Daddy's Lab

During our EID Break we were able to finally have our private tour of Casey's lab.  We were all very impressed and are happy to now be able to picture Daddy's work in our minds better.

First we signed in...

then we put on safety goggles.

Eben loved to "Bumpy Table" which is used to steady ones' hands when doing experiements.

Here we are learning about the numbers on gas containers.

Here we are learning about experiemnts which must be done in clean air.

Pilsbury Dough Clean Room Daddy - WE LOVE OUR DADDY!!!!

And here we are experimenting with the sticky mat placed at the entrance to the Clean Room. 

This was a fascinating mat for the kids.

After the tour we let the kids run around campus and explore such things as.....

Spiral Couches

Comfy PoPo Chairs

And Odd B--t Chairs

Never a dull moment with our Daddy and his lab.

Here is a little Therresa funny:  Her classroom Teaching Assistant recently left the school to work at the university.  The art teacher asked Theresa where Ms. Jessica went, and Theresa said "She went to work for the Universe" in all seriousness- too cute!



In Thanksgiving

We hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving as we did here across the seas.  Two families came to join us and we all contributed to the meal which turned out to be quite scrumptious and plentiful- everyone was able to take home leftovers!

For the kids, the biggest hit was a new recipe from my favorite blog called "Edible Indian Corn.  You'll see it in the pictures and here is the recipe (the kids all loved it and came back for more):

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 4 cups of mini marshmallows
• 5 cups of puffed corn cereal (we used Honey Kix)
• 1 1/3 cups diced dried fruit (we used raisins and cranberries)
• Popsicle sticks
• Fruit leather

·         Instructions: In a large pot, melt butter and mini marshmallows over low heat.  This takes about 5 minutes.  Using buttered hands, shape each treat by pressing 1/3 cup of the mixture around a Popsicle stick.   Add fruit leather husks to the bottom of the ear, slightly moistening them to help them stick if needed.   Makes approximately 15 treats.

 Most of the following pictures are of all the Thanksgiving crafts the girls did before the dinner; from trees for Calico to dressing the dolls! 

The last picture in this series was taken at Building Blocks by the twins' teacher- we are so thankful for her and all the staff there because Eben and Eleanor really enjoy attending and are so loved and cared for by all the workers.

Boat and Camel Rides

We recently had the opportunity to take a 40 minute boat ride around the KAUST Harbor and we finally got to ride camels!  The boat ride was our children's first on a real boat and they had a blast.  The crew provided life jackets and juice boxes, the weather was breezy and not too hot, so everyone was happy all around.

The following week KAUST sponsored a Family Barbecue night and we decided to actually ride the camels that are frequently brought to KAUST events.  We arrived early for this and did not have to wait long.  Casey rode with the girls and I rode with the twins.  Nobody cried although it was a little scary as the camel rose since she stands her back legs up first causing us on  her back to fall forward.  The ride was very bumpy as well but I'm glad we finally got on one.  It's a little sad for the camel because they are constantly having to get up and down, after about an hour children could only ride without an adult because the camels were getting too tired and adults would have been too heavy- very sad.  I should correct myself here, we actually rode one humpers- dromedaries- not camels which have two humps although when I looked dromedary up in the dictionary it said that they are also called Arabian camels!

Happy Halloween!

We hope everyone had as pleasant a Halloween as we did!  The girls made a few crafts the weekend before the actual day.  I thought Marcella's 6 little pumpkins sitting on a fence was adorable!  For our after school snack the two days before Halloween I let the kids decorate their own jack o' lantern cookies and made them some jack o' lantern rice krispie treats.  On the actual day we attended a great Halloween party at the KAUST rec center and then went trick or treating.  The party was very well organized and the girls loved running around with their friends.  The local girl scouts group here had assembled some great games like ring the bottle, bean bag toss, and ghost lollipops and KAUST had face painting, tote bag decorating, and cookie decorating.  The best part was that the event was held in the gym so it was nice and cool!  Last year it had been soooo hot at the Halloween party. 

The kids costumes were:
Marcella- hula dancer (costume authentic from Hawaii- Tante Heidi brought it back from her visit to the islands last summer)
Theresa- ballerina
Eleanor- princess
Eben- wizard

Germany Trip Finale

I have finally gotten to the end of our Germany Trip photos.  Below you will see a series of pictures taken in Wetzlar and Braunfels.  A trip to our Vaterland would not have been complete without a visit to Schloss Braunfels.  This was our only castle to visit and it made quite an impression on all four children.  We got to see armor, impressive paintings of past royalty, climb the winding stairs in the castle's tallest tower, and toured the beautiful grounds.  The tour guide let the girls help her switch out castle slipper bins- I think this was their favorite part!  Marcella let Julia braid her hair- doesn't she look adorable?

On our last day, we took the train in to Wetzlar for a quick tour of the city.  The day was brisk and cool and we had such a pleasant time walking thorugh the old part of the city.  We came across a little ship playground which was identical to one we have here in KAUST (although the Wetzlar one is in a far better woodsy location).  On our way to lunch we tried to take the lift to the Ministry of Magic, but we must have dialed the wrong number....Our lunch was at the quaintest bier garten. Casey and I actually got to sit and visit while the kids played on the Bier Garten's playscape!  The restaurant had buckets and shovels and the playscaspe had a pulley and great slide so the kids were in heaven and played away.  It was situated right on the Lahn with the Dom in the background.  We were there for over two hours!  

Columbus Day

We celebrated Columbus Day on the 12th by reading a quick book from my library, making apple and mozzerella cheese boats and drinking Spanish Hot Chocolate.  I love working in the library!  It is so easy to get books now and the school's selection is far better than the public library's here.

I got the boat and hot chocolate idea from my favorite blog, Shower of Roses.  The hot chocolate was incredibly rich and thick- nothing like what we usually have from the package.  We will definitely be doing this again each year.  Columbus used the stars as a guide with a compass so we made the chocolate and put it in a thermos and headed for the harbor area and Kaust Beacon.  This area of Kaust is so beautiful at night because it is nicely lit, but unfortunately this beauty hindered our star gazing. 

I'd like to comment on Eleanor's shirt in the apple boat picture- she loves this shirt and wears it at least two times a week.  Oma Christel (Julia's mother) in Germany gave it to her and it has become quite the favorite!

Here is the Spanish Hot Chocolate recipe:

Spanish Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
6 ounces baking chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the cornstarch, whisk to dissolve. Heat the milk on medium heat just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate immediately and begin stirring until the chocolate is completely melted.

Note: If the milk cools off too fast, place the pan back on the stove on low heat to melt the chocolate.

Add the sugar into the chocolate milk mixture and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Taste the hot chocolate for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary.

Place the pan back on the stove on medium low heat, stirring slowly, but constantly. As soon as you see it thicken, remove the pan from the heat so the cornstarch will not thin. Ladle immediately into cups and serve piping hot.





Germany Trip: Home Away From Home

Julia and Frank were so gracious by letting us stay in their house for our entire visit to Germany.  Little Annica was amazing in that she never complained of our kids taking over her room.  Thank you soooo much Lohs!!!!

Their house is actually a remodeled barn and they live in the "hayloft" or top floor.  Below them are two other families.  They have a lovely view of the surrounding area and Casey and I enjoyed having the windows open at night and the stillness.  We never get to open windows in KAUST due to dust and heat so a bit of fresh air was certainly welcomed.

You can walk to everything in Duttenhofen including a nearby lake and some stables.  There was this quaint little trail through a small wilderness filled with plum trees and we got to see several rabbits running about.  August was the perfect time of year to go visiting the area.