Out Back

So this is in the courtyard of our house. As you can see what is now the garage was one a 'garage' for carriages and wagons, and the other doors you see used to be stalls for animals, but are now storage sheds and bike sheds. Life in Germany is different. I do not have a dryer, so I hope for sun so I can hang my clothes on the line. I do not have a dishwasher, or a car. So, life can get a bit difficult at times, I have to make sure I plan everything well with my time. The door open is our bike shed. That gate leads to the big back garden where David and Sam feast on fruits of all sorts. Blackberries, raspberries, Johanisberries, Gooseberries, 2 apple trees, 2 cherry trees, 3 plum trees and 1 pear tree, which the land lord told me is over 100 years old and is by far the largest tree in the back yard.

Willkommen in unserem Haus in Deutschland

We have moved to Rosdorf, Germany! These are photos of our house here. We will live in Germany for 2 years while Machiel does research on sabbatical at Georg-August Universität in Göttingen. We chose the picturesque village of Rosdorf for the schools, the quiet and that it had everything a person needs and is still close to the city. This house is about 200 years old and has been passed down in the family through each new generation. It was an old farm house. It is now divided into 3 houses, we are the left upstairs side. So this is a view of the house from the street and the front garden in front of our steps.

The Sword is Mightier...

David and Sam play awesome together..don't get me wrong, they fight every now and again. But for the most part they play well and get along. I just happened to look out the back one day and saw them playing pirates. I had to capture the moment!

Easter

So, Sam (as you can see, he looks tired) wakes us up good and early on Easter Morning...and what do my eyes see on this spring holiday? SNOW!!! How are they going to do the big easter Egg hunt outside now? Luckily it melted by the time our guests came and the kids got to hunt eggs in the back yard with their friends! We had lots of people over and of course yummy food. Lamb and ham, tarts and trifles. It was all good :) Happy Eostre!

Kill your T.V.!

OK, so we limit our children's intake of movies and television. But see what great games they come up with! It first started with a 'Sam"wich..Sam between 2 pillows. Then the pillows suddenly became horses and they were 'jousting' minus the poles and colliding with each other instead. I got some really good shots before one of them was crying and then got sent outside to play.

BYU Lu'au

I got the opportunity to dance with BYU Lu'au. I danced the Auana (slow pretty dance)for Hawai'i, and the girls dance and finale for Fiji. Check me out in front row..not too bad for an old lady dancing with a bunch a young college whippersnappers huh? You can watch the videos at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZM2LF56yxY I am front row 3rd from the left. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLwaCKFZKT8 I am 2nd from the left. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnaacswd92Q ...yeah these outfits are not very flattering...it was fun though!

Just Clownin' Around!

We went for a walk in Liberty Park up in Salt Lake City and happen to come upon a few clowns. These clowns work with Patch Adams and go to countries at war or orphanges or hospitals to cheer people up. They were going to do a little seminar and not many people were showing up, so they played with the kids at the park instead. Even Machiel got in on the action!

Book Reports are COOL!!!

David's class does awesome book reports. One he had to make a diarama of a non-fiction book. The book was called Jacob's Rescue. It was about a Jewish boy during WWII and his escape from the ghetto and surviving by being hid by nice Polish people. The other book report he did was on a person in history. David chose Louis Braille. To present this book report, the whole 3rd grade dressed up as their 'person' and presented a 'wax museum'. it was really cool!

Christmas Morning!

The cookies have been eaten, the milk is gone. The carrot has been nibbled, the stockings filled, There are presents under the tree...it must be Christmas Morning! And David and Sam in their cute sock monkey matching Christmas jammies!

Me Ke Aloha (With All My Love)

David's school did Christmas Around the World. Machiel was asked to present on the Netherlands and I was asked to present on Hawaii. When telling the Sinterklaas story, at the part when if you are bad you get put into a burlap sack and taken to Spain to live with the Moores, a boy exclaimed, "I am glad I live in America!" I did a Christmas hula that talks about making a lei for Jesus. It is a very pretty song. I was happy I got the opportunity to learn it and share it.

Decorating the Tree

It's the old tradition of decorating the tree. Every year David first thinks he is too cool and big to help, then partway through changes his mind :) I love to see the tree after the kids decorate. Especially after Sam does. All of the ornaments very close together, all the same height up the tree, and mostly the same color in the same spot...it is so cute. Then he says when the two ornaments touch, "Look Mom! They are kissing!" He can have a brief sweet moment just before he busts out a sword and says he's gonna chop off the bad knights arm, rare..but it happens :)

David is 9.."only 4 more years until I'm a teenager Mom!"

For David's birthday this year he says to me," Mom, I just want a guitar for my birthday. Nothing else." So, we took David to play Laser tag with his best friend and then to his favorite restaurant Joe's Crab Shack. The waiters all came over and dressed him up and sang Happy Birthday. Sam thought the crab bib as a cape was a pretty cool idea, so he put one on too. Afterwards we went to buy David a guitar that he picked out himself. The next day he had his favorite homemade meal, Pasta with garlic lemon cream sauce and shrimp. Shockingly, he didn't ask for a cheesecake with raspberry coulis, but a simple chocolate cake called, Texas Sheet Cake.

Early Christmas!

My Dad is real big into cycling. So, he wanted to get the boys new bikes for Christmas. He was here for Thanksgiving and got them early Christmas presents! They were so suprised and excited, they went out right away to try out the new bikes!

David, the actor

David joined the Drama Club this year at school and loves it! He was in 2 plays. A thanksgiving play and an African play. He was going to be Prince Charming in the school musical, with a solo and everything, but we had to leave for Europe. The plane tickets go up drastically in price if we waited 2 more days so he could be in the play. However it then starts the prices of the high season. So, he had to drop out of the play, but he was asked by the teachers to work with the other kids so they have more expression when they act. As we all know, David is full of expression :)

Maartje's Last Night

On Maartje's last night of her visit with us, she took us to a nice dinner at the restaurant in Sundance. It is one of our favorites. We were sad to see her go :( Yet grateful for her visit and had lots of fun!

Bridal Veil Falls

Just to the east of us is Provo Canyon where you can hike and enjoy lots of nature. We decided to show Maartje, and headed out for a little afternoon stroll to see Bridal Veil Falls. Water falls that resemble a bride's veil. Our friend Jake, who had just returned from Alaska joined us as well. Here he was showing us beaver markings on a log. Sam thought it was too cold, so he huddled up in his stroller.