Oh, the biggest news is that today, M finally got to wear all her own clothes!  We had to check all of our roll-aboards when we left IAD and the airline somehow managed to lose M’s along the way.  Ooops.  Thankfully, it finally arrived on Wednesday but that meant we had to wash clothes for her daily and she was borrowing what she could of ours.  She was quite happy this morning to be wearing a completely different outfit from her own wardrobe.

The event for today was a quick jaunt Heidelberg after school.  It’s a favorite of ours.  We walked, saw the sights, had some delicious gelato, bought a couple of souvenirs, and had Döner Kebap for dinner.  A great way to spend the afternoon!

 

School finishes at different times for the kids.  M is done at 13.30, D and A finish at 13.05, and S is done at 12.25.  That’s a challenge for pick up times.  So, today we picked S at up 12.25 and we had lunch at home.  D and A decided to hang at the school for Mittagspause and wait for Mia to be done and the 3 would walk home together.   Good plan which they made better by stopping for Eis on their way home.  Before lunch.  Stinkers!

We spend a nice evening visiting friends.  We got to see Micha und Jana’s new apartment and watch the Germany lose to South Korea, 0-2 (that wasn’t good) and ate a delicious dinner.  And, S won 10€ playing SkipBo!  So not a win for Germany but S will be treating us all to some Eis.  That is a win!  🙂

 

We had some firsts today – S went to Swim with his class despite early refusals.  Thankfully, it went well.  He practiced three strokes and was exhausted at the end.  He also is starting to get to know other kids in his class as he tries to speak a little German.  Good thing because Ariana wasn’t there today.  It was a better day for M – she was invited to a 6-year old’s bday party this Saturday.  How cute is that?!  D decided to stay for lunch, bought a lunch ticket off a classmate, and stayed for Nachmittag Schule.  He finally got to walk home but we intercepted him along the way.  It was time for a walk to Eiscafe Paradiso for 1€ Kugeleis in a Becher or Wafel.  Today we ordered Kokosnuss, Haselnuss, Schokolade, und Pistazie.  YUM!

There is no rest for the weary.  We had to get up bright and early this morning to start our new routine. M started her Praktikum at the Kindergarten Arche Noah.  Unfortunately, she isn’t around people her age but it was a good day none the less.  D, A, and S started school this morning.  They all went into this bravely awaiting their fate.  And it went well for them.  D was quickly greeted by a group of boys that were excited to learn he was American.  One boy, Eddy, is from England and is happy to get to speak a bit of English with D.  A has also made friends in her class and was quick to rattle off a few names.  We were most concerned about S because his German isn’t good (yet).  But, God is so good.  He answered S’ prayers with Arianna, an American from Wisconsin, who is in his class.  She was his partner today and helped translate for him.  Such a blessing!  So – Day 1 was a success!

Hubby and I hit the grocery store while the kids were at school.  I love all the different food items to buy – it took lots of will power to not put one of everything in the cart!  On the menu for today – Frikadellen, Laugenbrot, und Gurken for lunch and Maultaschen mit Kartoffelsalat for dinner.

After a couple of delays and a quick layover in Ísland, we finally arrived.  First item on the agenda – BREZELN!  Finally arrived at our German home at 5pm.  We are exhausted and tomorrow is a big day.

 

We left this evening for a month in Germany.  Admittedly, it resembles TDY and summer school more than a summer vacation.  That’s ok – we’ve got weekend trips in the works.  😉