Carter interviews Logan & Brady

Carter saw me writing on the blog the other day and asked to come up with some questions to interview Logan and Brady with! So here they are:

What's your favorite color?
Logan: Blue, Red, Yellow
Brady: Red

What is your favorite animal?
Logan: Lion
Brady: Cat

What do you like about Mexico?
Logan: The food and the school
Brady: School

What do you like about Canada?
Logan: That it's cold and that we can eat perogies. And hopefully we never eat that snow with syrup again. 
Brady: Snow

Would you rather go to the beach or to Canada for a holiday? Why?
Logan: Canada, because it's bigger and you can see your cousins and your grandparents.
Brady: Canada for a holiday because I can visit my cousins.

Do you want to adopt S and S?
Logan: Yeah.
Brady: Yes.

Who are your best friends at school?
Logan: Matt, Mateo, Ian, Mariana, Diego, Diego J.
Brady: Mateo, Edgar, Santi, Enrique

What do you like about school?
Logan: Lunch and Recess 
Brady: Lunch and Recess

What don't you like about school?
Logan: The double Spanish class.
Brady: Classes.

What kind of food would you choose? For example, Italian, French, Japanese.
Logan: Sushi! Japanese.
Brady: Italian, for fettucine alfredo.

Interview with Carter: on turning 10!

Carter turned 10 back on December 22, but with all of our visitors and Christmas going on, twas a little hard to update!

So, our first child in the double digits! It doesn't actually feel that different for us, and neither for him as all of his friends are already 10, with his birthday being at the end of the year. That said, yesterday he came home with a paper from school saying that in two weeks they will be having a special Preparing for Adolescence class and that the dads are asked to attend with their sons (and the mothers with their daughters)...so that makes it hit home that he is getting older!

Besides turning 10, Carter's birthday was special this year because my parents were here right then. The day before he invited several friends over for pizza and floor hockey, and then the next day he chose to go to the zoo as a family and then to Olive Garden for supper....for his favorite food, ravioli (all of the pictures are from these 2 days, except for the first one which was actually on Logan's birthday at the mini-golf).

And just to remember this age, an interview with Carter Isaiah:

1. What is your favorite color? Red

2. What is your favorite toy? Lego

3. What is your favorite fruit? Mango

4. What is your favorite tv show or movie? Sonic and Star Wars 

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ravioli

6. What is your favorite game? Lego Star Wars

7. What is your favorite snack? Mint candies

8. What is your favorite animal? Cheetah

9. What is your favorite song? Pentatonix and The Piano Guys

10. What is your favorite book?  Percy Jackson

11. Who is your best friend? I have 5 of them. Angel, Salvador, Leo, Analia, and Juan Pablo.


12. What is your favorite cereal? Nesquick and Lucky Charms

13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Bike


14. What is your favorite drink? Root Beer

15. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

16. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My blanket and my teddies 

17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal

18. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Ravioli

19. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Missionary or an Author

20. Imagine that you can become invisible whenever you wanted to. What are some of the things you would do? Ride my bike so they just see the bike pedaling and they get scared.

21. I am very proud because… I'm awesome.

22. If I were President I would… build a big army, to defend.

23. I am afraid to …go downstairs by myself at night.

24. Name one thing you do really well? Read.

25. Describe what it means to be a good friend. To be kind and play with your friends. 

26. What is your favorite time of day? Morning on Saturdays, because we get to play, watch shows, and eat breakfast.

27. Describe your best day ever? I've had a lot of best days. But one was my birthday because my friends came and we got to play.

28. Describe your favorite hobby. Reading.

29. Climbing trees is… fun.

30. I wish there were a law that said….. kids could stay awake for as long as they wanted.

31. What makes you feel sad? When we lost Jack (the cat, he went missing for a couple of hours).


32. What makes you feel happy? Family, unless I get punished :)


33. Pretend that you can fly whenever you wanted. Where would you go? Canada because it has snow and my grandparents and cousins live there.

34. If I could choose a different name, I would choose… Jason.

35. Where do you want to go on vacation? The West Edmonton Mall Waterpark (in Edmonton, AB).

36. What is your favorite thing to do with Mom or Dad? Wrestle with dad and cook with mom.

What is daddy like?

In honor of Father's Day, here is another round of "What is daddy like".

For the record, Carter is 9, Logan is 7, and Brady is 5. Also for the record, all of the pictures in this post are from other times, no we're not at the beach! ;)

You can see previous answers here:
2 years ago
4 years ago

 1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
Carter: That I'm funny.
Logan: That I'm funny.
Brady: That I cannot play on the tablet.

2. What makes Daddy happy?
Carter: Wrestling him.
Logan: The blue guys. I like them and so does daddy. 
Brady: That I make him some hearts.
~ any guesses as to who the blue guys are? 

3. What makes Daddy sad?
Carter: If I do something bad.
Logan: When someone dies of his family I think.
Brady: I don't know.

4. How does Daddy make you laugh?
Carter: Tickling and wrestling me.
Logan: When he tickles me.
Brady: Tickle me.

5. What was Daddy like when he was a little boy?
Carter: He liked to pretend to be in a singing group. 
Logan: mmm....I don't know...happy!
Brady: Toys.

6. How old is Daddy?
Carter: 36
Logan: 30 something
Brady: Right now? I don't know.

7. How tall is Daddy?
Carter: About 20 feet. I think.
Logan: ah, tall
Brady: Verrry tall.

8. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
Carter: Eat steak.
Logan: Wrestle!
Brady: Play tablet.

9. What does Daddy do when you're not around?
Carter: I don't know cause I'm not here.
Logan: He does his work.
Brady: Bike.

10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Carter: Being a good missionary.
Logan: If he was the President...
Brady: Money!

11. What is Daddy really good at?
Carter: Hockey.
Logan: Work, like working on his homework.
Brady: The bomb games. Like with the bomb and the numbers.

12. What is Daddy not very good at?
Carter: He's not very ticklish.
Logan: I don't know.
Brady: I don't know.

13. What does Daddy do for his job?
Carter: He tells people about God.
Logan: Missionary.
Brady: Work. Homework.

14. What is Daddy's favorite food?
Carter: Steak.
Logan: Perogies.
Brady: I think...waffles.

15. What makes you proud of Daddy?
Carter: He's a good daddy.
Logan: em...he's good at my homework. Because he's the dad, he knows better than me.
Brady: I don't know.

16. If Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?
Carter: Moglie, cause he was once.
Logan: Superman. No not superman, because he has a girlfriend! Batman.
Brady: Ironman

17. What do you and Daddy do together?
Carter: Wrestle.
Logan: Wrestle.
Brady: Play card games.

18. How are you and Daddy the same?
Carter: We both like to play sports.
Logan: We're boys. That's all.
Brady: We're not the same.

19. How are you and Daddy different?
Carter: He's an adult and I'm a kid.
Logan: He has brown hair, and he has darker skin, and he has different color of eyeballs, and he's my dad.
Brady: Because I'm little and he's bigger.

20. How do you know that Daddy loves you?
Carter: Because he's nice to me.
Logan: Because he kisses me.
Brady: Because he's my family.

21. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
Carter: The Brazilian restaurant.
Logan: Peter Piper Pizza. He likes pizza.
Brady: Biking.

Interview with the boys: Describing Mexico!

Some of the questions we received had to do with the boys - what do they think of Mexico, are they at home here, etc.

A basic answer would be that they do feel at home here, as it's the only place they ever remember living. Carter spent a year in Canada but otherwise they have grown up here and for them, Canada is where they go to visit their family. They do say they are from Canada though, they love it also!

I decided to interview the boys, as I for one always enjoy hearing their answers.

For the record, Carter is 9, Logan is 7, and Brady is 5.

Describe the weather in Mexico:
Carter - It does not snow here and it's warm.
Logan - It is hot, cold, rainy, that's all.
Brady - Warm!

Tell me something about Mexican history:
Carter - Benito Juarez is the hero of Mexico, one of them. He was very smart. At first he was poor and then he was rich.
Carter is currently reading a children's history book on Benito Juarez.
Logan - There was dinosaurs, there were guys that had stuff and those things...the cavemen. And they lived in caves. What?! That's true.
Brady - They used these rocks as spears
Holding a piece of Obsidiana rock - Obsidian from lava.

What do you do in Guadalajara when you see someone you know?
Carter - Depends who. If it's a friend I say hello and play with him. If it's a girl adult that I know I say hello and give her a kiss. When I get to school I say good morning to my teacher.
Logan - A friend - Play. That's what we seriously do, just play. Adult that you know - Just say hello and hug them. At school? Sit down and play.
Brady - A friend - hug them. Adult - Say hello and hug them and say bye-bye. Teacher - say hello like a baby

What's your favorite food in Mexico?
Carter - Flautas
Logan - Flautas
Brady - Tacos dorados

Do you speak and understand Spanish?
Carter - Yes. How well? Good!
Logan- Yes. How well? Good. So-so
Brady - Yes. How well? Good.

How did you learn to speak Spanish?
Carter - From you guys and some at school
Logan - From Mexico, with you guys. What? Seriously, you tell me how to talk Spanish.
Brady - When we went to Canada and you guys showed me how. (???)

If a visitor came to Mexico to see you, where would you take them?
Carter - To my house
Logan - Home. Oh. Like that...to the zoo
Brady - To the beach


What do you think is different in Mexico than in Canada?
Carter - They celebrate Día de la Independencia (Independance Day) and we speak Spanish
Logan - There's no snow and here it's hot and there it's not hot. There are tacos, flautas...
Brady - Snow, cold. that's all.

Would you rather eat a taco or a hamburger?
Carter - hmmm...hard one.
Walks around thinking. and rubbing his chin. and laughing.
It depends on what hamburger, like from Burger King or somewhere else. I'd rather have a taco. I like the burgers that daddy makes.
Logan - Taco because I like to crunch it
Brady - A taco because it's yummier. You mean the hamburgers from McDonald's? Yeah, still tacos.

Would you rather have A&W root beer (not common in MX) or jamaica (hibiscus drink)? 
Carter - root beer!!!
Logan - Jamaica
Brady - Root beer

And the boys just made this earlier today to post for Dallas' birthday, their reasoning for making it crazy is that "daddy likes funny thing". Love 'em.

SCHOOL {30 Days of Writing}

Today I recruited Carter to tell you some things about school:

This week at home we made a poster. We had to do a science experiment about whatever we wanted.

What did you like about doing the Science project? 

Everything.

Why did you choose to do it about balloons?

It was more fun.

What did you have to do with the poster at school?

Present it to the class.

What do you like about Grade 3 more than the other grades you've been in?

Everything's the same.

Tell me one thing about your school that might be different than at other schools?

They have American teachers. 

What is your favorite thing to take for lunch?

Ham and Cheese sandwich, hot dog, and juice box.

What is your favorite subject?

Art and Computer.

{To see all posts in this series, click on the label "30DaysofWriting" under the title}

You know you're an MK when....{Part 1}

The other day I was given this little book by a fellow missionary, one who also grew up as an MK.

What's an MK? A Missionary Kid. Many of these could also apply to any kid who grew up in another culture that was not their own, with parents working in business' etc. or possibly even to someone whose family just moved a lot.

For those that don't know...I grew up as a Missionary Kid, my parents were missionaries overseas for just over 8 years. So I could relate to a lot of these!! The author however is from the US and lived in a boarding school part of the time, so some are not part of my context as I didn't go to boarding school.

There is a list of 500 hundred (yup!) things in the little booklet, and so the other day I went through some with Carter and he pointed out the ones to me that at his young age of 8 already would apply. I always think these things are so interesting.

If /when we ever move back to Canada, I would love to work with kids or adults that are dealing with issues from having lived overseas. 'Cause while it's wonderful to live overseas, it can also cause a number of emotional issues to process.

So here are the first 20 of the ones that apply to us, and I'll let you know who they apply to...(and I will substitute the US for Canada).

1. You speak two languages, but can't spell in either. Carter says sometimes...I believe this would apply more so to Logan right now, who is in Grade 1 and learning to spell in both English and Spanish and often gets them confused.

2. You flew before you could walk. Carter

3. Canada is a foreign country. This was for me as a kid...moving back to Canada felt like going to a foreign country. In today's day and age our boys don't feel that quite as much, and I'm sure they will note the cultural differences more as they get older. When we visit Canada now, the things they notice are often physical things about the area.

4. You embarrass yourself by asking what swear words mean. Did this as teen.

5. You have a passport, but no driver's license. Was me, and is our kids.

6. Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times. Applies to myself and the boys!

7. You speak with authority on the subject of airline travel. Love airline travel...

8. You go to Canada, and get sick from a mosquito bite. Maybe not a mosquito bite, but we often get sick the first week in Canada as our stomachs get used to new foods and water, the same as you may feel something when you come here!

9. Strangers say they can remember you when you were "This tall". 

10. You sort your friends by continent. Or by country. And Carter at age 8 already sorts by country, as he has friends from so many countries because of his school.

11. You realize that furlough is not a vacation. I don't know if our kids realize this yet, as they get to see their Grandparents and cousins...

12. You wince when people mispronounce foreign words. It is quite funny when Carter winces when people mispronounce Spanish words.

13. Furlough means that you are stuffed every night...and have to eat it all to seem polite. ha! And we'll be on furlough next month! (Furlough is Home Assignment) But we love the food there too...so it's partly our fault for stuffing ourselves.

14. You stockpile mangoes. As a kid we had mango trees in our backyard and ate them all the time. Here we buy them at the store.

15. You never take anything for granted. Not our life, not seeing family, not having friends here in Mexico and all over the place.

16. You watch a movie set in a foreign country, and you know what the nationals are really saying into the camera. Well, only if it's Spanish.

17. Rain on a tile patio - or a corrugated metal roof - is one of the most wonderful sound in the world. I've always loved that loud sound of the rain on a metal roof.

18. You know how to pack. oh yeah....

19. You don't do well in job interviews because you were taught to be modest. This is interesting, the correlation between this and being an MK. I don't like talking myself up though.

20. You think nothing of straddling white lines to pass between trucks or buses traveling side by side, because "There was plenty of room, officer. Honest! At least six inches clearance". Somehow Dallas has managed to take this one on...MK or not!

What is your Mommy like?? ~2015

Our Mother's Day was complete with a school program, the boys and Dallas took me out for dinner, and a celebration and breakfast time with our cell group!

I really do love being a "boy mom", although I know I would be thankful for any kids, boys or girls, that I would have. But 3 boys together is just a good time. Even though they are all boys, they are all so unique! Each one has the typical "boy" traits (dirt, sticks, holes in jeans, etc.) but each one also has the sensitive side. Which really is a boy trait also, no matter how much some like to hide it.

So, with that said. The past couple of years I have done a little survey with the boys "What is your Mommy like?"

{See 2014 here}

What is your Mommy like? ~2015

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Carter: "You are funny"
Logan: mmm...hmm...um..oh like...when somebody's talking to you and then I want to say something, you say "quiet"..you know
Brady: eh..."don't lie"

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Carter: ehhh....hugs
Logan: Your birthdays!
Brady: um...when I give you a flower.

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Carter: Doing bad stuff.
Logan: Like sometimes if we're fighting
Brady: When I don't give you a flower. 

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Carter: Tickling
Logan: Jokes, you sometimes say jokes that are funny
Brady: Saying jokes.

5. What was Mommy like when she was a girl?
Carter: I don't know that.
Logan: funny!! You looked funny.
Brady: You're already a girl. I'll give you a flower! oh no, that's what I already said. hmm...I don't know.

6. How old is Mommy?
Carter: 23...24....20?...you don't know?.....oh!! 33
Logan: I don't know. mmm...5. oh, now? 33
Brady: I don't know...I forgot.

7. How tall is Mommy?
Carter: Let me get the ruler....measures me with a ruler....5 feet
Logan: Big
Brady: uh...uh...almost the same as dad.
In reality...5'4"
8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Carter: Drink coffee
Logan: mmm...go to Olive Garden
Brady: Work.

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Carter: You're on the computer
Logan: Work
Brady: um....go to Bible study

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Carter:  Best missionary
Logan: Saying your name
Brady: Working

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Carter: Reading, to us at bed
Logan: Everything! 
Brady: um, making cake

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Carter: Playing soccer
Logan: Work, like when you work then you can't play with us.
Brady: uh...making monster cakes

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Carter: She tells people about God.
Logan: Get ready for Bible study.
Brady: mmm....I don't know. Work on the computer.

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Carter: Perogies
Logan: oh, lasagna
Brady: uh...eggs. No, pancakes.

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Carter: You are nice.
Logan: That you like me.
Brady: Nice.

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Carter: The girl from "Brave", cause she has curly hair like you.
Logan: That's difficult! 

Brady: mmm...a princess. Yeah, you could be a princess. What, you're a girl.

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Carter: Write recipes in the book I gave you for Mother's Day.
Logan: Do board games.
Brady: hmm, play games.

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Carter:  We're Canadian
Logan: Our skin
Brady: I don't know

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Carter: I'm a kid and you're a mom
Logan: Our hair
Brady: I don't know

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Carter: She's kisses me!
Logan: Because you're nice.
Brady: uh....hug and kiss.

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Carter: Olive Garden
Logan: Canada
Brady: mm...Mexico and...Canada.

We're coming for you, Canada!

Can you believe that in just a month we will be on Canadian soil??

After having been on American soil for 3 days....

...and Mexican for one day...

We will be taking our furlough (home assignment) for the months of June and July and we hope to see many of you while we are there! 

A lot of what we will be doing is re-connecting with several of our EMC churches - through reporting on Sunday mornings, attending our own Kleefeld EMC's family camp, and we will also be at the EMC Convention in Brandon in July.

If any of you will be at these places, we would love to visit and share about our life and what God is doing in Mexico. Once you get us started...you might not get us to stop talking about our life here. Just a heads up ;) But we also want to hear about your lives, about what God is doing in Canada, and just spend that time re-connecting and maybe meeting you for the first time.

I know some of you reading this are not in Canada or in Manitoba....wish we were visiting you also...

We also have the privilege of having a "daughter" for the months we are there! We have been "entrusted" with a 17 year old girl from our church here in Guadalajara, and she will be visiting churches with us and will be taking a training program at a Christian camp in July, which will be such a great opportunity for her. So look for her, she would love to talk with you as well. She is like family to us and while I'm sure it will be different having a teenager with us, we do look forward to showing her where we are from.

This was the last time we went to Canada, which was 2 years ago. The boys were just a wee bit excited. Not much has changed. They have those blankets, Logan has no shirt on...

That time we flew though, this time we will be driving up as we need to remove our Manitoba plated vehicle from Mexico, as we are now Residents here in Mexico. We already bought a replacement van here, so we will need to sell ours when we get to Manitoba! More info to come on that, probably on Facebook ;)

We all 5 can say that we will miss our people here in Guadalajara while we are gone. It's hard to leave relationships and ministries, but we know it's for a short time. We also miss our people in Canada and will enjoy that time with them to the fullest!

...this is the way overseas life goes, and we are thankful for the opportunity to visit and share our lives with people from all over the place. It means saying a lot of good-byes, but also a lot of hello's, and it's always a lot of fun anticipating that "hello".

Just don't be surprised if our hello when we see you in Canada includes a hug, a back slap, a puño (figure that one out), and maybe a kiss on the cheek.

Just warnin' ya. We'll try to catch ourselves.

I'll leave you with the foods Carter told me today he is looking forward to having at his Grandparent's houses:

G&G Wiebe - cinnamon buns
G&G Zac - bbq and salad (??!)
G&G Harder (great-grandparents) - perogies and white cookies

A House Tour: by Carter, Logan, & Brady

 I just found these pictures on the camera, although they are from last week Saturday morning. The boys and I had just cleaned up their room and Carter asked to take some pictures of their toys and then he proceeded to go downstairs and give a little tour of the house.

Logan and Brady seem to have helped him out with props :) I always find the boy's perspective of things interesting.

I think from the toys it is fairly obvious that we only have boys living here...

and it's interesting to me that all of their toys play together all the time...superheroes, dinosaurs, legos, cars, plastic food, angry birds, whatever it is.

Below you can also see the books that the boys are into right now - namely, Carter. We've been reading Adventure in Odyssey "The Imagination Station" to him for the number of months, and right now we're on book 10 I think. They other 2 aren't into them just yet but I'm sure we'll re-read them several times over the next number of years.

 Here is our living room....a tad blurry but you get the picture. The couches we brought with us from Chihuahua when we moved down here, the end tables and curtains we had made here, and most of the rest we bought in Tonala, a place where you can get all kinds of locally made household items (and pottery, glass items, etc.). Since this picture was taken I have rearranged the living room though...a little past time of mine according to Dallas.

Animals...

And our dining room, with our patio and backyard out the door at the back. This furniture we also brought from Chihuahua but bought the painting and the lamp in Tonala. I guess we have a theme going here.

My kitchen! This is the most used room in our house. Obviously we cook here, but we also eat all our meals in here as a family, do homework here, bake, and numerous other things. It's right to the right when you walk in the front door so it tends to be the place visitors gravitate to when they come into the house.

The office...with the desk to the left and a keyboard under that black drape.

A living room knick-knack. This is a tree from Brazil.

 And that concludes the house tour. As seen by the boys.

GDL Living {Mexico Stuff - by Carter}

from Carter.

 This is Mom and Dad at Tlaquepaque.

This is the road in Tlaquepaque. It is made of brick.

These are trees in a restaurant.

This is a play structure in a restaurant. 

This coke is in a glass bottle.

One of these are salsa, one is pico de gallo, one is totopos, and one is spicy carrots.

These are like brooms that have straw for the brush.

This is me in the van.

This is me being funny.