Parties!

Hi

We all had parties to go too. Allen and I went to a Charity night. The theme was A Night at the Movies so you could dress up as anyone from any movie. Easy you may think but it's such a wide variety of characters. We thought of Pretty in Pink, but no dress for me, Snow White - as someone had offered me an adult costume and Allen was going to be the handsome prince! Allen wanted to go as Two Face from Batman and me to be Cat Woman or Bat girl, both of which I refused! We ended up as Trinity and Neo from the Matrix. We had a great night. Sam and Kevin, our neighbours, went as the Black Swan and the Crow. I thought theirs were the best outfits of the night. I've included photos of all of us.

Jacob and Abi were then invited to a party for a brother and sister who are in Cub's and Daisy Scouts. It was on the American base and lasted all afternoon. We stayed and helped with the BBQ and serving the food. I've added photos of them enjoying the pinata.

Rachael.

Pinewood Derby

Hi

Jacob has been busy with cubs through out the year. The Pinewood Derby is an activity that takes place for cubs across America and the Derby has been running each year since the 70's. Each cub is given a block of wood and some wheels and has to design and make a race car. Luckily for us we have a very handy neighbour called Andy who very kindly agreed to help out. Jacob drew his design and we took it around to Andy's so he could use his jigsaw to cut it out. Andy also had an electric sander. Jacob then was in charge of the painting and decoration. He did a brilliant job. The cars had to be weighed and have weights added so it went back to it's original weight. All of the boys then got together and the cars were raced on a special track. Jacob came bang in the middle of the pack and had a fun time racing. Everyone got certificates and a pin for their uniforms. Jacob's certificate was for Best Detail. I've included a variety of pictures from the morning. Allen took Jacob as I was at home with Abi who had thrown up 18 times. Can't believe anyone can be so sick! She's fully recovered but did need 2 days off school even though it started on a Saturday.

Rachael.

Skiing in Winterberg

Hi

Over half term we went skiing in Winterberg, Germany. It's only a 3 hour drive from our house so we left on the Tuesday returning on the Friday. When you get nearer to Winterberg it becomes very pretty, a good place to explore in the summer too. The resort we were staying in was on the outskirts of Winterberg itself. We were in a one bed self catering appartment. On site was a ski rental shop, a retaurant and a spa with large indoor pool plus 2 hot tubs outside on the terrace over looking the town. The restaurant did buffet nights that were themed so we ate there 2 of the nights and were extremely impressed, mainly that we didn't need to try and translate, not many of the Germans will speak English to us. Allen has now got Google translate on his ITouch which gets frequently used when we are out and about.

I think we have turned into American ski snobs as I was not keen here, I knew it would be small as it was very cheap. The snow was very sticky so if we go here again it'll need to be earlier in the season. A lot of parents seemed to leave their children on their own, I picked up quite a few kids that had tumbled and there was no adult around to help them. We did have a good time and the kids went on the only black run with ease, they are both now faster than me! Watch out Cameron and Finn - we are skiing/snow boarding together with Allen's family at Christmas in the Chamonix area.

I have added a photo from the week, it features Barnaby Bear too as Abi had him for a school project over that week - didn't take many as it wasn't that pretty!

Rachael.

Carnival

Hi

It's been a week of Carnival celebrations out here. I was teaching 4 days and there were lots of activities at school. There were different themes each day, National colours, National dress, face painting and dress up day. Abi had a variety of face paints this week, she made us late everyday! I've included photos from the different days. She also had a fun day at gymnastics, she went as a skeleton. Jacob was a cowboy for school , Abi a witch and me a clown.

They have both started swimming lessons this week. They are going 2 sessions a week so it was a busy old week, especially as I was working.

We went to the Carnival parade in Sittard on Sunday, we walked in with a family we know from school and work. Abi had great fun as Haley is her age. Monday we went into our village, Munstergeleen, for their Carnival parade. I have to say I prefered the village one. The weather was great for both and the kids came back with loads of sweets that were thrown from the floats.

Off to Winterberg, Germany, skiing tomorrow. Looking forward to the break away. Have chosen a place with an indoor pool in case there is no snow, or it's wet!

Rachael.