Oktoberfest

Dawn has requested that I (Jason) make an appearance on the blog to add my experience at Oktoberfest in München, Deutschland. Writing is one of my least favorite activities, so bear with me.

The first thing I noticed when I downloaded the pictures from the camera was that out of 100+ pictures, I managed to take one picture of the city of Munich, the remainder revolve around the general ‘festiveness’ of Oktoberfest.

Friday: Flew into Munich from Amsterdam, met up with a couple former coworkers and a few new faces, all in all six of us descended on Munich for two nights. After checking in to the Le Meridien hotel we ventured over to the fairgrounds at about 3:30PM and what luck, we were able to walk right into the Fischer-Vroni tent and get a table. (Fischer-Vroni Tent, 2,695-seat capacity, Augustiner Beer). I wish I had a picture of the food, because it was fantastic, we had pork shoulders, ½ chickens, fish, and duck, what a smorgasbord of food, oh and a beer or two…The night ended fairly early with grand plans of rising at 7:00 to be first in line at the tents on Saturday.

Saturday – Arrived at the Löwenbräu tent at 8:30AM and joined the masses waiting until the doors opened at 9:00. At the entrance to the tent you are greeted by a huge automated lion that drinks beer, growls, and rubs his belly. We were told to get there early, apparently though 8:30 is not early enough because the tent was completely full by the time we made it through the doors. However we were lucky that the weather could not have been better and we found room for 6 at a table outside. One of the most impressive sights were the carrying capabilities of the beer girls, the one below was carrying 11-1 liter mugs of beer. (Löwenbräu Tent, 5,700 inside capacity, 2,800 outside capacity, Löwenbräu Beer)

We managed to keep our table until we finally called it a day at about 6:00. During that time we met Germans, Columbians, Canadians, many US Service men and women, and a few rowdy Italians. What a great time!

As you can imagine, starting the party that early can lead to some rather unpleasantness by early afternoon as you can see from Mr. Bunny below, this was taken at 6:30. However even with the overindulgence by some I was very surprised to see how friendly everyone was, no fights, just fun.

Sunday – Before flying out Sunday afternoon, we decided to take in the sights, walked to Mary’s Square (Marienplatz) in the center of Munich and ate breakfast. So I give you the one non-Oktoberfest picture. The ‘New’ City Hall, completed in 1909.

We had a great time and if there is a next time I will make sure that we make tent reservations well in advance.

Our Big Boy

Last Sunday evening Jason and I converted Justin's bed from a crib to a daybed. His first night in his big boy bed he woke up about 3 am and then slept intermittently until about 7 am. Not a very good night's sleep for any of us. However, since then he has slept in his bed on his usual schedule every night and for every nap. We just put a baby gate on his door. He may get up a few times and go to his door, but then he will close his bedroom door and get in his bed. I didn't think it would be that easy a transition but he has done awesome!

First night in big boy bed


Justin is growing up too fast! I haven't blogged about him lately but he amazes and amuses Jason and I everyday. He is talking so much and will repeat anything you say. He is able to tell us what he wants and doesn't want, and yes, he knows what he wants! Along with all this independence also comes some very good tantrums. He can scream, Lauren never did. He makes the silliest faces and has a smile that will light up a room. The moms at Lauren's school call him "Mr. Smiley" and he is popular with the students every time we are there. Lauren is an amazing big sister and he adores her. We are so blessed!

Days 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Summer Vacation - Disneyland Paris

Lauren had no idea that we were going to Disneyland, but she has been asking us when we could go there since we moved to the Netherlands. As you can tell from the video, she was very excited that we were there and decided to stay and finish the rest of our vacation.

We had a wonderful time, we all love Disney and would go every year if we had the chance. Disneyland Paris is a much smaller version of Disneyworld, sort of a sampling. However it was just right for the end of a trip. Lauren of course loved being with all the princesses. She was also quite the daredevil and rode almost everything she was tall enough for, including Big Thunder Mountain and Crushes Coaster, actually she rode them twice!

Justin adored Mickey from the first time he saw him. He loved all the characters and was not scared of them at all. He was also a fan of the rides, especially Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Carpets of Agrabah, and the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups.

We spent 3 1/2 days and 3 nights at Disneyland and had a magically fantastic time. Once again, Disney doesn't disappoint. We are ready to go back to Disneyworld!

Disneyland Paris Day 1

Disneyland Paris Day 2

Disneyland Paris Day 3

Are you sure you are ready to go home?

Days 2, 3 and 4 of Summer Vacation - Paris and Versailles

Sorry it took so long for me to post this, but we took over 1000 pictures and I have been putting off going through them. We stayed in Paris for 3 nights. We spent two days touring all the sites in Paris and then the 3rd day we took a short drive to Versailles to visit the palace. Paris is a beautiful city with monuments, churches, museums and gardens everywhere you turn. The architecture is amazing and every building has such detail. We walked ourselves until we couldn't walk anymore, even Lauren. She was such a big girl with just a few meltdowns, but she recovered well.

We ended up at the Eiffel Tower every night and that was definitely the highlight of our trip. Lauren was constantly trying to see if she could see the Eiffel Tower from wherever we were in the city. We also loved picnicking. At this stage with Justin, it is just too much of a hassel to go to restaurants and deal with keeping him appeased. We really enjoyed just buying breads and meats at the little markets and then finding a park to eat in. It was fun for all and we were able to relax.

Versailles was massive with gardens that went on forever. We really did not get to explore them as much as we would have liked to. Even though it was beautiful and impressive for the time it was built, Jason and I both agreed that we like the Biltmore in North Carolina better. Maybe not much of a comparison since the Biltmore is much newer, but that is what it made us think of. We had a great time in Paris and Jason and I would love to go back just the two of us to see a few more sites that we didn't get a chance to visit.

Day 1 in Paris

Day 2 in Paris

Day 3 in Paris and Versailles

At the end of our three days in Paris, Lauren informed us that she was ready to go home and be done with the trip. We promised her that when we got to our next destination, she could decide whether or not she wanted to go home, it was up to her. So, off we went to..????

Day 1 of Summer Vacation - Brussels, Belgium

After spending 3 weeks in Houston, the kids and I arrived back in the Netherlands, were at home for 4 days, and then we headed towards Paris. We left the house Saturday morning and drove a little over 3 hours to Brussles, Belgium. Thank goodness for TomTom. I don't know how we would get anywhere in Europe without it. It was not only awesome while we were driving, since we can't read most of the signs, but it was also good while we were walking around the city.

We checked into the hotel and then it was off on a walking tour of the city. Our hotel was near the Grand Place, Brussel's main square which is the heart of the old town and Brussel's greatest sight. It is the open area between the Town Hall and the King's House (administrative building). There are definitely some interesting things going on there with some interesting (eccentric) people. Bordering the square are several lace shops and chocolate shops, including the first Godiva store. Lauren and I went into one of the lace shops to browse. There was a woman in the back of the store making some lace and she asked Lauren to help her. I was amazed at the detail work, not something I could do. That was pretty neat and Lauren enjoyed it.

After we walked through Grand Place and took pictures, then we headed down a street to the Manneken-Pis. This is the city mascot, a fountain of a little 2-foot high boy peeing. VIP's from all over the world send costumes for the statue to wear (he has over 700 of them). The city commissioned the statue to show the joie de vivre of living in Brussels - where happy people eat, drink..and drink...and then pee.

From there we walked to Upper Town which is full of palaces and museums. We didn't visit any of these, we just walked through a few gardens, visited the Notre-Dame du Sablon Church and the Place du Petit Sablon (a beautiful neighborhood garden).

At that point we were getting pretty hungry for dinner, so we walked back to Grand Place and ate outside at a restaurant on the square (one of my favorite things to do in Europe). After dinner, we found our way back to a waffle stand and ordered the deluxe Belgian waffle. It had strawberries, bananas, ice cream, caramel, chocolate and whipped cream. It was just as good as you can imagine! If that wasn't enough, we then headed to the Godiva store where Lauren picked out a few pieces of chocolate that she wanted, of course they were heart shaped, and I selected some chocolate covered strawberries. Sufficiently stuffed, we walked back to the hotel, showered, and got to bed so that we could head off to Paris the next morning.

Check back soon for day 2 details!

Lauren's First day of Year 1

We are finally getting back on a routine. Lauren started back to school yesterday which means early to rise, now we just need to start getting to bed earlier. Our children definitely take after us, they like to stay up late and sleep late.

I think Lauren is happy to be back at school and have her friends to play with, even though she won't admit it. I really enjoy my alone time with Justin while Lauren is at school, but we are both excited to pick her up in the afternoon. Next week at school they start swimming lessons once a week and I am sure she will love that. I also enjoy having interaction with the other mothers, I miss all my girlfriends!

I can't believe how fast Lauren is growing and how much she is teaching me!

At Lake Austin with family

The last weekend we were in the USA before we came back to Netherlands, the kids and I went to Austin with my awesome mother-in-law, Jason's brother Mark and his family, Jason's Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike and his cousin Kristen and her family. We all stayed at Mike and Cindy's lake house and had a great time relaxing, talking, swimming, boating and tubing. The kids loved it! Lauren and Justin love being in the swimming pool. Lauren also loved riding in the boat, tubing, and riding the jet ski. I love that none of that scares her. She is always a little timid at first but always loves it once she has done it. I can't wait to teach her how to water ski next!

Where to start?

Okay, it has been over a month since my last post and there is just too much stuff to catch up on. To my defense, I have been away from home and living out of a suitcase for the last month. I will make a couple different posts to cover everything. You could say that our lives have been turned upside down and we are trying to put everything into perspective right now.

First for the hard stuff....

A few days after my dad returned home from visiting us, he went to a scheduled check-up with his doctor. From that appointment they discovered that he had a brain tumor. Less than two weeks after leaving here, he had surgery to remove the tumor. He left here on July 13th, I found out on July 19th about his tumor, the kids and I arrived in Houston on July 23rd and dad's
surgery was on July 24th. After several complications, he finally made it out of the hospital and back home for good on August 6th. The kids and I stayed in Houston for a little over 3 weeks until August 17th.

The biopsy was not what we were hoping for, dad was diagnosed with Grade IV Glioblastoma Multiform. So, now we put up the best fight we can. Dad is currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy at MD Anderson. So far he is tolerating both well. No nausea from the chemo. We were told that the worst effects of radiation, mainly tiredness, wouldn't be felt until the last few weeks. He is now in the middle of week 3 of 6 weeks of radiation treatments. My sister April and my Aunt Betty Sue set up the following website so that everyone can stay updated on what is happening http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mikeellisor.


Dad (Popa) with his grandkids

Just after the kids and I arrived back home in Netherlands and got our internal time clocks back in the right time zone we headed off for an 8 day family vacation to Brussels and then Paris. We had a great time, but we arrived home Saturday to find out that my dad's sister, my Aunt Betty Sue, had passed away Friday. This was very unexpected. She had just turned 49 and was the youngest of the siblings.

I know it may sound crazy to say that cancer can be a blessing, but in some ways it has been. During the time that my dad was in the hospital, our family spent every day there. We had a corner in the waiting room that we had taken over, it was actually more like half of the waiting room. After being up there for a few days, I was walking down the hall having a discussion with my sister and my aunts. We were talking about how we knew that God was with us and that he has a plan for each of us. We have no idea of what is to come, but we felt that God had already used my father as a way to bring our family closer together and that we were enjoying spending so much time together, we just wished that it wasn't under the current circumstances. At the time, we did not know how much of a blessing that truly was. I am not saying that we were not a close family, but as the years have passed and the nieces and nephews have grown up and begun their own families, we have just not seen each other as much as we used to. For the almost two weeks that dad was in and out of the hospital, I saw my siblings, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins almost everyday and it was great. As Betty Sue said, "I have given more hugs and said I love you more over the past week than I ever have." Lauren and Justin also were able to get to know their family better and I am so grateful for that.

A few days before we left to come back to Netherlands, Betty Sue and my Meemaw babysat Lauren and Justin, with the help of my niece Aliska, for a whole day while we went to dad's first day of appointments at MD Anderson. We were at the hospital from 8am until 9pm. Betty Sue took the kids to the park, played games with them, rented movies and had a fun slumber party. When we got to Meemaw's, April and I then spent some quality time talking with Betty Sue. Justin was smitten with Betty Sue. The next morning at breakfast he was sitting next to her, loving on her, giving her his cute looks, and would only let her feed him breakfast. It was too cute. Watching her with my kids brought back such good memories of myself with her when I was younger. I do believe everything happens for a reason and I do believe God's plan is perfect. I am so grateful for all the time I spent with my Aunt Betty Sue and the rest of my family during the 3 weeks I was in Houston. It is hard not being there with my family right now, but I feel comforted with the time I have been able to spend with them. If anything, the past month has taught me to cherish every moment I have with those I love, and never pass up a chance to be around them.

My Aunt Betty Sue had recently dedicated her life to the Lord. She was studying the bible and sharing her findings with all those around her. Having her as one of dad's strongest prayer warriors had to be a big check in the plus column, but now we are doing even one better, she is his angel watching over him. What an amazing blessing! I already miss her so much, but I look forward to seeing her in God's amazing kingdom one day.

Some of my favorite Betty Sue memories:
-She always had stuff in the trunk of her car that she could use to make a great game for us to play (she was an elementary PE teacher and a tennis instructor)
-She made the best nachos, I think that is where I got my love of jalapenos
-Taking us to the playground
-Riding mopeds
-Camping at Canyon Lake
-Wiffle ball games at Crockett
-Slumber parties in sleeping bags on the floor
-Picking dewberries
-She was always playing jokes
-She told the best stories and they are hilarious
-She taught us how to eat honeysuckle
-Her fear of bugs could be quite entertaining
-Staying with her during the summer and helping her teach tennis lessons
-U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi......
-Waitress, waitress!
-and so many more.....

I love you Betty Sue