Every day life and occasional adventures of Emily Snow and Family

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Let the Gardening Begin!

Today, I began my gardening for the season. Last year, when we arrived here, it was already August and we had a lot of other things that needed to be done so we got by with the bare minimum of pruning the very overgrown hedges and killing the outrageous weeds. This year, I am hoping for more. But, I've got to be quick about it since I will be leaving here in just over a month!

Many of my neighbors have all started to "tinker" out in their yards as it has become bearable to spend a lengthy amount of time outside this past week (in the mid 60's). I know it couldn't be helped last year, but this year, I don't want my house to be viewed as "one of the American renter homes".

As I've said in the past, I live in a duplex. When it comes to our backyards, they are partitioned off by a portion of privacy fence and the other part a half fence all adorned by grapevines and ivy. In other words, if we are both out on our patios, we cannot see each other, but if we are out on the grass, we can see into each other's yards but we'd have to do the high-jump to get into each other's backyards. But, there's a clear line as to what is ours and what is theirs.

The front yard is not partitioned off. But, you can visualize a "line" where my house ends and their house begins. Only problem is, I think everyone has always just visualized that line and now there is a two-foot area that is all moss, grass and weeds! So, with the move of our former neighbors and our new neighbors not coming for two more months, I have decided to take advantage of this time and do what I want with "our side". Actually, I AM going to make it more obvious where the "line" is. I am going to pull up all the moss, grass, weeds, ground cover etc and lay down mulch. On my side, I am going to mulch around everything and yesterday I already started thinning out the bushes--there are nine of them--they are all about my height. I think they are all too wild looking, they are too bushy and no one has bothered to prune underneath them in what looks like forever. I also weeded and planted 30 flowers around my steps. With all the bushes there really isn't that much area to plant flowers. However, with the weeding that I did yesterday I discovered a few more areas that could use some perennials. I just don't know what kind yet.

As I started gardening, what I hoped would be two large parts of two of my days looks like it could take much, much longer. The yard has been greatly neglected for a long time.

Where were the kids during all of this, you may wonder...Toby took a nice, long nap and when he woke up, I opened the front door, and blocked him off with a baby gate. Thomas was with me the whole time, either digging in the dirt or examining bugs and worms and basically torturing them until he would declare, "oh, I think I killed them". Which is actually saying a lot because even a year ago, if he would have saw the bugs or worms, he would have screamed and probably wanted to go indoors! But, Thomas was also my "good helper", making the pile of branches and weeds as I cleaned out the flowerbeds.

Until later,

Emily

Monday, April 28, 2008

New Neighbors!

Believe it or not, a new co-worker of James' has decided to rent out the other side of our duplex! He, his wife, and their baby (who I hear will be about 8 0r 9 months old when they arrive) will move here at the end of June. Unfortunately, I will not be here when they first arrive...nor will the other wives of the coworkers that also live in this town--somehow we've all decided to go back to the States this summer--but she will have a good support system when we get back and it will be nice to have one more American in our neighborhood.

Apparently, the wife is really dragging her feet about this move...she'll have a good friend in me that will empathize with what she's going through and hopefully see that once you get adjusted it's not all that terrible. And, hopefully, she'll let me help her so that her adjustment will be even easier and faster than mine was! I, of course, am hoping for a friend who will want to do stuff together occasionally...or more than that...but we'll see!

Until later,

Emily

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Flowers from Thomas


I know it's not a unique thing for children to pick flowers for their moms...but I think it's cute and tender all the same that Thomas does this for me! (These were picked from my lawn and from one of the shrubs in the front of my house).


Until later,


Emily

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Saturday Adventure

Cologne (Koln), Germany

Today, we ventured out to Koln, Germany. Us Americans call it Cologne. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to drive there. We spent almost as much time looking for a parking space once we arrived! Koln is the 4th largest city in Germany and is the home to the most famous cathedral in Germany--a Gothic cathedral.

After finally finding a parking space and a bathroom (James & I walked into a ritzy, private, spa and just pretended that we knew where we were going--desperate times take desperate measures). We decided to ride a cable car over the Rhine River. On our way back, as we were descending, we were right over the spa when suddenly, James shouted, "Oh my heck! There's a totally naked woman getting into that swimming pool!" it wasn't half a second later when I got the glimpse of 3 or 4 naked men sunbathing... Our eyes are burned for life! After that, we attempted to get closer to the cathedral, this time finding a parking garage. The cathedral was so huge that my camera couldn't fit the whole thing in it.

By the way, sometimes our kids act really good on these adventures...today was not one of those days! On our way home Thomas asked me "who was better today?" and I told him "neither of you, you were both naughty little boys!" You win some, you lose some, I guess!

Until later,

Emily



























































Just a Cute Picture of Toby

Until later,

Emily

Friday, April 25, 2008

Thomas and his "Mini" Game


Ever since we ordered our Mini last fall, and especially since we have had it, Thomas has been consumed with Mini Coopers. They are extremely popular over here, so we see a lot of them every single day. Thomas has created his own game out of all the Mini's on the road. Sort of an "I Spy" if you will. We will be driving along and he will spot a Mini and he will say, "Mom, I see a Red Mini with white stripes and a white top!" "Is that a cool Mini?" My answer always remains, "Yes, Thomas, I think all Mini's are cool." He remains as enthusiastic as the first day that he started it. He gets the most excited when he sees a Mini similar to James'. There are a lot of white ones with black tops, but not quite as many with the black stripes. However, there is one that is identical to James' that we pass quite often on our way back from preschool. When we pass that Mini it is like hitting the jack pot!


Until later,


Emily

Another Toby Word

Toby says "Aye-Nye" for "Night-Night". And it's usually accompanied with a wave, but his waves are kind of turned around so it looks like he's waving to himself. Both his new word and his gesture are so cute!

Until later,

Emily

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Social Worker vs. Mom

Yesterday, Sheila asked a lot of questions about Toby's daily activity. A lot of the things that he probably "should" be more proficient at are because I am not giving him the opportunities such as:

1. "Is he able to feed himself with a fork and a spoon?" At this point in his life, he feeds himself almost entirely with his hands--because he eats mainly finger foods. Toby will still eat 2 or 3 jars of baby food during each meal, too. A fact that I could tell boggled Sheila's mind (you STILL feed him baby food?) I feed him finger food/table food first, finishing up with the baby food. There's NO WAY that I'm handing him the spoon to feed himself and also, I am taking advantage of the fact that I can still get lots of good fruits and veggies in him by feeding him the baby food. I also felt compelled to tell her that, sure I could let him have his finger food/table food until he started throwing it on the floor (which he is really good at) and let him down, but he'd be back for more 1 to 1 1/2 hours later OR I can continue to feed him baby food and we go about 4-5 hours! It works for me!

2. "When you hand Toby a crayon, does he just draw lines (as he was doing at the exact moment) or can he scribble too?" Honestly? I don't give Toby crayons if I can help it! Why? Well, the top of my toy box tells it all! I guess he can scribble...and well! And I don't like it! And if he's not scribbling on things that should not be scribbled on...he's breaking them or eating the tops off. Crayons and Toby...he's not ready...and neither am I!

3. "Does he try to dress and undress himself?" I was able to answer honestly that he does try to dress himself or at least he mimics it and he does help me by pushing his arms through the arm holes and giving me his feet for the shoes and socks. Then she got more specific about the undressing part, asking "Well, does he try to at least take his shoes and socks off?" I pointed right at the Robeez and told her, those things are made so they can't be taken off easily by a toddler, that's the point of them! Now that I think of it, if I don't have the Robeez on Toby, he does always pull his socks off (why didn't I remember it that yesterday?!). We call him the "one-sock wonder".

Until later,

Emily

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

So Long EDIS!

Toby had his second assessment with EDIS this afternoon. He performed well today. (You know how a lot of times when you're at doctor's appointments or what not and you want your kid to do a certain thing and they won't and you feel really stupid--well we didn't have that kind of day today.) He did everything almost on cue and was cute as can be! He was "talking" up a storm and his facial expressions were extra animated, for whatever reason.

Anyway, after the assessment, it was determined that he is "fine" in all areas except his gross motor but that was no surprise. Because, he is not walking! Sheila said that toddlers really should be walking by 15 months (Thomas walked the week he turned 15 months) but since he was premature, there is a little gray area with when he is 15 months (if he was born on time, he'd still have a month to go). But, as we were talking, he almost took a step and she saw that so she laughed and said, "looks like he'll be walking very soon, so don't worry too much!" Not that I was worried about him not walking...I know it's coming. I see it every day. If we were at home more and not in the car (i.e. he spends a lot of time in the car seat and stroller), I'm sure he'd be walking by now. Honestly, I was more worried that there would be another return visit. Turns out there won't be.

Until later,

Emily

Monday, April 21, 2008

Sad But True

When your very nice, kind, helpful neighbors that you count your lucky stars that you live next to, move away without so much as a "goodbye", it's safe to assume they didn't feel the same way about you!

Until later,

Emily

Sunday, April 20, 2008

American Idol

James & I have finally jumped on the American Idol band wagon this season. It plays here just a day late, so our show dates are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 PM, but we generally watch both hours on Saturday night instead. I usually find out on accident who got voted off, but I don't tell James. If you have followed this at all, you will completely agree with James when he said that "It was a good thing you used those code names in your blog, rather than your real name, because can you imagine how many times your blog would have been 'Googled'". How true.

So who are our favorites? We both think David Cook will take it...but David Archuleta is awesome too and he has that sweet, teeny-bopper element going for him. He is so likeable. However, I'd buy a CD from David Cook though, not so sure I would from David Archuleta. Or I guess the thing now is to download...yeah I need to figure that one out too, since James brought me home an Ipod a few weeks ago (he won it as an "award" at work) and I've yet to even take it out of the package.

Until later,

Emily

Friday, April 18, 2008

Thomas' First Soccer Game!







Tonight, Thomas played his first soccer game. After the past couple practices being a "bust" with Thomas pining away at his friend R's team, more concerned about what R was doing rather than concentrating on his own team, I was kind of expecting the worst. R's team played first, so we cheered him on and then it was Thomas' team's turn. At this point, I either expected Thomas to melt down because R wasn't staying for the whole game or stand back and refuse to play. I was completely surprised when he ran right in with enthusiasm! Not only that, but he ran and kicked his little heart out during the 30-minute game--he even made two goals! He had a blast! We're so proud of him! (James made it to his game!)

After Thomas' game it was time for some dinner. There is a Pizza Hut located on the Hainerberg housing area that is carry-out/delivery only, but we have never gone there. It is actually located inside the high school cafeteria, where they sell personal pan pizzas at lunch time. We went in, ordered some pizza and bread sticks and decided to just rough it on the cafeteria tables because we were hungry and the pizza smelled g-ood! (when I say rough it, I mean it, this place isn't intended to be a dining area when it's not being used by high school students), we ate on napkins that I discovered in the bathroom and poured our 2-liter of Diet Coke into the little water cups I had for the soccer game. Mmm...it was SOOO good!!

Until later,

Emily

Thursday, April 17, 2008

My Mom & Dad's Trip to Germany

Day 1:
Eppstein, Germany









Day 3:
St. Goar







































Day 2:
Heidelberg, Germany














Day 5:
Trier, Germany
(I forgot Day 4: Rothenberg, Germany, I will post those after these pictures)
























Day 6:
Wiesbaden, Germany










The Forgotten Day: Rothenberg

Day 4:
Rothenberg, Germany


















Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Mark Your Calendars!



31-cent scoop night at Baskin-Robbins!

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
from 5-10 PM
Until later,
Emily

Monday, April 14, 2008

FYI: A New Mailing Address for the Snow's

No, I am not crazy enough to actually post our mailing address on this blog, but I wanted those of you who have our mailing address to be aware that we will be getting a new military mailing address sometime over the next month. The base that James works at is currently in the process of slowly closing down and the CMR where we currently pick up our mail will close this summer. In case you are wondering, James' office will stay where it's at--at least until next summer. Anyhow, we will be opening a new CMR box in Wiesbaden soon...but we haven't moved!

Until later,

Emily

Sunday, April 13, 2008

My Newest Cleaning Gadget


Since moving here, I have discovered that there are lots of things that I brought along that I really could have left in storage, or better yet, gotten rid of! There are also some things that I have regretted storing in Virginia. One is my electric broom. I left it behind because I didn't want to have to plug it into a transformer, probably still a good idea because I did bring along my Dustbuster, and while it does work, it doesn't have the same power as it used to (charging it through a transformer). But, I have really missed the broom. I know it would have come in especially handy with all the tile and wood floors that I have here and the crumb master, otherwise known as Toby, living in this family!


For the past little while, I have wanted a 22o V electric broom or something comparable. I wanted something that would pick up the crumbs, that was cordless, lightweight and relatively small, because I wanted to store it in my kitchen. I have to store my heavy (220 V) vacuum in the basement so it's not really convenient to bring it upstairs (and definitely not to the third floor) but sometimes you need something a little more efficient than a broom. Not that I am going to stop vacuuming entirely, but I wanted something that was more practical for day-t0-day and quick clean-ups!


So, yesterday, we went out searching. Apparently, electric brooms aren't all the rage, but I think I got something that is: it's a Dirt Devil Akku-Blitz. I've used it today and I think I like it. One days use isn't enough to state that I love it, but it will certainly help me cut down the crumb content in our home! Hooray!


Until later,


Emily

Friday, April 11, 2008

Toby's 15-month birthday!


Today, Toby turns 15-months. It was actually supposed to be marked with a second visit (and hopefully the LAST!) from EDIS (Early Development Intervention Services) at 1:00 this afternoon, but then the representative cancelled at 12:15! So, that is rescheduled for not next Tuesday, but the next!


Probably because of the initial visit, James and I have become more aware of his development...! He is saying a couple more words: a-dye (bye-bye), eh-wo (hello) and I want to think he is saying "mommy" (eh-mama), but I'm not sure yet!


He tries to dress himself, rather we have caught him throwing his socks on his feet and then looking at them like "hey, that's not what's supposed to happen" and then picking them up and throwing them again. He puts all kinds of clothing on top of his head.


Toby is still not walking. But, he is the master speed-crawler! Thomas walked at 15 months old. I am actually surprised that Toby is not walking, because it seems like he has done everything before Thomas, but I guess Thomas wins on this one! He scales the furniture and the walls like a pro and will walk holding your fingers, if you really coach him, and we've caught him standing for a split second all on his own, but as soon as he realizes he's not holding onto anything, he leans for the couch or whatever. So, it's coming...maybe it will be another month. For anyone that feels inclined to say "it's OK", please don't, because I don't actually like toddler walking and toddler independence...you can console me the day that I post he's started walking! Toby not walking quite yet is A-OK in my book!


Currently, the birthday boy is enjoying a nice, long nap. I am afraid he is on the brink of dropping the morning nap and going to one long nap. Which is a good thing and a bad thing, all wrapped into one, depending on how you look at it.


Until later,


Emily

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Bye-Bye Bottle!

(I used Avent bottles with Thomas his entire infancy and Toby used them, too, until mere days before we left for Germany when he flat-out refused them, leaving me scrambling to find a new alternative--like I needed any extra stress!)



Luckily, Toby was happy with my first choice, Dr. Brown's!


First of all, I am not posting this to start a war, or to make anyone mad...I do with my children what I like, and you do with your children what you like!

With my OWN children, I have certain ideas concerning pacifiers and bottles. It has been my goal to wean them off of their pacifiers no later than at 18 months old and off of their bottles by 15 months (onto sippy cups, which many would argue are just another form of bottles, but for some reason, it doesn't make me cringe when I see a toddler sipping from one like it does when I see a toddler still taking a bottle).

Both of my children have made it easy as far as the pacifiers were concerned, and I will be the first to admit that, too! Thomas at 9 1/2 months and Toby at 6 1/2 months weaned themselves from the pacifier with the first onset of teething pain. I, particularly, was hoping Toby would wait a little longer, specifically so that he would take one as we flew to Germany, but he didn't. We made it through the flight and we've made it through life without the pacifiers.

I slowly introduced the sippy cup to Thomas at about eight months old. It was a gradual, easy process. He eventually took all of his fluids through a sippy cup except the feeding right before going to bed. On his 15-month birthday, I ceremoniously fed him his last bottle and the next day he had all drinks through sippy cups. The first 3 or 4 days, I remember he struggled a bit with that last feeding, but then he was OK.

I did not think to introduce Toby to a sippy until he was one year old! When I did introduce it to him, he wanted nothing to do with it! In fact he practiced volleyball with it...he'd see it and smack it away! It has been a very gradual experience with Toby, to say the least! But, he has got the hang of it, lost the total hate for it, and so, on Sunday, without a mental ceremony or even a thought, he had his last bottle! I woke up Monday and thought, "he's done, he's just done and that's it". He has taken a sippy cup ever since, it's been a bit bumpy especially at bedtime again but we have all survived! Yeah! Just in time--he'll be fifteen months tomorrow! Big boy!

Until later,

Emily

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Well, THAT's Never Happened Before!

Today, at about 4:30 PM, right after I had put Toby down for a late nap, and had put the sign up on the doorbell saying "Baby's sleeping, please knock", what do my ears hear? No, not my doorbell ringing, but the teenager diagonally across the street playing his BAGPIPES! He was actually quite good, and he didn't end up waking Toby up but it was hilarious!

Until later,

Emily

Monday, April 7, 2008

Spring Break

This week, Thomas' preschool, along with the rest of the DOD school system is on Spring Break. Are we doing anything special? No, it's more of a break for me than anything! The commisary, for some reason, is closing today at noon. I had planned on making a quick trip there this morning but woke up to snow and wind. Yes, it is April! I looked over my list and there is nothing that I am actually out of so I think I'll wait and go tomorrow.

Until later,

Emily

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Going to the Movies

Going to the movies is one of our favorite pastimes. Well, at least for James, Thomas and I! We haven't been to a movie theater since we moved here. Today, I took Thomas to see "The Water Horse" (we both loved it, by the way!). Sometimes our theater gets the movies the same time as the States and sometimes it does not... James stayed home with Toby since we knew he wouldn't be "good" at a movie. Our theater only runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and doesn't open until 4:00 PM. I wish there we more matinee movies because I would dare to take them both to a matinee...

Anyway, the movie theater was HUGE! Like a high school auditorium and super clean. Prices were good too...$4 for adults and $2 for children. They also had their basic movie theater food. I've been told to stay away during the summer though, because of the lack of AC. Good times!

Until later,

Emily

The Euro This Weekend

This weekend:

$1=.6191 euro

Until later,

Emily

Friday, April 4, 2008

Rough Nights

Toby has had some rough nights lately. He had a couple of bad ones when my parents were here and the past two nights have also been bad. He has a bad head cold and I believe also a sore throat. I wonder sometimes if he has an ear infection, but then he acts fine during the day (except for the perpetual runny nose) and I'm not a big fan of "going to the doctor". There are parents that take their children in for every little sniffle...well, I am the exact opposite!

So the past two nights and the two nights last week when my parents were here, he just couldn't seem to get comfortable. Maybe it's that his head is too stuffed up, or his throat hurts or his ears hurt or maybe it's the teeth or maybe it's everything but he seemed annoyed. I was annoyed too. Then the thought occurred to me, "Maybe he wants a pillow?" so I found our flattest pillow, put it at one end of his crib and put his head on it, rubbed his back for a minute and shut the door. Fully expecting to drag myself out of bed five minutes later...only instead, it was 7 1/2 hours later! When I went in to check on him this morning (I could hear that he was awake), he was still laying on the pillow and had the biggest grin on his face! If a pillow is what he needs now, a pillow is what he'll get!

Until later,

Emily

There's Always "Plan B"...

Thomas had his first soccer practice on Wednesday. You may recall that I arranged to have Thomas and his best friend at preschool, R, on the same team. Well, we arrived at practice and R and his mom never showed up. I asked our coach if R was on the team roster, and he was not. The lady over the program happened to be there that day with the all the team lists and sure enough...R is now on another team! I explained to her that we signed them up together and were assured that they would be on the same team...she explained to me that they were probably on the same team but then maybe teams were added and in the end, the computer selected R for one team and Thomas for another. In the meantime, Thomas was cautiously practicing but wondering where his friend was.

By the end of the practice, Thomas was having a great time. R will actually practice on the same field as Thomas at the same time, so they will see each other. Games will also be on the same field at around the same time (Fridays). And, yes, they will play against each other! The two of them will be coming from preschool at 4:00 (practice is at 5:15), so R's mom and I have decided that we'll just let them have some warm up time together.

I was also planning on starting something new this morning. I was all signed up for German lessons on Friday mornings from 9-12. I had arranged to have my kids go to the daycare on the base from 8:30-12:30 for the next eight weeks. I was surprised yesterday to get a call from the instructor, informing me that the class had to be cancelled because only three people signed up and that wasn't enough to hold the class.

Part of our perks for moving out here is that, I, as the spouse get an incredible amount of money to use towards language training. I can also use that money to pay for the daycare (while I am taking that language training). The catch is that I have to start tapping into it during the first year or it will be lost. Which means, I have to start taking classes by August 9, 2008! Hmm, and I'm not exactly going to be around this summer to take German... I am hoping something will work out...that an exception can be made and I can hold off on taking German until next fall since I have the invoice that proves I had intended on taking it this spring. There is also an option to take a "crash course" in May for 10 days, but I am not too excited about that. James is going to talk to the people that are in charge and we'll go from there!

Until later,

Emily

Thursday, April 3, 2008

FYI: Commenting on Comments

I don't know if there is a blog "rule" but I have been wondering well, since I started this blog, what I should do if someone leaves a comment that requires a comment to it...do I go on their blog or email them and comment or do I leave a comment on my blog?

Well, after trying all three, I have decided that if you leave a comment on my blog, I will leave my comment to that comment on MY blog. Easy enough.

Until later,

Emily

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Summer Vacation Plans!


For our Utah friends & family--in case you missed it in my last post--Thomas, Toby and I will be arriving in Utah on June 1st! We will be staying for two whole months, leaving on August 2nd.


James will join in on the Utah fun on July 24th, flying back to Germany with us on Aug 2nd. He will also join in on the Newport, CA fun, flying from Frankfurt to Orange County. Thomas, Toby & I will be flying from Utah to Orange County with the rest of the Snow family that flies.


And now you see why we had to visit a travel agency!


Until later,


Emily

They Were Here and Now They're Gone...


I am writing this as my parents have just left with James for the airport (he's dropping them off and then going into work), we had a GREAT time! And, like all good times, it went by too fast. We had fabulous weather, it was only gray and cloudy the day that they arrived. Other than that, we were fine with coats or jackets and sometimes we had to take those off! We packed a lot of sight-seeing in, the first day my parents felt the effects of terrible jet lag, so we mostly stayed at home and visited and they rested a bit but we did venture out to the Eppstein Castle in the town over from us in the late afternoon. The following days we visited Heidelberg, St. Goar, Rothenberg, Trier, and the last day (yesterday) we had more of a down day, giving Grandpa and Thomas a chance just to play outside and also we left the kids with grandma and grandpa so we could go to the travel agency and work out the details of all of our summer flights, when we got home, we all loaded up one more time and drove down to the center of Wiesbaden to look at the buildings and walk through a couple of their pretty walking parks.

The only downside of their visit was that both Toby and my dad had horrible head colds. Toby didn't sleep much at all the first two nights and my dad slept terribly the entire trip.

It was fun to get to see so much, and to have the adults outnumber the children again. I have a friend here that said it stresses her out more to go on trips with her parents and her kids, but for me it was the opposite. My children were completely spoiled with attention the past week. I was a little worried about Toby, since the last time he saw my dad, he wasn't quite six months old and the last time he saw my mom he wasn't quite seven months old, so I didn't know how long it would take him to warm up to them, but it took about 90 seconds! He never cried or acted afraid, he just kind of studied them for about 90 seconds. I think in his mind he was trying to figure out how the people he sees all of the time through my computer screen (through Skype) had made it to the front door. It was neat to see him build a relationship with them both. But also neat to realize how much Skype helped that along (if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of the web cam!).

Before they arrived, I tried to have a talk with Thomas about how he was going to have to "share" grandma and grandpa...Thomas did great, and since Toby naps and went to sleep earlier while they were here (I let Thomas stay up instead of going to bed at the same time with Toby like usual) he also got his own individual time with them. He was also their roommate while they were here so they had their own pillow talk each night, as well. But, it was funny to see the jealousy in Toby, especially with Grandpa. Those two were always trying to see who could sit on Grandpa. It was really cute!

And so today, as my parents make the long trip back to Utah (my poor mom will be back on a plane to Frankfurt again in exactly eight weeks, will stay three days and then fly back to Utah with Thomas, Toby and I on June 1st) I will get started on the mountain of laundry (I only did two loads while they were here) and start putting away all the "stuff" that is lying around here after five days of road trips. I also have Easter decorations to take down. I figured I would keep them up while my mom and dad were here but now they are really getting on my nerves (the Easter decorations, not my parents!)... I applied for a weeks' worth of "vacation" at Thomas' preschool and this is the last day of that (meaning I'll get credited a weeks worth of tuition next month) so I had intended on staying at home today, but then I got a call last night saying that soccer practice starts tonight...so, so much for that plan! I guess I'll also find out when his first game is tonight.

(I will post another post with more pictures later.)

Until later,

Emily