Struwwelpeter-lauf 2011

The BMW Frankfurt Marathon was this weekend. On Saturday morning, Adeline and Emmie participated in the Struwwelpeter- lauf for the children. The race is named after a popular German children's book, Struwwelpeter. The 420 meter run began outside the Festhalle and then down one side of the building and they continued into the building and finished where the marathon runners would on Sunday.

When we were going to the event, Emmie did not want to participate, but after we walked the course and she saw the other children's excitement, she changed her mind. After registering, they each received a running shirt. 

We signed Emmie up to be in the 5 year old age group, so she was in the first race to run. She stayed focussed the entire way and kept pace with other children even though her legs were a little shorter. She was full of smiles as she crossed the finished line.

Adeline was a few races later. Once she overcame the mass group of runners at the beginning, she was speedy. Two thirds of the way, she claimed her side hurt, but she kept up her pace. As she was coming through to the finish,  a volunteer stepped in front of me and then another on-looker with a bigger camera  than me popped out right in front me from the sidelines. I never got to see her run right by me as my focus was being disrupted as I was watching for her amongst the sea of running children, but by her enthusiasm after the race, I knew she did a good job.

The girls had a fun time participating in the event and are looking forward to racing again next year.

Saturday evening, we attended the Pasta Party at church as Eric was a last minute fill-in for the Hope for Kids relay team. A volunteer from our church coordinates numerous relay teams for the Herman Living Waters Ministries to raise awareness about the organization as well as funds. Eric met his teammates and we learned about the ministry and consumed a variety of pasta dishes.

Sunday morning did not come too early for the race as we turned our clocks back this weekend. Eric was the first runner for his team. He ran 12km in 57 minutes which is quicker than his normal time. The team completed the race and Eric helped the overall average team time since he had set a good pace at the beginning. 

Unfortunately, the trains were not running as often and were jammed pack, so he spent more time waiting to catch a train back to Hofheim than running his part in the race. Eventually he made it back and was in good spirits after his contribution. He received another medal to add to his collection.

Cheerful start

Adeline did not have school on Monday, so she came to school with me again. She participated along with the rest of the class as we learned about culture and attractions in the city. This was good for her to hear as well as we were introduced to new vocabulary words. 

On the way home, an older neighbor was cleaning and clearing out his flower beds. The flowers were just being tossed on the ground even though they were still full of color. Adeline asked him if she could have one stem and he took the time to walk around his yard and create a bouquet for her.  She was delighted when he returned with so many flowers. We thanked him for his generosity and then continued on our way home.

Adeline started piano lessons this week. She was disappointed they did not play on the piano, but they did get a lesson on how the piano works.

Adeline also changed seats in her class. The teacher let the children pick their seats, so Adeline choose to sit by Clara. All of the girls are at the back row since there are only eight of them and they all wanted to sit by one another. 

On Friday, Adeline attended Clara's Halloween themed birthday party while Emmie and I attended  Halloween Happy hour at Eric's office.

Pumpkin time

Saturday morning, Adeline and Emmie found their Halloween pumpkins at the market. This year we found a few bigger ones to put one of the many faces they have been creating on our Ipad app leading up to this activity. Adeline was leaning towards a scary face, while Emmie wanted a silly face.

The weather was warm and sunny in the afternoon, so they were on the patio cleaning out their pumpkins before Eric tackled carving them. The girls were happy to see the finished pumpkin faces they had designed.  We put a candle in them that night to enjoy the glowing jack-o-lanterns.

Giddy Up!

Friday afternoon was a family outing to the horse stables for an English riding lesson. At the stables, the girls picked out which pony they would be riding from the stalls, while Eric and I looked on as the trainer picked out a horse for us. We then watched them prep the animals for our lessons. Adeline and Emmie helped groom the pony before the saddle was put in place. We then followed the animals and trainers to a covered riding arena. 

Emmie was first to ride the pony and Eric went first on the horse. The lessons began with them first walking and getting used to being on the horse and then proceeded to a slow trot. The trainer switched Emmie so she was riding backwards a few times so Emmie would not get dizzy from constantly going in small circles. She was happy to be riding the pony, even if it was a bumpy ride while it was trotting. 

Meanwhile, Eric was learning quickly how to handle the horse and began holding on with only one hand. Eric proceeded to walk the horse around the entire area with the trainer. The trainer left Eric alone on the horse as he tended to another customer, so Eric continued trotting around the arena.  

After 30 minutes, Adeline was now on the pony and listening to the trainer's instructions. She was throughly enjoying her ride as her patience was getting thin towards the end of Emmie's time on the pony.

It was now my turn on the horse and I managed through my lesson. It took me a little longer to get the rhythm of riding and I never got real comfortable being on the horse. I was relieved when my two feet were back on the ground, but I am very glad I tried it. 

During the end of my lesson, the girls were taking turns of riding and walking the pony around the arena. Adeline and Emmie had a great time riding the pony along with Eric who learned how to ride a horse. The girls asked if we could return the next day and do it all over again before we were even past the last stable on our way out.

The Happiest Place on Earth

On our last morning at Disneyland, we woke up early so we could fit in everything the girls wanted to do one last time. At breakfast, the girls told us what rides they wanted to go on, so Eric and I mapped out a plan for our last day in the parks. 

Our morning began in Discoveryland and this time Eric won the family challenge by getting the most points on the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. Our time was then spent in Fantasyland, sailing on the Peter Pan ride and the other ones we did on the first day. Eric took the girls for a Carousel ride, while I waited in line for a visit with the Disney Princesses. 

 The Princess Pavilion was not scheduled to open for 30 more minutes and then the Princesses would not arrive for another 20 minutes plus when I got into line. This visit would be our longest wait time for an attraction at the Park, but it was still shorter than any of the previous days' waiting times of over 60 plus minutes. While waiting to enter the Pavilion which looked like a mini castle, we learned we could visit with either Snow White or Cinderella and the girls would not get to choose who, but this did not really seem to matter to them as they were just excited to visit with a Disney Princess. They opened the doors on time, so we could wander through the decorated queuing hall with the various Princess's castles and their respective identity item. As we walked through, the girls were quick to identify which Princess belonged with each picture and item. When it was our turn, the girls asked  if they would be visiting with Snow White or Cinderella, but the attendant did not reveal who and motioned for them to enter the gallery. 

In the gallery, the girls smiled and conversed briefly with Cinderella before having their picture taken. Afterwards, the girls were very happy they had the opportunity to meet Cinderella and talk with her during their visit. Even though it was about a 45 minute wait, the smiles and happy chattering were priceless as we left the Princess Pavilion.

We worked our way again around Disneyland riding on the requested rides. The timing was great as we got to see many of the smaller performances throughout the park while enroute and we ended at Autopia in the late morning. 

The car driving experience would be another long wait time of about 45 minutes. When it was our turn, the girls were our chauffeurs. Emmie was very serious about driving the car, while Adeline was all over the track. It was a fun time for all of us. 

We took a lunch break at Annette's Cafe where we dined on cheeseburgers, french fries, and milkshakes. The meal was overpriced, but we enjoyed a taste of America.

Our day continued at Walt Disney Studios. The Disney Royal couples were in the courtyard, so we walked up to Snow White who was dancing with her prince. She extended her hand to Adeline who was then dancing with just the two of them for a minute as Emmie became shy and did not want to and before other children joined in. Eric and Emmie proceeded to the Tower of Terror as Emmie requested to go on this ride again. This time Emmie happily screamed with the rest of the riders when the doors closed and the elevator dropped.  Afterwards, Eric took the girls on the parachute ride. 

We returned to Disneyland to get our spots on Main Street for the Parade. The girls loved being so close to the colorful floats, dancing performers, and characters as they passed us by. They were filled with glee as they named all of the characters that they saw and super excited when some of them waved to them.

When the parade was over, we dodged the oncoming crowd and had one last ride through the Haunted Mansion and on the Mine Ride.  Our final time at Disneyland was spent watching Mickey's Magical Celebration. The show fascinated the girls and watching Rapunzel and her Prince appear in the middle of the dancing Royal couples was an enchanting moment for them.

We joined the crowd in exiting the park and began our four hour plus evening drive home. This surprise vacation to Disneyland was filled with many magical moments for our family and was the happiest place on Earth for Adeline and Emmie during their three day visit.

Another Magical Day

This morning we took advantage of being able to get into the park early. Before heading to the park, we asked the hotel to make a dinner reservation for us, but they could not get us a table anywhere in the Disney Village for that evening. We stopped at Cafe Mickey on our way to the park and they magically made a reservation for us at 7:15pm that evening. 

We happily continued to the park and were on our first ride by 9am. We started the morning off in Discoveryland on Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast. I accumulated the most points out of everyone on this ride. Eric wanted to take Adeline on Space Mountain, but she was a few centimeters short, so they could not go on it.

We journeyed back to Fantasyland and rode these rides again. Adeline and Emmie had even more energy and enthusiasm since they were already familiar with each ride. By 11am we had walked through the entire park and rode the rides we did not get to yesterday and took another ride on ones that were operating before the normal park hours. 

Since we had just gotten off of the Star Wars ride, Eric tried again to get Adeline on Space Mountain. This time Adeline walked past a few operators on her tip toes and through the queuing and then asked Eric if she could stop walking on her toes as they were starting to hurt. The plan worked and they had a fun time on the ride. Adeline thought it was so cool daddy snuck her on the ride. 

We spent the afternoon at Walt Disney Studios. We first watched the Animagique show before going on the rides in Toy Story Playland. The girls liked the parachute ride when it dropped down. While Eric and Adeline went on a ride, Emmie and I grabbed a bite to eat. While we were waiting in line, we watched the Disney's Stars in Cars Parade. It also started to sprinkle, so we found a covered area while we ate lunch. 

After lunch, we all went on the The Twilight Zone Tower of Tower. Emmie just made it on the height requirement for this ride. We took our seats on the elevator and waited. The girls intensely watched the story of the hotel and then were silent as the elevator moved to the next few floors. The doors opened one last time for us to look out onto the park and then they closed and we dropped. As we exited the ride, Adeline was one ride was enough for her as this was not her favorite. Emmie commented on how everyone was screaming after the doors closed the last time and was ready to go on it again as it was now her favorite ride.

We were on track for seeing the stunt show, Moteurs Action. The timing was great as we were in the grandstands while it was raining again.  The girls thought it was neat to see the cars and motorcycles drive so close to each other and at high speeds, and the guy catch on fire and then get extinguished. A trip on the Studio tram tour was fun as our tram shook from the Canyon flooding. We made it just in time to be one of the last riders on Crush's Coaster to end our day at the Studios. 

Since it was sprinkling and windy, we passed the time shopping in the Disney Village. We had to wait a few minutes for our table, but we ended up with a nice table for dinner at Cafe Mickey. The place was great for seeing different characters while we waited for our meal to arrive. Chip and Dale stopped by and Pluto tried to take Eric's beer, but the highlight was Mickey Mouse's visit.  Adeline's Disney shaped noodles were a treat for her pasta meal, too. 

We headed out in the rain back to our hotel. Unfortunately, Eric slipped with Emmie on our way back, but nothing too serious that will not heal in time. The girls did a quick recap of the day's events for us and listened to a princess story before falling fast asleep.

Disneyland

Monday morning traffic in Paris and we started our left turn as the navi told us to do at a circular intersection in the one lane marked for turning left. We were now stuck in the middle as the light changed and instantly had cars coming at us and still unsure how we were to get to the street we were supposed to continue on. Amazingly, we made it across three or four lanes of traffic with numerous horns being honked, but onto a different street. It did not matter the route was changed as we were unharmed and were heading in the right direction out of the city. We were looking forward to our next destination, which was a surprise to Adeline and Emmie.

We arrived at the hotel and checked in. The girls thought we were staying at another city, New York, for  a few days, due to the decorations in the lobby; however, upon returning to the lobby, Mickey and Minnie Mouse were spotted. Adeline hugged Mickey, but Emmie was shy around the big mouse. This clued Adeline in that we were at Disneyland.

Upon entering the park, Emmie discovered the huge castle. She was very excited about visiting the princess's castle. While we waited for the train, the girls looked over the map and instantly became our tour guides.

We started in Fantasyland with Alice's Curious Labyrinth. It took a few rides before the girls realized we would be going on all of the rides and not just a select few like at the festivals. They were curious about what each ride was and a little hesitant about how it was executed, but always had tons of excitement and glee after exiting the ride. Their favorite ride was It's a Small World. The girls were mesmerized by all of the dancing dolls and their outfits. They did their best to try and capture everything that was occurring around them.

Exploring Adventureland went quickly as some of the rides were being worked on, but Adeline and Emmie had a good time exploring with Eric. 

We lucked out in Frontierland as someone gave us fastpasses as we were about to get in the 45 minute waiting line for the Mine Ride, so our wait time was reduced to under 10 minutes. This was Emmie's first roller coaster ride and she had a great experience.

Our timing was perfect for seeing Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade. The girls watched from our shoulders as the floats passed by. They shouted with excitement when they spotted a character. After the parade, we finally toured Sleeping Beauty's castle. Emmie was thrilled about this as every time she spotted the castle throughout the afternoon, she would inform us.

We exited the castle in time to get a good spot for viewing Mickey's Halloween Treat in the Street. It was a nice rest to watch the characters and dancers perform a halloween show with themed songs and dances. Mickey only spoke French, but the other characters spoke English and French throughout the show. Afterwards, the dancers handed out gummi candies to the children.

The show ended just before Mickey's Magical Celebration at central plaza began, so we found a spot and waited for the performance. The show dazzled us all, but the finale with the dancing princesses and their princes was the perfect ending to Adeline and Emmie's first day at Disneyland.

We stopped in the Disney Village for dinner; however, the earliest we could get a table at any of the restaurants was over 45 minutes since we did not have reservations. We opted for the picnic lunch I had packed just in case a situation like this might occur back in the hotel room.  It took the girls a little while to unwind from the day's excitement, but eventually we were all resting up for our second magical day.