Geocaching

Back in 2009, one of my friends that lives in CA was talking about geocaching with her kids and posting pictures of her family hiking these beautiful, fun mountain trails on the hunt for them.  I had no idea what geocaching was, so I decided to look it up.

From the geocaching website:

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

At its simplest level, geocaching requires these 8 steps:

1. Register for a free Basic Membership.
2. Visit the "Hide & Seek a Cache" page.
3. Enter your postal code and click "search."
4. Choose any geocache from the list and click on its name.
5. Enter the coordinates of the geocache into your GPS Device.
6. Use your GPS device to assist you in finding the hidden geocache.
7. Sign the logbook and return the geocache to its original location.
8. Share your geocaching stories and photos online.

There are many other levels to the game. Keep reading the guide to learn more!

Rules of geocaching:

1. If you take something from the geocache (or "cache"), leave something of equal or greater value.
2. Write about your find in the cache logbook.
3. Log your experience at www.geocaching.com  

There is a ton of information on their website under their Geocaching 101 page located here.  The very short version is that it is like a global treasure hunt.  People hide geocaches and list them online, you can search for one near you (they are all over the world), plug it's coordinates into a GPS device or GPS enabled smart phone and head out to search for it.  It sounded like a blast, so I signed my family up for a free membership and then started searching the area in New Jersey where we lived.

It was not as fabulous as what I had envisioned (or seen through my friend's photos).  There were a few in my area, but they all had hints and comments like, "Bring your waders- had to wade through a small bog to get to this one.", "Spiders, spiders, loads of spiders have taken up residence here.", "Found it- but after cleaning out quite a few cobwebs and nearly being carried away by the mosquitos."

So.. ummm... yeah.  We never went on a single hunt.

Fast forward four years.  This past June, school was out, England (where we live now) was enjoying a very nice summer and I couldn't get my kids outdoors.  They just wanted to lie around on the couches playing video games and watching television.  I turned the tv off and took the games away and instead of going outside or doing something creative, they just got demanding; always asking for food, something to do, water or entertainment.  One day (probably day TWO of summer vacation), I had enough.  I was trying to think of something to do outdoors that would peak their interest.  I suddenly remembered geocaching.

I looked up the site again, verified we did still have an account and then searched for caches in my area.  Much to my surprise, there were loads.  I would love to tell you that the kids and I happily talked about it, set out on our first hunt, found it, had a good Brady Bunch moment in the woods where the kids said, "Gee, golly, Mom, this is SWELL!  Can we do it again?  I LOVE spending time with you in the outdoors!"  But, that didn't happen either.

The first three attempts over about a week to locate one resulted in me sifting through stinging nettle (ouch) and digging in various wooded areas while the kids stood on the path and whined and moaned that they were (pick one): bored/ tired/hot/hungry/thirsty/being subjected to child abuse.  I am stubborn, so I spent up to an hour in each location looking while the kids got increasingly crabby and totally ruined family fun outing time.

And then something miraculous happened.  One day, we found one.  And we opened it and there were prizes inside the kids could swap and suddenly they were interested.  That is until the next time I mentioned it and they moaned and groaned and had to be forced out of the house and into the car.  But then, we found another one... and a third and suddenly, they were hooked.  From that point on, they were constantly over my shoulder looking at the listings online, trying to figure out which one we would attempt next and plotting our "attack".  When we would arrive at  "ground zero" and could practically smell the geocache, they would frantically begin searching, trying to be the first to find it.

What started out looking like a LONG summer where I yell at the kids and throw them outside, turned into a wonderful adventure that seemed to pass very quickly.  We found geocaches during the week while my husband was at work.

 We all looked for geoaches while we were out on the weekends.

We even found one in Germany and two in France while we were on our summer vacation!

 (Germany)

(yes- that IS a lipstick container!!  In France)

Geocaching forced us to go places and see things we wouldn't otherwise have visited.

 (caching in England)

 (caching in England)

 (Le Jardin de la Liberte- Liberty Garden- in Gravelines, France.  There is a geocache in the garden, but not where this picture is taken)

(geocaching in England)

We have definitely caught the "bug" and although our momentum has slowed considerably since the kids are back in school, I hope to continue to find a few here and there throughout the school year until next summer when we can go full force again!

Afternoon Tea Party

Zoe's birthday was last week and I had promised her a birthday party.  You see, I was great at having birthday parties for her in the past.  She had a Pink Poodles in Paris first birthday party, a Circus themed second birthday and the mother of all parties, an ice cream sundae parlor themed party for her third birthday. After that third birthday, I was exhausted.

The following year, for her fourth, we were in Texas visiting family, so we had a pool party at my dad's house and bought Hello Kitty party supplies.  I got off really easy on that one.

Last year, for her fifth, we had just moved overseas and were still staying in temporary lodging.  It was very low-key.  I bought a few tinker bell decorations to hang while she was sleeping so she could feel a little special when she awakened the next morning.  It wasn't a great celebration as we were busy trying to find a house, still without all of our things, and essentially homeless.

This year I promised she could have a party.  We settled on a tea party theme (what better theme when in England?) and went to work.  From the moment we moved into our house last summer, I envisioned a garden tea party out amongst the flowers with twinkling fairy lights hanging from trees.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.

Even though we had to cram five little girls and their mothers indoors, I think the party went well and Zoe had a great time!

Here is the invitation I made using Photoshop with all of the personal information blocked out:

I made place cards using Photoshop as well:

Luckily, there are loads of antique and second-hand stores here and I was able to find tea trios for fairly cheap, so I purchased one for each girl for about £5 ($7.50) per set.

 In order to make all of the chairs uniform, I found some Cath Kidston pillow cases on ebay and used them as chair covers.  The bows came from The Range.

The bunting hanging on the cabinet was also purchased at The Range.

The paper lanterns and plastic tablecloth came from Oriental Trading (thankfully, I ordered them back in June, because they took almost two months to get here in the mail)

 The cookies were made by a local baker- a military wife with a phenomenal talent.

The plates and napkins came from Oriental Trading as well.

When the party was going to be outdoors, I had planned to set up a blue backdrop with a bunting on it and let the girls dress up and have a photo booth.  Since the party had to be moved indoors, I had the bucket of supplies on the side in case someone wanted to wear something.  They really didn't wear anything during the party, but after the party was over, everyone picked something from the bucket and I took them outside for a group shot. (it had stopped raining).  I do not have the permission of any of the girls' parents to post their photo, so just know it is cute, but will not be included in this post.

The paper bunting came from Oriental trading too.  It was supposed to be a cake topper but looked silly on the cake, so I decided to prop it up as a backdrop for the tea.  Just an hour before the party started, I was trying to figure out how to make them stand up when I remembered I had pink and white pearl cupcake sprinkles, so I poured them in wine glasses to anchor the bunting.  The tea I served was regular black tea, rose, Earl Grey and an herbal tea for our caffeine-free guests.

I had scones with lemon curd, raspberry preserve or strawberry wine preserves along with shortbread biscuits and homemade pound cake and lemon cookies.  On the sandwich tray, I had nutella sandwiches (the ONLY sandwich apart from pb&j that Zoe will eat), turkey sandwiches and chicken salad with fresh dill using greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise.

 The same girl that made the cookies also made the cake.

Each girl took two cookies and a china trio home as her party favor.

 I loved this photo I captured of Zoe blowing out her candles.  I blurred the girl in the background's face as I do not have permission to post it.

It was no ice cream party, but I think as a whole, it went well, and Zoe was pleased.

I hope to get back into blogging more soon and apologize to my friends and family that are keeping up with us through my blog.  The problem I have run into is that the best time for me to blog is at night and our internet is so slow at night, that it isn't worth it.  I just sat here for over an hour while the above photos loaded.  And now it is past 11pm and I have to get up in the morning.  The internet is considerably faster during the daytime, but I don't have much time for blogging during the day.  Again, my apologies- I hope to figure it out and start blogging more so my family back in the US can follow our adventures.

You Can't Handle the Truth!

Last week, while getting the kids ready for school, we all found ourselves in the bathroom at once.  I was trying to tame Noah's hair while Zoe was brushing her teeth when I spotted something on the wall. Closer inspection revealed it was poop.

Poop.

On. The. Wall.

I don't have babies or toddlers anymore- my children are school-aged.  An inquisition began.

"OH DISGUSTING!  I DIDN'T DO THAT!!", my OCD son practically screamed at me.

All eyes turned to Zoe (the five-year-old).

She looked dumbfounded (and I suspect she really didn't know how it got on the wall).

And where normally she would throw accusations back at her brother resulting in yelling, fighting and tears that I have not consumed enough caffeine to tolerate at 7am, Zoe decided to keep life interesting.

"You know what probably happened?"

(thinking this should be good) "What 'probably happened' ?"

"Well, you know how you like to leave the bathroom window open?  Well, I think that one of those pigeons that poop all over the backyard probably came inside and pooped on the wall and then went back out."

I stand corrected.  I have much more serious things to worry about in the mornings than fighting children and a lack of caffeine.

Swooping, pooping ninja-like pigeons that sneak in the house through opened windows and poop sideways on the wall.

I am going to go with that, because I probably can't handle the truth of how poop really got on my bathroom wall.

And, just in case, I think I am going to shut the bathroom window.

Confections and Messiahs

In Sunday School, they taught us that Jesus performed miracles- water into wine, walking on water and raising Lazarus from the dead to name the highlights.  Now, if you ask me, getting Lazarus to come out of that tomb alone is a huge miracle.  I can't even get my kids to come downstairs when I call them and Jesus casually sashayed up to Lazarus' tomb four days after he died, called his name and out he came.  Whoa...

I digress.

My intention here is to tell you about a miracle that was performed on Thursday.  You see, Noah had an expander placed in his mouth on Tuesday evening and has been in quite a bit of pain ever since. (side note- but funny nonetheless- when the dentist pulled out the expander, Noah took one look at it and proclaimed, "That looks like an instrument of medieval torture.") Because of his pain, he was unable to eat on Wednesday.  I sent a Carnation Instant Breakfast to school for lunch and we had to make him a protein shake for dinner. Thursday morning, he insisted he was still in too much pain and had another instant breakfast drink and asked for one in his lunchbox as well.

Thursday afternoon, I received an email from his teacher informing me that Noah was feeling better because he had just eaten a chocolate chip cookie.  Amazing.  When faced with a sweet, brown-sugar based treat, Noah was healed!

Healed!

By a chocolate chip cookie!

I asked Noah if Jesus made the cookies.  He looked at me half-confused and half-annoyed and said that his teacher made them.

I know the new Pope is considered a bit liberal but I doubt the Vatican will be receptive of my news that they have it all wrong and that there is a fourth grade teacher in England performing miracles...

...or that miracles are being handed out by chocolate chip cookies.

Not missing the opportunity to find the greater good in things, I am now left to ponder if chocolate chip cookies are holy.

If cookies are the new host then I am happy to report that I commune with God A LOT!

Like, I think I could be a holy figurehead I commune so much.

Saint Jennifer- High Priestess of Holy Confections.

And making things all about me.

Because the reality is, Noah was miraculously healed yesterday!

All hail the chocolate chip cookie!

Amen?

Air Force Families

The wonderful thing about the Air Force life is that goodbyes are not always goodbye- all too often, they are "see ya later".  No matter where the Air Force takes you,  you almost always cross paths with someone you have met before- or a friend of a friend.  It is a big ole family.

I was in New Jersey so long I went through three full cycles of friends that left me and then, finally, it was my turn to leave.  Although, I left behind a wonderful sweet friend (Karyn) that I miss dearly- I can only hope that the Air Force will bring us back together one day too.

I met Claudia when her husband was deployed with mine and we were both pregnant with our first children.  We soon formed a friendship and our boys were born only six weeks apart and were each others' first best friends.  My son was cranky, cried all the time and never slept.  Her son was happy, slept and a dream.  She was concerned I had post partum depression and finally talked me into going to a playgroup on base when Noah was almost a year old.  That is where I also met Amber, Catherine, Lucy, Jennifer, Becca, Sarah Jane and Marlana.  They had also just had their first children who were about a year younger than mine and Claudia's boys.  I only saw these ladies weekly at playgroup but remained close to Claudia, having playdates at the house with the boys and getting the whole families together at each others' houses for dinner, barbecues and just hanging out.

So, when Claudia's husband got orders the summer our boys were turning three, I was devastated.  The rest of my first cycle of friends had just left and Claudia was all I had left.  Claudia was neighbors with Amber and Amber was having a scrapbooking party.  I had no interest in scrapbooking but Claudia insisted I go to the party- she was trying to take care of me and insert me into a new friend group.  What a great friend- she was worried about me and didn't want to leave me friendless.  I started hanging out with the other ladies and gradually started scrapbooking.

Over the next few years, these ladies became my best friends.  We spent many late nights at each other's houses scrapbooking, bouncing advice, fears and concerns about things like breastfeeding, potty training, biting, and other parenting issues as well as deployment frustrations off of each other. We relied on each other doing simple mundane things- like meeting each other at the post office so one could babysit the minivans in the parking lot while the other ran in to mail packages without kids, strollers and diaper bags. These were the ladies that surprised me with a baby shower when I was pregnant with Zoe because I wasn't going home to Texas to have one. These were also the ladies that quietly prayed after Zoe had her stroke and got together to make a "Welcome Home Zoe" sign and put it on my front door with balloons the day Zoe was released from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Lucy left first, then Marlana, then Jennifer followed by Catherine and finally Amber.  Sarah Jane's husband separated from the military and was still in the area, but we saw less and less of her as she adapted to civilian life and lived an hour away from the base.  Becca and I were left behind but Becca completed her schooling and got a full time job and we lost touch.

When we received orders last spring to England, I was ecstatic.  Catherine is in England, Jennifer is in Germany and Amber is in Italy.  We decided we MUST have a "Jersey Girl Reunion".  Alas, Jennifer's husband's job does not allow a lot of flexibility, so she was not able to participate.  Amber is leaving for her next assignment in June, so Catherine and I got together one cold, dreary day in February and booked plane tickets to Italy!  Our trip was this past weekend.

It was absolutely beautiful in northern Italy!  The weather was great, the scenery beautiful but the friendship was phenomenal.  It seemed as if time had never passed and was great to be together again.  That very same weekend, Becca (who has now moved on to another assignment somewhat close to Marlana- whose husband separated a few years ago and has moved to their forever home) and Marlana got together as well back in the US.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures of our fabulous Italian weekend.  Don't worry, Jennifer, Catherine and I were already discussing tentative plans for Germany next year to see you!

Lake Barcis

 We hosted Flat Stanley for a family in Texas and I took him to Italy with me.  Here are my friend's boys holding Stanley at the Italian market.

 **snicker**  These were incense sticks for sale at the market- they had cannabis scented ones.  It made me laugh. (NO- I did NOT buy any).

 Pasta with curry sauce- oh my goodness, it was SO GOOD!

 Gorgazzo underwater cave

Stanley holding British money (a £5 note and a £1 coin)

Stanley holding Euro (for his Italian shopping needs- a 20 Euro note and a 1 Euro coin)

Stanley on the train to Venice

 Venice!!  (Venezia)

Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square)- it is not uncommon for this square to be ankle-deep in water. They even have floating sidewalks they put out when the water floods the square. This past fall, though, there were pictures circulating of the square waist-deep in water. 

The flooded square (this image is not mine- I got it from the internet- here)

 Bridge of Sighs

Grand Canal

This is my favorite photo I took all weekend:

 my lunch: gnocchi- yum!

 Stanley visiting the American base in Italy- I took a picture because look at the beautiful mountains towering over the base!

The church in Amber's town

The view out the window of our plane as we taxied away from the Venice airport, England-bound. 

Zoe's souvenir- a Carnivale mask (she loves cats) made in Italy

Noah's souvenir

I feel so fortunate to have friends literally all over the world!  It is somewhat comforting to know that wherever we may go next, chances are high, I will see a familiar face there!  I love my Air Force family!

Oh- and Claudia (whom I mentioned earlier in this post) has just messaged me in the past few weeks to tell me they will arrive in England this fall!   

More Conversations in Our House

Conversation last night: ( background- the British don't refrigerate their eggs. They are on the regular shelves in the grocery store and they keep them out at home.  Also, our British refrigerator is TINY and I have a hard time finding places to keep everything)




ME: I think we are going to start handling the eggs the British way and leaving them out.  They take up too much room in the fridge and I need that space.

DJ: Okay.... but...

ME: They don't even refrigerate them in the store.

DJ: I know it is fine, but they DO stay fresh longer in the fridge.

ME:  The date on the eggs I bought today is 20 May.  That is plenty of time to eat them.

DJ:  Well okay, but if they start hatching....

ME:  They are organic free range, so I guess that is possible...

ME: ... but you know what it means if they hatch?

DJ: baby chicks?

ME:  No!  BONUS- CHICKEN DINNER!


I know.. we're bad.