Kurbis

That is the German word for pumpkin. The way Viv got to pick out her pumpkin this year was so cool. German farmers just leave them in carts alongside the road. You pick your pumpkin and leave your Euros in the locked cash box.
Such trust! I would like to think that such a system could work in the States but I am not sure. The German farmers even leave it up to the customer to decide whether the kurbis is "gros" or "klein" (big or small) and then pay the correct amount accordingly. Cool, ja?

Lest you Fear Seth was left-out

Oh no. Grammage included extra beads and cow fabric for Viv to decorate her pet poodle, but, alas, a younger brother is much more fun than a stuffed dog.

Rudesheim

We visited this beautiful, vineyard-surrounded, town on the banks of the Rhine River.

However, Daddy was not with us so we won't say much until he can return there to enjoy it with us.

Best Grammage Ever

Vivian loves the Fancy Nancy books. We read this one several weeks ago and she began earnestly asking for the identical outfit to Fancy Nancy for her 4th Birthday.:


I was torn. On the one hand it was great that she wanted to mimic this literary character instead of some Disney princess, on the other hand, how in the world could I deliver this getup. Then it hit me...... GRAMMAGE. That's right, my mother is a fantastic seamstress, totally creative and only has one granddaughter at this time. So, yes, you can imagine what this led to.

The world's most unsurpassable, unforgettable fourth birthday surprise.

A Touch of the Everyday

Indellible Sibling Moments

Mommy came upon this from the other room and was a bit concerned.
still concerned
Hmm, he seems ok.
How can one argue with this?

4th Birthday

Tonight we celebrated Viv's 4th birthday with some of our most fun new Army friends here in Germany. Everyone came, played, and partied, making the occasion a huge success for the birthday girl.

<-- Making our own pizzas Seth's role throughout the partay---->




Overly ambitious cake ----->




All worth it when you see this:

German Pumpkin Farm

Today we joined a bunch of other Army folk in a visit to a German family farm about 20 minutes from the airfield. The family has been running the farm for over 300 years and it was rather entertaining to see them interacting with us Americano tourists. I mean, this is just their everyday, brow sweat in the soil life and there we were -- taking pictures in the cornfields and asking if turnips were parsnips (I think that was lost in translation anyway.)
They were selling everything pumpkin. We saw everything from pumpkin pesto to pumpkin wine and sampled much of the fare as our lunch.The afternoon consisted of 1) a lunch of fried pumpkin slices which you dipped in garlicky sour cream, pumpkin soup, corn on the cob, and pumpkin wine 2) face-painting 3) showing the kids how crops grow 4) hayride with no hay
5) playing in the hay to make up for lack of hay on hayride

Shrek Teeth

Daddy claims I have Shrek teeth:




But Mommy insists that I am cute regardless:

Snow White Hair

It is a personal opinion of mine that little girls shouldn't have long, drain-clogging locks until they are old enough to wash and brush them themselves.


Nonetheless, Vivian has been saying she wants to grow her hair long "like Ariel" for months now. I chose not to choose that battle and lo and behold I was rewarded. The other day she was wearing a Snow White dress that Grammage got her and she looked in the mirror and declared, "she wanted her hair cut in order to be more like Mommy and Snow White."

No faster did she say that then I had her in the chair in the kitchen ready to go. I am so much happier with the new little girl bob, and she didn't even have the regrets I had anticipated. Thus, I let her butcher her poor purple horse's hair for no reason. Oh well, we all did it as girls, right?

Columbus Day in Trier

The Subaru arrived, the GPS has been waiting in a closet and Daddy got a four-day weekend for Columbus Day. SO WE HAD TO GO! Where did we go? The beautiful German city of Trier.

It is the oldest city in Germany - founded around 16 BC. It also served as the capital of the Roman Empire at one time and still boasts several ruins from the period. The antiquity and beauty and history of Europe all hit us squarely in the face.

Oh, yeah, and I learned to bring a heck of a lot more juice and snack food than one deems reasonable for a trip with a 3 and 0 year old. All in all they held up alright, but our maiden voyage taught us quite a bit about how to travel successfully in Europe with young ones.

FALL

The leaves are falling beautifully and abundantly here in Wiesbaden -- and we got out in it!

Photo-Essay Concluded: Getting Out in Wiesbaden

1)Wiesbaden Cityfest
2) Vivian has capitalized on the Germans' love of soft pretzels
3) Seth isn't far behind
4) No caption can enhance this one

Photo-Essay continued: The Army home

1)the kitchen is my favorite part of our modest 2 bdrm, 1 bath apartment2)The Germans are really good with built-in closets and cabinets
3)Gymnastics, of course, christen a new bedroom. Did I mention we are on the 2nd fl?
4) A great place to perfect one's crawling

Photo-essay: Germany Arrival

1)Traveling light
2)we lived in a hotel for 8 days. It was 8 days too long
3)anything went to keep the chill'ns occupied

For Short Circuit Fans

Double Duty

Sorry I have been remiss on posting here, I did do one on my other blog, if you are dying for L Family updates..

Socks in my kitchen appliances

So, my dear 8 month-old son does not like socks.

Plain and simple. Doesn't like 'em. Sees no need for them, would rather go barefoot, thinks they are annoying, you get the picture. The same crawler baby spends a lot of quality time with me in the kitchen as I prepare meals. Recently the, comical, result is that I have discovered teeny tube socks in such locations as: the dishwasher utensil basket and inside the broiler drawer. I wonder what that would have smelled like if I went to broil something without noticing it was in there... Anyhow, no matter how frustrated I am with either (or both) child(ren) - it all melts away when I discover the world's smallest tube sock in a most unconventional spot. I wonder if this is his form of silent protest?