The boys are still really enjoying being with Daddy again. They are interested in whatever he is doing and climb all over him. I sometimes have to remind Ryan that this isn't Daddy's house, it's where all of us live together. He seems happy enough here, but he does miss Grandma. It makes me happy when he talks about the little things that he misses doing with her like sharing an apple. To me that shows what a part of his life she is. Grandma isn't just some lady we see sometimes for big major events, she is someone he knows from the time he has spent with her.
The boys are still going to summer camp twice a week. Ryan is enthusiastic about going and Justin begs to stay home in his bedroom. When I went to pick them up on Thursday, I saw Justin listening and actively participating in a group read-aloud. He also will tell me about the things they do during the day. He is so hard to drag out of the house to go anywhere, but he usually seems to enjoy himself when he does get out.
Thursday I had to go to the embassy to have my security briefing and get my ID badge. It was scheduled at 4:00 so we could just come home with Rob after work. He was able to take a couple of hours off of work and go with the boys to the playground while I was busy. Once I was done, we all came home together. It was hot enough that it was time to head home. It was nice to come home and have dinner a bit early too.
The boys continue to improve on the Wii. I am amazed at how fast they learn. Just a few months ago they couldn't even play Mario Kart and now Justin can beat me. It would be fun to find a few more games that the whole family can enjoy. Maybe something that doesn't (gasp!) have Mario in it.
This week the former occupant's gardener came by. He is too busy to work for us now, but he was kind enough to come over and show us where the property line is and to tell me about our trees. We already knew about our apricot trees. We have two more that are yellow apricots. What we thought were fig trees are really almond trees. We also have walnut trees and a plum tree. There are a few cherry trees, but they are already done for the season. It is fun to have things growing in our yard. The window of opportunity for ripe fruit seems to be small though. I hope to get more of the yellow apricots than I did of the others. Even though we gave away more than 100, we ate some, and I froze some, I'm afraid that many ended up rotting.
The embassy employee association does a weekly produce order. I love that I don't have to buy my produce at the store. I think that when you order for at home delivery they tend to give you the less attractive produce, and from what I have seen it isn't always so great in the stores. Poor Rob had a lot to bring home on Friday, including a watermelon. We have been told that produce is pretty dismal in the winter and that we should enjoy it while we can.
On Saturday Rob had a couple of morning errands to run and no one really wanted to go grocery shopping. We put in an order with SAS supermarket and it was delivered later that afternoon. I really need to get out and more familiar with the grocery stores here, but it is nice to have the delivery option. Since they have an English website, it really is quite easy. Of course I wanted 3 liters of a certain brand of milk and they only had 2, but going to the store wouldn't have changed that.
We spent a little time outdoors. We have in-ground sprinklers, but they don't reach the entire yard so Rob pulled out the sprinkler. The boys had a blast and got very wet.
We will see what next week brings.
