Halloween 2015

Before Halloween we went to a local farmer's stand and picked out pumpkins.

 

They had an awesome assortment of pumpkins and gourds and the kids loved checking out all the varieties...

 

In the end though, three of the kiddos chose standard Jack-o-lantern pumpkins.

 

Toby decided to try out something a bit more exotic.

 

They turned out cute.  We hadn't bothered to carve pumpkins the past two Halloweens, with Amelie's birth, and then our move to Germany, so now we finally had kids old enough to gut their own gourds!

Even Toby's gourd turned out cute, although the insides were white and kind of spongy and weird.

 

Our Church held a trunk or treat and Halloween party. I had the privilege of organizing the shindig, and it all worked out pretty well, with a chili cook-off and lots of cute little kiddos- around 150-180 actually.

 

Amelie was Snow White.

 

Toby was a BYU football player.  We discussed a few specific players to dress up as- Steve Young? Tatum Mangum? But in the end, he decided to be himself in the future.

 

Jakey was Thor.

 

And Charlotte was a woodland fairy.

Charlotte's 9th Birthday!

 

Look!  I have a cheerleader! We got off to a pretty rocky start (she cried through the entire first practice,) but thanks to a fabulously kind coach and friendly little girls she has grown to love her little cheer squad.

 

Charlotte is the youngest girl on the squad of 9-11 year olds. She likes being a "flyer" at the top of the pyramids.  I have been surprised how many extra social activities are involved in cheerleading... sleep overs, banner making, pizza parties. I don't know if I am cut out to be a cheer mom, but I will support her the best that I can.

 

Charlotte asked for a polar bear cake this year.  It is actually amazing to me that we made it nine years without making one!  We also took the kids to Halli Galli, a Kinderspielwelt (indoor play bounce house place) that we also went to when Charlotte turned four years old. For her birthday gift, she got the game Hedbanz and we all played together... with Jake accidentally giving away everyone's cards, except for Rob who took the longest to guess his.  (For example, he would stare at my head and then ask me, "am I a strawberry?" and Charlotte and Toby would yell, "Jacob!" So I clearly knew that I was a strawberry.) There was a lot of giggling and it was a very fun day for the kiddos.

 

We also got this great big puppy right around the time of Charlotte's birthday. She loves Bingo and is the first to get down on the floor to pet and cuddle with the smelly dog after school each day. When she sat down to do her homework the other day he tried to climb into her lap to check her work.  Or eat it for her.  He's super helpful like that.  (Not.) 

For some reason my mom always said that nine was her favorite age.  I look forward to this year with my nine year old Charlotte girl.  Charlotte is sweet, sensitive, smart, and sassy. Amelie has recently moved into a toddler bed in Charlotte's room (at Charlotte's request) and they are enjoying their sister time having tea parties, reading books, and caring for a menagerie of stuffed animals.  Charlotte says, "I prayed and prayed to have a sister to share my room with, and now my wish has come true." I mean.... how adorable is that?!?!  We love you Charlotte.

Charlotte's birthday interview:

(20 questions style)

1. What is your favorite color? Pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Baby Polar

3. What is your favorite fruit? Apricots

4. What is your favorite tv show? Pokemon

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

6. What is your favorite outfit? "I don't know... I just wear everyday outfits, I don't have a favorite or anything."

7. What is your favorite game? Minecraft and Ticket to Ride

8. What is your favorite snack? Chocolate covered raisins

9. What is your favorite animal? A polar bear

10. What is your favorite song? My Favorite Things (from the Sound of Music)

11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter (yes, she finished it, and got the second one for her birthday and read it all immediately.)

12. Who is your best friend? Ciara and Christie

13. What do you want to be when you grow up? "That's hard... I want to be a mom, and an artist, author, and illustrator."

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? "Ride my bike, because I like how the wind rushes on my face and it's all breezy when I go fast."

15. What are you really good at?"Actually I want YOU to answer that one."  Okay, Charlotte is a great artist, friend, reader, storyteller, big sister, and daughter.

16. What is a food that you hate? "Everything in my life is okay and then my favorite things.  I don't really hate anything."

17. What do you like to do with Mom? Bake cookies

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

19. What is your favorite dinner? Pasta Primavera

20. What makes you happy? Making other people happy.  :)

First days for Jake (also belated)

October was a big month for Jake! 

 

Jakey started German Kindergarten at the beginning of the month. He was assigned to the Mause Gruppe (Mouse Group) and his teacher gave him a tote bag with his name on it when she came to do her home visit. On his first day we just went for an hour and Amelie and I stayed with him.  The next day he went for an hour solo.  And then we slowly increased his time there each day until he was finally going for the whole morning.  (It took more than two weeks.) He was totally fine to stay right off the bat, but the school has their process and will not be deterred from following it!

 

Jake likes the playground and the Lego room the best. There is an art room, a Kinder gym, a nap time room, a ball pit, play kitchen, grocery store, dollhouse, and even a room with REAL tools to construct projects.  It is a really nice little Kita. (German abbreviation for Kindertagesstatte.)

 

Jake has already made a buddy... who also speaks no German.  He is from Morocco.  In Jake's class alone they have German, English, Arabic, Russian, and French speakers.  The teachers speak only German to them.  As one little boy informed me, "We are in Germany, so you must speak German."  Working on it, dude.

 

Jake also played another season of Bambino soccer.  He was one of the bigger kids this time around, being an older and wiser four year old.  He loves being part of a team, but I think water breaks and chatting with the coach are still his favorite parts of the activity.

Charlotte and Toby collaborate

*FACEPALM*

Amelie turned 2!

While we were in Colmar, France we celebrated Amelie's second birthday. Because, really, when your name is Amelie you should celebrate as many birthdays in France as you possibly can, right?

 

For dinner we had the bread and cheese we bought in Strasbourg, along with some local grapes and raspberries at this (third floor walk up, loft) apartment we rented for the night. Then we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes from a French cafe. The kids had Kinder Schokolade flavored ones and the grown-ups had Chocolate Pistachio ones.  (The candle looks like an 8 from the back, but really is a 2, I promise.)

 

Amelie loved being sung to, and making a mess eating her cupcake "all up."  

She has turned into quite the little firecracker.  She talks a LOT, and very well. For example, she doesn't just say "no," she says "No, I don't!" We also hear a lot of "You stop it, Mom" when I tell her not to do something. And the meltdowns and tantrums are impressively dramatic over even the smallest things right now. 

Grandma gave her a new book, which she loves, and the kiddos picked out a baby doll for her that drinks from a bottle and then wets her diaper.  The first time this happened, Ami completely flipped out!  She could not believe the diaper was really wet and that we weren't just pretending. She takes very good care of her baby- rocking it, feeding it, changing it, and carrying it with her all around the house.

 

We adore this strong-willed little munchkin.  She loves kitty cats and puppies. She does her best to copy Charlotte's every move. She can not get enough of being read to, even though she has most of her board books memorized. She loves going places in the stroller or backpack. Amelie is completely convinced that she is an adult and that everyone must value and respect her contributions to the conversation. And yet, when I tell her what a big girl she has become, she still crawls into my lap and says,  "I'm baby, Mom." Yup... and she always will be our baby.

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.