May update

We got a camera.  Not much selection in the Azores, so we settled for a cheaper Nikon.  It does the job.  Practicing with our camera.  Our family room. 

Dining room:

The elementary school had a carnival.  It was fun to take the kids to.  Kind of chaotic, but fun. 
Colson and Sterling posing.  A future blackmail picture for Colson, poor thing :).

The favorite things were the bouncy houses.

After earning tickets for playing the games, the kids got prizes.  Garrett got this science crystal lab kit.  And don't forget to see his spider on his cheek.

This smiley guy just kills me.  He's always so happy and smiley.  Love him!

Sterling eating his treats from the carnival.

I knew I wouldn't be in the Azores for Father's Day so I got Denver's present early.  To you it looks like nothing, but it was a great Terceira purchase.  There is a restaurant here (O Pescador) that serves steak on a rock.  This is the 'rock' they bring your food out on.  You heat the stone in the oven and then place the practically raw steak on the stone and it sizzles and cooks right in front of you.  The stone stays hot forever.  And you can eat your steak as well done or rare as you want.  Cook it to your liking.  The glass bowls are for sauces or dips for the steak. 

Early one Saturday morning we got the kids up for a kid's fun run.  It was a 2K.   It was really cold that morning. 

The kids in their kids run shirts-all too big for them.

Waiting with friends for the run to begin.

These Earthworms were huge and all over the grass.  Sterling was in heaven.

Runner's on your mark, Get set, GO!

We decided that I would run with Sterling so I could actually run the whole time and count it for my workout that morning.  Talk about a complainer!  He whined and complained the whole time.  He wasn't 'winning' so why should he run anymore was the gist of his complaints.

Colson, on the other hand, ran and enjoyed the whole thing happy.  He got distracted sometimes, but he had a fun time.  He was definitely slower and finished toward the end of runners.  Maelie and Garrett were way ahead of all of us. 

After the race, they had the fire truck come and spray water on the kids so they could play around in it.  It was sunny by then, but still cool.

Colson enjoying the orange slices and gatorade after the run.  It was funny because I asked the kids a week before the run who wanted to run it.  They weren't too thrilled about it until I said that after the run they could eat the free orange slices and drink Gatorade.  They all enthusiastically said they wanted to run it. 

Wet kids.

Pregnant mom

The water made a rainbow.

We celebrated Garrett's birthday the Saturday before his birthday.  He wanted birds nests (bread in muffin tins, filled with egg and cheese), bacon, yogurt, strawberries, bananas and Orange juice.

For his cake, I made a Wii remote because he loves Wii.  It definitely needs some work, but he liked it and that's all that matters.

7 years old!

Present time!

Playing with his rocket:

His real birthday was the next Tuesday.  We took him to school with these cupcakes to share with his class.  I didn't plan on them being cookie monster, just a monster cupcake.  I should have made the base color green or red instead of blue.  Oh well, they were still tasty.  One of the girls in Garrett's class said 'thanks Garrett's mom for the cupcakes"

We got some packages in the mail from Denver's parents.  They sent the kids their b-day presents.  They were excited to get to open presents again!

On Wednesday last week, we had a Dental clinic lunch.  Or so I thought it was just a lunch.  I walk in, 10 minutes late, and everyone yelled 'Surprise'.  I was shocked!  They had thrown a diaper party for me with games, food and all.  It was so thoughtful.  We got at least $200 in diapers and wipes.  We are set for a while.

On Sunday morning I flew out of Terceira, Azores to Lisbon, Portugal and then on to Germany.  Leaving my family at the airport, knowing I wouldn't be home for a long time was extremely hard.  I arrived to my TLF at Landstuhl AB that night around 10pm and was starving!  Nothing was open so I tried to sleep.  I could hardly sleep i was so hungry.  The next day was Memorial day.  That was the hardest day for me.  The base was like a ghost town and I felt so alone.  I've almost been here one week.  Some days are busy and good and others are harder.  I'm excited for when people come!  I'm used to loud kids and it's so quiet all the time.   My bedroom.

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My kitchen:

The bathroom:

The family room:

Another shot of the kitchen:

It's a very nice room and fits my every need and then some.  I was initially planning to go to England, but when my blood platelet levels dropped to 106,000 the OB's at Lakenheath RAB (royal air base) didn't want to take the risk of me needing platelets at delivery because they didn't have any so a week before I was to fly out, everything changed to Germany.  A lot of our plans were messed up, but we feel good about it. 

Driving around Landstuhl, a very cute, quaint little town.

My rental car.  It's a white BMW with red leather seats and a sunroof.  It looks like a car for a girl to me.  It's very nice and rides very smoothly.

Taking pictures around the base.

I found a great walking/ running trail.  I feel like I'm camping because the trees all around and the birds chirping.  The only thing missing is the campfire smell and the tent.  The birds here are big! 

The nice thing about being in Germany is the temple is about 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours away.  I enjoyed going to a session.  I met a mission couple that were in my session that were over the whole area (region-about 30 missions) so they know our mission president over Lisbon/Azores. 

It was cloudy and rained almost the whole way back home.

I love the temple!

That's all for now.