Kindergarten Sommerfest!

Friday was Sommerfest at Benjamin's Kindergarten. The teachers had been pumping them up for the big after school celebration for some time.

They had learned songs and played a game which was like charades (the kids took turns acting like an animal and the parents guessed which animal they were). The school playground area was decorated with German flags the kids had colored and balloons and streamers hung throughout.The celebration kicked off with the kids singing. As you can see, Benjamin wore a dog mask and acted like a dog for part of the singing. It's so neat to see him up there singing in a language that he didn't know a word of last year at this time.

After the singing the kids could go to different stations that were set up to make musical instruments. My kids were not too interested. Although at one point or another they each attempted to create a musical instrument of sorts.

We ate and enjoyed some awesome dishes that the parents all brought. I made a platter of fresh fruit (I figured I was safe with that although other parents had the same idea).

After that they started a small open grill. Once the charcoals were hot they wrapped a bread dough on sticks and handed them out to the kids who were very excited to toast the bread over the coals. It took awhile to toast the breads and the kids' enthusiasm eventually wore off and it ended up with mostly parents sitting around the grill... but I thought it was cool and was eager to try the bread.

They had a variety of jams to go with the toasted breads. By this time it was getting late though so we took our breads to go. (We ate them with jam at home and they were pretty tasty).

But before we left... one final treat... the children shook and rattled their new homemade instruments while they sang a final rendition of one of their songs in multiple languages along with the parents.

Overall, Sommerfest was a success! I think we all had a nice time and I left being thankful that Benjamin has been given this unique opportunity (as an American) to attend such a neat school.

After living here for almost a year, I think there are only so many chances to feel like we are part of the German culture... like we are one with them...like we belong. But being part of his Kindergarten class presents unique opportunities like this that we will always appreciate and cherish.

Saturday in Nearby Leimen

Ever since I took Samuel and Grace to the park in Leimen with the zipline, Benjamin has been wanting to go. So, Saturday morning Don was helping someone move so I took the kids to the park. They were so excited and it was a cool but beautiful morning so the park was NOT super busy.

Benjamin figured out the zipline right away and screamed like a girl just about every time he went on it! He LOVED it to say the least. And when we first arrived, he and Samuel were the only kids going on it so they got their fill going on it over, and over, and over...

After awhile we took a good long walk around the entire park on some trails that encircled a fenced in area with some animals (lots of goats and deer and a pig). The kids enjoyed exploring some new territory and it gave me plenty of photo opportunities of my favorite photo subject: my kids!

Father's Day Gift

I enhanced a few photos and framed them for Don. He seemed genuinely thrilled with the finished product when the boys helped him open his gift this morning.

We had a great Father's Day and shared lots of family time throughout the day. I will post more photos from our fun-filled day soon!

End of the Soccer Season

Benjamin recently finished up his spring/summer soccer season with the Red Raptors. He had a blast and we all enjoyed cheering on his team. Even Samuel got into yelling "Go Red Raaaaaptors!" and "Kick the ball, Benjamin!"

Overall, Benjamin probably enjoyed the fun of the practice, the comradely with his teammates, and the snacks afterwards more than the actual game time. He has a way to go with his soccer skills but he sure did have a great time. And we had a great time watching him bounce around the soccer field.

So, he is setting his sights on the fall soccer season.

Daddy and his Girl

These pics were taken at Benjamin's soccer game last night when Don showed up a lil late straight from work. We were all happy to see him, especially his sweet lil girl.

Grace absolutely lights up whenever she sees her Daddy. She turns on her speed crawl and throws herself at him. Daddy doesn't seem to mind too much.

Samuel on the Zipline

Today Samuel, Grace and I joined our MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) group for a playdate at a park in nearby Leimen. Samuel had a blast exploring everything the park had to offer... feeding goats, climbing all kinds of play structures, and especially the zipline!

The photo I'm posting is one my friend and neighbor took of Samuel flying across on the zipline. I love the flow of this action shot.

The first few times Samuel went on the zipline he needed a little help but he figured it out quickly and had a ball going on it time and time again. The German playgrounds always seem to offer something new and exciting compared to what our kids are used to and today was absolutely no exception. Enjoy the short video clips of Samuel whizzing by on the zipline!

Samuel and His Lil Sis

These photos of Samuel and Grace were taken at a Tierpark in nearby Leimen this morning. They are all pretty similar but I can't decide which one I like best. I think they are all uniquely cute in their own way so I'm posting them all. :) I love Grace's expressions in all of them as Samuel smooshes her in his embrace!

Samuel is always trying to help Gracie Jo stand or walk or move away from his toys... so here he is in action with his little sister who he truly adores.

Our Benjamin at 5 and a half

A few weeks ago now I managed to get Benjamin to cooperate and snap a few pictures of him on our small balcony. He turned into a total ham and showed off lots of silly poses but I was able to snap lots of pictures and come up with a handful of really good pics of our silly and sweet Benjamin.Since these pictures were taken he's gotten his hair cut and looks like a whole new boy but I thought I'd step back in time and share these anyway.

Afterall, it is not every day that I can snap this many pictures of our 5

and a half year old without spontaneously shouting "I'm Spider-man!" and striking a pose that apparently indicates that he's trying to shoot spidey webs at me.

And I must say 5 AND A HALF according to Benjamin. Recently, I told someone that he was 5 and he later asked me "Why did you tell them I was 5?" And of course I said, "Because you are." And he adamantly told me "No, I'm 5 AND A HALF!

Corpus Christi - Another German Holiday

This past Thursday was another German holiday, Corpus Christi. For those not familiar with this occasion, it is generally celebrated by Catholics and honors the Eucharist and does not actually commemorate a particular even in Jesus' life. It is held on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. It's celebration on this Thursday is meant to associate it with institution by Jesus of the Eucharist during the Last Supper.

Okay, enough of the biblical history lesson... I just enjoy doing a little research on what constitute a holiday in Germany! So, there you have it.

And of course, with all public holidays, Benjamin's German kindergarten is closed! His school actually got three days off this week so we have been enjoying a little break from our normal daily routine.

We haven't done anything too exciting this week but the kids have had a ball just hanging around our neighborhood and playing a little more Wii than usual. We went to a nearby German playground that the kids love.

And this time I actually remembered to bring the sand toys! Most German playgrounds seem to have sand around the play equipment.

It makes for a great extra attraction for the kids to play in (especially, when there are sand toys!)

Today it seemed like summer finally arrived! Don picked up a kiddy pool the other day and it was time to put it to good use... and I think most of the neighborhood kids seemed to agree as it was a big attraction throughout the day.

We had 80 degree sunny weather all day! It has been awhile since we've had a great day like this and we enjoyed every minute.

Next week, back to school for Benjamin! But we're hoping for more good weather to keep us out and about.

An Afternoon on the Haupstrasse

Saturday we took advantage of some beautiful weather and rode the strassenbahn downtown. We walked around the Hauptstrasse which is a pedestrian only street with lots of shopping, cafes and just old charming surroundings set on a cobblestone street. We were definitely not the only ones who had this sort of day in mind... the downtown area was bustling with tons of locals and tourists alike.

Our first stop was for a couple fresh baked pretzels... yum! (If I am 200 pounds heavier after our 3 years in Germany it is partly due to the fresh baked pretzels). Then we just walked around and eventually ended up at an outdoor cafe for lunch. The kids were all well behaved (which included a 7 year old neighbor girl who joined us as well).

We made several stops for the kids to take in some things they could enjoy. We watched some child street performers who were playing instruments, explored a children's bookstore, which I think they could have spent much more time in than we actually did. We also stopped at several water fountains for the kids to watch the water and run around them as well.

We also stopped into the Church of the Holy Spirit which was not super kid friendly but it is open to the public so we peeked in there briefly. Originally, we had thought we might make it up to the Heidelberg Castle;

however, we didn't leave the house until after 11 a.m. and we still have two little ones who take afternoon naps so once we got past lunch that became rather unrealistic.

But we did make it up to the point where you can get a good view of the castle which overlooks the city.

We had really just set out to get out and enjoy some of the local charm in the city we currently call home...and get some eis (of course, that's German for ice cream) and that's exactly what we did. So, overall, we had a great day.