Time to Swim

It's so wonderful having this public pool here in our little village.  It's about 1 mile away, and Naomi and Eyan are both old enough to ride their bikes down to the pool and stay as long as they want. 





I don't think it's even hit 80 degrees here yet, but we are feeling so grateful for the blue skies and warmer weather.  We have already been swimming more this month than we did the entire last year, so I got a pass hoping for more warm weather. Not that the kids spend the whole time in the pool anyways, but it feels wonderful to be outside after such a long winter.

Playmobil Land

For those of you who don't know I am a HUGE fan of Playmobil. So naturally I was thrilled when I found a Playmobil land only a few hours from us. It was great place to explore, with activities for all of us.

One of the first adventures was on a boat, I opted to be the photographer. Martin and the 4 kids maneuvered this high speed water raft with the utmost procession. And no one fell in, which I found to be amazing. In the background is a huge pirate ship that is a Playmobil toy.

Another play area was with loads and loads of sand. The object was to find "gems". We were not so successful at this station, but had fun none the less. There were jiant Playmobil men, a small mine to go in and toys to dig and sift with. For a small fee you could perchase a treasure chest, but I thought my hand worked just the same.

The weather was a bit on the chilly side so we did enjoy the indoor play area filled with every set of Playmobil imaginable. AND multiple sets. I could have stayed in this area for the whole day. It was so fun seeing all the different sets and toys and how all the kids set up everything.

Black Bananas

As a kid I can remember my dad giving my mom a hard time about the black bananas on the counter, and now I get the same strange look about those fermenting black bananas. But, when it comes to great banana bread it's just what you need. My mom gave me her recipe, and I make it pretty regularly. The best part about making it is that you use the bananas after they have gone black. The bread doesn't come out the same if you use just slightly brown, and don't even try yellow! It takes a nice deep black, and they need to be a little smooshie. It sounds nasty, but believe me! Let me assure you there is not a single complaint when the bread is being devoured. Until it's gone that is, and then we wait for the next batch to "ripen".

Nana's Black Banana Bread

1/4 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 3-4 "ripe" bananas 3 Tblsp milk

2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg bananas and milk.

sometimes if I'm feeling a bit spunky I put in a little vanilla and Cinnamon

Mix in dry ingredients.

Makes one loaf or about 18 muffins

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes for loaf and 20-25 minutes for muffins

Rothenburg

Rotenburg is a well preserved medieval city about 2 hours from us. The city walls are still standing and you can walk on and around them. While visiting this adorable village we visited a Toy Museum, a medieval Torture Museum and had a walking tour.

The tour was at night with "The Night Watchman" who proudly dressed the part. It was very interesting to learn some of the history of the city and have an interactive experience. Eyan and Naomi loved all the facts and were right up front drinking in all the facts and stories. Silus and Toben on the other hand not so much. Silus fell asleep in Toben's stroller and Toben rode on Martin most of the hour.

Silus didn't want to get anywhere near the Night Watchman and that's why he's not in the picture.

One funny thing that we learned from the tour was that the city door that stands 0ver 10 feet tall has another very small door. So a door within the door. The city had a curfew and if you were outside the city walls after curfew you would have to convince the night watchman you lived in the city and if he let you in, it was through the tiny door. Then you had to pay a fee for being late. What a great way to keep people on time. I think when the kids are old enough I might adopt the fee portion!

Heidleburg

The sun is shinning and it's time to pack up and see what's out there. We hit the road and went to Heidleburg. This trip was more planned out, but that's not to say things went as planned. After driving around without finding the entrance TO the castle we fed the ducks and walked by the river. Blessed are the flexible. The river was full of pattleboats and barges.

On Saturday we got actually found the castle and found parking and ventured in. A beautiful place to spend the morning. The castle was the biggest one we have been to so far, it's hard to put all of it into words. And I guess I really don't have to I can just upload pictures. One of the most interesting things was not the castle, but a small salamander that had lost his way in a freezing pool. The kids with help from Dad rescued this little guy who was pretty waterlogged.

Look Who's 5

Look Who's 5! Silus if you can believe it! We had an exclusive interview with Silus and here's what he had to say! These are the hard to get questions that you won't find anywhere else. And here it is.....

What will it be like to be 5- NICE

What is your favorite color- BLACK

What is your favorite food- MAC AND CHEESE

What is something you don't like to eat- SOUR STUFF AND HOT STUFF TOO

What is your favorite animal- PROBABLY A WHAK-A-TAIL DINOSAUR (STEGOSAURUS)

Favorite thing to do- PLAY WITH MY PLAYMOBIL. I LIKE TO BREAK STUFF.

What is the best part of your day- PLAYING WITH ZOE AT SCHOOL, PLAYING WITH NAOMI AND EYAN AND PLAYING NICE WITH TOBEN

What do you like about Germany? GOING TO SCHOOL
What do you like about school? THE KITCHEN. I PLAY WITH THE FOOD.
If you could DO anything you wanted what would it be- PLAYING ON THE COMPUTER. WEBKINZ. Tell me about the hardest thing you have done- CLIMBING LIKE A MONKEY. Where was that? ON THE BARS AT SCHOOL.

What will you be when you grow up? I WILL BE PROBABLY BE A ROBBER, BUT ONLY ROB MYSELF. Why would you be a Robber? BECAUSE I WANT TO WEAR BLACK LIKE A NINJA.
Where will you live? WHERE TIGERS ARE, OR CHEETAHS
Will you be married and have kids? SURE. How old will you be? 10. MAYBE I WILL MARRY NAOMI. Brothers and sisters can't get married. Maybe you could find a girl like her. ZOE!

New Year's Goal

As a family we talked about goals that we would like to accomplish in the New Year, and I thought we'd share.

Martin: Become Staff Sergent, Prep for WO1 Packet, Be a better Hubby and Father

Sarah: Read Bible everyday, Keep up this blog, Do a craft with the kids every week and cook with them on a regular basis, learn German

Naomi: Be fluent in German, Be nicer to brothers, Read more German books

Eyan: Make something using every Lego piece

Silus: Not take apart toys

Toben: Stop drinking out of bottle