More from Vacation

First, please let me be clear: we were not on vacation again. When Eva was at her hometown last week, she met with Babsi and Marc...and got the pics that Marc took during our long weekend together in Ostfriesland.
Quinn and Emma spent hours running and jumping into the baby pool. My knees hurt thinking about how Quinn would run full on into the pool and land on his knees, sliding to the end of the pool.

Emma wasn't impressed.

Emily in her pirate look.

Mother and daugher.

The house had a restored windmill (which was an actual mill) and a lake on the property. Babsi and Susi with Quinn and Emma on a short paddleboat trip.

The girls: Babsi, Susi, and Eva...who have been friends since grade school...with Emma and Emily.

A few soccer action shots.

Marc and Moritz got a slip and slide...which Quinn loved.

Of course, a Slip 'n Slide brought back tons of childhood memories...but I don't remember it hurting so bad sliding head first.

We even convinced Eva to get into the action.

...and Familie Spittler...

I'm trying to get the potatoes out of Quinn's ears...so that he'll listen better.

...and now the attempted family pics.

Us with the windmill in the background.

Emily and her happy face ;-)

Eva is not a fan of guns or anything that looks like guns...but looked the other way when the older boys brought back a water gun with the slip 'n slide. Quinn loved shooting that thing (of course). Can't wait to do water balloons with him next year.

Quinn was petrified of Mocca the first day or two, but by the time we left, Quinn couldn't keep his hands off of Mocca...

Cultural Differences

Sometimes, people ask me about the differences between the US and Germany. I've been here long enough that very little really catches my attention, because many of the 'differences' are normal now.
But, on my way home from work one day (on my bike), this ad caught my eye. I'm not too sure you'd see this sort of ad in the US...

Outside of the obvious connection to the Bryan Adams song, anything else pops into your mind when you see this ad ? ;-)

Weddings and Visits

With Kindergarten being closed for 3 weeks, Eva decided to take the kids back to her hometown for a week for a bit of a change of pace for everyone andto get a chance to visit her friends and family. Since Eva will be going back to work soon, this will probably be the last time that she gets to make such a trip (without taking vacation)...and probably the last time that I'll get a whole week to myself...
Of course, Kocka (and Katja) visited a few times...and a few games of 'Hoch und Runter' (Up and Down) were in order. It doesn't seem to bother Quinn that he's getting a bit big to thrown up in the air...but it is getting a bit more challenging for Kocka.

Quinn loving his little sis...

Kocka teaching Quinn some of the finer things in life...

Quinn on Tante Nina's police car.

The fam and Tante Nina went to a super cool zoo in Gelsenkirchen. Sounded like a great time. Of course, Quinn got to eat some ice cream.

With the seals. Quinn said that they smelled bad.

A great playground pic.

Slightly out of chronological order: the Saturday before Eva went to her hometown, friends of ours, Markus and Isa, got married...and we got to enjoy the whole wedding and reception - almost 12 whole hours - without our children (Eva's mom came for a short visit ... which allowed us to go to the wedding alone.) It was kinda odd not having to say 'no' for 12 hours.

Hamburgers Visit

I know...it was a cheesy attempt at humor, but last weekend, our friends from Hamburg - Mirja and Thomas - visited us for the weekend.
While the weather wasn't perfect, we made the best of it...and started out Saturday morning with trip to the wild pigs.

Quinn rode his bike...and I was racing behind him (notice how his feet are not on the pedals).

Emily is in full crawling mode now - especially on grass where she can get more traction.

Mirja and I soaking up the sun while the kids were playing on the playground.

Emily in full smile. She's got 6 teeth now.

There is something totally artsy about this pic that I really can't put my fingers on...but I love this pic of Quinn and his chalkline.

Emily even hopped on her Bobby car for a short ride (her legs are about 3cm too short to be able to scoot it around herself...)

The kids had a good time (despite some issues getting to bed at night), and we had a great time with our good friends Mirja and Thomas.

(P.S. Mirja was a roommate of mine in Atlanta for a few months and introduced me to Eva, and we've had some great times together: PCB, Currywurst in German class, TazoBerry at Starbucks, Grilling, Stone Mountain, Highly Busy, riding in Spyder Convertibles, etc, etc...)

Sommerfest 2010

As summer finally came to Germany, so came our yearly Sommerfest. This year's version included over 20 adults and (the challenge / fun of) 8 kiddoes.
Tante Nina, Kocka, and Katja even joined us from Ruhrpott...and thankfully, we had great weather to go with our visitors.

Emily is getting used to the fact that we have events with lots of folks over. Since we have a few friends that are bilingual families, we also had a colorful mixtures of languages.

Steinbachbräu Storchenbier was also on tap. This year, we got a 30 liter and 15 liter keg - an old fashioned oak keg. I spilled less on myself this year while tapping the keg.

We also had our babysitter over ... and she did a great job creating some activites for the kids. While she had her hands full, all the kids had a blast, and there were virtually no screaming kids. I had to remember one of my favorite activites as a child in elementary school when our babysitter brought out a 'parachute' and let the kids bounce balls with the 'chute.

All the kids got medals for their mini 'competition'.

We all ate and drank well...and most importantly, we had a great time together!

...and I even got to roughhouse a bit with the kids...

Let's Go Ride a Bike...III

Last week and again today, Quinn hit another milestone with his bike: last Tuesday, he rode all the way to kindergarten on his bike. I was running a bit late for work and hadn't put on my suit yet. When Quinn asked to ride his bike to kindergarten, I looked at my watch, looked at his smiling face...and put on shorts and a t-shirt and ran with him to kindergarten, while he rode his bike.

He did a great job braking, and other than needing some start help, he didn't really need my help...running by his side.

Today, he rode to the Gemüsefrau (where we get our fresh veggies) with Eva and Emily. No need for Papa to run by his side anymore, making sure he doesn't fall down.

O Canada

A short photocollage with the kids wearing their Canadian shirts...

...Emily working on smiling...and Quinn not being amused by the activity.

...better...

...now Quinn is playing along...

Mama quits the exercise...this is as good as it is going to get. Thanks Jo for the Canadian gear!

Father / Child Camping

A month or two ago, a co-worker of mine mentioned his annual trip into the Fränkische Schweiz with his friends and neighbors for their annual Father / Child camping trip. I had wanted to go camping with Quinn for quite a while, and this seemed like the perfect first camping adventure for Quinn.
When my co-worker invited me, I accepted the invite and started the planning. I got a kids book about camping (to introduce Quinn to camping and to try to excite him a bit) as well as his own kids sized folding camping chair.

There were 25 fathers and over 40 kids in total. Needless to say, Quinn and I were overwhelmed, but had a blast. He also liked getting to eat with his hands (even though he still ate with plastic utensils...).

I even brought his favorite stuffed animals so he felt at home in the tent.

The campsite was beautiful, but a bit far from toilets, which caused some issues when Quinn had to poop (I got to carry him, running, to the toilets). He really did love peeing in the bushes.

On Saturday, there were lots of events planned, but nothing really for 3 year olds, so we took off to the next village where there was a 'natural' pool (looked basically like a lake next to a stone cliff) and a bobsled track (Sommerrodelbahn). He loved the bobsledding, but the pool was a bit cold.

He didn't get much sleep on Friday night, and was constantly in motion with the other kids on Saturday. He was wiped out, and actually slept until 9am the next day (a record, I think). I was also very grateful for this long morning, since Quinn woke up at 6am the day before.

All in all, the weekend was a blast. Quinn had a great first experience camping, and I had a great time as well with him and the other fathers / kids. It is also very nice to get to spend so much intensive time with Quinn, and I'm looking forward to when Emily can join us.

Let's go Ride a Bike...II

Quinn made huge progress on his bike on Saturday. Even though the bike is an inch or two too big for him, he has figured out how to brake without falling down. The first few times were a bit rough, but after what seemed like a full day of riding, he really has it down now.

Of course, I was doing my part, running behind him, just in case I needed to help him. He didn't need my help. He can ride fast...much faster than I can run.

Needless to say, I'm pooped. Quinn is stoked that he's riding his bike. Now if he can only learn to start on his own, he'll be perfect...and this, I'm sure, will come soon. If he doesn't, I'll get in great shape running behind him.

I'm just happy that he had a good time.

P.S. Today I asked Quinn if he wanted to ride his bike while I went running in the forest. He said yes...and we were in the forest for about 30 minutes (with a stop to look a the wild pigs). I had a great jog, and Quinn seemed to really have fun on the forest paths.

He looks super cute on his bike...all proud of his newfound freedom.

Family Vacation on the North Sea

While I was in Denmark riding, Eva met up with her parents on the North Sea island of Borkum. The fact that her parents were already planning to be there for two weeks (of which one of those weeks we had planned to join them) made the logistics for me (getting me to Denmark faster) and Eva much easier.

Overall, Eva was on the North Sea for two weeks, and I was there for the second week. The final few days we were in Ostfriesland visiting some of Eva's childhood friends.
No huge surprise here, Emily really likes ice cream. She's finally figuring out that we get to eat the 'good stuff', and she wants to try it. No more rice cakes for Emily.

The world cup was in full gear, and Germany was playing really well...unfortunately losing to Spain in the semifinals. Quinn and I sported our jerseys prior to the Germany games.

At low tide, we caught crabs...lots of them.

The North Sea is not known for amazing weather. At any moment, it can begin to rain and storm. Thankfully, we had amazing weather for two weeks...only having two days where it was not really 'bearable' to be on the beach.

The beaches are optimal for kids, and Emily really liked being in the sand.

Pic with Oma and Opa. We stayed in a newly renovated house, which is a historical landmark since the house was the first on Borkum. One night Eva's dad and I went to the bar next door to watch the Holland game, and we stayed a bit later to listen to the group of local folk musicians sing...which was a very nice cultural touch to the evening and the trip.

@Rainer: nächstes Mal, trinke ich auch ein bisschen weniger Kultur ;-)

Emily even smiled when her feet were in the cold waters of the North Sea.

The water was pretty cold - cold enough to keep me out of it most of the time - but Quinn had a great time jumping over the waves.

Emily loving her pretzel. If this picture doesn't look like Eva as a baby, then I don't know what else does (other than the real thing).

Our three days in Ostfriesland were amazing as well. The weather was hot and dry, and Quinn and Emma spend most of the day outside running into the kiddie pool. With the long days, the kids were jumping into the water even after dinner.

Of course, there has to be ice cream as well.

All in all, it was an amazing two weeks. I got my bike tour and a week on the beach, and Eva got to spend two weeks on the beach with her family (including a week with me).

More pictures of our time in Ostfriesland will be posted later: Marc (who was also with us) is a very good photographer, and took most of the pics. When we get those, we'll post them.

Now it is back to work and back to reality...but at least with our batteries fully energized.

The Finer Things

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it is a very beautiful thing.

Sometimes, after Emily is finished with her morning or evening bottle and after I burp her, she is so tired that her head becomes so heavy that she lays it on my shoulder and falls asleep. As she's sleeping, she breathes so heavy that is it is a slight snoring.

A very beautiful thing...and very precious.

Cute Kid Moment

Background: Eva (who has actually lost weight after her second pregnancy) comes out of her room in a recently washed-for-the-first-time pair of pants. They don't fit and are too tight.

Eva (to Rob): These pants just don't fit anymore...they are too tight.

After hearing this, Quinn proceeds to the laundry room, gets my tape measure, and begins measuring his Mama. Somehow, this produces no response from Eva. Had I have done this, she would have lopped off my head.