Magical Moment

We stumbled upon this awesome fairy ring the other day...isn't it perfect?

Letters From Oma

Oma has been sending us the nicest letters.  In each one we get a great update of New Braunfels happenings as well as some fun vintage Bunte Kiste activity sheets.  The mail here is so random.  Casey and I get great laughs at the dates.  For example, two letters arrived on the same day yet were mailed almost a month apart!  Thank you Oma!

More Set Ups

The above masterpiece was created by Eleanor.  She chooses to lay out her set ups whereas Theresa at this age was more of a pile girl; both include numerous items, each meticulously placed.  This took over thirty minutes to create and only stopped because it was time for dinner.  We have noticed that her set ups mostly include the smallest of things from all toy themes- Playmobil, Fisher Price, and as above, Barbie accessories. 

This is just sweet.  All of our children have adored Dora and Diego. Granny and Grandpa have given the twins several Dora characters which we intend to bring back with us this summer because the twins had blast playing "Swiper" with their older cousins at Christmas.

I love how Barbie takes care of her little sisters.  Here she is with Stacie, having a nice picnic.

We all enjoy it when Mousie comes to breakfast!

Liesel has perfect table manners!

I think set ups with shoes are the cutest things. 

All of our children have used shoes for all sorts of transportation. 

I love watching them when they all have a shoe and go travelling through the house in their play. 

Red Sea Snorkel

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Spring Break snorkel trip.  It was quite an adventure.  Before going several families had told how great it was and kid friendly because the boat stops near an island (sand bar) and the kids can get off and run around a bit while the parents take turns going to the reef.  Well, on our particular trip this did not happen due to a few scuba divers on board.  The divers were part of a class that had missed a trip due to the dust storms and needed deeper waters so we did not get to stop at an island.  The trip was from 9 to 3 and our kids were so good for not being able to leave the boat.  Marcella did get off and attempted to snorkel but quickly returned when she saw all the jellyfish.  The jellyfish were actually safe and neither Casey nor I got stung despite the fact that they were everywhere but to a kid they can be quite daunting.

Unfortunately the trip was very choppy and we made the mistake of sitting on the top level of the boat on the way to the reef.  We all were terribly seasick because the boat was rocking so much.  On the return we were on the main deck and this was much better.  The kids loved the sandwiches and ceasar salads that were provided and Marcella and Theresa made some new friends among the crew.

The reef was quite beautiful although it was not as colorful as I am sure other reefs are.  The fish had vibrant colors and almost looked unreal.  The choppiness of the water disappears once you submerge and Casey and I found it so peaceful.  We hope to go again and this time book the trip with other families so that we are sure to make an island stop.

First Recital

Marcella participated in her first piano recital this past weekend!  She did a beautiful job and we are so proud of her!  Her two pieces were an exerpt from Vivaldi's Spring from The Four Seasons and John Thompson's Spring Song.

Another Helper

Eleanor has recently taken an interest in the daily laundry folding and insists upon always folding the towels- no complaints from me about that!

A Small Part of the World

Marcella participated in the school's first musical last week entitled "A Small Part of the World."  The performming arts teacher here is incredible; I have never attended a performance of hers that did not bring tears to my eyes. The opening song did it here as did the kids singing "Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf." 

This particular performance was performed soley by the choir and had a few acting parts.  The children were learning about the world through song.  The venue was the secondary school's concert hall with theater style seating-which made it a very special night.