Daniel's the Bad Man

These are some of the photos from Simi's birthday party. Bea has a cute candle holder that you can change out the number in the center to make it fit a childs birthday. Not sure what you do when you need double digits?

Simi was super excited about his new Fahraad. So was Daniel, believe it or not. :)

Daniel built that ramp for Simi's skateboard and Elia loved it! Elia uses his "laufrad" (a mini kids bike with no pedals - propelled by feet only) to ride full speed up and down the ramp! He's only 2 :) Daniel says he'll be a superstar by 13.

Since this was a "Three Detectives" themed party everything had the ??? on everything. This is Noah, wishing it was his birthday, not Simi's.

The kids all had cupcakes but Simi got his own mini cake.

After cake the boys went to the lake to swim. Here is the gang we entertained.

Beautiful Bea.

After the lake Bea got the kids all excited by telling them a story of a bad man who had been seen hiding in the forests around here and how strange things had started to happen near the house. Their job was to find the clues that he had left and capture him! First they went by the lake to look for clues and they found a mysterious traveler who said she'd seen a man "go that way!" This was Anika who who put on crazy clothes and did a very good job acting. Then the kids ran back by the house to find another clue by the chicken coup. The food had been stolen from the chickens! So they continued into the forest where they found giant poisonous flowers left by the bad man to kill the detectives on his trail. Not far from there they saw a few bicyclists (me and Anika) who's tires had been popped by nails left in the road from the bad man. But we didnt know which way they should go! The funny part was when the kids stopped some random cyclists and a neighbor to ask if they'd seen anyone (and their descriptions were cute!) But, of course, they had no idea what the kids were talking about! A short walk further down the road and they heard strange noises from off in the distance. Daniel was making a noise on a special instrument Bea had given him. Then he came flying through the bushes on his bike, cape blowing in the wind, and the kids went running after him! Daniel said, "those little buggers were fast!" Originally he was going to run the way back home but he injured his foot earlier that day and decided he would try to ride a bike instead. He was sure thankful! The boys were ecstatic when they caught him and brought him back to the house where Cord was ready and waiting as the policeman with his gun to take Daniel under arrest. It was creative, cute and a ton of fun for the boys!

Afterwards Bea made this dough from yeast, flour and salt and the kids made "Stockbrot." That means stick bread. They roast it over the fire like we do marshmellows and then eat it. It was a little interesting to me.

I was exhausted when the kids left, but the party was a success! So far, Cord, Simi, Noah, Elia, and Daniel are using the ramp just about every day! Simi popped a tire....sounds like Daniel and his ramps, hmmm?

In my spare time...

more to come tomorrow...

Three Adventurers...

We have apparently underestimated how many adventurers there are in our little family of four. Last night Heidi got out of the cottage somehow (perhaps through a semi broken screen door) and went on her own little vacation. When we left Bea & Cords house at midnight we came to the door of our cottage and found a plastic piece at the bottom of the door missing. Instantly we thought, "where are the cats? Hmm, Oliver is standing at the door nervously looking out, this is not normal. Now where is Heidi?" Not 1 minute later she came running up to the screen door from outside. Her white fur was black with dirt and she had tufts of hair coming out around her neck and some other animals foo on her back. She didnt protest at all when we took her into the shower to shampoo her. Now she is happily sleeping in her chair in the kitchen. Safe, and right where she should be. Thank heavens. We love our Lulu Bee. :)

A bike ride to Neustadt

Today I wanted to get out. So we decided to ride our bikes to Neustadt and Steinhuder Meer (a big lake). It was 35km each way, so a pretty good bike ride seeing as we havent been riding regularly like we do at home. The picture below has the small red POINT "A" on the right where we started, and the edge of the lake where we ended on the left. We passed some really lovely fields of purple flowers and wheat, and a picnic at the lake. This time I did not make Daniel ride such a long ride on only one little peach! It was sunny and warm and truely a great day.

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT NEST!

Daniel forced me to take a picture.

Old broken stairs.

The church with the spire.

To the lake, through the boardwalk.

Steinhuder Meer w/lots of sailboats!

Music Man...

I love the lullaby that Edward plays for Bella on his piano in the movie Twighlight. So Daniel knows this and looked it up on YouTube. He found a video he could watch of someones hands playing it and after two days he can play the right hand through the whole song, and the first part with both hands. Here is a short clip of what he does on the right hand.

If I can only IMAGINE...

The day before the party I found myself frustrated with a feeling of "not enough to do" = dissatisfaction with "the now." Ha! As if I know all of what is around me and have nothing more to explore! Rediculous. Luckily, I snapped out of that unconcious state and into one in which I was again aware, inquisitive and imaginitive about the world around me. I grabbed my camera and went off into the woods. :) Just some beautiful things I stopped to admire on this day's adventure.

A definite "Hmmm...?" moment.

White Columbine. Seen this one before Mom?

Im so small. How can I feel so bored in a world this big?

This almost looks photoshoped.

See, Mom, I told you Columbine grows here like a weed.

A Sweetpea grows up a pine tree. Hey! That rhymes! :) Daniel said, "looks like the Charlie Brown tree my parents have and the flowers on the hill at the cottage." Right on. :)

Pretty bells.

I saw a very tiny mushroom.....

so I squated down, like a little kid, to take a very tiny picture. :)
Schoen, nah?

Some warm sand between my toesies.

Larry, Moe & Curly.

Incredible!

Yes, he was nearly no bigger than the crease in my thumb.

Stimulating to say the least. How could I be bored when I have so many senses? The smells of the daisies, warm pine needles, and fresh air. The sight of such vibrant colors in the sky, sweet peas, and lily pads. The sound of the grown frogs chirpping gladly in the sunshine. The taste of fresh strawberries, and the feeling of tiny tiny tiny toes walking across the pads of my fingers. How can our lives ever be boring?