Getting Warmer..

As P had his playtime this morning, I overheard his adventure:
"Take me at a-London! I wanna go to a-London!" "You wanna go wis (with) me?" "Ok we're going to be at a-London!"... I LOVE seeing his imagination at work!  He counted 13 cars in a row yesterday with his Daddy.  We're such proud parents!

The past few weeks have been SO COLD here in Germany.. And now that the temperature has been between 32-40ish Farenheit, many of us are finding ourselves making comments about how warm it is outside.  It's kind of funny, and yesterday I even agreed to go to the indoor pool with Daniel and Parker simply because I knew I wouldn't freeze to death upon leaving. 



more photos once I learn how to keep them from loading sideways..



Speaking of COLD...Back in January, we went to Garmisch... In Bavaria, the Southern Alps of Germany.  That's a place where the freezing weather doesn't feel so freezing because you're in the Alps and you just know its supposed to be cold.  This trip was our 2nd time as a complete family, but #3 for me and P.  Here we are at the top of the Partenkirchen Gorge.  It is such a beautiful place, and the whole walk is about a 4-5 mile hike.





We made it!

 

Here's a typical sight in my kitchen:  :) This is Parker's Drawer... Don't overthink the sanitation of a plastic dish that I may bring goodies in....

 

AIRMAN OF THE YEAR BANQUET
7 Feb 2012



The cake



As you may have heard, Mr. Wise was Airman of the Year for Security Forces on Ramstein, then he moved up to the next level and was awarded Airman of the Year for the 86th Mission Support Group.  This nominated him to be selected from 7 people to represent the entire Wing.  He didn't get selected at THIS level, but the dinner was fun, the cake was much prettier than it was tasty, and the guy who won over Daniel was a super-nice guy that D was glad for.  Especially since he's not staying active duty, D was a bit relieved, and also very honored to have been recognized among one of the largest MSGs in the whole Air Force. 





Airman of the Year for 86th Mission Support Group
on Ramstein Air Base.  I'm a lucky girl!









We had dinner in a hangar.. And we got to walk out of that plane
 as they announced all the nominees!

Chili Cookoff

We had a chili cookoff today to celebrate Daniel's finishing his Bachelor degree from LU.  I'm so stinkin' proud of that man!  We decorated a day ahead of time with red and blue balloons and streamers, and balloons kept popping out of nowhere, and we had discussed how streamers tend to loosen up after they hang awhile..and Parker kept saying, "Those will fall down to-mah-row (tomorrow)" then this morning they were still up, he said "Those NOT fall down to-mahh-row!!"  He was very northern about it, and very glad that Daddy's party didn't break.

We had 3 chili contestants and 2 prizes--a cookbook and a $25 gift card, and over all, I think everyone had a good time.  My lips are chapped to pieces--I can't handle spicy well, but each chili was delicious!  I got all the ballots, labels, invitations, everything from here so I didn't have to use my brain at all!  We have wayyy too many carby leftovers--chips, fritos, baked potatoes, calrose rice, brown rice, ahh we are going to bloat and float to Mexico if we eat it all by next week. Oh, and I made the crockpot cake best served with Breyer's triple chocolate ice cream, and ate lots of it...  Good thing we both need lots of calories! Right? ...

Parker's quote of the day:

"Baby Judah 'yaxin (relaxin') in there, him watch a Movie with his Mommy and Daddy, and eat a COOKIE and read a book like at Kiefer's house (where we went in Dec. for a cookie&book swap), and he play CARS but him not talk, he only KIE (cry).. He yaxin' in you tummy, Mommy. Him stay warmmm in dere."  

Sounds like Baby Brother is DREAM LIVIN' and Parker knows all about it!

This evening, we went to a farewell party for a friend we met the FIRST weekend we moved here! His wonderful wife and kids already went stateside a few weeks ago.  We are going to miss them, and we cherish the memories we made over the past 3 years! This military moving stuff is tough sometimes... But I'd rather have a great friend around for a short time, than no friends at all.  Most people end up being worth the time you put into them. Don't you think?

Life Update

Oh wow, its been over a year since I posted, but I think I want to get back into blogging both for others and for myself, so that in the future I'll have a "journal".  I would say I'll go back and fill you in on the past 13 months, but I don't wanna tell a fib. So we'll start with here and now.

Daniel's career has been rewarding and FULL OF AWARDS lately- I am SO SO proud of him.  And he is so humble about it all.  We are unsure of our next step (staying in? starting over? moving back to our hometown? and 349857 other options) but we are praying that God will make it OBVIOUS by shutting the wrong doors and maybe having someone pull him through the right one.  We, the dependents, will follow anywhere :)

Making Christmas pictures for the neighbors! Dec 2011



Baby2 is due in June, and we are blessed already by his part in our lives. I can feel him moving often, he's a busy little buffalo!  Parker kisses and loves on my belly everyday, blows "blueberries, not strawberries" on his brother (I actually call that blowing raspberries but whatever), and sets a car (one wheel in my bellybutton) so that baby Judah can have a turn.  He came and shoved 4 cars and 2 blocks under my shirt today and said "There you go, Baby Juju".  I'm glad he's sharing!  I am absolutely THRILLED that I get to stay home with my babies every single day. Parker has provided many hilarious stories and I'm glad I don't miss too much.


I am also considering which direction I should take with my stay-home "career". I'm still cutting hair and I enjoy every second of that, and I still sell It Works, but I'm not really into SALES, even though my downline is doing incredible.  Since I'm pregnant I'm not doing hair color--the chemicals make me dizzy--so I miss that like crazy: The artistry, chemistry, and the one-on-one time with clients.  I'm blessed to have that skill available anywhere we go, and plan to do it for years and years.

I also LOVE writing and Daniel's been encouraging me like crazy to actually DO IT more often, so I'm getting back into it.  I have a few books in mind for kids, and about 12 unfinished songs sitting in files. So there's a lot of ground I've already covered, just gotta RUN WITH IT.  I'm excited about pursuing an old dream, because when I'm writing/singing/composing, I'm full of excitement and fulfillment.  I don't experience that with some other income-producing things I've tried, and the thing about the songs is.. I don't care about making money.. I hope to share them and help people's hearts become refreshed and reminded about the important things in life.

Our time in Germany is closing, and I have to keep reminding myself to SLOW DOWN and enjoy RIGHT NOW. So I'm working on a song:


Not sure why these photos are sideways... Sorry!



Take a moment, take a breath,

Sit and stare at the sunset

And live life slow

As slowly as possible

Hold your babies, hold your fire
Kiss your lover even if you're tired
And live life slow
As slowly as possible...
I've been saying those lines to myself OVER AND OVER for the past few days... More to come :)

Thanks for reading,
Love,
                                                                                                           DJPJ

Parental thoughts... Wants vs. Needs and maybe TMI

Well, there are only 19 days until Christmas!  This is always an exciting time of year, even though a biggish part of me selfishly wants Daniel to share it with me... But I think all of us feel that way.

Parker got to open a present from Daddy last night on Skype.  It was a box of wooden blocks.  Boy, did he show off for his Dada!  He got all excited, took the blocks out, and showed Daddy how good at KNOCKOVERS he is.  He kept runinng out of the room (as soon as he passed through the doorway he thought he was hidden, and we'd say Oh Where Is That Parker?!) then he'd turn around laughing and silly-running back to me at the computer.  It's so cute, he kind of dance-walks, throwing his knees out to the sides and flailing his arms about.  He kept giggling and acting goofy. It was lots of fun.  He's so charming :)

He ate a lot today.  I've learned that I have to forcefeed him the first few bites before he realizes that he LIKES it... Then he chows down.  For a boy who eats probably 80% MommyMilk, this is an improvement because he normally only eats goldfish, sweetpotato puffs, or pretzel sticks.  Well, Momma came to the realization that what Baby wants is not necessarily what he needs, even if it would make him happy to eat crunchy junk carbs all the time.

And just in the past 3 or 4 days I've really tried hard to apply that thought to many areas of my parenting.

---> I think it is my job to do what's best for him in the long run, despite temporary unhappiness... I'm learning not to focus on Parker's FEELINGS as much, because it is very important that I teach him what's RIGHT, as uncomfortable as it may be sometimes!  Face it, if we all did anything that felt good at any moment... we'd all be fat, uncommited, and uneducated. (I do not dismiss the feel-good parts of life though, I'm talking about a fair balance and I think you know what I mean).  Seems easier to just let him have his way all the time, but I know that won't benefit him when he's older.  I want him to learn self-control and be a respectful young man, and even though it is difficult now.. I'm thinking it will make life easier later.  I'm not a meanieMommy, I just want to instill in him some proper manners (i.e. no throwing food, or on-purpose spills) and he really does understand when I tell him to stop.  Its not just SAYING it either, its FOLLOW THROUGH.  I'm no expert but I know that repeatedly telling a kid to stop doesn't make them listen to you unless they respect your authority and know that consequences will come after disobedience.  Parker gets 1 minute "isolation" in the pack-n-play and is normally ready to return to good behavior afterwards.  He actually doesn't even cry when I put him in there most of the time, but that break also gives ME time to walk away and cool down.

So even with "demand feeding"-- he was wanting to nurse nonstop this morning. I told him no because he had already eaten for like 45 minutes.  I have NEVER told him "no" about Mommymilk before. He cried, but only for a few minutes.  I held him til he relaxed and finally went to sleep for about 3 hours til waketime.  Oh it broke my heart a little  but I knew he was dry and full and needed sleep.  I'm a sucker and can't stand the CRY IT OUT alone thing, so I let him cry in my arms.  It worked.  He also usually wants to nurse a LOT during the day so I've been spacing it out a little (he knows the sign for milk and says MAMAMA (mamamilk) when he wants it, so I have to tell him "no not right now honey" + a fun distraction). I'm also trying to fill him up with more solids.. I can't be an all-day buffet- its exhausting! He is 14 months old and I don't plan to wean him anytime soon but I also plan to help him slowly adjust.

We are trying to get him into his bed in preparation for Daddy coming home, but with all the traveling we've done its been tough... yes, he's wound up in bed with Mommy for the past several months, and he actually slept through the night (in his own bed) when he was 6 weeks old so i know its my fault!  So I've been putting him down for naps in his room and starting the nightsleep in there too.  He's getting used to it, and because I'm not going to bed at 8pm and snuggling him all night, he's learning a little independence and confidence in me that I will still be there (even if I am in the next room) when he wakes up.  And when he's awake I have to make a point to read books with him, play, sing, goof off, and snuggle with him. I must get down to his level (crawling), and bring him up to mine (helping Mommy). 

For the most part, we have lots of fun together!  He is such a sweet child, and he thinks I'm funny so we laugh a lot.  It's so neat to see his little personality developing and his curiousity growing.  Being snowed in the past few days has allowed me some time to focus on these few areas.  I'm a new mommy and have a lot to learn, but I feel a lot more confident with a goal in mind.  I don't expect perfection (from Parker or myself) and that's a big step for me. My expectations might go back up again tomorrow though, haha, so I've got to continually pray for guidance and a daily (or hourly) reality check! Maybe my thoughts can help someone else.

One last thing, I've decided NOT to do hair until Daniel is back home to take care of Parker while I'm doing it.  The past few appointments have been quite disastrous... He doesn't understand that Mommy is "off limits" while unfamiliar people are in the house as Mommy is attacking them with scissors and spraying them with water.  I end up saying "sorry, hold on while I try to get him to nap/eat/chillout/playalone/whatever" and its totally unprofessional. He ends up covered with hair and it gets all over the house. Clients are here for LONG periods of time and we all end up hungry and groucho. The only exception is if I hire a sitter (profit=ZERO) or its someone who Parker is comfortable with their spouse.. So that leaves me with like 3 clients.  I'm cool with that for now.

The past few months...

The past few months have gone by SLOWLY... A mixture of fun and boredom, excitement and inconsistency, and overall good times.  Parker is now 14 months old.  Daddy has been in Iraq for a little more than 3 months, and we spent 6 weeks in the states with family for our birthdays.  For Thanksgiving, we went to Garmisch, Germany to visit some friends.  We get to talk to Daniel almost everyday on Skype so it makes the seperation easier.  But I never want to do this geographical bachelor thing again!!!  The good news is, Daniel has been "right" about nearly every decision lately, so I'm learning to trust his judgment and leadership more.  God always provides what we need, far beyond the basics.

Parker is potty training and that THRILLS me!  He is learning the sign for "toilet" and we'll say POTTY or POOPOO.  He's only learning to go #2 but hey, he's 14 months old! The last 5 days have been successful, with only one dirty diaper!

We are getting ready to head to the states again for the Christmas holidays, and I'm so excited.  I feel so blessed that Parker has so many grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that love him so much. 

A Fort in France

Woohoo--Daniel actually had a 3 day weekend.  And by weekend, I mean Monday through Wednesday of this week.  It was fabulous!  On Monday (Memorial Day) we stayed home to relax, and do homework.  Parker helped Dada study:

In the evening Daniel built a fire on our back porch.  We roasted marshmallows and ate them with chocolate chips.  Since there were no graham crackers, I called them "low carb" S'mores. :)  Don't think there's much truth in that, though..

Parker was not too interested in the fire... Maybe because it was pretty much a smoke stack for the first half hour or so, not to mention the fact that I was trying to feed him green beans while he was in the exersaucer all bundled up in lots of clothes.  There were lots of distractions.  The fire eventually blazed in the cold night, and was beautiful.  We love being outside.  I read a quote somewhere that to admire nature is to worship God.

Parker has started pointing at things and can sit up on his own.  It is SO cute to see that plump little hand pointing at Dada or a toy.  He normally touches the thing he is pointing at, so his little finger rests there as he studies it.  Tuesday was a restless night, so Parker ended up in our bed.  I actually slept well (He normally keeps me half-awake so I don't really like him sleeping in there).  The next morning, I woke up to sweet sounds of baby jabber and an index finger shoving into my eyelids.  When the eyelash-petting stopped, I opened my eyes to see my sweet little guy sitting up and working on Daniel's eyelids.  It was like he was saying "Hey, are you in there?  Come out, its time to play!"  It was such a sweet moment.

On Wednesday, we headed over to France to a huge fort in the town of Bitche.  Yes, you say it how you would think.  Sometimes it sounds like "beach" but that's about as PG as the name gets.  Once we got over the feeling bad about saying it, we enjoyed what the place had to offer!  We ate quiche and baguettes at a little Tea Cafe in town, then headed up to the huge stone architecture that is visible from nearly every point in the town.  The Fort was SO fun!  Definitely one of the best audio tours we have ever taken (thats why we have headphones).  It was very interactive and easy and fun.  I recommend it highly.  If you come visit me, I will probably take you to Bitche.  You can't even take a picture of the fort unless you're like a mile away, so here are a few pieces of it (with us in the foreground, of course).  And I'd like to say that this place in NOT the place to be in a bad mood.  Bad moods cause bad jokes when you're in a town with such a name.

The walk up to the fort was steep and bumpy for a baby in a stroller.  Perfect opportunity to SING, or, "aaahhhh" over the bumps.  Parker is a good singer.

Here, Daniel is inside the Well Room.  Two men would get in this wheel and run like hamsters to draw water up from the well during the French Revolutionary War.  Pretty cool, I think!

Sheep on the hill!

Did I mention that it was a beautiful day?  Included in our tour of the fort was a Garden Tour.  It was very interesting, too.  There are some HUGE plants there!  Parker-sized leaves and flowers bigger than his head!  Parker had his first merry-go-round ride, and the botany everywhere provided for some great pictures.

I LOVE seeing my boys together!  Makes my heart sing. (And Dada time gives me time to get things done sometimes, like cleaning the kitchen for example)/.

Videos Galore

Here we are playing on the floor:


Parker's 8 month birthday (Enjoy my singing):


These are not in chronological order, but they are from the past month or so.
Here is a typical 5 minutes in Virginia with our families!!

Crazy, but I love it!

Cloth Diapers provide quite an exploratory event at each diaper change.  My kid eats more than I thought....  OnThursday, I made a paper craft, and on Friday, what do I find?  Some blue flowerprints in the diaper...  Good to know it passes right through.  Then today, I found a plastic pricetag piece--the part that looks like a string but holds the paper to the clothes.  Yep, goes straight through, too.  I promise I clean the floors!!

With all this hand-to-mouth exploring, you would expect him to be ready for all sorts of textures in his baby food, so I decided to try grownup applesauce on his 8 month birthday.  As you can see, he's not a fan of the textured food yet.  For now, he wants liquidy foods and paper or plastic.



Here are a few more from exploring the world.  They are candid and random, but hey, it will make you feel like you were there.
Happy Feet: This is in VA while we were visiting Grandma Burris (5 generations!)


Here are the Wise Guys playing in VA


Playing with Mee Mee


I LOVE his chunky legs!  We are so blessed to have such wonderful memories. Have a great day <3

Summary of Events

Sorry about my irresponsible behavior.  I promised to keep up with this and I'm wayyy behind.  So here's a brief(ish) summary of the past few weeks.  We got to D.C. and missed our connecting flight by TWO MINUTES-- but United is best for being on time, so even though they knew we had an infant, they closed  up the gates anyway.. We were out of breath from running and then we had 3 hours to rest and eat another airport meal.  We got to Roanoke at 11pm, and even that late, we had quite a few people to greet us.  My heart was all aflutter to see my mom, dad, and in-laws there with my little sister and then my brother-in-law with his wifey and kids.  It was WILD to see the kids in our family- they have changed so much!  The next morning, we all woke up at 8, so we adjusted to the time well.  The days are all a blur now, we were busy visiting and having fun with our relatives and a few of our friends.  We ate SO Much.  Parker was very pleasant and was friendly to everyone (for the most part). 
  We went 4-wheeling one day, had a few "parties" to see as many people as possible, and then, after 10 days of bliss, Daniel and I realized that we had hardly seen each other!  Coming home was relatively easy, minus the fact that our flight was Crammed full.  I was elbow-to-elbow with an Italian man who thought Parker was an angel :) and we were in the middle of a 5-seat section.  Kind of weird to nurse my kid with nowhere to hide, but it was all just fine.  We decided to ride the train from Frankfurt to our house and it was a lot of fun!  We can walk to our house from the train station, and did just that.  It felt SO good to be home.  Our house felt like it gave us a big hug when we walked in.

It took 2 weeks for Parker to get back on track with German time and finally get to sleep at a decent hour.  The day after that, we drove to Paris for an overnight.  It was freezing the first day, but the second day was better.  We had a lot of fun navigating through Pariee and riding the Metro.  A slight bit of my French classes came back to me, and combined with Daniel's boyscout skills, we had a great time!

For the past few days, the weather has been Beautiful! Parker turns 8 months today, and as a celebration we went to the Post Office (to get my textbooks) and then we visited Daddy at work!  Then we went to play at the park on base, and Parker went swinging for a while.  It was actually super hot so we are back home now.

Daniel and I are both taking college classes this semester, and he is very close to finishing his Bachelor's in Criminal Justice at Liberty!  Woohoo!  I'm starting over to study Alternative Medicine, and I have only a few hours to read a whole chapter then pass a test on it!  So I better stop dilly-dallying.  Hope you have a great day!

Vienna, Italy

The guy that drove us to the airport was slightly flying, but we felt very safe.  He was a great driver, and we were on time to check in.  Then all the people catching the flight had to switch gates because... well, I don't know why, but we could've stayed on the beach a little longer, because we ended up getting transported like cattle and waiting a while. Then a few hours later, "Welcome to Vienna"... OK definitely not when we had planned.... But at least we are somewhere closer!  We met some cute families on the flight with adorable little kids.  We've met so many friendly travelers!

Surprise!  It's beautiful here.  We never would've planned a trip to Austria, but since we are here, we definitely plan on coming back.  Our hotel last night was nice for the short time we stayed there.  But the shower had no curtain, only a small glass "wall" that was about 1/5th of the tub's length.... How do you shower with nothing to block the water??Well, you shower then you wipe the floor before you get out so as to save your hiney from falling on wet tile...
Almost everyone is speaking German AND English fluently, so hooray!  I can understand people again!  And we can real ALL the signs and know what they mean!  We walked around downtown and I took a few photos, and I plan on uploading them sometime in the next few days.  Vienna is the CLEANEST city I've ever been to.  And for a Monday night, it was surprisingly alive here.  We Like it!

We spent about 7 hours in the airport today, hoping to catch an extra seat on one of the two flights to the states.  It didn't work, but we are trying again tomorrow.  Keep in mind, people have been waiting to get on the flight since 17April.  So we're not top priority, but we are hoping to fly to DC at 11ish tomorrow.  Fingers crossed!  But we are safe, and we know that God is in control.  I have no idea why there's a 200-years-of-stillness volcano with a long name erupting in Iceland, but I'm not too worried about it because I know there's a reason for everything.  And all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.  So it'll be good, even if it doesn't make sense now.

We are pretty sad that we're not going to see our families tonight; we've been looking forward to it for weeks.  But for tonight we are on the 7th story of the airport hotel, watching the tower.  They "play" huge advertisements on big buildings-- like a projector billboard.  Pretty cool idea.  I've only seen light up pictures on buildings at Christmas.

We have been relaxing all afternoon, letting our dirty clothes dry out. haha.  We need to do laundry-- we're getting down to wearing our cleanest dirty stuff.  Truly "roughin' it" :)  Parker has been a really good sport.  He seems to like people watching, so a crammed full airport is pretty exciting!

Oh, I took a video today, it took 1minute, 37 seconds (approximately) to walk very quickly from the end of the line to the airline counter.  And I was walking fast.  The line went all the way to the end of the terminal.  It was nuts.  We waited about 3 hours (OK Daniel waited, me and P went walking around) just to get on the waiting list.  Then we Stood around the rest of the time waiting to hear "Passenger Wise"... but we never heard it.

If at first you dont succeed, try, try again.  And try to have fun waiting around.

Right now, Parker is playing with a reading light attached to the wall with his Dada.  He's trying to figure it out.  He is so curious now, and his hand-eye coordination is getting better every day.  And in case I've never said it before, i  Love seeing my boys together! 

"Another aeroplane, another sunny place, I'm lucky I know... But I wanna go home"

Blog 19 April 2010


11:50 am. The big wigs of airline travel decided to wait until last minute to cancel our flight. As of last night, airlines in Germany were opening back up at 2pm. Well our flight was supposed to leave at 3pm, and because it wasn’t cancelled sooner, we were unable to make different plans. So here we are, sitting in our hotel lobby, using our cellphones (not a cheap hobby!) to contact the 2 travel agencies we are working with. As of right now, our options are less attractive than poop on a stick. We can take a 3-day bus ride back to Germany. No thanks… We can take a 12-hour bus ride to Istanbul, Turkey, and stay there until APRIL 26 when we can fly to Dulles. That would give us 3 days in the states, and another week of living in a hotel, which could be fun but luxury living costs a bit too much for that! Should I start fundraising?

This is a bit frustrating. Actually, I don’t mind a few delays here and there, or even a small change in plans. I’ve prepared myself for that, but I’ve not prepared myself for a BIG change of plans. I want to see my Mommy, Daddy, Other Mother &Dad, little sister, and everyone else we love! Daniel is on the phone right now trying to find other options… If we are stuck, we better make it fun! Right?

We are looking into flights maybe to anywhere on the East coast… Oh wait

UPDATE 12:15pm Turkeytime: we are flying to Vienna, Austria! From there we will try to get a flight to the US. That is ALL I know… oh wait, they called again.

Update 12:20 pm

Looks like we will be spending the night in Vienna, maybe. We are headed to the aiport in Antalya now, so I should be able to update.. maybe. We might stay in Turkey another night, haha We know nothing, but if we’re stuck in Austria, I’ll tell you all about it. Looks like we will get to the states somehow though. Hope we have internet in Vienna so I can tell you what’s up.

 Love love the Wises.





xo

Day 9. International Meals 17 April 2010

We had lunch with some Turkish folk, and it was wonderful because they all spoke fine English. They’ve been hiding it all week! The guys who work entertainment here want to make Parker smile, but 11 times out of 10, they scare him when they pick him up and talk with their loud voices, calling him OBAMA!!!! It’s kind of funny because the exact same thing has happened every time. I think he’s just scared of their loudness.


So, what is Parker scared of? Extreme loudness, facial hair, and getting thrown into the air. I feel certain he will eventually outgrow these fears.

We played in the Sea again, and the sunset this evening was gorgeous!

We had dinner with “Oma and Opa” (that’s German for Grandma and Grandpa), a sweet and adorable older couple. They just L-o-v-e Parker, and they’re youngest grandkid is 5, so Oma said this time was very good for her. Parker loved being fed applesauce straight from the spoon of Oma, and this is only the beginning of the spoiling he will experience once he’s around the Real Grandparents!!

So, what does Parker Love? APPLE(sauce), Mommy milk, Dada, crinkly sounds, and sand. I feel certain he will keep these on the “love list” for a while. It will grow A LOT when he meets all his relatives in the States! He doesn’t know it yet, but he is Super excited about the 2nd half of our vacation!

The volcano looks like it will cause flights to be cancelled until Monday. Our flight is supposed to take us to Frankfurt Monday. We are then supposed to fly to the states on Tuesday. If the first flight gets cancelled, they WILL reschedule everything, so hopefully the volcano will shut its hole and we will be able to come back to our roots as planned. If not, we hope to be there in time to keep our plans. If not, it will STINK but it will be OK. If not, we must trust that everything happens for a reason. But until then, we are staying VERY PUMPED UP about seeing our Moms, Dads, Nana, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, cousins, friends, etc etc etc!!!!

Did I mention this place is SPEEDO CENTRAL? I was considering doing a whole post about them, but I’m not really fond of the idea of documenting the experience with photos. If you’re planning a European beach vacation, prepare your left and right brain for all the grown-man-upper-thighs you will be seeing. I guess it’s really not THAT bad, but I’m definitely FOR the swim trunks style of America’s beaches. And my husband doesn’t have a choice. haha

I guess this is a good note to end on for tonight! Haha! Love, the Wises

Day 8, Our 24th Monoversary! 16 April 2010

We started the day with an Apple, and guess what! Parker actually said it twice today! It sounds more like “Abble” but it clearly means “please give me that delicious ball of yum”. The first time was at breakfast, then again at dinner. The girl sitting with us at dinner is Turkish and doesn’t know English, but she heard him repeat us, and she was astonished… “He says it!”


The boys had guytime and Mommy took a THREE HOUR NAP. It was fabulous. Look at these cuties:

We sat out on the pier for a while enjoying the beauty.

Then the boys passed out for a while.

We spent the later part of the day playing at the Sea. The waves were no higher than 6 inches. Perfect for playing in the water with the Baybee. He really likes standing in it, and that makes me happy! It’s the first time we actually got all the way in the water. It seems much warmer today.

They don’t have seashells here. Seriously, I didn’t find a single one. The pebbles are quite beautiful though, as you can see from our small selection:

Parker found a pet rock, and chewed on it for a while. He doesn’t actually have teeth yet, and it was too big to choke on, so I figured since it makes him happy, he can enjoy it for now. It’s illegal to bring pebbles home anyway, so its not like rock chewing will become a habit.

It’s weird to see all the way to the bottom. There were a few little fish swimming alongside me, and after a billion pebbles, the ocean floor was finally smooth, but it was one slick rock. WEIRD> It’s like swimming in a river. Daniel says he’s almost prefer not to see the bottom.

That safari hat was Daniel’s

Today is our Monoversary, and Parker actually fell asleep at dinner so we had a date!

It was fun being able to focus on each other. 2 people came by to take a photo of us on our camera so here we are!

Day 7 An Apple A Day…. And a Volcano 15 April

Happy Tax Day.Thanks to our tax refund, this trip is paid for. Have you taken care of your tax stuff? Enough business talk, let’s get to vacation!


Parker LOVES the baby in the reflection.

And of all the toys we brought, he seems most amused by empty water bottles and the empty wipes bag. He’s easily amused, much like his parental units.

We headed straight out to the seashore for us big people to catch some rays.

Don’t worry, Parker is SPF’ed from head to toe 

Then we headed to the pool so the babe and I could sit in the shade. Dada was BRAVE and jumped in. The pool water is Really Cold. Colder than the ocean! I like this one because it looks like he dived into the pavement:

During our chilltime, we found BBC, the British news station. The volcano in Iceland just might change our travel plans. No need to worry yet, but we’re keeping our ears open. We both want哦to go to弹劾三他特色so八达岭y

Woah, something Parker pushed made it go Asian.  What I was saying is, we both want to go to the states SO bad.  We've already had 2 "maybe not" moments where we thought we might not be able to come.  The flights in Germany are probably going to be cancelled if it keeps blowing smoke... We Know that God is control so it will be OKAY!

Over the past few days, we have found the solution to a fussy baby during meals. Just give him an apple to play with. It’s like a ball, and any boy would love a ball, plus it tastes sweet, so it’s the perfect solution. Pears work too. We give him an apple at least once a day. He gets very excited when he sees an apple! Kind of like my reaction to ice cream cake…

Speaking of ice cream cake, this is how you say it in Turkish (spelled out phonetically):  Dahn Dur MALLeh Pasta.  Don't forget to roll your "r" after you're finished being so happy about its deliciousness.
Happy Birthday is "Eee Key Doe Dune YourName Here"-- it actually means something like "it is So good that you were born this day" and they use the same Happy Birthday tune.
And Thank You is "Day Shay Coolah"-- I remember this by thinking "one day Shay will be cooler"
Now we are ready to attend a Turkish birthday party!!

Day 6 Me No Comprend-day 14 April

Note:  There will  be pictures whenever we get to a faster internet connection!

We started with a nice teeth and gum cleaning.


Then headed out to catch the city bus. We wanted to visit Kale Alanya (pronounced Kah-lay, it means Castle). We hopped on the first bus we saw, and luckily it was full of English people. They informed us that we are on the wrong bus, and we are going the exact opposite direction of the castle. Oops. So the driver knew a little English and decided he would take us with him on his lunch break [awkward, but we got a free cup of tea!], and then drive us back to the city, so we could either catch another bus in attempts to get to the castle, or wander around like fools in the streets of Alanya. Guess what we did? We wandered. We could see the castle far away, so we just headed toward it. I saw all sorts of fake name-brand clothes I sort of wanted to buy, but Daniel is VERY good at saying no to the hustlers. Good thing, or else we might have to buy another piece of luggage. Interestingly, all the sellers start out speaking in English, and if you don’t answer they switch to Deutsch, and I was happy to hear my native tongue so many times in one day, especially since they were saying “I give you good price”… I like good prices. But I don’t need any clothes and I’m waiting for US bargains anyway.

We came upon a street of restaurants, and decided to eat at the one AFTER the one with a hookah pipe on each table. We decided on Mahperi. The waiter was friendly, the food was fine, and sitting outside with a view of the Castle and the Mediterranean Sea makes you feel quite special; Royal almost. We like Turkish bread. It’s flat bread with seeds on top, and they gladly give seconds.

I ordered a mushroom omelet and have officially decided that I love fried baby chickens from anywhere in the world. Daniel got Turkish Lamb something or other with French fries and rice. This lambchop looks just like an electric guitar:

Parker was a good boy.

Then we walked around the marina, and finally decided to take a boat tour. We worked together and successfully changed our first diaper on a boat. The grown up bathroom was DISGUSTING, I will not go into detail. Let’s just say, being on a boat surrounded by water sounds after drinking a bottle of water was NOT ENOUGH to make me use that toilet. Yah, it was that gross. Anyway, We got to see the castle from the Sea (and we found out we’d missed all the busses for the day that take you to the castle— so this was as good as it gets), and then some fishes that they called “dolphins” but were actually just fish eating bread, and a few caves. I think we took the cheap tour, but it was still fun to see the beautiful ocean and castle walls. And the lighthouse was pretty too.

Look at this beautiful mosaic made from pebbles at the marina.

Here is the doorway of a mosque. The bathroom was downstairs, and I didn’t use it because I was wearing shorts and my shoulders were showing and well, I just wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go in there so I didn’t. But Daniel was brave and consequently was relieved much sooner than I was.

Back on a bus. We found a Turkish man at a plant store to help us get on the right one to take us to our hotel. Here you can see the normal safety standards of cars. Yep that is a little girl with NO seatbelt sitting on a lady’s lap in the front seat. Oye. I prefer being on a bus. As Daniel says, they have authority on the road. The drivers don’t wait for you to sit down before they take off, but at least you normally have a few people around to catch you if you lose balance while searching for a seat.

The day was unplanned, exciting, and fun, and ended with a beautiful sunset. This is the pool right outside our front door.

We gave P a bath in the shower, using his shirt to clog the drain. He enjoyed it and so did we! Look at that curly hair!

Daniel says this face makes him look like me. Not sure if that was nice or not. Haha.

Parker also has a deliciously cute butt, but I’ll have to show you that in person. I’m not gonna post his whole nekkid backside online!

Day 5 Cleopatra Treatment

A beautiful new bloom woke us up this morning :)

We did a little time on the shore this morning, then came in because we were turning pinkish.  After being in the arctic for so long, we are not too tough in the sunshine.  We watched Nickelodeon for the first time in over a year-- Spongebob and Madagascar, translated in German, and a European soccer game.  Not too eventful, but isn't vacation about relaxing?

Today we ventured to the Spa and Wellness Center, and got the "Welcome Paket". We sat in the sauna, then got "Cleopatra Care"-- where we lay on a big slab of stone and get SCRUBBED with  'sea salts in a silk purse', then an aromatic foam massage, then get covered with honey and milk, and in between each step, they rinse you with cold or hot water (whatever comes out, I suppose).  Then D got the Sports Massage, and I got the Aromatherapy Massage-- ah it was nice, and Daniel thought it was OK...  Then we got Algae face masks.  Right towards the end of this pampering, Parker woke up and since he didn't know the "babysitter" he cried and I could hear him upstairs.  My masseuse was telling me to "chill out, it's good for Mama to chill out", so I tried my best.  Daniel got him and comforted him while I continued to "chill out", and I must say my back feels SO GOOD!  D said he wasn't crazy about it, and would rather let me have 2 massages.  I won't argue!

We then walked around the hotel, it is so pretty here!  Nothing dramatical, and I'm SO GLAD!  God is so good!

Day 4. Voyage to Alanya

The boys played in the hotel room before breakfast 

We left Antalya this morning and headed over to Alanya. Alanya is the biggest wedding gift in the history of the world! It was given to Cleopatra by Antollos (?look it up) What a cool wedding gift! The trip over was beautiful, and reminded us a lot of 17 at Myrtle Beach, with the exception of this water looking like Kool-Aid with all its beautiful blueness.

We munched on our baklava as we in-processed and waited for the bellboys to carry our luggage in. Our hotel room is AWESOME and if we ever build a house I want our room to be a lot like this. There is a sliding glass door in the back that has an Ocean view from the porch. At first, they brought a baby pink bed,

 but then brought a boyish pack-n-play for Mister Parker. We “moved in” and then headed out to the beach after Parker started napping. We plopped him in his tent and took a few moments to stick our feet in. It is FREEZING water!

We ‘tanned’ for a while, and once Parker woke up, he just didn’t want to stay in that tent. He wanted to be out with us big folks. He wanted to see what that sand stuff was all about

He likes how it tastes. I didn’t stop him because I would rather him like it than hate it.

We tried to binky to keep him from eating sand, but he just used it as a digging tool. I’d stick it in my mouth to clean it; so I ate some sand today, too, and really, it’s not too bad.

He wasn’t too crazy about having his feet in the water. He just stared at the ocean and did a sort of “run in place” thing when the waves hit his feet.

Then we sat in the Wet sand. He liked that a lot, too.

For the first time in 2+ years, we saw MTV! It was subtitled in German, and all the commercials are German, but we watched the show about America’s Best Dance Team, and Next. I can’t say I MISSED seeing that stuff, but it was fun to watch the dance teams.

Dinner was delicious and we finally found 2 boys that speak English! We are the first Americans they’ve met since working in this hotel, and at first they thought I might be Turkish.. Which means maybe I did get a little tiny tan! LoL. The lunch crew didn’t seem too friendly but then again none of them could speak with us. The dinner was yummy, and here, we eat outside, so Parker gets to check out the kitties that clean the floor.

After dinner, we hurried to go on a sunset walk. I wanted to freshen my breath, so I grabbed the complimentary bottle of blue stuff and put it to my mouth. Guess what. Shampoo doesn’t freshen your breath… Yes, That’s what I get for making assumptions, it was shampoo, not mouthwash. Luckily it was kinda thick so I didn’t get too much but OYE it was disgusting.

Our walk was nice and P fell asleep as soon as he could hear the waves crashing.

It is so beautiful here!

Here is a happy puddle Daniel found on our way back. He is super goofy once you get to know him. We are two peas in a pod I suppose.  He definitely puts many smiles on this face.

smiley puddle.

Day 3. Wise got a “Whiskey” 11 April 2010

Sorry there are no photos! I typed these all out, and now the internet is just too slow. I Will add photos as soon as possible!


Omelets for breakfast. I LOVE OMELETS.

Most of the day was rainy. Aktay was a little more comfortable today, and Daniel asked him to slow down a few times, but other than that, he did great. Everytime I felt he was too quiet up there, I’d nudge Daniel and he’d ask a random question about Turkey to make sure he was awake. He was every time!

Our trips—downtown Antalya, a new modern mall, I think the newest in Antalya. Not allowed to take photos there. BIG and very clean and nice.

Then we went to the “Old Town” where the van kissed brick walls at least twice. Aye yi yi. Aktay’s cousin owns a carpet shop there. This part of Antalya has Tiny streets and lots of big dogs. We heard a man with one arm playing the accordion and singing, sounding very sweet. We saw leftover Roman watchtowers from 2nd century AD. Statue of the founder of Antalya. Statue of the first “president” of Antalya—Constantine?

Marina

Outside of old town, Aktay took us to get the “best baklava” here. Found out the store owner died, and they relocated, but we got there and we bought a whole kilo of it because they said that was normal. Do you know how big a kilo is? We’ll be working on that for a few days!! It truly is DELICIOUS! We also got a small ice cream cone full of the creamiest ice cream we’ve ever had. You seriously had to chew it.

Waterfall. Beautiful. Flowing under the city from the Taurus mountains. It stopped raining as soon as we started walking to it. Talk about perfect timing! We were hoping to see a rainbow, but it was beautiful enough without it. {videos to come, it’s gorgeous}

Jewelry store. This is where I got my golden Whiskey. Actually I got lots of apple juice for free, and I picked out a gold “W” with 4 small diamonds in it. (Whiskey is “w” in the military Alpha Bravo Charlie alphabet) Daniel says now we have to have 4 kids so the necklace can be more sentimental. I don’t think our parents will oppose to that idea. He also got me a chain so I can wear my new treasure. I love it! It is dainty and beautiful and just perfect!

Leather store. I expected to see nothing more than slick black leather jackets with a gold zipper and maybe a few Harley Davidson tags. We walked into a big store with an electric “baby grand” and huge pictures of beautiful models in leathers and furs. There were probably 1000 jackets/coats and that was just on the first floor. We didn’t even go up to the second floor where they sell their fur-only coats. How many cows died to make this store so beautiful? We saw a coat that 50-cent bought recently up in Istanbul, but we forgot the camera, so look out for a commentary in People Magazine about a coat Fiddy is wearing from Punta Leather Store in Turkey. Imagine if Daniel and 50cent had the same leather coat with a fur collar.

Daniel found an AWESOME leather jacket moderately priced at 1200 euros. After saying it was a little too short, and a little too big in the waist, the seller brought the price down to 900 euro. It is brown leather with lots of secret compartments and zipper pockets, but also has patch-like designs in a checkered pattern. Since we forgot the camera, I’d like to describe it to you with a celebrity in mind. I could see Ashton Kutcher wearing this leather jacket. In other words, I really do like it, and I realllllly like it on Mister Wise (he’s buffer than AK anyday). The price was then lowered to 600, then I played the piano, and at the end of my first song the man said “420, no 400! That’s my final offer, I can’t go any cheaper”. I got an ovation from an already standing crowd (they are salespeople so they were not sitting), and then played a few more diddlies. Parker helped. We went back to see Daniel, still looking at the jacket with the salesman. I really liked it but its just too short. So, while I never said no but secretly hoped Daniel would find one that was NOT 1200 euro ( I didn’t know it was so drastically reduced—I was at the instrument, remember), he decided not to spend a large chunk of hard-earned money on the best looking hamburger we’ve ever seen.

The hotel staff here is fabulous. They are all so nice and friendly, even though only a few speak English. One non-english girl loves on Parker at each meal, calling him Sugar, making all the Germans laugh. They think its funny to call someone Sugar. One older gent in particular thinks I’m “beautiful, very nice” and tells me what food to get, so I end up getting Tons of food because he says all of it is “very nice”. It is. Tonight we needed something to store our baklava from downtown because the honey started leaking from the carton... The friendly German family beside us spoke English and the father tried to ask Parker’s love for a plastic box because she knows German. Well, here’s the series of events chaining from our need for a box.

1. She thought he wanted to box Daniel, like have a fist fight! I was pretty sleepy at this point and found her shocked reactions hilarious.

2. Later, I asked her for the plastic box and explained that our baklava is leaking. She called a guy over who Said he knew English (he said it in Turkish) and actually he had no clue what I was saying, and our audience of 6ish tables didn’t know either!

3. Finally Martin, a hotel worker who is very fluent in Anglais rushed over to save the day. After his translation, the girl brought me a bowl with a saucer to cover the top and led me to the dessert table, telling me to take whatever dessert I’d like to my room, and that there will be fresh baklava so we can eat it in the morning …. We were getting closer! A German lady yelled from her table to Martin “You are Perfect!” Why didn’t she translate for me?! I guess she enjoyed seeing this stupid American try to save her baklava.

4. Another explanation to Martin.

5. Martin brought us a big plate with forks.. And he said “ALL THIS WORK FOR A PLATE!”. And that was fine except we needed to store it, not eat the whole kilo of it tonight!

6. A more specific explanation of our need.

7. Finally he went to the kitchen and brought us some slightly used aluminum foil because they don’t have plastic…

Whew, that was exhausting. I think we are going to experience culture shock next week in the states, understanding everyone for the first time in over a year.

Until then, we are having a blast being sore thumbs in Turkey. And my W necklace is beautiful. Who cares if it was slightly overpriced, I can always say “this is the necklace your Daddy got me on our vacation to Turkey”. Tomorrow we head to Alanya for a week on the beach. I’m going to miss the staff here, they are so great! If you’re planning a trip to Turkey, I highly recommend Royal Atlantis beach hotel!!!

Day 2. Music and History 10 April 2010

Parker didn’t sleep well last night. Must be the combination of a new place, and sour Mommymilk from all the stressing yesterday as a passenger in the van. But he woke up happy so I’m OK with being sleep deprived!

Today we had a delicious beautiful breakfast (and got the song “That’s Amore” stuck in our heads), and met Aktay in the lobby. He apologized and assured us that all the bad is over and he will be very careful today. We requested a baby seat but can’t get one until tomorrow. There are no seat belts anyway so I’m not sure it would be safer. Daniel demanded that he drive very slowly.

I’m pleased to say Aktay listened. And today was a blast. He really is a great tour guide, with lots of knowledge and patience. We first went to Aspendos, one of the only 4 ancient theatres left today.

A Roman Gladiator met us to say hello!

They had festivals for the “wine god” here. Can you imagine celebrating WINE on THOSE steps?! Was it an attempt to lower the population?

This is where I would stand if I sold cotton candy at Gladiator events:

This is paint from the 13th century.

This used to have lots of columns and statues or Roman gods.

Then the Stadion outside of Perge.

It was U-shaped and many athletic events were held here.

Then we visited the remains of Perge, which was built in the 1st and 2nd century AD, but destroyed by an earthquake in the 1200s. You can still see how beautiful it must have been. Paul preached here!

Then we ate a typical Turkish lunch, and they gave us Free Baklava! YUMMM. Another display of wonderful hospitality. They were playing racy music Turkish videos (no turbans on That channel) and a Domino’s commercial came on! Go American franchises!

At the restaurant, Daniel had his first experience with a Turkish toilet. What is that, you ask? Oh, it’s a hole in the floor with a water hose so you can wash away whatever may hit the sides. Maybe the point is for the people to have super strong hovering muscles in their legs? Anyway, the girl bathroom had a regular potty with pH balanced hand soap—whew. All of it was “normal’’ except the mothballs in the drain.

We got to visit a local village, mosque, and a kind Turkish woman’s house, and she fixed us tea and store cookies. She talked to Parker but he didn’t quite understand. She had both a European and a Turkish toilet. Her Turkish potty was a hole in the ground, too, but it looked like there were “feet slots” on either side, and it was made of ceramic with a large-ish oval hole. I didn’t feel right taking pictures. Her floors were covered with Turkish carpets everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms. Those rugs sure are beautiful.

So then we went to a Turkish carpet distributor, and we learned how the rugs are made. They were very pretty. Daniel, Mister We-are-not-even-going-to-Think-about-buying-something-there, decided to REALLY LIKE this one shaggy WHITE wool rug, then decided that Parker really liked it, and after seriously thinking about spending $2500 and selling our Lederland couches for a big impossible-to-comb-or-vacuum rug , we walked out of there still bearing our status as hardwood floor-ists. Whew. I don’t think I could handle cleaning that. But I will say, it was very comfy to lay on, and it WOULD be fun for family camp-ins. But we’re tough enough to stick with a blanket on the floor for camping and movies. And an air mattress is looking much more affordable now!

I must say, today was Very fun, and I’m so glad we did not cancel on Aktay. He is very nice, and I even got him to sing to us today. I sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”—he had never heard that! Can you imagine not knowing that song? Well I didn’t know what he sang to us…

We got back just in time for a beautifully-set dinner with American background music. I chewed on delicious crepe with “A Moment Like This” playing and we left the room to the sound of “Gangster’s Paradise”. Seriously. There’s nothing like an exotic vacation spot to remind you of middle school 5th quarter dances.

Now the boys are asleep as I write this, so I’m tempted to sneak down to the midnight snack bar. But since I’m sleepy too, I will wait ‘til breakfast. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day, and I’m very excited about it! Aktay will be here at 9am, and he’s taking us to try the Best Baklava in Antalya!