Slacking...

I'm a bad blogger, I know. We've just been a busy with, well... life lately. It seems to take up quite a bit of our time these days! Just like tonight, when I should really be studying instead of blogging. But I thought I would take a minute to share a picture story of what we've been up to the past 2 weeks.

Max has gotten to be quite a race demon on his bike

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We try to do something special with the kids every day. After dinner walks (though rare because it is dark by 19.00!) are a big hit with Max!

Max also thought it was wonderful to have a magic stick, just like Harry Potter. This makes me glad that we don't spend a lot of money on our kid's toys!

Lucas loves getting fresh air too, but he doesn't care for the gnats in his face!

Speaking of Lucas, he has 2 teeth now! I can't believe my little baby is almost 10 months! Before I know it I'll be posting about his 1st birthday!

Max is still excelling at school. His English is phenomenal, and while his Dutch is suffering a bit, we are paying extra attention to it at home. He has developed a passion (as far as a 3 year old can have passion...) for cooking. He would rather watch the FoodTV channel than cartoons, and is helping Mama in the kitchen as often as he can. He is also writing his name very well by himself, though it usually comes out "aMx" instead of "Max". Minor detail, right?!

A couple of weeks ago he received a Helping Hand Award-- His third award at school this year! His teacher, Mrs. Amy, has been absolutely fabulous with him. Unfortunately he will have to say goodbye to her in 3 weeks when she moves to her new home in SC. 

We've also been enjoying our last swimming days lately. Today Max got in the water, but at 27 degrees (80F) it's a bit too cold for me to hop in!!

Max tried to get rid of his tan lines, but it didn't work!

He loves playing catch with the Velcro ball set that our neighbours in Holland got the kids before we left. 

There is nothing better than seeing our kids smile!

And when it's too chilly to go swimming, we find enough crazy things in the house to do. This day Max wanted to be a witch, so he put his toboggan on, grabbed a broom, and went flying around the house going "HEE HEEE HEEE Ik ben een HEKS! (I am a witch!)"

That's just how we roll sometimes. 

We also took a quick trip to Atlanta, GA to pick up our second car and stop by IKEA to buy out their entire inventory a few things. 

Saturday Lucas discovered our automated sprinkler system. Again, I'm glad we don't spend much money on our kid's toys. These sprinklers guaranteed at least 30 minutes of entertainment for both kids, until Lucas decided to take a close up look and got sprayed in the face as it came towards him. Then the fun was over pretty quickly!  

Boefje!

Yesterday I took the kids to the park while Rob studied. I thought Lucas would love the swing, but it was very painful to squeeze this semi-smile out of him. He was much more interested in sleeping, and the other parents in the park must have thought I was "special" with the noises I was making to get him to smile!

Max, on the other hand, loved being at the park. He is learning very quickly how to swing on his own, but let's be serious... nothing is better than being pushed!

With all of that being said, I will leave you with these two very special pictures of our wonderful children!

Arachnophobia

Me and creepy crawly things are not a good combination. I don't consider myself a "girly girl," but throw anything with more than 2 legs or wings in my face and I promise you that a few glasses will break from my scream.

So today, when Max came inside asking me to come take a picture of what Papa had found I was less than thrilled to see this:

And ladies and gentlemen, that is not just any incredibly nasty spider. Take a closer look:

Do you see them? They see you. 

I can't even begin to imagine how many little incredibly nasty spiders are sitting on this very large incredibly nasty spider's back. All I know is that's a whole lot of creepy little eyes and fuzzy little legs. 

Sorry for the abrupt ending, but I have got to go buy all of the Spider-B-Gone that Wal-Mart has in stock!

Bananas in Pyjamas!

09.11.2001

Today we remember. 

We remember where we were on 9/11/01.

We remember what we were doing when we heard the news.

We remember the shock, the pain, and the sorrow that followed

days

months

weeks

and

years

after.

We remember the chaos of planes, fire, ashes, panic.

We remember the bravery of the firefighters, law enforcement officers, and civilians.

We remember the lives lost, and the family members left behind. 

We remember Bush declaring war. 

But aside from the sorrow, we remember the unity of the entire world following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

So as we remember the victims of 9.11 today, let's also remember 

the brotherhood of our nation on that fateful day

the men and women that are still fighting

the fact that not all muslims are terrorists

and most importantly, let us never forget and learn from all of our experiences that 9/11 has given us.

We shall never forget

We shall keep this day,

We shall keep the events and the tears

In our minds, our memory and our hearts

and take them with us as we carry on.

Not Your Average Sunday Evening...

After we got home from the beach on Sunday evening I asked Max to go put on his pyjamas, but first he insisted on putting his seashells in his jar. 

Rob had found a beautiful whole shell at the beach for him and he was excited to add it to his collection. No more than 2 minutes later I heard a bone-shrilling scream come from his room. I dropped everything and ran to him expecting to see blood, but instead I find a hysterical Max under his sheets. After getting him semi- calm he said he was scared of the shell his papa had found for him. A bit baffled, I assumed he didn't like it because it was still a bit green and slimy. So we washed it, put it on the kitchen counter, and went on with our bedtime routine.
About 15 minutes later Max was still going on about his 'scawy sheeshell' after asking again him why he was so scared of it, he said "MONSTER!!!" His genius parents (finally) added 1+1 and realized that there was a little crab living in the shell! No wonder he was terrified of his seashell that starting walking!

Sure enough, when we went to the kitchen we saw our little friend peeping out from his shell. After Max realized he was harmless, he was quite happy to have a very unwanted pet. He named it Lucas and all was good. or so we thought.

Since we were gone all day Monday and Tuesday, it was Tuesday evening before we could get 'Lucas' some food and proper housing. When we got home we were saddened to see that little Lucas was dead didn't seem to be doing so well. By the time we went to bed last night there was no more hope for Max's first pet. Not having the heart to tell Max that he died we decided to replace Lucas while Max was at school today.

Now we can welcome our still very unwanted new pet hermit crab, Lucas #2!

Our Little Fish...

Can officially swim by himself! In the past 3 weeks Max has gone from a guppy to a shark swimming around!

Splish Splash! Do they have a swim team for 3 year olds?

He can even dive 8 feet under to get his diving rings!

Horray!

Max loves to play "rodeo" on his walrus (Bedankt oude buurtjes!)

And like a true cowboy, he holds on 'til the last second!

Here's a video from 3 weeks ago when he first started swimming without wings. Thankfully he's become a bit more, coordinated, since then!

 Max Swimming

Sometimes You've Just Got to Stop and Smell the Roses

When I was younger I always wished I was older. If I was older then I could have my own cell phone, drive a car, buy my own beer, move out on my own, and just do whatever I wanted. When I was 15 I finally got my own cell phone, by 16 I could drive by myself, at 18 I was living away from home, and I even got to buy alcohol when I was 19 since we lived in Holland. 

Now that I am older, I sometimes wish that I spent a little less time wishing my years away when I was younger. Of course, I still have my own cell phone, car, house, etc, but now I  have to pay for all of those things which can make them more of a headache than anything else!

I often joke with Rob that I feel like I'm going on 35 instead of 25. After all, I have dealt with and accomplished more things in my 24 years than some people in their 30's. But lately I've realized that I don't need to feel like I'm old, or wish I was young. I've realized that it's okay to take time to stop and smell the roses. To enjoy being the age that I am. To enjoy the ages that I've been. And to look forward, but not rush, the ages that I will be. 

So with those, ahem, very wise words of wisdom I welcomed my birthday last Wednesday with open arms. The last 24 years have been fun, challenging, crazy, and have shaped me into the woman, wife, mommy, and student that I am today. I'm sure this next year will bring more excitement, things to celebrate, and obstacles to overcome. And let me tell you, I am going to enjoy every single day of it!

With that being said, I celebrated my 24th Alabama-style with a family BBQ!

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.
Madeleine L'Engle