Photos from our Holiday

We were at my parents' home for Thanksgiving- the first Thanksgiving the kids ever had in the US. I'm not sure Nils really gets it yet, but Jay is familiar with it. All the grandkids were there, so we got a photo of them together. It wasn't easy to get all six of them to look at the camera at the same time, this was the best photo we could get. The first photo is of my nephew Soffian and my dad entertaining him.

We also went to the new Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. The Space Shuttle Enterprise is there. Of course the kids loved it, but they also have the "mom, please don't make me take another picture again."

Chinese Blogger

Why is my Blogger in Chinese? It took forever to figure it out so I could change it! Maybe if I blogged more often, I would have the menu memorized. Or I should have gone to Chinese school, like my parents tried (unsucsessfully, I regret to say). Anyway, I will get more up this weekend. A lot. Really. But only if I can get the 5000000000000 circles for Jay's school's snowman project cut out in time. I'm not even going to try to put the commas in there. Are they called commas when they're in numbers?

Do Pigs Snore? Oh Yeah!

We went to a farm/petting zoo/cafe today with the kids and it was cold. I don't think I would want to hang out and drink coffee and eat cake right next to a pig stall, but we had a good time. Jay and Nils visited the animals, fed the goats, and even petted some horses. Of course, right as we were leaving, Nils fell face first into a huge mud puddle. Poor guy, we didn't want to touch him and all he wanted was to be held. He fell right next to the goats, so I'm sure there was goat poo in there too. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww!

Other Random Photos and Jay's Endless "Posing"

Yikes, check Jay out. How do we stop his endless posing? He either does some weird Zoolander thing or goes silly on us and sticks out his tongue. Here we have him and Nils trying out the do-rags they got as party favors from Emma's treasure hunt birthday party.

And do you think Nils, just maybe, likes stickers?

Fall Day

We wanted to take advantage of the nice weather since, in Germany, you never really know if it will come again before May. Or June. Anyway, we decided to take the kids to an animal park in a nearby forest. However, when we got there it was closed for mating season. Apparantly, in order for baby pigs and deer to be born in the spring, the animals need the kids to keep away and get in the mood. How do you explain that to a two and four-year old?

Me: Ummmmm..... the animals had such a long summer with all the kids visiting them that they need a couple of weeks off to rest. Kind of like vacation.

Jay: Where are they going to?

Me: Nowhere. Like in Herbstferien when we stayed here.

Jay: Oh. They can go to the Schweiz (Switzerland) like we did too.

Me: How about we go for a walk in the woods instead? You can jump in the mud puddles.

Jay: That's our surprise today? But I've already done that before.

Anyway, they really liked jumping in the mud puddles. And just walking without being hurried along because we had to get somewhere on time. Maybe we can even do it again- even though now Jay has done that twice. ;)

Halloween Part II

Like a horror movie title. Wait, it is a horror movie title!

Here are some photos of Jay and Nils for the Halloween Trunk-or-Treat. Basically, since we can't really trick-or-treat here, we gather at the International School and park our cars, decorate the trunks and hand out candy. Since Jay wondered why Michael and I were so lame at the Halloween party, we dressed up. Of course, this meant serious stress for me during the week to get the car from M, drive across town to the only store that sells costumes, and be back before 11:30 when Jay's school gets out. (Insane, isn't it?) Naturally, no other parents were dressed up.

Michael got some dry ice at the airport and the kids all loved it. Some called it "the cauldron of doom." I kind of like that.

Halloween Part I

The hottest ticket of the year around here is the American Women's Club's annual Halloween party. I've managed to avoid going until now- sugar! Noise! Overstimulation! Obnoxious big kids! We went this year and it was great- I can see why people join just to get first stab at the tickets.

Some quotes:

Jay "Mommy, why did all the other mommys dress up and not you?Result: I was the only mom dressed up at trunk (trick) or treating later that week.

Jay to his friend John "Hey John, what are you?

John: "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's a Jedi Knight."

Jay: "I'm a bat."

John: "Oh." (Turns away)

Result: Jay had to get a new costume for trick or treating. This is after he messed up his original (Ok, maybe it was a little big) costume, then took over Nils' bat. Photos of that shall come soon. Really!