Our little family in the great big state of Texas

Last Sunday we were able to enjoy a wonderful afternoon down at the kindergarten, for the annual Summerfest. The kids perform a show, there is a lot of food and plenty of beverages. They set up tables and benches and tents, and people spend the entire afternoon there. It is a fundraiser for the school, it has paid for extra playground equipment, a large tent for shade in the summer, etc. They put an invitation in the local paper, the whole town is invited. It is usually pretty crowded, and not everyone there is a parent. Last year it was really hot, but this year it was perfect. Very warm and sunny, but a cool breeze every now and then.

I started the day by helping to decorate the garden, it was a fun task. They post sign-up sheets for help with everything, from washing the beer mugs and coffee cups (no disposable items here!)to serving, selling ice cream, the list goes on. If you remember, last year I signed up to sell cake and coffee and it was a disaster. This year I wanted to do something that didn't require any talking, so Jacob helped me translate the sign-up sheet and decorating seemed reasonable. It was very easy, and no major language issues. I also brought some cupcakes that I made for the sale, they were all bought so that was a good sign.

After the decorating I went home for a short time, then we all walked back down to the school. We didn't have long to wait, and then the show began. The theme this year was about vacationing in the sun, it was very cute. There were surfers, a safari, and (our favorite) some turkish entertainment. Jacob was a turkish musician, while the girls were belly dancers in the center of the stage. This picture is when the kids were making their entrance.

After the show we ate some bratwurst, pork steaks, cake and ice cream. Drank some spezi and considered the beer. (Just doing our part for the fundraiser!) Jacob did some of the kid's activities, he especially liked the giant bubble table. After a little more to drink we headed on home. Jacob almost didn't make the walk up the hill, he was pretty tired. He certainly slept well that night, and woke up the next day humming the song from the fest.

Depending on your internet speed, you may be able to see a short clip from his group if you click below. I put it at a low quality, so the faces aren't really clear.(privacy reasons!) But you can hear the music and get the feel for it!

This past week my brother and his girlfriend came to visit for about 4 days, it was so great to have them here. Jacob and I picked them up at the Munich train station Monday evening, and then we made the drive back to Wolframs-Eschenbach. Jacob was very excited to see his uncle again, and couldn't stop talking the whole way home. We had a really nice time together, and have some stories to tell for the next few years. I was able to take them to Ansbach, Rothenburg and Heidelberg, as well as here in Wolframs as well.



I think they really enjoyed Rothenburg, since it is what people think of when they think of quaint german towns. While there, we walked about 1/2 way along the city walls (Jacob's suggestion),and then worked our way back towards the car along the streets. Went in lots of shops and admired all the half-timbered houses, and dodged Japanese tourists. Here is a nice picture of the three of them, just after we came down the wall.

They were also invited to come to the dress rehearsal for the summerfest at Jacob's school, since they were leaving the day before. It was such a nice thing for his school to do! They invite the senior home to come too, and we were able to watch as well. While doing the welcome the headmistress gave a special welcome to the American guests, and all eyes turned to us. Guess it was obvious who the Americans were, as usual! It was almost like we were visiting dignitaries, very welcoming. It was a cute show, and Jacob was thrilled to have them both there to watch it.

The day before they left we went Heidelberg, and met Kenny there. We walked around admiring the views of the river and the castle, then had dinner. After we said goodbye, Kenny took Jacob with him and headed back to Wolframs-Eschenbach. I took them to their hotel near the airport, so they would have no problems getting their flight home. After they got checked in, I headed back home also. The time while they were here flew by, but I know Jacob and I really enjoyed it. At least we can plan on seeing them again in about 6 months!

Here's another look at the marktplatz in Rothenburg o.d. Tauber....

This afternoon we will again be heading to Mannheim, Jacob has Thursday and Friday off of kindergarten. It's always nice to stay a bit longer than just the weekend. The holiday is Corpus Christi or Fronleichnam, which I wrote about back in 2005. It isn't a holiday in all of Germany, but in our area it is. I saw in our town paper that they will be having a procession through the town, visiting all the roadside chapels. I noticed over the past week they were spiffing all of the little chapels up, I didn't realize why until I read the paper today. We will already be in Mannheim, so no pictures, sorry!

Yesterday we had some watermelon, it was so good. It was a big round seedless one, very dark green on the outside. It was really too large for us to eat all of it, so we gave passed some of it out to our neighbors. I think it came from Italy, but I'm not sure. I already threw away the sticker that was on it. Jacob really liked it, he kept going back for more! He likes this kind better than the usual one, because he doesn't have to worry about all the seeds.

The weather is getting warm again, so hopefully my window boxes will start to fill in a little more. I went with pink and yellow this year, geraniums and marigolds. Both are hearty enough to stand the summer heat and still keep blooming! My roses are also doing really well, I'll try to get a photo of them while they are blooming.