Hitscherhof Pumpkin and Corn Festival

I love fall! The trees around here are starting to change into beautiful orange, yellow and reds. All I needed was this festival to really get me pumped up for the arrival of fall.

The town of Massweiler hosts a pumpkin and corn festival here in a small farming area called Hitscherhof. There are different vendors with food, crafts and other business as well as some amazing food. We came to this festival last year not long after we moved here so it was good to be back. Bear with me for all the pictures...I had a hard time choosing so just decided to put most of them in! ;-)

The vendors
Aren't these beautiful?!
The kids posing in front of the giant pumpkin!
The BEST pumpkin soup I have ever had!
And a new food this year...pumpkin brat and brotchen. It was good, but I think I stick to the traditional ones from now on. ;-)
Our friend Jaimie's baby girl, Audrey. Isn't she beautiful?
They had bales of hay set up for the kids to play on. Jackson loved it!
Grace wasn't so sure at first, but then when she realized she could pick up the hay and toss it in the air she was all about it!
This man was carving these clogs by hand. It was really amazing to watch.
Jackson had a choice between going through the corn maze and getting his face painted like spiderman. No brainer!!
Grace loved seeing Jackson with his face painted. She thought it was so funny.
Unusual pumpkins
Crates and crates of them lined up!
Good buds Ella and Grace.

Brad's visit to Deutschland

After months of talking about it, Uncle Brad made a visit to our house for the first time. He was traveling with his boss, Blair, (and his girlfriend Kristen) because Blair bought a BMW and came here to pick it up and do some traveling around Europe.

We only had 24 hours with him so we soaked it all in. It was so much fun for him to come to our house and see all the things that we talk about over the phone. He also got to meet Emma for the first time!

We spent the afternoon going on a walk around the trails and staying outside to keep them from succombing to the effects of jet lag. Thankfully the weather was beautiful so we took full advantage of it. Brad went with me to pick up Jackson at school in the afternoon while Blair and Kristen relaxed at the house. Brad was very interested to see what Jackson's school was like. I don't think he had any idea what to expect when we picked him up. Jackson was so excited to see Uncle Brad as he had been counting down the days until his arrival.

Jason got home not long after that and we enjoyed the backyard while Blair and the kids jumped on the trampoline. Blair had been craving schnitzel so we decided to head to a restaurant close enough to walk to for dinner, Bauer Schmitt's. We had an excellent dinner some great conversations!

I truly treasure the time that we had with him during his brief visit. He says he will be back again...and I'm going to hold him to that!

Big sister and little brother ;-)

Jason and Brad having some morning coffee bright and early.

Uncle Brad with the kids.
Blair jumping and doing flips on the trampoline with the kids.
Blair putting Grace's shoes on. She didn't quite know what to think of that!
Picking Jackson up from school. He was so happy!!
On our walk to Schwedelbach while AJ was at school. I love this photo!
Brad wearing Gracie's sunglasses. Cute, huh?!
Blair and Kristen

Jackson and Pre-Karate

Karate is something that I have wanted to put Jackson in for some time now, but the classes have always been full. So, finally the beginning of the week we got a call that the sensei had some openings.
Jackson was so excited to find out he would start to take classes that afternoon.
He was so cute when the class started. He listened so intently at the sensei and did just as he told them to do. The sensei did some great games with the kids to warm them up and get them used to the experience. Towards the end of class they practiced kicking, which Jackson loved!
After class he asked the teacher when he was going to get his karate belt. I think it was a success and something this boy is really going to love!
More updates to follow...

Getting started with some warm-up exercises

Bowing to the sensei
Kicking!
Action kick!

Days with Grace

I have really been enjoying the time during the day with Grace while Jackson is at school. At first it was sad not having him here everyday of the week, but I know that he is having so much fun at school so that makes me feel better.

Grace is my little sidekick these days. She is my sweet little helper around the house. Although I don't know if her being with me all the time is causing her to have some separation anxiety issues again, but either way we have some good moments together.

She loves to help me fold the laundry. When I shake out the laundry to get the wrinkles out she loves to help me, "get the sprinkles out." She loves to sort the laundry by who it belongs to. Very observant she is!

She has to do makeup with me in the morning while sitting on the bathroom counter. I have saved a few things for her after I empty them to play with. Her favorite is my concealor. She loves to dot it on her face in random spots. And oh, the eye make-up. She has made herself look more like an clown more than a girl!

She loves to help me clean and most of all vacuum and dust. I have her swiffer the playroom and vacuum around the downstairs. I do remember Jackson going through this cleaning phase when he was this age.

I look forward to having my days with Grace and doing the mommy/daughter things. Although at times we do miss Jackson and all of his superheroes battles he likes to put on! ;-)

She continues to make me smile and laugh all the time by saying the funniest things. I love the 2's and all the things that go with them...the good and bad! ;-)

Helping me clean the playroom.

"Getting the sprinkles out"

First week of German Kindergarten

Jackson has survived his first week of waldkindergarten. I have to admit at first I was very apprehensive about it, but now I can say I am extremely happy after this week. He loves talking about what he did for the day and generally seems more upbeat about school. On a positive note he is eating so much better than the weeks past. I guess being outdoors and hiking all morning has a effect on his appetite! Which is a good thing after pushing him to eat!

Here are some highlights from the week:

Monday:When I dropped him off he was so excited to be there that he ran off without saying bye to me~which was a sad moment for me because it makes me realize he is getting older and more independent. But I didn't leave without a hug and kiss from my sweet boy! When I picked him up he told me about his day and preceded to tell me that he pooped in the woods and his teacher burned the toilet paper. Wow! Thanks Jackson for that wonderful information! I guess when in Rome do what the Romans do!

Tuesday:He brought home a mushroom that Herr Stephan had carved out of a tree branch for him. I am just glad that he didn't break out his pocket knife for the craft and try it himself. When I dropped him off they had trimmed a bunch of trees around the kindergarten for the kids to play and explore with. How fun!

Wednesday:He brought home a piece of wood that he cut with his teachers help. He was so proud of it too! It poured down rain in the morning so you can only imagine what he looked like after school. I am working at mothers day out at our church on Wednesdays so Jason has to sneak out of school to pick him up in the afternoon. To make a long story short, Jason took him back to school with mud on his clothes and face. I can only imagine what he looked like!

Thursday: The end of the week was catching up on him and poor thing he was falling asleep on the way home. The weather was beautiful so the class went on a hike through the forest where they ate lunch and saw the livestock that surround the area.

Friday: The weather was beautiful yet again and they went for a hike for a good part of the day. I picked him up at the bottom of the hill where all the kids were playing soccer with the teachers. I can tell he is very active in the morning because he ate me out of the house that day. This is what he ate: two waffles, sausage, sandwich, crackers, yogurt, nutrigrain bar, granola bar, and entire apple (the big ones), two pieces of pizza (which I snuck in butternut squash in the sauce), another container of yogurt and oddly enough a scrambled egg which he requested to have with dinner. That is a lot for AJ!

While we were making dinner last night Jackson was singing songs (as he usually does), and Jason and I noticed that it was in german. We smiled with delight knowing that he is picking up the language already.

Jackson with his new backpack ready for school. I had to buy him rainpants that hooked to the rainboots because his other ones would creep up at the end of the day and his boots were filled with all sorts of goodies from the forest.

One happy boy after his first week of waldkindergarten!

Here is the mushroom his teacher carved as well as the tree branch he cut himself.

The kindergarden has the popular german phrase:

"Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur falsche Kleidung."

"There is no such thing as bad weather, just improper clothing."

I just love that...it is so true!!

Package from Australia!

When we were "stranded" in Madrid last April because of the volcanic ash from Iceland we decided to go to the Madrid Zoo for the day. While waiting in line at the entrance we met a mother and daughter from Australia. We started chatting about each of our situations and ended up hanging out at the zoo together for the day. Jackson was so excited to have another girl to run around with! Tahlia and Jackson were connected at the hip for the rest of the day. Jackson I think had a little crush on her. ;-) He still talks about her to this day.

Yesterday Jason came home with a package for us from Tahlia and Jennelle full of all sorts of goodies from Australia! The kids were so excited! As you can see below it was like Christmas morning. I especially love the sweet treats they sent. There was some Vegimite in there that I am not quite sure of what to do with it just yet. Very interesting! Tahlia made Jackson a collage of animal pictures to hang on the wall. See...isn't she sweet!?

I know we will keep in touch with them for the years to come. It's funny how stressful situations while being stuck in Spain ended up giving us friends we thought we would never have from another part of the world. God gives us unexpected surprises in the most trying ordeals!

Jackson and Tahlia

Here is the gang!
All of our goodies!
Jackson showing off his kangaroo backpack.
Grace showing off hers.