Tana's 3rd birthday!

Tana enjoyed her train car cake for her birthday. The girls decorated the chocolate cars and Mommy made strawberry later.

We celebrated Tana's 3rd birthday at our new home in Sittard, Netherlands. After the first week of school and all the unpacking we've been doing, we decided to hang out at home. Dan spent a few hours in the afternoon putting together the girls' new swing. It took us a long time to find one to buy in the area and we finally found it at an unlikely place called Heuts, an auto store, after looking through an ad we got in the mail.

We used frosting as glue to stick the candy on the train cars.

Loralynn and I decorated our covered patio while Tana took a nap. We ordered home delivery pizza and doners for dinner and shortly after, our friends Diane and Frank came over. The girls were utterly delighted to have their company. They got a tour of our messy house, and then we went outside to eat cake and open presents.

It was a simple celebration, and Tana loved it. We had made her train cake the day before. The girls loved decorating the chocolate train cars with candy and then after they went to bed I made a second strawberry train set and frosted them. It was a total of 17 train cars (I left the second engine car off)!

Tana opened her presents and was delighted about each one: a giant dog floor puzzle and water paint

Good thing it rained on Tana's birthday.

coloring book, a mermaid Barbie, and Barbie car, kids' owl umbrella, and a princess block puzzle with six different scenes. We gave Loralynn 10 euro to buy Tana a gift a few days before, and she bought two Dutch board books (useful for us as parents to learn Dutch as well!), a wooden alphabet puzzle, and a rolling butterfly toy. She helped Daddy wrap them that night. She kept the gifts a secret almost until the end! When Tana went to open Loralynn's gifts at her celebration, Loralynn exploded with excited and told everything that was in the wrapping before Tana could get it torn open. I think Loralynn was more excited than Tana! It was so sweet and cute to watch.

Later with Oma and Opa Wilson on Skype, the girls opened a Dora memory and Candy Land game. They wanted to play right away. Tana's attention span for Candy Land isn't there yet, but she really enjoyed the memory (and is really good at it for just barely turning 3 years old! They also put the dog floor puzzle together before bedtime and played with the Barbies. The $3 umbrella we bought at WalMart this summer has been fought over a lot already and now Loralynn has decided she wants an umbrella for her birthday. It's very suitable for our weather here in the Netherlands, so why not? It was sunny the first week of August but since then the weather has been in the low 60s and rainy. Nonetheless, the birthday party was so fun.

Nutmeg, our daschund also celebrated her 8th birthday on the same day as Tana. I'm not making this up. Montana truly was born on the day that Nutmeg turned 5 years old. Tana said she loves sharing her birthday with Nutmeg. The sweet doggie got a "doggie cake" with candles and a new fluffy pillow. She was a happy dog.

Check out the video of the happy birthday song for Tana and then for Nutmeg:

More photos of the party:

Tana sports the Wilson family birthday hat. One size fits all.

Tana and the giant dog floor puzzle from Frank and Diane.

Nutmeg on her new soft birthday pillow.

Friends Diane and Frank.

Our little family at Tana's 3rd birthday party.

Daddy and Tana happily under her new umbrella.

Vacation Bible School in Brunssum, Netherlands

Loralynn attended Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the first time this year. It was a fabulous introduction to our new community here in the Netherlands. At first glance, it seemed that the excitement of it all was overwhelming for Loralynn, but I know she really did enjoy the week-long event. She spent three hours there each morning and was so excited to show us the coloring that she did and the toy that she got each day. "Weird Animals" was the theme and the VBS week taught the kids that God loves them even if they are different. I loved the music CD that she brought home, and we listened to it each morning and evening (and more after VBS was over!). Loralynn started singing along to the songs at home on Friday after the week of activities was complete. She talked to me a few times about giving money so that kids in India could have clean water (a charity VBS collected for at the end of the week). We pulled out her money pouch, and she picked out a small amount of coins.

On Sunday at chapel, Loralynn saw three adults that she had gotten to know at VBS and rushed me over to meet them. She had told me earlier that she liked the grown-ups better than the kids. In any case, I was floored that Loralynn's usual shyness in large groups of people was overcome during the greeting time at chapel so that she took me meet these three ladies whose company she really enjoyed at VBS. I am so thankful for all the people that made this VBS week so wonderful for Loralynn and indirectly for our family!

Our last days in the U.S.

Standing next to a real shuttle that had been to outer space was quite exhilarating!

It's hard to think that it might be two more years before we can visit America again. We had such a splendid summer traveling around and visiting family. Our last two days in the U.S. we spent close to the airport of our departure (LAX).

These are the stats of the space shuttle we saw!

Monday morning we met up with my college roommates and their families. The dads took the five kids to Kidspace Children's Museum while Sara, Evangelia, and myself went to tea with baby Cooper. It was such a relaxed time with no distractions-- almost like we were having our Friday tea at our apartment in college. The only one missing was Jen.

Agapi and Gabriela Zoe speed on a bike at Kidspace.

We all returned to Nate and Sara's Culver City condo in the late afternoon. The guys brought the kids back and then left again to get dinner. It was fun to just be together even in the chaos of kids. The little girls spent a majority of their time dressing up as princesses and role-playing in the bedroom and then playing with baby Cooper.

The next day we met and took the metro to the California Science Center. There was a little bit of everything there. The most unique display was the special exhibit of the space shuttle "Endeavor." It flew it's last mission to space in 2011. In 2012 the enormous shuttle was attached to an airplane and flown to Los Angeles. Then it traveled with pomp and circumstance through the streets of LA to be displayed at the science center.

For dinner Tuesday, we all ate at a make-your-own-pizza restaurant and then had to split up and go our separate ways. My girls absolutely loved hanging out with Gabriela Zoe, Ariel Agape, and Molly. They were so sad to say goodbye. I was, too. Sometimes I miss having close girl roommates. The wonderful thing, though, is that this last winter Jen got us started on calling each other every Tuesday to pray. We don't often have all four of us each week, but it has been a precious time even when only two or three of us can make it.

Left to right: Molly J., Agapi L., Loralynn W., Montana W., and Gabriela Zoe L.

Sandra, Evangelia, Sara, and Jen is missing

Strolling around the California Science Center

Kidspace Children's Museum was a fun place for the five girls and their daddies. 

Molly J. had a great selection of dress up clothes.

Montana and Loralynn enjoyed their free metro ride.

Mother and daughter smile for the camera

Cousins in Escondido, California!

Montana and Bri play in the kitchen and make tea and pizza.

After a miserably long and seemingly endless drive from Merced to Escondido, we tumbled into my brother's home. Our trip took 10 hours including 1.5 hours for meals/gas stops. Our GPS had said it was just over a six-hour drive... We were smooth going until we hit LA. You would think we would remember to account for the horrid rush hour/Friday traffic since we lived in LA for seven years.

Ryan had lots of fun LEGOS.

The girls jumped right into playing with the outdoor toys when we arrived. It was tough to pull them away for bedtime because we were cooped up in the car for so long.

Saturday morning we were refreshed. We spent the morning at the house relaxing and the girls playing with all the new toys. There wasn't much interaction with cousins Ryan and Brianna at first. Once we settled in at the Encinitas beach in the afternoon, the sand pit that Donald dug brought them closer together.

My goal during this visit to the beach was to make Montana realize the fun of sand and ocean waves since she had decided to sit out in Monterey. That didn't happen this time. I held her above the wave splashing my legs for about 20 minutes. Then I quickly dipped her toes in. She got a kick out of it and we kept dipping for a few more minutes. Within no time, she was fully immersed in the water with only her shoulder and head above. She couldn't get enough of the assisted jumping over splashing waves. She easily jumped into the sand play near our towels after that, too. Mission accomplished!

Ryan and Bri jump in the waves with their daddy.

We wrapped up our beach visit just in time to pick up dinner on the way home and get cleaned up for Saturday evening church. Tana and Bri were dropped off in the nursery and Ryan and Loralynn came with us to the family friendly service in the gym (the kid's church workers had the month off). It was like no other I have ever attended, but I must say that I really liked have Loralynn and Ryan with us to listen and discuss, play games and do a craft as a family.

On Sunday morning we relaxed again. After lunch we went to San Diego Children's Discovery Museum. It was a fun time of diverse activities and play for the kids and us. We treated the kids to Dairy Queen ice cream afterwards and then went back to Donald and Jamie's house. They played outside for a while before bath time and Ryan caught a lizard for Loralynn. She was fascinated by it and must had held it for 15 minutes. When it suddenly escaped, she cried for her lost friend.

The next morning we said our goodbyes and head back toward LA. Only two days of our U.S. vacation left...

This was Tana before she discovered the joys of sand and ocean.

My cute baby girl.

Loralynn instantly fell in love with her lizard.

An adorable cousin!

Loralynn enjoys the lizard Ryan caught for her.

Scooters were popular our last evening visiting.

To Carmel with Oma and Opa

Loralynn loved building the castle and moat and watching the waves wash it away.

After our busy weekend with Oma and Opa Gosnell, we packed up and drove to Carmel/Monterery for a quick get-away Tuesday through Thursday. Tuesday was spent traveling. In the afternoon Dan, myself and the girls went to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. We hiked along the coast and saw seals, otters, and perhaps 6 or 8 humpback whales! The whales were off in the distance, but when two of them started slapping the water repeatedly with their tails it was quite a show! We took a hike with a volunteer guide, Tana touched poison oak, and we managed to not drive our guide away with kid antics.

Tana wanted to touch the squishy jellies.

We brought fried chicken and macaroni to the beach for a picnic in the evening. Tana spent most of her time sitting with Oma and Opa on a towel. She didn't want to have anything to do with the sand or the water. Loralynn and I built and rebuilt a castle with a moat that went down to the ocean. When big waves came in, they filled up the moat and our castle sometimes stayed erect.

Wednesday morning we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was chock full of fish and critters. The kids really enjoyed the rooms with the jellies bouncing about. We tried the penguin show but gave up when the girls couldn't see well enough for their attention to be captured. Later we sat outside on bleachers and watched a very different sort of live musical about repurposed materials shaped as sea life. I am always so excited about touching sea life so when I found that the touch pools were up too high for my girls to access, I was rather disappointed. They didn't totally miss out-- we held them awkwardly and bent ourselves over uncomfortably for a while so they could at least stick their hands in. The aquarium kept the girls' attention for a large portion of the day. We watched the otters playfully swim under water and saw how crashing waves affect the sea life under the water.

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve was beautiful!

In the late afternoon, we found our cars and drove to Fisherman's Wharf. We ate some inexpensive clam chowder in a bread bowl while Loralynn and Montana ate battered fish and fries. Ice cream was a special treat afterwards.

Thursday morning we ate a grocery store breakfast on the hotel's patio with a warm fire. We decided to break up our drive with a stop at San Juan Bautista State Park and Mission. It was a hot day, but the museum was fascinating. We found out that cowboys would often ride their horse right into the bar and drink and play billiards while still in the saddle. The preserved buildings interesting to tour to see how life was when the town was vibrant in the mid-1800s. We ate lunch at a small burger joint in town that served excellent hamburgers and hotdogs.

That concluded our last day with Oma and Opa Gosnell. The next morning we said our goodbyes and drove way down south.

This was as close as Tana got to the ocean in Monterey.

Almost every photo we took of Loralynn at the beach captured a big grin.

Tana loved pulling the stuffed eels out of their holes.

This is a full and happy tummy of ice cream.

Where's the toilet at this 1800s hotel? The chamber pot will take care of your needs.

There were a lot of rules for stagecoach travelers. Read them below.

Another bedroom at the San Juan Bautista State Historical Park.

Large signs at the mission said the building was not safe in the event of an earthquake.

Saying goodbye to Oma with a last story.

Tana packed a purse with Opa. It was time for us to say goodbye.

Visitors at California Oma and Opa's house

Montana and Loralynn watch baby Haley as Oma holds her and talks to Katrina.

We arrived at Oma and Opa Gosnell's house Friday night and just the next morning visitors stopped in. Dan's college roommate, Ryan W., and wife Joslyn and kids came from Porterville to hang out and visit for the day. Their two girls, Gracie and Katelyn, immediately connected with our girls and started giggling and playing together. We hung out at the house for lunch and then went to Kiddieland downtown for the afternoon. The carnival rides were free and the kids had a blast! Afterwards, we walked through the small Merced Zoo. The animals were very active despite the heat and it was so fun to watch them. We enjoyed a home-cooked meal together before they departed for home.

We attended Sunday school and church Sunday morning and shortly after lunch my childhood friend Jennifer came to visit with her husband Rocky. They were married last August and this was the first time for all of us to meet her husband. During the afternoon, my sister Tiki and four of her kids also stopped in. We had a grand pizza dinner all together.

Keeping up the busy pace, we went into JCPenny's for portraits of the girls and Oma and Opa Monday morning. Later that day, my high school friend, Katrina J., stopped by with her 10-day old baby Haley. Tana kept asking over and over to hold the baby, so I sat down with her on the couch. I was sure the holding would be short-lived, but when I asked Tana if she was all done she said no. She held Haley for a good amount of time and touched her fingers and toes and nose. Loralynn also held Haley in my lap and was amused by the experience.

Gracie W. and Loralynn eat lunch. They really enjoyed each other's company.

Katelyn and Montana ride in a car at Merced's Kiddieland.

Jennifer and Rocky R. are newly married lovebirds.

Montana loved holding baby Haley.

Loralynn took a turn holding 10-day old Haley.

Proud mama Katrina snaps our picture.