Friday, October 29, 2010

Iceland is coooool (part 1)

Last week we went to Iceland- which is one of Rob's favorite places in the world. I was so excited to finally go to this amazing place with him! I'm going to attempt to be brief and just share a few of my favorite photos and give you a general idea of what our trip was like....



Our first stop was to Reykjavik. We spent our first night in the City Hostel... which was not the best hostel I've ever been in, but we had a family room with private bath, and it worked out just fine. There is this cool Viking ship sculpture near the bay. We also saw the cathedral and went up in the tower to look all around.






This is the cabin that we stayed at in southern Iceland. It was very nice down by the river, and we even saw the Northern Lights the last night that we were there.








Don't try this at home. You are not supposed to stick your hands in the geothermal pools near the geysir. It's hot. (Just ask Rob.)








They have a lot of rocks in Iceland. Rocks and water. And volcanoes. And glaciers.










And waterfalls. We love waterfalls.
This waterfall is called Gulfoss and is awesome.













Rainbow over Gulfoss. Notice that there are no "safety precautions" to keep you from falling down the waterfall. We were very, very careful with the kiddos here.

Playing tag in the continental rift. This valley is the division between the North American and European continental plates. It's also a significant place for Icelanders because their first Parliament was organized there around 900 or so.

If you look closely at the rock in the foreground, you'll see a red door painted on it. This is for Trolls. Charlotte loved looking for these Troll houses out her window as we drove all over the countryside.


Seljalandsfoss.
This is a cool waterfall because you can hike behind it.


Charlotte and Rob hiked behind it. And then I went by myself, it was a bit slippery and too dangerous for Toby we thought.
Well kiddos.... more to come soon. ;)




Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Vier Jahre alt

Charlotte turned four yesterday around 9:30 pm. :)


At four years old, she is as energetic, wild, and fun-loving as ever!

She can write all of the upper-case letters of the alphabet and knows them by their sounds. She is also able to count to 20 in English and German. Going to Kindergarten has been a really positive experience for Charlotte. She has made some new friends, has learned how to cope with people not understanding her (a new thing for our loquacious little one,) loves the social interaction every morning, and just generally is more cooperative when she is at home.


Right now her favorites (per our chit-chat) are...
Color: white (the color of polar bears and vanilla ice cream)
Food: cheese tortellini
Vegetable: green beans
Treat: ice cream
Movie: Gummi Bears (the old school cartoon we watch on Youtube)
School activity: lunchtime with her friends
Best friend: Cousin Leah


Some of OUR favorite things about Charlotte are her incredible imagination and dramatic personality, her excitement about travel and meeting new people, when she is kind and loving with Toby (this doesn't happen all the time but usually,) and how she wants to be "just like Daddy" (she may look like me, but they are two peas in a pod!)

Happy birthday Bubba!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Let's Party!

Over the weekend we celebrated Charlotte's FOURTH birthday with some of our friends at Halli Galli Kinderwelt.

Charlotte got to pick out a cake at the Commissary, (which she has been wanting to do for 2 years,) and I put some My Little Ponies on it.

Dinner time! Pizza, chicken nuggets, and french fries, oh my!!
Do you think Charlotte's having a good time being the center of attention or what?

The kiddos also spent a lot of time playing.
Toby, of course, located the Legos.

Here comes Cameron!

A little sensory overload for the adorable Miss Kate,
but she found some fun stuff to do too.

Girls in the ball pit- Sarah Jane, Ella, and Aubrey.

Oh man, this was a serious party!
Charlotte was so completely overjoyed the entire time. Even after tucking her in bed at night, I heard her singing Happy Birthday to herself. She cracks me up. ;)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Charlotte says...

Me: So, what do you think you might like Santa to bring you this year?
C: Um... maybe a new trash can.
M: A new trash can.
C: Yeah, for my room.
M: Okay. What else?
C: Nothin.
M: You don't want any toys or anything?
C: Nope. I have lots of toys already.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

family photos

Our dear friend Felicity took some pictures of our family on Saturday in the park... and I am in love with them. :)

Check them out here:

Thursday, October 07, 2010

5 years

To my sweet Rob,

Tomorrow is our 5 year anniversary.

At this time, 5 years ago, we didn't yet know about Hurricane Tammy and how she would crash our wedding. We didn't know how it would rain through our entire honeymoon, or how our first fight would be over a tied game of Scrabble.

We didn't know that in our first 5 years together we would have to bury a parent, give birth to 2 beautiful children, live in 3 different homes, have 5 different cars, and visit 8 different countries (soon to be 9.)

We didn't know all of each other's struggles and challenges, but our relationship has grown, our trust has deepened, and our love has been strengthened by sharing their weight and supporting one another. You know I like to plan, and I struggle with the unexpected, but I cannot deny that God has a bigger plan for us than we have for ourselves.

I am thankful for every day that I get to spend with my best friend. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I do know that we will walk through it together.

I love you with all of my heart. :)


8 Oct 2005

2010


Friday, October 01, 2010

Autumn reverie

I LOVE this time of year! My poor family is being stuffed with pumpkin cookies, apple crisps, and pear breads. I just want to soak in all of the flavors, and scents, and sights of Fall every second of the day...

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
(The paper chain is our countdown to our next adventure, the pumpkins were made by my dear friend Sarah Jo, and the framed quote from my thoughtful MIL.)

"The gilding of the Indian summer mellowed the pastures far and wide.
The russet woods stood ripe to be stripped, but were yet full of leaf.
The purple of heath-bloom, faded but not withered, tinged the hills...
Fieldhead gardens bore the seal of gentle decay; ... its time of
flowers and even of fruit was over."
- Charlotte Bronte
(The view out our guest room window. Oooooh, I just love Charlotte Bronte.)

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause
between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."
- Carol Bishop Hipps
(Making leaf rubbings in our jammies on a rainy day.)

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
(Snuggled in to watch Blue's Clues with his buddies. This is Toby's "thinking face.")

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot
(I cut out pumpkins and a variety of black shapes and let the kids go nuts with glue sticks... I was really impressed with the cool faces they made! There is no shortage of imagination in this house.)

HAPPY AUTUMN!!! :)