Seven times around the sun

I cannot believe he’s seven, it seems so old.  Husband Dear assures me that 8 seems much older, but, well for now anyway, I’m stuck on 7. Perhaps it’s because of the places we will go, and have been, that just makes him seem older.  I mean at 7 I had changed states, but he’s changed countries, cultures, languages, norms.  It is one thing to read Oh, the places you’ll go and it’s another to put shoes on it, so to speak.  At 7 he is serious and sensitive, prone to daydreaming and hours of drawing, but when he laughs it is like water spilling through a happy waterfall and you know you’ve accomplished something.  I hope, more than anything, that 7 will be a bright year for him…

Beautiful boy, I love you so.

Camel rides

  I just realized I never posted these fun shots.  First of all this is not the first camel ride for our kids, but it is the very first camel ride where there is grass!  Live here long enough and you understand the power of the color green...

Imp and eldest prepare for takeoff.  Honestly these creatures are tall and they sort of swoosh up in two movements as they stand. Thankfully this camel came equipped with a "safety belt" of sorts. =)





The operator even refused to let K-bug ride--apparently you have to be "this tall" to ride this ride.=)  We were shocked by his safety principles considering this is a land where kids practically ride hanging from their parents ears while they zoom past in speeding cars...but ok.

And what can be better than riding a camel with your brother or sister?  Riding one with your friend.  Eldest daughter and AG have a great time giggling and careening around the park.  What makes it even better is that we totally, randomly, ran into these dear friends at this park in a different country...I love God's timing. =)  Seeing friends, especially when least expected, is like a drink of cool water in a dusty land.








And it makes for some really good memories.  To G,J,AG,AJ  we love you guys, thanks for all the fun!

Good till the last drop

 This is after the wrestling match, ahem, photo shoot, just to let you see that all's well that ends well.  Actually it makes me ache to see those chubby little K-bug arms wrapped around eldest daughter, just want to reach in and hug them tight like this forever.

 Got your nose!

If exhaustion is a sign of happiness spent then we we're never happier.  Love you so much LJK, thank you for crisscrossing the earth for us!

Bright lights, big city

A few more from our adventures...

 These artsy shots are courtesy of husband dear, can you spot our eldest son anywhere?

  aha!

 We had to take this one for L--who'd have thought they made signs like this!  Also I wanted to actually prove that J was here and he did make it into at least one picture.

 The photo shoot appears to start well... but you know five minutes in toddler/kid time is akin to days, and well things start to unravel...

 We sort of set K-bug free, with cousins like this...

I love how eldest son is not even paying attention to the tug of war in front of him.

Just a few...more...

 Safe and sound in her daddy's arms.

And here's the view without us. =)

Best Groundhog day ever

 "So, what were you doing on Groundhog day this year?"

We were busy playing on a beautiful beach!  So while there was no "Pocahatchy" (or whatever his name is) Phil, there was plenty of fun in the sun.




Only a few of us were brave enough to go all the way in the water--apparently February ocean water is still cold no matter the air temperature!


K-bug does some yoga on the beach.

 .

 She also invented a game where she pushed/chased her mom in the waves and then frantically tried to pull her out without getting wet herself--it was pretty funny to watch.









We never tire of this game.

 After we got done scaring the fish in the ocean with all our fun and laughter, we went to stare at the ones in this aquarium, billed as "an underwater zoo," which made it even better for eldest son.  And it was free, which made it perfect for me and husband dear. =)  After that we ate a wonderful meal at Macaroni Grill--does it get any better than that?  Happy belated Groundhog Day!

Family Vacation: the adventure continues

Our version of rock climbing:
First, grab hold of a hand that's stronger.
Take a breath...

 

Then leap/swing across, holding on tight.
Smile wide and laugh with joy.

These children never cease to amaze me--there's no hesitation, only faith and trust

 And a glorious view.

So much to share

LJK have come and gone and we all have lived to tell the tale, and as predicted there were just a few adventures along the way. =)   We had so much catching up to do, on life, family, friends, highly contagious stomach viruses…oh yes, you read that right.  In the middle of our visit with LJK we got to swap around a nasty virus started by youngest imp.  The only ones to escape completely unscathed were eldest son and daughter.  Despite all this, we still managed to have some fun along the way.  Here’s a few pictures to prove it:

"Crazy big people drivers, I'll show you how it's done."  K-bug hits the ground running, now if only her feet would reach the pedals...

 Pup and pink bear back together again.  This is what jet-lag looks like on a one year old.  Actually, she had the best seat in our anything but spacious rental van.  The rest of us rode with our our knees at eye level to try to make room for all the necessities and goodies LJK were so good as to haul halfway across the world for us--they really are awesome.

The beautiful L, would that we all looked so good after 16 hour plane rides with toddlers.  And you see I was not kidding about the knees at eye level thing...

 See what our local town has to offer--"here camel, camel, camel."  We told K-bug they were big dogs. =)  Husband dear and his sis with cameras in hand, but I was actually the one to get these next stellar photos

"What you lookin' at?"   

 This stylish fashionista-to-be was captured here playing with camel poo--we are SO proud.  And yes, that outfit was all her.

Monkey see, monkey do?  At least eldest daughter had the sense to know that perhaps this was not the best impromptu game she and her sister could be playing.  So she moved on, and demanded to take her own picture.  See below--I thought it looked pretty cool, maybe she's got her Daddy's gift.  That being said, I am also going to blame the poo thing on him, because I'm pretty sure I did not do that as a kid, but shhh, don't tell him, ok? ;)  I'll be posting more of our adventures soon, and don't worry, I did not document the virus that knocked us out for a few days, but I think eldest daughter's face sums up what that experience felt like.