lost tooth

It's happend.

Chrissie has lost her very first tooth. And she literally lost it. She was eating a bag of popcorn from the zoo. We were on the train ride home when all of a sudden she cried out,

"Mom it's gone!"

"What?"

"My tooth!"

"Where is it?"

"I don't know." And there you have it.

We did write a little note to the tooth fairy explaining the missing tooth, which Chrissie carefully tucked under her pillow. And then she cracked the window open before falling asleep.

To Chrissie's delight, the tooth fairy left some yummy chocolates, a bracelet, and 1 "hero" (as Chrissie calls it, the rest of us know it as "euro," but I never correct her because it's so darn cute).

Weekend with family

(A little concert right outside the Brandenburg gates)

We spent a short weekend with our fellow Germany traveling relations.

Saturday

Berlin revisited but this time we spent our time visiting with each in the park while the kids played.

And this is how we paraded the streets of Berlin, with children galloping around pretending to be horses.

This was a very bitter/sweet moment for Rick and myself. One, Chrissie noticed this day that she had a loose tooth. Two, she had her first real sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa at a hotel in a completely different city. Two signs that our little girl was growing up. I was very much depressed at the thought of her losing a tooth. But we were so excited for her to have a special time with her grandparents and cousin Thomasin.

Sunday

Lovely day in Brandenburg. Interesting points about Brandenburg: one, nude beaches are still in full swing. I did not get to witness this but Cindy's description was enough. Brandenburg was once East Germany and during that time to express what little freedom they had, they took off their clothes at the beaches. Two, being that it was East Germany, and not a major city, it was more run down and far more industrial than the cities we've visited in West Germany. Despite its time as East Germany, it was still a lovely city with rivers running through it.

Primary (there was no nursery). The branch was so small in Brandenburg that church was only two hours. Primary was held outside because the classroom was too small for the extra visitors. The members were so cute and well prepared for our visit. They had wonderful activities,lessons and crafts for all the kids and their various ages.

And this is where the kids and I spent sacrament meeting.

This was Cindy and Joshua's last Sunday. The branch thoroughly enjoyed having the Schrohowsky family with them and were so sad to see them go. In result, the branch wanted to take a picture with them and for some reason wanted the rest of us in it as well.

Our Sunday feast: we had a wonderful Sunday with family.

The trip home was less enjoyable. It took us five hours by train what would have taken us 1 1/2 hours by car. The reason: during one of our connections, we attempted to get on a train but it was too full. So, we had to wait two and a half hours for the next one. Kids handled it beautifully. I, on the other hand, didn't.

Jane-isms

Jane loves ice cream. Even at the mention of the word she spills over with excitement. She clasps her cheeks and giggles. And then without fail when she gets the ice cream she says "ooooo" (hence the face below).

Jane enjoys coloring and finds laying on her tummy as the best position to do so.

Since being in Germany, Jane has begun substituting english words for german words. Her first word, true to baby form, was "nein," which means "no" in english. Her second word was "tschu," short for "tschuss" which means "bye."

I believe Jane will be my cleanest child. Germany is teaching our how family how to be cleaner and more orderly. Jane has taken to it quite nicely. For instance, before we climb the flight of stairs to our apartment, Jane religiously wipes her feet on not one but two mats.

Oh, how I love this little girl.

Guten Morgen!

Every morning Chrissie routinely comes out of her room and plops herself on the couch. And one lucky morning she had Jane and Matthew pile on top of her.

Just a little brotherly and sisterly love.

Bike rides

The main mode of transportation here in Burgdorf is on bikes. Everyone has one. Gas is three times as expensive here than in the states so bikes are essential in keeping to the budget. Fortunately, we had a few bikes donated to us. So now the kids and I ride everywhere together.

Chrissie learned how to ride a bike (no training wheels) on the first try. Seriously, Rick gave her one push and that was it. She was awesome. We were so happy for her. She has sense moved to a bigger bike thanks to a friend from Kindergarten who was devastated to see Chrissie riding such a little bike.

Matthew was given a bike that doesn't have pedals or training wheels-on purpose.

All the little German kids ride this type of bike. I've yet to see a bike here with training wheels. It's quite ingenious this "like a bike." The children immediately learn how to balance on a two wheel bike. After using this bike for one week, Matthew was able to ride a bike with pedals and no training wheels. Matthew was quite proud of how fast he could go on this bike with pedals. Unfortunately, he was a little too into his speed and not looking where he was going that he had numerous crashes. He crashed into poles, trees, walls, you name it. He has since returned to the "like a bike" for a little break .

He's just running.

Not sure why or where to or where his bike went. But every boy needs a good run every now and again.

ways of the land

( so close, but still a nice little thought I'm reminded of daily on our walks)

I'm slowly learning the ways of the German land and sometimes I've learned it the hard way.

Lesson #1. Not every store accepts credit cards. Some only takes euros. I learned this my first night here. I was at the grocery with our new friends, the Schultzes. After all my groceries were rung up, and I couldn't speak a lick of German, I began to pull out one card at a time thinking one of the three would work. Not so much. Cash only. My new friends paid for the groceries...awkward. They like cash here, checks are unheard of, and my credit cards are very rarely accepted.

Lesson #2. All stores close early. I learned this the hard way. One evening I got a migraine and I sent Rick to the store for some advil. Wait, what?! the grocery store is closed? its 8 o'clock! Side note-on Saturday most stores close at 1pm (we learned this the hard way one afternoon with three very hungry children in tow). And no stores are opened on Sunday.

By 11 o'clock I was desperate, "please rick there has to be a gas station open somewhere." Gas stations always carry advil. Um, no, the gas stations close around 9pm. And advil isn't even sold at gas stations. Advil isn't even at the grocery store or at a store similar to a Rite Aid or Walgreens. No my friends, it is sold at an Apotheke, which is a pharmacy that closes even earlier and is its own separate store and in a completely different part of town. And when you have a migraine this is not in the least optimal.

Lesson #3. The Deutsche Bahn-my first time riding alone with the kids. One Friday afternoon, I hopped on the train ticketless with the three kids (not wanting to miss it) thinking I'll pay the "ticket-checking-guy" for my 2 euro ticket when he comes through. Well, no that is not the way things work. The man does not sell tickets, he checks them. I ended up getting fined 40 euros. FORTY euros! Despite my "I'm not from here" pleadings and "Can I just get off at the next stop and buy a ticket." Ah, Germans are ones for order and rules. Lets just say, I was fighting back the tears as I saw 40 euros (that's about 60 dollars mind you) flushed down the toilet, so to speak.

Lesson #4. More Lessons at the grocery store: one, you need 1 euro to use a grocery cart-I've made a few extra trips due to that minor detail. Two, you bring your own grocery bags. They do not offer plastic/paper bags. Due to my absent-mindness, I've on multiple occasions had to stuff my purse and Jane's bike seat.

Lesson #5. No eating in the chapel. Learned this my second Sunday at church as Matthew is happily stuffing his mouth with food. Food is one way to keep Matthew busy and quiet. A lady next to me leaned over and explained the rules. Fortunately, I did not get reprimanded by the elderly Germans, she told me, which would have been far worse. Either way, I was horribly embarrassed and discouraged by being asked to put it away.

These are only a few of many and I'm sure there will be many more lessons to learn. And I'll have many more embarrassing situations. However, as for now, I'm enjoying my kids and our simple life here in Germany.

96

Rick and Matthew had a special date today. They attended Hannover's 96 fussball (soccer) game. In Germany, soccer is a whole new ball game compared to the states. One way is the mere chanting is louder, two, is the singing. The team had a song that all the fans sang. And this song wasn't a rock-n-roll song is was more like a love ballad. Now imagine thousands of boys/men singing this song, in tune, at the top of their lungs. Rick was speechless.

Matthew's special date with his dad is told in a series of photos.

As you can see he was pretty excited about riding the bus and the train.

The "scarf" around his neck was what the fans held up as they chanted and sang.

Rick and Matthew both started the day wearing BYU colors. Anytime Rick goes to a sporting event he naturally wears blue and white. However, when he showed up to the stadium he noticed the opposite team's colors were blue and white. Needless to say, two 96 jersys were purchased.

The trip ended with a stop at the toy store to get presents for the ladies back at home. I got a dragon. Chrissie got a pegasus horse. Jane a cow. And Matthew got a knight (another one). All presents thoughtfully picked out by Matthew.

Day off

After a few days of kindergarten Chrissie and Matthew were in need of some family time. We took Friday off and enjoyed a day at the Hannover Zoo and the Kirchhorst See (Lake).

We had lunch with a view of the Black Rhino-pretty awesome. What was almost as awesome was sipping hot chocolate from a glass mug (they seldom use plastic here) while watching the Rhino. That may have been my highlight.

Digging for gold. And yes Jane is drinking the water.

Chrissie and Matthew received a medal for their excellent gold digging.

Chrissie the squirrel.

And below Matthew just wants me to take a picture of his funny face.

Kirchhorst See (Lake)

Cute Jane and her chicken legs.