German Camp

Last Spring I agreed to teach and the Tacoma Language School Summer camp.  I figured out that combined with my teaching at the Saturday school during the school year, my Summer camp hours, would get me half way to re-certifying for teaching in the state of Utah.  I knew it would be a bit of work, but I also knew that it would pay off in the end.

As part of the deal I needed to enroll the kids.  Since, Greg has little time off with his new job, and the kids are still out of school.  They were not looking forward to the experience.  We convinced them to take part without complaining and with fake smiles on their faces.

The first day was exhausting.  The camp started at 9am, but I had to be there early to set up my room and help with registering the kids.  The camp ended at 2pm.  Again, my hours were extended to include cleaning up my room, setting up for the next day and participating in a staff meeting.  Our day started at 8am and ended at 3pm.

I know that sounds like no big deal for you full time working people, but for me and the kids, we were exhausted.  That much German in a day managing the chaos of students ranging from 4 years to 11 years was a lot of work for this inexperienced working Mamma.  Fortunately, by the end of the week we grew accustomed to the exertion and we felt accomplished and proud.

The kids even grew to have fun!  Micah mentioned that he learned to like singing and asked to attend again next year.  Sadie piped in to include only if I could be her teacher.  Well, that sounds like a success!

I felt pretty good about the experience too.  I was in charge of the 9-11 years and my class was well behaved and pretty capable.  We started the day as a large group and split into our different ages.  Our group was called the Luebecker and I taught about Northern Germany.  The theme for the camp was the Fairy Tale Highway.  Each region focused on the fairy tales from their area.  I chose "Bremen Town Musicians," "The Pied Piper," and "Snow White."  We also had a day to discuss our specific region of Germany and a day to try out some foods of that area.  We tried to fit vocabulary, speaking, listening activities into each lesson to make learning more interesting for the kids.  I was also in charge of the music time for the camp and dodge ball at recess.

I think the camp was successful.  In fact, it was pretty intense.  By the end of the week, the kids knew 5 German songs and had a range of new German vocabulary.  My kids who don't have much German experience were singing along at the program on Saturday.  Micah was pulling our words that I didn't think he knew.  I asked him, where did you learn that?  "Mom, what were we doing all week?"  he answered.  Also, I think that more language seeped into their heads while we lived in Germany than I realized.

I really enjoyed having my kids with me.  In the mornings, when I felt that pit in my stomach, as I faced the long day, the thought came to my mind, "I get to take three of my best friends with me."

Summer

Summer break has been surprisingly pleasant.  Most days have had a nice balance of work and play.  Starting this week, we have swim lessons every day at 9am.  It is the perfect way to start the morning.  At first, the kids went complaining, but now they seem to be pleased with the arrangement.  I have extended the arrangement into the next swim session.  They kids are making nice progress and are getting exercise too.

We also have had a few outings.  We made it to the zoo the other day.  Greg was off and was able to attend with us.  The zoo was sparsely attended and the weather cool.  It made for the perfect conditions.  

We also met at the Owen beach with cousins.  We rented a Kayak and Katie and Thomas took the little ones on a ride around the Puget Sound.  It is great having capable big kids around to help entertain.  

Of course, Summer would not be complete without many trips to Home Depot.  The kids are seeking refuge from the Seattle heat.  

Greg comes home most days asking, "why are you all so happy?"  I don't know.  We are having a nice time, I guess.  

Mother's Day

Attack of the Ninja Moms
     by Micah Jensen

Who knew where they came from or how they got here,
but once they got started their intention was clear.

They went to the North, the South, the East, the West,
From a small smelly pond, to a great eagle's nest.

They cleaned up all the houses and cleaned up the yards too.
In fact, I come to realize some of them looked just like you.

They stopped global warming and saved the fun polar bears.
Then people began to think, "hey, these mothers really care."

They told stories to orphans and fed kids in Iran.
Apparently, they did these things, just because they can.

The cleaned up all the diapers, that babies had peed in.
Even though getting them off created such a din.

They baked batches of cookies and told kids not to eat the dough.
They helped moms not get anything they don't need at Costco.

They went shopping for Easter, Christmas and Birthdays.
They made sure no one was late on work days.

They snuggled with kids on stormy nights,
and told them everything was all right.

They made kids feel special with they did something good,
and also every time they did something they should.

They washed pillows and beds and led them upstairs.

The mayor built a statue in the Ninja mom's honor
At first they Ninja Moms were happy , but then they began to ponder.

They said, "We don't want a statue or any fancy stuff,
 all we ask for in return is love."

To a true Ninja Mom, I would like to say,
Happy Mother's Day!

Tender Moment
*I love You*

Easter

We had a pleasant week.  The sun came out and charmed us.  The kids has only half-days most of the week.  We spent a lot of time out doors at the park, made it to the library and prepared for Easter.

On Friday, I decided it was time to get Easter basket fillers.  Taylor was out of school, so I decided to make him a part of the adventure.  "Let's go play Easter bunny,"  I said.

Taylor answered with silence.

"Doesn't that sound fun?"  I added.

"Is that a game or something?"  He asked.

"No,"  I preceded to tell the news that the Easter bunny is not real and it has been me all along.

Again, silence....

"Did you dress like an Easter bunny and give us our baskets?  Did you shop for our candy at night. What do you mean you where the Easter bunny?"  Taylor was so confused.

I explained it again gave greater details, no costume, bought the candy when they were at school, hid the baskets in the closet until it was Easter morning.  Why did I decide the break the news this year?  I had forgotten how easily Taylor believes in Santa, and obvious the Easter bunny.

"Playing Easter bunny means we get to get the baskets ready for the other kids.  Don't you want to help me pick out the candy?  Do you think you can keep a secret?"

Disappointed, Taylor sighed, "Why didn't you keep it a secret?"

Sorry, bud......

Later on in the week, I decided to ask the kids if they know the meaning of Easter.  Sadie and Taylor were part of the conversation.

Taylor answered, "I think it has something to do with, you know, Jesus,"  he leaned in whispering.

Sadie jumped in the conversation, "No, no......isn't it when all the animals were created?"

I shook my head.

"Okay, Okay, I know, it was when that guy in Egypt, saw a burning bush and became a prophet?"

Again I shook my head, and thought, well, it looks like we need a little review.

Later, Greg gave them a short lesson on the events of the first Easter.  They talked about Jesus being resurrected and that we will all be resurrected.

Taylor with a desperate look on his face, "Oh, no.  I think I said something wrong."

Greg reassured him that it is okay to be wrong sometimes.....

"I told my primary teacher that I saw great Grandma Widdison being resurrected....."

It has been a while

We are well into the new year and I haven't given an update on myself or the family. My last post was in the Summer and well, a lot has happened. I am not going to try to bring anyone up to date, but will just jump into the present. I had set some new goals for 2013.

 Of course, there are the typical "get in shape" goals that make the list every year. I also plan to read more, and want to magnify my talents in other areas like cooking and playing the organ.....but there is one goal I am excited about: getting re-certified as a teacher. After having kids, I let my teaching certificate in the State of Utah lapse. Now that the kids are grown a bit, I have decided that I might want to go back and teach part time, eventually, maybe when my kids are in Middle School, or something and I want to be a super secret spy and keep an eye on them, or maybe just to be prepared if my life circumstances change. For some reason, not sure why, I have felt driven to get my teaching certificate current.

 Last fall, I started teaching at a private German School called the "Tacoma German Language School." Getting this little weekend job is it's own story. I spied a German mom and the soccer field, talking to her kids in German. I got up the nerve and started a conversation with her. It turns out that she is the principal at this school and offered me a job as a teaching assistant in the 4 and 5 year old classroom. I took the job and signed Sadie up for the older class. She has a friend from Germany who we pick up on the way to school every Saturday. It is our own Saturday girl time, with a built in play date. I didn't take the job for the money, but as a resume builder. It turns out that the Utah department of Education will recognize this time and give me credit towards re-certification: 25 points.

 After working there for 6 months, the principal asked me if I would be interested in helping out with the German Summer camp. The money is better, but because my kids are out of school at that time, I would have to enroll them to participate in the camp. Add up the tuition and throw in a tank of gas, I would break even. It would be a lot of work too, 5 hours a day, for 6 days the last week of July. I was ready to to decline on the offer. Until the Utah Department of Education responded with another 25 hours. I am in and so are my kids. They are not as thrilled..... 

Next, I searched the internet for some teacher development seminar. After some looking, I discovered that The National Science Teachers Association is having a seminar this October in Portland, only 2 hours away. It looks like I am headed on my own little Science weekend getaway. Greg is planning on taking the kids for that time. The topic it "Bridging the gap between Elementary and Secondary Science Curriculum." I am looking forward to getting current in Science Endorsement, and getting another 25 points.

 The last 25 points I have been working on for the last year and half. Volunteering at the kid's elementary school also counts towards re-certification. For every 3 hours of service, I get 1 point. Last week, I found out that I have 40 hours, around 13 points. If I keep helping out at this rate, I should have another 12 points by next year, maybe by Christmas, or before the end of the year, to make my goal of re-certification in 2013.

Starting with the end of Summer

Obviously, I haven't been up to date with blogger over the last 6 months. I vowed to keep current over the long lazy summer days. Well, they didn't turn out to be so lazy. With my fear of being bored, came the tendency to over-schedule. Now that things have slowed down a bit, I am going to blog backwards and catch up with all the summer news. I will start with the events of yesterday. It began, a few weeks ago, when we found a flier on our doorstep announcing our neighborhood yard sale. Since moving, we have assembled a pile of junk, which needs to be removed from our garage. We would like to be able to park at least one car indoors during the coming winter months. Rather than paying the dump to take our stuff, we decided to see if anyone would pay us to have it. I told the kids, that they could have the money if they helped gather the stuff, set up the tables, label the items with prices and help with the money exchange. They agreed and we decided to try to make this a fun Saturday experience. On a whim, I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. This proved to be the best selling item at our address. After a couple of hours, I returned to the kitchen to make another double batch. Word had spread around the neighborhood and customers came to buy cookies. Some of them removed a few "space fillers" from our garage, but we didn't get rid of most of the stuff. Although, we made $81 dollars in profit (most of it from a queen-sized bed.) It turned out to be a decent lesson in math and working for your money.

Old hobbies, New skills

With all kids in some sort of school at least couple of days a week. I have recently, discovered more time for myself. After years of day dreaming, imagining how life would be with the extra time, I felt a bit of a let down. I didn't expect there to be an adjustment! The first week of school was sad, by the second week I realized that I needed to set some personal goals to use this time well.

With so much time alone, I feared that I would end the school year fat and poor. I needed to find something that didn't include: eating food or spending money.

Of course, there is exercise and cleaning the house, but I wanted something to look forward to, something to get excited about and didn't require any extra motivation. So, I came up with a few things to expand my talents.

Organ. My mom is an organist and lives an hour away. I knew it was finally time to take advantage of free lessons, now that I live close by and am mature enough to take lessons from my mom. The only problem was where to practice. I came across this problem in Germany, when I was called as ward organist. Church was too far to get any regular practice in and I didn't feel comfortable at the church by myself. I knew that I would be more efficient with my time, if I actually owned an organ. So, I found one on Ebay for 250 dollars and only an hour away. I had it delivered on Halloween and it now resides in our bedroom....how romantic. It is an old organ, but plays nicely and has given me the chance to finally learn the pedals. I manage to get a lesson from my mom regularly and am enjoying working on a new familiar skill.

The Dollhouse. When I was 16, I got a dollhouse for Christmas, the kind you build and fill with collector furniture. At the time, I wanted to be an interior decorator and saw this as a chance to learn. I never got to that point, though. My brother and I worked on it off and on during my high school years, and managed only to get the outside done.

When we moved back to the states, the house was waiting at my parents house. I had been 20 years since I worked on it and it was time to be played with. So, I went in to productive mode and set a goal to get it ready for the kids to play with by Christmas. Well, my kids didn't have to have any furniture or cute wall paper to play. As soon as we brought it home, I discovered batman and polly pockets, occupying the empty rooms.

I put away my lofty goals of electrical wiring, real wood floors and the expensive furniture. Instead of going to the specialty dollhouse store, I went to Micheal's. Oh....yes.....one thing has happened since the early 90s, a crafting explosion. Now, there are craft stores full of scrapbook paper, paint, contact paper...etc. And of course, there are 50 percent off coupons. A very expensive hobby just got pretty cheap. I could wallpaper a room for under a dollar. Flooring (fake wood drawer liner)was 6 dollars for the entire house.

My main goal was to make this a family project. I didn't want it to take away any extra time from the kids. I didn't want to be a crafty-mom-control freak and only let my kids watch me work on the house. So, I found something that I could let them do that wasn't too difficult: paint the interior and modge-podge the wall paper in the rooms. Sadie proved to be a great painter. She also exhibited some taste in color and pattern selection. She picked out the girls room and decided on the wall paper. Also, she came up with a great beaded-curtain for the doorway. Letting the kids be a part of the work, also helps me to relax when it comes to play time. They have a decent amount of respect for the house, and treat it pretty gently. Also, when something breaks, we can always fix it, well..... because we built it.

Getting stir crazy

On Thursday we awoke to cold and darkness. The power had gone out. Heavy winds and heavy snow-laden trees are a bad combination in WA. Some 70,000 people were without power in the Puget Sound area. We knew that we might have to wait our turn for restored power service, but we felt pretty prepared.

All our electronics were fully charged. I had purchased D batteries for our gas fireplace (I learned for the last power outage, that we don't have a pilot light, but a battery operated starter.) Greg went to the Grocery store the night before and we had enough clean underwear for a few days.

The weather outside was NASTY. The foot of snow had turned into a slush encased in an ice crust. Our street had not been plowed, but Greg manged to get out for work on our good car. Freezing rain fell from the sky most of the day. Our cars were covered in about 2 inches of ice, and there were icicles everywhere. It looked beautiful, but was no fun to be out in. So, we stayed inside.

Needless to say we got a little stir crazy, but we managed to stay nice for the most part, with only some fighting. We got creative in our interactions. We made jewelry, worked on my dollhouse, read from the book The Hobbit, played card games, and hide and seek.

On Wednesday, when Greg got home from work, we ventured out for dinner. We were met with only darkened restaurants and stores. Lights were on in Lowes, and we were one of the last people to get propane for our camp stove. We returned home and prepared a meager meal in the dark.

The next day, I was glad to have a camp stove running in the garage. We had a warm breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Lunch was noodles and we even made no bake cookies in the afternoon. Burritos were on the menu for dinner, since we had some tortillas and cheese that I buried in the back yard after our fridge had warmed up.

We met our neighbors across the street. I overheard her mentioning that they there were cold in their house. I brought over some D batteries for her fireplace. I also, learned that her husband had left for Afgahnistan a month ago. We invited their kids over for a play date. It was nice to have a different dynamic with friends. The kids had a great time.

Snow-magedon

....also, known as Snow-pacalyspe hit Washington last Sunday. The snow fall was relatively light on Sunday morning, but enough to cancel church. I was happy for the day home and felt we could relax in our comfy house. On Monday, we experienced some snowfall, but it wasn't enough keep us in doors. We packed up the car and drove up to Federal Way to visit cousins. I am glad we did, because the rest of the week we were stuck indoors. School and work were canceled and on Thursday the power went off.

The operating rooms were closed on Wednesday so Greg actually stayed home, which has never happened in any winter in MD or Germany, where snowfall is more frequent. We have many stories of Greg driving to work as a resident alone on the freeway, while the rest of the state is shut down. With work canceled, we enjoyed having a snow day as a family. These pictures are from Wednesday. We spent the morning sledding and making snowballs. Also,Greg had short work days on Thursday and Friday and took the good car, so we stayed home to play it safe.

Santa's little helpers

The kids were pretty excited to help out with wrapping this year. Sadie has gotten pretty good at it and I trust her to wrap a gift for a friend, one of my friends. She doesn't well with picking out nice paper and coordinating bow. Taylor wanted to get in the action and found a "present" for Greg out of his own toy box. He approached Greg and said, "I am going to wrap this (showing him the gift) so you don't know what it is. He did a pretty good job and the gift stayed wrapped under the tree until Christmas morning, when Greg pretended to be surprised.

Sadie led Taylor into my bedroom, to wrap a surprise for me. I came into the room to see what my gift could be. This is what I found.








Just, what I always wanted!

Pumpkin patch

I love the annual visit to the pumpkin patch. This is one thing that we did not do in Germany. There was a pumpkin farm in our area made for Americans that gave tours, but we never made it there. Here there is a farm just down the road. I got to go with Taylor. We wasn't in the best mood, but I think both had fun. I know that I did.
Taylor perked up when we saw the kittens and at the hay maze. Of course, picking out a pumpkin was really fun. We enjoyed out time with his buddies in his class, and got to know his teacher Ms. Linsey, since we carpooled together. We had a great time.

Summer fun

Some of the things we did this summer

We are back

I have really meant to keep up on the blog. Since the move however, my routine has changed and I don't find myself on the computer as much as I used to be. Which is a good thing overall, but is the reason why I have not documented our lives lately.

It is time to play catch-up
1. Some culture shock:

We all had to adjust. Some things we had forgotten about the states. Poor Taylor never experienced some of the differences and it was funny to see what things were NEW to him.

Greg and I had to adjust our driving. The first drive on the freeway in DC seemed like a snail's pace. Luckily, we haven't got any tickets yet. Also, I find myself still yielding to any driver on the right, and have to remind myself yellow lines separate me from oncoming traffic.

Upon arriving at the airport in DC, I realized that no one was staring at us. I felt a load of stress lift off of my shoulders, when I saw lots of kids running around the airport. My kids were not the center of attention anymore.

Poor Taylor had to relearn how to flush a toilet and to open door knobs that turn.

Micah noticed the fire hydrants. They look like "dogs wearing a fire hat." I had to agree.

Customer service is now a priority in restaurants and stores. "Would you like a cart?" "Can I help you find anything?" and "Would you like another diet coke?" are phrases we didn't hear often in the last three years.

There is too much variety of food over here. Capitalism thrives in the fast food industry and is also apparent in the snack section of the grocery store. Wow....how many different types of Oreos are there? This isn't good for the waistline, but since we are giving up bakeries and bratwurst, we will probably break even.

The streets are safer. There is more space between pedestrians and cars. The streets are a full two lanes, with ample space for parallel parking. Plus, there is a large paved sidewalk flanked by grassy strips. Cars drive slower too. I feel like my kids can play in the front yard without risking their lives. We can take family bike rides without dodging speeding cars. Overall, we play outside more.

I can sit in my car while it is running without any dirty looks.

My house is easier to keep clean. Well, we do have a new house which helps, but we don't have all the tile floors (and no white tile in the bathroom, thank you!) Carpet hides dirt. The walls are easier to wipe clean. The windows don't get as dirty (There was a lot of burning of wood and coal in our old German neighborhood.) Germans like to see dirt, so they can clean it up. I prefer to ignore it.

2. Things we miss

I didn't miss anything for the first two months. With all of the traveling, jet leg and family time, we didn't have time to be sad. When school started and our routine started back up, I realized what we would miss.

Friends. Of course our friends are on the top of our things-we-miss-list. Micah shed a lot of tears in the evening when is was time for bed. Both kids dreaded the first weeks of school, until they settled into a new friend routine. Both Taylor and I were sad without our weekly play dates with Lilly and Payton. So sad.

When we sat down to plan Greg's leave for the remaining year of Greg's military service, we realized that we would have to get more creative with our vacation time. Gone are the cheap trips to another country. No more quick drives to France. We will be swapping exotic vacation for family recreational time. It is an okay trade-off, but doesn't sound as cool. Also, we will need to spend some of that time, doing things like, house repairs and yard work.

The beautiful scenery. Washington state is beautiful, but we seriously lived in a fairy tale, with rolling hills and ancient architecture. Our drive to school, was like a post card, especially in the winter. The snow capped steeples dotted the horizon and little villages were nestled into the valleys.

With Christmas time here, we also miss the Christmas celebration in Europe. The Christmas markets are beautiful and festive. Last year, we had a white Christmas with record snow falls. It was really a magical holiday season. It also seems like the Christmas is less materialistic in Germany.

3. Things we are grateful for:

Convenience
School is 5 minutes away. Church is 7 minutes away. A dozen grocery stores are just down the road. Convenience has given us more time in the day. With the new schedule, I have almost 2 more hours with the kids every day. The kids get home from school at 3pm and on the first day of school I had dinner ready at 4pm? When Greg got home from work and we continued with our evening routine, we realized that wow we have more time!

Babysitters

We had great babysitters in Germany, but they lived 30 minute drive away. Date night started at 4pm, with me making the drive with the kids to pick up the babysitter. Greg usually met up with us at the house at 5pm. We usually tried to come home at 9pm. After paying the sitter, I still had a hour round trip to get her home. I also didn't feel comfortable driving the sitter home through the beautiful scenery at night. The poorly-lit, narrow back roads were treacherous, especially in the winter.

Last weekend, our babysitter drove herself to our house. She lived 5 minutes away and had her license. (You cant drive in Germany until 18 years old and the Americans are required to have a US license first. So even college aged babysitters couldn't drive.) It was nice to come home from our date, and stay home.

Half now, half later

Yesterday, Taylor tried to convince me to play with him. We are still in an empty house and the kids need a lot of entertainment. Having spent a lot of time with the kids already, I was a reluctant. He offered me a kiss to persuade me to play "sea monsters" with him. His argument was so cute, I leaned in for my little kiss.

"One kiss now, and the other one for after you play with me."

Who can argue with that?

One of those discussions

While driving in the car the other day:

"Mom what is S-E-X?" Sadie asked spelling the last word.

"Well," I answered, "Where did you see that word?"

"It is on your driving license and there is an F after it." I hadn't realized that Sadie was fumbling through my purse.

"Oh," giving an internal sigh of relief. "That means I am a female, another name for girl. When someone asks your SEX, they are asking if you are a boy or a girl."

"That is not what they say on the BUS."

The last week

If I had a week of vacation in Europe, I probably would spend it differently than I did this our last week in Germany. But, after a relaxing week and 5 more days to go, I have no regrets.

We have enjoyed late nights and late mornings. Greg doesn't have work and the kids have started leaving us alone in the morning. We sleep at least 8 hours each night, which is something new for our young family. We have seen plenty of movies. We are in walking distance of the video rental store, and have a movie theater nearby. Greg has exercised everyday. He runs to the gym and works out. I have tried to walk everywhere I can, to get my exercising in for the day. We have walked to either the pool or the park every day. We have played card games and board games in our hotel room and baked cookies and brownies.

With the extra time, we considered taking a trip to the black forest, or maybe Belgium, but, we can't bring ourselves to do it. Strange? Probably, but, I think this time has been pretty memorable.

More Pictures

The last few weeks

We are down to the last two weeks of our stay in Germany. Since returning from our trip to Northern Germany and the Baltic, our lives have been in a whirlwind. Now that we have internet access in our hotel room, I can play catch-up on blogging.

We had a fabulous trip with Fran and Perry. The best part was being with family and having the extra help pairs of hands. We took a cruise on the Baltic and visited Stockholm, Estonia, St Petersburg, and Copenhagen. After eight days of floating on the Baltic, we came home having learned about the history of all the countries from their own perspectives. Our tour guides were overall very informative, we opted to take the excursions provided by the cruise. Greg chose to stay back on the boat with the kids for two of the tours, which gave me a chance to hang out with Perry and Fran without having to worry about the kids.


In Lubeck, Taylor, Sadie and I had a day to ourselves, while the others took a day trip to Berlin. We found these cute beach baskets that were the size for the kids. Sadie is always ready for a photo shoot.

Greg and the kids disembarked for a tour in St Petersburg. We spent an entire day site seeing, with a break for lunch and shopping. We had headphones with a connection to our English speaking guide. This picture is of the summer residence of Emperor Peter, who founded St Petersburg, lots of fountains and lots of gold. Sadie tucked her head into the picture the last minute.


Tallinn was my favorite port. There was a fabulous market with handicrafts from the area. It was nice to get souvenirs that were unique and characteristic for the country.

We came home the day before our household goods were picked up. It was nice to have a week or relaxation before the moving stress started.

Our last trip

We are finally on our last trip of our European stay. It is sad, but also very exciting, because it is our biggest trip yet. We have ten days of traveling fun, with Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. It includes traveling by train, car and boat to a total of 5 countries.

Our first stay is in Northern Germany, where we are now. We met Grandma and Grandpa at the Hamburg airport. It started as a five hour drive from our home, but turned into a 8.5 hour drive. By the time we reached G and G, we were all fried. Since our van is in the repair shop, we took our little Toyota, which made the trip extra "cozy." At the airport half of us stayed in the car, the other half transferred to the train and we met up in Lubeck, where we are spending three days.

After my mission 15 years ago, my parents came to spend some time in Germany and to pick me up. We traveled to my Dad's former mission, the North Germany mission and spent some time in Lubeck, where my Dad was a missionary 5o years ago. Since I had been here before, I knew what I wanted to see again.

The morning started out rough. The streets were packed! The roads were crowded and the skies opened up and let loose with rain. We quickly found refuge in a Marzipan shop, which had a small museum upstairs. We bought some yummy treats and watched a video on how Marzipan is made. We also went to the local puppet theater, which has a museum full of puppets from all countries and from all ages. The kids found some souvenirs, which is always the highlight for them.

We found a restaurant for lunch, called Jensen Bofhus. Of course, we had to give our patronage! We dined in the European style, taking our time, so that the skies could clear. The food, was more American than not. We had yummy steaks and a salad bar! The customer service was polite, kid friendly and reminded me of home. There was a play area adjacent to our table, the kids had their own crayons and coloring books. We stayed until we were all refreshed and the sun came out again.

Afterwards, we meandered back to the Puppet Theater for the 3pm show. That probably was the highlight of the day. Although the play was in German the kids enjoyed the funny antics of the cute characters. I was amazed at the skill of only two puppeteers. Taylor got scared, but I think he laughed more than he covered his eyes.

We ended the day with a boat trip around Lubeck. The river Trave surrounds the city and creates a moat. We had a great view of the sky line and river houses. It was a pleasant relaxing ride after long day on the go.

Today I am staying in Lubeck with the Taylor and Sadie, while Greg, his parents and Micah take a trip to Berlin.

Father and Sons outing