Switzerland

When we arrived in Germany we lucked out in the fact that Andrew's new squadron was all gone on a TDY in Las Vegas.  So we had the luxury of being about to jet off on our first European adventure to Switzerland.  It was a very tough decision on where to venture off to first. lol   I didn't know how to plan trips in Europe so pretty much we learned as we went.  Our van had not arrived yet and the car we purchased here in Germany was a small Ford station wagon and it did not have a radio so that made for a fun first road trip.   I immediately fell in love with Switzerland.   The mountains are amazing, the chateaus on the mountains are amazing, the people are friendly, and we found out is the most expensive country in Western Europe.  The roads are amazing, yes those are the things that I am fascinated by.  In Switzerland there are tunnels after tunnels when you drive through the country.  Since we did not have a radio the kids made a fun game of singing the word tunnel as a triad every time we went through one and then holding onto the last pitch until we had made our way out of the tunnel.  Elizabeth also made her Pete the Cat into a radio so when you pushed a shoe or paw it would play a certain genre of music. ie Them singing that music.   Road trips have become a big part of our family memories and I love listening to them make up games, tell stories, and hear them sing as we make our way to our next destination.  Of course it always comes with some fighting and tears at times.   On this particular trip we made it to the Matterhorn, rod the steepest cogwheel Train in the world in Lucerne, and we stayed at one of the Girl Scout World Heritage Centers.

Book Fair

Apparently there are book fairs and then there are book fairs.   If you have or have had an elementary age child you know about the book fairs that happen a few times a year. Being military we have so far seen three book fairs at three schools and Liz is only in second grade.   Today Elizabeth came home from school and said, "Mom you should see the book fair at this school it is beautiful, just beautiful!!"   I do agree that this school does a great job and we had a great time at family night picking out a few new books.  I hope that Elizabeth keeps her joy of reading throughout her life and continues seeing books as beautiful things.

Sedona

We spent this past weekend in Sedona and then made our way over to Prescott where Liz and I had a great day with her Girl Scout Troop and Andrew and the little ones explored Prescott.  It was a great weekend.  We all had so much fun playing at Slide Rock, eating an overpriced Mexican meal on the main drag in Sedona, fishing at an overpriced trout farm, and camping under the stars.
Despite the money spent the trip was so worth it and the kids had so much fun and I would do it again hands down.  The scenery is breathtaking and the towns along the way are charming.  And to top it off Rosalyn lost her first tooth!!  Made the trip even more memorable.

Conversations

I love the little conversations that I have with the girls and this particular one I wanted to write down to remember.   The other day we were walking out of the Botanical Garden here in Phoenix and Rosalyn and I were a bit behind.

Out of nowhere she said, "Mom I haven't told any of my friends at the gym about Great Grandma dying.  I don't know why but I didn't want to tell them yet."

Elizabeth is much more emotional when it comes to death mainly because she is older and understands it a bit more.  So this conversation was a little out of the norm for Rosalyn.  She is a little more abrupt about death.  We are very open as a family about life and death and what happens to us all. I try to express to the girls every time we visit great grandparents that it might be the last time we could see them.  Most are in their 90's and being military and moving around and not always being close makes it hard at time, but I want them to enjoy, remember, and cherish the time we do have with them.

Rosalyn continued to share with me that she made a remembrance pile of rocks on the side of our house near the garbage cans so that she can remember Great Grandma.  This little act of remembrance from Rosalyn made me a bit tearful and so grateful for the sweet girls I am blessed with.   And I now know what the little pile of rocks is that I keep finding by the garbage cans and I will no longer put them back into the garden.
 

Night Flying

This week Andrew entered the part of his training where he is learning to fly at night.  And not just flying an airplane but training on all the things that fighter pilots do at night while wearing night vision googles.  I will leave it at that since his job does terrify me a bit.  Thankfully now he is just training and I know that he is loving every minute of it.
   I was lying in bed reading and heard jets like I do many evenings but this is the first time that I know that one of those jets is my husband coming home from his daily mission.  Now that I am used to the constant jet noise I really only notice it in the evening when the house is silent and all my noise makers are in bed.
 As I look out the window at the twinkling stars and a few planets it is amazing to think that Andrew is out there flying at jet speed.  There really is something magical about the night sky.  He is doing what he has wanted to do since he was a little boy when his Grandfather took him up the one and only time in his plane. ( He only took Andrew once because of the fear of being responsible if something happened)  I am so proud of Andrew and all he has accomplished the last 11 years in the military.  He didn't have an easy childhood and didn't have the privileges and opportunities that most of his fellow classmates had that studied at the academy, however through dedication and perseverance he made his dream come true.  So now I look to the stars and pray that he stays safe as I do everyday. I thank God every day for Andrew and for the three beautiful children we have together. I know that his job is dangerous and it honestly scares the hell out of me, but I will stay strong and trust in God that everything is how it should be.

Weekend in Vegas

This last weekend we had the opportunity to visit Uncle Austin and Aunt Michelle in Las Vegas. Since this is one of the only chances we will have for a while to live so close to family we are taking all we can get.  We had the amazing experience to see the Cirque Du Soleil show Zarkana thanks to Austin who works for Zarkana.  He controls the winches and pulleys during the show and maintains them.  The girls absolutely loved the show.  Since Nathan could not attend Rosalyn and I went to the first showing and Elizabeth and Andrew went to the second.  It made for a very long night but it was so worth it.  Rosalyn's favorite part were the clowns and Elizabeth's was the people that rolled around and did tricks in huge metal rings.  All the acts were very impressive like most Cirque shows.   Of course I didn't get any pictures with my sweet Valentines day date but we have the memory.  If I remember I can try to upload a picture from Andrew's phone of him and Elizabeth on their date.

The next day we went to an amazing place in Vegas called the Container Park.  Vegas is not just for adults anymore.  The whole block is made out of shipping containers.  I only took pictures of the play structure in the middle of a big circle of shops and little restaurants that are made out of the same containers.  I am so impressed with what so many cities are doing these days.  This one tops my list of favorites and I think the kids would agree.  They even had a little treasure hunt of little things hidden that the girls loved doing.

At the entrance of the park is giant praying mantis that an aerospace engineer made for his wife for their 15 year wedding anniversary. Every night at 5:00 it is woken up by a drum circle and it shoots fire from its antennas.  Made for a perfect ending to the day at the container park.  The girls had so much fun beating on the drums.  Nathan loved the drums but wasn't so sure on the fire...it was a bit hot.  

Thank you Austin and Michelle for a wonderful weekend.

Sweet Elizabeth

Love my sweet Elizabeth!!

Girl Scout Camp

This last weekend Liz and I had the opportunity to go to Girl Scout camp together.  It was much needed time for just the two of us to spend together.  She has been going through a rough time lately of not acting like herself and being mean to her siblings.  I almost canceled going since she has been acting so horrible but really I think the weekend together is just what she needed.  As a parent I sometimes forget that kids have feelings too and they aren't perfect all the time.  There are other issues and struggles that kids go through and we are here to guide them and show them how to deal with those issues and hard moments in life.  I often times have to remind myself the same things.  When I am feeling irritated and stressed I often take my feeling out on those closest to me, Andrew and the kids, and I often need to listen to my own lectures that I give the girls.

Here are a few pictures of our wonderful weekend together.

The path to our cabin.

The girls working in small groups preparing a skit on conflict and resolution.

It was a bit chilly but a beautiful weekend to spend in the woods.

The girls performing their skit.

Working on her story stick.  All the girls sticks were put together to make a story quilt.

The weekend was all about girls making their own stories in life and taking them back into the world to share with others.

Playing the game froggy.  Elizabeth's new favorite game.

 We both had a great weekend meeting new friends and spending time with each other. Now that she is getting older we wont have as many opportunities to go to camp just the two of us so I enjoyed the time as much as possible.  The best part was no cell service and technology and spending the weekend in the mountains with just Elizabeth.  

Rules

My little Rosalyn can be a little sneaky at times and I am pretty sure she will always be my child that Andrew and I will have to keep an eye on and today she proved it.   Actually I think she and Nathan will be in cahoots together as they grow up.

 Elizabeth on the other hand is my rule follower.  I will never have to worry about her getting into trouble.  For example at lunch time the kids can talk until the last 5 minutes and then it is quiet time so that they can finish their food and go on with the day.  We join her for lunch on occasion and she will under no circumstance make any noise or talk during that 5 minutes.  Just one of the many examples of her rule following.   Thank goodness she is my oldest and will always keep me updated on what the little ones are doing and if they are not following the rules.

Rosalyn however loves to bend the rules and she also loves technology which we don't do much of.  Occasionally I will let her play one of the three games on the iPad or, her favorite, watch a show on it.  The other night Andrew and I couldn't find the iPad.  We didn't think much of it since we didn't really need it and just figured we set it down somewhere.  The next day I put Nathan down for his nap and finished reading with Rosalyn and she very willingly stayed in her room and said, "If you need me I will be in my closet." Now we are in the phase of just quiet time and sometimes she will nap but she always tries to work up a deal to not have quiet time.  This was out of the ordinary.  Yes she snuck the iPad into her closet the night before so she would have it during quiet time.  She wasn't being very sneaky this time but she has once before spent a good couple hours on the iPad during quite time while I thought she was sleeping.  My little Rosalyn will always have me on my toes I am sure.  As for now she is so darn cute when being devious and often very clever making it hard to get angry.  It only took two times but now I always make sure I know where the iPad is before quiet time.

Rest in Peace Grandmary

Today started with a bit of a shock.  My grandmother passed away this morning.  I know that she was old and frail and all life comes to an end but it is still hard to accept.   On one of our last visits with her she asked me if I would play my violin at her funeral.  Since funeral arrangements are not set and might not happen for while I put on the TV for the kids this morning and played my violin for a good hour.  Something that I don't get a chance to do often lately.  I played pieces that she would love and practiced a few a bit more in detail that she would love at her funeral.  It is amazing how music can calm an aching heart and bring joy during a hard time.  I only pray that I can play for her service if my Grandpa decided to have one.  Until then I will play for her whenever I have the chance and remember her memory.  I have many wonderful memories of my grandmother.  She taught me how to sew by hand and  she is where I learned my love of folk dancing.

I have a few specific memories that I love about my grandma.

When I was little, maybe around 4,  I had a bank that had to be broken to get into.  I don't even remember what the bank looked like but I remember during a visit she and I trying to get money out of it with a knife and yes we broke it.  My mom was so upset with her mother and me.  I always found it funny getting into trouble with grandma.

When I was visiting her during high school she brought out some old pictures of her family when she was little.  She had 12 sibling and she asked me to guess who she in a family picture.  I knew instantly and pointed her out.  She asked how I knew so quick and I responded, "You look just like me!".   Yes, my special bond with my grandmother is that I am her.  Her parents were Ukrainian immigrants and my Ukrainian heritage has always been my favorite lineage.   My favorite folk dancing was Ukrainian, Ukrainian eggs are probably one of my favorite holiday traditions and
something I will pass onto my children along with our Ukrainian Easter dinner traditions.  I have even had random strangers come up and ask me if I was Slavic.


I only wish that we were able to visit more during the last 10 years but thankful for the visits we did have and the chance that we had to live in Texas and able to make weekend trips to Albuquerque.  I am thankful that the girls were able to meet my grandparents and have memories of sitting in great-grandma's lap while she sang to them.

Love you Grandma

Sick and at home

So we have started the year off a bit rough with Nathan having a bad chest cold.  He has a horrible cough that hurts him horribly and is keeping him up all night.  Hopefully he finds some relief soon and we can continue back to the gym, story time, library, and parks.

It is rough for a little boy to wait for his blanket to be washed when he is not feeling well.

I didn't catch the pure joy on camera but the moment it came out of the dryer he was beyond happy. 

Last Day of Christmas Break

After the family had all left and we were feeling the after Christmas blues we decided to get out of the house and hit the Children's Museum again on Sunday the 4th.    This will be a once or twice a month thing now that we have the membership and we can no longer take many weekend exploration trips now that Andrew's training is busier then ever.   Here are just a few of the highlights.

Nathan and Dad in the flying bathtub.

The kids love the huge tree house.  They could play in it forever.  The huge windows are great but not good for picture taking with my bad camera phone.  

Not sure what to call this but Nathan especially loves it.  Put the scarves in and they blow out in different areas.

Finally this little reading nook that we didn't find last time. 

We had another great afternoon at this great place with many more to come.

Children's Museum

On our last day of Grandma and Grandpa's visit we went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix before dropping them off at the airport.   Everyone had a great time and of course I only managed to get one blurry picture of Nathan.  Posing for a picture is not really on his agenda.

Going through the car wash with Dad.

Ice cream anyone?

Crafting with Grandma is always top on the list for the girls during a visit.  

Duet

Wonderful memory to start the year. On the first day of 2015 Rosalyn and I played our first duet together and I couldn't hold back the tears.  Every day I am amazed by my girls abilities to play instruments. Second go at it and she was able to focus and play while I was playing an accompanying part.   She has played with the piano before but I though for sure it would take a bit of practice to play while I was playing a different part on my violin but she did it so quickly and she loved it.   My goal this year is to not miss as many practice days with the girls so they can continue to progress and their love for music will continue to grow and blossom.  (At this age practicing  is all on me. I am learning to not get as frustrated and make practicing a joy.  This a constant learning adventure for me as well as for my children. :) ).

Will post video soon.