December Arrived

Blog About Fall 2020

On December 1st, there was a light frost on the ground and we were so excited! We were hoping for snow, and we are "snow" thankful we got to see some actual snow before we flew back overseas, but my condolences to those of you who endured the Snowpocalypse that hit Texas in January, a few days after we left.

Caleb continued to play soccer until we left in January and loved it! He was coached well and learned a lot. Now that we're back, he misses these big fields and disciplined coaching.

December 3, 2020

My daughter had been seeing these giant squish-mellows online while we were overseas, and it was so easy to say, "I'm so sorry, honey. I wish they had those here." 

But back in America, she decided this was one of the gifts she would like to have for Christmas. I left it at the store and went to ponder with Doug how we would get it back in our luggage (because we needed all our weight for school books and new clothes we had purchased).

Doug was optimistic and said, "We can get it back. No problem." 

And he was right. This cow with a unicorn horn (I'm joking, of course) shipped easily in a box and arrived shortly after we did. Keira lies on it when watching movies, sits on it while playing, and sleeps with it every night taking up half her bed.

Yeah for giant squish-mellows...

December 4, 2020

We took advantage of beautiful weather and having an outside eating area as much as we could. This is a real treat we don't often get to do at our home overseas, mainly because we live in a city in a house with no grass and a tiny, tiled sitting area.

Caleb and Doug also took advantage of a place to throw the football.
 

This same night, Karis and Keira had their holiday ballet performance. It was first planned to be inside with just a few people, but more relatives and friends wanted to see it.

The first two performances were put on zoom for others to see, and the studio let in a few people to each one. We watched online first, so I just drove the girls and dropped them off.

Karis' friend came to the first performance,

and then Doug and I drove up for the second performance.

A Quiet Thanksgiving and a Photo Shoot

Blog About Fall 2020

Thanksgiving was a quiet affair, and we changed things up a bit, since it was just us. My kids didn't grow up with "typical" Thanksgiving food (and it's not really their favorite), so overseas, we usually have Mexican food on Thanksgiving.

This year, we had a brisket and some other favorite foods that we enjoy when we're in America.

We all remained outside, socially distanced, and we tossed the football around and enjoyed the beautiful weather!!

We also had a family photo shoot planned for when Kylie was in town, but we delayed it 6 days to give more time for Doug to finish his recovery time. He didn't have horrible symptoms, but he also didn't want to be around others until the time limit was up.

 The day we rescheduled for was FRIGID and WINDY!

The above photos were obviously mine.

You can tell a difference because the ones below shine.

They were taken by the amazing Melissa Darst!

Thanksgiving and an Experiment

One evening, right before Thanksgiving, our team went to play laser tag.  Keira was sick, and I stayed home with her; however, on Caleb's birthday in January, we ALL played, and it was a lot of fun!

November 27, 2019

Thanksgiving morning, some Americans (and Dutch) played a game of football. Keira still wasn't feeling 100%, so I stayed home, but Doug and Caleb joined in the festivities.

They were put on opposite teams, and had a fun time covering each other.

Caleb's team won.

Later that day, we decided to have Thanksgiving at a restaurant again.  The chef from the restaurant we celebrated in last year moved to a new restaurant.  Last year, my teammate had helped the chef with the menu, and it was just for us, so with it being publicized for the whole city, we weren't sure what the set-up was going to be.

There was a buffet and plenty of food, but he changed some recipes and used some different spices this year, and it just didn't taste as good to me.

But it was still nice to all eat together, and Keira's fever was down, so she joined the festivities.

November 29, 2019

Right before Thanksgiving, I took a chance on getting my hair colored. 

I had never done that before.

I thought about getting some blonde highlights to make the switch to grey a little bit smoother; however, I was very nervous about getting my hair colored in a country where a majority of the salon's deal only with dark brown or black hair.

I finally found I guy I trusted and held my breath.

And it was quite a process!

Keira was not excited about me getting my hair colored.  

She wasn't sure she was going to like it.

It turns out, he did just what I wanted!

This was five months ago, so when I get to America you'll get to see my roots and grey, but it was fun while it lasted :) 

November 23, 2019

The Feeling of Fall

Several children play on our street.

Several children play on EVERY street.

Most days, since the weather has gotten cooler, it sounds like I live next to an amusement park.  There is yelling, whistles blowing, water bottles being thrown, bicycles being ridden, and lots of junk food being consumed.

These kids live on junk food.

A LOT of junk food.

The local schools don't feed students lunch, and they don't have enough room for all of the kids, so half of the kids go from 8am-12pm, and then another half goes from 1pm - 5pm.

They go on Saturday, too.

AND remember, that the teachers are still not getting paid.

Because of the school schedule, it means there are always kids at home.

And when I say "home," I mean "out in the street."  Mommas shoo them out the door constantly.

Fall is a great time for all of this outdoor activity.

Adults are out enjoying the cooler air, too.  Most people (as in, thousands) go to the parks at night, but as I was walking the other day, I saw this lady sitting on her special plot of green grass in the middle of the afternoon.

They spied me, so I had to take the picture while I was walking, so that accounts for the blurry-ness.

Many houses have a "garden" plot out front about this big, and they might have three chairs and a small table set in it so they can sit and enjoy the "outdoors."

It reminds me of New York City where grass is so scarce.

Walking from place to place has been so much nicer, too, with the weather turning cooler.

It's amazing how the weather can really affect my attitude.

Fall also means "football," as you well know.

Caleb has started soccer (which they call "football" here), and the girls have also begun dancing again.  Kylie is even helping to teach a dance class of little 3 and 4-year olds.

Caleb comes home filthy after every practice.  It's assurance for me that he is making lots of contact with the black rubber, which lies under the turf.

 And as a shout-out to our American roots, he dressed up like an American football player for a dress-up party at school.  I thought he looked great, but he took the toilet paper rolls out of his shirt very soon after this picture.

Keira got in the fall spirit with a pumpkin and a set of watercolors.

Kylie got in the fall spirit by...

 

 I'll let you decide.

(But I will fill you in later.  Today is Doug's birthday, so we need to go celebrate him in this Fall season).