tunnels, right through the mountains (the Dolomites). It was beautiful watching the sun set, but we were pretty tired by the time we finally got to our hotel!
The next day we went to Venice. Scott and I went 6 years ago and it was so romantic. Not so much with kids. It took forever to find the train station and park, and we’d decided to take the stroller, which was probably a mistake, since the streets are all cobblestone and there are a million stairs. It did help with Noah though, he got pretty tired of all the walking. Scott carried Meredith in our little baby bjorn and she did well. It wasn’t that fun though, because it was very crowded and I’d forgotten how much Italians smoke. And then it started to rain pretty hard. So it wasn’t the most fun day of the trip, but at least Ethan got to see Venice, and we did get some pretty great pictures. And of course we had gelato again.
more tomorrow . . .
Day 1
Sunday. After church we came home, frantically finished packing, and then took a late afternoon flight to Munich. Ethan and Noah and I sat together, and Scott sat with Meredith. She was the best traveler of us all - - not a peep out of her. She is such a happy little girl! We slept pretty well on the flight and arrived the following morning. Somehow all her diapers got packed with
Day 2
Monday. Usually after a long flight we like to head straight for a hotel, but today was a little different. The flight was the last one we took as non-revenue passengers, because our benefits expired April 1st. We wanted to leave earlier, but the flights were too full. So we had to shorten our trip just a bit. It worked out fine, but we were pretty tired and gross feeling by the end of the day! We got our luggage and picked up our rental car and then headed to Neueschwanstein Castle, about a 2 hour drive. The weather was great, sunny and cool (I don’t like it too hot, especially when we’re hiking around). Scott got a great little mini-van for us and we were able to fit everything in (amazing!) Noah sat in the far back with his backpack full of random toys. Ethan and Meredith sat in the middle row, and Ethan did a great job of looking after his baby sister. He was so helpful throughout the trip, I don’t know what we would have done without him. Scott and I sat in the front and used his Garmin (GPS) and the car’s navigation system and did a pretty good job of not getting lost. Even with the GPS I would have been terrified of driving all over (7 countries!) but Scott did great. Even on the autobahn, where cars were passing at incredible speeds. I did pound the imaginary brake a little bit, but Scott was patient with my back-seat driving, and I did help out a little bit looking for signs and things.
What a beautiful drive we had! In some ways I wish it had been later in spring, the grass was green and a few flowers were up, but not many. On the other hand there were much fewer tourists and the weather didn’t get too hot. I would love to go back sometime in late spring, though, to see the blossoms.
We parked at the bottom of a steep hill and then hiked up to see the castle. Our incentive for Noah was the possibility of seeing “the Beast” - - he just saw the Broadway show and was very excited about the enchanted castle. The views from the top were beautiful, and it felt great to stretch our legs after so many hours of sitting. We did a guided tour of the castle, which was built by “Mad” King Ludwig in the late 1800s. I was amazed at what great shape it was in. The murals on the walls were gorgeous. Ludwig was obsessed with Wagner and had several of the rooms painted to represent different operas, like Tristan and Isolde, Lohengrin, and Parsifal. Everything was quite ornate. King Ludwig may have been crazy, but he did build a very beautiful castle - - it was one of 3 he had built, and I would have liked to see the others. I was interested in learning about his life!
We got back in the car and drove on to Dornbirn, Austria.
Day 3
Tuesday. We got up, ate at the hote,l and drove to Appenzel, Switzerland. We were hoping to be able to see Sonja Elkuch, but she didn’t respond to our email. We loved the town though. We went to a couple of the most amazing florist shops I’ve ever seen (and you all know how much I’ve always wanted to be a florist). Easter is really big in Europe and the decorations were wonderful. In Switzerland, especially, the displays were so elegant and beautiful. We had a mediocre lunch (the Swiss aren’t known for their food, except for specialty items like chocolate and cheese, and everything is so expensive!) But we finished up with delicious gelato, a family favorite. And then Scott discovered a shop devoted entirely to cheese. It smelled so bad inside! Just like an old, forgotten baby bottle. But the cheese was very good and we all enjoyed our little snack, especially the boys.
We drove through Liechtenstein and took a few pictures, but really didn’t have time to stop and see much. I wish we could have seen the Elkuchs or Rudisuhlis, but maybe another time.
Day 4
Wednesday. Got up and checked out after breakfast. We first drove to Innsbruck, Austria, specifically to see the alpine zoo. Again, we had a lovely day. It rained just a little bit, but not enough to spoil our fun. Thanks to our portable DVD players, the kids were awesome in the car. Scott made some fun CDs to listen to as well. Anyway, the alpine zoo was pretty neat. It probably qualifies as the world’s steepest zoo, since it is basically built right into the mountainside. The specialty, of course, was alpine animals. They did have some farm animals too, and I took pictures of the goats, and a really ratty looking sheep. While I was doing that a cow mooed very loudly and scared Noah. He screamed and ran down the hill hollering and waving his arms. It was pretty funny. He has ridden elephants and a camel and not been fazed, but the cow freaked him out.
We saw some other fun animals, including a lovely brown bear. Noah just loves zoos, and it was a big bribe to keep him happy on the plane. We had lunch there in Innsbruck, and would have liked to spend more time there, it’s a cute little town. Our pizza was wonderful, best I’ve had in a long time. And of course we had to have some more gelato. A day without gelato in Europe is a wasted day, in my opinion.
We had to leave quickly in order to get to Balzano, Italy, before it’s natural history museum closed. There they have an exhibit of the world’s oldest man, Otzi. Ethan had learned all about him in school last year so it was very interesting to see him in real life (so to speak). He was found on the border of Italy and Austria (just barely on the Italy side). Extensive scientific tests have been done on him to show how he lived, what he ate, and what his life and death were like. Along with the mummy itself they have all of the clothing and tools found with him, as well as a fount of information about him. It was very well done, and only a little creepy.
We drove on into Italy and stayed in Padua (Padova). It took us longer than we expected to get there. We drove through miles and miles of tunnels, right through the mountains (the Dolomites). It was beautiful watching the sun set, but we were pretty tired by the time we finally got to our hotel!
The next day we went to Venice. Scott and I went 6 years ago and it was so romantic. Not so much with kids. It took forever to find the train station and park, and we’d decided to take the stroller, which was probably a mistake, since the streets are all cobblestone and there are a million stairs. It did help with Noah though, he got pretty tired of all the walking. Scott carried Meredith in our little baby bjorn and she did well. It wasn’t that fun though, because it was very crowded and I’d forgotten how much Italians smoke. And then it started to rain pretty hard. So it wasn’t the most fun day of the trip, but at least Ethan got to see Venice, and we did get some pretty great pictures. And of course we had gelato again.
more tomorrow . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)