Emily turns 2

It is hard to believe that our little girl is now 2 years old. Our little Emily is no longer a little baby.

She is definitely developing into her own person...that we are learning to handle as a separate person.

She now understands the concept that presents are to be unwrapped. She no longer needs Quinn's help unwrapping her gifts.

Quinn is bummed by the development, but even on Emily's birthday, he got a few gifts to unwrap.

Blowing out the candles is still a highlight!

I absolutely love her face in this picture! Fast forward about 16 years, and this is the face of a party grrrl.

Emily on her first laufrad (walking bike...basically a small bike without pedals, which helps kiddoes learn to balance on a bike-like device).

Of course, there is cake and coffee in the afternoon.

Emily is, well, a girl. She loves wearing skirts (even though they are rather unpractical for her level of activity), and REALLY loves Hello Kitty. She also loved the hair accessories...she just needs more hair.

I still comb her hair and try to give her a pony tail (Pferdeschwanz). She loves them so much, that she can't keep her hands off of it...which causes it to unwind and fall apart.

The joy of a birthday!

Getting ready for being a school kid ... with her own backpack!

...let's go ride a bike.

Emily also hit another milestone two days ago: she peed (and pooped) in her training toilet! Yeah!

Now, the gross time comes when we have to clean out that thing after each use :-( But, we're one step closer to getting Emily out of diapers.

Swimming

Quinn hit another milestone yesterday: he swam on his own. OK...it was only about 3 meters before his head fell below water, and the motions of his hands were more like chaos...but he kept himself a float.

Emily and I got to see it all from the baby pool. After he did it, he immediately looked back at us, and were lifted our arms in jubilation. I'm glad I could be there for it...even though it can be stressful to get two kids to the pool alone (something that Eva does more regularly as Super Mom).

While he has pretty much always been comfortable in water, his swim lessons are definitely helping him to be even more comfortable in water.

On the Emily side, I've determined that she really likes dresses and that she's getting more picky when we lay out her clothes. She keeps trying to put on the 'croc' sandals that we got her...but it is still mostly too cold for them.

Bathroom Milestone

For you non parents out there, this seems insane: why would anyone care about a kid waking you up in the middle of the night to let you know that they had to go to the bathroom. Just get on with it, anyway.

Well, when it is your son whose diaper you changed for 2.5 years, who quit wearing diapers during the day when his sister was born, who (for I don't remember how lon) no longer wears a diaper at night (but still sometimes has accidents on occasion)...it is a huge deal to get woken up on a Saturday morning around 6am to the pitter patter of Quinn's feed for him to say that he had to go peepee, and that he woke up so that he could go in the toilet instead of the bed.

I was super proud! Now quit chatting with me and get to the toilet before you go in your pj's ;-)

On another milestone front, Emily is answering yes and no questions now...or at least we think she is. She always answers the question 'Are you hungry' and 'Do you want more to eat / drink' with YES. She definitely shows that she understands what we say 'Emily, where are your shoes' (the then proceeds to her shoes and starts to put them on)...both in English and German.

However, when we say things like 'Don't mess with Papa's stereo' or 'Don't go into that corner (where the light and Ox Cart is)', her reaction is a devilish smile which is proceeded by doing what we didn't want her to do.

Something about the word 'Don't' that causes her to not listen. I don't know what it is.

She's also practicing for her temper tantrum stage: when she doesn't get what she wants, she looks at one of us and starts screaming.

Passing the Test

Both Quinn and I passed important tests this weekend:

I made homemade spätzle (egg noodles from the southwest part of Germany called Schwaben) for the first time and had some of my homemade goulash and kohlrabi (a type of turnip) to go with it. Only a Sunday Sauerbraten gets more German that this. I might not be German, but I can cook like one.

After spending this morning at an indoor playground (it was raining, and Quinn needed to get rid of some pent up energy), we stopped at the airport on the way home to look at the planes on the observation deck. As one of the planes was taking off, Quinn said (and I'm not exaggerating at all): Papa, the plane is fixin' to take off. I hugged him for that one. He might not be Texan, but he might could talk like one (yes, for the German readers, 'might could' is horrible english, but it works fine in Texas).

First Birthday

On Friday morning, Eva flew back to her hometown to go to the bachelorette party of her close childhood friend, Babsi. I got to stay at home and play full time dad for a few days.

Unfortunately, it rained most of the time, so I had to get creative...activities included carving a pumpkin...
Going grocery shopping (Quinn loves to weigh the fruits and veggies)...and baking cookies...and going to the Fireman Festival. But, at the end of Saturday, Quinn was bouncing around like a caged lion...so I made him go outside in the rain and run until he was tired. Which he did for a few minutes.

Quinn posing with 'his' pumpkin. I let him pick out a design from the internet, and he, of course, picked one that was relatively difficult to carve. All in all things turned out well, but I was glad to see Eva come home last night.

Quinn also hit another milestone last week: he can start and stop all by himself on his bike now...

We also celebrated Emily's birthday today. Number 1. Hard to believe that our little baby is already one year old.

Emily totally loved her walker/doll carriage. She giggled like crazy using the thing.

Quinn really liked helping Emily unwrap the gifts...he'll probably get to help Emily at Christmas, and them I'm pretty sure she'll have it figured out.

Grandmom and Grandpop also sent Quinn a few more DVD's of his favorite Disney character: Handy Manny (Meister Manny).

Quinn reading Emily her new book (Thanks Grandmom and Grandpop!)

Emily getting her first sugar rush. I baked the 7-Up cake (my mom's recipe) that I loved as a child. Now I know why it tastes so good: you put a pound of butter in anything and it tastes good! Lots of nostalgia for me.

Emily absolutely loved her musical birthday card...Happy Birthday, Emily!

As with such milestones, things are bittersweet. Our little baby is a bit older now, and it is crazy to see how time flies. Both kids are getting their own personalities, and are becoming more independent in their own ways (Quinn wants to play more with the neighbor kids and Emily wants to feed herself). During those times when you are with them, they sometimes drive you crazy ... but you try to stop yourself from hoping the day to end soon, because you also know full well, that you will blink and they will be teenagers.

I'm not too sure if I'm the only one that has this struggle, but I know that I should spend more time cherishing the moments when Quinn is bouncing around like a molecule in excitement when I come home and less time stressing out when he is being too loud or when he doesn't listen.

Day Care

Today was Emily's first day in day care. She was there for about 2.5 hours and did great! During the 'getting to know you' period, Eva stays in the area, so that Emily doesn't think that we're leaving her. As with Quinn, she was totally interested in all of the new toys, sandbox, and, of course, the new food.

We went together to day care...sort of. Since Eva had an operation on her hand (more on that later), she had to walk. I wanted to give her a head start...and Quinn was MAD that I was piddling. He ABSOLUTELY wanted to help out Eva...and show Emily his old day care (which is next to his kindergarten). I've never seen him ride his bike so fast.

Quinn went into his old day care...a bit shy, but still the huge big brother. He gave Emily a huge wet kiss, and then we went to kindergarten.

As mentioned earlier, Eva had surgery on her hand on Tuesday. She's had problems with it for a while and finally decided to get it worked on. Thankfully, things seem to be ok and healing well.

As one can imagine, being with 2 kids without the use of your right hand is a bit difficult...so I got to convince my boss to let me work from home during the mornings this week so that I could help out. Thankfully he obliged with my request.

...and since you don't look at this blog for my ramblings...here are a few random pics from the last few weeks.

Last weekend, we went to a 'festival' or harvest from an organic farmer. There were tons of things to look at (including the pigs and a ride on the tractor to the veggies) ... and to buy. Quinn even got to bake some bread.

At the playground...

...on a hike...

...eating corn on the cob (that we grew in our garden)....

...Papa eating with a bit more enthusiasm. Boy, it was SUPER tasty... Quinn feeding Emily.

Let's Go Ride a Bike...III

Last week and again today, Quinn hit another milestone with his bike: last Tuesday, he rode all the way to kindergarten on his bike. I was running a bit late for work and hadn't put on my suit yet. When Quinn asked to ride his bike to kindergarten, I looked at my watch, looked at his smiling face...and put on shorts and a t-shirt and ran with him to kindergarten, while he rode his bike.

He did a great job braking, and other than needing some start help, he didn't really need my help...running by his side.

Today, he rode to the Gemüsefrau (where we get our fresh veggies) with Eva and Emily. No need for Papa to run by his side anymore, making sure he doesn't fall down.

Let's go Ride a Bike...II

Quinn made huge progress on his bike on Saturday. Even though the bike is an inch or two too big for him, he has figured out how to brake without falling down. The first few times were a bit rough, but after what seemed like a full day of riding, he really has it down now.

Of course, I was doing my part, running behind him, just in case I needed to help him. He didn't need my help. He can ride fast...much faster than I can run.

Needless to say, I'm pooped. Quinn is stoked that he's riding his bike. Now if he can only learn to start on his own, he'll be perfect...and this, I'm sure, will come soon. If he doesn't, I'll get in great shape running behind him.

I'm just happy that he had a good time.

P.S. Today I asked Quinn if he wanted to ride his bike while I went running in the forest. He said yes...and we were in the forest for about 30 minutes (with a stop to look a the wild pigs). I had a great jog, and Quinn seemed to really have fun on the forest paths.

He looks super cute on his bike...all proud of his newfound freedom.

End of Diapers ?

When Quinn woke up yesterday morning and when Eva started changing him out of his PJ's (Schlafanzug), she noticed that Quinn wasn't wearing a diaper. She asked a few times if Quinn took off his diaper (which he tends to do in the mornings now). No. Are you sure. Yes.

Eva then checks the bed. Dry.

'Hey Quinn! You slept through the night without your diaper. You're getting to be an even bigger boy now.'

Then she states that he probably wants to go to the bathroom. No.

No big surprise, when Quinn went to bed last night, he wanted to do it without a diaper. Hopefully the bed is dry!

P.S. As a sidenote, Quinn and I are going camping this weekend. It is a large father / child outing at a campground. 25+ fathers and over 40 kids. I got Quinn a kid-sized folding/camping chair to get him stoked up about camping a bit. The junk food I brought along should help a bit as well...wish us luck.

7 Year Itch

I moved to Germany 7 years ago today. It is hard to believe that it has been so long already, and a lot has changed since I landed in Germany to live with Eva and to continue to work for Siemens.

Even more difficult to believe is that I have lived in my town in Germany longer than my hometown in Texas and longer than any other town.

While such milestones lend themselves to cliches (which I have tried to avoid), they also lend themselves to reflection of a fantastic last 7 years.

Above and beyond this milestone, Emily also hit a milestone today: she pulled herself up into a sitting position today and ate her first cookie.

We also had our first parent/teacher conference at Quinn's kindergarten. While I'm sure that every parent leaves such conferences with a list of all the great things their child does, Quinn had a few points where we can help him improve on top of a list of great qualities that Quinn shows every day. His weaknesses as well as his strengths are products of his parents, and it is very interesting to see the analysis from this perspective.

At the end of the conference, I had to chuckle a bit, as for some reason, I was reminded of my 'report card' from either kindergarten or first grade (which my parents showed me when I was in college) where the teacher said that I 'need to work on tying my shoes'.

Let's go Ride a Bike...

OK...so the Schnullerfee came around almost 2 weeks ago...and Quinn has been practicing on his 'new' bike since then. Eva went out the first time with him, and I have been avoiding trying to help him ride a bike, because the thought of me bending over, holding his saddle or handlebars just kills my back.

But, I sucked it up and we went riding today.

Quinn did great. He actually rode quite a bit on his own (while I was running behind him, in a hunched position, with my hand near the saddle). The bike is too big for him to start or stop on his own, but once he got going, he did great (no training wheels).

...but my back is killing me...

Easter 2010

Even though we were on a long vacation a few weeks ago, we were looking forward to the long Easter weekend, which is a 4 day weekend in Germany. Of course, we were looking forward to the time off, but we were also hoping for some good weather: so that we could work in the yard, play ball outside, and hide some eggs...
In kindergarten, the kids made Easter baskets. I love Quinn's smile (which is sort of a squint...).

Of course, we also colored eggs on Good Friday. Quinn's hands were red for the next two days.

The weather forecast said that it would be cold and rainy the whole weekend. While it wasn't exactly warm, it was mostly sunny and only rained in the evenings. We got to spend some time working in the yard - which was very much needed.

Similar to Christmas morning, Quinn is allowed to eat breakfast in his PJ's. Notice his Easter Morning breakfast of a chocolate rabbit. Eva and I paid for this later in the day. Quinn really loves chocolate, but we don't usually have it in the house. His sugar high lasted for hours...

Emily didn't know what chocolate is...but it seemed like she didn't want to miss out on Quinn's fun.

Quinn loves to hold Emily...and her head / neck are almost strong enough to not freak us out when he does hold her...

Since it rained Easter morning, we hid the eggs in the house...

Quinn finally found everything...at least we hope it is everything and don't start getting some odd odors in a few months.

Emily sticking her chocolate bunny in her mouth...Papa will have to take care of this rabbit in the middle of the night soon...

Emily 'found' her rabbit in one of the plants. It might be tough to convince Quinn next year that Emily can find her own stuff (Quinn loved uncovering Emily's stuff).

I was in the mood for a full-on Easter Sunday feast. We picked up a fresh, smoked ham from the butcher and a bunch of fresh veggies at the farmer's market (Gemüsefrau). For our Easter sunday meal, I made a smoked ham with a honey, molasses, bourbon topping with garlic, Bärlauch (sorry, no English translation of Bärlauch...it is just a plant that is 'in season' now that tastes like a refined garlic) mashed potatoes with stuffed, baked zucchini. I started cooking after church, so we were able to have a 3pm meal and not have to hurry with the meal with two tired, hungry kids.

With the leftovers and the bones, I made a pea soup today (with fresh broth, of course...even though my mother in law says you don't need broth in pea soup ;-)

Despite less than perfect weather, we had a great family weekend. We got to do some stuff that we wanted to do (gardening, cooking) and the kids got to play to their heart's content (Quinn and I played tons of soccer).

Quinn even played with the neighbor's kids, who are much older than he is, for a while. They ran, and ran, and ran. Even though the kids were at least 4-6 years older, they did a good job taking care of Quinn and making sure he was having fun. It was a bit of sad for Eva and I to see our little baby boy be able to play without us...but it was also very fun to be able to go back in the house, knowing that the neighbors kids were taking good care of him, and being able to hear him close by.

Disconnected

Emily hit another milestone yesterday: she turned from her back to her belly (thankfully, without busting her head).

On the technology front:

Eva and I extended our phone/internet contract with our service provider last month. One of the goodies of the extension was a new connection box. The bonus here was that we could replace three boxes with this one, sleek box.

I finally got around to installing it, and ironically, everything went perfect (which never happens with projects), until the very end.

Long story short, we were without phone and internet service for part of Saturday and most of yesterday.

It was kind of an odd feeling being 'disconnected'. Even though we are not super addicted to the machines and our Gmail, Facebook, etc, it was a bit weird. The service hotline could at least set me up with a temporary solution, and we are back on the Information Highway.

Aruba & Curacao: Big Family Vacation 2010

After almost a year and a half of planning, it was finally here: our big family vacation for 2010. Almost 2 1/2 weeks of fun and sun in the Caribbean. A week on Aruba and a week and a half on Curacao.



Yes...we booked the flights before Emily was born. One of many complications of the trip.

I took the Thursday before our Friday flight off to help Eva get everything packed and ready. Since I wasn't bringing my laptop, I (of course) had to do some last minute things for work. But then, when the alarm went off on Friday at around 4am, we were up and ready to head to paradise.

We were still in deep winter in Germany, so getting dressed for the flights was a challenge. The kids did a GREAT job on the flights. We flew into Curacao for a few days before heading to Aruba to meet up with my parents (who decided to spend the next 2 weeks with us).

Above: Emily putting here feet in the sand for the very first time.

We picked Aruba and Curacao so that the flights could be easier: direct to the islands from Amsterdam, which is only a short flight from home. The first 2 days by ourselves as a family were great, but we were all looking forward to meeting my folks on Aruba.

We spent much of our time in the pool or in the sand. Quinn never got tired of jumping in and out of the water with his floaties.

There was one time by the pool where this girl (maybe 8 years old) said that Quinn was really cute (as we were throwing a ball around in the pool...what could be cuter). She wanted to know his name and tried everything to get his attention. To no affect. Despite my attempts to encourage Quinn to at least be friendly, he ignored the girl. Then the girl left her lounge chair.

...Quinn stopped everything (he was in the pool with his floaties) and followed that girl with his eyes until he couldn't see her anymore...

We also learned that mosquitoes really like Quinn (see the huge bulge on his forehead). Then, it was off to Aruba. We were on a super tiny puddle jumper. Room for about 14 people.
Quinn loved the plane. Since it was so small, he could see everything so much better. But, it was way past his naptime. He tried valliantly to stay awake the whole time, but the result was obvious.

After landing in Aruba, I dropped Eva and Emily off at the resort, and Quinn and I went to pick up my folks.
The resort was VERY nice. Very family / kid oriented. The pool had this waterslide. As we climbed up the stairs, there was an attendant as well as a sign saying that Quinn had to be 4' (approx 1,2m) tall to slide down.

As a kid, I hated these stupid height restrictions, mainly because I was always too short to go on the cool stuff. But, with the attendant watching, I did my best to explain to Quinn why he couldn't go down the slide. He didn't buy it...thankfully the attendant saved me by allowing Quinn to slide down with me.

Quinn loved the slide...and wanted to do it again. The second time down, the attendant said that Quinn would be her best 'customer'. She was right. We must have gone down the slide a few hundred times...

My dad also went with us...

Having my folks around was also super great for Eva and I ... allowing us some time to ourselves. I think if my parents had their way, they would have had our kids the whole time...but it was also lots of fun to have some good quality (and quantity time) with Quinn and Emily.

Quinn was a bit more apprehensive in the ocean. But didn't mind the sand.

Here's another view of our plane that took us to and from Aruba / Curacao. On our trip to Curacao, my Mom asked the pilots if they were old enough to fly. The youngest looking of the two didn't even miss a step with my Mom's attempt to be funny: he said that he got his license to fly yesterday. My Dad didn't think that was funny.

(Editor's note: please forgive a bit of the fast forwarding of the vacation...the next pics are from Curacao...taken from our small digital camera. For some reason, blogger isn't allowing me to easily rearrange the order of the pics...causing a bit of a time shift in the story).

I'm a huge fan of 'odd' signs: especially in foreign countries. I loved this one above: apparently the internet closes on the islands from time to time.

Emily and Eva at a very cool, open air restaurant on Curacao. Below is another great sign that you saw all over on Curacao. Who goes to a foreign country and eats an unknown 'fruit'? At least the sign is written in three languages. Oftentimes, such signs are only in english (are english speaking tourists the only ones that do stupid stuff?)

(Editor's note: the next pics are with our 'big' camera...so the story goes back to the beginning on Curacao (2 days), Aruba (7 days), and Curacao (7 days)).

The view from the lobby from our hotel in Curacao (first 2 nights)

I really like this pic of Eva and Quinn!

More of the same: jumping in and out of the pool. Quinn was exhausted by the end of the day. The sun was super intense on the islands. Even with my super brown skin, I was using SPF30. With Quinn, Eva, and Emily's super light skin, we were being extra careful in the sun. Thankfully, no one burned (Quinn had a bit of a tan line between his swim trunks and his shirt (which was a bit too short)).

Platsch! I'm surprised I didn't burn my head. Oh, the signs of aging.

(Editor's note: now we are on Aruba for days 3-10).

Aruba's capital, Oranjestad is very, very colorful, but it is very geared toward the cruise ship tourists. How many expensive watch, jewerly, or clothing stores do you need on a few square blocks on a relatively poor island of 80,000 inhabitants?

Unfortunately, the over the top capitalism dimished the very pretty capital a bit.

This is the typical pic that you see in the tourist mags...with the cheesy signs photoshopped out. Of course, I didn't have any shades, and buying shades in the winter in Germany is a bit difficult. I though it would be easy to get some on the island.

I was very disappointed by the options: High End (300 dollar, super designer shades for which I am too cheap for) or Low End (10 dollar, super fashionable knock offs for which I am too old for...have you seen these things? The fashion now is super huge shades that make 70's genre Elton John shades look small).

So...I squinted a lot. I was hoping for some middle of the road 70 buck Nike or Arnett shades.

Here's an action shot of the slide. My dad would often slide after us. After Quinn and I landed, he would immediately turn around and wait patiently for my dad. Very cute.

One of my favorites of my dad and Quinn. Quinn looks like a grown up here, and my dad really reminds me of my grandfather here: happy and stately. Quinn is feeling super important carrying his oversized green plastic shovel.

Sunset on Aruba. Eva took this on one of our nights 'out'. We were back in by around 10, which seemed super late. We had a blast, but I think my parents had more fun taking care / spoiling their grandkids.

Eva and I also took some time to do some touring - like we used to prior to children. We did a pretty good beating the tour buses to the main attractions on Aruba.

These stairs were a reminder that even good guidebooks like Lonely Planet are sometimes wrong. The book said that the climb to one of the highest peaks on Aruba was only 160 STEPS. This was BS. There were over 500 steps, which we covered in the blazing heat of the afternoon. I think this was a type, since the peak is 160 METERS above sea level.

My dad watching over Emily.

Our trusty Lonely Planet did guide us to a great, local restaurant: a rib joint on a busy corner of a non touristy part of Oranjestad. The place had a lot of locals in it (a good sign), and the ribs were grilled on an open charcoal grill right in front of you. A full rack of (pork) ribs was about 6 bucks and tasted great! These are the finds that Eva and I love on vacation.

The resort complex had all sorts of cool things for kids to do. It is obvious after this trip that Quinn is a 'ball' kid: he played every sort of ball sport that the place had to offer. He would play in the heat of the sun and come back (normally with my mom) completely tired and sweaty. Then it was off to the pool to cool off.

Chilling out in the lazy river. Quinn had it best in the 'river' since he had his floaties.

(Editor's note: the final pics are on Curacao: days 11 - 17)

On Curacao, we got to celebrate Quinn's 3rd birthday! Our place on Curacao was more 'European' than our US style beach resort on Aruba. We were on a much more remote part of the island. We had a sweet bungalow to ourselves, the guests were mostly Dutch, and we had AC only in our sleeping rooms (which also cost extra). This final week way VERY low key.

The kitchen in the bungalow was pretty weak, so we couldn't cook / grill like in Aruba. But, we made the best out of the situation, and found some great local restaurants for dinner.

On Quinn's birthday, we went to an aquarium (which had a dolphin show!)

3 generations of Robert Gould's.

Quinn knows how to make my dad smile. (Below), the aquarium had a 'petting zoo' where you could touch starfish and sea cucumbers (which look like big pieces of poop).

The obligatory family pic. Don't I look pregnant here? Must be a bad camera angle.

The pool at the bungalow was small (and kinda nasty), but it didn't stop Quinn from wanting to jump. He always tried to drag me and my dad into his fun.

One of the beaches up the street from our bungalow.

This was a huge cactus.

While the capital of Curacao, Willemstad, also had its focus on the cruise ships, it was a notch less obvious, was much more colorful, and even had an open air fish and vegetable market (with goods coming in daily from Venezuela).

There seemed to be a bit more nature on Curacao...and we even went on a short hike. Quinn did a great job, walking the whole way.

Emily slept.

Sometimes I wonder if Emily ever thinks: hey, where are my old folks schlepping me around to now?

Walking on an old coral reef.

The gal at the gate said that there were calm waves today. Looked pretty rough to us.

Feeling like a small fish in a big ocean.

There were lots of these cactuses...whose stems looked like asparagus (Spargel).

Our first night on Curacao was a Sunday, so a lot of places were closed. The dive shop recommended a restaurant run by some American's called 'Soul Food' (please keep in mind that this was spoken word, so I didn't see how the name was written...but the 'Southern' in me heard 'Soul Food).

I thought it was a bit odd to have fried chicken and mustard greens on Curacao (I was thinking of Soul Food like it was a place in Atlanta)...but it sounded good anyway.

The place was called 'Sol Food'...the Sol for sun. The food was great, but there was no fried chicken on the menu.

The view overlooking Sol Food was great. We were literally eating on their back porch.

Quinn taking care of his sister.

Dad reading to Quinn on our last night on Curacao. Eva and I really love how Quinn is holding on to my Dad's arm. Quinn loved getting read to by my dad...and he does a great job with reading the Aristocats.

My mom being Grandmom!

So it was at least 90F on the island (35C) and super humid...and these guys are playing soccer in the heat of the day on a dirt field. That's dedication. Even for locals, it must be hot...

Eva and I stayed in the car and had a fruit shake from this stand on the side of the road...a great find from Eva.

This is our bungalow on Curacao...and the view from the side of the bungalow complex to the nearby (100m) beach.

Same basic position, but looking out of the lagoon.

Anyone who denies that the children look like Eva can look at this pic: my vs. Emily's skin. To be fair, we kept Emily's skin pretty much covered the whole trip, but I am significantly darker than the rest of the fam. Also keep in mind that I was wearing SPF 30 just about the whole time.

All in all, it was an amazing trip. While both islands were great, I definitely enjoyed Curacao better. It seemed more 'local' and less overrun with tourists. The food was great, albeit simple, yet hearty. The locals seemed more 'honest' and didn't look at the tourists like dollar bills.

I also got to go on my first dive on Curacao, making my experience on the island even better.

Travelling such a distance (10+ hours one way on a plane) with two small children seems daunting, but our kiddoes did great...hardly crying a peep on any of the flights (for which we are very grateful).

Due to the distance and due to the fact that there are so many places that we wish to see, I'm not too sure that we'll get to go back to the ABC's anytime soon (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao), but I can see heading back to Curacao when the kids are a bit more 'independent'. Hopefully, the island won't have changed too much.

The vacation was also more enjoyable because I left work in Germany: no laptop, no Blackberry (I don't have one), no calls, no telcos, and I only checked my voicemail 4 times.

The best part of all, was that my wife, my kids, and my parents could spend over two weeks together. One of my coworkers always had the same reply when somone would mention 'quality' time with the family. He would say: yes, QUALITY time is good. But, QUANTITY time is even more important. For these 2+ weeks in paradise, we had both!