One Beautiful Evening

While Nelu was out playing soccer with his new team this evening, the kids and I sat out on the back patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather and some very messy popsicles.

Cat Nelu juca fotbal cu echipa lui noua in seara asta, eu si copiii am stat in curte la noi si ne-am bucurat de vremea frumoasa si de niste inghetata.

Daniel's very first popsicle....He would take a bit and then cry, take a bite and cry, because it was so cold.

Asta a fost prima oara cand a mancat Daniel o inghetat asa....Lua o gura si plangea, lua o gura si plangea, ca a fost prea rece pt. el.

How Does Our Garden Grow!

We went out to see the garden last night, and (though Nelu had already seen it) the kids and I were surprised to see that every type of seed that we planted last week had little shoots coming out of the ground. We'll wait and see and keep our fingers crossed. The tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers we planted as actual plants. Maybe next year we'll start them by seed, but with all that I imagine will be going on with my own schedule, I'm not sure that will happen.

We also picked cherries from Dad's one cherry tree. We have a bucketful in the fridge now, and I plan to make some cherry jam and maybe possibly a pie this coming week. The kids had so much fun. Too bad I didn't have the camera. Evi climbed up in the tree to pick. Samuel picked up the ones that had fallen to the ground and sometimes put them in the bucket, but mostly ate them. And Daniel crawled all around the ground looking for the black, shriveled up cherries to munch on. Nelu got up on the ladder and eventually just climbed right up in the tree, too, to pick the cherries. (I think he felt like he was in Romania again--he hasn't done this in a while!) Dad even got in on the action. (I think he was thinking about that cherry jam and pie.) And I mostly just held the bucket for everyone to drop their cherries in. However, I did pick as many as I could reach, which is not too many.

And one last great thing about yesterday. I got a call from the school saying, what I thought was that Evi got a "bite." The kids had been outside all morning for field day, so I thought it was a bug or bee or something. But when I asked for more of an explanation, the secretary said that it was a bike--Evi was one of the four winners of a bike for perfect attendance this year. I was really surprised. So Nelu, the boys, and I hopped in the car and headed to the school to watch Evi get called to the office for the bike that she'd won. She was very surprised and almost confused. Well, that didn't last long, though. She started breaking it in at Dad's last night and took it for a spin again today. It's bigger than her old one, so it'll be a good one to grow into.

Here she is...our sweet pea with her new, well-deserved bike.


Am mers la tatal meu aseara sa vedem gradina. Nelu stia deja cum arata, dar eu si copiii am for surprins sa vedem ca deja au iesit plantele din toate felurile de seminte pe care le-am plantat! Cred ca brocoli-ul face cel mai bine, dar si porumbul. Abia astept sa vad ce fel o sa iasa peste cateva saptamani!

Noi am si cules visini aseara la tatal meu. Avem o gramada in frigider, si vreau sa fac niste gem si placinta incepend de luni. Copiii s-au bucurat sa ajute la cules. Evi s-a urcat in pom/copac sa culeaga. Samuel a luat visini de pe jos, si a pus cateva in caldare dar cred ca am mancat si mai multe. Si Daniel era jos si manca visinile uscate si stricate de pe jos. Nelu s-a urcat pe scara si dupa-aia in pom/copac--cred ca isi aducea aminte de Romania, ca nu cred ca a mai facut asta aici. Si a ajutat si tatal meu mult--abia asteapta sa manance si el gem de visini si placinta. Eu am ajutat cel mai mult cu caldarea--n-ajung la crengi prea bine. Dar am cules cateva.

Si Evi a avut o zi buna la scoala ieri. A castigat o bicicleta--a fost una din patru copii care au castigat. A fost un premiu pt. ca n-a lipsit de la scoala tot anul (decat cand a fost scuzata pt. calatoria noastra in California la toamna) si cred ca si pt. ca s-a comportat bine la scoala si a facut bine. Ne-a chemat la scoala sa fim acolo cand au anuntat asta, si Evi era surpinsa sa ne vada pe noi acolo si sa primeasca o bicicleta. Bicicleta este mai mare decat aia pe care o avea deja. Cred ca o s-o vopsim pe aia veche sa-i o dam lui Samuel cand este mai mare.

Uite, fetita noastra cu bicicleta ei noua...

Garden

We finally planted the garden out at Dad's. I think Nelu did about 90% of the work. Evi and I helped a little, but we ended up having to get out of the sun and look after the boys. It was late to plant, but we hope it does well anyway. We've already gotten lots of sunshine and a huge downpour since then.

Noi am plantat gradina noastra in sfarsit la tatal meu. Cred ca Nelu a facut 90 la suta din munca. Eu si Evi am ajutat putin, dar a trebuit sa avem grija de baieti mici si sa stam mai mult la umbra. Am plantat gradina cam tarziu, dar speram sa faca bine oricum. Deja am avut mult soare, si a plouat foarte tare intr-o zi de cand am plantat gradina.

They helped hoe the weeds until they got tired
Copiii au ajutat la sapat (?) pana au obosit

Looking for something to water
Samuel cautat ceva care trebuie udat

Evi actually planted several cucumber and tomato plants (and squished a few in the process)
Evi a plantat si ea multe rasaduri (si a rupt cateva in acelasi timp)

And Baby just relaxed and tried not to get licked too much by the dog
Si Daniel s-a relaxat acolo si a incercat sa se apere de cainele tatalui meu

Birthday Boy

Well, the day was mostly normal for Daniel, but he had fun at his little party. Grandpa and Eliana (the Romanian student here at the college for whom we're a host family) came. We had pizza, breadsticks, and cake. That was it for the menu. Then we had time for presents, which Daniel seems to like. I hope he felt special in his own little way.

Daniel a avut o zi mai normala ieri de ziua lui, dar am avut si o petrecere mica pt. el. A venit tatal meu si Eliana (romanca care merge la facultate aici, si suntem un fel de "gazda" pt. ea). Am mancat pizza, un fel de paine (care merge cu pizza) si tort, cam atat. Dupa-aia am avut cateva cadouri pt. Daniel, si cred ca i-au placut. Sper ca s-a simtit special cumva.

Playing with some shoes in the morning
Se joaca cu incaltamintea dimineata

Going to pick up Sissy from the bus
Merge cu noi s-o luam pe Evi de la autobuz

At the party (with Samuel blowing out the candle)
La petrecere (Samuel a stins lumanarea)

With Eliana
Cu Eliana

And this is the day he was born
Si asa arata cand s-a nascut acum un an

At This Time a Year Ago...

I was packing my bag to head to the hospital in the morning. I can't believe almost a year has gone by since baby Daniel was born.

Here he is today, one day away from his birthday....starting to talk, taking a few steps, and moving from watching the world around him to actually participating in it!

Acum un an imi faceam bagajul si ma pregateam sa merg la spital a doua dimineata. Nu-mi vine sa cred ca aproape un an a trecut de cand s-a nascut Daniel!

Asa arata azi, cand mai are o zi pana face un an...incepe sa vorbeasca, face cativa pasi, si in loc doar sa se uite la lumea din jurul lui, incepe acum sa participe si el.

Daniel with his mama
Daniel cu Mamica

Finally a good picture of all three, after their bath tonight
In sfarsit am facut o poza buna cu toti trei, dupa ce-au facut baie in seara asta

Frustration

Well, now I'm frustrated, because I can't upload videos anymore. I was wanting to do that today. I'll have to figure out another way to do it if at all possible.

Anyway, we've been busy and stressed. We've said yes to too many things, and our weekend was a crazy mess. But we made it. Now we're trying to get back to normal. Our weekend was filled with work, a wedding rehearsal, the wedding itself, (six hours on the road for all of this), church, a small birthday party for Daniel, and a picnic for the college's international students (for one of whom we're a host family). And I'm sure there was more, but that in itself was enough. Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Sunt putin suparata ca nu mai merge sa pun video-clip-uri pe blog. Vroiam sa fac asta azi. Trebuie sa gasesc un alt mod de a face asta daca se poate cumva.

Oricum, am fost foarte ocupati si stresati. Am fost implicati in prea mult lucruri in acelasi timp, si am avut un weekend prea stresanta. Dar am reusit sa trecem prin toate. Acum sa incercam sa ne obisnuim cu programul normal din nou. In weekend am avut de facut: munca, repetitie pt. o nunta, nunta, (sase ore de mers cu masina pt. asta), slujba la biserica, o petrecere mica pt. ziua lui Daniel, si un picnic pt. studentii internationali de la facultate (suntem "gazda" pt. o studenta romanca). Si cred ca am mai avut si alte lucruri de facut, dar asta ajunge. Urmeaza cateva poze din weekend-ul nostru.

Evi as flower girl
Evi a participat la nunta verisoarei mele

Waiting for the wedding (that's the dress Nelu brought back from Italy for me)
Eu si Evi asteptam sa inceapa nunta (asta-i rochia pe care Nelu mi-a adus-o din Italia)

Daniel, getting some help from big sister
Daniel primeste ajutor de la sora mai mare

Eating some yummy wrapping paper
Mananca hartie de impachetat

And looking out the window of his new cardboard home
Si aici se uita prin geam la casuta lui noua facuta din carton

Little Flower Garden

I started digging up the flower bed the other night, since we'd let it go for a year. I wasn't about to plant flowers last year with all I had going on. But we wanted some for this summer. I know our neighbor/tenant really appreciates them, too--he tells us often enough.

Then Nelu came around and finished the job with the big shovel. Samuel and I ran to pick out some flowers yesterday afternoon. And Nelu and the kids planted them in the evening. The hard part was my trying to water them with a little too much help from the kids afterward. The flowers are pretty tiny, so I'll have to post a picture in the future of our finished product. Anyway, it was fun, and we look forward to the added color to our front yard.

Am inceput acum cateva seri sa sap gradina mica pt. flori in fata casei. N-am plantat acolo anul trecut ca eram insarcinata si trebuia sa nasc si mai mergeam la scoala si pt. mai multe caze. Dar vroiam flori in anul asta. Stiu ca-i place si chiriasului nostru sa avem flori in fata, ca ne spune destul de des.

Apoi Nelu a terminat de sapat. Si eu si Samuel am mers sa alegem niste flori de plantat. Si Nelu si copiii le-au plantat aseara. Cea mai grea parte a fost cand le-am udat cu putin prea mult ajutor de la copii. Florile sunt mici inca, deci trebuie sa pun o poza in viitor cu ce fel arata. Oricum, a fost frumos sa lucram la asta impreuna, si abia asteptam sa vedem curtea noastra mai colorata peste putin timp.

Evi was the big helper of the evening
Evi a ajutat cel mai mult

Still helping
Evi, ajutandu-l pe Tati

Samuel wanted to help with his little John Deere digger
Samuel ajuta cu masinuta lui

Even Baby Daniel got in on the action
Chiar si Daniel a incercat sa ajute si el

Dangers of the Classroom

Here is Evi's tooth, knocked loose in a crash between a classmate and her two weeks ago.
Asa arata dintele lui Evi care a fost lovit tare cand Evi s-a tamponat cu un coleg de clasa la scoala acum doua saptamani.

And here's what she looks like as of this morning.
Si asa arata de azi dimineata.

Here are the kids at the airport to pick up their long-lost Tati.
Aici sunt copiii cu Nelu la aeroport

And here's my sweet Mother's Day picture.
Si aici sunt cu copiii de ziua mamelor la noi.

Relief

I can breathe a sigh of relief now. My coursework for school has come to an end. Now it's on to my internship in the fall. School has thoroughly worn me out, but I'm all the better for it, I think.

Pot sa ma relaxez putin acum. S-a terminat cursurile mele pt. scoala. Acum mai am doar practica mea care incepe la toamna. M-a obosit tare scoala, dar ma simt ca s-a meritat.

Tomorrow

We're down to counting down the hours now. Nelu is due back tomorrow evening, and we're so excited! This month, it's been a long one.

Acum numaram orele pana se intoarce Nelu acasa. Trebuie sa vina maine diseara, si abia asteptam! Am avut o luna foarte lunga fara el...