Kids on the GO!

Over the past couple of days Silas has learned how to MOVE on his little red car. He can scoot forwards and backwards now. He thinks he is so cool that he can get around like his siblings. He also LOVES to be outside.

Go - Go - Go ....and here he's waving his arm like he's directing traffic....

He stands up and bounces a bit - here he's run into a road block - his sister's scooter.

Shaylee says goodbye to training wheels! Look at her go.

The kids were riding around this afternoon and daddy says to Shaylee - do you want me to take your training wheels off. And she says YES....so he did - and away she went. She didn't even want him to be close behind her....she just wanted to go on her own. She still needs a bit of help getting started - but otherwise she's off and on her own!

And what KID is this?? This would be daddy (Jer) - giving the scooter a whirl....he's still a big kid at heart! He was also riding Shane's bike earlier - trying to do some stunts - but I didn't capture that on camera. I must admit even I take the scooter for a ride sometimes...they are quite fun!

Sorry - No pictures

Yes the title is true -unfortunately I have no pictures this weekend....hopefully you will still read on...

Our weekend started out with a very nice day on Friday - the evening was perfect for a little BBQ we hosted for some American Collegues from Deere. During the BBQ our kids played out in the backyard and had a great time (it has been rainy here the past few weeks -and so anytime outside is very much appreciated).

Saturday was once again rainy -and we didn't do much. In between rain showers we did take a walk down to the local Eis Cafe to get an ice cream cone with the kids. They really enjoyed that - and now each time we pass any Eis Cafe they are wanting ice cream! However the rain didn't hold off long enough and we walked home getting a bit wet.

Sunday -the SUN IS SHINING! After church we decided to go to Bruchsal and check it out. Their is a small schloss there with a little garden in back. The exterior of this schloss is very unique as all the detail is painted on. It would have made for some great photos - however Kimber forgot to pack along the camera!!!!! Sorry. As we walked around and through the garden and through a canopy of trees just opening up their spring leaves - Jer made comments of "this would make a great picture." YES I KNOW...don't keep reminding me!!! So I apologize to all of you wanting to see what we saw today....I guess we just need to go back there. We very much enjoyed walking around Bruchsal and the pedestrian zone. (Here is where the kids are begging for Eis....but everyone and their neighbor was standing in line for Eis today - so we opted to get some from our own freezer upon arrival at home). It was just a great day to be outdoors! And speaking of outdoors - the kids are all riding bikes out front right now, and we are grilling for supper - so taking in some more of this wonderful sunshine the Lord has blesssed us with today!

Heppenheim - Starkenburg Ruins

On Saturday afternoon (March 12) the weather was beautiful and the sun was shining! We drove to the town of Heppenheim which has a quaint Altstadt with all sorts of old half-timbered buildings. The square was neat. You just wanted to sit down at a cafe and enjoy a cup of coffee.

Note the castle ruins up on the hill (on the last picture). We are heading there next!

We drove most of the way up the hill, but then had to walk/hike up the rest of the way. The view of the town - and the Church of St. Peter. The kids infront of the Starkenburg Ruins.

Shane protecting his castle from invaders. Looking down on the tower that Shane was in.

The taller tower had an amazing view. A quaint village in the hills to the east - and to the west the Rhine River Valley. I don't think I will ever get tired of being able to see for miles and miles (kilometers and kilometers).

Part of these castle ruins have been turned into a Youth Hostel. Oh to have backpacked across Europe and slept in castles in our younger years....I prefer my own bed these days...that must be due to having 4 kids!

Shaylee and Sydney climbing up the steps in one of the towers - Shane and Sydney at the top.


THE HUGGING TREE -

On our way back down - we came across this tree that had two limbs from the back circling around the main trunk as if it were hugging itself. It was really odd - but very neat. I just had to take a picture to share a hug with each of you! And here is a typical picture of us strolling around. Daddy just happened to let go of the stroller briefly - Shane and Syd quickly grab on - as they don't want their siblings to go too fast down the hill. Meanwhile Shaylee in the stroller is laughing and saying "again daddy, again"!

The Kids

Just some random pictures of the kids -

Silas must be growing - because his feet could reach the bar on the stroller today. All day he rode around with his feet up. He thought it was great kicking the bar!

Sydney says this shirt belongs to cousin LEVI!
Shaylee - just being Shaylee
We are teaching the kids how to play ROOK. Shane was about to lay a card....I don't think he bid on his hand that round!

The Girls

I took a picture of the girls together this morning. My sister-in-law Rebecca recently sent us a picture of her girls together and I really liked seeing her girls being so sisterly together - so I realized I need to take more pictures of my girls together - doing their sisterly stuff!

More on Silas

A few more pictures of Silas - he's found a favorite place to play - by the steps - which isn't such a good place. I don't think he can fall through the crack - but I keep a constant eye on him regardless.

I must admit once again that I think Silas is just too cute!

NOTE: I once again tried to upload video and it would not work....so please be patient with me - it must be something with my camera and size of video that won't allow it to upload.

Silas in his crib

Silas is a bit of a stinker - now that he can crawl he moves around in his crib. In the middle of the night he will crawl to the corner and cry....wanting to get out, or basically just have mommy come and comfort him (yes he's spoiled).

He gets up on his knees and holds on to the railings. Then he gets himself stuck. When I come in his room - there he is peeking at me through the railings. This morning I went and got the camera to get a few pictures of him.

Everyday Life

Okay - so you may be wondering why I have this particular picture on the blog - well if you look closely you can see SILAS'S FIRST TOOTH! He is almost eleven months old and has finally cut his first tooth! It just happens to be a top one. I do believe the other top one is coming soon too -and maybe a bottom one too. Before I know it he'll have a mouth full! His cute little grin will soon be full of TEETH! It was hard to get a good picture of his tooth -since it is up on the top -so this photo will do for now.

Here is Silas getting into mischief. He crawled under the table this week and thought he was too cool under there. He had such a grin and laugh. I must admit though -now that he can move it makes more work for me always keeping an eye out for what he's doing. And trying to keep any tiny objects out of his reach and off the floor. I also need to sweep and sweep and sweep or he finds leftovers to gobble up.

So what else have we been up to recently. Well this weekend we stayed put - Shane had a birthday party to go to on Saturday. Jer changed out the tires on his BMW. We went to GLOBUS for the first time. Globus is basically a Wal-Mart type store. It was PACKED with people. You can get everything imaginable there (except of course the American favorites - like chocolate chips and brown sugar). I like the one stop shopping - however I won't go on a Saturday again. Just too many people. It sort of reminded us of our first trip to IKEA. I don't know why we go to these places on their most busiest days. We also went to Baumarkt. Which is Germany's Home Depot. Jer really liked this store....he wanted to purchase power tools....I said NO. But we did buy a few yard tools to do some work in our yard (basically trim bushes and plant some flowers). We did come home with our all time favorite movie (CARS). We already own it - but we bought another copy - this one in German. We had fun watching that and learning some of our favorite phrases from the movie "auf Deutsch".

Sunday we went to church and while the kids were at AWANA Jer and I took a little drive (Silas was with us too). We found an awesome stop off place on a winding road up above Heidelberg and it has a great view. After lunch I spent almost 2 hours cleaning my kitchen. It was in VERY BAD shape. Basically 2 days worth of dishes and food prep. When we don't go away on the weekends I get lazy and just let it go - I don't know why - because then it takes so long to find my countertop back again! Hopefully some of you can relate to this. There was a break in the rain today so we went for a short walk with the family to get outside. When we stay in too much we get the ICK. The kids even wanted to go out while it was raining. Stating they needed some "fresh air" but I think they really just wanted to get wet. Since once we did go out they found every puddle to splash in - or ride their scooters through. We've just finished up supper and now we're getting ready to play some Rook or Skip-Bo with the kids. Hope all of you have a good day wherever you are - whatever you are doing.

Windmills

The following pictures are of the INSIDES of the windmills. We got a close up look at how the windmills work - and when I say close - I mean CLOSE! We are standing right next to this huge wheel (that weighs 4 ton) and is crushing chalk blocks into fine powder. It was amazing!
Note the mill worker and his wooden shoes! He would scoop up some chunks and toss them onto the crusher - he knew just where to toss them under the wheel.

The wheels appear to be stopped here - but they are not - they are moving at a very steady high speed. All propelled by the wind. And it was a windy day - so they were going round and round and round.Heading up the steep ladder to the top part of the windmill. Imagine Kimber climbing these stairs with a backpack on her back and a kid (Silas) in the carrier on her front!Up top. The upper part of the windmill is made of thatch - you can sort of tell in the picture. Looking down the main beam. All the innards -were made of wood - it was soo cool - but a bit creaky...one couldn't help but wonder if something was going to suddenly crack!Looking up - this is the main shaft coming from the external blades/sails.

The wooden gears - this is all built back in the late 1600's - and still working!!
More gears - all spinning!!
This last one is of the linseed oil mill. They crush the flax seeds, then heat the flax flour, then pound/press out the oil. This windmill was LOUD and SMOKEY....due to the fires, and hammers. No chimmny - all the smoke just went out the top.

Zaanse Schans - Holland

On Saturday, March 29 - we decided to make a last minute trip to Holland. We got up early (3am) and drove to Amstelveen, NL -where our friends, Doyle and Susie Beltman and kids, had breakfast ready! We had decided late Friday night that we were in fact coming - and Doyle and Susie were once again more than happy to host us! THANKS! We had a wonderful day touring Zaanse Schans with them. We look forward to them visiting us in Germany in a few weeks!

The kids on the ferry on the way to Zaanse Schans - The group of us with windmills in the background.

A view from the windmill, the windmills themselves - Molen de Kat.

These windmills are something else! We got to tour inside them - the 2 we toured are still in working order. One processes powder to make paints and the other linseed oil (which is also used to make paint). It was very windy on Saturday - perfect to see the windmills in action. WOW do they have some power! All the inside gears and such are made from wood - it was so neat to see how they work. WOW!

(more pictures and info will be coming, however blogger is having some problems - so will post more later)

Wooden Shoes

What is it about a pair of big shoes on the ground that attract kids - and parents with cameras?!? Thus - Shane, Syd and Shaylee trying on a pair of wooden shoes!

I personally like the big wooden shoe with everyone inside! It reminds me of the nursery rhyme..."there was an old woman who lived in a shoe - she had so many children she didn't know what to do!"