Bon Jovi for Father's Day

C, Little G and I went to the Bon Jovi show last night for Father's Day. C has lost both G's over the last few weeks in our prep work for the big night. It was a great introduction to Little G with 55,000+ fans for the last show of the European tour. The atmosphere was as good as it gets for a concert. My only concern is that the whole family is now Bon Jovi fans as S's new favorite songs to sing are Raise Your Hands and Lost Highway versus Twinkle, Twinkle or the A,B,C's.

To the Andersons, Butlers and any other Bon Jovi fans, it was a 2 1/2 hour set with a 5-song encore. They played a greatest hits show including some surprises such as Always, In These Arms, Blood Money and I Believe.

I have highlighted some video's from the night: Rockin' All Over the World (1st song and surprise), I Believe (1st time live on the tour), Blood Money (great classic that many don't know), Shout (one of G's favorites) and a compilation of all the songs from the night.











C will be back tomorrow, but I know there are a few of you out there that will enjoy the post. Thanks to Little G for the Father's Day present.

That's My Boy

I just finished reading a couple of books to S before I tucked him into bed. His current book of choice has changed from Brown Bear, Brown Bear to a set of 4 cute readers depicting the main characters from the Disney movie, Cars. Thank you Dreyer family for the sweet gift . . . S loves them!

We have read them no less than 20 times in the past 3 days. What is a bit funny to me is that little S has me read them in the exact same order each time.

Ponder that for a moment. The exact same order each and every time. No lie!

I'm not sure where he gets this from . . .

Is It Me

or are elementary school teachers getting younger?

We had the Meet the Teacher picnic this afternoon, and G's teacher for next year looks like she might still be in high school. It's crazy!

Not sure if she's all that young or if I'm getting all that . . . . opposite of young!

G's Junior School Picnic

This blog seems to be taking the place of our family photo albums. I tend to over-photograph and over-document as I try to capture the events and happenings of our family.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that some of these posts and photos may be of no interest to anyone else but our family!

Nevertheless, I'm bound and determined to preserve our special memories!

Today was one of them as we enjoyed the end of year picnic for little G's school. We met in Hyde Park and enjoyed food prepared by each family representing the country that they are from. You should have seen the spread!

Following lunch, the girls played rounders while the boys played football.

Our little one has become quite keen to the sport of football once again. He played when he was younger, and then "retired" early in favor of baseball and basketball. He cannot play enough these days and is begging us to find a league for him.

Here he is in action:

Yes, that's G in the air doing the header!

Not bad for a little one that used to shuffle his feet at the back of the pack so that he wouldn't have to get in the mix of players going for that ball!

My Little Cricketer

Little G was invited to play up today in a cricket match for his school. Seeing as it is not a large school, children are often shuffled around to get enough players for various games and matches.

G has thoroughly enjoyed learning the game of cricket and was thrilled to be asked to play in this game with boys from the senior school. It was a big confidence booster for the new kid in town!

Here he is as the batsman:

A shot of G running between the wickets:

Here is G as the bowler:

Big G is watching with a careful eye to ensure that this new sport does not create any problems with G's baseball swing!

2008 European Tour

Melissa, a sorority sister and dear friend of mine, was in town last week while her husband had business meetings across Europe. London was one of his stops, so we met here and then hopped along and toured while Melissa's husband was in meetings. We had a ball catching up among some of the most beautiful places in Europe. Not a bad way to spend the week! Our first stop was Rotterdam:

Then we were on to Brussels:

From there, we flew to Zurich. This was all in one day, mind you! We began the day in London, ended our day in Zurich, and stopped twice along the way. Can I just say . . . jet set! I was feeling like a rock star and loving every minute of it!

We spent the following day in Geneva:

And then we were off to Interlaken where we spent the night.

The following day started with the most scenic drive that I have ever taken, winding our way through the breathtaking Swiss Alps:

We ended our tour in a little village outside Lucerne. Greg met up with us there, and this is where we spent the weekend.

Now I am unpacking and trying to correct my children each time they call me "Maya", as in our Maya Poppins! Talk about mommy guilt . . . being mistaken for the sitter by your own children is tough on the heart!

Nevertheless, it was fabulous to get away for the week to catch up with a wonderful friend while exploring these beautiful countries!

I'm Back!

I just returned from a fun little sightseeing trip with my sorority sister and dear, dear friend, Melissa. We had more fun catching up while seeing some amazing cities!

Here are a couple of the many photos that I snapped during our tour, the others of which I will share later this week. I have some little boys that were terribly missed to go love on right now!

Another Milestone

We took baby B for his first haircut on Friday. Here are a few photos to document the occasion:

We were not even 2 minutes into the cut when B started to squirm. I mean squirm. The sweet girl that was cutting his hair called in reinforcements, but even an extra pair of hands and every imaginable distraction did not seem to help.

I finally stood him upright on my lap and nuzzled those round, plump cheeks. He stayed perfectly still for the rest of the cut, much to every one's amazement. If only it could have lasted longer!

B went from baby boy to toddler with a single haircut!

A Tribute

You are the quiet, loving leader of our family. You are a devoted husband, a caring son, and an amazing father. You are one of the hardest workers we know, carrying heavy burdens upon your shoulders for the sake of our family. Your daily actions and interactions teach us about love, trust, kindness, honesty, perseverance, loyalty, dedication and integrity. You are thoughtful and compassionate beyond compare. You are an incredible example for our boys, and they will have quite big shoes to fill! I am thankful and blessed to call you my husband, and our boys are so very lucky to call you daddy!

Happy Father's Day!

Weariness, No Bleariness!

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

This is where I am right now! So weary that my vision is bleary, I mean blurry. I am literally so worn out that I cannot even see straight at this very moment.

G has been out of town this week and does not return until Friday. This is actually not that different from a non-traveling work week for him. Most days he gets home after the children are in bed. But there is just something about knowing that he will be home at some point that calms my spirit and provides such comfort to me.

So I have been holding down the fort this week on my own, which is a tough task against this tribe of wild Indians I call my children!

Baby B has started pulling up and lately I have had to sacrifice my body as his toy of choice in which to practice these new found skills. This child is never still. He is constantly out of breath these days. He is doing that much climbing. And that climbing is all over me! I can't even put into words the drama that unfolds during diaper changes as I tussle with this one to keep him still. I'm not much of a rodeo gal, but I have to say that I am getting pretty good at steer wrestling! I've got the bumps and bruises to prove it. Really. You would be shocked.

And then there is sweet little S, who is all of 2 right now. He is averaging about 3 tantrums before I can even get breakfast on the table. I somehow seem to have forgotten these highs and lows of toddlerhood. Must have blocked the lows out of my memory! Luckily S is still distractible, and I continue to use the many tricks (ie candy and cookies, no, not really, I would never resort to that!) up my sleeve to get us through these melt-downs.

Little G has had a full school schedule this week, too. Homework here is ever increasing, and we are still working to catch him up to where the children are academically in his class. I've also been challenged with the fact that G's school seems to thrive on spur-of-the-moment activities in which we are scrounging to find Wellies and rain hats and umbrellas for a song contest with one day's notice. That does nothing for a type-A overly scheduled mum!

I am half-way through this week on my own. Counting down the hours until G returns. Praying for the Lord to renew my soul, refresh my spirit and repair my jungle-gym body!

No Time to Write

Because I must finish the novel that has kept me up late at night for weeks now!

Just as little G has been fixated on the history here relating to World War II, I have been equally captivated by the stunning architecture of the buildings and cathedrals that I admire on a daily basis.

This must have become obvious to G's mom and dad when they were here back in April as G's dad was most thoughtful and brought home a delightful surprise for me on one of his outings, The Pillars of the Earth. It is a fantastic novel set in the High Middle Ages that chronicles the building of a beautiful cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge and tells the fascinating stories of the lives that are entwined in this Gothic building.

This has been a book that I have not been able to put down. However, with the 3 little monkeys that continuously jump around our home, I don't usually have more than a 10 minute reading window. I'm also afraid my dear husband is feeling a bit neglected by my fascination with this cathedral!

With all that being said, I have no time to write tonight as my novel is calling . . .

And thank you, R, for the book!

Weight Loss Update

G and I managed to put at least half the pounds that we have lost back on with one single meal this weekend.

We found a fabulous restaurant that specializes in the tradition of good 'ol American cooking. The slogan for this restaurant is, "Put a little South, in yo' mouth" and they certainly know how to keep a promise!

I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our quite unhealthy meal that was chock-full of butter, fat, salt and grease. You see, this is the kind of food that our bodies know and love.

Welcome back chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes . . . we have missed you more than you know!

Weight Loss Secrets

G and I were out shopping the other day and saw a scale. We don't have one here so we decided to hop on to see how much we were weighing these days. I stepped on and the scale read 48 kilograms and G's read 85 kilograms. As soon as we got home, we googled a kilogram to pound conversion and were quite surprised. G was even more shocked to realize that he was a mere 40 pounds lighter than when we left the states!

Needless to say, we were both a bit alarmed by the pounds that we have shed since our arrival here. We both knew our clothes were fitting a bit looser, but we had no idea of just how much weight had been lost!

Our weight loss could be attributed to a number of things. G's probably started with his emergency appendectomy in December days before we were set to leave for London.

More pounds were probably lost during our hotel living days when we did not have a kitchen. We ate out every day during those few months. We could have filmed Super Size Me II, only we found the opposite effect took place. We finally stopped eating as we just could not take any more fast food!

Or, it could be all the walking that we do living in the city sans automobile, or the fact that we live over four stories these days. Who knows!

All I know is that I am spending a small fortune on getting my skirts and pants taken in. And I don't have much disposable income these days after the price of those movie tickets!

Choke, Choke

Maya Poppins is coming over on Friday night so that G and I can enjoy an adult night out. I picked up 2 movie tickets today for our date, and I am now $48 poorer.

$48 for 2 tickets!

That doesn't even include the popcorn!

How Did This Happen?

When we left Dallas, baby B was still a newborn baby. Waking up in the middle of the night, just starting to smile, still brand new! Today he is pulling up and ready to take his first steps.

How did this happen?

Please make this ride slow down!

With his new pulling up trick, I felt the need to snap a few photos of him on the move using his hands and knees as I feel like his crawling days may come to an end before I know it. I just don't want to forget that determined look on his face as he gets to where he wants to go, or those chubby little starfish hands with the tiny, dimpled fingers.



As a side note, I took these photos today as we were on our way to the play area at the Science Museum. As we turned the corner at the end of our block, this is what we ran into. Yes, this is a small Russian missile being unloaded from that truck! You can't imagine what was running through my head!

Dare I say it again . . . we are definitely not in Kansas anymore!