Caleb enjoys a fun afternoon with his friends - Dusan, Milos, and Milos.

Samantha convinces Caleb to read her favorite Froggy book to her. When Froggy's mother tells Froggy that it is time for bed, Froggy says, "I'm not tired!" Samantha loves to say that part and also thinks it's fun to say, "Flop, flop, flop!" (Another favorite phrase of Froggy's.)

The park also had some slides for older kids; Caleb rode with us on these. He liked yelling when we would go in the dark tunnels, which tore up my nerves some. It was a great day together, and one I will always remember when I think about this summer.

We have a saying in our family when the beginning of school is drawing near . . . "The jig is up!" In our case, the jig will be up in three days when Caleb starts back at school. We decided to try out the new water park that is in Jagodina, a few hours away. It was a really great place; it had a large area for kids with lots of slides. Caleb had fun racing against Tim and Samantha on the slides. He pretended to be on the Rainbow Road, one of the car races with Mario Kart. Samantha seemed unfazed by the fact that she was traveling pretty fast down a slide into some water below.

Samantha loves when Tim reads to her before she goes to bed. Doesn't she look comfy?

On Friday, we went to Belgrade for the afternoon. It's quite a drive, but it was a treat to eat at McDonald's. The things crazy Americans will do for a cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake! Belgrade also has a nice park with a "beach." There's no sand (just little rocks) and no waves (more like a lake), but it was a great place to cool off and there was even a place to swim just for kids.

Last week we said "good-bye" to Kelli and Kurt for a little while; they will be attending boarding school in Germany. We had some fun laughs together (yes, Becky gave Kurt a wand for a present) and later went go-cart racing together. We are so proud of them and will miss them. Samantha will especially miss Kelli, but we know they will have a great time at school.

Happy Birthday, Becky! Our precious friend's birthday was August 19th, and we had a great time celebrating with her. Chris made a terrific video of pictures and sound clips with her friends and family telling stories about her. We laughed and cried some too while we watched it. The kids had fun too; Scott even brought his puppet to show Samantha.

Tim gets ready for football practice with a little help from Samantha.

Watch Caleb riding down the street.

He did it! Caleb learned how to ride his bike today without the training wheels. It has been a great day for the Sharpe family. Now Caleb is able to ride with the big boys in the neighborhood. Yahoo!

Mario, Batman, Spidergirl, and Batgirl come by for a visit and play some kind of super-hero game that involved flying, hitting a ball, blowing bubbles, and chasing each other.

Can someone please put us to bed?

Uncle Chris's hat doesn't look too bad on me, what do you think?

Doug bought the kids some souvenirs from a trumpet festival that is going on near our town. Samantha loved her Noddy magnet, and Caleb (surprise!) thinks his trumpet is the best toy ever! Doug and the rest of the guys left a few days ago, but Caleb's trumpet playing has kept them in our minds and hearts. :-)

This past week, four men from TN came and blessed many in our town. Doug, Vann, Lyle, and Larry made a difference to so many. They helped repair a roof and did other service projects like mowing lawns. They also blessed our family with their funny stories, laughter, and love. We had a great time sharing meals with them too; they loved the Serbian food!

Samantha loves to "talk" (baby talk) with the babies that she sees at the park, and this little guy was such a cutie. I had a great time "talking" (Serbian talk where I catch most of the words) with his mom and grandmother. We hope to meet with them again at the park soon. Above the guys and Samantha enjoy some ice cream at the park.

Last week, my friend Gordana and I visited the local museum in our town. I really enjoyed seeing the different exhibits, and Gordana was so gracious to go with me. I live off a street named after Vojvoda Stepa, who is shown here on the horse. It was interesting to read about his life and his military career. I also enjoyed seeing many of the older artifacts, like the Roman coins pictured below.