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!

Rana is 6 Years & 11 Months Old!

Enjoying a sunny afternoon in the park

after a long week of battling a high fever. 

Aunt Lerae's Quilts

Rana and Mira's Aunt Lerae has taken up sewing 

and crafted wonderful quilts for all of her nieces and 

nephews. Each is as unique as it's intended owner -

quite impressive!  

Rana's fittingly features penguins

and Mira's is covered in the animals from her 

favorite book, Eric Carle's "Brown Bear,"

which Lerae & Colin gave her for Christmas. 

Thanks, Aunt Lerae!