Go Ethan Go!

Ethan is growing so much these last few weeks, really becoming confident.  It's such a blessing to watch!   Normally he would happily sit on the sidelines and watch at any activity, but we have told him now that he's5 and in Kindergarten he should stasrt to participate.  And, well, he is.   I am so proud of him!  These pictures are of him  running some of the soccer (aka football) drills when we did a free trial class last weekend.  Un- fortunately, we are not joining this team, but we will be joining another team that starts uo next week.

The kiddos and I discovered this cute little place for a picnic while bike riding a few weeks ago.  The trees are short and the limbs almost reach the ground.   They thought it looked like an indian village.  So we went for a picnic one morning before it got too hot.   Caitlyn and I enjoyed sitting on the blanket while the boys had adventures and sword fights.

We are learning about Ancient Egypt in history for homeschool and the boys are really loving it.   We found a pyramid to dig out mummies and different artifacts, they had a great time pretending to be palientologists!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Aaron thoruoghly enjoyed his burthday this year.  It seemed to be the longest birthday for some reason.   We celebrated it together during the day, taking him to the Science Center, then in the evening when Ryan and Daddy wqere home and then on the weekend we took him to Malaysia for more horseback riding.   He loved all the presents sent from gramma's and grampa's!   BTW, you should be getting his thankyou cards soon.   At Rider's Lodge they played games and rode the horses and did a little craft and fed the horses as well.   A great time had by all.

I just thought this was the cutest picture.  Caitlyn was wondering what they were doing, but decided it was more fun to climb all over their legs instead.

Ethans first day of Kindergarten.  

Life has been busy, as usual, but I haven't completely forgotten about the blog.   It may seem as though I have,  and I know you are all wanting pictures.  So, here we go.    First I will give a quick update of what we are all up to, pictures to follow. Steve has been quite busy with his MBA these last 2 months.  Although I don't envy the workload he has, nor the time he has had to spend away from the family, I have to say I am a slight bit jealous of the places he's been to visit.  In August he went to London and Ireland, and this month he is back in the US.    We are all missing him alot and excited for him to finsish his degree, he has wanted this done for a while.   He has been able to have some great influences on his fellow classmates, being a great example for Christ.  I am so proud of him! The children are doing great, nothing new here really.  School is going well on all aspects, and they are enjoying friends and being busy.  Ethan has been growing in alot of ways this month.   He started going to Sunday school, joined gymnastics and also a reading class outside of the home.   All of which he really enjoys!  This is quite exciting because it was onloy a few months aog that he still clung to us, not wanting to go anywhere or participate in any activities.  It's neat to watch his branch out a bit.    Caitlyn is growing quickly and keeping us on our toes.   She is a joy to all! I suppose that's it, so it's time for pictures.  Enjoy!

Aaron and Ethan on thier way back from the jungle ride.

The boys all enjoyed wandering the barns and checking out each horse.  I was so blessed that they haven't developed a fear of animals because we have been living in a big city for a while, not alot of interaction with animals lately.    Actually they were a bit too free for my comfort level, but I tried not to show it.     One of them decided to get really close to Susanna, which took her off gaurd, but it didn't faze her in the least.  We got a kick out of it though, becuase it looked like her was sniffing her armpit, which, as you can imagine, the boys thought was hilarious! Caitlyn was even curios with the horses.   She was very observant and quiet when we were in the barns.  She even tried to touch one of them.   Don't worry, I didn't let her get that close, even I have boundaries for that!

Ryan learning to trot.   He says he enjoyed it, but it was painful.   But he also said he's young so it doesn't take so long for the pain to go away, like old people.   If I didn't feel old before, I sure do now!

Aaron and Ethan look on as Ryan leads in his lesson.

Rider's Lodge, Malaysia

This weekend we took all the children to Malaysia for horseback riding.   We had heard of this lodge from some friends of ours so thought we'd give it a try.   It's was very family friendly, not a long drive and great fun! Ryan had 2 one hour lessons, and learned to trot on the second day, Ethan and Aaron had 2 pony rides, and Susanna and I went on trail rides for 1 1/2 hours.   We were the only intermediate riders, so it was pretty cool, we were able to trot quite a lot on the ride.   We rode through the jungle and through some palm tree plantation where they harvest them for palm oil.   I tried to ask the guide details about how they harvest it ect, but between the horses, and the language barrier, I didn't understand alot. Aaron liked it so much he wants to go back for his birthday!   Thankfully, they have a golf course right next door, so Steve will be happy about that.

We took Sus to the Birdpark and they had alot of fun feeding the birds.   It was weird, we thought we would get the traditional birdfeed, seeds and stuff.   Instead we got a little cup of some sweet liquid.   They seemed to like it that's for sure.

Susanna and the boys making clay figures.  Are cousins great!

Aaron learning to ride a 2 wheeler!

I know, I know

It's taking forever for me to finish posting pics from our trip to America.  It's been a bit busy!   Susanna has been here for about a week and we are really enjoying her and showing her Singapore.   She has been such a joy! So, since it's been a while, and it may be a while still, I thought I'd post some pics from the past week or so.   The children have been growing in thier own personal ways and I want to show them off!  ;-)

Noone told me........

Gotta love Go Karts

Aunt Sue came with us to the go karts, cause she was "made for vacations" ya know.  We had a great time.   The younger boys got to ride along side us and have their hand at the smaller carts.   They did really well, and I have to admitt, I was a bit nervous at the site of my children behind the wheel of a car, no matter what kind it was.