Treats from Europe

Disclaimer: This is for record keeping purposes mostly so if you tire of reading blog entries take a quick glimpse at the pictures and move on. I won't be offended. Family members and close friends are obligated to comment.


My younger sister Brandice recently returned from a three month internship to Brussels, Belgium. Before she left the states she invited all members of her immediate family to visit Belgium toward the end of her stay and tour parts of Europe for a couple of weeks. My mom and dad decided fairly quickly to jump on board. I think they sort felt like Boise, ID didn't completely satisfy their cravings for adventure when they picked Brandice up from her mission. Shyler and I entertained the idea for a couple of days until reality sat down in front of us. Reality goes by a lot of different names, but in our family it's Emery, Addie, Dashle, and Coy. Also, another name for reality is Ohio Health employee, aka: Orthopedic Surgery Resident. Someday Shyler, someday...

My brother Damian went,too. He proved to be quite handy as a French interpreter. Reports have it that my dad looked to him to also interpret German at the Austrian border. My dad served a mission in Munich, Germany. Ahem. I guess it's been a while. My parents were gone for two weeks. It seems they had a great time despite leaving my two youngest siblings at home. My mom tried really hard not to worry about them. Clearly, we differ a little when it comes to leaving our children. As soon as I pull out of the driveway I'm doing a jig and chanting, "I'm free! I'm free!" It's good to go away sometimes so we have a chance to miss our kids.

We were surprised a few days after my parents got back to the U.S. when a box arrived from Minnesota. We got treats from Europe!




Letters and packages are only fun when it isn't a bill or a text book. As soon as Shyler walked in the door from work the girls starting pulling everything out of the box. They struggled to contain their excitement. After the girls' presentation of spoils to their dad was finished I noticed the wrapper to the candy bar sent specifically for Shyler and me was missing the actual candy bar. In the instant I started to ask where it was Dashle walked into the kitchen with chocolate all over his face and his chubby little hand gripping the candy bar, which had two monstrous bites in it. He looked at us and said, "Yum." We had to laugh. His tone was so matter-of-fact and casual. He was right! The chocolate was from Belgium and it was heavenly! My parents also sent 6 chocolate eggs called "Kinder Surprise."


They were really fun. There is a little toy in each chocolate egg. The kids loved it and they wanted to bite into all six in one day just to get the prize.