Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Early Celebration

 We had an unexpected fun day at Legoland!  It rained off and on throughout the day, but it did not keep us from having a great time.  We ended up having coupons to get all four kids in for free!  You just can't pass up that kind of fun day!  They had a section that was a water park and a section that was more of an amusement park.  I didn't think I would have a lot of fun at the water park side, but it was great.  The kids are all old enough now to do everything and it really made for a fun day!
 Benjamin was amazed at all the cool things (and HUGE things) that they could build out of Legos.  I have to admit the Legos were pretty impressive.

 I normally don't spurge for the gimmick pictures at the end of rides, but I just could not pass up the chance to get this one.  Lauren's face is priceless!  It was her first BIG roller coaster and she LOVED it!  It started to rain while we were on the ride and they shut it down just after us.  You can see how dark the sky had gotten....it poured!

 A few tropical birds...and Regan :)
 The camel and little Lego guy outside one of the indoor rides.
 It was good that they had some indoor things to do while it rained.  The kids all built their own race cars and then raced them.  Katherine built the fastest.
 Everyone standing in front of one of the many Lego displays.  It may look like we have already been to the water park, but not yet.  The kids were just trying to dry off from the rain :)
Too funny...had to include the chef with my two posers!
 These two can have fun anywhere and any time.  They are under a desk with some floaties on.  Earlier they had been putting the floats under their dresses to make the poof out.
 Well, only in the 21st century will you have a kid come to you and say, "Mommy, I hit my tooth with the iPad!"  and then you check to find that it is gone.  Yep!  Little Lauren has now lost her THIRD tooth at age 4.  She was so excited about it, too!
 Since Lauren and Benjamin's birthdays are around the corner, we also had a little celebration for them.
 Benjamin got the biggest piece of cake ever.  His eyes were much bigger than his appetite.  He got to the letter B and was already full :)
This one however, decided she did not want cake.  Ice cream? Nope. That is a bowl full of icing my friends.  She, too, had eyes bigger than her stomach...I'm sure her stomach is very thankful :)

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Out of the Country

I have loved seeing the sparkle in this girl's eyes this week!  We had to leave the country to get new visas (we did not receive the ones we were hoping for before we left the states).  So, we are here and have had some very welcomed surprises...some of which have been sunshine, family time, ice cream and a little swimming!  
 Not to fear, the kids are enjoying homeschool while we are here!
The kids are very studious!  Swimming is a good incentive to stay focused!
 Here is a new treat we tried.  We saw the table next to us with one and decided to try it.  I'm still not sure what all is in it, but two main ingredients are ice and ice cream.
We were in the mall and Katherine found this awesome helmet.  I wish we could have gotten it for her, but she was awfully cute walking around the store in it.  I could just picture her skating at school with it..haha!
 We also saw these neat little treats!  It was a stick cone filled with ice cream and sprinkles on top.
You had the choice between chocolate or vanilla wafers and chocolate or vanilla ice cream.  It does not take much to see pure joy on her face :)
Here is a little swimming picture for proof.  I love that the weather in this country is warm all year long!  
Hugs from Papaw!  .

Sunday, March 2, 2014

New Routines and a Little Fun

 This was a great treat for our youngest.  She got to have her very own Skype time with her best friend, Bryan.  They were cute to watch.  Besides all the giggles and silly faces, I think my favorite part was when Bryan showed Lauren his teddy bear named Lauren.  She went to get her doll to show him and he disappeared from the screen.  He said he couldn't look at anything girly :)  so she went to get her favorite seahorse.
 Benjamin reached 100 books!!!  Great job!!  The reward was 100 tokens at an arcade.  He was the luckiest kid I have ever seen.  He kept wanting to play these impossible games where you spend a token trying to get jackpot but end up with nothing.  Well, he now thinks I am crazy for telling him not to waste all his coins on those things.  On several different games, he got jackpot FIVE times and 100 tickets THREE times and I lost count of the other big numbers!  He also won a stuffed animal on a game.  I am glad he had fun with his reward.  He worked hard for it.
 The girls got to join in the fun, too.  They each got seven tokens and then had to use their own money if they wanted anymore.  They decided that they would put their tickets together so that they could get a better prize at the end.  Although, I am about to go crazy with all the noise from the two whistles that the little girls got.
 We found a tutor this week for the kids!!  Hooray!  The original plan was to have someone come to the house to tutor them in the local language, but she thought it would be a good idea to try her place instead.  It was a perfect idea!
 The kids had such fun learning and made new friends!  I am excited about this new opportunity.  We have been looking for ways to get the older two with kids their age since they are not going to public school this semester.
 I had a birthday!  It was a great day filled with surprises!  These were the flowers from my son!
 We ate pizza for my birthday lunch.  It wasn't nearly as good as America, but it was still good.  It just doesn't seem like a birthday without pizza ;)
 I am soooo glad that we squeezed a cake mix into our "bring back from America" pile.  I have been wanting to cook it for a month now!  It tasted so good...and I claimed the last piece.
Finally, a card from Benjamin.  It has a dog on the front (perfect from my dog lover) and the inside says "Happy Birthday from me and my dog- I signed the card and my dog licked the envelope!"  My girls burst out laughing and then Benjamin says, "Doggy Bones really did lick the envelope!  I took it in there and he licked it for me!"  :)  Love my family!