Paul, Lynne, Anja & Isabel in West Lafayette

Hmmm ....What do you do...Laugh or Cry?

2008-10-12T19:15:00.001-04:00

This is what I had to deal with this morning! The real advantage of having your children get a little older is that they need less and less constant oversight. Of course I may wish to revise this sentiment in later years but for now, roll with me. Last night long after I put Anja to bed I started to hear the familiar pitter patter across the landing floor, over and back a few times. It didn’t sound good so I went to investigate. Anja had found literally the only items of make-up that Lynne possesses. Mascara all over her hands and face.

This little episode was then followed by what greeted me this morning! There was this thick aqueous cream all over her hair. I was quite angry and inside was also dying with laughter. I did a poor job of conveying my sentiments since I started laughing mid way through our little chat!

Birthday for Randy and Dinorah

2008-10-12T19:04:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we took ourselves over to Randy and Lorraine's house for a dual birthday celebration. Randy turned 25 and Dinorah, 21 :)) We only stayed a couple of hours but we had a lot of fun. Isabel was the star of the show, everybody wanted to hold and cuddle her. The highlight of the evening; the cake and ice-cream of course!!

Happy birthday to you both once again, it was great to see you!

Goodbye Mummy.....hello Gran!

2008-10-11T15:51:00.001-04:00

This morning Lynne left for Denmark on a business trip. She will act as an external examiner on a PhD thesis at the University of Copenhagen. She returns from her trip late on Thursday night via the University of Kansas where she will give a seminar. We are getting relief here at home however.....

Lynne's mother, Pat or better known round here as Gran, actually arrives from London this evening. We are checking her flight status right now. She usually makes it over twice a year and this will be her usual Autumn visit, coordinated of course to help with Lynne's departure. More on her arrival tomorrow!

Weekend Update

2008-10-05T20:00:00.001-04:00

Weather this weekend was absolutely fabulous. We took it easy for the most part, walks, cooking, a little shopping, visiting neighbours, Lynne did a little gardening and Anja became addicted to this coloring program online on the Fisher Price website. She is getting to be a dab hand using the mouse, she even started to show me how do it at one stage (not really sure whose personality trait that is :)

Our family blog was featured in our local paper, the Journal and Courier this week. They run a weekly column on local bloggers; the article can be read here.

All of you taking a browse for the first time, welcome. Enjoy the site, leave a comment and feel free to come visit us at anytime.

Weekend's over, hope you all have great weekend.

Here goes the weekend...

2008-10-04T09:26:00.001-04:00

It's Saturday and we are looking forward to the weekend. Lynne went over to Kaisa's house last night for a girls gathering. Brad, Aulden Reina and Matt were here at our house kicking back for the weekend.

The day outside looks nice, experts are calling for clear blue skies and 70F so we are going to try heading out for a bike ride later.

Currently Lynne is upstairs sorting the girls clothes, Anja and Isabel are "helping". I snapped the two pictures below just a few minutes ago. Enjoy the weekend everybody!

Babies

2008-09-30T19:28:00.004-04:00

We have two new babies to let you all know about. Interestingly, they were both born on the same day, one late and as you may read, one quite early.

Keith and Sam, Lynne's brother and sister-in-law, had a baby girl yesterday in London. We have no name to report on yet and I'm hoping we will have an update in a day or so with some pictures and more specific details (Keith??). Congratulations to you all, we are thinking of you all. They also have two boys, Thomas and James and an older little girl called Ella.

Lindsay and Mike also had their little boy, Burke, yesterday. Not really sure if you have been following their story, Lindsay was on bed rest for over three months and has only recently been taken off. She got to 32 weeks this past weekend but had to have emergency cesarean section yesterday. Burke is doing well now. Congratulations once again to you all, we are thinking of you. They also have a little girl, Ruby.

Chillin out this Sunday....

2008-09-28T14:44:00.002-04:00

Today we are taking it easy after our three stop activity around the counties of Indiana yesterday. This morning Lynne headed off for a bike ride with Kaisa while myself and the girls played with play dough, did some coloring and called Granny and Grandad Owens. I have just returned from my bike ride and it appears the girls have gone out to the park. I have just passed my summer goal of 1000 miles which I'm pretty pleased about.

Below are a few additional photos from yesterday. We drove over to Pine Village and called in at Dispennett's Orchard. They were doing free apple dipping for kids which as you can imagine Anja was just thrilled about (I didn't see any adults complain mind you).

Pumpkin Patch

2008-09-27T20:01:00.002-04:00

Today was a fun filled autumn day. Weather was perfect, a brisk morning with a clear blue sky and the sun was up in no time. We headed off with the Mauer family to Oxford Indiana to visit a pumpkin patch to collect our annual fare. This farm, Millennium Farms, is very well organized and a great activity for children. They had a hay ride out to collect your pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, a bouncing castle, pony rides, a very good petting zoo area with lots of animals. We packed a rough picnic and it was great fun. We did this last year also and it may well become our little autumn tradition (Anja wants to go back tomorrow).

I took lots of pictures which are posted to a web album space.

Sleep Over and Water Fights

2008-09-26T20:38:00.001-04:00

Last weekend Anja had her first ever sleep over. Randy and Lorraine had their grandchildren Scotlyn, Cy and Logan over for the weekend and Anja joined them for a fun packed evening. A bike ride, bonfire, grilled brats, S'mores, fun filled baths, ice-cream and lots of reading ensured a fun packed evening. I think the kids had fun also :). They had a balloon fight the next morning which turned into an all our water fight with the hose and various watering devices.

Anja had a great time and was exhausted after (thanks Randy and Lorraine).

For those of you on the other side of the pond not familiar with what a S'more is, it's a traditional campfire treat of roasted marshmallow popular in the US.

Pandora.com

2008-09-16T20:17:00.004-04:00

So we noticed on Lindsay and Mikes blog the other day that they had started listening to Pandora. It's this free online music radio type site. Anyhow, apparently this has been up and running for some time but we have just started listening and it really is great, really cool (thanks Lindsay).

Have been listening now for a few days and I have already found a couple of artists that I really like but had never heard before. Plus of course it virtually only plays music you like. Awesome!!

I really like Colbie Caillat, an artist I had never heard of previously. Admittedly I never really listen to music radio. Anyhow, check her music out, plus she has a rather interesting and different story of how she got started.

Lindsay is still hanging in there by the way, she has done so well. She is 30 weeks now.

Overdue Update....

2008-09-16T20:12:00.001-04:00

Hey...I know it's been a while....

Not a great deal to update you all on. Life is chugging along, the girls are getting bigger and the election here in the US is getting closer but ever more all consuming. Can't rally look at any TV or website without it permeating through. We survived hurricanes Gustav and Ike, we're not really in any typical hurricane path, way to far inland. We are certainly moving from Summer to Autumn here in West Lafayette, a little cooler in the mornings.

I have started running in earnest again, had quite the lull over the summer (i typically prefer biking during the summer months). I plan on running another half marathon on 01 November which is rapidly approaching. Yikes....need to get some miles in...

Girls are great, Anja is busy at pre-school and Isabel is getting steadier, faster and more inquisitive by the day...oh boy!!

We are ceratinly moving from Summer to Autumn here in West Lafayette, a little cooler in the mornings.

Jonathan and Family off to Australia!

2008-09-02T20:16:00.001-04:00

Jonathan, Triona, Diarmuid and Nara will soon be moving to Australia (not really sure what's going to happen to Rosie and Kipper). They leave in just over a week, 11th September I believe. We wish them the very best of luck. I'm sure it will be exciting for them, moving to Brisbane, for just under one year. I believe their plan is to be back next August, in time for Clive and Tracey's wedding.

I heard that they intend taking it easy initially, if one can ever really do that with a small baby, Nara is just over three months.

I'm sure there will be frequent updates on Ozzy life on their blog once they arrive and get settled in so be sure to check in often.

Our family are a pretty global bunch really. We are in the US after having lived for quite a few years in Sweden. Davey and Sam are obviously in a different country every month right now (currently Thailand). Aiden lives and works in The Netherlands, Jonathan and Triona are moving to Australia (also lived in Indianapolis for a short time), Clive and Tracey currently live in Ireland but lived in Australia for one year and Eilish is still at home. Mum is willing to trot all over the globe but Dad, well he lives in Roscommon and always will now!!

Randy and Lorraine's Family

2008-09-01T19:07:00.001-04:00

Sunday evening we had Randy and Lorraine's extended family for dinner. Lorraine's oldest son and grand daughter, Tony and Ashley, were visiting from Texas for the week. Lorraine's mother, Jane, was also over. Unfortunately Randy had to work. Anyhow, good food, great company, a few drinks, lots of laughs, some photos and generally a good time was had by all. We enjoyed it a lot.

Reminder to keep and eye on my brothers travel blog...

2008-08-30T22:42:00.001-04:00

This is a reminder to keep an eye on my brothers travel blog. They are almost two months into their 18 month round the world trip and have thus far visited Egypt, India and Nepal. Running commentary and cool pics can be read and observed on the front page but lots of photos can be viewed by clicking through the photos link at the top of the page.....

Warning....it's a lot more interesting than these pages right now so remember where you heard of this site, do come back to us....

Progress with Walking

2008-08-30T22:01:00.002-04:00

We are enjoying one of the few holiday weekends here in the US, Monday is Labor Day. Isabel and I chilled out a little this morning (Lynne and Anja braved Wal-Mart) but this afternoon we went over to Lisa and Brads for a BBQ.
I took a few photos of Isabel this morning which I will post over the coming days but I also managed a perfect short video clip of her walking. Since getting her cast off it has taken her a few days to gain a little confidence but she is making great progress again. I do realize that we are only a few days from missing the more sluggish Isabel.

Kristina.....

2008-08-30T20:49:00.001-04:00

A quick shot of the girls and Kristina. This is what I saw when I came out for a coffee from the office Friday morning. I simply couldn't resist grabbing the camera. Each of the girls tightly snuggled into Kristina's lap, each competing for space, her attentions and affections. We are so pleased with how the girls so enjoy being with Kristina, all of which is due to her approach with them. She is extremely kind, caring, trustworthy, firm when needed and we trust her implicitly with them. Like our previous nannies, Michelle and Lindsay, we are very lucky to have somebody who cares for them as much as we do.

Thanks Kristina.

Girls Appearances Changing ?

2008-08-30T20:39:00.001-04:00

We all change appearances as we age, of course some more than others (no comments please). Children change continually and often it's the parents that notice the least. I think Isabel and Anja have changed a lot recently however. I started flicking through some photos this evening and I noticed it a lot more.

They are growing up.....

(Anja is very proud in her nurses uniform)

Wabash River Cycle Ride

2008-08-25T20:43:00.002-04:00

On Saturday morning we, together with Randy, Lorraine, Kevin & Kaisa and the kids of course, all participated in our local annual bike ride.

Each year the Wabash River Cycle Club put on a century bike ride through the backroads of the Lafayette area with several distances for all levels of participation. In previous years I have done the full 100 miles, we have even done the 64 mile distance (100Km). They also generally have a 40 and 23 mile distance for families to enjoy as a group. On Saturday we all took a leisurely 23 mile ride, stopping half way at the SAG stop in Mulberry for a picnic. The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a great day!

A few years back we were members of this club, the WRCC. They are very dedicated and as normal they did a fantastic organizing job and we'd all like to express our thanks for their volunteering efforts.

I'm also trying something new here, embedding a picture slideshow so hopefully it works well.

Post Olympic Update!

2008-08-25T20:16:00.002-04:00

I do realize that it has been a few days...there was a small matter of the Olympics! We have this digital video recorder which allows one to tape a whole host of TV which I did to great effect during the Olympics. I watched hours of coverage, probably the most I have ever done. There were many late nights and this poor blog suffered. Sorry!

So, many little items have occured over the last two weeks. I will try detailing them over the coming evenings. Of note, Isabel now has her leg back. She had her cast removed last week and was probably best pleased to be back in the sand box and of course the bath and the pool!

Watermelon Carving!

2008-08-10T12:48:00.001-04:00

Friday night, prior to Isabel's party, Lynne decided to get creative and decided to do something different. She found a few ideas online and settled upon a watermelon carving and selected a pig as her first effort. It's amazing what can be found online on this topic. If you search online for Watermelon Carving under images, the results are spectacular.

Lynne's pig turned out really well I thought.

Isabels First Birthday

2008-08-10T10:17:00.001-04:00

Isabel will turn one year on Monday and since that day is normally not conducive to having relaxed gatherings with friends, we celebrated her first birthday yesterday. The weather was absolutely perfect, very unlike August in Indiana. Warm (75F) and not at all humid.

Friends came and went throughout the day and generally a good time was had by all. She managed to just about squeeze into the dress my Mum sent over for the occasion. Lynne carved a watermelon party pig; we had lots of grilled items and the mandatory cake and ice cream of course. As is customary on first birthdays, I think the adults and older kids enjoyed the treats better than Isabel.

Lots of photos were taken of course, many of which are posted to our web album space and naturally a few selected below. When she was crawling about with her cast, she was continually getting caught up in her dress and it is for this reason that she appears in many photos without it.

Many thanks to everybody who came and made this a special day for Isabel, we all enjoyed it.

Contact from an Old Friend and Neighbour

2008-08-06T19:37:00.001-04:00

A couple of days ago I received an email from an old friend, Fiona Lunt. She was a neighbor of ours when we were growing up in Ballybride, which is a small township outside the town of Roscommon.

She is now living in Boston, married and calling herself Fiona Duncan. She didn’t happen to mention her husband’s name but she did send some pictures of her two lovely kids, Tara who is almost 4 and Rory who is 2.

It was great to hear from her. We traded emails and of course I’m due to email her back (this is pretty typical). She offered her house for a visit sometime to Boston, something that we may indeed take her up on since I’ve never actually been. Thanks for emailing Fiona, hope the girls are doing well and the move went smoothly.

All is well on other fronts here in Indiana. I took Isabel for a one week X-ray check up this morning. She appears to be healing well and is actually starting to sleep a little better again. She is also moving around as if she had never anything wrong with her! Yes, you guessed it, she is climbing on all sorts of stuff again.

Update on Isabel's Broken Leg

2008-08-01T14:05:00.001-04:00

Isabel is now in her permanent cast, which I think looks incredibly cute! As you all know, however, I'm pretty biased! She is doing well, relying less on pain relieving drugs and back to her normal jovial self. She keeps wanting to stand (and climb) which of course is strictly not allowed. We anticipate having this cast on for 3 weeks.

Yesterday she did manage to get out of it, yes pulled her leg out of it so that required yet another trip over to the doctor for another cast to be put on....she is starting to be a popular little girl at the doctor's office.

Isabel in the Wars Again....a Broken Leg

2008-07-29T19:47:00.001-04:00

Once I posted that comment last week about letting her fall, I may have jinxed Isabel. From the excitement this week of Isabel’s first steps video, to her black eye, she has now added another twist.

Yesterday, after climbing on a chair and subsequently falling, she landed awkwardly and broke her leg. Lynne took her to the emergency room and an X-Ray confirmed this. She currently has a temporary cast on but tomorrow she will see the pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Life as a parent goes on…

Isabel's Black Eye

2008-07-27T20:25:00.001-04:00

Isabel picked up a nice black eye over the weekend! I must state for the record that this was not accrued or associated with my previous post, the videos where I let her wander off on her own:)

This was a simple non walking related incident, she climbed on our small trampoline and came down hard from it on the side of her face! Unlike Anja, she wants to climb everything. If it exists, she wishes to be on top of it!!

Today we visited our local state park, Prophetstown State Park. Funny how one always visits stuff when away and never ones local attractions. We were guilty of this so we took a spin out there this morning. It has the Indiana native prairie grasses as its focus so it was quite different.

Have a good week everybody!