5 Euros

with the leftover money everyone rode the bumper cars

helen chose the ferris wheel!

stereotypical american? hmmmm

jayden chose the strength game

graham chose to throw the ball at some cans

just before queen's day there was a carnival (Kermis) in town - we took the kids to the carnival and told them that they had 5 euros to spend... they could spend it on anything they wanted to .... but they could not spend more than 5 euros :)

our royal tea party

helen and jillian get dressed up for The Royal Wedding

my very own princess... dressed in high heels, a princess dress, and large floppy hat

well - this princess ran away before i could finish getting her dressed - at least she still has her hat on :)

ready for our own Royal Tea Party before The Royal Wedding begins

their pinkies are out :)

this hat is getting in the way of me eating my biscuit!

graham has the pinky finger perfected!

unlike our friends in the United States... we did not have to get up at 4:45am to watch The Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate on April 29th... we are actually 1 hour ahead of London ... we enjoyed watching the wedding vows over lunch!

wonder if jillian will remember watching The Royal Wedding?

the offspring of 2 nerds

note - go to the bottom of the post and read/view the pictures in reverse order

note - jillian peeking around the corner :)

jillian can now walk around while carrying random objects

what's inside a bubble? ... ross decides to bring out a balloon to further explain the experiment :)

bubble solution and straws that have been "flared" on the end to make bubbles

scientist ross takes part in the science experiment

jillian gets some private playing time with her toys with the other kids work on their science experiment

my proud walking jilly

scientist helen listens carefully for the chemical reaction

now to add baking soda to the oil sample

scientist jayden adds baking soda to the orange juice sample

scientist graham almost spilled the cup of milk sample as he adding the baking soda!

scientist helen adds baking soda to the lemon juice sample

writing down their hypothesis

nothing to do with the science experiment - but our scientist jillian is so proud of her new walking skill :)

we bought a book of chemistry experiements when we were on our home leave. last week when the kids were on their easter break from school - i decided to have them do a couple science experiments. i'm not sure who had more fun - the kids or the (nerdy) parents. guess that's what you get when 2 chemical engineers get a hold of a chemistry book :) as you can tell from the pictures - the kids really got into the experiments.

better late than never

this year we didn't have a very traditional easter... helen and i went to a performance of mary poppins in the late afternoon on easter sunday and we celebrated with some other american friends at the school with an easter dinner on the saturday before easter.

so, needless to say - we did not get a chance to decorate our boiled eggs until the tuesday after easter - better late than never - i guess :)

Happy Mother's Day

ME!

my mom and me :)

I got a quote a day calendar about motherhood after christmas and i've been collecting a few quotes....

"Babies don't come with instructions on the back or batteries that can be removed. Motherhood is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can't leave the office." Pat Schroeder

"Don't get so involved in the duties of your life and your children that you forget the pleasure. Remember why you had children." Lois Wyse

"The noblest calling in the world is that of mother. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all arts, the greatest of all professions." David O. McKay

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, bu the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." Rajneesh

"The role of mother is probably the most important career a woman can have." Janet Mary Riley

"Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee." David Frost

easter photo outtakes

she's walking!!... no - she's running now!

....now she's sad that we made her sit down

... and now she is going to cry about it

.... still crying

smiling!

i'll be honest - i took WAY more than 5 photos to get the "perfect" shot... but just looking at these photos makes me laugh!