The rest of Salzburg

Micah and Sadie holding their salt rocks at the salt mine outside of Salzburg.
They provided clothes for the tourists to wear. I guess it was wet and dirty down there.
At the Eagle's nest in Berchtesgaten, a fabulous view!

Two funny Taylor stories

While driving to Austria, the Alps seemed to suddenly pop up on the horizon. Taylor recognized their beauty pointed to the mountains and shouted "RAINBOWS!"

Today I have been trying to organize the toy room. The toys are taking over our house and needed to been thinned out. Taylor has been playing by my side the entire time. I dumped out a box of Micah's star wars and batman figurines and accessories. Taylor thought they were pretty cool. "Super Duper machine!" "Super Duper ship!" "Super Duper Guys!"

Salzburg Day 1

Last week Greg took some leave and we pulled Micah from school. We drove 6 hours to Austria and spent 4 days in and around Salzburg. It was our second time there, but this time we were more thorough with our visit.

The trip was a success! The kids were fabulous. The hotel great! The weather perfect and we had enough time to see things at a nice pace. We visited the eagle's nest, the fortress, the abbey from the Sound of Music, a palace with cool trick fountains, a salt mine and the Altstadt in the city center. I think this was the first trip our kids loved (other than Legoland.) Micah declared that he "never wanted to go home."
Taylor got stuck in one of the fountains. An Archbishop of Salzburg built a series of trick fountains along a garden path. He would sit back and spray his guest with water and laugh at them while they got wet. He had fun getting wet too. It didn't take long to figure out were to stand to not get wet.

Taking a break for lunch.

On the self-guided tour. Our kids never have done well with tours until this time. They had their own audio device and seemed to learned from the information provided. Even Taylor played along for a while.

A view of the city.

Climbing up to the Abbey and the fortress that look down on Salzburg.

Dirndl

On the way to Salzburg, we stopped in Munich. Since my mission, I have always wanted a dirndl.

Sadie shares my love of all things German. Well....at least she likes new clothes.

Greg never wanted a dirndl.

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Sadie turned 5 on tuesday and we celebrated her birthday the saturday before. The party turned out great. Sadie and I planned it really well. Usually we wing- it at parties. I used her party as a way to get her to preschool. Everyday when she came home, we planned another game or craft. I was really proud of this party. I think everyone had a good time. The girls made princess crowns out of beads, pipe cleaners and head bands. They turned out great and the girls were so proud of them. Plus, the craft took about an hour to complete. We also played princess bingo and had a treasure hunt for the party favors.

Sadie's new BFF. Sophie moved here about two months ago and they hit if off imediately at Church. Her dad is an anesthesiologist and works with Greg.

Some cute things about Sadie:

1. She loves the dog next door! The neighbors hired her to play with him and take him potty, while there were gone for the day. She was so proud of her job!

2. She is a great big sister and has a big heart. She likes to play with Taylor and has taught him to comb barbie's hair and have tea parties.

3. She wants to be just like her mommy. She waits to see what I am wearing and then finds a similar outfit from her closet.

4. She is a shoe girl! I find her trying on my heals and boots regularly. She doesn't know it yet, but Grandma Leonard sent Sadie her very own pair of black dress boots! They are coming in the mail.

5. She likes to organize things, just like her daddy. Her special things all have a special place on her dresser.

6. She loves to wrestle. She didn't learn that from me.

7. Sadie is great at setting the table. She makes everything match and loves to pull out the pretty dishes and linens.

8. She is a great helper and loves to clean up and do laundry. Some jobs she can do by herself are: clean windows, vacuum, organize the dishes, take out the garbages.

9. She adores her big brother. She constantly wants his attention and she knows how to get it. (we are working on "asking for Micah's attention," rather than bugging him until he "gives it" to her.)

10. We are very greatful to have Sadie in our family!

Some are athletes at heart

Tonight was Micah's first soccer game ever, and I (Greg) got to take him to it . He had a blast! He jumped and danced all over the field while other kids ran after the soccer ball with a killer instinct and a desire to win. Micah was clearly immune from that. He spent his time getting the best view of the game, excited when it was going our way, and rooting his teammates on when it wasn't. If other players got in his way, or the ball was a little too close, he would enthusiastically take a circuitous route around the gaggle of soccer kids to again obtain the best view of the exciting events. He wasn't quite a cheerleader... no... more like a a sports commentator in a red soccer jersey: excited to be close to the action, able to talk about the events for hours, and attracted to the camera for some upclose footage of himself. Some are athletes at heart, and others, well, just aren't.

One rude person....

....can ruin a perfectly good trip to Ikea. Yes, my outing the other day ended in hurt feelings and doubt about my parenting.

My friend Doris invited me to a trip to Ikea. Although I usually enjoy an Ikea outing, I didn't really want to join her. Lately, outings with friends in Germany have been stressful for me. For some reason, my kids plus her kids equals choas. So, I decided to take just Sadie.

After making the Ikea rounds, my friend asked me to watch the kids in the children's furniture section of the store, while she made her purchase. I should have said "no," or rather "nein," but I am still working on that weakness.

To make the story short. While I was thinking about how I got myself into the situation, Sadie darted across the aisle nearly slamming into a mother who was carrying a child, of about 1-2 years old. Now, no contact was made, no one hurt, but I got a lecture on my parenting. The last comment she made while walking away was, "now really, it is a shame how you are raising your children."

Of course, I had all of these great combacks running around in my mind, "like isn't shameful how you are speaking," and "according to the laws of physics my daughter (40 pounds) would have been flattened by your 140 pounds,' but I have learned that I feel worse if I do manage to utter those type of backlashes. Soooo....I ended with a shrug of my shoulders and a sorry spoken in english.

Micah's first Soccer practice

Micah had his first soccer practice last thursday. Greg took Micah and Taylor, while I stayed home with Sadie for some girl time. I had been dragging my feet with the soccer thing, but I have finally succombed. I am now a soccer mom. Micah needs experience of playing on a team and to gain some confidence. The social time is also nice. Taylor had a great time playing on the field.

Micah loved playing. He can't wait for the next practice.

Chatting at the goal. These guys are supposed to be guarding. Micah is a talker.....

Sadie and the preschool drama

The last few weeks have been challenging with Sadie. For some reason she has really struggled, which makes her mommy struggle too. She and Micah have been at each other's throats for the past week. They have fought nonstop and seem to be constantly competing for my and Greg's attention.

To make things more difficult Sadie's teacher decided that she should move up to another group. Last year when she started preschool, they decided to put her in the group younger, because of the other American girl in that group. She did well after the initial adjustment, which for Sadie took a litttle longer than it should have (about 3 months!) When they told me that they wanted to move her to the next group, I got a pit in my stomach.....here we go again.

They did have a few good points. Sadie's first group, the butterfly group has kids that are as young as 3. Also, her new group, the mushroom group, will prepare her for school. They have more of a curriculum and go on field trips and such. The downfall of the mushroom group is that the teachers are not warm and fuzzy, even for German standards. They are not as proactive and are known to be a little lazy. I have seen them sitting on their fannies quite a bit. The teachers we had last year where very good and loving. Perfect for Sadie.....

But.......I reluctantly agreed, when they promised me they would make the transition gradually. Also, Sadie needs to learn to function in a class where the teacher isn't going to hug her and hold her on their laps. She isn't going to get that next year in school.

Well, there was a miscommication and they threw her into the group cold turkey, without me preparing her. Apparently, she cried the whole time. So, then I had a girl who was frightened to go to school. Everyday was a struggle. I asked to teachers to delay the change for a couple of days. While we eased her into it.

Finally, on tuesday I dropped her off into her new group. They had to pull her away from me. I worred the entire time while she was gone. When I picked her up, she was happy but little embarassed. "Why did you play tug of war with me, mommy..."

Yesterday was better. I still had to encourage her to go to school and she tried to come up with any excuse not to go. She only cried for a little while and reported that she played with a new friend in the "doll corner."

Today she dragged ME out of the house. She was so excited. Partially, because it is PE day, which is her favorite. I kept telling her that she would be with the mushrooms....."I know mommy." Okay....so she transitioned in three days rather than 3 months....phew.....

The new School year

Micah getting off the bus.

Getting ready to pick up Micah. Sadie with the goods....

A happy Micah......

Micah started school on Monday. He was so excited that he was counting the days for the last week. Frankly, I was too.

In Germany the kids receive a cone shaped candy filled container. Last year Micah was disappointed to he didn't receive a "Schultuete" like the German kids in town. So this year Sadie and I filled one while he was in school and brought it to the bus. Of course, Sadie got one too.

I am excited for the new year and for Micah's new teacher, Mr Goodier. He is fun but also serious about teaching. He doesn't assign written homework, only 15 minutes of ready. The kids also need to be ready for a spelling test and timed math tests weekly. It is up to the parents, how much they think their kids need to study....nice....no busy work. He also seems to focus a lot on science...my favorite.....I think it is going to be a great year.

Micah is also going to start soccer for the first time this thursday. I have been dragging my feet on this one, because I haven't wanted to be a soccer mom....but it is time for him to gain some confidence by being on a team.

We are going to continue with piano too. It is going okay with me teaching him. I keep threatening him, that if he doesn't listen to me, that I am going to send him to a German piano teacher in town. That motivates him pretty well. It would motivate me too...scary.

Happy Birthday Taylor

On sunday Taylor turned 2 years old. We celebrated his birthday on saturday with friends. His buddy Benson came over. We had pizza and cake. Taylor was introduced to his first Thomas the Tank Engine train, Percy, which was a gift from Benson. He has been Percy around since then.

The birthday boy, wearing a new shirt he got from our friends Josephine and Amelie-Sophie. They picked out the George picture and silk screened themselves. Their parents own a print shop in town.

Opening his new Lego Garbage truck.

Singing Happy Birthday to Taylor. He loved the attention and the blue frosting. He kept sneaking it.

Funny things about Taylor

1. He loves Dora and wants to watch her show constantly.

2. While I am driving and he is sitting in his car seat he encourages me to drive "faster, Mamma, faster Mamma."

3. He hates being cold. While changing his diaper the other day, he shivered and pointed to his diaper and said, "diaper on!"

4. On the walk home from picking up Sadie from preschool, he asked me to pick him up and then pointed toward home and said, "run."

5. He knows the sound of the ice cream truck coming up our road. He runs to the door as soon as he hears it.

6. He is know very into his trains and gets excited when a train zooms by, (the tracks parallel the freeway.)

7. He can almost put on his own shoes by himself.

8. He hates being sticky and messy (who likes it, really).

9. He loves going to bed and taking naps. Give him his binky and his blanky and he is good to go. (I am dragging my feet on getting rid of the binky.....)

10. He likes to sing, Twinkle Twinkle, This old man, Row Row Row Your Boat, and the Scooby-doo song.

We have really enjoyed having Taylor in our family. He makes us all laugh and is a pleasure to have around. Thanks for being in our family, Tay!