Rainbow Pony Party

Emmie's 5th birthday celebration was a rainbow pony party. She selected the design for her cake and helped make the numerous treats to be served. 

Even though it started to sprinkle when the kids arrived, it did not ruin the party atmosphere. The kids ate ice cream in decorated ice cream cones before Emmie opened her presents.  They did their crafts on the picnic table which we fit on the patio and under the balcony. Singing and cake consumption occurred while we let the grass dry up. Despite the high humidity and heat, they all had fun galloping and racing against one another in the various pony games we played.

Everyone had a great time celebrating Emmie's birthday and left with smiles on their faces. Emmie was excited to play with her gifts and enjoy more of her birthday treats in the evening.

Tschüss Kindergarten

Emmie's last week at kindergarten was spent playing on the playground and continue watching the new kindergarten house being built.

This week the construction crew had great organization for bringing the prebuilt walls to the site and dropping them into location. It was very interesting observing how quickly and efficiently they operated for this phase. They had the building constructed within a six hour time period.

Passed 2a with flying colors

As the school year wraps up this week, Adeline has been the recipient of numerous awards. 

She was awarded two certificates from the Bundesjugendspiel. The first one was for placing first in the sprint race. The second one was for being the most athletic girl in her class as she accumulated the most points based on her overall performance.

In addition, she received a certificate for completing the instrument carousel program in the Hofheim music school.

We are very proud of her performance in school. Her teacher has approved for her to be in the third class next year.

Rhein Regional Route

On Saturday, we biked the local portion of Rhein Main regional route along a path that took us through the fields. Adeline likes using her gears to conquer the hills. Bandit is still getting used to being in the trailer, but after an hour or so, he finally accepts he must ride it in it in order to come along with us. There are different sights along the route to stop and see. We stopped and ate lunch at a lookout point. While having lunch, we decided to head over to a tall look out tower. 

We discovered the tower is at a new park they built that also has a restaurant and playground area. Eric and the girls climbed the tower, while I stayed at the bottom with Bandit. The tower also had a glass floor. The girls found it neat to look down where they just climbed up from. 

Go Germany!

Tonight Germany plays in their quarterfinal game in Eurocup 2012. The girls are excited about this as they have gotten into the spirit and have been practicing their cheers. Emmie is cheering for Greece since she really liked their beaches and Adeline is rooting for Germany. 

At school, Adeline was the only one wearing her jersey in her class, where Emmie joined with all of the boys who have worn their jerseys all week long along. 

In the evening, friends came over to watch the game with us. We celebrated with an international buffet of American snacks and had French champagne and German beer to go along with it. 

It was a fun evening and Germany won 4-2. They now have a spot in the semifinals and will play on Thursday evening.

Location Perks

Eric finished up his project in a little town outside of Zurich this week. He has managed to enjoy the scenery and atmosphere of his job location when not in the office these past few weeks. He arrived home with a specialty torte from the town of Solothurn. The torte was delicious and a great finale to this project.

Vorlesetag

This morning, Steinbergschule held their Vorseletag. This is the time when an a student from the older class reads a book to a student who will be entering school next year.  Adeline's class performed this task. Unfortunately, it was raining outside, so it was held in the gymnasium. Adeline and her classmates found a mat to sit on and then the kindergarten students who are coming to school (including Emmie) ran to find someone to sit next to. It worked out for Emmie to be with Adeline along with another girl.  Most of the students had two kindergarteners with them. Emmie agreed that Adeline did a good job reading the book. Adeline informed me her teacher demonstrated how to, but because she read slower, she did not get to finish the book. 

Afterwards the children played games and then visited Adeline's classroom. They also learned that Emmie is not the only sibling from Adeline's class who will be attending school next year. Both girls said it was fun morning being together in the school.

H is for..

Happy Father's Day! 

This afternoon, we hosted a house BBQ.  It is not Father's Day here today, but we thought it would be a fun summer gathering. I worked with my neighbor, Briggi, to coordinate a house BBQ in our yard. Everyone attended, including a few neighbors who do not live under our roof.

At one point, we had over 20 people in our little area. The weather was sunny and warm and great for being outdoors. Briggi made her famous strawberry bowl drink for us ladies while the men served themselves from the cooler packed full of beer. When the grill got going, it was non stop for about an hour of cooking, but the meats were delicious along with the numerous salads each family made.

Euro Cup 2012's schedule had Germany versus Denmark playing in the evening. Everyone moved over to our neighbor's place to watch the soccer game. We stayed for the first half as it was getting late. Germany won their match 2 to 1 and secured a spot in Friday's quarterfinals.

It was a happy day for everyone.

"auf der Baustelle"

Even though it rained in the morning, the kindergarten still held their summer festival in the afternoon. The theme of the festival was "auf der Baustelle" (on the building site) which was very appropriate since they are constructing the new portion of the school on the grounds. The playground area had construction tape all around it and cones scattered throughout. The teachers dressed in the blue overalls the construction workers wear while on the job. The children sang a construction song to start the party. The children played construction themed games of stacking bricks and racing with little wheelbarrows. Eric and I enjoyed a beer and Applewine while Adeline and Emmie played the games and on the playground. It was a fun afternoon. We left just in time because as we got home, the rain came down.

Wein, Sekt, und Roses

We enjoyed a day in Eltville am Rhein, the wine, sparkling wine, and rose city, as it was the location for Eric's company's Values Day. The company organized numerous activities for employees and their families to participate in throughout the oldest city on the Rhine River. 

When school was finished, we drove to Eltville. We first arrived at the welcoming center which was at Kurfürstliche Castle, an old castle along the Rhine River with beautiful rose gardens.

Our first activity was a Rhinegau Adventure treasure hunt. It turned out to be a family oriented tour of the city and the guide did her best to incorporate the children into looking for unique things on buildings and structures. We did learn many interesting facts about the city and found it amazing how a little town has over 350 types of roses growing throughout it. I am assuming we reached the treasure when we ended up sampling a local Reisling wine and the kids had kinder wine at a wine tasting venue. 

Eric was able to quickly get from Zurich to join us in time for the Cafe Tour. We were given a list of the three cafes in town and their specialities we could sample or choose our own. Our table was reserved for us in the first cafe when we arrived. We ate chocolate tortes while Eric selected a strawberry torte. Continuing on, we stopped at the ice cream cafe. Emmie's selection of a Mickey Mouse ice cream treat was the highlight. 

At the Altstadtcafe Glockenhof and our final cafe, we choose the famous Eltviller Rosentorte. It was very pretty, but we were not very hungry by this time. The inside filling was good, but not being a marzipan fan, we nibbled on the rose.

Fortunately, the weather cleared up and it became warm for the outdoor evening festivities. We strolled over to the other castle, Castle Crass. They served appetizers and drinks on the lawn overlooking the Rhine River. They also had a few activities for the kids to keep busy and carnival games to keep the adults entertained. Emmie managed to catch a little nap on one of the huge beanbags they had on the lawn, too. 

For dinner, they offered a wonderful BBQ buffet with many delicious meats and salads to choose from. It  was nice to have dinner sitting along the Rhine River. For dessert, everyone enjoyed the dessert table that included crepes with Nutella. We spent the evening relaxing on the beanbags and chatting with Eric's co-workers. It started to rain, so we found a tent to move under for a little while. When the rain let up, we ended our wonderful time in the city of Eltville.

Snails

This week Adeline's class completed their snail project. After Easter break, the kids brought in snails and put them in a glass aquarium in their classroom. Adeline has learned alot of information about the snail's anatomy and how it survives, along with a tongue twister poem she had to recite. Apparently there were babies at one point too, but the teacher has no idea where they went because they are so small. It has been a fun learning class for her. Adeline has captured her own weinberg snail and is caring for it outside. She is also sharing her knowledge with Emmie and Emmie's friends when they find one or two in the yard.

Celebration day

Saturday morning, Eric and the girls created a wonderful American breakfast to begin celebrating my birthday. The girls were very excited about helping make the blueberry pancakes.

We continued the celebration at lunch in Flörsheim am Main at the Bootshaus, which came as a recommendation. I knew it was the right choice to head out for lunch and not a bike ride when we approached the restaurant and there were white caps on the river. We lucked out as a table was open on the three sided enclosed patio. We enjoyed the river view, but were protected from the cool winds while we dined. Adeline was excited for her schnitzel and I choose the white asparagus meal while Eric found a homemade sausage meal to try. Everything was very tasty.

After lunch, we walked through the town and up to Flörsheim Warte. Along our walk, the girls picked flowers and had fun with Bandit walking along the path. In the middle of the vineyards, there is a little area where you can stop and have some drinks along with some food. It was nice to relax and enjoy the view as we could also see the Frankfurt skyline.

 We then returned to town and headed home. At home, we enjoyed the rasperry torte I selected from our local bakery. 

The Letter

The kindergarten teachers have been inquiring for the past two weeks why I have not de-registered Emmie from kindergarten for next year. (Here you have to formally indicate you do not want a place in the kindergarten when you remove the child from the school). I informed them it was because I had nothing official from the school indicating she had a place in the first class. Meanwhile, Eric and I  have been trying to schedule an appointment with the school director to discuss the next steps for Emmie because it was a different process with Adeline. We have been unsuccessful due to the difference in schedules and recent holidays. 

When I pick up Emmie from kindergarten, the teachers are handing out letters to the children; however, there is not one for me. I am approached again by the teachers about removing Emmie from kindergarten, so I explain to them why I have not proceeed with it. 

We celebrate Hanna's fourth birthday in the late afternoon and I am able to forget about the chaos and stress of  Emmie's school situation. When we come home, Adeline remembers she got a letter for us at the end of school today when I am telling Eric about the pressure I am starting to get at the kindergarten about her place for next year. 

She retrieves it and I quickly open it. It is the good news we have been waiting for-- Emmie has a spot in the first class and school begins on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.

I am filled with so many emotions and reread the letter to make sure I did not miss one German word that would change my first thought of her being accepted. Adeline then reads the letter to Eric to confirm my translation as well.

I read the letter to Emmie and her response is she wants to go to the other elementary school across town and be in that first class because that is where one of her classmates is going. Adeline is sad at this response, but Emmie quickly changes her mind and says how fun it will be to be with her sister in school.

I am so grateful it has worked out for her to attend first class and am very happy for her to start this new journey.

Whistle while you work

This weekend was a working weekend for us. Eric and the girls started cleaning the patio set, while I started organizing for the upcoming activities this month and the summer.

Fortunately the weather was cooler for numerous steps involved with restoring the patio set to its natural Teak color. Just by washing it down really well, it already looked better. By Saturday evening, Eric had accomplished the noisy steps, so on Sunday, he could do the quieter step of just applying the oil. He was able to get the basic set's first layer of oil applied before he ran out of oil on Sunday afternoon. Since the store was closed, the rest will have to wait until next weekend.

Trekking on up

This afternoon, we picked up Adeline's new bike. She picked out a mountain bike. She is a little hesitant with the bigger frame and wheels, but we know she will quickly get the hang of it along with using the front and rear brakes. She is looking forward to using the gears to make it up the hills when we go bike riding.

Bundesjugendspiele

This morning was Adeline's track and field day with the school. The kids warmed up for the numerous events by walking the 20 minutes to the track and field. The kids competed against their other classmates in a shot put, long jump, sprint, and long run. Last year, Louisa beat all of the girls in the running events and the entire class knows Louisa can run fast, so the girls are not very enthusiastic about running. Going into the event this year, Adeline asked Eric for some help in running as she was nervous about the long run. They went out to the track on Sunday afternoon to practice.

The first event of the morning was the shot put. She threw average for the girls and she knew she was not the best at this event. Then came the long jump. She crossed the line and fell backwards on one of her attempts, but the other two were successful.

Adeline competed against Louisa for the 50 meter sprint. Adeline won the sprint. The kids cheered during the race and she was so surprised she won. Afterwards, Louisa told her she tripped up at the beginning, so that is why she was not as fast this time.

For the 800 meter race, all eight girls lined up to start the race. With butterflies in her stomach, Adeline asked Eric to run along with her for this race because she was nervous and excited. When they said go, the girls all started running and Louisa took the lead. By the first turn, Adeline was even with Louisa. As they ran across the back stretch, Adeline was out in front of the entire group by at least 20 meters. Everyone was cheering for her as she came through the straight away where everyone was at. She continued to lead the group around the next turn and down the back stretch. Meanwhile, Eric was jogging along with her and encouraging her as she went, plus trying to help her pace a little bit as she was running faster than needed. As she was running into the last turn, all of the other kids started running along with her. Eric let Adeline run it out on the last stretch as it became congested with the kids and parents. She kept running and everyone kept cheering for her and Louisa as they approached the finish line. In the last meter before the finish line, Louisa caught Adeline and beat Adeline to the finish line by one second. 

Everyone came over and said congratulations to Adeline and Louisa and commented on what an exciting ending it was.  We are very proud of Adeline for trying her best and having fun. She improved greatly as she went from sixth place to second place this year in the long run and won her heat in the sprint.