Bauernhof

Last week, short before Quinn's last day in Kindergarten for this school year, the class went a local farm - that doubled as an adventureland for kids.

The kids had a ball sweeping out the stalls...I still don't know how sweeping out stalls can be more fun than cleaning your own room, but apparently it was.

Of course, no trip to a farm is complete without feeding animals...

...and taking a tractor ride.

The tractor ride was a highlight for Quinn.

Apparently, Eva had to put all clothes in the washer after the trip.

While Quinn is growing up in the 'city', he definitely knows what corn looks like in nature.

How cool is that: riding Bobby Cars in a cow's stall?

Summerfest 2011

It was that time again...time for the annual Gould Summerfest, which due to the cold, rainy weather, we almost renamed this year to Oktoberfest.

While we were preparing the event, we played bad parent and stuck the kids in front of the TV for a while. They didn't budge an inch while they were watching.

Katja and Kocka made the long drive from the North.

We had 28 adults, about 18 kids and a few babies this year. Like my mom, I was petrified that we'd not have enough food. Eva was more practical: she was just hoping that it wouldn't rain.

The kids did an excellent job playing with each other. Despite the noise, there were no temper tantrums and relatively peaceful playing! We think (hope) that the kiddoes had a great time as well.

Unlike previous years, I was able to tap the keg of yummy Steinbachbräu without getting showered by the beer from the incorrectly tapped keg. Perhaps it was Emily's management skills that helped me out ;-)

I didn't adapt my 'kitchen sink' burgers too much this year, but I did use a form to make flat, circular, thick burgers. Below is the result!

Thankfully, the weather remained dry. Still too cool outside to be called a summerfest.

We think and hope that everyone had a great time. And, while it is a ton of work, our friends all chip in and help, and we have a great afternoon together, as friends (and family). Let's just hope for better weather next year.

Another one of Katja and Kocka with Emily. Emily can now say 'Ocka'.

Goodbye to an old Friend, Part II

It is fully clear to me how ridiculous it is to get attached to a 'thing', any you may even remember my heartfelt goodbye to The Orange Chair. It is now time to say goodbye to another great 'friend': The First (Good) Road Bike.

After riding on an old hand me down for a while and after deciding to do triathlon, I bought my custom fit Torelli at my local bike shop almost 15 years ago.

She's been my ride through countless miles and three successful Ironman Triathlons.

For any of you that ride, you know that it is virtually impossible to sell an old bike, even if it is in decent shape. After a few years, all components just get used and old. At best, you get a hundred bucks or so for the frame; any new buyer would most likely want new components, tires, and the like, making the purchase of an old (but good) bike not exactly realistic.

For a hundred bucks, you might as well just keep it in the garage; it's too little to make me want to part with the thing.

Thankfully, one of our friends mentioned that he was looking for a bike, and I mentioned my old road bike. He seemed interested, I pepped it up a bit, we talked about a few of the issues (no need to be dishonest to a friend) ... and he actually agreed to take the bike.

I was happy to find a good home for the bike, and I'm even more stoked that he's excited about having a great bike (he's never had a 'real' road bike) and learning the joy of riding, that I've experienced these last 15 years or so.

So, while I have to part from The First (Good) Road Bike, she's got a happy home and a very caring new owner...which will be more fun for herthan hanging in my garage.

Comfortable ?!?

Quinn is in a stage where he doesn't always start out sleeping in bed. Sometimes, he builds a cave with blankets, table, and pillows. Sometimes, he just puts his comforter on the floor and builds a bit of a nest.

Below is classic: something we'll see again in about 12 years.

Emily and I have started a new evening tradition: hair combing. Her hair is rather curly...and finally getting longer, so we have to make sure that her curls don't get nappy.

Of course, in typical Emily style, she has to do it herself. She can now go up stairs by herself...and even get her shoes on by herself.

Another Quinn sleeping favorite: under the table. He said he was hiding from the ghosts.

When Quinn doesn't want to go to bed, we let him play in his room. This was the result, no kidding, a few nights ago. Yes, a design from his parked cars. If this is not a sign that the poor boy is destined to be an engineer, I don't know what one would be.

Camping and other Summer Activities

While the summer may have started out rather slow and lazy, it seems like it is now in overdrive, and we're trying to make sure we take enjoy the ride, because before we know it, Fall will be here.

Last weekend, we went to Munich to visit some friends of our who were having some folks over for a small birthday party. The waterslide was a big hit, and I was even more grateful that I could fit in Keith's shorts ;-)
Quinn liked having us 'bowl' him down the Slip 'n Slide rather than him having to run.
Some geocaching at home.
Two weekends ago, Quinn and I went camping. The weather was perfect, and we were able to do some hiking, geocaching, and playing.
I was super proud of Quinn when he took his beloved chips (he LOVES potato chips...I wonder where he got that from) and offered them to the guys in the next tent. They were grilling and chatting ... and I didn't even ASK him to do that.

But when he came back, I gave him a huge hug: Quinn truly understands camping!
The next pics are some miscellaneous pics from our cell phones. Below, Emily walking a friend's dog.
...I try really hard not to call it a cat in front of the kids...
Geocaching in Munich with one of Quinn's friends.

Field Hockey !?!

When one would do a Venn diagram (Mengendiagramm) of the sports that Eva and I have tried and the sports that we claim to know something about, there isn't too much that falls outside of the circles. My closet at home is probably still filled with all of the various balls and sporting goods (shotput, for example...and the discus is probably still at the parent's house of my friend Steven). Why on God's green earth did I think I had any business with a shot put?

But, my parents, patiently supported all of these sporting habits. Steven and I would practice discus and shot putting for hours in the spare lot between our houses. Hours. We sucked...but we kept on trying. No one in the neighborhood had the guts to tell us that we were too skinny, lanky, and small for shot and disc.
As it probably happens with most kids, Quinn found out that two of his friends are now going to (field) hockey practice on Friday. Naturally, he asked us if he could go to.
Quinn is already a member of the local sporting team/group, so he could try a few practices before he had to sign up. So, I bolted from work early, and we headed to hockey practice. Quinn asked a few questions that I couldn't really answer. All that I really 'knew' was that the stick has to, more or less, stay on the ground.

So, I mentioned that rule, in hopes that it would 'stick'...so that he wouldn't go running around lopping kids heads off. After all, he is pretty good with a baseball bat.

In the pic above, Quinn's friend is the other one with his hat on backwards. They were the only two kids with hats on backwards.
I know I'm the proud papa, but he did a pretty good job. I was amazed how well he listened and did what he was told. He also pushed the ball around well. My back hurts just thinking about it. He really had fun whacking the ball into the goal.

Considering that he can hit a baseball relatively well, whacking a stationary ball with a similar 'feeling' bat was pretty easy. The girl on the receiving end wasn't really happy with this (first picture), since she had to chase the ball...so the coach switched the kids so that Quinn hit toward the fence.

I don't know how long this interest will last, but I know that both Eva and I will support both of our children's interest in sports. We both grew up loving sports, and we both had parents that were super supportive of our sports addiction.

As the saying goes, the apple does not fall far from the tree...and our kids are most likely doomed to love sports. And we are doomed to be chasing after them, their practices, and games. Just like our parents (sometimes literally: @ my parents: remember Coach Webb speeding in the yellow bus?).

I can't wait!

Eins Two Zucchini

One of the simple pleasures of parenthood is watching your children's language capabilities develop. Throw in parents with two different native languages, and you get some results that can only make you smile:

Emily, last week while climbing the stairs to day care (where I always count the steps with her), says: eins, two.

Quinn, after trying on a new pair of swim trunks that were a bit small: Da Emily noch klein ist, kann sie auch diese Badehose tragen, aber wenn sie ein größes Mädchen ist, wird sie ein Zucchini tragen.

Translated: Since Emily is still small, she can wear swim trunks, but when she gets older, she'll wear a zucchini.

...both mom and dad smile slightly: no Quinn, she'll wear a bikini.