International Week in Review (week of July 21)

Henry walked his bunny through the house...

 So many fun things happened in our family! Mommy wanted to make a note of all the fun things we did the week of July 21...

MONDAY: We spent much of the day with Mommy's old friend (and Micah's godmother) Miss Danielle. The plan was originally just to take her out for lunch, but she took the day off and we had lots more fun! Afterwards, Micah said, "Mom, can we play with Miss Danielle again? I like playing with her; she's nice!" Weeks later, Henry is still asking about "Dani".

TUESDAY: Mommy had a doctor visit. Since the doctor was running behind and Daddy needed to get to work, Mommy ended up with both boys. Initially, (when the two boys were yelling & running in circles in the exam room), Mommy thought she was going to loose it, but thankfully, things settled down and the boys enjoyed looking out at the cars in the parking lot, pointing out the Ford Flex to the doctor when she finally arrived. Micah was the one who got to find Baby Sister's heartbeat and everything checked out normally.

Afterward, we headed to the park in Milford, where the boys found some kayaks to borrow for a bit. We also made some musical instruments with Miss Joyce at a preschool event there and then played on the playground with Calla and Albert.

 Grandma, Calla, Albert and Aunt Heather joined us for lunch, where we got to see flaming cheese!

In the evening, we had dinner guests - from Australia! Debbie & Nick Mibus (who lived in MI in 2006) are planning to move back to our area soon. They brought the boys little koala toys and told us about seeing kangaroos in their backyard. Micah took them and Miss Jan on for a game of "Sorry," his current favorite. He had fun playing with these new friends, though prior to their arrival, he had been skeptical about whether he'd be able to communicate with them since he heard their English was different (after Mommy assured him that they talked like the "Wiggles" in the video someone had given us, he agreed to talk with them).

WEDNESDAY

Snuggling with their dogs in the morning

 From Australia to Japan... Sayaka brought her sister Nagisa over to our house for some cooking fun during her visit to MI. After our lunch of venison chili, Miss Jan taught us how to make homemade salsa. Micah was very proud of being a part of this process (though he left the room when the Ninja blender was turned on - he still doesn't like noisy things!).

 Henry was happy to sample their work.

 Next, we made zucchini bread (with zucchini from Grandma & Poppa's great garden). Micah really buddied up with Nagisa that day and was hoping she'd come back again someday (unfortunately, she had to go home to Japan already).

 Henry wanted to help as well, so he got his own bowl. Sayaka was his pal for the day. When Mommy put him down for his nap, he wasn't happy about missing the action. He called out, "Aka! Aka!" for Sayaka to rescue him from the crib!

 After we finished our double recipe, the boys helped clean up the spilled sugar on the counter - with their tongues! Next we made rhubarb jam and rhubarb crunch. It was a busy (and tasty) afternoon!

 In the evening, when Mommy was cleaning up all the mess in the kitchen, the boys (with Daddy's help) pulled out their costumes - a caped cowboy...

 ... and a caped kangaroo (in honor of our new Australian friends).

And ended the night with a costumed dance party!

THURSDAY
We awoke to this scene outside our bedroom balcony - a momma deer and her two fawns.

During Henry's morning nap, Micah and Mommy read more of the Magic Treehouse book series - which Micah has been enjoying since Uncle Davey passed them on to us. When Henry woke up, he hit a major milestone - HIS FIRST JOKE! We were reading a book about occupations and tools (Who is this? A baker. What does he use? A rolling pin). It went like this...
Mommy: Who is this?
Henry: Carpenter
Mommy: What does she use?
Henry: Hamburger
Mommy & Micah cracked up hysterically when Henry mispronounced "hammer" and that was all the encouragement he needed. Now he randomly says, "hamburger" and we all laugh at his "joke."

In the afternoon, we visited more Japanese friends at Chit Chat Club. And, of course, stopped at Poppa's garden to pick all the ripe cherry tomatoes, blueberries, and raspberries that were within a certain 3 year old's reach.

Oh, and this happened...

FRIDAY
Friday morning our house was attacked by pirates... check out those fearsome faces!

 The pirates also had a dance party later (tunes included "Bad to the Bone, though Micah wondered what would happen to him if he had bad bones, and "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything").
Mommy was also protected by a ninja from 3 lions, a tiger, a coyote, AND a rumor!

 Next, the cops showed up... (costumes were all a gift from Mrs. Janke - the boys were thrilled!)

 After all that excitement, we headed to Miss Jan's house to make dill pickles with American, Japanese, and Korean friends.

All that excitement proved to be too much for one pirate...

Friday was also Mommy & Daddy's 5 year wedding anniversary. In fact, Daddy came home with flowers for Mommy (He told her they were from an "anonymous donor," since he doesn't do flowers. When she said, "Please thank him for me," Daddy replied, "I don't know who it was - he was anonymous!"). We all went out for BBQ (which we ate at our first date - and for our wedding reception!) with friends David, Ako, Lia, and Noah Smith, who are visiting in between their move from Japan to Shanghai. What fun to catch up with them again!

SATURDAY/SUNDAY
The boys spent the weekend at Grandma's house while Mommy & Daddy headed to Stratford, Ontario for a little getaway (probably the last for a while with Baby Sister's impending arrival). They stayed at the Maples of Stratford, a 1905 Victorian home that has been converted into a bed and breakfast. They enjoyed dinner at Westover Inn in St. Marys, where Mommy tried escargot for the first time and loved it (who wouldn't - when it is cooked in garlic, feta, and lardons!). It wasn't a cheap dinner, but there was, after all, a 5 year wedding anniversary to celebrate!

After dinner, it was back to Stratford to purchase "rush tickets" to see the musical "Crazy For You," filled with Gershwin music (thankfully, Daddy had a full belly, so he didn't complain too much about sitting through a musical). Mommy, of course, thoroughly enjoyed the high-energy entertainment!

In the morning, after a tasty English breakfast, we headed back to the US, spotting these large windmills along a large stretch of our trip (NONE of them were spinning - on our way to or from Stratford).

Before picking up the boys, there was a romantic stop at Lowe's to pick up paint for the kitchen - our big project this summer (some people prep a nursery before a baby comes; our goal has been a kitchen remodel). But painting has always been a great couple experience for us - Mommy is good at the detailed work, like taping and cutting in, tasks Daddy greatly dislikes, while Daddy is excellent at using the roller, a job Mommy detests. God is making us into a great team in many areas!