Herbstferien- Woche 2

Our second week of Adeline's vacation consisted of more shopping and fun outings. This time our shopping trips were more adventures as we were searching for Halloween costume supplies.

Monday morning was our first stop to the children's thrift store. We were able to find a sweatsuit outfit to start Emmie's elephant costume along with a few new puzzles for the girls to enjoy. The elderly lady who waited on us informed me of the great bargain I was getting for my very nice purchases. I could not tell her we were going to use the clothes as costumes. We then continued to Aldi's for groceries and found black clothing items for Adeline's spider costume.  Monday afternoon, the girls were anxious to start making the spider legs by stuffing the socks with crumbled newspaper.

Tuesday morning, Adeline and I went to the mall looking for material for the elephant. After searching through the department stores, we finally discovered in the rear back corner of a store a mini Jo-Ann Fabrics. With limited selection of pink material, we initially picked out one type and then found a remnant of a silkier type. I think between the white felt  and the pink material, I spent more on this then the clothes for the costume. We then then went back to the thrift store to get the other sweatshirt for the elephant's ears and trunk as this was cheaper than buying fabric by the yard. These past days of shopping wore Adeline out as she fell asleep at 6:30pm on the couch and did not wake till the next morning at 7am.

On Wednesday, we relaxed and took it easy as the weather was raining and has turned cold. I had to scrap the car windows on Tuesday morning, so we decided to stay indoors, read books in the morning, and play games in the afternoon.

Thursday was an unplanned eventful day. The morning started with us accompanying Brigitte, our neighbor, to the Chinon Center. It is the new mall here in downtown Hofheim which has a few clothing stores, drug stores, and a cafe. It is about the size of a Meijer's store, but with a partial second level. Once again, we joined in the celebration with champagne and juice, acquiring flowers and balloons, and even getting large shopping bags with a purchase. Adeline enjoyed an apple with a company's logo stamped on it. Brigitte fought her way through the adults to get Adeline the large C&A helium balloon as they were handing them out in limited quantities. On the way out, Lidl was selling large buckets of fruit for only five Euro. I bought one as this was a great deal for a fruit salad and a bucket.

After returning home with our goodies, we went on our luncheon trip to McDonalds. I had to drive back to the MTZ mall for the closest restaurant. It felt weird to order half of the items in English, knowing the conversation would all be in German. I managed though and the girls chose a booth in the upper level to eat their lunch at. They enjoyed their chicken nuggets, french fries, and Fanta. I also had a Happy Meal with them, but I opted for the cheeseburger instead. The girls were very excited about their Happy Meal toy, a Tom and Jerry popsicle maker.  I had to stop one worker from taking our Happy Meal boxes as apparently nobody takes them home here. On the way out, the girls were able to pick out a McDonald's flag and balloon. I was happy we were leaving as the ordering lines were almost out the door when we left.

In the afternoon, we joined Melanie and her girls on their first visit to the Chinon Center. This time, the girls got a ball to play with in the yard. Melanie also fought her way through the adults to get a balloon for Hanna.

Friday afternoon we were planning on going to the chocolate shop when Eric called us. There was a medical emergency on the train and it was not going to be making it to Hofheim, so we went and picked him up at the last station it was going to. We then took a quick detour to the chocolate shop and showed Eric the new mall before heading home. Early in the evening, we went to the Rhein Main Therme. The pool was busy, but felt so nice and tropical since it the temperatures are cooler and it is getting darker earlier.