Goooeey

Mixing Cornstarch and water creates a really interesting combination of goooo.  It entertained these two little boys for quite some time, and it's super easy to clean up which I love.

Dressing Up

 This little guy has been playing "dress up" since I can remember.
 Among his favorite outfits:

•  Long sleeve shirt with a black suit jacket
• Mouse hat and mouse tail
• ACU (camouflage) Jacket
• Batman suit that's two sizes small
• Cowboy shirt and hat
• Pirate shirt with bandanna

But here he is in an old pair of Naomi's glasses (glass taken out) and my cowboy boots, on the wrong feet..... What a kid!

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.

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. 

Lego Mania

2 years ago for Christmas we got the boys a first Lego set.

It came in a little blue tub. Since then we have been slowly acumulating more and more.....

Birthdays.

Christmas.

Extra Money from Grandma and Grandpa.

They graduated from that little blue container to about 4 Rubbermade containers.

WOW

Can you say tooooo many Legos? I know they can't.

And here they are in PJs making new creations.

Snow... finally

We waited and waited for it to snow, and it seemed that it was never going to happen. It was cold and gray, but no snow. What a way to spend a winter. Tt finally happened, and we all bundled up and headed out! In this picture there is little snow, but it was just in a windy spot, so there's much more snow than that, with more in the forecast. The kids couldn't be happier. As for me I am so thankful that I invested in that million dollar parka.

Pictures from Toben

Toben grabbed my little Cannon camera and away he went. That poor Camera has seen it's better days, but I still keep it around for emergencies. He took about 20 pictures before the battery went out. Mostly pictures of the floor and Legos. There were also a few close ups of me, but I thought I'd spare you from those. I love that all the out of focus pictures are not wasted on real pictures, and with a simple click they are all erased. Now, if only cleaning up the house were that easy.

Silus

Painting in his sketchbook. He used almost all of the computer paper up, so when I was at the PX I picked up a thick sketchbook. (Not his first one) I like it so much more than loose paper. His drawings are all together and will be such a keepsake. He draws lots of Lego and Ninja stuff, but also does some painting too. A kid after my own heart.

Rolling

There's nothing like rolling down a hill full of crunchy leafs, or watching someone else! Toben went down roll speed, laughing all the way. What sight to be seen.

Waggle Tooth

Last week Silus noticed he had his FIRST "waggle Zahn" (loose tooth).

He took the advice of the well seasoned tooth pullers in the house and ate an apple.

Out it came.

Pow-Wow

Once everyone is sitting down and has been served we begin our Pow-Wow. What is a Pow-Wow? Pow is something that was bad about your day, something that was disagreeable, and a Wow is something good, exciting, or funny.

For awhile we were going from youngest to oldest, but now we are starting with Dad, and making our way down the line.

Here is our Pow-Wow today: (Martin is out of town)

Mine: My Pow it that our dryer won't be fixed until Monday, and my Wow is that I got out the fall decorations.

Naomi: Pow is that there was a pop quiz in Science, and her Wow was that her teacher was really nice today.

Eyan: Wow was that he got to go to the farm and pick up milk, his Pow was that the little baby kittens ran away and he didn't get to hold them.

Silus: Wow was that he got to build a Lego airplane on the computer and then build it with Legos. Pow was the first thing he built didn't work.

Toben: Sang a song for us for his Pow-Wow. It's a German song about going on the train. Some nights he does it, and other nights he changes it up, but he still participates in his own little 3 year old way.

Have a Pow-Wow at your dinner table tonight!

Special thanks to Lisa Barnett, who shared her family tradition with us. We miss your beautiful family!

Ranting....and Raving

A little ranting and raving, just because you see all of the beautiful pictures, but I also want you to see..... it's not perfect and there are things about being overseas that are annoying.

1. I hate that no one calls us, with the one exception of my sister Trisha, and occasionally my mom. I know that adding 8 hours to the time, and by that time we are sleeping, and that all those numbers can be confusing, but really?!

2. I HATE that I can't read all the school papers. This week even I accidentally threw away an important paper for Naomi's school. I did a quick look, and tossed it. I can ask my Naomi most of the time, but it's annoying not being able to just read a school paper.

3. I MISS blue skies, I really do think that I got depressed over the summer from no sunshine and gray skies.

4. I HATE THE PX! Screaming kids running all over the place, never the size that I need, takes FOREVER to walk from one side of the store to the other, AND they never have what I am looking for. I miss Target. A lot.

5. I hate that it takes forever for things to get here. I ordered books over a month ago, and am still waiting! AND I hate it when companies won't ship to our military post office box!

6. I hate that there are so many little bases and that there is a different base for the hospital, commissary, dentist, mail, work, and even the library.

Laundry, dishes and cranky children, a messy house, and me.

I just want the picture to be clear.

Kerve

Last weekend we had a little town Carnival.

All of the kindergarten kids had a little float that sprayed water, and threw candy. Toben had a blast throwing candy at all the old ladies and after about half way began handing the candy since the older people couldn't bend down and reach it.

Eyan walked with the grade school, and also threw candy. They had decorated a wagon with pictures of each kid holding a book. They were there promoting the new library.

At the end of the parade we stopped at the Carnival. We played games, ate brots, and drank beer. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

School Lunch

Silus is a very picky eater. He doesn't like potatoes, onions, garlic, anything with sauce, and the list goes on and on and on. At school there is a hot lunch, and I decided to have a date with Silus and see if he could be persuaded to eat there. He ate the salad, and got a plate of Lasagna, and that's as far as we made it. I don't think he'll try it again. But, that's OK I don't mind packing a Peanut butter sandwich everyday.

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.

Paper and Pencils

With a cold and rainy summer we had to find OTHER stuff to entertain ourselves. We did make it to the indoor pool and anytime that it wasn't freezing or rainy I did try and throw the kids outside. Silus did stay inside more than the other kids, but he was busy with paper and pencils!

A Few Days Later.....

Cinnamon Pull Aparts are an all time favorite in our house. My mom made them for us every Saturday, and although I am not nearly as dedicated as she was I do make them a few times a month.

I made them last Saturday, since I had a bowl half full of Cinnamon and sugar I decided to save it and make more a few days later.

A few days later....... let the yeast rise, added all the ingredients, rolled the balls, dipped them in butter, then the sugar mix, and then baked them. Bit into a warm ball about 30 minutes later, WOW!!! That was terrible!!!! So unbelievably salty. No one could even eat them, the whole plate in the trash.

After a little detective work one child confessed to adding salt to my sugar mixture. They will remain nameless......

Rock Star

He has a stuffed snake in his hand.

He's swinging it so fast you can't see it in the picture.

He's singing, dancing.

Putting on a great show.

What a Rock Star!

Where did he learn all these moves?

Thomas the Train

We started collecting Thomas the Train stuff probably about 5 years ago.

We haven't gotten much lately. And we have plenty for that matter.

What I love about it, is that it's one of those toys that stays nice, stores easily and is good for all age ranges.

Silus built Toben a track today, and together they played.

In the sun.

I fold laundry.

We listen to music online.