Back in November our dear friends, Steve and Katie, came for a visit to New Jersey with their two girls. Kevin and Steve go WAY back.....back to kindergarten! Now that we are all grown up, Steve and his wife have started a successful photography business, and they have come to visit us in many of the places that we have lived. Whenever they visit, we get them to take our family photos for us. I love working with them because it is so very comfortable. We are able to make suggestions for things we want to try, as well as relying on their expertise. The last time we had had photos done was three years ago, when we lived in MA. So, it was time!
Steve and Katie took over 150 photos, and then they put them into a wonderful slide show. I can't seem to get the slide show uploaded to Blogger....I think it is just too big. So, you can view it on Steve and Katie's website HERE.
Check back soon and I will try to upload some of my favourite still photos as well!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Rebekah Turns Six!
My little Miss Rebekah Schmekah Lekah has turned six! Her birthday was actually back in February, but I wanted to put together a post about the big day, as well as some of the comical things she has said and done lately.
This is Bekah and I on her actual birthday. She chose to wear this dress to school in honour of the big day. She is all about dressing up and looking girlie right now...too bad that she doesn't behave in manner consistent with her dress! She is constantly galloping around on all fours, pretending she is a horse....not very appropriate while wearing a dress!
Speaking of not acting appropriately....just the other day we were at a friend's house when Rebekah swung her foot up onto the woman's kitchen counter and said, "Look how flexible I am!".....and she had a dress on to boot! I was just a touch embarrassed!
Below you see Rebekah with some of her birthday gifts. She LOVES animals and can tell you endless facts about the most obscure species. So, for her birthday, I found a wonderful website called Nature Pavilion where I was able to purchase animal figures to add to her vast collection. I got her a manatee, an aardvark, a ring tailed lemur, a flamingo and an Arabian oryx. I had never even heard of that last one! Oh, and I also got her a condor. That was the animal that she was actually asking everyone in the family for as a gift. I had to tell most of them what it was.... Fortunately, Nature Pavilion came through, and Rebekah got her condor!
Here is the birthday cake that I made for Rebekah. She asked for a horsey cake (of course) because her favourite of all animals are the horses! We have been fortunate to find a new stable for her to take riding lessons here in New Jersey. So far, things are going well, and Rebekah and Tank, her new lesson horse, are getting along fabulously!
And here is my toothless wonder! She has now lost a total of five teeth. In this photo you can see that one of the front ones is missing. I wish I could say that her adult teeth are coming in beautifully straight, but instead I will say that I see some large orthodontic bills in our future. :(
Some other funny things that have come up with Rebekah recently.....
She asked me if when a baby drinks from it's mother (ie. breastfeeding) if the milk from each breast tastes different. I had to chuckle at that question as I pictured chocolate and strawberry milk. :)
The latest question is, 'Why doesn't it tickle when you tickle yourself, if it tickles when someone else tickles you?' I honestly don't know the answer to that question. I think I may have to google it if it comes up again.......
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Lawnmower Regrets
When we arrived in the USA after living in Switzerland, we came to discover that our old (and cheap) lawnmower that had been in storage while we were overseas was no longer in working order. It was not worth repairing, and the pressure was on to find an alternate solution.
At the time, Kevin was commuting into Boston for work, and in addition to working long hours and traveling, he also had a long commute. We made the decision to contract a lawn service, thereby postponing the need to purchase another lawn mower.
When we moved to Ohio two years later, Kevin had had enough of paying for something he had always felt he should be doing himself. The time had come to purchase a lawn mower. Well, I seized the opportunity to make my opinion known about how much the fumes from lawnmowers around the world are contributing to the degradation of the ozone layer. Kevin humoured me and listened to my argument before taking to the internet to do some research. He graciously agreed to buy a battery powered, rechargeable lawnmower. No fumes. Yeah!
Kevin quickly learned to detest his new lawnmower. The lawnmower would be great...for a small, urban lawn that is cut religiously every week without fail, thereby not allowing the grass to get too long. Our lawn however, is none of those things. The battery would die, every time Kevin mowed the lawn, before he even came close to finishing the job. The mower would then take several hours to charge. The result was that we never had a fully mowed lawn...it was always in various stages of 'mowed-ness'.
Now that we have moved to Jersey, the problem has only gotten worse. Our property is bigger, and it has not stopped raining since we arrived. The grass is growing like crazy. We have been mowing the lawn for four days and we are still not done! One more charge of the mower should do it. The lawn is so long from the rain, and so wet that the battery dies much more quickly. By the time we finish mowing, it will be time to start over again!
I haven't cut the lawn in the whole 13 1/2 years we have been married. Well, Kevin has to work, and he isn't here enough to cut the grass everyday, so I have had to share the task of the lawn cutting.
Just what I wanted when I suggested buying a rechargeable mower........
At the time, Kevin was commuting into Boston for work, and in addition to working long hours and traveling, he also had a long commute. We made the decision to contract a lawn service, thereby postponing the need to purchase another lawn mower.
When we moved to Ohio two years later, Kevin had had enough of paying for something he had always felt he should be doing himself. The time had come to purchase a lawn mower. Well, I seized the opportunity to make my opinion known about how much the fumes from lawnmowers around the world are contributing to the degradation of the ozone layer. Kevin humoured me and listened to my argument before taking to the internet to do some research. He graciously agreed to buy a battery powered, rechargeable lawnmower. No fumes. Yeah!
Kevin quickly learned to detest his new lawnmower. The lawnmower would be great...for a small, urban lawn that is cut religiously every week without fail, thereby not allowing the grass to get too long. Our lawn however, is none of those things. The battery would die, every time Kevin mowed the lawn, before he even came close to finishing the job. The mower would then take several hours to charge. The result was that we never had a fully mowed lawn...it was always in various stages of 'mowed-ness'.
Now that we have moved to Jersey, the problem has only gotten worse. Our property is bigger, and it has not stopped raining since we arrived. The grass is growing like crazy. We have been mowing the lawn for four days and we are still not done! One more charge of the mower should do it. The lawn is so long from the rain, and so wet that the battery dies much more quickly. By the time we finish mowing, it will be time to start over again!
I haven't cut the lawn in the whole 13 1/2 years we have been married. Well, Kevin has to work, and he isn't here enough to cut the grass everyday, so I have had to share the task of the lawn cutting.
Just what I wanted when I suggested buying a rechargeable mower........
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Impressions of New Jersey
Well, we are on the move again. Well, not exactly on the move....it's done.....we have moved.....again.
I have people asking me over and over again....aren't you sick of it? You have done so many major moves in such a short time!
In short, yes, I am sick of it. I am TIRED. Having said that, I am of the opinion that we all have choices in life, and I choose to look at the positive side. Each and every move is an opportunity to travel and explore. It is an opportunity to experience new things and meet new people. It is an opportunity to make new friends and to teach my children that a house is just a house, but that a home is wherever we are together as a family. I feel comfortable with the fact that my children will grow up to be flexible, adaptable, resilient people because they will have such rich experiences to draw upon. But, I am still TIRED.
So, now that that is out of the way....what do I think of New Jersey?
Well, northern New Jersey is very rich in wildlife, despite being only one hour and ten minutes from NYC. We have black bears in our yard (yes, you did read that correctly). That was something that they happened to leave off the glamour sheet when we were looking at the house. We have a groundhog/woodchuck (yes, they are the same thing) that lives in our yard. I didn't even know what the heck he was.....Rebekah figured it out and then I googled it to find a photo in order to confirm. She was correct. There are deer (we are used to them from living in Ohio where we had them in the yard eating my Hostas on a regular basis) along with lots of field mice (who happened to be camped out IN the house when we took possession!) and carpenter ants. We have already had to contract the services of a pest company and quickly signed up for their seasonal plan when we realized what we were up against. The straw that broke the camel's back were the cave crickets. Once they move in, I was ready to move out. Oiy! Thankfully, the pest people did their jobs, and they are all but gone. What a relief!
Aside from the wildlife situation, another observation is that driving here is crazy! New Jersey has a lot of jughandles....oh, you mean you don't know what they are? Well, neither did I until a few weeks ago! And if you happen to click on the link above and read about jughandles on Wikipedia....I disagree with the statement that jughandles are used prevalently in Massachusetts and Ohio (among other states) because I have lived in both of those states and not encountered a jughandle until New Jersey!
Jughandles aren't the only issue....there are also a lot of divided highways. The divided highways along with the jughandles make driving an adventure. Picture this....you are driving down the road and you need to make a left turn. You get into the left lane in anticipation of the aforementioned turn. You are about 50 feet from the intersection when you realize that this is not an intersection with a left turn lane, but instead it is an intersection with a jughandle, which means that you need to be in the right hand lane in order to make a left turn. Oooops, too late! By this time you are through the intersection, but the highway is divided and you now have to drive five miles out of your way before you have the opportunity to turn around and loop back. The best part is that when you are on your way back, you are driving on the other side of the road, so you still don't know if you need to be in the left lane or the right lane in order to execute your turn.
Welcome to New Jersey!
I have people asking me over and over again....aren't you sick of it? You have done so many major moves in such a short time!
In short, yes, I am sick of it. I am TIRED. Having said that, I am of the opinion that we all have choices in life, and I choose to look at the positive side. Each and every move is an opportunity to travel and explore. It is an opportunity to experience new things and meet new people. It is an opportunity to make new friends and to teach my children that a house is just a house, but that a home is wherever we are together as a family. I feel comfortable with the fact that my children will grow up to be flexible, adaptable, resilient people because they will have such rich experiences to draw upon. But, I am still TIRED.
So, now that that is out of the way....what do I think of New Jersey?
Well, northern New Jersey is very rich in wildlife, despite being only one hour and ten minutes from NYC. We have black bears in our yard (yes, you did read that correctly). That was something that they happened to leave off the glamour sheet when we were looking at the house. We have a groundhog/woodchuck (yes, they are the same thing) that lives in our yard. I didn't even know what the heck he was.....Rebekah figured it out and then I googled it to find a photo in order to confirm. She was correct. There are deer (we are used to them from living in Ohio where we had them in the yard eating my Hostas on a regular basis) along with lots of field mice (who happened to be camped out IN the house when we took possession!) and carpenter ants. We have already had to contract the services of a pest company and quickly signed up for their seasonal plan when we realized what we were up against. The straw that broke the camel's back were the cave crickets. Once they move in, I was ready to move out. Oiy! Thankfully, the pest people did their jobs, and they are all but gone. What a relief!
Aside from the wildlife situation, another observation is that driving here is crazy! New Jersey has a lot of jughandles....oh, you mean you don't know what they are? Well, neither did I until a few weeks ago! And if you happen to click on the link above and read about jughandles on Wikipedia....I disagree with the statement that jughandles are used prevalently in Massachusetts and Ohio (among other states) because I have lived in both of those states and not encountered a jughandle until New Jersey!
Jughandles aren't the only issue....there are also a lot of divided highways. The divided highways along with the jughandles make driving an adventure. Picture this....you are driving down the road and you need to make a left turn. You get into the left lane in anticipation of the aforementioned turn. You are about 50 feet from the intersection when you realize that this is not an intersection with a left turn lane, but instead it is an intersection with a jughandle, which means that you need to be in the right hand lane in order to make a left turn. Oooops, too late! By this time you are through the intersection, but the highway is divided and you now have to drive five miles out of your way before you have the opportunity to turn around and loop back. The best part is that when you are on your way back, you are driving on the other side of the road, so you still don't know if you need to be in the left lane or the right lane in order to execute your turn.
Welcome to New Jersey!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wow...Has It Been That Long??
I can't believe it has been nearly a year since I have written a post! When I think about it, I get stressed about all of the memories that have been forgotten because I haven't documented them! Just yesterday, while I was unpacking boxes of scrapbooking supplies and organizing them, I came across a scrap of paper with several things written in a list form. It was obviously a note to myself of things that I wanted to remember to scrapbook about....and I am sad to say, that many of them would have been forgotten had I not written and then found that note in my things.
These are all things that Noah used to say when he was little.....the list looks something like this.......
I wuv you (I love you)
wullaby (lullaby)
dump (jump)
hang-a-ber (hamburger)
hostable (hospital)
turts (church)
this is derry cool (this is very cool)
am-bwee-ance (ambulance)
doodling (duelling)
ca-bay-er belt (conveyor belt)
....and my personal favourite..........
co-men-trol (remote control)
Wow, I can't believe that I would have forgotten some of those fond memories! I am so glad I found that little piece of paper tucked into boxes and boxes of supplies, and that it was the catalyst for this post.
Here's to many more memories!
These are all things that Noah used to say when he was little.....the list looks something like this.......
I wuv you (I love you)
wullaby (lullaby)
dump (jump)
hang-a-ber (hamburger)
hostable (hospital)
turts (church)
this is derry cool (this is very cool)
am-bwee-ance (ambulance)
doodling (duelling)
ca-bay-er belt (conveyor belt)
....and my personal favourite..........
co-men-trol (remote control)
Wow, I can't believe that I would have forgotten some of those fond memories! I am so glad I found that little piece of paper tucked into boxes and boxes of supplies, and that it was the catalyst for this post.
Here's to many more memories!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
We Have A Lime Belt in the House!
This past Saturday, Noah passed the test for his lime belt in Taekwando. He even had a high enough score to earn his extra tip! The school that Noah attends uses a mixed martial arts approach. The first three belts (white, yellow/gold, orange) are all Taekwando. At the lime belt level, the technique changes to Maududo...which (from what I understand) is more of a hand to hand grappling technique used in practical self defence. Now that Noah is a lime belt he will begin sparring! He actually really surprised me by telling me that he is looking forward to this.
This is Noah with his instructor, Mr. Patten, after passing his test for his new belt. Not my best camera work ever....it looks a bit lopsided, doesn't it?!
Above, is Noah receiving his new belt. Here Mr. Patten is reading out his scores.
This is Noah with his instructor, Mr. Patten, after passing his test for his new belt. Not my best camera work ever....it looks a bit lopsided, doesn't it?!
Above, is Noah receiving his new belt. Here Mr. Patten is reading out his scores.
This video is of Noah performing his form. It consists of a sequence 28 kicks, punches and steps. He also had to perform three different 'one steps' and answer some theory questions before passing his test.
He did so well.....we are very proud of him! Most importantly, he improved some of the scores in the categories that he was marked down on during his last belt test. That is all we can really ask for...isn't it?
:)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Journal Entries
One of the challenges that I am taking on this summer with the kids is to have them write journal entries. The difficulty is in the fact that they don't always enjoy doing it, and therefore don't do their best work. I haven't decided, but this may be one of those such entries. I am pretty sure that this is not Rebekah's best artwork, but the entry is about a milestone, so I included it here nonetheless.
On Wednesday of this past week, Bekah lost her first tooth! I have the sneaky suspicion that this child is going to need DENTAL WORK....but we can hope for the best, right?! The tooth behind started coming in before the baby tooth fell out. The baby tooth was loose, but just a bit. Well, it seemed like it went from just being minorly loose to hanging by a thread in no time flat! Before we knew it, I was brushing her teeth and that thing was wobbling so much that I thought she might swallow it. With a bit of coaxing from me, and some offers of gifts from Noah (a fancy eraser and mini notebook), Rebekah let me pull her tooth out!
On Wednesday of this past week, Bekah lost her first tooth! I have the sneaky suspicion that this child is going to need DENTAL WORK....but we can hope for the best, right?! The tooth behind started coming in before the baby tooth fell out. The baby tooth was loose, but just a bit. Well, it seemed like it went from just being minorly loose to hanging by a thread in no time flat! Before we knew it, I was brushing her teeth and that thing was wobbling so much that I thought she might swallow it. With a bit of coaxing from me, and some offers of gifts from Noah (a fancy eraser and mini notebook), Rebekah let me pull her tooth out!
This is Bekah's journal entry depicting the event. I am not sure why she has two pink teeth while the rest are yellow....but when asked she just said she changed her mind after she started. She drew in the missing tooth below and I helped her to draw the arrow to indicate the space from which it had come. Like I said before....I have seen her draw much better than this lopsided looking self portrait with only one ponytail! LOL! Hopefully I will get to portray more of her artwork in future posts! Oh...and I just noticed that she left an 'e' out of her name too....can we say 'rushed job'?!
:)
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