Our little family in the great big state of Texas

More of the same here, we have snow piled up everywhere. Jacob and I went to the swimming pool in a neighboring town, called Novamare. If you go to the site you can see photos of it, really quite nice. It was so warm and steamy inside, it felt great. They have a cafe with food and drink, and sun lamps. A big slide and then the kiddie pool has a small slide. Jacob had a great time in the kiddie pool, and then I took him into the bigger pools as well. They also have a really warm one, that has a revolving door to swim through to the outside. That was neat, swimming in warm water, with snow all around you. Very refreshing! Something different that was fun for both of us.

Yesterday Jacob and I took the dogs out to the fields. This time the dogs didn't run to far, the snow was too deep for their short little legs. They had some fun plowing through the snow, and Jacob had fun chasing them. Everyone was really tired when we got home, and ready to relax.

We are hoping to maybe go up and have lunch with Kenny one day this weekend, just depends on the weather. Last weekend it was really snowy both days so we didn't make the trip. We'll see how things go this weekend.

So, it is still snowing.... While it tapered off a bit from the very heavy stuff a few days ago, it is still falling from the sky. I have to wonder if it will ever stop, but at least they seem to be clearing the roads regularly. The tractor just rumbled by a few minutes ago, so the hills should be drivable. Jacob and I were out shoveling the walk earlier today, and he was having a great time rolling around in the snow. It's up to his knees so he has to really work at walking through it. The nice thing about going out to shovel the walk is that we get to talk to our neighbors, since they are out doing the same thing. We are lucky to have lots of nice neighbors, both American and German.

He is really enjoying kindergarten, his teacher tells me he is learning very quickly. He knows his colors in German, here is a short clip of him saying them. He was naming off the colored sprinkles we were using to decorate some gingerbread cookies. Just click on the picture and it should load, may take a little time if you are on a slower internet connection.


(The translation is "red, blue, green, orange and yellow") Pretty cute, isn't he? We sure think so..

At least that is what I am calling it. Merriam-Webster defines blizzard as
1 : a long severe snowstorm 2 : an intensely strong cold wind filled with fine snow

So I really think it qualifies, since I don't think it has stopped snowing since yesterday. This was on the way home from Katterbach yesterday.

I went up to Katterbach with a friend to greet her husband, he had just arrived back after a year in Iraq. It was so great to be there for such a happy occasion, I took some pictures for her of them and the kids.


This morning I dropped Jacob off at kindergarten and went into to Ansbach to do a few things, thinking that the snow would stop at any moment. Well, it didn't and needless to say it was a tricky drive back to Wolframs-Eschenbach. Part of the problem was that the snow was drifting in from the farm fields, and covering the roads. There are road markers along the sides of the road, and those help as far as knowing where the edge of the road is. Also, there were a few hills that became quite slippery on the way up. There was a car in front of me that didn't seem to be making much progress up the hill, lots of slipping and sliding. Once he got going he finally made it, and I went on up behind him. The snow was so fresh that it would fill in the treads of the tires, so they didn't have anything to grip the road/snow with. Of course, our neighborhood sits at the top of a hill too, so we had one more hill to drive/slide up.

Now that we are home, we don't plan on leaving again today. I do have to be on Katterbach tomorrow morning at 10am, hopefully they will clear the roads before then. It appears that they weren't even making an attempt this morning, maybe because they knew so much more was coming. The dogs are having their usual good time in the snow. Heidi likes to plow through the snow, it's at least 6 inches deep now. She has to sit on the rug to "thaw" when she first comes in, for the reason you can see below.
Heidi


Even with all the snow, I still see people driving through the neighborhood, coming and going. I don't know how much snow it would take to shut things down, but apparently more than we had today. Just something they are used to, so everyone goes about their business. And they don't go to the store and buy all the milk and bread either!

The snow in our yard was up to the first rail on our fence a couple hours ago, and no signs of stopping yet..

We have been waiting out the rest of winter, staying busy with our regular "to-do's". On Saturday a friend and I went to the market in Nürnberg, which is where I got the flowers pictured above. The markets and stores are full of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and many others. It is hard not to buy them all, they are so beautiful, and reasonably priced. The winter sales were on, so we found some good deals in the big department stores there, like Kaufhof. Of course we had to swing by the Starbucks as well, just can't pass it by. It's usually pretty busy, and always a few other Americans. Big glass windows looking out over the Pegnitz river, by the Fleischbrücke. Very nice place to relax, warm up and people watch.

We are hoping to take some trips when it warms up a bit, and when Kenny isn't working 6 or 7 days a week! Hard to fit in a trip with that kind of schedule. We still find time to enjoy being in Germany though, even if it is just a trip downtown. There is always something to see, even if we've seen it a few times. We never get tired of looking at the huge churches, half-timbered houses, and cobblestone streets.

I had some questions about his kindergarten, so I thought I would make a short post with more info. He goes Monday to Friday, from 8am - noon. It is mixed classes of kids, ages 3-6 years. The older kids help the younger kids do things, which is a nice way for Jacob to learn. He has two teachers, and they are both very friendly. They have a "sports" day, where they do something in the gym. And they usually go outside to play every day. If it is snowy, they have a small hill the kids can sled down, and a really nice playground for the warmer months. Lots of things to climb on and do. The name of it is Kindergarten Stilla, it is a Catholic kindergarten. It is the only one in town, so there are kids of all religions there. It is about a 10 minute walk from the house, although we have been driving the first few days, it is so cold and snowy. But we will probably walk it once the temperature comes up above freezing!

When we arrive each morning, Jacob takes off his coat, etc and puts them on a shelf/hook they have there. Then he gets his "hausschuhe" on (like slippers but with sturdier soles), he leaves those on while inside. Since it is cold they drink hot tea, which Jacob really likes. He tells me about it everyday. When I pick him up, they are usually singing songs or playing. He always wants to stay, but I assure him we will come back the next day. Then we switch his shoes, gather up his stuff and head for home, where he is ready for a nap. Here is a link to the info on the kindergarten from the city's website, it looks a little outdated. But there are a few pictures of it.
Kindergarten Stilla

Jacob started at the German Kindergarten down the hill yesterday. Here, the kids go to "Kindergarten" from age 3-6 years. He seems to like it, and was excited to go back this morning. They had a Puppenspielen (puppet show) come today, they are still quite popular here. Jacob is having lots of fun there, and seems to be of interest to the other kids. Probably because he doesn't stop talking and they have no idea what he is saying! He comes home very tired and ready for his nap. The teachers are very nice, and the parents I've met are too. One man speaks good english, so today he was kind enough to help the teacher and I when we got stuck on a word.

Here he is on his first day, getting ready to leave the house. The blue bag is his "brötzeit", it's a small meal between breakfast and lunch, it translates to "bread time".