Happy Birthday, Katharine!

Katharine turned 11 years old today.

Katharine is an amazing kid, and we are so proud of everything she has become and accomplished.

We love her so much!

Katharine Facts:

Katharine is a voracious reader- she can finish off a 700 page book in a few days.

Katharine still loves to play with dolls ('Monster High', 'Frozen', and 'Equestria Girls' are her current favs)

Katharine has no interest in sports.

Katharine loves to use her Rainbow Loom.

Birthday dinner: Palio's Pizza

Dearest friends: Charlotte, Maya, Liam, Trinity and the "Roomies" (Claire, Emma, Katie)

Favorite food: pizza and strawberries

Favorite book that she recently read: 'Momo', 'James Potter', and 'Emily of New Moon'

Katharine loves to draw characters that she creates for stories and games, and fills up lots of sketchbooks.

Favorite subject in school: language arts and mythology

Least favorite subject in school: recorder and basic math (she likes fractions and decimals)

Favorite colors: teal and purple

Least favorite foods: meat and avocados

The one kid that can really get on Katharine's nerves is Lukas.

Favorite song: "Let it Go" from 'Frozen'

Katharine wants a marshmallow dog and a kitten when she grows up.

Favorite recent movies: 'Hobbit 2' and 'Frozen'

Katharine always says grace before eating.

Katharine has a gluten free diet.

Katharine says "ummm" a lot.

When Katharine grows up she wants to be a dancer or a singer or an artist for Disney.

Katharine loves to write poetry.

Katharine likes to play creative and video games with Lukas.

Katharine likes to play soccer with Lennon.

Katharine likes to play dolls with Keira.

Katharine likes to pick Kassidy up and spin her around in circles.

Katharine likes to go to the theater with Momma.

Katharine likes to go to the movies and draw with her Daddy.

Hours of dance classes and rehearsals every week: 20

Katharine just started doing sleepovers this year (she was never comfortable being away from home before).

Katharine watches 'Amazing Race' and 'Project Runway' with her parents.

Katharine is terrified of birds, especially geese and chickens.

Katharine listens to meditation tapes every night when she goes to bed.

Katharine typically falls asleep around 10 PM and wakes up around 7:30 AM.

Katharine doesn't like being cold.

This year Katharine is looking forward to improving at dance and spending more time with her friends.

Remembering Kara

This morning was our friend Kara's memorial service, who crossed over on January 10, 2014 after a courageous yet short battle with cancer.
Kara was one of the first people to open her heart, arms and home to us when we moved to Texas. I will never forget that.
Over the years, she has become a source of great inspiration, joy, love, and a wonderful friend.
Katharine spent many days and nights at the Cleckler house, as well as Charlotte at our house. Kara's daughter Charlotte is one of Katharine's closest friends. Our hearts and doors will always be open for Charlotte.
Kara left a mark in this world, she made a difference in many lives. She made a difference in our lives.
In the future, there will be no Kara bringing the girls over, or opening her front door for Katharine. Those drop offs and pick ups were something I looked forward to as much as Katharine, because it meant I got to see my friend, even for a short moment. But what will be there, is the memory of her smile, and the promise, that Katharine and Charlotte will keep having many wonderful days together.

Kara, I love you, hon. You rock, and love is the answer!






Meghan, thank you for taking these wonderful pictures today, and for being there.









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Paris: Disneyland

We had never taken our kids to a Disney theme park before, because there was always a baby in the group that was too young and then the budget bank began to break as we had more and more kids.

So we made sure to take advantage of Disney Paris while we were on this trip, and visited there for one of the days of our France excursion. The kids LOVED IT, and even the very skeptical Iria was won over in the end and put on the Minnie Mouse ears!

Paris: Candles in Notre Dame

The one tragic story-line of our trip was the death of our dear friend Kara, who discovered that she had terminal cancer just as we left and then passed away the day before we came home. Her husband Shane kept all of her friends and family up to date through his eloquently written journal, which is worth a read if you ever want/need to reset your priorities in life. I think that it started to go a little viral near the end, and it is currently up to over 35,000 page views.

http://www.caringbridge.org/profile/27708098

(If you read it keep clicking on the bottom until you get to his first entry on December 12th)

Anyways, we lit a candle for Kara at Notre Dame a few days before she passed. 

We will definitely miss her.

Paris: Young lovers along the Seine

Well not exactly, but young at heart!

Paris: The Louvre

I read a lot of horror stories about taking kids to the Louvre, but our kids managed it fine and for a few of them it was one of the highlights of the trip.

We didn't try and overwhelm them, so we stuck to a quick pass of the Mona Lisa and then went up to Napoleon's apartments (which isn't as crowded). After that we strolled through a number of the sculpture gardens and then left a little bit after lunch.

The outside of the Louvre is just as grand, so they got a little bit of culture in there as well :)

Germany: Ludwigsberg

Early on in the trip we visited the park across from the Ludwigsberg palace, which is only around one train stop from Iria's Mom's house. The building shown is the Duke's residence, and the grounds are his old hunting turf. Wild animals still roam the area.

Germany: Day 1

I am going to start posting some of the Germany pics. 

I focused on videos more than pictures this trip, but Iria has a bunch on her phone. I'll get those transferred over eventually, but in the meantime here are some of the pictures that I did take.

First off, more pics from our first day in Germany. These were taken near the town square in Oma's village.

Wednesday Evening Gallery

Lennon wanted me to post this drawing. 

"Shapes"

Stateside

We got back from our trip this weekend and are starting to recover from the jet lag and settle back in.

Outside Oma's house after we arrived.

Trip Facts:

Luggage: 9 suitcases, 9 carry-ons, 2 strollers, 2 car seats

Distance traveled in rental car: 3,700 KM

Fasted speed on the autobahn: 180 km/hour

Average weather: 45 degrees and raining

Snowflakes observed: 0 (!)

Pretzels consumed by Erik: 60+
Kinder chocolate consumed by Erik: 2 per day

Affect on Erik's weight: -3 pounds (??)

Books read by Erik, Iria, and Katharine: 12

Most homesick: Lukas

Times pick-pocketed: 1 (Keira's wallet)

Favorite foods: spaetzla, pretzels, croissants, rolls with honey or nutella, schnitzel, berliners, hot chocolate

Amount used on Erik's data SIM card for his iPad: 2 gigs
Number of times Lennon was approached in the Louvre because of his Brazil Neymar shirt: 3 (once for a photo)
Number of times our family was later recognized by a random person from the plane as that "big family who flew over to Germany in December": 2
Flight hours: 11 (and they went perfectly both ways!)

Itinerary:

December 15: Fly to Germany

December 16-19: Friends, family, and sites around Stuttgart

December 20-23: Munich road trip with Anita, Fritz, and the cousins

December 24: Christmas Eve with Oma

December 25: Christmas day with Anita, Fritz, and the cousins

December 26-29: Friends, family, and sites around Stuttgart

December 30: Overnight in Stuttgart with Iria

December 31: New Years Eve at Stefan's farm

January 1: Black Forest day trip

January 2-4: Friends, family, and sites around Stuttgart

January 5-9: Paris road trip

January 10: Packing and goodbyes

January 11: Fly to Texas

Best times:

Erik: Black Forest / Musee d'Orsay / Overnight in Stuttgart (with just Iria) / Disney Land / New Years Eve at Stefan's / food and family in Munich / walking to the bakery every morning for pretzels

Iria: Steiff Museum / Overnight in Stuttgart (with just Erik) / Black Forest train ride / Musee d'Orsay / Metz cathedral / Munich / Old friends / Time with her sister

Katharine: Steiff museum / The Louvre / Anna and Jakob visits / Disney Land/ Black Forest

Lukas: Disney Land (Thunder Mountain) / Munich (Allianz Arena) / Family and cousin time / Steiff Museum

Lennon:  Disney Land (Pirates of the Caribbean) / Munich (Allianz Arena) / Family and cousin time / Steiff Museum / sledding in the Black Forest

Keira: Disney Land (Haunted House and parade) / Christmas / Jakob (the tickle monster) / Steiff museum
Kassidy: the airplane ride / the car rides / the train rides / Disney Land (parade and Minnie Mouse)

Thanks so much Linda (Oma) for your hospitality, love, and spaetzla!