Monday night

We spent a couple glorious hours out at the park this afternoon with friends. The kids were tuckered out and so was I. After the dinner and baths, Ryan said, "Okay, time for cookies and bed!"

From his bedroom putting on pjs, McKay hollered, "No! It's time for 'Happy Foam Eam-ning!" Then he tried again, "Hammy Fam Ebing." He kept going but those were the ones I remember. It's always good when the kids help make Family Home Evening happen!

Weekend in Luxembourg

Our spring fever had us anxious to get out and enjoy the weather so we packed up the kids and headed out of town. The past few times we've wanted to be weekend road warriors it has snowed and I think Ryan was itching for a good drive.

I must take a moment to boast my packing skills. We'd toyed with the idea of taking a quick trip on Wednesday and so I told Ryan to just give me a call and I'd try to get us packed up before picking him up from work. Thursday was already a full day with my crossfit class, run home to shower, grab McKay from kindergarten and drop him and Morgan off at the sitter so I could volunteer in Easton's class that afternoon making applesauce. I'll have you know I packed us all up in one hour! Granted, I wasn't packing much food and the laundry was miraculously already done. I don't know that it'll ever happen again, but that hour did actually happen and now that it's documented for posterity - I feel better. (My pat-on-the-back now over.)

We didn't have high aspirations for the weekend since we didn't plan it out, but we headed north to Ramstein Air Force Base to check out their "new" mall and then we wanted to get over to Luxembourg to see some WWII stuff.

We stopped at the National Museum for Military History in Diekirch which was quite an impressive collection. They created life-size dioramas from actual pictures. Mannequins all dressed in authentic WWII uniforms complete with gear from each army in all sorts of scenarios like a fox hole, basement communication center, or field hospital. The kids loved running wild through all the levels as Ryan and I wandered. People are still finding WWII items when digging or doing construction! I'm sure even older stuff is still there too, obviously.

Morgan with a 500 lb bomb. Yikes.

Psychological warfare by each side utilized dropping these fliers which I found interesting.

Part of downtown Luxembourg . . . it is amazing how many levels of inhabitation are found in these old cities. Luxembourg has an extensive collection of tunnels that were vital given its history of being invaded each century.

We also visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. My dad's father, my Papa, served south of this location during WWII. General Patton is buried here although he died in California. He wanted to be buried with his men. It is very sobering seeing the 5,000 American grave markers and the walls listing those missing in action. The Germans have their own cemetery with 5,000 as well nearby.

I love maps!

My Papa was down closer to Metz and pushing toward the Sigfried Line. Listening to Steven Ambrose's books D-Day and Citizen Soldier sure takes on new meaning as I saw the lay of the land here and better understood the terrain they crossed that winter of 1944-45! I'm glad we'd done the museum first.

They boys were intrigued by the Jewish grave stars and this soldier's Medal of Honor marker.

Good quick trip to wet my appetite for digging deeper into Papa's history.

Spring is here!

Some around here have been beating back winter

with their bare hands . . .

Others are just giddy with pure excitement over the possibilities!

Like me and my desire to wash the dining table, floor, and high chair less

because little ones can eat outside soaking up the sunshine!

Some Reviews

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I know I would have loved actually reading it, but I chose to listen to it for the sake of enjoying the Southern accents. I finished listening today on our way back from Luxembourg and Ryan even enjoyed catching the end I think. I loved it, loved it! In fact, for the past week I've even found myself phrasing things I say like them. Oh how I love Southern women's accents! The handful of southern women I've ever known are strong and gracious and this book does not disappoint!

This novel is told from the perspectives of three women in Jackson, Mississippi in the mid-1960s at the height of the national civil rights movement. A young aspiring, privileged white college grad comes to write a book with a couple of black women, domestic help for white families in their town. The black women tell the stories of their lives as maids in the segregated South - the good and the bad. I love how all these women take care of their own in tight knit communities!

One of my favorite things was that I could really relate to Skeeter wanting to write something good, enjoying that process but not knowing where to start and realizing how much she doesn't know!

This book will forever be a favorite of mine. I really liked the spectrum of experiences captured for Help. It seemed like an honest depiction of that time and gave me a good perspective on how far things have come. I have never been a huge fan of our current President, but I am more grateful after having read this for all that has come about to allow him to be there. It reminds me of the tears of joy I saw in peoples' faces election night and feeling that swelling on their behalf. That's real.

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas. I don't know if it had anything to do with reading a musty original 1942 copy from the library, but I just didn't get into this one. A Roman soldier is ordered to crucify Jesus, wins his Robe in a gamble and eventually becomes a Christian and pay the ultimate price. I liked the book for all the reasons it gets great reviews but the only reason I was able to stay with it was for book group this week. The great parts were fabulous and very thought provoking but there was just too much in between those moments. I didn't hanker to read it - felt more like an assignment that I happened to really enjoy now and then rather than a book I couldn't put down.

I'm done with the book but didn't finish reading it with only about 100 pages left. I'm just ready to move on. I was totally excited in the beginning because I really liked the classic movie Ben Hur. Ryan popped that bubble and told me the entire story line to clarify they were similar but separate. Since I already know how it ends, I'm ready for my next book . . . Stones into Schools, the "Three Cups of Tea" followup.

Juno is on AFN Movie right now. Ah, this flick makes me laugh and cry hard but without anyone dying like in "Steel Magnolias." I really appreciate how they handle teen pregnancy, abortion, and adoptive parents through Juno's young eyes. Fun, cute music and Ellen Page is just plain fabulous in it! Jennifer Garner holding her baby at the end with Allison Janney looking on kills me! Nothing compares to that feeling of holding your baby for the first time! NOTE: Please check a parent movie review site if you don't want to be surprised by irreverent content.

Anyone been watching the new WWII Pacific series? AFN is starting to show it here and I know it'll be good but hard to watch. I've read James Bradley's two great books about aspects of the Pacific Theater and a few others here and there to know that this was a much different war front. After visiting the American Cemetery in Luxembourg today where General Patton and 5,000 servicemen rest, it's quite sobering to imagine. We saw a great military museum with many full scale dioramas with authentic gear depicting scenes from the Sept 1944 Battle of the Bulge. I'm working on mapping my Papa's WWII trek through Europe and while he was much further south and not in this battle, it sure began to make things sink in.

Lesson Prep

Ever been in a funk? A rut? Restless?

I've enjoyed a cross fit class lately but haven't updated my workout wardrobe in almost ten years. A quick browse to try on some clothes complete with full length mirror during the episode was just disheartening. It was as fun as swim suit shopping or being fitted for a bra. Disheartening, yet no real big deal to me. I can handle that type of discouragement pretty well.

However, Easton's reading log on the fridge taunted me this week as my own personal parenting barometer. We're supposed to read to Easton at least 10 minutes a day. I haven't put that time in this week. I've been in a funk.

Oddly enough, I began planning my Primary lesson last Monday focused on showing love. The purpose of the lesson was to increase our desire to show love to others by the example set by Abraham with Lot and those of Sodom and Gomorrah. I was inspired to focus on my family.

I'm also in the middle of reading "The Robe", a loooooong novel about a young Roman centurion who took part in the crucifixion of Christ and won His robe in a gamble. This young Roman is intrigued by the dignity Jesus displayed at his trial and horrific death. A year later this young Roman returns to the Holy Land to find out more about this Jesus, coming in close contact with Christ's earliest followers. As he learns more about Jesus, he is most moved by how followers' daily lives are touched and influenced by living a higher standard.

Despite being sensitive to these examples, I really struggled this week to show my love to my family! Strangers and friends, no problem! My cute little family? I am so sad to say I exemplified Impatience. Frustration. Selfishness. Satan worked on me hard! Perhaps because I was more aware of my failings and what I hoped to share with my class.

I believe Friday morning was the low point. McKay and Morgan began waking up real early this week and 5am Friday came early. My kids are cold cereal and milk eaters. I discovered we were out of milk and sadly, in my weariness, I let it go downhill from there. McKay wakes up chatty, I do not. Morgan wakes up hungry and bossy, not my cup of tea either. I began making blueberry pancakes because I figured I had time and they all seemed cool with that plan. But McKay wouldn't eat, said it was too hot, even a half hour later. Easton ate half of one and said he was full. Morgan decided to soak hers with her water cup and then dump the whole mess on her head. The rest of hers fell on the floor and the blueberries began staining the wood floor.

I was driving Ryan into work that day so I had to have everyone out the door by 7:20 dressed and ready. After being dressed and minutes before it was time to go, Morgan found a toothbrush and tube of paste and began eating and smearing it on her shirt. There was more to the morning, but those were the highlights and by the time we left everyone tried to steer clear of me. Ryan was kind enough to not call me on it in the moment although we both knew he easily could have.

His lesson preparations were covering covenant marriage. His attitude and actions were a lot more in line with his topic than mine were, that's for sure! I'll admit I was a tad afraid to even glance at my topic for this week! Will I plan and study all week or do it last minute so I'm not given "opportunities to grow" through the week? Hmm, I'll have to get back to you on that one!

For the hand that rocks the cradle

I absolutely love this William Ross Wallace poem celebrating motherhood as a having endowed power to change the world.

Sorry in advance, this is long-winded!

A friend on Facebook posted this article featuring one of my favorite BYU professors being on the Foreign Policy's annual list of top 100 global thinkers. Her personal life is amazing in its own right, but her professional life blows me away! I was all ready to go to bed til I saw this and it got the juices flowin'!

Am I a feminist? I always shy away from that word, it's got too much baggage (like a recent post I read here).

Ever think about what you'd study if given a college do-over? Hind sight is 20/20. Although Women Studies existed when I went to school, I shied away from it for the same reason "feminism" makes me squeamish. For a gal new to her love of learning, I had arrived at BYU's uber-buffet with too much to choose from and not enough time to try each dish! After dropping Elementary Ed as my major within a month of starting classes, I sampled from many tasty social science/liberal arts options but nothing ever seemed to quite satisfy my interdisciplinary cravings.

My parents never knew what to expect when they asked if I'd nailed down a major! I always felt I didn't know what my options were, that I hadn't been exposed to enough of the world or a diverse spectrum of career paths to know what would be fulfilling. I knew I ultimately wanted to be a wife and mother, but a girl's gotta have skills to help her magnify those roles as well as be able to step up in a pinch!

Sometime in my youth I remember hearing a talk at church which I've always wanted to attribute to President Kimball. In admonishing young women to pursue an education, a statistic was given to the effect that 9 out of 10 women will have to provide for themselves or their families at some point in their lifetime. [Anyone know it's source?] It has proven true for me more than once. I was single longer than I expected, worked while newly married and once kids came along so Ryan could finish his MBA, and then was able to go to work when he was unexpectedly laid off for a short period. Ya just never know what lays ahead!

During my BYU days, I followed a dream and worked myself to exhaustion to study in the Holy Land for six months at BYU Jerusalem. One of the best things I've ever done! I realized something there that shouldn't have taken a trip across the world to discover, but I'm glad I felt and saw what I did to better understand the complexity of the world.

People are the same everywhere in the world with the same core aspirations. We live such a charmed life as Americans. We enjoy freedoms and opportunities that many people around the world work tirelessly, fight courageously, and sometimes die trying to achieve. A Palestinian college student I met there spoke of having to evade Israeli soldiers to try to get to grade school because she wanted to learn so bad. People she knew weren't able to go to work because they were stopped at checkpoints. As a result they didn't have money to take care of basic necessities for their families. On the other hand, one of our favorite Israeli market areas was blown up by a suicide bomber and Jewish school children were among the killed and wounded.

People all over the world just want to live in peace with freedom and opportunity. Peace so they can reach for their dreams and see their loved ones do the same. In that war torn land, I began to see how the loss of hope in peace correlated with all the turmoil of the region. As my coaching clinic said tonight,"We live in a culture of retaliation, not negotiation."

So I'll get to the point. If I were given the chance at a BYU do-over right now, I'd be banging on the door to do student research here:

The WomanStats Project is the most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world. The Project facilitates understanding the linkage between the situation of women and the security of nation-states.

This is amazing work!!! They tackle hard stuff I spent my last semester studying. Valerie Hudson whom I mentioned above is one of the founders of the Project and taught the hardest, best class I ever took! "The International Political Economy of Women." It was not a men-bashing course. To the contrary, it showed me how divinely complimentary men and women are. Each week I headed to the library for my study materials where I had to check out a thick binder of news and research journal clippings as well as films and documentaries to direct my study. Topics included women and children in armed conflict, the politics of breastfeeding, Adam and Eve, patriarchy, son preference/sex ratio, human trafficking, discrepancies between law and practice concerning women (land rights, marriage/divorce, child custody, health care), micro-lending and sustainable development programs, does having women in leadership roles make a difference . . . oh how I loved this class! Why did I find it my LAST semester?!?

We'd come to class all fired up wanting to make sense of it all so we could march out and change the world with our idealistic enthusiasm. Then our two wonderful professors would ground us, help us see workable solutions and understand how the Restored Gospel tied in.

It made me proud to be a woman because I finally had answers to hard questions of inequities in this mortal existence. I can still be happy and proud to be a woman and mother even if I don't like to do the mundane chores associated with my season of life. In fact, it's those chores that often give me the chance to continue to learn about the world around me as I listen to books and online resources! Life is grand!

Kid Update

I began writing this post last week chronicling things the kids were up to. If I don't post it all together right now, I may never get back to it (like other drafts I have of them hanging around in blogger). This is pretty much for the grands!

Our Future Engineer

Let's start with McKay, oh my McKay! He's into building stuff lately. Legos are fine for quiet time in his room, but with all the fun boards and big stuff to build with at the kindergarten, he's begun to search out building materials at home. The current favorite is trains. Last week saw a couple different versions like the prototype above, a series of bins.

One morning when he woke up at 5, I went back to bed kinda dozing off since I was also listening to Morgan tottering around after him. By the time Ryan and I got out of bed to officially start the day, McKay had dumped out most of the toy bins to build this "train" below. Each compartment had at least one occupant, even if it was just a fist sized stuffed animal. Finding all three kids playing and having fun together that morning sure made it hard to feel like breaking up the party to get them ready for school!

Once the boys were at school, Morgan sure enjoyed herself with those bins, filling them with her favorite stuff and honing her climb-in technique! Her legs are just long enough to climb in but she can't get out. When she first started playing with them, she'd forget to put her blanket or a sippy cup or her favorite bear in an adjoining bin and she'd start hollering for me to come help her since the elusive item was in sight. I'd hand her the item and she'd just grin and hug it to her chest then sit herself down in her bin happy as a clam. Oh she's a funny girl! By the end of each "session" she had all her favorite stuff in bins around her that she'd just pull to her to grab what she wanted. That was a good cleaning day for me while she was so happily occupied!

Close to lunch time one day, McKay told me he needed a "wutewwa sanwich 'n' injury white now." Translation: The boys have discovered peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches. The "injury" McKay was asking for is energy which he says comes from chocolate. He'll hunch over with a feigned sigh of exhaustion and call out for some "injury". It's hilarious! And white now is obviously "right now."

One afternoon McKay said, "Mom, when the bad guys get out of time out we have to fight them, right?" I'm still puzzled by this because there was no other comment after that. He's a thinker and a gabber lately with quite the imagination!

A New M.O.

We are entering a new phase of diapering and dressing Morgan. She used to always run away but now she'll often go grab the changing pad and elaborately lay herself down on it so you're sure to catch her drift. It's so funny to me and a relief that she now likes to be a big helper rather than turn tail and run!

After changing Morgan and returning from washing up one day, I found Morgan trying to diaper her dolly on the changing mat. I got down and we diapered and dressed her dolly together. She paid very close attention as I showed her how to put the dolly's sleeper on, we love velcro! This dolly thing was new territory for me. My boys didn't really do dolls and they sure weren't interested in clothing them, that's for sure! Lately, Morgan won't let me dress her unless I show her the entire outfit and say how cute or pretty it is. Then she comes running with a big happy grin pointing to her favorite item of the ensemble, usually a flower imprint. Come to think of it, McKay was the same way - showing how cool his shirt was helped ensure his cooperation. Easton never cared as long as he liked the feel and fit of the outfit.

Back to Morgan's diapering instruction, I ran to grab my camera and in the 15 seconds it took me to return she'd accumulated a pile of wipes around her as she began wiping the dolly like a crazed zealot! She's the fastest wipe dispenser I know! I can't tell ya how many times she's emptied a container in a sitting before I can catch her in time!

Once we finished dressing the doll, I got up and moved on. In five minutes time, she figured out how to strip the doll and demand for me to reclothe it not less than ten times since she's honed her skills. She takes the doll from me, wrestles her to the ground on the changing mat usually with a kiss and hug, rolls baby over and rips that back velcro enclosure apart, and practices refastening it a couple times until that gets old. Then it's naked time! Baby's undressed in a series of grunts and breathless intervals until held up to me to begin again.

Brotherly Lovin'

Morgan likes to love on Easton and McKay but often catches them in less than amorous moods. If they're sitting in their camp chairs watching a show and she's bored, they're toast! She loves to stand in front of them and lean in for kisses and hugs much to their chagrin. I used to think if they gave a quick hug and kiss it'd suffice but she wants more and more! Poor guys! If they don't give in to her demands, she starts whacking at them. We've got a hitter here folks! She's just real lucky they haven't started hitting back! Much.

Ward Banshee

Our ward meets at 11am each Sunday this year. Until last (last) Sunday, we'd typically managed to keep Morgan contained in our pew for the duration of sacrament meeting. Yesterday she harnessed her belligerent screaming power at just the right pitch. It all started upon arrival when she saw her favorite baby Sophia lounging in her car seat and wanted to stay and play with her. Morgan wouldn't budge and refused to follow the family to our seats. It went down hill from there and she spent almost the entire meeting in the foyer.

Apparently I didn't have a diverse enough smorgasbord of snacks to her liking. My favorite is when she's got a mouth stuffed with string cheese and sees a different snack in the bag either from her own or her brothers' digging. She spits out the wad o' cheese and squeals demandingly for the next snack immediately. Once the snacks to her liking were gobbled up, she was ready to burn off those calories with a walk about. She summoned Ryan to follow her in no uncertain terms.

I got my turn later. It's so fun to restrain your kid sitting in your lap in the foyer screaming so they think behaving in the meeting is the better option. She kept up her performance all three hours. That's stamina! Ahhhh, one month and she's in the nursery for the second and third hours! Ryan and I will be high-fiving and doing a happy dance in the halls!

This past Sunday we got the front row. Front row = stairs to pulpit and a nice aisle view for the congregation of our battle of wills, alternating defiant grins, furrowed brows, and looks of death.

Howdy Handsome!

Easton has been asking me to come eat lunch at his school with him. I bit the bullet and went after my cross-fit class today even though I looked worked over. He was so excited to see me and Morgan that he kept showering us with hugs and kisses over and over!

It was not my favorite lunch experience, however, because of all the wriggling little boys discovering and showing their abilities to burp at will, snorting milk through their straws, peeling an egg shell into the tiniest pieces and sharing Eggbert's remains with all those in closest proximity, or the real highlight. The little boy behind me told me what I have under my shirt. Boobies. And he wanted to tell me that I was wearing, "booby holders" (aka a bra). Seeing that he didn't get a response from me because I was trying to corral Morgan at the same moment, he branched out to a wider audience. Boys will be boys I guess, but it sure made me want to throw Easton over my shoulder and make a run for it to preserve his sweet innocence!

Daddy Time!

On Saturday morning, Ryan built the kids a fort. In the picture above, McKay's under the bed howling because we took away the tunnel entrance they were fighting over. Morgan's fresh out of the bath she demanded after breakfast and is lovin' on her daddy in the fort. And then there's Easton's just having the time of his life being with all of them. This picture makes me laugh because it depicts such a familiar scenario! It's a rare moment indeed when everyone is all smiles! But these kids sure love their daddy and he loves to be right in the middle of it too!!! It's often one of the kids climbing up in his lap after work that seems to melt away the day's cares for him.

Treasure Island, Chapter 3

I really like to read and Ryan grew up loving reading. I'd really like my kids to learn to love reading early and so far Easton's really got the bug and McKay's coming along. Ryan began reading "Treasure Island" to the boys one evening. I've never read it and have always wanted to and Easton got into it so I'm giving it a go, sort of. Tonight I read Chapter Three, "The Black Spot," to the boys before bed although Buzz Lightyear's laser gun kept interrupting McKay's concentration.

By the end of the chapter, McKay was sleeping soundly and I was asking Easton if he understood what had happened in the chapter. Jim's father had passed away followed shortly by the Captain. I asked Easton if he knew what a funeral was and he didn't, but he cut me off. His wonderful teacher, Ms. Senna, is on emergency leave right now. Her mother has been battling cancer for over a year as I understand it. Easton was telling me that their class got a note from Ms. Senna this morning that her mom had died.

My heart goes out to Ms. Senna and her family. Her sub, Mrs. Carole had to leave unexpectedly last week because her own mother got devastating news about her pancreatic cancer. When it rains it pours! What sad, sad stuff. I'm at a loss. I am grateful however that these events have given me opportunities to talk to Easton about death, what happens to us when we die, what a funeral is, and not knowing what to do for others. It has been so sweet to hear him pray for Ms. Senna and her family unprompted and from his heart.

Who knew reading "The Black Spot" would give me that opportunity tonight? I'm grateful that reading books together gives me a chance to hear what my kids think and wonder about so I can share what little I understand.

Note to self: Bedtime = Opportunities, when I surrender to the promptings and allow myself that gift.

Failures to Communicate

A few examples from today:

#1 I'm 37 hours past the hardest workout of my life. It didn't feel hard at the time, just good. I think because each portion of the workout was broken up into small intervals, I overdid it in my enthusiasm to be there kid free! Apparently I need to dial down my effort level during that one hour so I can actually move freely for the rest of the demanding hours in the days following. My bod and I need to have a lil' heart to heart about our limitations!

#2 Morgan has entered that phase where she's very communicative and opinionated but we don't yet understand one another. Yes, it's a process and I've done this before but today she upped the ante and as usual, looking back it's cuter. I was occupied finishing something I was determined to finish and Morgan was not pleased. She screamed and hollered. Sometimes, she gives up after a minute or so of getting no response. Not this time. Sometimes she'll go pick on a brother out of boredom. Not this time. Today, she grabbed McKay's Buzz Lightyear and began throwing it to the floor so the bang would accompany her "In your face!" screams. I tried to ignore her. I have to give it to her, she really lasted longer than I thought.

Counter this with another realization that always hits me around this same time of development. Does she do these exhibitions for her daddy? Not that I've discovered. Ryan, feel free to comment - there's a first time for everything! ;) There's been a couple times this past week where I'll get home or wake up to find her nestled in Ryan's lap, happy as a clam. She'll look up and smile at me and I'll think, "You're so sweet!" Then she'll often hop down off his lap and start bossing me around within minutes. It's usually a demand for food, but sometimes it's just to be bossy. All three of my kids have done this and with respect to food, still do. Wish I could channel their needs into a friendlier pitch.

#3 I've met some real nice ladies in my little town here through the German kindergarten that share my native tongue. I admire their linguistic versatility as they chat fluently with the teachers and then translate for me when needed. When we run into each other at the school we chat longer than I'm sure the kindergarten teachers wish us to do while they try to get the kids gathered for circle time. I always walk away resolved to make an effort to spend some time getting to know them better. And then my life distracts me until the next chance run-in and another note-to-self.

Yesterday I emailed a couple of them to ask when we could get together soon. Sadly I rely too much on email as a quick fix so I was surprised when one of them actually called me today to set up a time. As we chatted at length, because many of us moms have the gift to gab when given the opportunity in our conversation starved daily routine, she revealed a serious struggle she's been navigating for the past five months since we really first met. It's revelations like these that have me kicking myself for not following those fleeting promptings and notes to self. I've thought of her dozens of times, thinking I should call her. Why do I wonder and wait for a "why" to get off my duff and reach out?! Today I was reminded that our stewardships to those around us are not soley extended at church through callings and visiting teaching.

#4 I was catching up on a friend's blog this afternoon [perhaps during one of Morgan's episodes], and identified. It was about how life can change in an instant and how while she may not appear to be happy and content with her life but she really is and wishes she showed it more often within her home to the ones who mean the most to her. That would be me. I am happy and content with my life right now. I love Ryan so much and wish I was better at supporting him rather than getting frustrated that he can't read my mind, selfish girl that I am. I love my kids and wish I told them more often and showed them more often throughout the day. I am suffering from a major case of self-inflicted lack of patience and humility on the home front lately. I am afraid I am sending the wrong messages to those I desperately want to choose me for eternity.

I've got some work to do.

Munich and stuff

We spent the weekend in Munich with Ryan's brother's family. It sure is nice to have a second home away from home! The kids play, the older kids and adults get to break out the board games, and there's always some good eats! This time they taught us how to play Dominion which I didn't think I would like but really enjoyed. If you've played this before, you know you get to practice your shuffling skills a lot or you can wimp out and use an electric shuffler. I can still hear Eric's card shuffler and see his little boy grin of delight. Sorry, Eric. Boys and their toys, and Carter boys love their toys!

Settlers also made an appearance on the table although us adults called the game early on account of extreme tiredness. Getting out to enjoy some pre-spring sunshine at the park with the kids wiped us out! I especially loved trying out Tamsyn's bike trailer and my kids loved the novelty of the ride! Hmm . . . something to add to my wish list!

Ryan and I took our kids into Munich to see the Deutsches Museum having heard they had a Kids Kingdom inside. The museum is not far from the center of Munich where at 11am you can see the Glockenspiel each day. Here's Easton enjoying it, especially when the jousters do their handiwork.

I have to say we were quite spoiled by the DC Smithsonians so the Deutsches Museum didn't quite do it for me although the big galleys, boats and trains were pretty impressive. The children's area left a bit to be desired but the kids enjoyed themselves, particularly with the water features' locks and canals, rocks to dam up the chutes, and various water wheels.

Ryan and I ran great zone coverage until the end when McKay slipped by us and fell into a section of 9 inch deep water. How he got completely soaked is a mystery to me. It was only 9 inches deep! Earlier, however, Morgan had taken the more direct approach by simply climbing down into the water when I looked away for a moment. Argh! With the breezy, chilly temperatures outside and a good walk ahead of ourselves to get back to the trains, we sure were lucky an actual clothes dryer was on hand! Here's my little angels sittin' in the buff waiting for their clothes to dry. I don't know how I would have survived the past year without this big ol' stroller! McKay isn't actually waving at the camera, just caressing his elbow and arm as he does when chillin' with his thumb.

We did a short stint at Edelweiss and the kids love to go swim. I'm sorry, but this little swim suit on Morgan just makes me happy! Lately I shop for her at my neighbor's house who has a daughter just a year older. It's a great arrangement for everyone and it will be a sad day in Morgan's wardrobe when one of our families move.

Ryan loves the whirl pool and Morgan just snuggled up to him with a nice full belly after breakfast! At least until the bubblies began. She's not so fond of the actual whirl pool whirling.

On a tangent, living around a military community sure makes for a small world! Here's the latest example. Last week I went to a PTA brunch where they were lining up volunteers and chairs for next year with lots of mingling. Then today I went to a cross training class [Boot Camp] this morning on base. It was packed, probably 75 or so in there! I've been once before with a friend a few weeks ago. I smiled to see that among odd run ins, classes on base, church, and that PTA function I have probably met most of them at some time or another! What also struck me was that many of these women are ones I admire for being real go-getters.

This cross training class is hard stuff! Running an errand afterward to the bank nearly had me falling on my face going up and down the stairs! I love the sociality of classes, kinda like a team sport which has always been my workout crutch until I lost my bit of skill to complete out-of-shape-ness. Good thing I've discovered there's a variety of classes requiring no dance or coordination since I don't do so well with either!