Zoo Day!

The weather was beautiful last weekend, so we decided to head to the zoo.  Stuttgart has a great zoo and botanical gardens!  It was the first place we visited when we got here last year, and we hadn't been back since.   This time we bought the annual pass, and I think we will be making many more trips in the future!

We had a great time, just enjoying the animals, enjoying the kids, and enjoying the warm, sunny weather that finally made an appearance!

"Oh, no!  Mom's got the camera out already!"

"Cheese!"  We started off with lunch...they had dinosaur chicken strips that Little R devoured!! 

A little boy humor...he was quite proud of himself for "picking" the gorilla's nose!

Playground...A and Little R conquered it!

He loved the "cave".

Little R is such a "mama's boy"...but I love seeing him with his Daddy!!

If there is a rock...he WILL climb it!

"No more pictures!" 

Yep, they are all pretty tired of the camera!

A took this picture of R and me.  R LOVED it!  He has been lifting weights in his workouts, and he said "Look how BIG my arms are!"  Then I noticed my arm looks just as huge as his!!  It must have been the angle of the camera!! Or I need to go on a massive diet! : )

Of all the amazing animals at the zoo, what did he love the most?  The DUCKS, of course!  We actually had to drag him away from them after about 15 minutes!

And my favorite picture of all!!  This is my AWESOME family, and what a GREAT looking family they are...especially that Mom...she's quite the hottie!! : )

Black Forest Trip

A couple of weekends ago we had a tour scheduled to see the Black Forest.  There was a trip to a beekeeper where you cold buy local honey products, a woodcarver, and a cuckoo clock-maker.  And then a trip to the largest waterfall in Germany.  I was very excited about the trip, because we haven't been traveling much lately.

Unfortunately, I was feeling VERY under the weather the day of the trip, so SuperDad took all 3 kids on the trip without me.  It was a cool, rainy day but they had a good time, and R enjoyed this special time alone with the kids.

We are planning on going back...I think this is a trip I just can't miss out on!!

The trail through the Black Forest

The beekeeper...R brought home some fresh, local honey and the girls got some honey lip balm.

After finding out that the toilet was an outhouse, T decided she didn't really need to go that bad after all!

If you want to make T happy...give her sausages! : )

Typical traditional German house...

My 3 favorite kids in the whole wide world!!

Woodcarver making masks...

His work was AMAZING!!!

Cows in the background...this was photo material, because we don't see a lot of cows here...

Those 3 favorite kids again!!

T showing off her "single lady" hat!

A sporting it, too!!

I love this!!

This is the cuckoo clock R wants...Woo Pig Sooie...

The little town...

My 3 favorite kids in front of my favorite color!!!

The trail up to the waterfall.

Pretty...supposed to be the largest waterfall in Germany...

Very typical village in our area...they all look just about the same..built on a hillside, and while the people don't always have yards, they ALWAYS have flowers!!

4th of July...a couple of weeks late!

I LOVE the 4th of July!!  It is usually one of my favorite holidays.  But I was kind of dreading it this year. 

This was our first 4th of July outside of the United States.  In a place where we can't fly our flag at our home, or decorate the house in red, white and blue like we usually do.  Where there was no parade for A to march in, and no flags for little R to wave as she walked by. 

So...it was definitely a different 4th of July for us.  But we went to the most "American" feeling place we have found so far...Ramstein AFB!!  They had a great experience, with lots of food, bounce houses for the kids, carnival games, rides...and of course fireworks!!  The only language we heard was English the entire day!!  It was wonderful!!

We still missed our friends and family back home, but it was a great day nonetheless. 

Loaded up and ready to go!

Obstacle course...A won!

This was hilarious!!  Boxing with these big, heavy gloves!!

T took out all her agression that has been built up in the last 10 years...everything A has ever done...

And this is the position she kept A in pretty much the whole time!!  Our non-violent T really enjoyed the boxing...maybe a little too much!

Little R loved watching the fight!!

R had to pose with the bunny...they matched!

Waitin' on fireworks...

King of the World!!

I forced T to smile for a picture!

Waiting patiently...

R picked flowers for all his ladies...

This one's for you Uncle Dave!!!!

Lots of fun things for the kids to do!

This is the line I stood in for over an hour...just for a funnel cake!  I hadn't had one in years!!

Little R kept his ears covered through most of the fireworks...they were LOUD!

The end of a great day together as a family, celebrating our great country that we love and miss so much!!

 Side Note:  For all of you who keep saying that I am never in the blog pictures.  I appear TWICE in this blog post...that should be good for a while! : )

Homeschool success!

We just finished little R's first week of homeschool!!  Yes, it took us a week and a half, due to a 3-day vacation over the 4th of July, but that's the beauty of homeschooling, right? : )

We have started this little adventure to try and help us make the decision of putting little R in pre-k in the fall on post or not.  We have two choices:

Choice 1:  We leave little R in the German kindergarten (which he loves) for another year.  He gets the socialization of being around other kids, (hopefully) learns the language, and the cost is minimal.  Downside...he isn't learning anything to prepare him for kindergarten next year!  (Which is where the idea of homeschooling came in...thought maybe he could continue German kindergarten, and we could supplement at home to prepare him for American kindergarten next year).  German kindergarten is also only about a 2 minute drive or short walk from our house.

Choice 2:  We put little R in pre-k on post (we have already spent an entire Saturday morning waiting in line to secure his spot).  They claim the curriculum prepares them for kindergarten, there are 30 kids per class (YIKES!), and the cost is significantly more than the German kindergarten.  I also have to make a 15-20 minute drive to get him there, and then make it again to pick him up in 3 hours! 

And I have no idea which choice is best for him!!  We have decided to do the homeschooling over the summer while he continues going to German kindergarten (they don't have a long summer break like the American schools), and hopefully by the end of August when pre-k starts, we will have a clearer picture of what we should do...

But....the first week of homeschooling went really well!  Little R LOVES doing his "homework", and while he does struggle sometimes to stay focused...he has amazed me with the things he is doing!  We had an exercise today where I had to read instructions to him, then he had to wait 1 minute, and then do what the instructions said.  I thought this would be so hard for him, and totally didn't expect him to remember the instructions...but he did!!  The hardest part was waiting the 1 minute...but as soon as the minute was up, he went straight to doing what the instructions had said...and he got them all right!!  I think I have underestimated his intelligence because it is all wrapped up in one very active, rambunctious little boy!!

So, to sum it up:  He is learning!!  And I am learning a lot about my sweet little boy while we set aside these 15-20 minutes together each day!  Positives all around!

And now, just a short little video to show his progress....each week we have a memory verse.  We go over it one time at the beginning of the lesson...I didn't really think he would memorize it...but yesterday as I said it, he said it right along with me!  And today he was saying it all by himself!  Simple proof that even when he's moving around and fidgeting, he IS listening! : )

New (German!) Friends

I think I have made it clear that we are loving our new neighborhood!  We are the only Americans on our street, but we have some great German neighbors!  We have 2 older couples right next to us, and then just across the field we have a great young family.  They have 2 little boys that we have come to love!!  They have been so nice to us, and even though I feel horrible making them speak English...they do...even though it is hard for them! 

Their little boy Leon is in little R's class at the German kindergarten.  They play together at school and then at home, too.  These boys will play for HOURS together...and Leon only speaks German, and our Little R only speaks English!  It is quite amazing to watch them play!  There are some frustrations sometimes because they don't understand each other...but not often!

And their youngest son Tom has become quite attached to us!  He doesn't understand a single word we say, but anytime he sees us come outside he takes off running across the field to get to us!  He is absolutely adorable, and Little R loves him, too!!  We even have him saying Abbi & Ryan now...I guess that shows who his favorites are, huh?? : )

We went to a Flohmarkt (flea market) and festival in our town with this family last weekend, and had lots of fun!  They made sure we didn't get ripped off at the Flohmarkt, and the boys had a great time together!

We still haven't made too many American friends here...but God has blessed us with these sweet neighbors!!

We watched Tom for a while the other day...Little R insisted on getting him snuggled up in a blanket...even though it was HOT and he totally didn't need a blanket!

Leon & Little R ran in a race with their Kindergarten friends!  These boys are almost exactly the same age...and Little R is bigger...that doesn't happen very often at all! : )

At the fest...the boys snuck into one of the displays and grabbed snacks! : )

All 3 of the boys!

Buddies!

The little guy Tom always looks so serious...

Riding the train at the fest...fun!