Shane - grade 5
Sydney - grade 3
Shaylee - grade 1
Back to School
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 was the first day of school for Shane, Sydney, and Shaylee. For them it wasn't just "Back to School" but also their first day starting at a new school. They were actually very much looking forward to school starting and getting a chance to meet some other kids and make new friends. Shane's alarm went off at 6am (since he needed to get up a do a few chores before school). Apparently its loud enough to wake up his sisters too. I wasn't planning to get them up until a bit before 7 but here they were dressed and ready to go at a little after six! I wasn't even out of bed yet. I think that shows how excited the girls were. We ate breakfast together as a family and I drove the kids into school for their first day. They are riding the bus home (another first) and will ride it each day from here on out (I'm just a bit excited about that- after all the driving back and forth I did the past 4 years).
okay so after trying to upload pictures all morning im just posting this without....sorry...I guess it has been so long since I've last posted that I got to work all the bugs out.
okay so after trying to upload pictures all morning im just posting this without....sorry...I guess it has been so long since I've last posted that I got to work all the bugs out.
Hello Out There.....
Hello out there.....
Sorry to all my faithful readers who may just have been wondering where on earth I am these days. I am still here (somewhere) but have been a lot of places lately and never seem to find a moment (or a good internet connection) in order to upload pictures and post to the blog.
Needless to say life has been just a bit crazy the past 2 months....and we are no where near being settled back in the US....but we have been enjoying summer at the lake (now that the heat has finally arrived). I'm very thankful for air-conditioning (wasn't it just a few blog posts ago I was complaining about the cool temps and rain, rain, rain???) as now it is hot and humid (like a sauna) outside. Anyway - summer is here and slipping by WAY too fast. Can it really be that we are already heading towards the end of July....can this be, YIKES?? What exactly (you must be asking) have we all been up to....
Enjoying time at the farm, riding 4 wheeler, helping with chores, making forts and what-not with cousins, weeding a garden, cleaning, swimming, sprinklers, softball games in the backyard, root-beer floats, popsicles, riding around in the golf cart, Dutch Festival parade, eatting WAY too much candy, hosting 71 family members at the cabin, swimming, jetski rides, boating, tubing, water skiing, playing in the sand, tracking in sand, and more sand, and more sand into the cabin, cleaning, laundry, installing a dishwasher and drinking water system, late nights, camp fires, s'mores, movies, hanging with family, good conversation, cousins wedding, family pictures, fireworks, mosquito bites, good food, great steak, long hours driving, house hunting, invading a friends home, crabby kids, happy kids, sunburnt kids, tan kids, good swimmers to great swimmers, scared of water to full dunk dare-devil, hair cuts, hair frizz, more hair cuts, canoe rides, paddle boat, sitting in the sun, sunsets, storms, windy days, hot and muggy days, lazy days, reading books, and the list goes on and on....
Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll actually get around to posting some pictures....maybe...but for now, just know that we are here (and there and everywhere) and even if I'm not consistently posting lately...I do hope to continue the blog (when I finally find time)....so stay tuned for more adventures!
Sorry to all my faithful readers who may just have been wondering where on earth I am these days. I am still here (somewhere) but have been a lot of places lately and never seem to find a moment (or a good internet connection) in order to upload pictures and post to the blog.
Needless to say life has been just a bit crazy the past 2 months....and we are no where near being settled back in the US....but we have been enjoying summer at the lake (now that the heat has finally arrived). I'm very thankful for air-conditioning (wasn't it just a few blog posts ago I was complaining about the cool temps and rain, rain, rain???) as now it is hot and humid (like a sauna) outside. Anyway - summer is here and slipping by WAY too fast. Can it really be that we are already heading towards the end of July....can this be, YIKES?? What exactly (you must be asking) have we all been up to....
Enjoying time at the farm, riding 4 wheeler, helping with chores, making forts and what-not with cousins, weeding a garden, cleaning, swimming, sprinklers, softball games in the backyard, root-beer floats, popsicles, riding around in the golf cart, Dutch Festival parade, eatting WAY too much candy, hosting 71 family members at the cabin, swimming, jetski rides, boating, tubing, water skiing, playing in the sand, tracking in sand, and more sand, and more sand into the cabin, cleaning, laundry, installing a dishwasher and drinking water system, late nights, camp fires, s'mores, movies, hanging with family, good conversation, cousins wedding, family pictures, fireworks, mosquito bites, good food, great steak, long hours driving, house hunting, invading a friends home, crabby kids, happy kids, sunburnt kids, tan kids, good swimmers to great swimmers, scared of water to full dunk dare-devil, hair cuts, hair frizz, more hair cuts, canoe rides, paddle boat, sitting in the sun, sunsets, storms, windy days, hot and muggy days, lazy days, reading books, and the list goes on and on....
Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll actually get around to posting some pictures....maybe...but for now, just know that we are here (and there and everywhere) and even if I'm not consistently posting lately...I do hope to continue the blog (when I finally find time)....so stay tuned for more adventures!
Shelby
So I really need to write down a few things about Shelby. She is already 13 months old! She is still our pipsqueak - and has actually been nicknamed "Scooter" since she has mastered her but scooting. Our wood floor at the cabin is perfect for sliding on....and she can get where she wants to go fast! I actually got down on the floor and attempted the "but-scoot" - let me tell you, it is NOT EASY. How she does it all day is really amazing. The first week we were here we really tried to get her to crawl. My brother worked with her and we saw some major progress in her strength and ability to pull herself up on all fours....but the little stinker that she is, still doesn't crawl. She instead has used her new found strength to push herself up (from her tummy) on to her but into a sitting position. This in itself, is great - but she now goes straight into sitting from her tummy and off she goes scooting on her but again! Did I say she is a stinker!!! And stinking cute too with her silly little grin....she knows mommy wants her to crawl and she just prefers to but-scoot! She has really progressed in the past weeks and also will pull herself up to standing when she is in the pack 'n' play, and I even found her standing by the toilet (not sure if I should encourage that one). If we stand her up by furniture - she will stand for quite some time (holding on for dear life) and still on her tip-toes, but we are getting there. She knows what "NO, NO" means - and when she is reaching for something she is not suppose to have she will look at you, smile that cheeky smile of hers and then turn and reach again...typical one year old! She is eating more table food (she really likes oatmeal and chicken nuggets) but I'm still giving her baby food (out of jars etc...since its just so easy). She mostly likes grean beans, and her new favorite is squash. We are still working on getting her to take a sippy cup - she mostly just plays with them yet. As for sleeping - she is finally getting better again - but the first weeks after getting to the US she was awake WAY too much in the night. I think of course her time schedule was obviously off - and I was spoiling her by getting up with her (in the middle of the night) basically any time she made a peep. I would just pull her into bed with me and nurse her and she'd go right back to sleep...and so would I - but not a very restful sleep. Now that I have been at the cabin this week (the previous weeks we've been here, there and everywher it seems) I've moved her out of my room and have been trying to let her cry it out....I say trying, because I'm not very good at this at all, I'm such a softy! She is doing better. If I put her to bed at 8:30 she is usually up again between 11:30 and 12:30. I'll nurse her again - put her back in the pack n' play and then I don't hear her until 4:30 or 5....I'm trying to really hold her off until 5...so we are getting there...someday she will sleep through the night again...someday! Okay - I'm sure I could write more about little Shelby - but I can't remember anything more off the top of my head right now. And I honestly don't even have a recent photo to post...I'll have to try and capture her standing soon.
Another Beautiful Sunset
No matter how much rain we get, no matter what the temp is, no matter how windy it may be....not much can top a beautiful sunset at the lake to end the day. Thank you God for reminding me how awesome you are, and for your awesome creation!
Rain, Rain, Rain
So yesterday (June 14, 2011) we had rain, rain, and more rain. Today the lake is way higher than it was yesterday and it appears to keep rising! I've had to use our sump pump to keep the basement dry! Let me just say that I'm very thankful for that sump pump....let's hope it keeps working!!! Water is standing everywhere - I'm not sure how much we actually got - but it was probably close to 4 inches or more. It just rained and rained - sometimes pouring, other times drizzling, but basically non-stop!
We had some nice sand on our beach - and now our beach is completely covered in water! I do hope that it will go back down again in the next week or so, and that some of our sand will actually still be there and not get washed back into the lake. Hopefully the beach will be nice again before family and friends come in July. But if anything the lawn is nice a green! I've even enjoyed mowing it...I had forgotten how fun it is to mow (on a riding lawn mower). Shane is old enough now that he can handle the riding mower -and so he did it the last time. But this week I was going to start it out, go around the edges and such...but I was having so much fun that I didn't let him finish. He was busy building/playing in the sand (this was before the rain yesterday) and he didn't mind (at least this time).
So where was I....oh all this rain - and chilly weather. I could really go for some nice warm weather. (Mid 80's would be perfect, and with no wind please - since I'm asking.) It has been so chilly here in MN since we arrived (almost a month ago now). We've had maybe 4 days that it has been over 80 - and 1 of those it was like 95 all of a sudden- talk about a drastic change in one day. Go figure that on that day I was NOT at the lake - but at the farm working in the heat! Ha, Ha, Ha....someone is laughing down on me! Anyway, I just wanted to write about this because someday I'll look back and want to remember these first weeks back in the US and all that we did etc....so bare with me as I journal a bit randomly!
Playing Dress Up
While at my folks yesterday - the girls and I went up into my old room and pulled out my wedding dress, and some other fancy dresses to try on. Shaylee was excited to try on my wedding dress - isn't she sweet! She did however tell me that she liked aunt Kerri's wedding dress better (it resembles Kate's dress a bit more than mine) and hoped that someday aunt Kerri would let her wear her dress. I'm not sure if in say 20 years Shaylee will still be excited to wear our old dresses...time will tell. Sydney also liked this red/black dress that my sister wore back in her Western Chamber Singers days. They look pretty cute together...I remember dresses up with my sister way back when too...fun times!
Sydney also tried on my old cheer leading uniform - now if that doesn't take me back....
I also put on my wedding dress - after 14 years - it still fits - and I'd marry Jer all over again! The girls were loving it that mommy was playing dress up with them too!
Sydney also tried on my old cheer leading uniform - now if that doesn't take me back....
I also put on my wedding dress - after 14 years - it still fits - and I'd marry Jer all over again! The girls were loving it that mommy was playing dress up with them too!
Who is that kid???
We also had a deal with Shane that he didn't have to get his hair cut until we moved back to the US. Well - his day finally arrived this week. Yesterday we again went down to see my sister - and it was Shane's turn to get his locks cut off. He didn't have 10 inches to donate - but close (ha!) I think he was a bit sick of all the comments on his long hair - he was finally ready to have it cut off. Just when his mom was starting to like it long!
Before.....
During....
And after!!!!!
He looks awesome with his new cut - I can hardly recognize him though....who is that kid???
Before.....
During....
And after!!!!!
He looks awesome with his new cut - I can hardly recognize him though....who is that kid???
My Turn
Now it was my turn. My sister Kerri thought it was time I got a little more than just a trim - and she was right! So what do you think of my new cut and color???
Perfect for the summer!!!
Perfect for the summer!!!
Locks of Love
Shaylee has been talking about cutting her hair for weeks. She had gorgeous long hair - but recently she had to wear it in braids so it wouldn't be a tangled mess. We decided that when we got back to America we would get it cut by aunt Kerri. We also decided that if her hair was long enough we would donate it to Locks of Love. Well the day finally arrived (Wednesday, May 25). Aunt Kerri measured Shaylee's hair and found out that she did have 10 inches to cut off- but Kerri would have to cut it level with her chin - that seemed VERY short! But Shaylee was all for it! So aunt Kerri put it in a pony tail - and snipped it off! Shaylee was so excited to be able to donate her hair - and more so excited to finally have short hair! The cut is absolutely ADORABLE on her - and Shaylee LOVES it. She is super cute now with her short hair- and best of all - no more tangles!!!!
Before - those long locks!!!
Shaylee proudly holding up her pony tail!
The new do - short and sweet! Thanks aunt Kerri!!!!!
Before - those long locks!!!
Shaylee proudly holding up her pony tail!
The new do - short and sweet! Thanks aunt Kerri!!!!!
Flights
All checked in and ready to board that plane for our long flight back to the US. We checked 9 bags - all of which were jam-packed full! (Why do we have so much stuff??) We took one last photo in the Frankfurt airport - not sure when we'll be back again.
Flight to the US went well - although in the beginning the kids were cranky and fighting over who got to sit where. We had a whole row (except for one window seat) and yet it seemed like each kid wanted to sit by mommy (I'm so loved) or by a window, or in the middle and not on the end...good grief! We finally got the seating figured out and then I realize that the two video screens in front of my seat and Silas's seat aren't working - GREAT! It will be a long flight not being able to watch a movie (or two or three). Soon after takeoff they served us breakfast - the person in front of Shane decided right off the bat to recline his seat ALL the way back - and drift off to sleep. Shane couldn't barely eat his breakfast due to having NO room. I'm surprised Shane could even watch a movie because the seat was reclined so far back. Fortunately things started looking up about 3 hours into the flight. Shelby drifted off to sleep - as did Silas. While looking at the broken video screens I realized that I could see some things faintly on the screen in front of Silas and so tried some buttons to see if any channel was better - I then figured out that the brightness button was all the way on low - therefore causing a black screen. And on the screen in front of me the brightness was all the way turned up - therefore causing the screen to be almost white. Apparently when Silas first sat down he messed with all the buttons and I didn't realize what he had done. Easily fixable - we now could watch some movies! The rest of the flight went fine without further incidents - just a lot of trips to the bathroom (must be all the ice and pop the kids were drinking) - fortunately we were in the 3rd to last row - so had easy access to the toilets!
Claiming our luggage, going through customs, and rechecking our luggage in Chicago went well - having to wait in line for about 40 minutes to go through security again wasn't so much fun. But we made our connecting flight and had no delays - so of this we were grateful. We were so ready to be done with this long trip! Here are the kids and daddy on our small flight (we had the whole back of the plane to ourselves)!
Flight to the US went well - although in the beginning the kids were cranky and fighting over who got to sit where. We had a whole row (except for one window seat) and yet it seemed like each kid wanted to sit by mommy (I'm so loved) or by a window, or in the middle and not on the end...good grief! We finally got the seating figured out and then I realize that the two video screens in front of my seat and Silas's seat aren't working - GREAT! It will be a long flight not being able to watch a movie (or two or three). Soon after takeoff they served us breakfast - the person in front of Shane decided right off the bat to recline his seat ALL the way back - and drift off to sleep. Shane couldn't barely eat his breakfast due to having NO room. I'm surprised Shane could even watch a movie because the seat was reclined so far back. Fortunately things started looking up about 3 hours into the flight. Shelby drifted off to sleep - as did Silas. While looking at the broken video screens I realized that I could see some things faintly on the screen in front of Silas and so tried some buttons to see if any channel was better - I then figured out that the brightness button was all the way on low - therefore causing a black screen. And on the screen in front of me the brightness was all the way turned up - therefore causing the screen to be almost white. Apparently when Silas first sat down he messed with all the buttons and I didn't realize what he had done. Easily fixable - we now could watch some movies! The rest of the flight went fine without further incidents - just a lot of trips to the bathroom (must be all the ice and pop the kids were drinking) - fortunately we were in the 3rd to last row - so had easy access to the toilets!
Claiming our luggage, going through customs, and rechecking our luggage in Chicago went well - having to wait in line for about 40 minutes to go through security again wasn't so much fun. But we made our connecting flight and had no delays - so of this we were grateful. We were so ready to be done with this long trip! Here are the kids and daddy on our small flight (we had the whole back of the plane to ourselves)!
Its good to be back in the US - and we are glad we don't have to make that long trip again - at least for awhile :)
Sweet Sleep
We took these sweet photos of the kids while they were sleeping at the hotel...
4 little blessings who were very exhausted from a full week!
Now if we could all get some sweet sleep over here....especially for this tired momma who has one particular little girl who doesn't seem to want to fully adjust to the time change!
4 little blessings who were very exhausted from a full week!
Now if we could all get some sweet sleep over here....especially for this tired momma who has one particular little girl who doesn't seem to want to fully adjust to the time change!
Auf Wiedersehen
Friday, May 20th was the kids last day of school and Silas's last day of Kindergarten. Silas's teacher (and also head of the Kindergarten) Kirsten, made Silas a t-shirt. On the front is a smurf with Silas's name and on the back it says "du Schlumpf Auf Wiedersehen". The reason behind his shirt is this: She would often ask Silas "bist du ein Schlumpf" (are you a smurf?) and he would respond "nein, du" (no, you are). It was a little joke between them.
Silas with Kirsten and also in front of his Kindergarten his last day.
We loved this Kindergarten. Sydney and Shaylee also attended here - and learned to speak fluent German because of it. The teachers were so kind to us and the kids loved them in return. I am so thankful for all they have done for my kids - and how they made our 4 year stay here in Germany a wonderful experience. Vielen Dank!!! We have many fond memories of the Kindergarten and the kids made great friends here. It was sad to say goodbye- definately harder on mommy than on Silas.
Silas didn't want to get in the picture -so he's in the background....but here are his two friends Mike and Sophia.
Silas with Kirsten and also in front of his Kindergarten his last day.
We loved this Kindergarten. Sydney and Shaylee also attended here - and learned to speak fluent German because of it. The teachers were so kind to us and the kids loved them in return. I am so thankful for all they have done for my kids - and how they made our 4 year stay here in Germany a wonderful experience. Vielen Dank!!! We have many fond memories of the Kindergarten and the kids made great friends here. It was sad to say goodbye- definately harder on mommy than on Silas.
Silas didn't want to get in the picture -so he's in the background....but here are his two friends Mike and Sophia.
Later that afternoon at the kids' school.....saying goodbye to their friends. Shaylee's class made her a book with pictures of each of the kids and a little message from each one. It was so thoughtful of them. Its gifts like these that make me cry. Shaylee had a few very special friends. Here she is with her friend Elli.
Shaylee and her friend Elektra
Shaylee and her friend Leticia
She will definately miss her friends! And mommy will miss the parents - sniff, sniff.
Sydney and Shaylee with their friend Jacey. And me with my good friend Sibylle (Jacey's mom). Sibylle is German and married to an American. She moved to Germany around the same time we did back in 2007. Sydney and Shaylee went to Kindergarten with Jacey...and from there our friendship grew and grew. Sibylle is the type of friend you can always count on. She was always there for me - whenever I needed something. She'd help translate stuff for me from German to English. She watched the kids for me when I needed a babysitter. I knew she was just a phone call away if I needed anything. She was also one of the teacher's at the Kindergarten - and spent the last year teaching Silas's class. It was so nice to have her there to help him adjust those first few weeks when he didn't understand much German. Knowing she was there helped both him (and me). He loved her and always wanted to go home with her after Kindergarten. There was just something welcoming about her place. I loved going over to her place just to hang out - never needing to impress - just be yourself. She is such a awesome friend and I will miss her so much.
My friend Verena just happened to be visiting her family in Germany the week I was moving. Verena knows all about the moving process as she moved to the US from Germany in January of 2010. It was great to have her stop in. She brought me some German cheese cake and a coffee on Tuesday morning when I was in the midst of packing and the packers. I look forward to being on the same side of the ocean as her now....even though we are a few states away we've already started planning trips to see eachother!
Shaylee and her friend Leticia
She will definately miss her friends! And mommy will miss the parents - sniff, sniff.
Shane's classmates gave him a t-shirt with a class photo on the front and signed their names on the back. Here he is with 3 of his best buds - Eric, Zack and Thomas.
Sydney's classmates also gave her a t-shirt with a class photo (thanks Catia for organizing). I'm not sure why, but for some reason I have NO photos of Syd with her friends on that day. When I realized this I was sooo sad. (So if any of you happen to read this and happen to have a photo of your child with Syd - would you be willing to email a copy to me? I'd be so grateful.) Sydney's class also put together a book with information on each child and some photos. Sydney sure treasures this book and has spent time looking/reading through it daily. I think she is missing her friends the most so far.
Thursday evening we had supper with our friends Sergey and Lilianna and their boys Gosha and Yura. They have been great friends to us and we've so enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them the past few years. We will miss them dearly!
Sydney's classmates also gave her a t-shirt with a class photo (thanks Catia for organizing). I'm not sure why, but for some reason I have NO photos of Syd with her friends on that day. When I realized this I was sooo sad. (So if any of you happen to read this and happen to have a photo of your child with Syd - would you be willing to email a copy to me? I'd be so grateful.) Sydney's class also put together a book with information on each child and some photos. Sydney sure treasures this book and has spent time looking/reading through it daily. I think she is missing her friends the most so far.
Thursday evening we had supper with our friends Sergey and Lilianna and their boys Gosha and Yura. They have been great friends to us and we've so enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them the past few years. We will miss them dearly!
Sydney and Shaylee with their friend Jacey. And me with my good friend Sibylle (Jacey's mom). Sibylle is German and married to an American. She moved to Germany around the same time we did back in 2007. Sydney and Shaylee went to Kindergarten with Jacey...and from there our friendship grew and grew. Sibylle is the type of friend you can always count on. She was always there for me - whenever I needed something. She'd help translate stuff for me from German to English. She watched the kids for me when I needed a babysitter. I knew she was just a phone call away if I needed anything. She was also one of the teacher's at the Kindergarten - and spent the last year teaching Silas's class. It was so nice to have her there to help him adjust those first few weeks when he didn't understand much German. Knowing she was there helped both him (and me). He loved her and always wanted to go home with her after Kindergarten. There was just something welcoming about her place. I loved going over to her place just to hang out - never needing to impress - just be yourself. She is such a awesome friend and I will miss her so much.
My friend Verena just happened to be visiting her family in Germany the week I was moving. Verena knows all about the moving process as she moved to the US from Germany in January of 2010. It was great to have her stop in. She brought me some German cheese cake and a coffee on Tuesday morning when I was in the midst of packing and the packers. I look forward to being on the same side of the ocean as her now....even though we are a few states away we've already started planning trips to see eachother!
And there are many more of you that we will miss dearly. I can't begin to list you - for I know that I'll forget someone (but hopefully you know who you are). Wether you were co-workers with Jeremy, fellow Expats, parents of classmates, etc...we've enjoyed getting to know each one of you - and we will always treasure the memories made in Germany. So many of you have helped us out in one way or another. Especially these past few weeks with the kids - having last minute playdates or bringing the kids' home from school so that I could get some things accomplished around the house. Each little thing you did for us was a blessing and I am so grateful. It is the relationships that we've made these past 4 years that will stick in our hearts. We are forever changed because of having met you. This isn't goodbye - instead Auf Wiedersehen - we hope to see you again!
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