All in a Day's Work

I took my Kindergarten group on a long hike 

through the hills surrounding Königstein the other day.

We walked about 3.5 km and ended at a playground 

right near Mira's Kita, so naturally, I decided to pick her

 up early and take her back to the Kindergarten with me!

Both Mira and the kids quite enjoyed the time together.

And I am once again thankful for the perks of 

working for the company that cares for my kids! 

A New Birthday Tradition

We've started a new birthday tradition: a birthday plate!

Just as we did in my family growing up, 

whenever we celebrate a birthday in our family, 

the birthday girl or boy will use a special birthday plate.

Today, we officially wrapped up the birthday celebrations 

for both Rana and Mira over a pancake breakfast. 

Happy to you, Rana and Mira!

Mira is 2 Years Old!

Little Miss Mira is 2!

She started saying, "Happy to you!" a couple of weeks ago 

and indicating that she understood what a birthday was

by pointing to candles and serving us "happy to you" cake 

instead of regular cake with our tea from her play tea set. 

Needless to say, her timing was perfect and she

thoroughly enjoyed celebrating her big sister last week.

As she and I baked the cupcakes for her celebration at daycare,

she savored pouring each ingredient into the mixing bowl,

 named each child as she put the paper into the muffin tin,

and giggled with delight as she watched the dough 

rise and turn into cupcakes in the oven. 

The birthday queen celebrating at daycare,

where her teachers and friends made her day very special.

Mira's first present was a little stuffed monkey

(similar to one that Rana got for her birthday in an 

effort to eliminate the battles over the coveted toy!).

And her second present was a new set of Playdoh

which she put right to good use!

Happy birthday to you, Mira!

Rana's 7th Birthday Party at the Zoo

Rana invited 10 of her friends to celebrate her 

birthday at the zoo on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The kids learned a bit about the animals in the petting zoo

and received some formal instruction before having the 

opportunity to feed the animals and enter the actual petting zoo.

After the feeding, the kids were each awarded a 

"Petting Zoo License" and permitted inside to pet goats, 

sheep, donkeys, and cows, and see guinea pigs and bunnies. 

We even saw chicken and bird eggs that were waiting to hatch 

and observed 5-day-old baby birds being fed from a syringe. 

Then, we had a lovely picnic in a shaded 

hut near the fantastic playground. 

Mira was happy to get in on the action and very 

much enjoyed several of Rana's doting friends. 

The kids were great and we were pleased 

to spend a few hours with Rana and her friends. 

Here she is with Millie, Melissa, and Gahyun. 

What a fun way to celebrate 7-year-old Rana!

Rana is 7 Years Old!

Happy birthday to our sweet Rana!

We baked blueberry muffins for Rana's class

and she had a wonderful day full of heart-felt 

birthday wishes from near and far. 

How can our baby girl be 7 already?!

Another Weekend with Pete the Penguin

For demonstrating more confidence and speaking-up

more at school, Rana was rewarded with another 

weekend with the class pet penguin, Pete.

A Wedding up at the Castle!

Annie's friends Courtney and Mark were 

married up at the castle in Königstein.  

It was a lovely celebration!

 

All the best to the happy couple!

A Day in Marburg

 We popped by the river side in our 

old neighborhood  to say hello to the ducks...

...and spent a wonderful afternoon with Jana, 

Laura, Niklas, and their parents.

Mira was enthralled with their five guinea pigs,

especially the one named after her! 

Their fantastically kid-friendly backyard 

offers hours of entertainment!

Thanks for having us!  

Mira is 1 Year & 11 Months Old!

Pretty!

Touring the Eberbach Monastery

My colleagues and I traveled down south into wine 

country today to tour this monastery and winery

as part of a team-building excursion. 

It dates back to the 1130's and is one of the most 

well-kept monasteries in Germany, though it 

hasn't been occupied by monks since 1803.

It was fun to explore and tour without the kids for a change 

and I found lots of fun little doorways and passages,

an old hobby from my early travels throughout Europe. 

Ironically, our tour guide hailed from Wisconsin

but has been living and working here for years.  

Mother's Day!

Proud to be mother to these two wonderful girls!

Both Rana and Mira crafted lovely cards for me.

And Rana gave me some beautiful flowers to plant 

in our flower boxes on the balcony along with 

some parsley and mint. This is our first attempt 

at gardening, so we'll see how it goes!