Not Bono yet Magnificent

There are times that I am in touch with my creative side however these times don’t usually coincide with my husband’s birthday. With this being a milestone birthday year for Rich the pressure was on.

Enter Bono, and the 360 Tour. The plan was perfect…I would be hailed as the coolest wife ever IF I could not only get Rich concert tickets but actually afford to get him there as well. I searched, I hoped, I prayed, I was even committed to eating PB&J for dinner for a year; after all this was In the Name of Love. However even Jiffy would not cut it….the cost would be a hefty one.

With Bono out of the picture, the special day encroaching and the daily facebook reminders of my failure due to all the status reports of people attending the concert…I still hadn’t found what I was looking for.

Alas, a unique experience we could do together and not leave us roaming the Streets that Have No Name….A Canopy Tour, In God’s Country.

Instead of pics with Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry

We got pics with Johannes, Tembisa, & Tepo….

Instead of crowd surfing; we air surfed…



Prayin’ I wouldn’t get Vertigo


Babe, it’ll be With or Without You



Definitely A line on this horizon



Fortunately it wasn’t Sunday, Bloody Sunday albeit a Beautiful Day



Not Bono yet simply Magnificent

40 thoughts...

The kids and I came up with 40 words that describe the 40 year old man in our lives. After some tweaking, Blake and Tori were going more for an essay, and the added creativity of my sis-in-law, Joy this is what we came up with....

Happy Birthday Babe!

That's One Way of Doing it....

Me: "Tori, whatcha doin'?"

Tori: (muffled) "I'm tired of blowing my nose."

Well, I guess that's one way of doing it.

6 Hours One Sunday

..sounds strangely similar to a Max Lucado book title? Well it definitely won't be as articulate however equally exciting....for the franzenfam anyway.

Skyler participated in a fairly prestigious dance festival this Sunday....one where performers from all over our region have a chance to display a dance(s) on the big stage.

Skyler arrived ON TIME, donning more make-up than a clown and a highly flammable up do. We quickly learned that the festival was running an hour behind. How does a "prestigious" performance run that far behind you may be asking...well trust me, my refrain from comment will be the best choice of answer here.

2 hours later, and a bazillion snacks for Tori who came to watch her big sister and was bored before seeing one dance, Skyler and fellow mates performed (drum roll please)

Cafe Royale

The girls were adorable in their waitress attire complete with serving trays and order pads. There was a no video or camera policy during the performance (don't worry Grandmas we got the video for your viewing pleasure) so you will have to settle for solo shots outside....

The girls did a great job and were awarded an A, double + for difficulty and style. We just learned that of the hordes of dances performed at the festival over the course of 4 days their dance was chosen to be one of the few performed in the finale on Saturday night! Whoo-hoo

After CR another 2.5 hour wait and more junk food for my 4 yr old, the troop graced the stage in purple performing a very slow-controlled and beautiful piece, Morning Glory

The dance earned them an A+ mark...much to their chagrin. They were hoping for a better score...because after all A+ just isn't good enough these days (insert sarcastic tone here). You can see Skyler's "thrilled" look.....

And with an additional 1.5 hours prior to arriving home we all pretty much felt like this.....

Two brilliant dances, stellar marks, a trip to the finals, an exhausted 4 year old with a belly full of rubbish (not to mention an equally wiped out mama) = 6 hours one Sunday.

Funky Franzen Friday

Influencers

Being the youngest, it is only natural to be influenced by older siblings. I can attest to that being the youngest in my family. Having 2 older brothers greatly influenced my Tom-boy tendencies as a kid.

Having both a brother and a sister Tori is getting a more balanced perspective. Her childhood influences look something like this…

Here we have Skyler teaching Tori the art and beauty of ballet…..

And Blake teaching her the way of “the force”…

She is definitely our stalwart princess!

Favorite Foto Friday

My Favorite Son

Blake has taken a liking to cooking as of late. The other night he was helping make dinner and if you were a fly on the wall this is what you would have heard….

Me: “Blake, I’m glad you like cooking. Who knows maybe you’ll be a famous chef one day.”

Blake: “You mean like you?!”

Have I mentioned that Blake is my favorite son?

I Fell in Love Today

….his name is Garmin

Where have you been all my life….I’ve been so lost without you!

Today I decided to try out Rich’s new toy…which after invoking the “what is yours is mine” marriage rule, is my new toy. lol

My favorite feature of my new love is how he (actually it is a woman’s voice and very American so the pronunciation of the street names alone gave me a laugh) nicely says, “Recalculating” after faltering to follow the given directions. It is virtually impossible to get lost…delayed perhaps but not lost.

No more pulling over to the side of the road, flipping through the map book trying to figure out where I am. No more frantic calls to Rich (my other love, the one with the internal GPS) trying to describe where I am. No more listening to my kids murmur from the backseat of the car, “Are we lost again?”

This truly is a new day; a turn of events for the directionally challenged!

I love you Garmin!

Quitting While I'm Ahead

In recent musings with my 4 year old….

Me: “Tori, who is your favorite person in the whole world?"

Fully knowing her response…

Tori: “Daddy”

No shocker there

Realizing I had a pretty good shot at the #2 spot I continued...

“Who is your second favorite person?”

Tori: “God”

Hard to argue with that response. :)

So apparently my husband is some sort of deity in the eyes of my 4 yr. old. I’m sure the Lord had a good chuckle…I however decided to quit for fear that at the rate we were going I might not make the Top 10.

School Break Franzen Style

My kids returned to school after a 3 week break. So what did the Franzenfam do on our “holiday”? So glad you asked, as I’m happy to divulge….

Slept in...

Well as much as my kids can…they are still early birds.

Spent time with special friends….



Played lots of this...



And this...



Watched fun movies like this....



Ate way too much pizza...



And goodies like these......




Supported my soccer boy....



Spent time with cuties like these....



Saw these guys and a few of their African friends....



Drank lots of this.....

Bet you saw that one comin'

And am now in need of this.....

A Day with Dad

I recently got to skip school and go to "work" with my dad. My mom said I could tell you about it...this is Blake, Franzenfam kid #2, btw.

This is where my dad "works"....It is like a big city of cardboard houses with dirt roads...

I thought some of the houses looked like forts that I wish I could build in my backyard....

We went to a school with lots of kids. I wish my mom would have sent me with a red cap...


My Dad had an idea that helped me fit in a bit better....

It was a very cold day so we brought lots of blankets and I got to help give them away. It was fun to see how happy it made people....



There was special stuff for the kids; they seemed happy that we were there....

I got hungry and my dad gave me a special African snack to eat....a mopani worm. I thought it tasted like chicken.....

There was lots of ministry and some clowning around.....

My dad has a pretty great job and it was really cool hangin' with him....

Oh and did I mention I got to miss school?

You Know it is Cold When...

you reach for your hair products and they are frozen....

The Camp In

Skyler had a "Camping" themed birthday party this year. With our winter temps we decided it would be more of a Camp "In" instead of a Camp Out. Somehow I never got a picture of the tent...I know but give me a break I was juggling the big event while trying to remain warm. Just picture an 8 man tent in your living room and you get the picture.

The party commenced after school with team type activities...

Teams had to design a treasure map, provide clues and find each other's treasure.

There were all sorts of relays...







The favorite relay ended with participants having to find 3 worms in the whip cream pie...






The teams also had to mummify one of their mates




They took a break from the brawn and got in touch with their creative side. Our friend Mutsa taught the girls the African art of potato stamping and each girl made their own t-shirt. They were too cute.


Of course dinner was cooked over the fire


And what would a camping party be without smores...I mean "dirt" for dessert?

Flashlight tag was cut short due to the frigid weather and because the $1 store flashlights kept breaking. The girls settled down for a movie "under the stars" (aka- glow in the dark stars on my lounge ceiling)

Any guesses as to what the preferred show was?



Yep...good ole Miss Garrett in Different Strokes. That is Sky's favorite at the moment.

After a few episodes the girls retired to the tent for more games, junk food and girlyness. Just prior to midnight the girls drifted off to their dreams and the day's festivities became a special memory .