Weekend Spectators

Saturday afternoon, we took the girls to the Galli Theater for the "Little Mermaid". The small theater was ideal for them because they could sit right up front and see the performance. The girls had a good time watching the show and liked the various colorful costumes. Their favorite character was Little Mermaid. The play's storyline was not the Disney version, so the Little Mermaid did not marry the prince in the end and this did not make the girls happy, as they were anticipating the wedding.  Overall, it was a nice afternoon outing. 

Sunday afternoon, we spent in the Brühlwiesenhalle. This is where Adeline plays basketball as well as the local basketball teams. Sports here are organized through clubs within the towns and not the schools, so they play teams from other clubs within their region. We watched the girl's Rhein-Main Baskets (local area team) play against the USC Freiburg. The skill level and age group is equivalent to college level and this game was a league game. The team is ranked 4th out of 12 in their region. Adeline and Emmie watched them play the game and cheered them on with the crowds chants, while Eric and I noted how the game is played different from how we know the game. We also discovered some tasty homemade treats at the snack counter to nibble on during the game. Even though Rhein-Main Baskets lost, we had fun cheering for them.

Mimi visits

We have finally got back into our routine with school and homework. We have not gotten over our colds, but the warmer temperatures are allowing us to get some fresh air to feel somewhat better. It is different not having snow right now on the ground, but I am not complaining as it makes the walk to school much easier.

Mimi, Adeline's class pet, visited us this week. It was Adeline's turn to bring the mouse home for a day and care for it. She was super excited about this. Adeline created a story page to share with the class everything Mimi and her did while at our house.

I am managing to find spots in my reorganization projects for the new items. In the process of sorting and organizing the girls room, I have also had to locate a new set of clothes for Emmie as she has outgrown majority of her 4T clothes from before Christmas break.

The church's social committee group I am part of hosted a Bunco night on Friday evening. Unfortunately, the organizer was stuck in the US due to a snowstorm, so I ran the event. 28 ladies participated in the event and we all enjoyed the sweets and treats everyone brought to share. The ladies have already said they want to have another Bunco night soon because it is so much fun.

Time to be out and about

With the weather still being warmer than normal, we went on a few outings this weekend to take advantage of it.

 We visited Wiesbaden's Fasanerie on Saturday afternoon. It is an animal and plant park on the edge of the city.  The walkways were muddy from the snow melting, but they had numerous  platforms for the girls to see the animals. There are over 50 animals within natural habitats in the park. The animals can all be found within Germany. We could not find the bear, but we did find the wolves sleeping, and a deer with an 18 point rack. 

We strolled through Idstein on Sunday afternoon. Idstein is a neat old city. The witch's tower was not open to go in, but we did pass by the old city jail. The houses have charming character and it is interesting to see how they are incorporating the remodeling to fit the leaning or falling timbers in some of them. The afternoon ended with an ice cream treat on the park bench.

This week starts my three break from class. I am hoping to completely finish unpacking. Eric and I only put clothes away when we initially returned. We emptied the suitcases the first weekend so they could be stored away due to space constraints; however, now I have some reorganization projects to find areas for the new toys and items that came back with us.

2am House Party

Our first weekend back, one would have thought we were on a college campus. We slept in late and were wide awake at 2am. We did our best to keep our noises down in the wee hours of the morning with a snack and activities to help put us back to sleep within a few hours. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and warm (55 degrees) during the day, so we enjoyed the outdoors as much as we could.

Returning to school was exciting for all of us. Adeline celebrated her birthday with her class Monday morning. The class has a birthday ceremony they perform for each birthday child. She left the classroom and the children get in formation. First, they make a tunnel for her to go through. She is lead by the person she picks to lead her through the tunnel to the decorated birthday chair in the middle of the classroom. Then they gather around her and sing a a german birthday song about how nice it is that she was born. She choose to take in American candy to share with her classmates to celebrate. She received a fun chocolate shaped clown candy from her teacher.

In the afternoon as we were getting ready to leave for Adeline's dance class, I asked the girls if they wanted to walk or drive. It was a unanimous loud answer  of "walk". I agreed with them as it was warm and sunny again. The walk home allowed us to stop and get an ice cream on the way. 

Wednesday morning, I received my certificate for completing the second course of German. I am still one step ahead of the girls with my vocabulary, but their conversation skills are quickly catching up with mine.

This week while watching a cartoon, Emmie translated an entire show for me when I asked her what was going on. 

Unfortunately, us girls have also caught colds during the week. Our days have been productive, but our evenings come early as we are tired and exhausted.

Frankfurt or Bust!

Shopping, doctor appointments, birthday and holiday celebrations, and visiting with family and friends made our time go fast. We had a fabulous time with everyone we were able to see.  We greatly appreciate all of the preparations that went into us coming for a visit as we understand how busy the holidays themselves are.

It took a master plan and strategy to pack up everything we brought and the necessary items of toys, prescriptions, and shoes we had to bring back to Germany with us. In other words, we took over the living and dining rooms for a day to pack the suitcases. Half way through packing, our one large suitcase needed some minor repair, so Eric managed to sew a portion of the zipper in the corner completely closed. We hope this is not the one TSA wants to open during screening. 

The morning we flew out, we had our eight suitcases and three carry-on bags all packed, plus Adeline's new skis all wrapped up. Eric's parents transported us to the airport where we said our final good-byes. We checked all of our luggage and somehow our seats managed to get bumped a few rows rearward in the plane, but Eric was able to sit across the aisle from us during the flight. 

After our meal and some games, we did manage to get a little sleep on the flight. Adeline sprawled out across two of the seats and Emmie found it more comfortable to lay on the floor in our row. 

When we landed in Frankfurt, our luggage was one of the first pieces off of the plane and all intact, but we had to wait for the skis. Unfortunately, when they did not appear, Eric learned they never even got on our plane. The skis were going to Amsterdam first and then Frankfurt and from there would be delivered to our apartment tomorrow.

After walking through the taxi parking area, Eric managed to connect with the van who could accommodate all of our luggage and us. We made it safely to our apartment where the weather was 40 degrees with sunshine and the only snow we saw was in piles on the street corners which was slowly melting down.

Happy New Year!

2010 Holiday picture in Hofheim

Eric and I were in downtown Royal Oak for New Year's Eve. After a tasty meal with a few our good friends, we strolled through the streets to listen to discover the Gin Blossoms playing. The unseasonably warm weather was great for hanging out and the only thing missing was a beer garden to sit down and chat more.

We decided to be with the girls to watch the ball drop in New York City, but when we arrived back at the house, they were already sleeping. We toasted to the New Year and to another year of  good health, happiness, and love. 

God has blessed us this past year as we overcame our challenges and strived to make the best of our opportunities. We pray that 2011 will be full of blessings to our family and friends who are near and far, but ever so dear to us.

May 2011 bring everyone bright hopes, new success, and many reasons to smile.