Beware! My Break is Over!

**I have been taking a blogging break just because I have been busy and lazy at the same time.  I have a gazillion posts that need to get out before Christmas...just because I can't post Christmas without first being caught up. The posts that follow are from November because my break has been really long.   I have to get things documented in case one day I figure out what to do with this journal of a blog. 

 

So, it is either "Your Welcome" or "Sorry" and here come the posts.

Deutsch Dienstag-St. Martin

St. Martin's Day was this past week.  St. Martin was a good man who helped the poor.  On this day the children act out a part of St. Martin's story.  They sing songs about him and they go on a night walk while carrying paper lanterns that they have made. 

 

Noah was involved in the fest for our village.  It was held at his Kindergarten and the oldest kids acted out the story and sang songs.  He was the best Star 1 ever!

 

Sterne 1

Getting ready for the play.  St. Martin is the little boy in the black hat.

 

 

 

We watched the play, listened to the songs, walked around for an hour with the laterns, and then enjoyed a fire and big pretzels. There was quite a large village turnout.  It was a great experience.  I love seeing Noah interact in German because he doesn't always speak for us at home. 

This is Noah saying his Star 1 part because it was too hard to hear him when he was actually doing the play.

Deutsch Dienstag- Wedding Rings and Luxembourg

The German wear their wedding rings on the ring finger of their right hand.  It seems strange.  Darin said that they do the same thing in Russia. 


Speaking of wedding.  Darin and I celebrated our 17th year together in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.  The boys had a day off of school and so we left Davis in charge and went to explore one of the prettiest places around.  Luxembourg is only about 1.5 hrs. from our home.  We wondered, we shopped, we ate quiche lorraine and creme brulee, and we got lost in the rain.  It was completely wonderful and perfect.

14 years ago we went to Hawaii for our anniversary.  We got a fantastic deal and we were accompanied by Darin's entire family and a friend.  The friend flew over with a buddy pass and didn't have a room, so he stayed in ours.  It wasn't an anniversary.  It was a great trip to beautiful Hawaii, so I really couldn't complain.  However, Darin has "counted" that for our anniversary for the last 14 years!  Here we are surrounded by people who fly off to Tuscany or a weekend in Paris for their anniversary, so Darin decided that it was time to step it up and stop counting Hawaii!  (I'd like to thank my friends!)

On our way home from Luxembourg he reminded me, as I was talking about our fabulous day, that it would always be downhill from here.  Once again, my man is a romantic.  I know we won't always have Luxembourg to run away to, but for this year I am glad we took advantage of it. 

Inside the confessional.  Luxembourg's Notre Dame Cathedral.

It is always about the food.  Yummy and warm.

Burning the sugar on the creme brulee.

Some of the most beautiful desserts around.

Halloween 2012-Time to make my mom proud

My mom is always the best when it comes to Halloween and somewhere along the road I became a Halloween disappointment.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I have had all 5 kids wear the same costumes over and over.  The little lion (which she bought and probably regrets) has been worn for 9 Halloweens.  The years in which my kids didn't have to be the lion, sweet grandma came to the rescue and made them something new.  Which we then put on another kid the following year.  The boys don't wear costumes to school.  It is dark when they go trick (or trunk)-or-treating.  And usually a coat is covering them.  Really?  Why would I make a big deal?  They really only wear them for 2 hours one night. 

 

Now if there were a reason to be out in a costume, such as a party, then it would be necessary to have an awesome costume.  Especially if there were a costume contest...gotta win!  I am my mother's daughter!

Davis was invited to a Halloween party with a costume contest attached.  I needed easy and clever, but I wouldn't have time to beg my mom to help out.  So we went with easy, but awesome.  He won "Most original."

 

Clark Kent

I made the superman symbol out of scraps of foam.

The mean old witch!  This is another grandma made costume.  It was originally made for Bailee.

Pirate.  Grandma made for Jag one year.

Harry.  Grandma made for Davis and perfect now that Jag is Potter obsessed.

Last minute, as we walk out the door, recycled costume.

On the night of our ward Trunk-or-Treat Davis had a soccer game.  Darin saddly attended and I did the festivities with the other kids.
 

The vampire cookies that we made to send to Noah's kindergarten.  Halloween really isn't a German holiday, but we enjoy sharing some of our holidays with them.

On Halloween night we stayed home, invited friends over, and made donuts.  Because really isn't Halloween about homemade donuts!

Deutsch Dienstag-We Were Boo'ed?

The doorbell rang and we found a surprise on our porch.  A basket with tiny jack-o-lanterns.   There was also a brown (rotten) jack-o-lantern.  Excitedly we brought in the basket and we noticed that there were 4 small candies.  The boys instantly grabbed them and started eating.  How cute?  Who could have done this?  Then we decided to figure out what the note said. 

 

 

So the note says, "Give us Haribo (gummies) or Twix, then we won't do anything to you."  Oh, so we are supposed to give the basket back to the porch filled.  Uh. OK.  We happened to have both gummies and Twix in the house, so we filled the basket and put it back on the porch.  (But first, Noah grabbed the candle from the rotten pumpkin as a treasure, and Davis took the note off the basket to show to his German teacher and see if she could explain the tradition to us.)  Then the kids ran to hide and see who came to get the basket. 

We notice 2 girls coming to the porch.  They look confused.  They just stand and stand.  No grabbing and running back to enjoy the treats.  Now I am confussed.  Next, I see them talking to someone and notice Erica, our neighbor, coming down the sidewalk.  *Must be Erica's granddaughter and friend.  Then Erica starts laughing.  It is now I realize that we've done something wrong.

Finally, as they all stand on the porch, they ring the doorbell.  I so wished that Darin was home and could deal with this.  I hate feeling stupid in the language only to feel stupid in another way.  Erica was asking about something.  Took me a minute to realize that she was wanting the candle from the rotten pumpkin back.  Ok Noah gives.  Then, where was the lid to the rotten pumpkin.  Fell.  Then, where is the note that was on the basket?  Ok Davis gives.  Then they pick up all their stuff and leave.  We were really confussed.  They were wondering why we had taken everything apart and kept it I am sure.  One thing that I am really sure of is that we should not have eaten the candy that was inside the basket.  I think that is part of the reason that there was laughing. 

Still, I have no idea what went on.  All I know is that we've never been Boo'ed like that before.  I'm going to do it next year only my note will talk about delicious treats and chocolates not Haribo and Twix.

Deutsch Dienstag-Apple Picking

**I know that it is a day past Dienstag, but hey, I'd meant to get it posted.

 

We have a massive apple tree in our backyard. Our little neighbor let Darin use his apple picker.  It is a long stick and on the end is a little bag and some hooks.  You put the hooks over an apple and pull and the apple falls into the little bag.  So handy!  Now what do I make with tons of ugly, sour apples? 

They are fine tasting, but Davis refuses to try them, he prefers store bought apples because they are shiny and covered in wax.

 

Noah's job is to take the apples out of the little bag and put them into his bag.

 

Looking for red ones, which are actually pretty hard to find on our tree.

Heidlberg

**This has been sitting in my drafts folder since my grandma came for a visit in September.  Time to get my act together.

View of the city from the castle above.

Large church

Looking up at the castle

Maybe a little bit windy. 

Poor ladies just found them at the airport and hauled them up a castle.  Here they are doing "energy shots" to get through the day.

 

 

Inside of the big church.  Definately the brightest church that we've seen.  Most are really dark on the inside.

 

 

Resting.  The couple behind them sat and kissed for then entire time we were looking and hanging out...maybe 15 minutes.  I don't think that grandma and Jan noticed.

Time for gelato!