Sleeping Beauty

I took Keira and Katharine to see "Sleeping Beauty" last Sunday afternoon. It was Keira's first time at a big theater seeing a truly full lenghth ballet. Sleeping Beauty has three intermissions and runs for three hours, with more than 200 costumes! Keira wore her Frozen inspired dress and looked beautiful. The cool thing for Katharine is that she knows some of the professional dancers of the Texas BalletTheater personally. It was a stunning production!

Parent Observation Week

This past week was parent observation week at the ballet school. Here are a few pictures I took with my phone. More will be posted once they are downloaded off my camera.

 En Pointe

Center Work

In Contemporary Class

Observing Pointe Class

Katharine's been on pointe for only two to three months, but she's keeping up very well with the more experienced girls, as you can see in this video.

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Cornhusk Dolls/ Maisblätter Puppen

Wir haben Puppen aus Maisblättern gemacht:

We made cornhusk dolls:






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A Visit with Kari

I surprised Katharine today with a short get together with Kari, a dance major at VCU that Katharine knows from her time at Sheena's, and who has always been a great role model for her.

Yesterday Katharine read the following book during her breaks from lessons, after school and before dance. I had seen the extraordinary dancer in the documentary "First Position." I figured Katharine would like the book. Next she should maybe read Misty Copeland's book. She already read Jennifer Ringer's book.

My Brother's New Residence/ Die Neue Residenz Meines Bruders

My brother Stefan and his wife Sylvia had to unexpectedly move...it's a long and not so pretty story. He moved from an old house to another old, yet much prettier house. I think the pictures are worth sharing:

 Stefan and Sylvia live on the third floor, the top row of four windows. This house is called the Kaiserhaus, because it has been privately owned by the Kaiser family since 1840. It was built in 1620 as the seat of the bishops of Würzburg. It was purchased by the Kaisers in 1840.

Stefan und Sylvi wohnen im dritten Stock, oberste Reihe mit vier Fenstern. Das Haus ist bekannt als das Kaisernaus, da es seit 1840 in Besitz der Familie Kaiser ist. Es wurde in 1620 gebaut und diente als Amtssitz der Bischöfe von Würzburg. 1840 hat die Familie Kaiser es erworben.

                                                           Outside, the front door
                                                                       Haustüre

                                               

The apartment door from the inside

die Wohnungstüre

                                                                    The hallway
                                                                       Der Flur

view of the living and dining rooms

Blick auf Wohn- und Esszimmer

Inside the mind of Kassidy

Happy Birthday, Iria!

Iria celebrates her birthday today. 

She keeps on going no matter how much home schooling, soccer practices, soccer games, dance classes, dance recitals, scouting, church volunteering, shopping, cooking, baking, laundry, laundry, and more laundry that we throw at her!

We love you!

Double Dip

Today I told Lennon that he would get one scoop of ice cream for every goal that he dribbled into the net past the goalie, without shooting it.

That is a pretty hard thing to do and he had never done it before, so I thought I was safe..

Nope!

Summer, continued

In Texas, summer always stretches a little while past where the calender says that it ended- which was evident today as visiting frousin Aiden and the kids played around in the local splash park.

Felting Pumpkins/ Kürbisse Filzen

The boys have been wanting to learn how to needle felt. Today wS the day. They made a small pumpkin each!
Die Jungs wollten Nadelfilzen lernen, und Heute war DER Tag. Sie haben beide einen kleinen Kürbis gefilzt!




Das Wetter war wunderbar am Morgen und wir haben draußen Unterricht gemacht. Wir lernen einen Vers für Michaelmas und gleich dabei buchstabieren.

The weather was beautiful this morning and we did school outside. We are learning a verse for Michaelmas, and also used it for spelling practice.




Katharine is still working on the Renaissance: here is her version of Botticelli's Venus.
Katharine studiert noch die Renaissance, hier ist ihre Version von Botticelli's Venus:

Happy Birthday, Keira!

Keira turned 6 years old today!

She has grown up a lot the last year, and has a smile on her face every morning when she heads off for school. I don't know how long that will last, but we'll enjoy it for now!

Iria made this awesome birthday crown for her (and Lennon's, from the previous birthday post).

Oops! We need to fix a small typo!

There we go!

Ready for the candles and cake now..

We opened her presents on Sunday night, since Monday was wall to wall activities.

The sisters.

Keira Facts:

When she grows up she wants to be a dancer or a zoo keeper.

Keira loves going to Kindergarten.

Favorite foods: spicy chips / bread and jelly / pancakes / vanilla cake / candy

Least favorite foods: eggs / chocolate (although she likes kinder chocolate) / salad

Favorite things to do at school: Music / Science / Lunchtime / Recess

Least favorite things to do at school: Snack Time / Fire Alarm Drills

Friends: Emma and Madison (school), Peyton (church). Kate (frousin)

Favorite Movie: Frozen

Keira likes to write poetry and stories.

Fun times with Kassidy: sleeping with her / playing with her

Not so fun times with Kassidy: sharing her toys

Three things that Keira would bring to an island with her: her Daddy / Anna and Elsa dolls / a bed to sleep in

Keira falls asleep really fast at night- she is the easiest one to put down.

Lennon makes her laugh.

Katharine plays and sews with her.

Keira Quotes: "Danke schon!" "Will you play with me?"

Keira loves to choreograph dances and put on shows.

Keira loves to help with the dishes, feed the cats treats, and make nighttime milk for everyone.

Keira wants to play volleyball next year.

Keira loves horses and cheetahs.

Spiders always seem to bite her when she goes in the backyard, but they ignore the other kids.

Keira is afraid of dogs, unless they are at a distance.

Favorite vehicle: a purple motorcycle

Puzzling

Craig sent Lennon and Keira some really cool puzzles for their birthdays, and at some point they will get around to finishing them.

In the meantime, one of them became a helmet and the Amazon box that they shipped in was cut up and turned into a cat bed.

Birthday extras

Here are a few more pictures form before and after the celebration.

Making the cake and looking back a few years:

Iria baked and designed the cake (#28 is his soccer jersey number):

Lennon and frousin Nolan at one years old (they were born around 10 days apart):

Building Legos after the party: