Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Where Does He Come Up With This Stuff?: Angry Birds Edition

Over the past 6 months or so, we've learned that Angry Birds are a big hit among young boys all around the world. Elias was slowly introduced to it by way of friends who liked it, but when we returned to the States, he began playing the game on Grandma's iPhone. He, of course, thought it was super fun, and another Angry Birds fan was born. So then the next time Grandma was at the store, she saw a box of Angry Birds Cheese Nips, which she knew Elias would love, so she got them. And he did. Not only does he enjoy the tasty crackers, but he also loves looking at the box where all the Angry Birds are there together.

For reasons beyond my comprehension, he decided to make up names for each of the Angry Birds. Therefore, these are their new names:
Red one = Mado
Black one = Moodo
White one = Meedo
Yellow one = Tofasar (That's pronounced toe-fuh-sahr. I have no idea.)
Blue one = Charlie
Bahaha! Oh, and as mentioned in my last post, the green pig is named Guido.

So that's all well and good, but here's where it gets really funny. My dad is a backyard birdwatcher, and so he keeps birdfeeders that attract all sorts of birds. Elias and I have really gotten into the birdwatching as well, and Elias has now identified a real-life bird to be the equivalent of each of the Angry Birds! Let me introduce to you the identities of each one!
So we'll be sitting at the table with the birdfeeder outside, and Elias will suddenly shout "Hi, Charlie!" or "It's Meedo!" So we'll look to discover a blue jay or nuthatch at the feeder. And there can be any number of the same bird on the feeder - the 10 goldfinches in our field of vision are all named Tofasar.

So I don't know where my kid comes up with this stuff, but it's fun!

*Thanks to the Angry Birds Wiki for the images of the Angry Birds. I also learned there that each bird already has a name. We're going to stick with Elias' interpretation.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Kite & Culture Festival

This afternoon we went to the International Kite & Culture Festival in Georgetown. There were bouncy houses, which Elias thoroughly enjoyed. Then we got some food; Justin thoroughly enjoyed a lamb gyro and baklava! (Elias and I preferred more boring food: a cheeseburger and a chicken philly, respectively.) We had brought Elias' kite with us (the green pig from Angry Birds - Elias has named him Guido), and the weather was great for kite-flying!
Below is a shot of the whole festival from the top. The white tents are the food/craft displays. The bouncy houses are in the back behind the tents. Justin and Elias are the pair on the far left, and you can see their green kite at the very top of the picture.

Friday, April 12, 2013

New Bicycle

My parents' neighborhood has a Facebook page, and Dad spotted on it that someone was giving away a bike for a 4- or 5-year-old boy. So he claimed it for Elias, and we went to pick it up. It is a great little bike, the perfect size for Elias! Such a blessing to be given it for free! We just picked up some training wheels, and he's good to go.
The bike has both a horn and a bell, which Elias likes even more than riding on the bike!
We hope the weather warms up and stays good so that we can use this great new bike!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Celebrating Easter

If I hurry up and get this posted, it'll be not quite a year since I've posted on this blog. I haven't been snoozing that whole time - the things I've been blogging have been over on our Turkish Travels blog. However, while we're back in the States, I'll start putting things back on this blog... I like having kind of a record of what our life is like, and I also like being able to share it with others.

So although we had only been back in the States for a few weeks and barely had our wits about us (and still don't for that matter), we had a joyous celebration of Easter! How beautiful to reflect upon the resurrection of Christ and what that means for us both in this life and for eternity!
My parents' neighborhood had a little petting zoo the Saturday before Easter. Elias LOVED the chicks, and still talks about them! He was less excited about the goats (that you can see in the pen behind us).
We colored eggs the day before Easter. Grandma had bought some no-spill coloring cups, and those worked great!
I had also bought some of the shrink-wrap egg decorators, which I remember using as a kid. However, rather than dipping them in boiling water, which is what I remember doing, the instructions said you could also shoot them with a hair dryer to make the plastic shrink. Elias loved that too!
Our beautiful eggs!
We had brought home from church an Easter craft for Elias to do, so he and Grandma did that the day before Easter. He liked the way he could "open" the door to the empty tomb!
Then on Sunday morning, there was a lot going on at church! First a sunrise service, followed by breakfast. Then the choir practiced its cantata that it would be performing in the later service. Then Sunday School, then the later service, then an Easter Egg hunt!! In the later service, the children performed a handbell song, which Elias thought was awesome!
Listen at the end of the video... Hear the excited "YAAAAAAAAAY!"? That's Elias. :)
My parents' church has this cross of daffodils planted on the hill behind it, and every year it blooms just in time for Easter!
Due to bad weather, the Easter Egg Hunt at church had to be moved inside, but Elias still had fun!
For Easter supper, we made Easter Egg Salad! You can't really tell from the pictures, but the egg dye got on the eggs themselves, so our salad was pretty psychedelic. Made it even more delicious!
Christ is Risen!