our Family ABC's

I saw this on my sister's blog (Becky) and thought it was super cute. So, with Finley starting preschool in a few weeks, I thought I would brush us up on our ABC's. I omitted pics to keep it shorter - Sorry!

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A: ADVENTUROUS - we love to travel and try new things. Ok, well Ryan and I love to try new things. We're working on the kids being more brave, but that will come with time. New food, new destinations, new activities, new experiences ... we welcome you with open arms (that doesn't mean we do so without butterflies in our tummies). ADULTS - yeah, Ry and I are adults, nothing new, but sometimes it's hard to believe and it amazes myself. But it's pretty great.

B: As in our last name. BERLIN, as the greatest little snuggle-bug I could ever ask for. She is also known as BOO around our house. BEAR LAKE, the best place to retreat to during the summer. BENTLEY, the most loyal and sweet dog a person could hope for.

C: CYNTHIA, that's me - the big kahuna. Someday I will relinquish the big part back to Ryan and become the little kahuna once again. COOL BLANKIE - Finn's lovingly named security blanket.

D: DOG - Bentley and his incessant love of the water and chasing & catching the tennis ball. DOGGY - Berlin's obsession with all things doggy is very funny. She has a built in doggy radar. DIET COKE - enough said. DISNEYLAND - the place that Finley asks for on a daily basis. Guess we should have thought better before promising him a trip to Disneyland once he was all pottytrained because he's cashing in those chips as we speak. And the possible location for Ryan's next big family vacation (or so I've heard).

E: ENDURANCE. Sometimes it's just about enduring through potty training, through tempertantrums, thru gym routines, etc. Then it's about ENJOYING the rewards, less diapers to buy & change, happy silly kids ready to play and listen and give hugs, and someday seeing the weight start to fall off. ETERNAL FAMILIES - it gives purpose and meaning to what I'm doing in this life. Without it the ups & downs of raising a family would mean nothing. ELLIPTICAL TRAINER - my current fave piece of equipment at the gym.

F: FAITH in knowing that every sacrifice we make is recognized and rewarded by our loving Savior. FINLEY, the silliest, most imaginative little guy I know. His giggle brightens my day and makes me smile inside & out. FAMILY & FRIENDS - they give me sanity & strength to get thru the day.

G: GERMANY - the birth place of both of Ryan's parents, one of our favorite travel destinations, has some of the best food out there, home of Ryan's fave international soccer league, and the place of our next BIG vacation (Fall 2009)! GIRAFFE - Berlin's favorite animal at the zoo. Finn is informing me right now that he has no favorites and in fact hates all the animals at the zoo. Hmmm.

H: HOPE - that if we endure, the blessings will be had. HOT - the way mother nature intended it to be. No snow, no cold, no ice. Just hot summer days with the occasional rain shower.

I: iPOD - our personal jukebox courtesy of Ryan, our in-house DJ. The source of music for our many spontaneous dance-offs. Berlin shaking her booty is a pretty cute thing indeed. IKEA - Finley's favorite restaurant and my fave place to walk & shop.

J: JUMPING - for JOY that Finley's potty training is pretty much done. That he went in the potty at Target yesterday instead of wetting himself. JUMPING from the couch to the ottoman which are Finley's favorite things to do. JEDI - Finley just achieved Jedi status and received his very own Green lightsaber for having pooped on the potty 5 times in a row!!!

K: KICKING soccer balls - one of our favorite backyard activities. Finley and Ryan can often be found outside in the evenings practicing their goal kicks and celebration dances for Finley's new soccer season starting in Sept.

L: LOLLIPOPS - Finn & Berlin love these and Dum-dums are a staple in our home. LUKE Skywalker - this is whom Finley has decided to be for Halloween. Should be pretty easy. We already have the LIGHT SABER and belt, and Finn's hair is totally rocking the shaggy Luke look. All I need is the white karate uniform.

M: MONKEYS - phew! Finley does like atleast one animal at the zoo right now ... the Tamarind Monkeys (the little orange ones) that always seem to get frisky when we visit. MONEY - the one thing I don't seem to have enough of.

N: NOSE - my ever growing one. Looking at old pics the other day I realized my nose is bigger than it used to be. I totally blame my head-butting children & nephew :) for all the times they caught be off-guard and wacked their solid-as-a-rock noggin into my hose. NOGGIN - Finley's very large and hard head, Berlin's very small yet hard head.

O: OCTOBERFEST - the one time of year where it's not "odd" to dress Finn up in his lederhosen is COMING!!! And this year Berlin will debut the festivities in the Dirndle we picked up in Germany when I was 5 mos preggo with her. Ry and I have already begun planning the festivities for our first ever Octoberfest KWGCS party (sans the alcohol of course).

P: POOL - we try to go every Tues & Thurs at the Wightman's house. Finley loves it because he gets to play with all the girls, Berlin loves it because she gets to snack on all sorts of goodies, and I love it because I get to chat with my girlfriends while the kids swim & play. PLAYGROUNDS - one of kid's favorite places to go. POTTY TRAINING - once the bane of my existance, it is now a rewarding experience for Finley and I, and as of this past week is pretty much done with pull-ups except at night. HOORAY!!! Just another fact that PRAYERS are answered :) PACKING - almost done, almost done. PRESCHOOL - Finley starts preschool the end of Sept.

Q: QUACK QUACK - one of Berlin's favorite animal sounds. She loves to quack at home, in the car, outside, just for fun. She's actually a whole barnyard of sounds these days!

R: RYAN - the best father, husband, and friend a person could ask for. RELAX - something I really truly need, but don't seem to do/get lately. RAIN - something I love and can't wait for this fall. Rainy days are the best!!!

S: SEWING, SCRAPBOOKING - things that I love to do in my spare time. Aww .... SPARE TIME - something I don't have enough of these days. SUMMER - which is sadly coming to an end. STAR WARS - Finley's current obsession. SLIDE & SWINGS - favorite activity at the playground for both Finley & Berlin. SAUERKRAUT - I have had a long & loving relationship with this food item since I was a little girl. Guess it was all in preparation for marrying a German. SASSY - Berlin in a nutshell.

T: TRAVEL - without which I would go crazy. I love that Ryan is a traveler and that he is always game for exploring the many countries out there. France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, and England ... here we come Fall 2009!!! TREATS: Popsicles & otter pops. TICKLING - our favorite thing to do. We love to tickle the kids and they love to be tickled.

U: UNBELIEVABLE - that our house sold in less than 2 weeks, especially in this market. Unbelievable that we will be out of our home in a week. UNDERWEAR - spiderman underwear, Finley's fave choice. He helped pick them out. UNDESIRABLE neighbor - the one thing that makes moving from this house bearable.

V: VAMPIRES - the subject of the latest book sensation that has been the object of my tired eyes. I just finished Breaking Dawn. Hooray for happy, if not anti-climatic & cliche endings. VAL - my closest family member (in terms of distance) who will no longer be my neighbor - the one bad thing about moving.

W: WINTER - we hate you and all the snow & ice & cold that you bring. However, I am very excited for Christmas this year. So I guess you can come our way. WALKING - one of my favorite activities. We take long Sunday walks as a family and during the week the kids endure walking to the park in hopes of getting to play on the playground.

X: X-RAYS - the one thing I dread ever having my kids get because it usually means something bad happened ... broken bones, cracked skull, etc. Just not good. So far we've been lucky to avoid them.

Y: YODELING - Finley does this every once in a while and I have no idea where it came from. But it's pretty darn cute. YELLING - something that I find I do way too much with the kids. YUCK - Berlin says this anytime she had dirt or lint or food on her hands. She doesn't like dirty hands.

Z: ZOO - the place we go once a week for Finley to quickly peruse the animals and then rush over to the big snake slide. zzzZZZ's - something I don't seem to be getting enough of these days, or more apprioriately nights.