November Events

After all the excitement in October November has been relatively quiet. In German School we celebrated St. Martin's Day again and this time Amelia participated as well. We had been singing the songs nearly every day since the last parade and so she was all ready to carry her lantern around. Both classes made lanterns again. This might be the last year for Marlene, because she is soon moving into Mittelstufe.

Now we have reached the end of the months and celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday. We spent the day with friends in Wallingford. Thank you to the Moss family to have us over, we had a great time. I was glad to not have to cook the whole meal, since I had a lot of cakes lately.

Today the sun was shining and we were finally able to do something outside. We met with friends at Discovery Park for a hike. Half of Seattle was outside (the other half was probably shopping), it was just so beautiful. I was proud of the girls; they walked all the way down to the lighthouse and back up again. We saw two Bald Eagles and several bunnies. And John pointed out the bluff he was on the moment the earthquake hit in 2001.

Thank you everyone for a great holiday!

Germany week 3

I am aware that it is now November and I am still writing about our summer vacation, but since school started I have had not much time to write. As you might remember I have been writing about the highlights of our trip. The days in between have been filled with visits to various swimming pools and off course the obligatory Italian gelaterias. Marlene made yet another friend. Katharina lives only two houses down from my mom's and the two girls have been spending quite a bit of time together. Marlene's German has improved very much and Katharina's English has probably not suffered either.

The final excursion of our stay was a visit to Karin, Christian and Charlotte in Ansbach, Franconia. It never seizes to amaze me to find a completely Lutheran area in Catholic Bavaria. While Karin was still working we explored the town. It has a beautiful old downtown with lots of little shops and cafes. The afternoon we went to Bad Windsheim to the Freilandmuseum. Christian has written and produced his 6th play this year. It is called "Teufelsmuehle" and set during the 30-year war. As the miller is called to serve in the war his wife runs the mill and protects the village by entering into a pact with the devil. Christian captured very well the effects of this horrible war on the community. There is no right or wrong and people turn to whoever offers the better odds, god or devil. But there is always a price to pay. The play definitely left me thinking. The girls did a great job watching. Not only was it later in the evening (it had to be dark), but it was in German, off course. I guess the sword fighting and the life animals gave them lots to look at. I am already looking forward to next years production.

The next day we went to the Playmobil Fun Park again. We had been looking forward to coming back ever since we left last year. This time the weather played along and it was sunny and not too humid. We were able to explore the whole park. Marlene liked playing with the toys while Amelia enjoyed the water features.

Our trip ended with visiting more friends, doing more shopping, and like always feeling there was so much more we (I) wanted to do. Well, hopefully we will be back next year.

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween "Season" this year. Not only did we experience Halloween at Disneyland, but the actual day falling on a Saturday made it quite memorable. Both girls had parties at their schools on Friday. Afterwards we went Trick-or-Treating at Jay's office. Nothing like some archaeologists playing Halloween.

Saturday morning was busy with getting ready for the party and then at 2 o'clock our doors opened for our Halloween Open House. It was definitely a record. We had a total of 60 (!) guests. Luckily the weather played along and we could extend the party to the patio and garden. It would have been tight inside. There were fairies, witches, skeletons, pirates, Harry Potter, Luke and Lea, Indiana Jones, Ghost busters, Rocky, bats, cats, rock stars and Amelia as Tinkerbell (later she changed into a bat) and Marlene as a Fortune Teller. I think everyone had fun. Thank you for coming and celebrating with us. Later on we went Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood. It is getting busier every year. There were children everywhere on the street. And even the weather held. It did not start raining until later at night. Happy Halloween everyone!

Disneyland at Halloween Time

I know, we all have been doing a lot of traveling over the summer; but we have not been together as a family. Jason worked for many weeks out of town, so we thought it would be nice to go away for a weekend together. It ended up being a little more than a weekend and we had a great time. It had been 3.5 years since we had been to Disneyland last and so it was time to visit again. We wanted to go back while Amelia is still in the princess phase, but I think she was not fooled by the ladies.

The weekend before Halloween we went down to Orange County with an early morning flight on Friday morning. It went without problems (unlike last time) and we were in the rental car heading towards the hotel by 9.30 am. It was too early to check in, so we picked up our tickets and headed to the park. I loved the fall decorations. And they are really just decorations since fall has not started There yet. But all the orange banners and pumpkins put you in the mood. First thing after entering the park was heading in the direction of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Last time it had just opened and wait time was over 2 hours, besides Marlene was to scared to go in. This time we headed straight for it and we only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was so nice to stand in the sun of southern California after all the rain here. Our next stop was the Haunted Mansion which was decorated in a "Nightmare before Christmas"-Theme. Then we toned it down for Amelia and stopped by the little critters to see Winnie the Pooh and friends. Since we had been up for a long time it was time to head to the hotel and rest. I took the girls to the pool. They just loved swimming and splashing in the water. Amelia was fearless and rode the big slide at least 20 times every day!

The rest of the evening and our trip we kept going back and forth between the hotel and both parks and rode every imaginable ride. Marlene and Jason went on all the roller coasters; her favorite is the screamer. I liked the Grizzly Bear ride beast even though I nearly threw up on it. Amelia's favorite was lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto. Being the week before Halloween the parks were really busy, but we managed to do everything at our pace and were able to redo all our favorites on Monday. We all had a great time. What I love about Disneyland is, that they take care of everything. It is nice and clean, they tell you how long you wait in every line and make sure everything is secure. Amelia was devastated when she was not allowed on the Indiana Jones ride. So they gave us a switch off ticket so I was able to get through he fast line as soon as Jay and Marlene were out. I liked that instead of wandering single characters, that they cluster them together and you wait your turn in line. They even tell you, if a line is closing, as not to disappoint you. We saw more characters than ever and both girls filled their autograph books pretty fast. I think Disney manages crowds really well and cut down on frustration that a huge place with thousands of visitors daily inevitably brings.