Painting and the Puzzle

Yesterday afternoon the kids got to paint - I give them our big sheets of leftover packing paper and they can paint basically whatever they want. Since Shaylee's birthday is right around the corner - she painted some wrapping paper that will be used for her gifts.

I also finished the windmill puzzle LATE last night - at around midnight to be exact. Crazy, I know! For me, fixing puzzles is like reading a book, I get hooked, and just have to keep going. I suppose this is why I seldom read or fix puzzles that are over 25 pieces - everything (and eveyone) get ignored when I'm into a good book, or in this case - finishing up a 1000 piece puzzle. So here it is - the work of art! Now that it is finished you can see there are some clouds in the blue sky - but when you are looking at 100's of small pieces scattered on the table - they all look the same color - blue!

Everyday Happenings

Silas has started feeding himself lately. He actually does a pretty good job. I thought I'd share a few photos of him and his new skill.

Shane and Syd have this week off of school - so we have been enjoying just being together, doing crafts, playing with playdough, watching movies. One afternoon Jer took off work and we spent the afternoon fixing a puzzle next to a warm cozy fire! It feels a bit like winter already.

After the 500 piece castle puzzle we started a 1000 piece one of a windmill we got when we were in the Netherlands. It is fun to reminise about the places we've been too while fixing the puzzle....however the windmill one is still not complete....too much blue sky. When I get it finished I'll be sure to post about it!

Sydney with her playdough creation.

Felsenmeer

Sunday, October 26, 2008. After church we headed to Felsenmeer (Rock-sea). This place had been recommended to me by the mom of one of Shane's friends. There is basically this SEA of ROCKS and you can climb all over them. They go on and on. There are also hiking trails through the woods (for those of us not quite able to climb up all the rocks). The kids LOVED this place. It was another gorgeous day and we really enjoyed our time here.

At the bottom before the fun climbing begins.....up we go.....

So how many rocks do you think we climbed today???

Urach Waterfall

Our fourth and final stop of the day was the Urach Waterfall. From where we parked we had to walk 1.5 kilometers to the waterfall. The path was laden with leaves and it was very picturesque. The kids did amazing. Once we reached the base of the waterfall we could climb up (yes that's right - more STEPS) to get a closer look.

The walking path.....the waterfall in the background....

Heading up - check out the cool roots of that tree!!! The waterfall up close! It was once again a gorgeous day. We had a wonderful time being together as a family, outside in God's beautiful and amazing creation.

Nebelhohle Cave

Our third stop was Nebelhohle Cave (which means foggy cave in German). This was very cool. We went deep into the earth - more steps - and explored the 380 meters of caves and caverns. The stalactites (which hang from the ceiling) and the stalagmites (which come up from the ground) were so neat!

Going down, down, down....

Some of the limestone formations....Shaylee thought this one looked like a face.

This stalagmite was so tall. Wonder how many drips it took to make it? And yes, MORE STEPS. We needed to be so careful since it was damp, and the steps were slippery. The last picture is of light shining down into the cave from a hole way above...it was kind of reassuring to see some real sunlight when you are so far down underground.

Burg Lichtenstein

Our second stop was Burg Lichtenstein (basically means "light stone" in German). I have been wanting to visit this castle since we moved to Germany. Why this particular castle?? Because my uncle, Dan Gronseth, drew a picture of this castle, and gave me a print. It was a very neat castle - perched up on a cliff. I do wonder how they built these things!!!! Fortunately we could drive up to this one - not so many steps here.

What a view into the valley below.

Burg Hohenzollern

Saturday, October 25, 2008. Today we headed to the Schwabische Alb area of Germany. We visited 2 castles, a cave, and a waterfall. Throughout the day we climbed about 5000 steps, according to the kids! We definately enjoyed the beautiful weather, and we got plenty of fresh air and exercise too.

Our first stop was Burg Hohenzollern - which is the ancestral seat of the Prussian Kings and German Emporers. Parts of the castle date back to the late 1400's. This one was burned down, and then finally rebuilt in the 1800's. This castle is perched on top of a hill - it was a climb up there - but the views of the valley were amazing.

Our first glimpse - a bit foggy, but it gave it sort of a fairytale feel! The first of many steps to climb. Look up through the trees and see the castle?? We are heading up there one step at a time!

Different pictures of the castle grounds. I took tons - but am only posting a few.....