Half Time Hobos...Stories from our Travels: 2016

Friday, December 30, 2016

Did you know we got a puppy?

Meet Skittles, our sweet little puppy!

This is his puppy house. You may not be able to tell, but he has on a collar.

He's not really asleep, but is just waiting for a belly rub.

Thankfully he is house trained.

We take him with us wherever we go, so you will surely meet him soon.

Woof, woof!

Amelia Completes the High Ropes Course

Check out this brave little thing! She is so strong and has amazing core strength, despite her small frame. Amelia was challenged and had to stop and take a few calming breaths, but she did it!

Higher and higher she goes

Across cables to the next platform

Taking her time to keep her balance

Climbing the wooden dragon

Clipping in and out for safety

Can you spot Amelia?

Finishing with a zipline

These photos were among the treasure trove of snapshots on my phone that had yet to be uploaded. Because Bryce gets a long afternoon nap at his preschool, he needs to stay up a bit later than Amelia, so one night during his, "quiet time," he drew these Ninja Turtles...enjoy!

His first attempt

After showing him how to draw the face mask

Quite pleased with himself

Turtle Power!

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Race Day

This is a little movie trailer that Bryce and I put together one night using some of his cars.

Penguin Sliding

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Let's Wrestle!

Watch out, we've had some serious wrestling matches lately that are full of so much laughter we are gasping for breath.

This guy's unbelievable...airplane AND scissor hold at the same time!

"I'll get out!"

Care to join us?

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Amelia's First Published Story

This week I was lucky enough to work with Amelia's kindergarten class to publish their first stories with Book Creator. I love how her little voice sounds so confident and proud as she reads her story to you. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Read Anything Good Lately?

We are a family of readers...there's no doubt about it!

For anyone that knows me, I live, breath, sleep and eat books. Because of this, I must recommend two young adult phenomenal historical fiction books by Ruta Sepetys that have stayed with me since I read them this past September:

Salt to the Sea

Between Shades of Gray

Give them a try and let me know what you think!

New Haske Home Videos from Old Holidays

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Belated Birthday Posts

Our babies are no longer babies! Happy 4th to Bryce on September 13th and 6 for Amelia on October 5th. Both had friends over for birthday playdate/parties. Bryce's friends were all Bulgaria speakers so that was a new experience for us, but it was a lovely time. Amelia had girls from her class join us for a "Royal Ball." Both gatherings were calm, peaceful and simple...which is exactly who try to be. The photos aren't the best because they are from my phone, but Jim has some proper shots on our camera that I hope to upload...maybe sometime before Christmas!

Bryce's cookie cake for school. His actual birthday cake was a puppy and ninja turtle cake. It looked like a child decorated it, but sadly it was all me!

Happy Birthday to our Boochie!

Bryce with some of his friends. The little girl, Katy, is his best friend. She took him under her wing when he was new and didn't know any language. They have been inseparable since.

Amelia was in charge of taking photos

It's easy to be entertained when there are lots of things to play with!

E-Invite

Ribbon Wand Station

Beading Station

Amelia was sure she was going to wake up to a house fully decorated, so we did the best we could with what we had. She was overjoyed.

I ordered these silly paper lanterns a few years back and we have used them for every birthday since.

Snacks anyone?

Amelia's cake turned out much better than Bryce's and was SO delicious...my best one yet.

It was a yellow cake and the icing was colored with raspberry juice.

Madras Lentils Anyone?

This summer we were introduced to Madras Lentil packets from Costco while visiting grandma Mary Ann. The flavor and the fact that all ingredients are natural made my taste buds very happy. So much so that I was determined to learn how to make them myself. I found this great copycat recipe and was incredibly pleased with the results. They will definitely become a staple in our house!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

The Bulgarian Boochie

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Camping At Last

Our first Bulgarian camping experience is in the books! We ventured to a campground near Rila Monastery for a night back in August. It was absolutely beautiful, but very cold at night! Good thing we were all snuggled tight in our 3 man backpacker tent! Needless to say, we were cozy:)

Look at that backdrop!

Don't you love the stream in the background?

Posting this tent shot takes me back to our South America trip!

Bryce's favorite photo face

And now for a series of selfies!

No captions needed!

Flashback:First Day of School

Ok, technically these are not all front the first day of school, but they are pretty close. Year two for Bryce at Veseloto Gardje, his Bulgarian preschool in our neighborhood, which he absolutely loves. He was so excited to get back and see all of his friends. Amelia started kindergarten with many of her classmates from last year, but also a nice mix of new students. Jim moved up with his students to the middle school; this is where he feels more at ease. I am now the elementary school Instructional Coach, which is an exciting new learning adventure!

You want me to stand still and take a photo? Haha good luck!

"Ready Confetti" for the night before Kindergarten

Mommy's new office

Taken by Amelia, which explains the angle:)

Can you spot Amelia at our first all school assembly?

She is holding the flag sign for USA.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

A Few More Summer Favorites

Ok, it's October and I am still posting things from summer! It might be time to move on and show what we have been up to, but I just can't not post you these memories from our time in the US...they are just too precious to be skipped. So, I will make this my last post from summer and sometime next week I will begin to post the kick-off of our second year in Bulgaria, which has been stellar!