News and pictures.

So today is the first day of school after Herbstferien, or Fall Break.  It really felt like it was a forever-long break, what with going on a road trip the first week of it.  Also yesterday we also got to be lazy and stay home from church (except for Brett, because he had to lead the meeting) because with the 8-hour time difference between here and Salt Lake City, they have to broadcast the sessions of conference at different times, so the Sunday afternoon session isn’t ever broadcasted on the correct day, so instead, they broadcast it in place of church on a later week in October.  We don’t go because the first time we tried going once and it was a disaster.  The main room is of course broadcasted in German, but they do have a smaller room that they turn it on in English, but our little wiggly kids in a small room (and by small I do mean small) also housing bookshelves and other people who are actually trying to listen was a no go.  So we stay home and listen on the internet.  

So anyway, I thought I’d give an update of life besides trips.  Because life is not just beaches and cow-parades, even for those of us living in Switzerland.

So here’s how the last couple weeks went.  After we got back from Croatia Brett really needed a haircut, so I was all set to give him one, but then we got in an argument about how it was to be done (see number 12 on this list), and then he said, “I’ll just do it myself then.”  So I left, and he buzzed his head.  Then the next day when he came home from work and I saw him we both just started laughing. 

Then when I was driving down to the bottom of the parking garage at the grocery store I accidentally got too close to the wall and scraped and dented the van.  Brett got mad.  I got mad.  I got estimates on how much it would cost to fix it.  Brett said we couldn’t go on our trip we’ve been planning.  I cried.  And stayed mad.  It was a pretty miserable week.  But now we don’t think we’ll have someone fix it, we’ll just have Brett fix it the best he can with the resources he has available, and then leave it, because we probably wouldn’t even get back the money we’d put into fixing it when we sell it.  I don’t know if the trip is on or not.  I kept telling Brett a long time ago, “It just keeps getting put off.  If we don’t book our tickets now, something’s going to come up.”  And he said, “Nothing’s going to come up.”  Famous last words.

Yesterday I had to go get the winter stuff out of the attic because it’s cold enough to merit hats and big coats.  I’m hoping it will warm up again, but right now it’s pretty chilly and most mornings it’s foggy and gray.

Orrin has just barely cut his top two teeth, with the two next to them almost here as well.  He has NOT been sleeping well at all.  Lately, but also ever.   All of my other babies would at this point be waking up once a night to nurse and that’s it.  Which is so easy.  But this kid gets up 3 or 4 or 5 times.  Grrr.  But he’s sooooo adorable and he says dadada and I love him to pieces.

Talmage has started speaking!!!  It’s awesome.  It’s really cute too, because he will say full sentences, each word very carefully, so it sounds something like this-- “You. come. here. and. get. me. down. now. Mom.”  :)  Also, I love how he says the kids names.  Orrin is  ‘On (like own) Baby.’  Ethne is ‘Henny’ and Jethro is ‘Lello.’  Unfortunately, he never says Hazel because he still thinks it’s too hard.  Also, and this is the cutest thing ever!- he says ‘Achtung!’  ha ha!!  He must have picked it up at nursery, because he said it without any prompting from any of us- when Brett was lifting him into the tub and Hazel was in the way of where he was going to sit.  He also says ‘danke’ instead of ‘thank-you.’  Thank-you is too hard so we told him to say danke. 

Ethne is almost 5!!  I can’t believe it.  It’s really weird to me to think that Talmage is 3 now, which is the age Ethne had just turned when we moved here.  So strange.  Also, I bought fly swatters the other day, and Ethne said, “Oh, you got fly swappers!”  It was soo funny.  Now we all say that we have to swap the flies.

Hazel is very sweet and cute but I have no stories to relate about her at this time.  :)

Jethro is very very into an online game called Howrse.  You get to choose and take care of a horse or pony, and you can race them or buy/sell them, breed them, etc. etc.  It gets intense.  Jethro has been playing for almost two months now, and every day he’s always asking me, “Can I go feed my horses now?”  He convinced me, Hazel, and Ethne to get a horse too (I did like picking my horse’s breed, color, and name, but then I lost interest and Jethro keeps berating me for letting my horse go uncared for).

Brett, however, once he began, caught the fever just as badly, or WORSE, than Jethro.  Now he’s always taking care of his horses and he’s concerned about their genetic potential and skill numbers and whatnot.  It’s a bit silly, but it’s a lot cheaper than my dad’s horse addiction.  :)

And.  My sister Amy is officially engaged.  I would post a picture but she said I may as well wait until the invites get sent out (just know that all of my sisters and sisters-in-law are some kind of gorgeous models).  Will I be going?  I hope so.  My brother Ethan who plays  football for Snow College got his knee blown out and is out of the game.  (Sounds familiar, right? Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be football players.)  My sister-in-law Kris is in a relationship.  It’s official, because Facebook said so.  Will there be yet another wedding while I’m out of the country??

Now pictures.

My cute boys.

 

 

Look how excited Orrin is to get his picture taken.  :)

 

 

 

 

And, to round out this post, here is a link to maybe the funniest youtube video I have ever watched:

http://youtu.be/v5Lmkm5EF5E