Emily's hanging toy

At four months old, Emily has learned to roll over (with great difficulty) and reach for things that are immediately accessible to her.  The weather was nice this afternoon so I hung a hanging toy from her bouncy chair and spent some time outside taking photos.  In all, I took 235 photos.  Here are six of the good ones:

Christmas 2013

I made the children pose for photos before allowing them to open presents.  They were not happy about the delay but they learned quickly that arguing about it just lengthened the delay...

Back to School 2013

After a nice summer break, the boys went back to school.  Oscar started fourth grade and Calvin started first grade.  Like last year, I asked each of the boys pose for some back-to-school photos.

Photos of Sara

I took some photos of Sara in the back yard.

First day of school 2012

The boys started third grade and Kindergarten this year.  We told Calvin that boys and girls would learn how to read in Kindergarten.  He was excited to learn how to read but when he got home on the first day of school he was disappointed that nobody had taught him how to read; he thought it was all going to happen on the first day of school...

Church activity at the park in Groß-Gerau

We had a ward activity at the park in Groß-Gerau -- good friends, good food, good times...  I brought the camera and took some pictures.

Norschter Kerb

Each year in late August the town where we live hosts a small carnival -- the Norschter Kerb.  We walked to the carnival and let the children play some of the games and ride some of the rides.  They each got a small treat as we started to walk home.

Hofgut Langenau

Oscar's cub scout pack visited a Rhine River island in Trebur.  The island has some nice jogging and biking trails that are popular with visitors.  There is also a restaurant and a small "beach" area.  We had a short ferry ride to the island and then we walked to the restaurant.  Everybody had a great time.

HHamburg

At the end of July, I spent a week in Hamburg for work.  Hamburg is Germany's second largest city and Europe's third largest port.  Hamburg's official name (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg) reflects the city's  history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and as a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire.  Hamburg is also one of three German city-states (Berlin and Bremen are the others).

The largest German cities generally use only one letter as the city code on their license plates.  For example, B=Berlin, M=Munich (München), K=Cologne (Köln), F=Frankfurt, L=Leipzig, and S=Stuttgart.  Although Hamburg is Germany's second largest city, H is used by Hanover and Hamburg instead uses HH as a reference to its earlier membership in the Hanseatic League (German: Hansestadt Hamburg).

My coworker Jamie also came on this trip and he brought his family.  In the evenings, we visited a fair at the Hamburger Dom and I got a chance to go to the harbor and take some photos.

Raingutter regatta and a water gun fight

The cub scouts held the annual Raingutter regatta (a regatta is a series of boat races) at the end of June.  The boys made boats out of plastic water bottles and raced them against each other.

Cub Adventure Weekend

In June the Transatlantic Council sponsored a cub scout adventure weekend at a scouting facility near Ansbach.  It took about two hours to drive there.

Circus Project

Oscar's instructional time at school is finished at either 12:30 PM or 1:15 PM (depending on the day of the week).  When school is over, Oscar goes to the on-site SchülerClub (after-school care) for lunch, homework time, and playing with friends.  Each year, SchülerClub offers students a chance to participate in special projects one day per week. Last year, Oscar signed up to be in the Circus Project -- participates would learn some circus tricks.  At the end of the year in June, parents were invited to see what the children had been learning.

Strawberry picking 2012

I took the boys strawberry picking in June.

Sara at the food court

Sara does not like french fries.  Have you ever met a child that would not eat french fries?  She will, however, eat onion rings.  I took these photos at Calvin's end-of-season soccer party in June.

Spring Soccer 2012

The boys both played soccer in April and May.  Oscar turned eight in February so he played on a team with children who were eight and nine.  His coaches were the same from last fall.

Stitches for Oscar

In March, Oscar dropped a jar of applesauce and cut his hand on the broken glass.  The wound required five stitches.  I took him to the pediatrician about ten days later to have the stitches taken out.

Father / Son Camping Activity 2012

This year's Father / Son camping activity was at the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg (same place as last year).  If you remember my post from two years ago, you might recall that I do not particularly enjoy camping.  It rained hard as we were driving there so I was expecting a sloppy mess upon arrival.  I was not disappointed -- there was mud everywhere...

The Netherlands 2012

My father and step-mother came to visit during Oscar's spring break in April.  We scheduled a three-day trip to the Netherlands.  Of course we went to the Keukenhof (3rd year in a row).  The weather forecast called for rain each day we were there but it never rained once.  On the day we went to the Keukenhof, the sunlight helped me get some great photos.  My dad brought his fancy Canon 7D camera so I got to use that for the photos.

Oscar becomes a Bear

In May, Oscar graduated from the Wolf den and became a Bear.  At the same ceremony, he received his Bobcat badge.  New Bobcat badges are traditionally pinned on upside down.  The badge becomes eligible to be turned around  once the scout has done a good turn for somebody else.  The blue and gold paint on his cheeks represent the sign of the Bobcat.  The blue paint stands for truth and spirituality, steadfast loyalty, and the sky above.  The gold paint stands for warm sunlight, happiness, and good cheer.  Oscar is still new to scouting but he enjoys the activities and has made new friends.

Work trip to Naples

At the end of April, I spent two and a half weeks in Naples for work.  The view from the hotel was really fantastic.