Swim Lessons

 Eyan and Silus are taking swim lessons at out local pool. They can both swim fairly well, but we thought it would be a good idea to have them go and impove the skills they have.  

We only have one car at the moment so the boys can just walk just 15 minutes, and then swim for an hour.  

I have walked with them and took the opportunity to snap a few shots.  I love that we can take a simple walk to the pool and are surrounded by beauty. 

Lego

 Eyan picked up the Lego bin with the people and the cars, and had a busy afternoon building cars, and putting Lego men together.  

New Journals

I picked up some new notebooks/journals for the kids.  They were depleting our paper supply so quickly and it's so hard keeping track of all the little drawings.  Now they are on a "strict" journal only drawing, it seems to be going pretty well, and I hope that it's something they will hold onto for years to come. 

Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

Secret Agent

The boys decided to be Secret Agents for Halloween. Here is a little preview of our activities.

Sketching and Watercolor

I started an online art class about a week ago. The teacher sends out very simple instruction that I download. I can read, and re-read, and yes, read again, hen begin the project. I sketch, outline, and paint. Next I upload a photo to a forum and the teacher gives me her thoughts and suggestions about it.

The kids have gotten really excited about the class after seeing a few of the things I've done, so I decided to give them a little mini lesson. They did a great job, and painted little works of art.

Wordless Wednesday

Ganzatagschule

This year Eyan and Silus attend the same school down the street. They walk to school together at about 7:45 and sometimes a little earlier if they want to play before school. This year the school offered a program to help kids with homework and have a few extra fun activities. I was hesitant to enroll them since it required that they stay until 4, but decided that it would be best since I'm not very helpful in that department. I also liked that it was Monday - Thursday and not all week. So far it's going really well, they have have a Lego hour, First Aid training, walks to the school garden only a few minutes away, reading time, and lots of other activities.

Mysterious Happenings.....

This is a wonderful dessert that I make quite often. It's called Sopa Cheese Cake. It's easy to put together, and everyone loves it. On Wednesday morning I had a meeting with an Art Quilt group and decided on Tuesday to make it ahead of time so I wouldn't have to rush Wednesday morning..... On Wednesday morning I found my beautiful Sopa, looking like someone had eaten out the middle. And guess what?! Someone had. This person will again remain nameless.

Loose Tooth

Eyan was eating a carrot and someone bummped him. His tooth became loose and now he and Martin are deciding how to extract it. At this point they have mentioned string, Mentos, and Diet Coke. How this will all work is beyond me, but hey I'm just the mom.... with a camera.

December 14

What can one find while cleaning out an eight year old's backpack? Let me tell you. 1 brocken ruler. 2 smashed Oranges. Paper cut into strips. 4 Pencil sharpeners. Granola Bars. Pencil shavings. Clay. A small Cactus. Not even kidding. Half pencils. Erasers. And the list goes on. BUT, for now it's clean....

The Outdoor Pool

We found an outdoor pool that is awesome! It's only 5 minutes from our house and a few Euro for the whole family to swim. There's a great baby pool, large pool with a huge slide, sand pit, play ground, and volley ball court. One of the most favored areas for the older kids has to be the high dive. There is a 1 meter, 3 meter and 5 meter jump. Silus has done the 1 meter, Naomi and Eyan have both done the 3 meter and Eyan and Martin have done the 5 meter jump! Toben and I like to watch from the sidelines and cheer everyone on.

In the picture Eyan is preparing to jump off the 3 meter dive

Snails

Here in Germany it seems like certain things are "Super Sized" and snails are no exception. Eyan went on a Snail hunt and found over 30. In one afternoon. Some are a normal size, but there are others. That are HUGE! Our neighbors were happy that he was collecting them since they are a menace to the vegetable gardens. They eat all the good stuff, and just think about it... these slimy super sized snails slugging across your crisp green lettuce. Gives me chills just typing it. Yuck!

Acht is 8

What do you think it will be like to be 8? THE SAME. What is something you want to DO when you're 8? I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T HAVE A CAR. What is your favorite color? UM I DON'T KNOW. I HAVE A LOT OF THEM. Pick one. CAN IT BE ANY COLOR? Just pick one. BLACK

What is your favorite food? THAT THING I HAD FOR LUNCH. BEEF STROGANOFF WITH NOODLES. What is something you don't like to eat? STUFFED SHELLS. What is your favorite animal? MONKEY Favorite thing to do? CLIMB TREES

What is the best part of your day? BASICALLY EVERYTHING. SCHOOL. What do you like about school? MY TEACHER AND FRIENDS. I LIKE ART WITH HER. What is your favorite thing about Germany? IT'S NOT SO COLD OR SO HOT HERE.

If you could DO anything what would it be? TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD IN 8 HOURS. OR SKYDIVE. Tell me about the worst thing that has ever happened to you. I TOUCHED AN ELECTRIC FENCE. What did that feel like? KIND OF HARD TO EXPLAIN. ELECTRIC.

What will you be when you grow up? A ZOO KEEPER, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF ANIMALS. Will you be married and have kids? YEA. How many kids? I DON'T REALLY KNOW.
How old will you be when you're married? HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE? You have to be an adult. HOW OLD IS THAT? 30 years old. 30 THEN I GUESS Where will you live? IN EL PASO, TEXAS.

Loose Tooth

Eyan ran up the stairs this morning with very exiting news. He has a loose tooth. He is almost 8, but this is his first tooth to come out. When he was in 1st grade it was pretty tough being the only kid with ALL his teeth. In the next days he will earn bragging rights. He has been wiggling and turning his tooth as much as he can. Pictures of the empty space to fallow.

Etch-A-Sketch

We have way too many toys. As I have been thinking about what we can get rid of and what can stay, it never fails that the kids play with something they haven't taken interest in since they were born! I don't know that I'll be getting rid of the Etch-A-Sketch, it's a toy that is not played with much but it really does not take up much space. Eyan picked it up the other morning. He sat at the kitchen table for a little while and in maybe 20 minutes with no directions came up with this great picture. It's a boy with a bow tie on, holding a leash and his dog. It impresses me, mainly because I can't even do a basic square or even write my name. He picked it up for the first time and has a picture!

An Unhappy Reindeer

There has been so much excitement about Christmas and all that it brings. Each child had a special advent calender in their class as well as a gift from their teacher. The kids have sung Christmas carols and played with Nativity Scenes set up at school. It has been a breath of fresh air coming from a country where you can't give a Christmas greeting to someone let alone talk about the real reason for Christmas. We are so blessed to live here and have this great opportunity.

Last week Eyan's class had a special party for a Kindergarten class. They did a dance and craft for them, Eyan was a reindeer. Here is a class picture before the party. 


If you can't spot Eyan he is the very small unhappy kid in the back row. When I asked about his expression, he had no answer. He does say that he likes school.... couldn't guess by this pictrure that's for sure.