Grandma's visit and a short trip to France

As I've mentioned, Rob's mom came to stay with us for a couple of weeks and to take care of the kids while we went on our trip to Ibiza.

 

When she first got here, we visited some of our favorite local spots- Burg Frankenstein, Segmuller, even our old village and playground.  Then we left for a few days while she valiantly held down the fort.  The day after we got back from our trip, we loaded up the minivan and headed out with EVERYONE on an overnight trip to France.

 

We stopped in Strasbourg to enjoy the cathedral and astronomical clock.

 

I still don't understand what all of the different clock faces are for exactly, but it is super cool.

 

We also grabbed some paninis and soft pretzels for lunch, and shopped for some yummy bread, cheese, and cupcakes for dinner that evening. I love the French/German thing going on in this Alsace region of France.

 

 

And look at the store we happened to walk by on our way back to the car!

 

From there we drove to Colmar, France where we stayed for the night in an apartment we found on airbnb and celebrated Amelie's birthday- but more on that in another post. The next morning we walked around the beautiful downtown area.

  

We even rode around the little tourist choo-choo bus, which the kids loved.  Seriously, Colmar is gorgeous.

 

 

Then we went for lunch in a little cafe and had some Alsatian food.  Rob had this massive plate of ham, sausage, and sauerkraut- it was impressive.  We also tried flammkuchen, and an awesome salad, and the kids split a pizza. 

 

French for 'sippy cup.'

 

Say cheeese!

Next we drove up to the Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg.

 

This is a medieval castle that was reconstructed under the direction of Wilhelm II around 1900 (when the region belonged to Germany.) There are records of something being built on this site from the late 700's. The castle was rebuilt to show it's medieval beauty.

 

Grandma and Charlotte checking out one of the wells.

 

It really is very pretty and the kids thought it was one of the best castles we have seen.

 

With cannons, an armory, antlers on the wall, and this little photo op, what's not to like? 

  

The view from the tower.

 

Thank you Grandma for coming and helping us with these kiddos and going on a little adventure with us!  We had a great time and love spending time with you.

Toby turned 7!

This month Toby had a fabulous birthday! He was super excited to have Grandma here to visit, and we all went to our favorite indoor waterpark/pool called Miramar. (Since we have a strict 'no pictures of adults in swimsuits' policy, I don't have any pictures from that trip.) For his birthday dinner Toby requested steak on the grill, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and peas. For his birthday gift, Toby got his first viola and we downloaded Minecraft on my Kindle.

 

And instead of birthday cake, he requested banana splits!

He got to choose three flavors of ice cream (Neapolitan, mint chocolate chip, and chocolate) and several toppings (hot fudge, M&Ms, crushed Oreos, sprinkles, whipped cream, cherries and sliced bananas!) Toby's got some good taste.

 

Toby continues to be our Little Man.

He loves puzzles, math, Legos, and now the viola, and football.  One day recently I printed out some pictures of these tessellating lizards.  The kids each colored two, and then I cut them out and we played with arranging them.  This is the kind of stuff that Toby LOVES.

 

He is also growing into a strong reader.  He likes it when I send him on a treasure hunt around the house following clues, or when I send him outside on a nature hunt.  I write a list like, "something blue, something dead, a leaf shaped like a heart, a snail shell, etc." This was his box of goodies he brought me one afternoon from a nature hunt around the yard.

 

Toby is such a gentle soul. He is learning German like a champ and works so hard at things that he is interested in. He is still very sensitive, and a perfectionist. He genuinely likes to do kind things for others though, and that is probably the thing I love most about his personality. 

Toby's birthday interview:

(20 questions style)

1. What is your favorite color? Red.

2. What is your favorite toy? Minecraft on the Kindle.

3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples.

4. What is your favorite tv show? Super Hero Squad.

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Macaroni & cheese.

6. What is your favorite outfit? My shirt with the lizard and jeans.

7. What is your favorite game? That might be hard, because I like Monopoly, I like Minion Rush, I like Minecraft.

8. What is your favorite snack? A piece of chocolate with a cheese stick.

9. What is your favorite animal?A rhino.

10. What is your favorite song? Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

11. What is your favorite book? I don't really have a favorite book... ALL books.

12. Who is your best friend? Jack and Thomas.

13. What do you want to be when you grow up? A builder, dad, engineer.

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike.

15. What are you really good at? Building, that one's easy.

16. What is a food that you hate? Bell peppers.

17. What do you like to do with Mom? Cuddle.

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? French toast.

19. What is your favorite dinner?  The butterfly one (Pasta Primavera.)

20. What makes you happy? Christmas and Legos.

Kinder frei in Ibiza!

In about 10 days it will be our 10 year anniversary! Time flies when you are moving 5 times, having 4 children (that are participating in 3 sports, and playing 2 instruments,) and trying to be one big happy family! So we thought it was about time we went on a little vacation without the Littles. Rob's mom agreed to come visit us and play the role of Super-Grandma for a few days so that we could go on a once in a decade holiday.

 

We chose to go to Ibiza, Spain.
Here we are after just checking into our hotel and putting our feet in the sand for the first time. Ibiza was close enough to be a short trip, but far enough to be exotic.  It is an island in the Mediterranean and is most known for its late night club scene and electronic music. And its beaches. Care to guess why we picked it as our kid free destination?

 

This was the seaside pool at our hotel on the night we arrived.  The weather was sunny and in the 80's the entire time we were there.

 

Rob on the rocks.  

As close as we got to partying hard.

 

This is the Dalt Vila- Old Town.

We really did not plan to do sightseeing on this trip, but spent a morning walking the walls and streets of this awesome old city.

Sooooo many stairs. You really don't get a feel for how hilly a place is by looking at a street map.
 

 

What do you do if you have a cafe on the stairs? Just throw down some cushions and little stools as tables and call it outdoor seating. There is an interesting mix on this island of young clubbers, old hippies, and locals trying to make a living. We tried some good Spanish food- melon with Iberian ham, and bread with olives and this garlic aioli that was so delicious.  We didn't find a good looking tapas place, so I guess we will have to go to another part of Spain one of these days to try that.

  

Next to the cathedral at the top part of the Dalt Vila.

 

  

Next to the cannons... checking out the cruise ships docked below.

 

  

On our walk we saw this- a real live banana tree!  I had never seen one before, so we had to take a picture for the kiddos. 

 

  

We spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach not far from our hotel, and it was nice, but ya know, nothing super special. ( The constant beat of electronic music in the air, drunk tourists, and bits of plastic bags found floating made me a little nostalgic for the Jersey shore.) So the next day we decided to take the ferry to Formentera.  This is a smaller island about a 45 minute boat ride away.

 

 

Once there, we rented these horrible bikes for very cheap.

Rob is a regular bike rider.  I am not. But I thought, it's pretty flat, shouldn't be too hard, I will be fine.  About 5 minutes into our ride, I knew I had been wrong.  I was working so hard. By the time we got to the beach we were aiming for, Playa de Ses Illetes, I was in tears and totally hot, dusty, and annoyed. The beach made it all worth it though.  When we got on the bikes to ride back, I was ready to grit my teeth and just do it, when Rob realized my back tire was completely flat. THAT is why it was so hard. Rob graciously offered to ride the broken bike back and I rode his. Which was so super easy! I felt much better about my bike riding skills then.

 

The most beautiful beach in Spain.

Seriously.  We just spent a lot of time staring at (and swimming in) the perfectly clear water and sitting on the white sand. It was awesome. There were actually plenty of other people there, but I tried to get a picture without people in it... because of, well, the nudity. It seemed the further out we walked on the beach, the less clothing our fellow sunbathers were wearing. But who cares. It is going to be pretty hard to find a beach to ever beat this one. 

After we rode the horrid bikes back to the ferry port, we had a gelato and did some shopping for souvenirs for the kids, and that was our short trip away.  I am so glad that we did this!  It was a lot of fun to hang out with my Rob and to know that the kids were safe and happy and we could just enjoy having an adventure together. Who would have thought after a whole month of dating, and three month engagement, we would make it so far? I took a book with me on this trip, and actually read it since there were no kids to count on the beach, and I bookmarked this...

...Don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being "in love," which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two. -Corelli's Mandolin

First days! (belated)

 

Toby's first day of first grade! 

A big change for Toby this year is that he has enrolled in a partial immersion program at his school.  Half his day is in English (Reading, Spelling, Language Arts) and half is in German (Math, Science, Social Studies.) He know several kids in his class and is loving it so far, and learning German very quickly.

  

Charlotte's first day of third grade!

Charlotte's biggest changes this year are having a male teacher for the first time and having a big locker. She didn't know anyone in her class on day one, but now has two new best friends. She is so great at making friends.

 

Charlotte's first day back at piano!

She got off to a rocky start back in January, but after the Summer break she was ready to get back to work with a new improved attitude. I think she just expected it to be easier, and it has been good for her to have to work hard at something and to see her improvement.

 

Toby's first day of viola!

Toby has really, really wanted to play the cello since he was like 3.  I did much searching last year, but was unable to find him a Suzuki method teacher (that we could afford, anyway.) So he played piano with Charlotte. Well, a new family moved into our ward this Summer and the mom teaches violin and viola! So Toby has begun viola lessons (which he may someday decide to switch to cello, but for now he is so excited!)

 

This is also happening! 

Toby has started playing flag football. I am glad that it is not tackle football, as we really have some learning to do about all of the positions, rules, and ya know, catching the ball.  But Toby is loving being a football player, and this a great time for him to learn the basics and decide if it is something he wants to continue to pursue. 

And finally THIS is happening! 

Charlotte has joined cheerleading. She is the youngest girl on her squad of 9-11 year olds (she turns 9 next month) and she has been struggling with having confidence in this new environment.  But each practice she has improved, and she says that she loves it.  I will put up a photo of her in her uniform at her first game.

Soooo, life has suddenly become very, very busy.  But wait, there's more.  I'll give an update on what Jake is up to in a few weeks.  Stay tuned.

Barfusspfad

This morning the Activity Days boys and girls took a trip to a barefoot park for their end of Summer celebration.These are the 8-11 year olds in our Church and they usually meet twice a month to do some fun stuff, fellowship, and also to develop faith. This sounded like a good time, so Toby and I tagged along, er, helped chaperone the group. Altogether there were about 30 kiddos and 10 adults in our group.

 

So... what is a barefoot park? This is actually a pretty popular concept in Germany. When Charlotte was in German Kindergarten they even had some old tires on the playground filled with various textures of things for the kids to walk on barefoot. That was our first exposure to this concept.  This place however, in Bad Sobernheim, is on a much larger scale. The 3.5 km walk takes you through several pools, across various rocks, mulches, gravel, clay, sand, balance beams, swinging platforms, see-saws, and even fording a river.  Their website proclaims, "Es ist Gesund!" Yup, it is healthy for your feet to "experience the earth" and this "spa-like experience" even promises to improve posture, misalignment, balance, and overall well-being.

 

Healthy feet?  This was after the very first mud pit. The Germans have funny ideas about what "spa-like" means sometimes.

 

There are so many things to walk across and balance on, I didn't even try to take pictures of them all.  And yeah, occasionally you have to stop to remove pebbles, mulch, and even a splinter or two from your feet.

 

The second pit.  One of the other adults told me this one would be warm, but she was a liar! It was so cold.  Like not normal cold, but like they must fill it with ice every morning cold.

 

Fording the river was my favorite part. At it's deepest the water was up to the top of my legs and moving pretty swiftly, so it was pretty deep for some of the littlest ones. It was chilly, but I don't think it was as cold as that other pit. We didn't lose any kids in the river.

 

We also learned that none of these kids (or adults) is going to run away to join the circus and be a tightrope walker. But it was fun to try.

 

Sometimes you need to put your feet up and relax.

 

And other times you try to shake all of the other kids off the little swinging platforms.

 

I love this picture of Charlotte crossing the suspended rope footbridge.

 

To cross the river back to the starting point, you use this human powered ferry. At this point we almost did lose a little boy in the river, but he survived without a dunking and his mom was there to manage the mischief, so no worries. The area that this place is set in is beautiful. I should have taken a few more pictures of the scenery.

 

"Da ist man vom den Socken." 

As far as I can tell, this means "Here is one from the socks."  Rob and I have debated what the heck is going on here. Does it mean here is a person with no socks? Does it mean here, in this place, one is set free from their socks? It must be idiomatic, but I don't quite get it.

 

But here is another one from the socks.

We had a really fun time at the barefoot park, and while some of the surfaces were a little rough on my tender toes, afterwards I actually felt like I'd had a really great foot massage.  We may be back again next Summer with the whole family.

The Bear is FOUR!

 

It's true. Jakey is growing up. He requested the "whole family" go bowling for his birthday and have dinner at the bowling alley.  The 6 weeks that we spent living in the Lodge on base were apparently some of the happiest of Jake's short life.  He often wants to eat at the bowling alley and hang out at the Lodge's playground, and invents excuses to go inside to get ice from the ice machine. He asks when we will get to live there again.  So off to the bowling alley we went and enjoyed a pizza and nachos and awesome bowling fun.

 

Amelie and I were a team, but she likes to sit with Dad.

 

Jake's got skillz!

Sometimes he used a ramp and sometimes he preferred to throw the ball down there as hard as he could! Either way, it was very serious business.

 

After the bowling alley we went home for cake and ice cream.  Jake requested a minion cake this year, and this was my creation. I love this picture of the boys looking like they are best buddies, even though most of the time they fight like crazy. It reminds me that they do actually love each other.

 

We just love this kid so much.  At four years old, Jake is still the most likely in our house to crack a joke (and then laugh at it,) make friends with strangers, and cuddle up with his Mommy. He counts among his best friends; all of the kids in his church Sunday school class, our 80 year old widow neighbor (who speaks no English, but always has time to visit with Jake when he calls out to her "Hey girl!"- we're working on that,) our landlord, and his Uncle Mark. 

He loves to play Legos and video games and gets frustrated when people try to exclude him for being "too little."  He usually exhibits his frustration by hitting them as hard as he can. We're working on that too. This Fall he will begin German Kindergarten and I am excited and anxious to see how he copes with the transition... and how they cope with him.  But I know wherever he goes in life, he is sure to make friends and have a fun time- because he brings the fun with him.  

We love you Jakey Bear.

 

Jake's birthday interview:

(20 questions style)

1. What is your favorite color? green

2. What is your favorite toy? Legos

3. What is your favorite fruit? watermelon

4. What is your favorite tv show? The Incredibles, maybe Super Hero Squad too

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? cheese tortillas

6. What is your favorite outfit? train underwear, light blue pants, and a soccer shirt

7. What is your favorite game? Yahtzee (he also likes Blokus and Uno)

8. What is your favorite snack? Cereal

9. What is your favorite animal? Cheetah

10. What is your favorite song? Hello, Guten Tag (we sing this to visitors and new kids at church in Primary- it is just the "Hello song" with a little Germany twist)

11. What is your favorite book? All about boats (current library book)

12. Who is your best friend? J.J.

13. What do you want to be when you grow up? Drive a digger

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? jumping on the trampoline

15. What are you really good at? riding bikes

16. What is a food that you hate? black food (burnt toast, or things blackened on the grill)

17. What do you like to do with Mom? play outside with you

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? oatmeal

19. What is your favorite dinner?  meat and noodles (Pad Thai)

20. What makes you happy? clapping your hands, petting a dog, flowers and cuddles, pulling weeds with Herr Nold, and riding in Dad's truck

mia bella caccolina

In early August, we got to host some Italian friends for a week. Mari and I were roommates at BYU about 17 years ago, and hadn't seen each other since. But thanks to the miracle of Facebook, we have been in touch the past several years, and when she expressed an interest in visiting the Frankfurt area, I invited her to come stay with us.  I am so glad they took us up on the offer, because we had so much fun visiting. And eating.

 

See, Mari and her friend Monica are Italian chefs. One night they made 10 different pizzas for all of us.  Soooooo much yummy pizza. Between our three families, we had 5 adults and 8 children in the house but it was still way too much pizza.

 

Buffalo mozzarella, fresh garden tomatoes, Mug root beer.

Another evening they made two pans of lasagne- with homemade sauce and beschamel.  And homemade tiramisu for dessert.  (They even made me a third lasagne to put in the freezer for another day!) I was exceedingly spoiled.

 

In exchange, I taught their kids how to roast a perfect s'more on a 100 degree day. I also provided plenty of Dr. Pepper, Mari's favorite drink back in the day.

 

 Only Mari spoke English from her crowd.  And only Rob spoke Italian from our crowd.  Although I really impressed Monica by sharing the Italian Mari taught me so many years ago... this blog post is titled "my beautiful little boogers." She only taught me really important things like that.

 

But the kids got along really well and had fun jumping on the trampoline, going to the playground, and playing Legos and Barbies.  Rob and Fabrizio took all of the boys to the park a couple of evenings to play baseball and they enjoyed that as well. I love this photo of Giulia "reading" a book to Amelie by describing the pictures in Italian.

We loved seeing you Mari and getting to meet your bellisima famiglia and cari amici. I hope we will get to see you again... maybe next time in Italia!