Zoo trip with the Scheibe's

While we were waiting for Jan's game to start Lutz and Tatjana (Jan's parents) took us to the zoo in Saarbruken. The kids really had a great time. Logie was intrigued by the zebra and was convinced that since he could fit under the railing that it did not apply to him to stay behind it and went in for a closer look. They both really liked the big turtle and tried to get as close as possible. There was a monkey that came right up to the window to visit with Jer and Logan and I think he would have stayed there all day trying to talk to it. When we left the monkey house there was an ostrich fenced outside and Zane thought he was going to try to pet it. I told him that they were mean and to stay back, but he didn't believe me until he got close and it hissed and tried to bite him through the fence. Maybe one of these days he'll start listening to me, but I won't hold my breath!! The last pic is of us sitting in the stands watching Jan's game. The boys both enjoyed a homemade pretzel that had just been made that morning and were still warm (as you can see Logie wasn't willing to put his down for the pic). We had a great weekend and hope to see them again soon.

Football American with Jan and Family

This weekend we took a trip to Germany to see Jan (the exchange student that lived at the Caid casa 2 years ago) and meet his family. My children attempted to make the most interesting first impression ever, but we won't talk about that. They were wonderful and we had a great time. We spent the first evening and next morning talking and getting to know each other and then attended Jan's football game on Sat. afternoon. Tatiana, Jan's mom, said he has always loved all things American, but is an even bigger fan since living there. I gotta say it is certainly his game. In the first pic he is helping block for the receiver who took the kick-off. He is VERY fast and very good at blocking (the second pic). The kids (and adults) really enjoyed half-time. There was a moon bounce for them to play in and a board set up to see if you could throw the football through the hole. Jer attempted to give the boys lessons, but they were really to busy playing. And who wouldn't enjoy a half time when they serve German pastries and coffee!!! In the second half they finally threw the ball to Jan. He caught the first one for a good gain and the second (4th pic) for a touch down. I tried to get a pic of him celebrating his touchdown, but was jumping up and down and only got a pic of the grass and sky. The last pic is of his team congratulating him. We were very proud. After the game they took us to an authentic German restaurant and we were able to sample a few different dishes. They were wonderful. It was great to see him again and finally meet his family.

A Day Off With the Mills'

Today Jeremy had the day off, so our friend Edith Mills invited us out to go on a bike ride around her area of this world. She had been extolling the virtues of bike touring to us, so we took her up on it. Plus, she said she would feed us and she is a fabulous cook!!!! I gotta say that I work out almost every day and this was by far the most enjoyable workout I've ever had. She took us around the area and showed us some beautiful livestock (2 very cute colts!!) and some Belgian Blues. Kim and I had previously discussed whether they were named that because they were of blue color or because they were sad that they are cows shaped like pigs (very interesting looking!!!). I had the opportunity to stop and look at the local wheat crop, which I had been telling Dad was strange because the fields were so small. Now having seen them up close I can understand why, there is no telling how many bushels per acre that crop is going to make. As you can see it is easily over waist high on me and the heads were nearly the length of my hand from wrist to finger tip. The last pics are of the castle where they live and the carriage house that they live in. It is a beautiful piece of land with an amazing amount of history. Edith says that the castle is open to the public throughout July and August, so she is going to take us for a tour later.....and as expected, dinner was fabulous!!!!

Friends in European Places

We were so blessed and happy to have my long time friend Kim visit us in Belgium from Dodge City, KS. She has been planning a trip over here for the last few years to explore Ireland. When she found out that we were moving over here she added an extra week to her vacation so that she could spend it with us. We picked her up in Brussels last Tuesday and made a quick trip to the Neuhaus Chocolate factory so that she could get something to take home for everyone. After that we had to get back to SHAPE quickly because I had a softball game. On Wednesday we let her sleep in because the jet lag was finally catching up with her and she was wiped-out!!! That day I showed her our local post, we had lunch with Jer, went home and she taught me how to prepare some fab greek food and we attended one of Zane's soccer games (always exciting) before coming home and having a great greek dinner. Thursday Jeremy had the day off so we went to an abbeye about an hour away and we got to see how the monks there live. It was very peaceful and quiet (at least until Zane got there) and the acoustics in the chapel were soooooo amazing!!! On Friday we went to a local castle, but I'll blog separately about that. On Saturday we thought we would take her to Brugge to show her the sites. We had a book with a walking tour in it and it took us to all of the best parts of the city. The block shown is amazing and if I could show the whole thing it would show 6 different centuries worth of architecture. The details are amazing. While we were there we toured a brewery that had been in business for well over 100 years. They way they do things and the way they did things are very different. The tour covered a very big building and 244 steps (of which I had to carry Logie every one because he is clingy) but was very educational. When we had finished in Brugge we traveled to Brussels to stay the night so we could take Kim to the airport the next morning. While we were there I drove us down town to the Grand Place (which I'll never do again) where we went to the greek street for dinner. The last pic is of the greek street (there are also french, italian, belgian, asian, ect...) where you have numerous establishments to choose from and they are all fabulous!! She flew out early the next morning and is thoroughly enjoying 2 weeks in Ireland, but we are so glad to have her here while we did.

Logie Van Gogh

I know I haven't blogged in a while and I really don't have a very good reason, except that I have been being kept busy by my favorite 3 footer. I thought you would enjoy these pics of him channeling his inner artist. He got this "Tadoodle" art center that sings to him while he works on his masterpieces. Amazingly it kept him busy for almost an hour (long enough for me to clean the entire down stairs, a near miracle!!!) and he never seems to tire of it. Hopefully he inherited his artistic gene from Jeremy and not from me. In the last pic you can see he is holding up his initial masterpiece as if auctioning off at Barneys (he says that the highest bid gets his artwork and the funds go toward his college education!!!).