Candy Cane City - a Horse Paradise

On Sunday, Tracy and Marta took Gabi and Rania to visit some special citizens of Chevy Chase, Maryland - the horses at Meadowbrook Stables. The horses were out of the stables, and made fast friends with the girls, following them around the paddocks and angling for a pat, or some grass (which Gabi considerately pulled and fed them until a stable worker put an end to that).

(Specifically, Gabi kept pulling more and more grass up for all of the horses in the whole pen. She was running around the pen feeding them until the stable worker yelled at her, saying "Don't feed the horses girls" (rania too). Then a minute later Gabi was feeding them again, and she yelled "I said, don't feed them!' Gabi: "Oh, I forgot." ( yeah right). So the stable worker said "Well, don't forget." It was pretty funny. The stable worker later told us that it makes the horses more aggressive, that's why you can't feed them. But it was fun while it lasted! Marta had gone to get the car, so this is an inserted detail by Tracy.) Fun times.

Dance Night

After being inspired by the boys, we had a dance performance before bed. Quite the acts!

Into the City

We had a wonderful Saturday trip into the city. We visited the newly remodeled Museum of American History. Seeing the massive "banner" that inspired The Star Spangled Banner was a highlight -- as well as letting the kids play a bit in some of the exhibits.

Due to a bunch of festivals around town, we aborted our trip to Chinatown in order and ended up at a food court -- where we stumbled across the Old Postal Office -- with a spectacular (and free) visit to the 12th floor tower -- where we found a great view of DC.

Council of the Third-borns

Alas, the grandparents have been very curious as to the interactions of the third-borns. So we dedicate this post to grandpa & grandma. Tasha immediately herded the kids into her domain, beginning a rousing series of Candyland adventures.


There has been some bossing of each other, but the little ones have greatly enjoyed interacting with each other, and there have been plenty of adventures -- and fun times.

Quite cute!

Playing at the Park

Mark and Marta had a big delivery of a new refrigerator and new dish washing machine -- so we took the kids to the Wheaton Regional Park. What a great park. There was a huge slide - and Rania was initially hesitant, but after one time down with her daddy, she was hooked. She spent maybe 15-20 times going down the slide, running back up to the top, and down again -- over and over.


The other kids had lots of fun playing on the tire swing and many of the other slides, ropes, bars and cool things that were there.

Panorama View

Check out this short panorama to see the glorious day at Aunt Marcia's.

Aunt Marcia's Condo

We had the absolutely picture perfect day at Aunt Marcia's Condo. We set off, and the cousins had an absolutely great time together. A bit of time in Lake Erie, and we certainly enjoyed seeing the place where we spent most of our honeymoon some ten summers ago.


There were fun toys that some neighbors had, and the kids had lots of fun in the pool.


Many, many thanks to Aunt Marcia for the wonderful day!

We also tried taking a family shot -- with limited success.

Fun by the Pond

One of the great highlights of staying with Tracy's family is the little pond behind their house. It is so wonderful to have grandpa there, playing with the kids, showing them how to feed the fish, and of course, the adventures of wild rabbit! Rania has greatly enjoyed feeding the fish, and it is such a blessing to have grandpa interacting with our kids!

Fun at the Quockert Lake

This is a short video of our marvelous day at the Quockert Lake.

The Quockert Lake

We had a wonderful day at Jason & Nicki's Lake. (Okay, so it isn't their personal lake, but they are members.) What a wonderful place. We had a nice BBQ, the kids dug in the dirt and swam in the lake; there was plenty of wind, and the kids had a blast playing in the water or on the playground.

What a spectacular setting so close to their house -- we will have to be back there soon!

Kaputcha -- in honor of Grandma

The kids put together a fun presentation for Grandma. Here is their skit, in her honor.

A Birthday for Mom!

We had lots of fun celebrating a birthday -- for Tracy's mom. We couldn't quite have the full presentation that is worthy of a birthday celebration, but the kids did pull off a skit (see blog posting), and Tracy managed to make an incredible ice cream cake that was about ten stories high. Tracy also dedicated a very, very, very serious song to her mom -- "Put your Jammies On" by Go Fish.

Jason also pulled off a dramatic presentation ala "It's a Wonderful Life" to show the alternative life of Julie Renaux as a jewelery salesperson at Dillards, a minister talking about the . . . Ark of the Covenant (or the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, perhaps), or a broadway singer, or as a Ms. Ohio Beauty pageant winner.

It was all great fun!

Paulding County Fair

With most of the county fairs not happening until when we will be back in Malaysia, we took advantage of the first fair of the season -- and drove out to Paulding, Ohio. They had the horse show (The girls greatly enjoyed seeing the beautifully groomed horses!), the barns for all the animals, we ate hot dogs and funnel cakes, saw the harness racers practice going around the track while we were exploring the grandstand. They had four young boys doing mud wrestling, and we even caught the rabbit show.


Unfortunately, the few rides hadn't opened yet -- so we didn't get a chance to go on the handful of rides.

Hairdos & Basking on the Deck

One of the huge benefits of staying with Tracy's family is the beautiful deck that overlooks a little pond. What a great sight to look out and see the water.


The kids also got into doing up each other's hair -- here are their great productions!

Horse Riding

Nothing like a stop at some horse-rides just a few miles away. We stopped by; a few dollars later, our kids got to ride on some big horses. They had a great time, and of course were happy to be accompanied by their cousins.

Carrie's Birthday

It was fun to be here to celebrate Carrie's 40th birthday. After last year's birthday with Perry turning 40, it is now the annual pilgrimage to 40 -- with Carrie joining the ranks and yours truly not too far behind.


In honor the the birthday girl, the kids put on a play -- which was full of lots of laughs and impersonations, but the theme and deeper meaning mystified a few of the adults.

The amazing O-H-I-O

We are loving the start of our summer, with spectacular weather in the low-mid 70s and lots of fun times with cousins. After the heat and humidity of Malaysia, it has been a great reprieve to enjoy the cooler weather -- even needing a jacket at times!

Our kids have greatly enjoyed seeing their cousins, and every morning starts with our kids asking, "When can we go to Aunt Carrie's house?" Or "When are our cousins coming over." It has been great to see family -- with Jason always providing plenty of laughs for the family.


We also have enjoyed seeing how much our cousins have grown -- and yet how much fun our kids are always having with their cousins. It seems like they can pick up so quickly from when the left off.

Of course, the feasts, usually prepared by grandma, are absolutely delicious. We are constantly having feasts, and I'm sure our kids don't appreciate the finer culinary experiences! -- And grandpa provides lots of fun experiences for the kids -- at least when he isn't acting like a jungle gym!

A huge bean plant

As part of a science project, the students planted seeds. The seeds then turned into little plants in little cups.

But since Spring Break was approaching, the students brought home the little cups. The tiny bits of soil were planted next to our fence outside.

Two months, some tropical sunlight and plenty of rain -- WOW! We couldn't believe the size of the bean plant now!

Gabi sure learned some fun lessons about plants.

Parent Appreciation

Gabi INSISTED that her parents come to the parent appreciation song that the prep-juniors were singing for the parents. So Doug managed to take a break from school (right before getting sick and spending several days at home in bed), and went to Melawati to enjoy seeing Gabi and her class sing a delightful song.