The First Day of School...

It's here, the first day of school. The day when the backpacks are still clean, the shoes are not scuffed, and the pencils don't have bite marks in them. Everything begins again, and it is all shiny and new. Both of the kids started school today. Kaitlin is in third grade now-she thinks it feels weird, and wishes that she was still in second. I've told her it's because it's something new, and once she's used to it, it will be fine. She was excited to find out that two of her friends are in her class. A.J. is in preschool. He was a little disappointed that his friend Zach was not in his class anymore. Zach PCS'ed (that's Permanent Change of Station for you "civilian" folks, lol) this summer. He is excited to have his teacher Ms. Tabby again. In fact, there was a little meltdown last week, because we didn't think that he had gotten into Ms. Tabby's class. He was telling me today he has "lots of NEW friends now."

The Drama Queen and the Master Of Cool

This summer Kaitlin has been involved in Children's Theater. Each session was two weeks, meeting Monday through Friday for four hours. At the end, they put on a play at the Amelia Earhart Playhouse. She had a really good time, and I think she has found her calling. I was impressed with how well their teacher put the plays together, because they didn't have quite the turnout that they were expecting. Kaitlin is the second from the right in this picture (your right, not hers:)

And then there is A.J....he found these shorts in his closet. He wears them two or three times a week, because, in his words, he is the "master of cool" when he has them on. hmmm....he has started picking out his own clothes and if I try and get him to change them he informs me that he has to be "cool". Already, my coolness factor has gone down in his opinion, I thought I had a few more years before that happened, but here it is.

You want me to put my feet WHERE?

I know it may come as a shock to you, but Germany does not celebrate Independence Day. So, this last 4th of July we decided to take advantage of one of our host country's outdoor activities and visited a barefoot walking path. I had never heard of anything like this, but I imagined walking through fields of grass, carrying my shoes and bag. My neighbor warned we might get dirty, but honestly I didn't really think we would. I did dress the kids in dark colors, just in case. We arrived in Bad Sobernheim, after a nice little drive through the country. Someone recommended I leave my bag in the car and take a euro for a locker for my shoes. I went ahead and followed their advice, and thank goodness I did. The first thing we walked through was like a little channel-of MUD. All the way up to my knees. We walked through, with some complaining from the kids about how it felt on their toes. Then we walked on some cobblestones. All in all, we walked over several different textures like gravel and bricks, and some things like balance beams, through a river, and finally across a rope bridge. I must say that it wasn't anything like I expected. We never did walk through fields of grass. On a dirt path, but not the grass I expected. I guess that is the adventure of living in another country. So, who wants to join us for our next barefoot walking tour?

The Beginning

To begin with-I've been inspired by my sister in law Charlene's blog. I've thought of doing something like this-in fact I started one when we lived in Maryland, but it was mostly pictures and not stories of what is going on in our lives. Since we are now living in Europe, I thought what better time to begin? This way I can share our experiences with all of my family and friends. Enjoy:)