Turkey - The place

Back in May we headed on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Turkey. The very fact that the trip was "spur-of-the-moment" should have been a pretty good indicator that it wasn't a typical trip for us. I'm a planner and planning our trips a little more advanced and in depth allows me to relax and enjoy while we are on the trip. Add to the that little fact, the further fact that we were headed for a beach resort (not a place we would typically head to). 

Though we had never been to a resort; I felt pretty confident in saying that we are not resort people. We enjoy exploring and seeing as much as possible; something that doesn't really seem to go hand-in-hand with resorts (and now, post-resort, I still stand by that). But, we were adamant that the point of this trip wasn't to explore, it was to spend time together in the sun. After one very long and grey winter, and in the midst of one very grey and chilly spring, we decided that we all needed some serious vitamin D. We did a bit of looking, booked for the warmest destination we could find in our price range, and with less than a week to get everything packed we were on our way. 

When we told the kids that we were going to Turkey, Atticus was pretty concerned and hesitant so we asked him why; he said, "well, we don't eat Turkey" (we're not big meat eaters around here). Once we established that Turkey was a place, not just an animal, the kids did a happy dance, ran to their bedrooms and started emptying their drawers and shelves of their clothing and bringing it to the living room to be packed. They were packed by the end of the day. Perhaps we should have waited a little longer before we told them we were going to Turkey because, as it was, it was a verrrry long week of waiting for our little toddlers. 

Since we were flying out of Hannover, the journey was a bit longer as we had to take the train between Bremen and Hannover first. But, we managed, and after one flight and a very humid bus ride we arrived at our resort - very tired. We even had entertainment on the train when we managed to book seats right next to a lady who did little magic tricks for the kids.

 We were shown to our room, which was definitely not the standard we were expecting and it was even  in a building across the street, but it was late and all we wanted to do was sleep (that, and Jason had convinced me that perhaps the hotel room would look better after a good night sleep and that sounded like good wisdom). Well, morning came and the hotel room was still old, dirty and with a very hard mattress (complete with pokey springs) I'm not sure any of us had a good night sleep. We were going to be here for 5 nights, if we wanted to decent rest on this trip it was certainly not happening in this room. We asked about switching rooms and the manager said she would check and get back to us after breakfast. I was pretty impressed with how easy going the kids were, and how much fun they had with Milayla pushing Atticus around in the stroller (quite the switch!).

A funny thing happened over breakfast. I was so worried that we would be stuck in that room for our entire stay that I actively convinced myself that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was and worked very hard to find all the positives about the room. I was determined to enjoy this trip, and if that meant enjoying that room, then I would find a way to do it. I even went as far as to tell Jason that maybe the room wasn't so bad after all and that we could make do; besides our goal was to be outside getting sunshine so there was no need to bother switching rooms. Jason applauded my ability to be positive but suggested that we still see if switching is an option and I am quite glad I listened to him instead of just trekking back to our little 'ol hotel room across the street.

After breakfast we stopped at the hotel desk to ask about the room. They had a new room available, should we want it. The manager assured us that it was a very nice room, but that we could go take a look at the room and decide for ourselves if we would like to switch. On the elevator ride up to the new room (which was in the main building) I told myself not to have my hopes too high, after all, maybe the manager was just telling us it was a nice room so that we were more likely to think it was a nice room. We arrived at the room and opened the door to find a very nice room. In fact, compared to our first room, it felt more like a mansion. Everyone had a bed. The kids had a separate room. And the bathroom shower was still sparkling white. Oh, and the beds, the beds were heavenly. 

And with a new, restful room in place we were free to enjoy the beach and the pool to our little hearts' content. Except that it started raining. Then pouring. Then thundering and lightening. It was really shaping up to be some trip. We looked at the weather forecast for the week. Big mistake. Nothing but rain. Joy.

The rain didn't much matter though, considering that Milayla woke up with a very bad eye infection and we were in search of a doctor, and the in search of an open pharmacy to get her medicine. It was quite an interesting feat, made a little bit easier by the fact there was a doctor on site, though not so easy to find an open pharmacy on the weekend. Thankfully, Milayla's eye started getting better pretty quickly, but she still had the infection during the entire trip. Poor girl. When the sun finally did come out we headed for the beach and she just wanted to cuddle and sleep. I certainly didn't mind the cuddles, though I sure would have loved her to get some play time in the sand. 

Thankfully, the trip wasn't all about bad hotel rooms, rain, and eye infections (nor did any of those things effect our ability to enjoy time together). There was sun, exploring, a castle, turkish bus ride adventures, a museum, a camel, plenty of time on the beach, play grounds, waterslides, waterfalls, bazaars, mosques, Turkish baths, massages at the spa, fresh squeezed orange juice stalls, mountain exploring, pool side fun, a turkish popcorn bowl and a buffet with plenty of vegetarian salad options. 

Such an embarrassing photo. I cannot remember how I got cajoled into this one, but I did, and Jason wanted to make sure that I put it on the blog... Milayla was pretty happy about it... 

One thing that was really interesting to me was all the advertising - it was SO modest! Not only that, but the women were so classy and fashionable here. It was beautiful!

I love seeing how well these two play together!

the view of Alanya from the castle

Atticus loved looking out the castel onto the mediterranean - you can really see how much bigger he has gotten in this picture!

marching through the castle

 Love that smile!

So happy! 

Atticus working on a mosaic at the museum

Milayla was so attached to this bucket and her lovely white hat. It was adorable how much she cared about them!

I love that this picture makes mine and milayla's landing in the pool (after going down the slide) successful, because it wasn't. Right after this picture was taken, the momentum of going down the slide knocked us both under. It surprised us both!

putting together a mosaic at the museum

There were plenty of good things, but the absolute best thing was being able to focus in on time together without anything else pressing for our time. 

I also loved that we all took afternoon naps. After a morning spent in the sun, afternoon naps felt lovely. I think one of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip was our pre-dinner time; after we were all cleaned up for dinner we would head down to the beach, which was nearly empty every evening, and just sit in the sand and talk. I loved how the kids inquire about a myriad of topics while we watched the sun set and listened to the waves gently calm our souls. I always enjoy where conversation with a toddler can carry you, particularly with our toddlers; they are continuously amazing me with their natural desire to inquire and learn.

Atticus made a 'sunshine' out of rocks.

It is sure to be a trip that we will remember. 

Taking a stroll while snacking on fresh blackberries - so good!

And though there were times that I wondered if we should have been out exploring the beautiful country more, I am glad that we settled down in one area and focused in on slowing things down, relaxing, time together and sun. We really enjoyed our time in Turkey; Atticus even let us know that he would be okay if we decided to move there (no, we are not moving to Turkey - at least not that we know of ;) ; and would love to go see more of it some day soon.

Sometimes I wonder if our efforts to expose the kids to travel and culture would be better placed elsewhere but then I see the balance that it creates in our family and how excited and curious it gets the children. And my heart is filled with gratitude that we get to have these experiences. Of course, our balance of how our time is spent will likely require adaptation as we all learn and grow and our life evolves, but I am glad to be having these experiences now and laying the foundation for many wonderful experiences to come. Going on trips really reminds me to plan more exploring right were we live - because it does wonderful for all of us 

the waterfalls in the canyon

Now, seeing that this trip was meant to be a relaxation trip, we only brought the small camera and the idea was to only take a few pictures here and there. Well, as you have already been privy to, even with my best restraint we still managed to come home with quite a few, albeit though, lovely pictures. I am grateful to have them though as they help to remind me of all the little things of the trip and these incredible people that I got to enjoy it with. So grateful for this family. 

Enjoy the photos :)

When the path in the castle ran out, the kids decided to try exploring by going 'up' - it didn't last long before we intervened.

See all those barrels on the roofs? Hot water heaters. What a great way to effectively use all that sunshine!

waiting out a rain storm in our hotel room - the boys were trying to see if they could make the carpet pattern into a maze - they did.

Atticus holding onto Milayla's hand - so sweet

Milayla getting a much needed sleep on the bus after an afternoon in the city

The flowers there were so beautiful

They LOVED the glass elevators

perfect beach shot :)

Milayla had lots of fun practicing going up the stairs there

the drive to the mountains

whenever we had to wait inside Atticus liked to sit in the lobby and watch the elevators go up and down.

the boys heading down the waterslide

Our flight home ended up being changed - twice - so we ended up on a 1am flight. Needless to say, we were all pretty tuckered out by the time we made it to the train home to Bremen. But, what a great trip we ended up having. 

daily life - May

Daily life according to my iPhone:

Trips to the grocery store. I think it's rather cute to have two little ones trailing behind me with their own carts - even if they take a detour every now and then.

And yes, Milayla is BACK in her winter hat. This was the end up April - we were FREEZING! Not cool.

 There was no shortage of laundry. But never any shortage of happy helpers either :)!

The kids love making salads for us to snack on in their kitchen. This particular spread was one that Milayla had put together for us and then she ducked out of the photo! Silly!

Lots of kitchen experiments to hide from chilly weather.

And some baking helpers. Atticus and Milayla have successfully made an almond flour quiche crust. I'll have them making the entire thing in no time. Ha! Perhaps they have a little ways to go on that one.

Artwork for Daddy's work.

The kid's artwork hanging up at Jason's work. They were all picture of the sky at different times of day. Big surprise that nearly every single one has a rocket or some other space-related item in it :). The top left even has Atticus' rendition of the International Space Station. Funny kids.

We headed to the land of tulips for another lovely temple trip to The Hague Temple. 

As lovely as it would be to attend a temple session with Jason, I do like the teaching opportunities that we have both had with the kids as a result of spending time with them on the temple grounds. Jason and I have had some really great chats about ways that we can build on those moments.

 Milayla is our little explorer and determined to go where no little girl has gone before. Thankfully, most places she manages to get into are pretty benign, but we really need to keep an eye on her as she learns about what is and isn't safe to climb.

I finally finished Milayla's birthday dress (just in time for her birthday! More on that coming soon!). It was quite the journey getting there but I think it turned out pretty well and perfect for Milayla. It really suits her. Not bad for the first dress that I have ever made - if I do say so myself.

We attempted a pizza and movie night with the kids. They were pretty excited about it and made it a good 30 minutes into the movie before they opted for books instead. Can't argue with that one - I would choose that too :). We all had a pretty good laugh about it.

They definitely enjoyed the pizza part though.

And for the parts of the movie that we did watch they really enjoyed it (The Muppets are quite loved  around here.).

Guess, we just need to pick shorter movies/shows. Oh well, not like we are big movie watchers around here anyhow. Life will go on and we'll enjoy reading plenty of books. We love books.

We also had fun helping out to clean our church building. The kids thought it was pretty awesome and are actually looking forward to the next time we do it (probably in part because we cleaned the church the morning of our pizza&movie night and they knew what was coming, but I'm going to stick with them being excited about cleaning. yes, they were definitely excited about cleaning ;).

I love that the vacuum is twice the size of Atticus and he absolutely doesn't care.

We had a nice surprise after we finished cleaning the church to find that a helicopter had landed in the parking lot outside and we got to check it out and see it take off.

 That yielded some big excitement. Just look how impressed Milayla is.

I'm only being a bit sarcastic about the kids' excitement over the helicopter because they really did enjoy watching it. I just think it's funny that I couldn't actually get a picture of them looking like they were...

I did manage to catch Milayla's excitement about getting to ride Daddy's shoulders though.

We also planned a last minute trip to Turkey to get us some SUN! Just check out this kids' waterpark. Awesome, right?

We actually ended up staying at a different hotel than in the picture, but they had similar slides (and a much nicer beach). I'll be posting pictures of that trip later.

Trips to the park are in full force (when it isn't raining). Which is great for our little climber. We have really been enjoying play dates in the park too. I love seeing the kids build their own little friendships.

 And rainy days are perfect for trips to the library. I love seeing the kids each so excited about getting to pick out new books. Good times.

And Milayla is becoming a little kitchen-helping-wiz! She loves to help out in the kitchen (and loves to taste test too). It has been a great way to get her to try new foods and textures that she won't always try when they are served during mealtime.

Atticus got a nice, short, big-boy haircut that he is pretty excited about. We love it too. I loved it so much I forgot to brush the hair off of his shoulders before snapping the very first picture of his new 'do'.   (Nothing quite like a little fur on the shoulders.) He sure is growing up!

We went on the hunt for the perfect birthday present for Milayla (and judging by her response on her birthday, I am pretty sure we nailed that one). I bet you can't guess what it was ;).

Atticus has completed his most difficult puzzle yet. At 57 pieces, this double-sided map puzzle gives Jason and I more of a challenge than it probably should, but Atticus completes it pretty effortlessly. On the first go around it took him quite a bit of dedication and he was so proud when he finished - all by himself.

And in a very sweet moment, and after a very busy weekend, Milayla fell asleep on our way home from stake conference in Hamburg with her uneaten lunch still clutched in her little fingers. So tired.

It's been a good month.

Love for Daddy on Father's Day

It was an early Sunday evening when Jason decided to sit down at the keyboard and practice playing some hymns. 

He had barely pulled to cover off of the keyboard before Milayla pushed her chair over to the piano and sat down next to Jason. As soon as Atticus came into the room he quickly followed suit. 

As Jason played his chosen song, each child very thoughtfully pushed on their own notes, Milayla on the low notes and Atticus on the high ones; 

'I am a Child of God' has never been played with such a wide range of notes. 

The moment was beautiful. It was beautiful because it said so many things without any words at all. These kids love music. But, most importantly, they love their Daddy. 

They love getting to ride on his shoulders. They love getting tickles. They love having him join in for bedtime songs and books. They love getting to tell him all about their day when he gets home. They love getting surprise phonecalls from him during the day. They love just getting to spend time with him - no matter what it is. 

They admire him and look up to him. They are so happy to call him 'daddy'. And that, is beautiful.

Thanks, Jason for being such a devoted father. We love you!

Setting the Table

Oh man. I love this girl. Lately, while I am making lunch, she will open up the cupboards and pull out all the place settings that her and Atticus need and set them up on the coffee table. She is quite good at knowing where everything goes. And she is so sweet and helpful when we need to relocate it all to the table (though we have been known to have picnics in the living room because I haven't the heart to ask her to move all her hard work - she is so helpful and good at setting the table!). And just look at those eyes and that smile - they sparkle. She's awesome. I'm sure we have many more picnics in the living room ahead of us and I am definitely looking forward to them.

Kunsthalle Bremen - Art Museum

These are some pretty grainy pictures, but I think they just add to the effect of our great trip to the Kunsthalle Bremen. I had planned this trip with the kids for a while (there had been advertising at our paediatricians office for some time) and after a nice, long bout of everyone taking their turns getting sick it finally happened. And as an added bonus, it was on a day that Jason could be there! 

Kunsthalle had a special exhibit for the kids so we had lots of fun exploring that first.  With magnifying glasses to inspect ink drawings, puzzles, paper hats, art stations and 3D exploring art, we were all pretty engaged. 

I loved the set up in the museum with a mix of old, antiques and more modern furnishings. Very fitting and quite beautiful.

Both kids really are becoming quite the artists and love exploring new mediums. They were pretty excited about their works of art being put up in the museum as well!

The boys tried on the creative paper hats.

We explored old suitcases filled with vintage cameras. The kids wanted to know what 'film' is...

One large room, filled with only one or two chairs (and a sink that was the source of a nice little bruise on Milayla's forehead) was made into a modern piece of art. The kids thought it was great; a large, funky room for running around in? Yes, please! 

That was until Milayla ran right into the camouflaged sink on the wall beside me. Can you see it??

I love getting pictures with my little girl. 

Yep, that left a mark.

Atticus is becoming a big poser and really loves giving cuddles, hugs and kisses for photos. I feel pretty spoiled with these two cuties.

 There was this really cool colored hole that went through all the floors of the museum and changed colors. It's hard to explain. I took a picture, but even that doesn't quite tell the whole story.

each of those colors are on a different floor. The holes are each covered and you can stand on them and look down - kind of scary from the top, actually.

We weren't sure whether to laugh, be intrigued or disturbed by their take on the Bremer Stadtmusikanten though. However, this picture with Atticus in it sure gives us a good laugh. He really gave this one some thought.

Bremer Stadtmusikanten at the Kunsthalle in Bremen, Germany

Then it was on to admiring all the lovely art which was incredibly varied and some of it very unique. We all took a big liking to the more classical pieces they had (like Monet), but there were some very abstract (and even 3D) pieces that really got the kids asking questions. I was pretty proud of the kiddos for how well behaved they were. We even watched a little documentary on their featured artist and the kids sat and listened so well that they didn't want to stop watching it. I was so impressed. I wish I could have taken more photos but no photos around the artwork.

Before heading out we made a stop into the gift shop which was filled with lots of great books. Atticus even picked one out for Milayla's birthday (more on that later!) that was perfect and she loves.

I really love taking the kids to the museums here and feel pretty blessed that I can share my love of museums with them so easily. As we were leaving a man stopped us to thank us for bringing our children to the museum as it made him very happy to see such a young family coming and appreciating this kind of culture. It wasn't until this man said something that we even noticed that we were the only family there that morning. I guess it's not everyone's first choice of places to be, but it sure was ours.

This was one of our Easter Egg Coupons and I am glad those have been such a big success. We have a few more on our list and are sure looking forward to them. Well, time for me to head off - we are taking Milayla out for the maiden voyage on her birthday gift (which you will have to wait to find out what that was until I post up her celebration photos - though I am sure you could take a guess!). Can't wait!

C.S. Lewis Quote

One of my goals for this year was to get at least one book read each month. Thankfully, I am on target (actually, ahead of that target at present) and loving every minute of it. It has really allowed me to weed out time-wasters and spend the little bit of extra time I get on things that will help me plan, improve and enjoy life. It has been a great blessing.

Another added aspect is that I end up with wonderfully powerful words, stories and quotes swirling around in my head and expanding the processes in my head. It's been great. I feel like it has given me greater power as a mother, wife and woman.

One of the quotes that I came across in my latest book that is really sticking with me is this one from C.S. Lewis:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

I love C.S. Lewis and his ability to craft with words in a way that I can only dream of ever doing. When I read this it sunk in deep to my heart. It felt like he had opened up my mind and examined it then described precisely how I have been feeling when I didn't know how to describe it myself. The remodelling that I feel going on throughout my entire being is greater than I expected, but I can feel the improvements and they feel good (though sometimes quite hard and seemingly impossible to understand). Throughout these improvements I have felt a greater need to rely on my Saviour and trust in Him because he knows what I need better than I do. He sees things more eternally than my finite vision can and His perpective is priceless and immeasurable. I am so very grateful for the blessing of prayer and the peace that it brings that me and our little family are in His watchful care. And I am grateful for growth. Growth in faith, love, abilities, and willingness. It's a slow process, and not always pleasant, but I am grateful for it because it brings me closer to my Saviour and Heavenly Father and enables me to bring my family closer.