The Woodward Family Adventures

Kids Sport Party

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

One of the big birthday party places is Kids Sports - and Rania had a fun time celebrating a classmates birthday there over Chinese New Year Weekend. Slides, playground, magic show - it was lots of fun!

Passport Renewal Time

2012-01-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

After vacation ends, it is back into the routine at school. Things sure get busy quickly - and when getting passports renewed is such excitement that it makes our blog - you know things are exciting!

Mug shots? Or pictures for the next 5 year?

Poolside Party

2012-01-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

One of the many fun traditions at ISKL that helps build community is the Head of School reception. When the weather cooperates, it is held poolside at the Renaissance hotel. It is fun to enjoy the conversations and wonderful food with our colleagues.

Thanks to Paul Ubl, we always have good photographs to remember the event.

Home, Sweet Home.

2012-01-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

We've enjoyed our wonderful new home. The hardwood floors and many windows make for a warm and inviting main living area.

The two upstairs bedrooms are good sized and nice windows to let in natural light. It's worked great for our family - with a queen-sized bed in one room and two twins in the other.

The views of the sunrises in the morning are spectacular, and the balcony is a great place to entertain in the summer.

The stainless steel appliances make for a nice, inviting kitchen, and the upstairs bathroom has a shower/tub.

5 Guys

2012-01-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

We had the treat of going out to 5 Guys - for the delicious burgers and fries. What a fun experience - and the first time for the Woodwards.

Another Teenager

2012-01-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

A bit early, but we celebrated another birthday. It was lots of fun to able to participate in a cousin's birthday and share in the celebrations.

Party hats, cake, and fun.

Dog Sled

2012-01-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

For weeks, nearly months, the girls had been plotting a great movie extravaganza involving dogs and dog sleds. Grandpa Barrie managed to get a Dog Sled built - and finally they had a bit of snow to test it out!

The movie was filmed in the bitter cold, but is still under production - so hopefully we can add the excitement sometime soon!

Playing in Snow

2012-01-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

We were thrilled to get another dusting of snow - and the kids were outside right away to play in it. Reeve and Daddy had a fun soccer game in the snow, and as it started to melt, the kids got out and had fun making some big snowballs and trying some snow angels.

Marshmallows!

2012-01-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

What fun to roast marshmallows indoors. The kids got to have a special treat!

Yummy!

Baby's First Haircut

2012-01-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

Nothing like starting the new year with a momentous event like a baby's first haircut! There was plenty of input from all sides as the deed was done by Grandma Julie.

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T13:27:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful celebration for New Year's Eve. . . at least until 10 o'clock when the party broke up due to old and tired adults.

There was some football scrimmages that broke out in the front room with the Cowboys battling the Steelers reminiscent of the great battles of the 70s.

And the girls, who were outnumbered, were dressed up in their beautiful dresses and took great care of Jenny!

The kids watched a movie, and a massive sleepover took place - so the adults could get wild! (Ha!)

Nothing quite like the presence of Jason to get Tracy laughing. And nothing quite like the presence of Tracy's laughter to get Jason rolling with his jokes.

Some crazy games of spoons ensued (deciding plastic spoons would be quieter!) where Jason proved his dominance, but Doug managed to stay in until the finals most times, until he finally got a victory.

Imagination Station

2011-12-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

We took advantage of our other Toledo area membership and made a visit to the Imagination Station. It was fun to remember the bicycle ride, the demonstrations, the tug-of-war, the simulator, the magnet area, and riding a bicycle on a tightrope high above the floor!

Snow!

2011-12-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

When we saw that snow was falling, we had a big celebration with lots of jumping up and down!

We had been waiting a week, and finally the weather turned cool enough for some snow! Horray!

And my, what beautiful sunrises from our balcony!

Uncle Jason Wins!

2011-12-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

We had the Christmas tradition of cheering on Uncle Jason as he played for the TCS Alumni championship. After finally getting knocked off the past two years, the "old guys" triumphed for the championship again this year.

Fun to get to watch some basketball and see Uncle Jason's heroics.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

Somehow, Santa sure found his way to our house in Ohio! Wow!

We thought there were lots of presents the night before, but somehow the haul kept getting more and more for the Woodward family.

Stockings were found - and though Rania has long passed "baby's first Christmas," there were gifts that were put in the stockings at night.

Presents appeared under the tiny tree, and there was lots of fun in the morning.

Reeve was thrilled to get a box (among his other gifts).

Tracy got a photo book with memories of our first half year in Malaysia.

And breakfast was delicious french toast, thanks to mommy's culinary touch.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas only comes once a year - so indeed, it is a ridiculous number of pictures - but what a magical Norman Rockwell house that Carrie had decorated. We had lots of fun!

A host of presents were passed out and the kids sure enjoyed getting lots of cool stuff, as well as giving hugs and giving thanks to aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Gabi was thrilled to get some nice new horses - and an American Girl Doll from the money that Grandpa Levi sent her - so she had a great Christmas!

And plenty of cuteness to go around!

Rania had a haul of horses.

Reeve got a bunch of Hex Bugs, which as pretty cool to see them go around their Hive. We got to see Gabi in a beautiful Christmas dress and was thrilled to dress up with Laura - in their brand new boots. (Though Doug blew the focus on one of the glamour shots).

But the food, family, and wonderful Christmas spirit were definitely the highlights to a wonderful evening.

Christmas Eve Brunch

2011-12-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Wow! What amazing food. It seems like night after night, day after day, morning after morning, we are treated to these amazing meals. No surprise that in the Rhodes/Quinn/Woodward/Sandlin family, there is plenty of talk about meals and food.

My, and don't we enjoy it! For Christmas Eve, Barrie's son, Brandon and his family, came over and we had a delightful Christmas Eve day.

Brandon and Reeve spent quite a long time figuring out the finer strategies of tic-tac-toe, we all enjoyed delicious food, and Doug was surprised by a clever gift by Barrie.

Somehow Barrie had found the paper from when the Colts were Super Bowl Champions. It seems like aeons ago, as we are suffering through a 2-13 (and counting) season - with Peyton Manning's career possibly in jeopardy. It could be a long wilderness of miserable seasons after the fallout of this year. It was a good ride, but tough to suffer through such ignominy. Let's just hope the Colts don't go and now blow the #1 pick for Andrew Luck next week!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

Aunt Nicole and Uncle Jason went all out as all of the kids had the chance to decorate Gingerbread Houses.

What a delightful evening with delicious food, fun crafts, games, and lots of fun. Some of the final creations are shown here as the kids got into decorating their houses -- though when Uncle Jason used construction glue to put the houses together (and smooth the process), we definitely didn't want to test our intestinal fortitude by trying to eat some of the houses!

Zoo Lights!

2011-12-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

With the weather unseasonably warm (at least above freezing), we decided to take advantage of a "warmer" winter day and make our visit to the Zoo Lights. We had gotten a membership to the Zoo last summer, and figured we'd better take advantage of a trip while in town.

And what a trip! It is amazing the effort and detail about putting all the lights up! It was definitely beautiful - though even with the "warmer" weather, it was still mighty nippy! We did spend a long time standing in line for photos with Santa (we'll have to scan those, since they did not want individual pictures - you had to buy them!).

We went on the Zoo train, where the kids had fun seeing some of the lights around the African Savannah - though certainly no animals out at night!

The girls also enjoyed a ride on the carousel - riding tigers and cheetahs and all sorts of animals.

But definitely, the highlight of the evening is the lights - so many of them, and definitely a challenge to get some decent pictures.

Toledo Philharmonic

2011-12-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

It was a brave decision to head out on the town for an evening concert of beautiful music in a warm church during Christmas season. . . .on a few days of jetlag. Tracy did much better than Doug - who struggled to stay awake.

The church was beautifully decorated and it was nice to get some wonderful Christmas music as the final Christmas concert by the Toledo Philharmonic Orchestra.

But how fun/funny to be pulling out sweaters after so 4+ years in Malaysia!

Birthday (Again)

2011-12-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

For the birthday season that just never seems to end, Gabi got to celebrate yet another birthday party once we arrived in Ohio. A good excuse to fight jetlag, the it was cake and presents for the Gabriella.

And how wonderful to be with cousins - but smiles, fun games, and lots of adventures. And of course, add some horse books or horse toys and it is all happiness!

Part II (continuation of the summer's adventures) was the imagination game that was played for hours in the basement and Michael and Jacob led the other cousins in endless adventures.

Long Haul

2011-12-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Even with the wonders of trans-continental flights, it is just a LONG LONG haul no matter what. It is getting a LOT easier as our kids get older, but after a night flight from Kuala Lumpur with a connection in Delhi, we had a long layover where our kids absolutely crashed. Thankfully, they had some reclining chairs in Delhi where most of our family was able to get a bit of sleep. They were sure groggy!

(Shhh. . . supposedly we are not allowed to take pictures inside the airport.) We encountered the absolute inanity and hilarity of Indian bureaucracy in the airport as the transfer desk had us laughing out loud at the absurdity of the situation. With 10-12 people standing around, none of them were able to help us with our boarding pass. So it was a long wait as passport numbers were written down by hand and baggage claim details written on carbon paper and passed from one guy who is in charge of checking to another person in charge of stamping to another in charge of certifying. Wow.

But how wonderful to finish the trip, land and be with family. . .once the trip was over!

Run Jump & Throw Day

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Due to Finals and classes, neither Tracy and Doug were able to make it to the Prep - Grade 2 Run Jump and Throw Day. It is similar to yesterday's Track & Field Day, but more fun and team games instead of ribbons and a bit of competition.

So with parachutes, long jump, ring tosses, frisbees and ribbons, it was a great day of jumping, running, dancing, playing and having a great time!

Thanks to the miracle of having grandparents in KL, Grandpa was able to make an appearance and cheer on Gabi & Rania. (Photo Credits to Grandpa.) You can read all about it on grandpa & grandma's blog and see more pictures!

4 Golds!

2011-12-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

For Track & Field Day & Melawati, Reeve came through with some incredible performances en route to 4 gold medals (blue ribbons). They raced, ran and threw for lots of events as the winners of each heat were given blue, red or green ribbons for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd. Doug was able to see the first few events before having to return to school.

Look at that great effort as Reeve works opens up a lead against his friends in the 100m sprint.

It was also fun to see Rania on the swings before heading to class - and always so wonderful to see how happy our kids are at school!

Finnish Guests

2011-12-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

What a treat to have Jennica's parents and friends of theirs for dinner on Monday night. It was great to be able to see Jennica again before they headed to Singapore and the rest of their SE Asian travels. But it was also nice to see if we could get 13 people around our table for dinner (a bit of a stretch). It was a night of great conversation and delicious food.

And, I suppose I could throw in a picture of our living room, since we will someday wonder why we have no pictures from parts of our house!

Early Christmas

2011-12-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

What an unbelievable treasure to be living overseas AND having family nearby. And that becomes incredibly obvious during holidays. Before Doug's parents headed to New Zealand and we head to Ohio, this seemed to be the best day to celebrate an early Christmas.

So ham dinner, Swedish tea rings, twice baked potatoes, Oreo Cookie frozen mint ice cream dessert - the traditional Woodward dinner. YUMMY!

And how unbelievable to have Grandpa read the Christmas story for us before opening presents.

As for the presents - lots of horses, T-shirts, toys, games, and lots of fun and much gratitude for how blessed we are this Christmas season.

As for presents - let's just say our kids were not deprived this Christmas! Wow!

Christmas Pageant

2011-12-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

The kids participated in our church's Christmas Pageant. It was a fun event, and this year everyone could dress up as who they wanted to be - and Rania really wanted to be Mary - so you can see the 8:30 am service version of the baby Jesus and Mary.

Later on, Mary got a little bit tired and was resting with mommy.

Reeve read one of the introductions and the kids were part of the choir. The girls got to hold up some of the emoticons which were part of the script for telling the story of Christmas.

Thanks to Siew Kam, a friend from church, for sharing some of his (higher quality) pictures. Here are some of the lower resolution copies that he shared with us.

Cake! Dinner!

2011-12-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

After coming back from the Muppets and the Pavilion, we had a nice birthday dinner. Presents! Dinner! Cake!

It was extra special to have some birthday gifts from Auntie Tasha, thanks to the Ron Woodward courier service!

The Muppets!

2011-12-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday is a good day to celebrate a birthday, so we headed to the Pavilion, where we went to Chocolate Lounge and had a lunch with some of Gabi's friends. Then we got to see the Muppets - which we can highly recommend and all gave 5 stars!

At one point that was slightly scary, Gabi ended up in Jennica's lap. So cute!

This is our best shot at a family picture. . .Our family is growing up.

Jennica Arrives!

2011-12-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

How absolutely wonderful to have Jennica arrive from Australia/Finland. She spent a summer with us in the States in 2005, and we've kept in touch and now finally reunited. Funny that the distance between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur is about the same as Finland and Indiana - but somehow it seems like a shame not to connect if we are not in the same area.

It was so fun to hang out and her about her work and neat opportunities in Sydney. She even came along with our family to celebrate Gabi's birthday on Saturday.

Christmas Performance

2011-12-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

How fun to get to see Rania's Christmas performance. The entire class (kindergarten) did some songs and some dances and performed for the school, including Gabi & Reeve, who were in the audience. The next day they performed again for a special audience of parents. It was a fun performance to see.

Daddy got to see the first performance, and mommy was able to find a break in her schedule to see the second performance for parents.

Sad to think this will be the last of the Kindergarten performances. Our kids are growing up right before our eyes!

Rania even had a performance on the big screen as she told about life for the elves at the International School of the North Pole.

Early Birthday Present

2011-12-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Woodward gave Gabi an early birthday present - the chance to have an introductory riding lesson at the Polo Club in Kuala Lumpur. It was quite an experience as Gabi had to sit up straight, learn the terminology and practice all of the technique -- all with a helmet that didn't quite fit perfectly!

We're not sure if formal English riding lessons are the best thing for Gabi, but she sure does love horses!!

And thanks to Grandpa Woodward for the opportunity to ride horses at the Polo Club. That's quite the early birthday present!

Advent Reading

2011-12-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

Our family read the Advent reading for Sunday's early service at St. Andrew's.

Then off to the Pavilion for a movie (Arthur Christmas), some fun, and even a family picture! As always, the Pavilion was beautifully decorated.

Scottish Dancing

2011-12-03T04:14:00.000-08:00

Gabi's after school activity of Scottish Dancing culminated with their performance at the a ball in Kuala Lumpur. They were one of the opening acts for the St. Andrew's Society (no relation to our church!).

We took Gabi and Henry over for the rehearsal, which was at the Marriott on the other side of town. Then Henry's parents took them for the evening performance.

In the afternoon, Rania found a new friend - and they had fun playing in the lobby overlooking the city while Gabi and her team went through the rehearsal in the ballroom.

That evening, we heard rave reviews of the performance! And wow, did the pictures show that Gabi sure looked the part too!

The kids were beaming after such a bit performance!

Mommy time

2011-12-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

Choir Concert

2011-12-01T03:57:00.000-08:00

Gabi had her choir concert, and how fun to watch her sing and perform. The band and gamelon groups also had performances, but the Waka-waka theme from South Africa 2010 World Cup was a big hit. It was a flurry of motion and dancing. Fun times.

Gabi has sure enjoyed all of her after school activities this year. In addition to choir, Scottish dancing and iClay (making clay figurines) were her other activities this semester.

Movembeard

2011-12-01T03:56:00.000-08:00

It was nothing like the big event of last year, but Doug decided to do his part to raise awareness for cancer research, especially prostrate cancer.

After a very itchy and scratchy month, FINALLY, a chance to shave!

First Sunday of Advent

2011-11-27T03:34:00.000-08:00

Doug had the opportunity and privilege of preaching at St. Andrew's, perhaps for the last time as our permanent pastor will soon be arriving. That makes for a good illustration for advent - the hope of something coming.

The text was from Jeremiah 33, and you can see the text of the sermon from St. Andrew's Website.

Merry Christmas! May the power of the incarnation touch all of you this Christmas season.

Thanksgiving #2

2011-11-26T03:27:00.000-08:00

We are incredibly blessed to have the dual privileges of being overseas and also having family close. So what a special opportunity to have Thanksgiving with family. Dad cooked the turkey and Doug's parents invited two other families.

It became evident that after 7 kids feasted, it was time for the Thanksgiving tradition of swimming in the tropics!

O Tannenbaum

2011-11-25T03:12:00.000-08:00

We had the chance to put up the Christmas tree, which was a great success. Other than a bit of frustration over the lights not reaching, it all went well. How fun to see the ornaments that the kids made when they were little. . . and fun to pull out our stockings.

Here are some pictures of our family gathering as the Christmas music and the ornaments came out.

The girls were very excited that mommy brought home makeshift reindeer antlers from one of her student's presentations.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T03:01:00.000-08:00

One of the amazing and wonderful traditions at ISKL's middle school is the annual Thanksgiving feast. It is a bit funny on a school night to come together for the big Thanksgiving feast, but what a fun gathering as the administrators provide the turkey, and the rest of the amazing food is brought by our amazing faculty and staff!

Indeed, a delicious experience, and lots of fun as well. It is interesting each year to consider that our kids grow up thinking that Thanksgiving is when you get hot and sweaty running around the school. Yes, isn't that what it is all about?

This year Gabi added her own tradition, providing shoulder massages to raise some money (for herself, nothing charitable here.) It was 50 sen for 5 minutes or 1 ringgit (about 30 cents US) for 10 minutes.

Two teeth

2011-11-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

We lost something in our house. Can you guess what it is?

China Lah

2011-11-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

Certainly not the most culturally accurate depiction, but here is Rania having some fun with one of the linguistic quirks of Malaysia-speak - lah.

Tracy in Vietnam

2011-11-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Tracy had a wonderful week in Hoi An, Vietnam as part of GAP. It was a lot of time on the bike, but she also got some crafts, visits to orphanage, cooking lessons, and even some shopping.

She came back to KL excited from a great trip, but so excited to see her family again! What a neat experience.

Halloween Dress-Up

2011-10-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

For the "real" Halloween, it was dress-up day at ISKL. Our kids maintained some of the same costumes from Saturday night - but this time, Rania was a cowgirl. It was a fun day at school.

GAP trip to Vietnam

2011-10-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

We had to say good-bye to mommy, as she headed off to Vietnam with a group of high school students. She left with Brian Inskeep and 17 some tenth graders.

So it would be a week away from mommy for the rest of us.

Halloween - Malaysia Time

2011-10-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

For those who did not know, Halloween fell in Malaysia on a Saturday evening - by decree of some wise organizers who knew that the kids might have a day to get rid of a touch of the sugar before school. Indeed, it worked out perfectly for us!

It is a fabulous tradition in Kuala Lumpur that in an area where many teachers and school families live, they have a Halloween tradition. We are graciously hosted each year by the Peters, which is a delight - and this year our kids were even old enough to stay for a bit of snacks afterwards.

You can see our three delightful kids.

Reeve was a flag football player, Rania was a fashion girl, and Gabi's costume was more evident. Daddy, on the other hand - was the biggest joke in the history of the world - which pretty much summarizes the Colts season!

More than even in years past, it was quite a stash that the kids returned with - see Gabi's haul here!

Dress-Up Dinner

2011-10-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Reeve was away for the evening, so the girls and daddy had a special dress-up dinner. Food was courtesy of Na'an corner - some satay, butter chicken and some of our Malaysian favorites.

(The strange item in the foreground is a pumpkin.)

Flat Ally

2011-10-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

Gabi's second cousin, Ally, sent her "Flat Ally" all the way to Malaysia. It was fun to answer some of the questions from Malaysia so that Flat Ally could be sent back to Des Moines.

Just to make sure that Flat Ally wasn't lonely, Flat Gabi joined in the trip back across the ocean.

Bollywood Birthday

2011-10-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

Rania had a wonderful Bollywood themed birthday with her friend, Mihika. We didn't have a lot of Indian dresses to go with the themes, but Mihika's mom was wonderful enough to allow Rania to have the chance borrow a dress.

It was a fun time!

Accreditation Visit - Vientiane

2011-10-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

Doug had the privilege of participating in a CIS-WASC accreditation visit to Vientiane International School. What a challenging and invigorating professional experience. It was certainly a busy week with lots of work and plenty of details. The team leaders were absolutely exceptional!

It was a great team and a wonderful experience. We had wonderful accommodations, and even had the opportunity to see a bit of downtown Vientiane the final night. Having been there the previous year for holiday, it was reassuring to know that seeing only the school and the hotel was not my only time to be in Laos.

But truly, what an amazing team of professionals - and lots of great memories and positive experiences. Who could imagine we could laugh so much during such an intense week.

Head Lice

2011-09-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

One of those letters that all parents dread - that head lice has been discovered at school. And sure enough - it came to the Woodward House - where we all got to have our shampoos. It resulted in quite a hair cut for Gabi since the long hair was not so conducive to the shampoo process.

It took a couple of rounds of checking and re-checking, but thankfully we were able to defeat the first Woodward encounter with head lice. . . . at least for now.

Doug Preaches Sermon - I Kings

2011-09-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Doug had the privilege of preaching at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in KL. What a challenge, but what a great opportunity. Doug's sermon was from I Kings 18, which was kindly linked to the church's website.

Doug used some of the photos from Sunday School to tell the story. Guess who is Elijah and who is Ahab in this picture.

Indigo Pearl

2011-09-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Doug's mom watching the kids, Tracy and Doug had a wonderful getaway to the Indigo Pearl in Phuket, Thailand. What an amazing hotel and a spectacular setting. It was a nice long weekend getaway with lots of fun and plenty of fantastic food!

Tracy had been there before - with her mom two years ago -- but this was Doug's first time to visit.

The sunset on the final day was the perfect ending for our delightful weekend away.

Macky sighting!

2011-09-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

In a bit of spectacularly horrible timing - Cameron Macky, a good friend going back to Kenya and South America -- was at ISKL for the volleyball tournament. At the same time, Doug and Tracy headed off to Thailand -- so we completely missed each other.

Thanks to the kids seeing some of the volleyball tournament, Reeve and the girls got to meet Cameron!

Shanghai Gifts

2011-09-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Doug's mom returned from a conference in Shanghai - and somehow our kids were transformed. Suddenly Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi were part of our family!

A Bear Birthday

2011-09-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

Gabi had a wonderful with a friend - who had a special Bear themed birthday. What an exciting time as the kids named their bears, had games (Gabi won the guessing game for number of jelly beans).

As always, one of the first birthdays of Gabi's friends for the school year was a huge success.

Birthday Boy

2011-09-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

In the 40 club, Doug celebrated another birthday. It was a nice, low-key experience - a bit different than the previous year.

What a blessing to have three wonderful kids and my mom there to celebrate!

Goodbye Cyberview

2011-08-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

On our final day of our little stay-cation at Cyberview Lodge, we found the nice kids play room - which was good fun. There were lots of bean bags, which the kids piled up and had a great time jumping off the little swing.

We then had a final swim and lunch next to the pool before heading back to KL.

It had been a fun little vacation.

Cyberview Lodge Day #2

2011-08-29T04:01:00.000-07:00

Another day in paradise. Check out the fun pictures! Doug found a nice place away to do his Redeemer (Indianapolis) Fantasy Football draft. We also had a good time at the pool - what a great waterfall!

The Cyberview Lodge Weekend

2011-08-29T03:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the hit movie of absolute silliness!

CyberView Lodge

2011-08-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

This year Hari Raya (the end of Ramadan) fell about the same time as Malaysian Independence (Merdeka Day). As a result, we had an extended holiday. Rather than going far away, we had a wonderful "stay-cation" with a short 30 minute drive to CyberView Lodge. The pool was absolutely wonderful and with the waterfall, the kids had endless hours of fun enjoying playing.

Here are some top photos from day #1 of our stay-cation.

Not a bad time!

Library Party

2011-08-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Doug's mom had a library party for all of the librarians (including retired librarians and those with library degrees). The ranks have increased significantly at ISKL, so it was fun to get together. My parents' blog has a much more detailed blog post. But here was a fun picture of Gabi with one of her new friends.

All About Me - Reeve

2011-08-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Not sure this is entirely worth a blog post -- but since I have these pictures on my computer, we will go ahead. One of Reeve's first projects for Grade 4 was to create a box with artifacts telling about him. He included some medals from his track and field exploits from last year, as well as some memories. But he wanted to make sure that he had a picture of a laptop and iPhone to show how much he enjoys playing games on electronics -- MineCraft is certainly a big priority when he has a chance to use the computer.

Gabi First Day of Grade 2

2011-08-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Gabi is now in Grade 2.

In her own voice.

Rania First Day of School

2011-08-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Rania is in now in Prep-Senior.

In her own voice.

Reeve in Grade 4

2011-08-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

Reeve is now in Grade 4

I'm having trouble locating his voice -- but here is his picture. Hopefully I can get the voice uploaded soon.

Imagination Station

2011-07-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights from our summer was a membership at the Imagination Station. We sure enjoyed the chance to enjoy the downtown situation. We finally figured out the parking issue -- with free street parking allowed between 11 and 2. So we took the whole gang to the Imagination Station and had a fun time -- getting to see the Bodies Revealed Exhibit.

It was a fun day -- and good times with cousins - as always!

July Thanksgiving

2011-07-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to having some turkeys and taking advantage of having family together, we had a July Thanksgiving. What a great time together with some absolutely delicious food. Jason was in typically hilarious form with lots of laughter and lots of fun. It was great to have Uncle Carl and Aunt Dianne for a summer Thanksgiving.

Horse Riding!

2011-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an amazing experience for our kids to go horse back riding. It had been very high on our priority list, and the kids had constantly been begging for a chance to go horseback riding. With the string of super hot weather, we got postponed a couple of times -- but finally everything fell into place and the kids had a chance to do something out of their dreams -- riding through Oak Openings.

We had made contact with a local operator near Oak Openings and finally had the chance to have our kids out riding horses. They went in two groups, with Julie, Gabi and Laura going first, and then Tracy, Jacob and Reeve getting the second chance. Carrie had to back out at the last minute due to back pains.

Aunt Marcia's

2011-07-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day at Aunt Marcia's! We sure had a great time escaping the near 100 degree heat of Toledo -- and it was quite cool on with the breeze blowing off Lake Erie.

We took advantage of swimming in Lake Erie and doing a little bit of kayaking against the strong breeze, before retiring to the pool and enjoying lots of fun memories with cousins!

Mud Hens Game

2011-07-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

One of the fun traditions in Toledo is the Toledo Mud Hens in their beautiful downtown stadium. Sure, we'll always be partial to Victory Field in Indianapolis, but it is truly a great minor league location.

We had seats just off the first base line and enjoyed seeing the game from so close to the action.

We had fun on a VERY hot night enjoying the game. In addition to the game, there was some big news from Jason and Nicole. Can you see the reaction of the siblings?

What is it that they are reacting to? Well, there was a bit of a message on the shirt of the youngest nephew in attendance. That said it all. Indeed, quite the surprise with #4 on the way!

It was crazy in that the Hens were down to their last strike, but blasted a tying home run to put us into extra innings. We weren't so keen for the extra innings with little kids -- we were waiting for the fireworks. The final run also came with a bizarre play -- walking in the winning run - a bit of an anticlimactic ending in the 11th inning, but good fun.

After the game, the kids got to run the bases (wow, was there a line all the way around the stadium concourse level between 1st base all the way past the third base line. Kids also got a chance to have their picture taken with Muddy, the Hens mascot.

At the end of the night, we finally had what we had been waiting for: fireworks!

Pandamania

2011-07-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

The kids had a super fun week at Pandamania, the Vacation Bible School theme for the week at Oak Bend. What a great experience for our kids, and they were thrilled to be there, had lots of fun, and came home excited and enthusiastic about the lessons of God-sightings and neat experiences.

For the final night, they had a big celebration. After the performances, it was face painting, barbecue, yummy food, cool weather, balloons, carnival games -- what a great atmosphere and fun way to end the week.

Family Outing

2011-07-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

After nice cool weather the day before, we decided to have a nice family outing for ourselves. We sure enjoyed the day and Tracy had fun with the camera.

The kids had so much fun the prior day that they insisted on showing mommy the Sand Dunes Trail. So again, we went and played at the sand dunes, and had fun jumping out of the same tree. It was fun letting kids be kids and enjoy the cooler weather for the week.

Oak Openings

2011-07-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

We sure do love Oak Openings. We had a super experience going out and enjoying the outdoors. The Sand Dunes Trail is a spectacular trail and we sure did enjoy getting there and playing a bit on the Sand Dunes.

It was fun to have Laura join our three kids.

We spent a while there climbing trees, jumping out of the trees and playing in the sand dunes. We sure are blessed to be close to such a great nature preserve. It is sure fun to get outdoors, enjoy the smell, sounds, and experiences of nature.

Swimming

2011-07-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go over to the Sandlin's family friends -- and enjoy their private pool. What a nice way to cool off and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

It was a great afternoon of enjoying the sun and the pool.

Wedding Hike

2011-07-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

True to their characters, James and Malia planned a post-wedding hike for all the guests. How wonderful to be out in the middle of Colorado enjoying a delightful hike. It was a great experience and a beautiful climb up to a natural arch.

The view from the top was spectacular and we got back just in time to beat the rain. But, wow! Hiking in mountains sure does make one miss the beauty of the Pacific Northwest or the Rockies. What beautiful scenery just outside of Boulder, Colorado. It definitely has us hoping for a trip through the Rockies in two years -- a big family vacation of some sorts!

When we weren't gasping for breath a mile up, we enjoying conversations with friends and catching up.

Let's also note that Tracy was a bit more adventurous getting closer to the edge than her husband!

Wedding Reception

2011-07-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

The reception was a delightful mix of fun and seriousness. The food at the Chattaqua Inn was excellent as we got to enjoy the buffet brunch. It was fun to re-unite with friends from KL who have scattered all over the globe (Georgia, Colorado, Uganda. . .now Switzerland).

There were some touching slide shows and fun little games led by ISKL's Adria Rosendale. We also had a group picture, and a definite highlight was James' mom preparing some incredibly delicate cupcakes for everyone to enjoy.

James and Malia did a great job of bringing everyone together and encouraging us to get to know friends from different walks of life. As James so eloquently put it, "I want to talk to you about my friends, so you need to get to know each other."

Wedding Ceremony

2011-07-10T03:02:00.000-07:00

What a picturesque setting for James and Malia's wedding ceremony. It was also a beautiful ceremony with lots of personal touches -- Malia and her dad dancing down the aisle. The story of their first meeting and their love blossoming, as told by Malia. The story of their relationship almost imploding (well, a bit of hyperbole) when James went off to Bangkok to get Malia's engagement ring.

We especially remember that day as we had Jamie and Lindsay over to our house that night to play Settlers of Catan, but were prohibited from letting Malia know about it -- due to James' jaunt to Bangkok.

We enjoyed the music, the heartfelt blessings given by the bridesmaids and the touching message by the attendant / leader. James and Malia have lots more info on their website.

Rehearsal Dinner

2011-07-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Friends of Malia hosted a rehearsal dinner which gave the out of town guests a great opportunity to enjoy some absolutely delicious Indian Food. The grounds were absolutely stunning and it was a great time to catch up with friends from far and wide -- as a good number of KL folk made the trip to Denver.

It was so great to see Malia and James looking so wonderful and the speeches by the parents and the music played for the rehearsal dinner was so incredibly touching and meaningful.

It was also thrilling to see Jaime and Lindsay again -- and catch up with the McQueens and their first year in Uganda.

Warrens in Denver

2011-07-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

We flew out to Denver for James and Malia's wedding. But a huge benefit and great experience was spending just over a day with Michelle and Dave Warren. It was amazing to catch up and so comforting and delightful to enjoy their beautiful home and see all of the work they had put into it.

We didn't get to see too many of the kids with camps and outings, but it was sure fun to catch up at least a little bit -- and getting a tour of Open Door's work was a huge highlight. Even a short day made us eager to get to Colorado for a future trip!

Rania's Lost Tooth!

2011-07-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Just last week, Rania lost her first tooth -- but it was at Cedar Point and we never discovered when it was lost. So Michael took the lead in getting Rania's second bottom tooth out. It was super duper loose and Michael was able to gently coax it out of Rania.

Another milestone. Our little baby is growing up.

You can see her adult teeth are coming in a bit behind the others. But it was big smiles for a little girl, especially after the Tooth Fairy visited.

Movie Making

2011-07-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

The tradition of most summers finally got underway with some video footage. We had fun with Gabi and Laura preparing a movie about two girls caught in an airline snafu and having to sort out their journeys.

Under Michael's leadership, the immortal, "Who's on First" was begun. Here are the mug shots, but you'll have to wait for final production to see the video extravaganza.

July 4

2011-07-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty low-key 4th of July. We ate left over hot dogs and hamburgers from the big reunion and enjoyed a pretty relaxing day. The evening of the 3rd, Grandpa Barrie took Reeve and Laura and Doug to the Maumee/Perrysberg fireworks. We sat ride on the edge of the street outside of Rite Aid and enjoyed the festivities. After the reunion, it made for a busy day!

Renaux Reunion

2011-07-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

What an amazing day. After months and months of planning, especially by Julie, the Renaux Reunion came together. It was so fun to see all of Tracy's family and to have the chance to meet cousins that some of us had only heard together.

The weather sure cooperated, as Sidecut Metropark was the perfect locale for the get together. What a great time and lots of fun was had by everybody.

Some highlights were playing with Kody -- the beautiful Husky (dog) that the girls sure loved, getting to wade in the river, and of course the introductions where everyone had a chance to tell about their families and share what they had done.

Barrie was a hero on the grill and it was a spectacularly successful day. You can see all 431 pictures that were uploaded to celebrate the event -- but what a great chance to get together and celebrate family!

Quockert Dinner

2011-07-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

We had a fun dinner with the Quockerts. Kids got to play -- delicious dinner, including dessert and lots of fun together.

And especially fun to see more of Ethan!

Tracy is 40!

2011-07-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

Tracy had a fun 40th birthday. We had skits (showing how Grandpa Barrie helps everyone, but sometimes needs help with cooking), and festivities (games guessing what Tracy likes better), presents (a memory book, Handel's gift card and hand-made sweater from her mom, and a magazine book from her sister), and of course cake (gluten-free) and ice cream.

It was a fun day!

Cedar Point

2011-06-30T00:59:00.000-07:00

We had a very long and very fun day at Cedar Point. We met Reeve's friend Josh there and rode gobs of roller coasters and had a big, fun day with lots of fun. Daddy even went for Top Thrill Dragster -- the second tallest rollercoaster in the world -- or something insanely crazy!

After taking a view of the scene, we decided it wasn't worth taking the camera inside, since we'd be in lines and on roller coasters for much of the day. But from a few shows (Xtreme Sports was sure amazing!) to lots of rides, we had a long, busy day.

Dirt Track Racing

2011-06-25T03:08:00.000-07:00

The boys spent Saturday evening at the race tracks. How fun to see some great racing. In the final marquee race, the winner passed on the final lap coming out with a big win.

Sidecut MetroPark

2011-06-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

We took a delightful Saturday to check out Toledo's SideCut MetroPark-- the site of next week's Renaux Reunion. It should be a fun time -- and what a beautiful setting.

We had fun skipping rocks in the Maumee River, climbing trees, and even playing "mommy branch" and "baby branch" with grandma!

On the way home, we stopped at Grandpa Dick's gravesite, which is just down the road.

Imagination Station

2011-06-24T02:01:00.000-07:00

We thought we were really clever by getting a coupon to the Imagination Station via Group-On. Of course, when you read the fine print, it became obvious that it was after May 11 and we had, indeed, not redeemed the coupon. Nevertheless, we decided to splurge on a family membership and see if we could enjoy a fun science museum in downtown Toledo. The wind tunnel was especially fun when you got to Hurricane force winds at 95 mph!

Oak Openings

2011-06-23T01:49:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about our place in Maumee is being only a few miles from Oak Openings. What a spectacular place to hike and walk. We so much enjoy getting out in the beauty of nature and having a nice hike or exploring a new trail.

What a treat to be so close to such a great park!

Rainbow

2011-06-22T00:57:00.000-07:00

What a treat to look outside and see a rainbow. I don't think I'd ever seen such a "narrow" rainbow.

Sprinkler

2011-06-22T00:54:00.000-07:00

How fun to get the sprinkler out!

View from the Balcony

2011-06-21T00:34:00.000-07:00

We sure have enjoyed using our balcony -- especially with some cool weather and a great view, it makes for a delightful part of our new home.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day, we tried (again) to visit Abuelo's.

It was a big group with everyone together; even a few presents for daddies to celebrate the day!

Keeping Up With the Smiths

2011-06-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

How great that Melina was passing through town-- and the fun of Facebook connections. We were able to get together for a play date in the park and reminisce how fun it is that we've had good connections in Toledo. We got to hear about Asher's latest fellowship in orthopedics (which I should be able to spell?) as well as fun chances for the kids to play and reconnect.

Melina is quite the saint for making the trip with all the kids in the van!

65th B'Day!

2011-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had a fun birthday celebration for Julie and enjoyed the presents, the delicious gluten-free cake that Tracy made, and some fun laughs.

Especially notable were the placemats which looked a lot like an apron!

We've also been reading Stacey Wasmuth's book Mamarazzi, which has been insightful and challenging -- hence a few tips (photograph near north facing windows, focus on the eyelashes -- those were part of playing around with the camera. Still a LONG ways to go, but fun to read and learn a bit more, especially considering how many photos we take!

Zoo Trip

2011-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

We made our first trip to the Toledo Zoo and had a delightful time. Seeing the new baby elephant was a highlight, and the kids had fun just playing and being together.

S'Mores

2011-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

The kids have been begging for a fire, and since the weather has been absolutely perfect, Grandpa Barrie made all the preparations, and a delightful fire was made. The kids were anxious to make their s'mores, and best of all - test them.

Yum!