Trip Memories xoxo

These are some things we want to remember:

• David Smithson - the name David signed when he, for some reason, agreed to sign a petition in Lucern, only to (mid-signature) rightly decide it was probably a mistake to give his name and address to a random person in a foreign country.
• "McDonalds!" - our best friend (especially Caroline's) in any country.
• "My foot is sparkley!" - Caroline's comment about her foot that fell asleep in the car.
• Anything Sound of Music - sang all of the songs and watched the movie multiple times throughout the entire trip.
• "Snickers taste good, like a candy bar should..." - hand-clapping song performed frequently by Madison and Elizabeth.
• "Cheeseball... I will obey you........ JINX!" - I'm not really sure what this is, but it was said frequently and always resulted in great laughter.  After someone was JINXed, they couldn't talk unless someone else said their name 3 times.
• Pizza Pie song by Caroline - this can only be explained by video.
• "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews and anything Toby Mac or Kanakuk - this music got lots of playtime throughout the trip and was greatly loved by all.
• 5 in one giant bed in Rome for 7 nights - we shared a room in Rome and pushed two double beds together to make one giant bed (with one person sleeping on the crack each night) only to realize we actually had a rollaway, disguised as an ottoman and discovered by Caroline, on the day we were checking out.

The girls were in an American Girl fashion show this weekend to support children's charities.  Elizabeth was Rebecca, Madison was Julie, and Caroline was a Bitty Twin.  Such a great time & so many kids at Sunflower House and Charlie's House will benefit in addition to my own, just from the experience. So grateful - to be on this end of the benefit.

Here's What It's Like to Ride on an Alpine Slide in Austria:

by Elizabeth

1. First you ride up the hill backwards.  You are pulled by a stick attached to a line.  It was fun because it is fast at the end and you could see the lake the whole way up.
2. Then once you get to the top, you move your car to the track.  A worker put some special pads on the bottom of the car.
3. Next you choose the track you want to ride on.
4. Then you slide down. You can go fast by pushing a stick down or slow by pulling it up.
5. It was really fun!!

This is riding up to the top of the hill.

This is the view on the ride up.

What I Love About the Parks I've Visited in Europe

by Caroline

Pirates! This was a pirate ship in a park in London.  It was fun!!

We were on a swing in London.  It was more fun than a normal swing.

We were swinging on this too.

We went on a see-saw in Belgium.  We even rode it with a little boy and a little girl from Belgium.

This was a long slide that was tall.  We had to climb a pyramid to get to the top.

Madison is climbing the rock wall on the pyramid slide in Austria.

A zip line!!!!  My first time on a zip line and I loved it!!!

We are finally in London and so happy to be in an English-speaking country.  Amazing how much easier life can be when you don't have to reword every sentence to make it more understandable for a non-English speaker.

Chipotle is alive and well in London!  Just missing the giant vat of iced tea.  :( 

How to disguise an ugly building in the middle of London - maybe an idea for ACU?

St. James Park in London

Guess who...

Boating in Hyde Park

A familiar site

The Sound Of Music Tour

by Madison

We went on the Sound of Music Tour while we were in Salzburg(which was my idea) and I loved it. We got to see the gazibo(I don't know how to spell it), one of the two palaces that they used in the movie, the wedding church that they used in the movie, the gardens that they used during the Do Re Mi song in the movie, the trees that the kids were climbing in during the movie, the lake that all of the kids fell in during the movie, the bridge that they walked around, and we got to see the top of the Nonburg Abbey. There were a lot of other things that we saw and learned on the tour but it would forever to explain it all. But there was one thing that I remember her talking about. I remember our tour guide telling us about the history of Salzburg and of the real Von Trapp Family.

This isn't meant to be a Happy Birthday blog, but since all 5 of our birthdays are between the end of April and middle of June, it ends up being a frequent topic of conversation during that part of the year.  Today is David's day.  Sadly, most of the time it is a "breathe a deep sigh of relief because all of the kids' birthdays are finished" day.  He doesn't mind.  That's just the way he is.

David will spend hours after a long day at work - make that days - planning a family trip for us so that every hotel is perfect, my favorite restaurants are found, every car trip is as short as possible, and every bit of free time is filled with memory-makers.  He never disappoints and still impresses me after over 20 years of being his date.

As a dad, he's never too busy to lead a 6th grade Young Life scavenger hunt after a long day at work, scramble up a rock wall and squeeze down the kid's tunnel slide to get a laugh from his daughters, or snuggle them at the end of a long day when what he'd really like to do is prop his feet up and watch some TV.  He sits through 4 hour Sound of Music tours (actually singing along just to see what type of response he can get from his girls), and he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice his "driving through the mountains time" (one of his favorite pastimes) to make an alpine slide detour.

He loves being a dad and invests his time and efforts to that end.  I love that about him.  Happy Birthday, David.  You are well-loved.

Today we celebrate Elizabeth.  These pictures describe her perfectly.

There are not many people who would take the time to cut a heart out of her toast and work forever to create a "gift" for you.  Elizabeth would.

Over the years, she's collected hundreds of these... for me.  Sometimes on the way out of school between the school's front door and our car.

She is often the first to notice if someone is upset or sad. Her apologies are heartfelt and emotion-laden.  She may not be the first to jump into the center of a crowd, but as a friend, you will not find one more loyal.  She inspires me to greater empathy and less judgment.

God speaks to her through music, and she listens so intently to Him.  She is so eager and willing to make a place of honor for Him in her life.  She trusts Him to help her in times of trouble - to defeat her  "giants" and give her courage to step out of the boat in faith.

 She's so creative - often grabbing the camera to take a creative picture of the architecture or an animal (all of which she loves)...

 or pose for a silly picture she invents.  Like this one where she's lifting the ancient Irish burial site.

When she was born 10 years ago, I got my first glimpse of sisterhood and loved what I saw.  May God help us as we endeavor to love her and lead her closer to Him.  Happy Birthday, Elizabeth.