Thursday, March 31, 2011

In most areas of my life, I consider myself a fairly organized person.  I like to think I am a place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place kinda gal.  But, I have one organizational Achilles heel;  I hate to put away my shoes.  So, even though there is ample shelf space for all my shoes, my closet always looks like this.  Somehow, it is too much for me to reach down, pick up my shoes, and place them neatly on a shelf.  It's just so much easier to kick them off and let them stay where they fall.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

I FINALLY remembered to snap photos of my Wednesday night Mambo fun!  

I mentioned before that I've been teaching dance to the YM/YW in our ward in preparation for a big Ball in April.  We've been working lately on a Mambo routine to perform for their parents.  The kids picked the music, and we have been having the MOST fun putting together the routine (well, at least I've been having fun - and so far the kids don't seem to hate it)!

March 29, 2011

Today, the elementary school invited parents to come for student-led conferences.  This was basically an excuse for the kids to show off what they've been doing in school and what they are most excited about.  So, Brad and I spent the morning with Adam and Luke ooohing and aaahing over their school work.  It was delightful!

Here is Lukie concentrating very hard on writing his name.

Adam shows us his sweet moves on the trapeze swing.

 

 

 

And both boys were dying to show Dad their climbing skills in the sports hall.

Monday, March 28, 2011

This year, Jessica has been taking Drama at school, and she really loves it.  She announced recently that she wants to be an actor when she "grows up."  

Tonight, the 9th grade Drama class presented their projects.  Each student wrote a short play, which the other kids all acted in.  Here is Jess playing the part of a sullen tomboy in "The Sandwich."  She was really excited about this night, and I was very impressed with the plays the kids wrote as well as the acting.  Jessica's play was about a magician who couldn't get his tricks to work.  Of course, it was the best one.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Nachos, baby!

This is becoming our family Sunday tradition.  Mexican food is scarce here in Berlin, so Brad has developed his own recipe for homemade salsa.  Yeah, it's awesome.  We love to come home from church and each make a heaping plate of nachos covered in Brad's salsa.  Adam especially loves it - you can see the cheese dripping from his chin.  I caught him mid-chew in this photo and wanted to retake it, but he wouldn't let me because he didn't want to pause for even one more second from digging into the nacho-y goodness.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

This afternoon, Brad and I went on a Hot Date to celebrate him being home.  We had lunch at Tony Roma's, then went to see The King's Speech at the Sony Center.

I know The King's Speech  has been out forever, and I have been dying waiting to see it.  It was released here in Germany about a month ago, and with Brad gone most of the month, I had to wait for my date to come home so I wouldn't have to go alone.  It was worth the wait, though.  The King's Speech = my favorite movie in a loooong time.  Highly, HIGHLY recommend!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Daddy's home!!

Tonight, Brad returned home after 3 weeks in Australia.  All of this travel is a HUGE drawback to Brad's job.  Every 6 weeks, he leaves me for 3 weeks, and I really hate it.  Especially because he is the only German speaker in our family, so I feel a little paralyzed when he's gone.

This trip was especially hard because Australia is sssoooo far away, and the time difference made it hard to even telephone each other.  But now he's home, so YAY!!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

So, I like flowers.  Sue me. 

I can't help it - it's 

SPRING!!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

For the last several Wednesdays, I have been teaching the Young Men/Young Women in my ward how to ballroom dance.  They have asked me to teach the kids some moves, and in April there will be a big "Ball" with the kids and their parents (I love how they call it a "Ball" - it feels so Cinderella!).  Every Wednesday night, I bring my camera so I can take a picture of the dancing, but then I get so into it that I forget to snap a photo.  Tonight was no different.

Even though I forgot to take a picture of the dancing, I did remember my camera before we went home.  Luckily, there was a Primary party happening at the church at the same time, so I whipped out my camera and took some shots of the post-Primary-activity antics that are inevitable.

 

Here are Adam and Lukie engaged in a very vigorous sword fight with some members of our ward. 

 

 This young man, C, is an exceptionally nice kid.  He always plays with my boys and makes a point of looking after Pepper at the Young Men activities.  And tonight, when I thought I'd lost my car key (Jess had taken it out of my purse so she could wait in the car - unbeknown to me), C found a flashlight and helped me scour the lawn in the dark to try to find it.  I should mention that C doesn't speak much English, so he really has to make an effort to relate to us.  I think it is unusual and highly admirable to see a 15 year old boy who is so compassionate and kind.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Yes, it has!  Yay!

Monday, March 21, 2011

This morning was Pepper's student-led conferences at school.  After we'd visited his homeroom, Pepper brought me to the science lab so he could show me how he conducts experiments.  I guess their most recent experiment involved burning potato chips (?).   There is so much about science that I don't understand.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

 Tonight, Pepper and I went to the kids' school to watch BIMP (Berlin International Music Project).  Several international schools in the city collaborated to put on an orchestra/choir/jazz band concert.  Pepper's buddy J played drums for the jazz band, so Pepper wanted to go cheer him on.  It was actually really fun to rock out to the jazz band with my Magoo!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Tonight, after I'd gotten ready for the adult session of our stake conference, Luke came scuffing down the hall in my red pumps.  "Mom, you should wear these," he said with a big grin on his face.

He's such a diva.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Today, Lukie's class performed The Gingerbread Man for their parents.  They've been practicing all week to prepare for this production, and did not disappoint.  Luke played the coveted role of the fox.  Everyone knows it is funnest to play the villain.

 Luke got to welcome the guests and introduce the show.

The Gingerbread Man was chased by a dog. . .

. . .and a cat. . .

(. . .and a horse and a cow, but I didn't get photos of that. . .)

. . .until the wily fox convinced him to ride on his tail across the river.

Then, the fox talked the Gingerbread Man into riding on his back. . .

. . .and SNAP!  The fox ate up the Gingerbread Man!  (you can see that the special effects were quite impressive)

Lukie and his classmates take a bow.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this was the best production of The Gingerbread Man that I have ever seen.  It was delightful!  And in my opinion, Luke stole the show.

 

P.S.  I had to include this picture of Luke with his favorite toy at school.  When I ask him what he did at school, nearly every day he tells me that he played with this airplane.  

Thursday, March 17, 2011

This is the street sign here in Berlin to warn people to watch for children.  Every time I see one, I want to break into a Dr. Seuss-ish rhyme about Cindy Lou Who and her little brother Moo, but I'm not clever enough come up with anything worth printing.  Am I the only one who finds this graphic Seussical?

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Today, the fourth graders at Adam's school put on their performance of The Barber of Seville.  I have to admit that I didn't have very high expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised!  All of the kids seemed to be very into it, and they all had their parts memorized perfectly.  The costumes were great, and all in all it was a lovely hour.

Here is the opening number.  Adam is in red in the center.  This was his costume for Officer Vito.

Adam also played the role of Pavarotti, and it was in this role that he sang his big solo.

Here is the cast after taking their bows.  Adam is 2nd from the left.

My little star!

How cute is he? 

Adam was SO nervous last night and all this morning before the performance.  Their music director had really drilled into them how important it was for them to do their very best.  Adam was very afraid of making a mistake, but I assured him that I would be proud of him even if he messed up a little.  I also reminded him of all the practicing he'd done, and was quite sure he would be just fine.  He did great, and was really happy with himself afterward.

And, the weird thing is, now my 10 year old thinks opera is really cool!  As does my 4 year old, who got to watch and is dying to see it again.  Go BBIS!

P.S.  I videoed Adam's singing parts, but I'm experiencing technical difficulties transferring them to the computer.  I'll keep trying, and post the videos when I'm successful.  You really haven't lived until you've seen a fourth grader sing opera.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

 

 This morning when I was going through Luke's backpack, I found this library book he checked out yesterday.  When Lukie saw me pull it out, he rushed over excitedly to show it to me.  

"It's Diary of a Wimpy Kid in Hebrew, Mom!" he said, dancing in anticipation.  "Will you read it to me?"

Yeah. . .no.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Today, I took Pepper to an orthopedic doctor to follow up on his broken thumb.  The doctor's office was in a beautiful old building just a few blocks away from our house.  While we waited for the doctor, I sat and stared at the ceiling of our examining room, imagining what this room used to be before it was a doctor's office.  Behind me was a wall of windows with a french door that led to a small balcony overlooking a cute city plaza.  My imagination ran wild, conjuring up scenes of formal dinners and society visits taking place in this room.  It was the most fun I've had waiting for a doctor!  Seriously, who needs magazines when there is cool architecture to browse?

Sunday, March 13, 2011

After church on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  

Pepper was home with a sore thumb, and Brad is in Australia for work, so it was just Jess, Adam, Luke, and me.  Our stake president's wife Nikki (seriously, one of the coolest women on the planet) took the photo for us.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

This afternoon, Pepper broke his thumb while playing soccer at the park.  He was playing goalie, and the ball hit his thumb just right (wrong?) when he tried to block a goal.  Pepper is very stoic, and he didn't really do anything to indicate he was in pain besides tell me his thumb hurt.  But, his face was white as a sheet when he told me this, so I could tell it was bad.  Not wanting to take any chances, I took him into the emergency room, and sure enough, an xray showed a broken bone.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Our default meal:  mini-brauts, raw veggies, and the best/easiest homemade mac-n-cheese ever.  This is what we have when I don't want to think about dinner, which unfortunately is often.

If you are interested, here's how to make the mac-n-cheese:

Bring 2 cups water, 1 cup milk, and 2 bouillon cubes to a boil.  Add 2 cups macaroni, reduce heat, and let the liquid boil down (about 10 minutes).  Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese.  (We can't get cheddar cheese here, so I use grated gouda.  Best. Stuff. Ever.)

Thursday, March 10, 2011

My Happy Place.

Thursday nights around 9 p.m. is my favorite time of the week.  I love to come home after institute, wrap up in my Slanket, and watch American Idol with a Diet Coke in hand.  

Because of the time difference, I watch the AI episode from Wednesday night.  This is such a perfect moment in time, because I am usually on a crazy high from institute and when I get home my younger kids are already in bed.  So, all I have to do is put on my jammies, pour a delicious beverage, wrap up in my Slankety goodness, and watch all the nice people sing. 

Bliss.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

I remember once, when I was about 12, watching my mom clean out the fridge.  When she was done, she stood back and surveyed her freshly cleaned fridge, heaved a sigh of relief, and exclaimed, "Now I can die - my fridge is clean!" Apparently, for my mother, having friends and family go through her gooky fridge was a fate worse than, well, death.

For some reason, I remember that little scene every time I clean out my fridge.  When I finished cleaning my fridge this morning, I actually said, out loud,  "Now I can die!" 

I am my mother's daughter.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Pepper loves - LOVES - to play sports games on the Xbox.  Lately, he's been obsessed with FIFA '11, which is all about soccer.  Part of the game is that you can create your own players, which I think is Pepper's favorite part.  He is especially proud of this guy, because Pepper created Pepper.  This player is Pepper's version of himself as a grown-up, professional soccer player.  It is his absolute DREAM!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Our front gate locks automatically, so when the kids come home from school, they can't come into the house unless I let them in.  Every afternoon, I wait for the doorbell so I can buzz them in, and this is the sight that greets me.   (Well, with one slight difference.  Usually, they are grumpy and have been bickering on the walk home, so they don't look so happy.  It's amazing how seeing me at the front door with a camera transforms their faces.)  Pepper was a block behind Adam and Jess, and they would NOT wait for him to arrive so I could snap a photo of all three of them (remember: grumpy).

Sunday, March 6, 2011

We had a repeat of our delightful Sunday gathering from a few weeks ago.  This time, everyone came over to our house and we enjoyed another easy Sunday afternoon chatting around the dinner table.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Someday, this picture (in its uncensored form) is going to give me a lot of power.

Friday, March 4, 2011

On the way to dinner tonight with Brad, we saw this guy gassing up his vehicle.  It is legal here for people to drive their ATV's on the regular roads, and judging by the grocery sacks on his back rack, I'd guess he was out doing a little grocery shopping.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Luke has been home from school this week with a cold (you can see his poor, raw nose), so he's had a lot of free time on his hands.  This morning, this is where I found him watching Lego Star Wars on the IPad.

It reminded me of another picture of Luke from April 2007:

Clearly, this kid has a thing for hanging out under my bed.