Happy Birthday L!

L is two. His favorite things include emptying boxes of dry spaghetti noodles on the floor, using the office chair to climb onto the kitchen counter, painting his toy bus slide with shampoo, climbing into the full bath tub fully clothed and pouring a gallon of milk onto the kitchen floor. He prefers to do these things in a span of 15 minutes. All. of. them. But you know what, you gotta love this little guy. He is sweet and cuddly and so, so smart. And very, very busy! And he sleeps sometimes!
We had a great Cars themed birthday party. The kids used paper plate steering wheels to race around the yard for prizes at pit stops. I made a cake with "Cars" figures. L got a dump truck full of presents that he promptly emptied out and took off with. It was classic.

Finally the boys!

When all else fails a book brings great appeal. Opa and Oma read to all the kids several times, even bed time stories. One of the memories I think Opa and Oma liked best was watching J read bedtime stories at night out on the trampoline.

What fun! A visit to Daddy's work and school with even Opa in collegiate wear!

Just the Girls With Opa and Oma

E had a great time playing badminton with Opa. I think it looks like Opa had a pretty good time too!



E and Oma shared a smile over some memories playing on the slide show on the computer. E enjoyed showing Opa and Oma her dance recital video as well as performing a couple of her own choreographed dances! They also got to see her practice at for the local dancing in the festival coming up.
Oh and the star of the show! What a stinker. She had not let her daddy hold for the month previous to the visit and we were very worried that she would not let Opa and Oma hold her either. But this is what she did with both of them the whole time!

More Visit Memories

A Wonderful Visit

We were so honored and thrilled to have a visit from Opa and Oma, all the way from the Netherlands, for two weeks in June! The kids had a great time and aside from us trying to run them ragged, I think Opa and Oma did too! We did some fun day trips to a few places- Wildlife Safari and the coast and we had a little picnic at the cabin for Fathers Day. Mostly we tried to keep it simple and let them see a little of our life here and let them bond with the kids. Which they truly did. E, S, L and even A each spent special time with them. The kids really loved this visit and the day after they left S woke up and said, "When will Opa and Oma get here?". Even after I reiterated that they had gone home to the Netherlands and would not be coming, he asked if they were going to come the next day. Sigh. He is the most reserved of the kids right now but is also very sensitive, if that makes sense, and he had really been enjoying the visit. E got to write a page with Opa in the travel journal that he keeps for every vacation and that has inspired us to have E keep a summer journal. Her first page? "I had fun when Opa and Oma visited".


Picking them up at the airport. This is E and S... and what looks like a small little Dutch child that they apparently brought with them!
And an emotional meeting of A.
The girls proved to be much more cooperative with the picture taking! Consequently the pictures of the boys with Opa and Oma are few and far between! But look at this beautiful picture of A and Oma! Oma had just traveled a day on the airplane and was in a different timezone and still managed to look gorgeous and so stylish. I must have been taking care of looking jet lagged for the both of us!