Hauser Family

Dog Sitting Heidi

2009-06-30T09:06:00.005+02:00

We have some new American friends, Cindy and Jason, who live in the next town. They have the cutest little dog named Heidi who we dog-sat (is that a word?) overnight while they went out of town. Heidi is the cutest, sweetest, most well-mannered dog ever. The boys loved her and now want a dog of their own. We'll see...

Oberriexinger Race

2009-06-30T08:55:00.006+02:00

The kids participated in a 1.7km (ca. 1 mile) race again this year with some our their schoolmates. They did very well. Maxwell had a time of 7:20 mins and Marcus had 8:42 mins.

Another dance video

2009-06-30T08:23:00.003+02:00

Here's another video of the kids doing their Rock and Roll Dance. Maxwell's partner had to leave early so he danced by himself. Marcus is dancing too. The little girl with the red shirt on was not suppose to be dancing with them but she wanted to be.

School's 50th Anniversary

2009-06-30T07:44:00.003+02:00

The kids school turned 50 years old and they had a big celebration with the kids doing skits, dances, speeches, there was lots of food and games. M&M's class did a dance from High School Musical where Maxwell did a break dance at the end. Check out the video below. Max is on the right side with a blue hat on. Marcus is in the middle with a black/white hat on. Max was so proud of himself and everybody said how good he did. Now he wants to take a hip-hop dance course at a local dance school.

Charly & ??

Kids doing a dance

Marcus doing an aerobic routine

High School Musical Dance Routine

More party pics

2009-05-24T11:17:00.002+02:00

Dee's 40th Birthday Party - 70's Style

2009-05-24T11:08:00.002+02:00

So I turned the big 4-0!!! I still can't believe it. I planned a 70's style backyard bbq and invited about 20 friends to come and dress up. We ate, drank and played games all night. It was really fun!

me and John Travolta

me & Jocelyn

Charly and Gordon

Cindy, Madison & Cecelia

I'm back...

2009-05-24T10:55:00.004+02:00

Okay, I know I'm the worse blogger in blogger history but I've been sick with a liver infection and was in the hospital for a week. Now I'm all better though. I've also been on facebook alot and busy planning for my big 40th birthday party, mother's day.... I know, excuses, excuses...

our new grill

Marcus loves the new grill

out to dinner with girlfriends for my birthday

Carnival

2009-02-18T12:01:00.005+01:00

In Germany, Carnival (Fasching in german) is a big holiday where there are big costume parties with shows and parades. This year Charly and I got dressed up as Vampire and went to the local costume party with some friends. M&M invited 2 friends over for a slumber party where they stayed home alone for a few hours. The party was at the sports hall behind our house so Charly went to check on them. Everyone had a great time!

me & Charly

Bella, me & Silvia

Bella, me, Silvia, Christine, Timo

Charly & Sven

Christine, Jocelyn, me

Kerstin & Jocelyn

Maxi as Pippi

Snow Pics

2009-02-18T11:50:00.003+01:00

We haven´t had much snow this year, a few inches here and there. It will snow 1 or 2 days then the sun comes out and melts it away. Whenever they have chance M&M get dressed and run out in a hurry to play. I´m not a big fan of snow or the cold so I usually stay inside and take pics from the doorway or even through the windows! I´m a Cali girl, what can I say...

our backyard

the front yard shoveled by Charly

view from kitchen window

M&M making snow balls

Daniel, M&M playing

Porsche Museum

2009-02-18T11:40:00.004+01:00

Porsche opened their new museum in Stuttgart, which we had to go check it out since this is Charly´s favorite car. It´s a mix of old, new, normal, race cars and other things they´ve built over the years. M&M´s friend Luca came along.

in front of the museum

Trophies

old race cars?

new Carerra & Cayenne

Police car

Amazing San Francisco Views

2009-01-30T08:28:00.004+01:00

When we left San Francisco Airport on our way back to Germany the weather was warm and sunny with clear skies. Charly took these pics from the window and they came out so nice that I want to share them with you. For those of you who know SF, can you find certain places?

Ocean Beach, Lake Merced, SF Zoo

Golden Gate Park

looks so small but compact

Golden Gate Bridge & Presidio

flying higher

bye-bye SF...

Golden Gate Bridge & Ocean Beach

2009-01-15T12:23:00.007+01:00

Whenever we go to San Francisco we always like to go to Golden Gate Bridge and Ocean Beach. So this winter was no exception, even as cold and windy as it was. We drove across the bridge, made a few stops and took some quick pics. In the summer the boys like to play in the water at the beach, but this time it was too cold, although they would have if we would have let them.

Pancake Boy

2009-01-15T12:08:00.005+01:00

Marcus loves pancakes and would eat them everyday if he could. He kept asking if we could go to the International House of Pancakes (Ihop). He ate 4 big pancakes and took two home for breakfast the next morning. We also went to Denny´s before the Warriors game where he ate more pancakes. He also like to eat them here in Germany but we don´t have ihop, so I showed him how to make pancake mix. He can do it all by himself, even cracks the egg! I just have to cook them in the pan for him. The one thing he wanted to bring back home was pancake syrup cause they only have small bottles of maple syrup for 4 euros. So he bought 3 big bottles and put them in his suitcase! Mrs. Buttersworth is his favorite.

Exploratorium, Zoo

2009-01-15T11:56:00.006+01:00

We did a lot of tourist stuff while in SF. We went to this science, technical museum called The Exploratorium where the kids can play with all these cool exhibits and things. They also went to the zoo while I got my hair cut at a salon. We love San Francisco...

Levi´s 501 billboard

view of downtown from freeway

lions fenced in since that incident last year

Exploratorium

Golden State Warriors

2009-01-15T11:17:00.003+01:00

We got tickets to go see a real live NBA game at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Warriors were playing against the LA Lakers so we had to take Aunt Gloria with us. Erica and Gary met us there too. The Lakers won so Auntie was happy because she is the biggest Lakers fan I know. The boys played in the Kids Zone area and Auntie and I had like 3 beers! We had a lot of fun and got to see Kobe. It was a great night!!!

Oracle Arena

Me & Mom going inside

it´s early and pretty empty

Mom, Max, Marcus & Me in our nosebleed seats

there´s Kobe #24

Erica & Me

M&M play guitar hero in the Kids Zone

Marcus shooting in the Kids Zone

Auntie & boys pose with player posters

Me, Auntie, Gary & Max

Classroom & Cable Cars

2009-01-15T10:58:00.005+01:00

Gary got out of school early one day, so we went to pick him up in Richmond. We were able to go inside his classroom to meet his teacher and classmates. He was shocked when we walked in the room and started grinning from ear to ear. His teacher is from Ethiopia where she went to a German school, so it was a shock for everyone to hear her speaking German to us. It was really nice. Later we drove back to SF, where me and mom went shopping at Macys while Charly took the boys on a cable car ride to Pier 39!

Gary in his classroom

Gary & Grandma

Gary at his desk

Gary`s 3rd grade class, teacher & Marcus

boys on Cable Car

boys inside Cable Car

boys at Pier 39

More Family

2009-01-15T10:48:00.004+01:00

My Dad´s twin sister Aunt Carletta came over with my cousin Josetta and her son Keith to visit us while we were there one day. On another day my cousin Bobby´s wife, Nancy came to visit with their two kids Manu & Destiny. It was so nice seeing everyone and we wish we could have seen more folks but we ran out of time.

Marcus & Destiny

Manu & Destiny

Me, Aunt Carletta & Josetta

Erica, Me & Keith

Aunt Carletta, Josetta & Mom

family pic

Bowling

2009-01-15T10:30:00.003+01:00

We took the boys on our last day in San Francisco. Keith bowled really good and won both games. We all had a great time.

getting ready to bowl

Marcus made a spare

Max made a strike

Gary made a stike

Max & Keith

Keith & Gary

Marine World

2009-01-15T10:23:00.003+01:00

We went to Marine World with Erica & Gary one day. It was cold but we had lots of fun anyway.

the boys at the Whale Show

get on Thomas the Train ride

Erica at home

Charly, Me & Jamir

New Years Day

2009-01-15T10:11:00.005+01:00

We always celebrate New Years Day at Uncle and Aunt Greta´s house, eating, playing cards and games all day.

Charlie, Mom, Geno & Uncle playing Bid Whist

Max & Me

Tasha, Glynis & Erica play Scrabble

Gary & Greg play Playstation

Jonathan & Roshawn

Glynell & Roshanay play Uno

Sunday Dinner

2009-01-15T09:51:00.003+01:00

I have a very large family. Nana (my mom´s mom) had 7 children and my dad´s mom had 10 children. So I can´t even count how many cousins I have. One of the things I miss the most about living so far away here in Germany is my family and Sunday Dinner. Every Sunday my mom´s family goes to church and then we all have lunch at one of their houses. It´s just like the movie/tv show Soul Food! So here are some random pictures from our beloved Sunday Dinners.

Shawny & Larry

Shawny, Greg & Bay-Bay

Jamir, Charly & Max

it was Andre´s Birthday

Uncle Charlie & Glynell

Mom & Aunt Bay-Bay

Tasia & Maxwell

Who Got Game?

2009-01-10T01:14:00.003+01:00

We took the boys over to Oceanview's Gym to play basketball. It was a show down with Marcus vs. Gary and Max just shot around by himself. They were trying so hard to make the most points and show all their moves to each other. Gary and his triple threat and Marcus with his pump fake. It was too funny. I'll have to put the video on here later cause it's too big and I need to compress it or something...

Christmas 2008 at The Tabors

2009-01-10T00:53:00.003+01:00

We had a really nice big Christmas celebration at Auntie Bay-Bay and Uncle Dre's house. There was lots of family, food, and fun. It was so good to be home for the holidays...

Alice, Aaron & Auntie Bay-Bay

hanging out in the family room

Kevin, Dee & Mom

Aunt Gloria

Uncle Charlie, Anthony, Dre & Auntie B-B

Kevin, Nanisha & Nashe'

Alice, Bubba & Cassandra

Christmas Morning

2009-01-09T17:28:00.005+01:00

The boys got up at around 4am and came to wake me up. I told them to come back later. So at 5am they came again saying they were hungry and starving and everybody was still asleep. I told them to come back and wake me up at 6am and then I would get up and make pancakes. Sure enough, they were back at 6, so I got up and made pancakes and coffee. We had breakfast and then opened presents. It was a nice morning...

Marcus & Gary sorting presents

Max & Gary

new Jordan's from Grandma

Going Home for Christmas

2009-01-09T17:08:00.003+01:00

I know I must be the worst blogger ever because I take so long to update my blog. I'm busy and it's taking longer than usual to upload the pics from my moms internet. Besides nobody reads my blog anyway, so I don't have to update so often. Nobody leaves me any comments except Katy and sometimes Justin. Thanks, guys!

Anyway, we flew 1.5 hours from Stuttgart to Amsterdam and then 11 more hours to San Francisco. We are staying from Dec 24 til Jan 11, 2.5 weeks!!! I'll try to post more pics soon! Stay tuned!!!

the boys in Amsterdam

on the way to S.F.

view from window

Happy 9th Birthday Marcus

2008-11-29T08:49:00.007+01:00

Marcus turned 9 years old this week. I can't believe my baby is sooo old. I will always remember him as my cute, little, fat baby with the big head who I love to death. We bought a Nintendo Wii as a family Christmas present but let them open it on his birthday. They were extremely excited and surprised. Marcus invited some friends over to celebrate and we went Kegeln. This is like bowling but with only 9 pins, small lanes and smaller, lighter balls. We have two Kegel lanes here in the local restaurant/pub.

opening presents in the morning

Wii baseball

Max & girls looking at baby pictures of Marcus

Kegeln

Skiing 2008

2008-11-29T08:26:00.007+01:00

Winter is here! It's been really cold lately and even snowed a few days last week. So we decided to drive to the Black Forest and go skiing since it's only 1 1/2 hours from here. Charly and the kids went skiing and I just sat around trying to stay warm, drinking Gluhwein (warm spiced red wine) and taking pictures. It was a nice afternoon.

driving through the Black Forest

putting skis on at the car

Marcus is ready!
Charly in line for the ski lift

M&M in line
M&M going up on the lift
Here they come....

and there they are...

Marcus made it

in line to go up again

Max made it down the hill

Max can you see me?

Dee are you cold?

Halloween Part 2

2008-11-06T08:28:00.007+01:00

We were invited to a Halloween party at a friend of a friends house. They decorated the house really spooky with spiderwebs, mice, witches and kinds of scary stuff. They also dressed up like witches and vampires. There was food and lots of drinks. We had lots of fun but the headache I had the next day was not fun at all.

Halloween Part 1

2008-11-04T09:21:00.003+01:00

It's Halloween! The most Germans don't really celebrate halloween like they do in the states, but since we are American, we definitely do. We grew our own pumpkins again this year for the kids to decorate. Their friend Felix was over so he really enjoyed helping. The boys had fun drawing the faces and carving them out all by themselves. Charly only carried them in and out of the house since they were so heavy. I just made myself roasted pumpkin seeds! Later they put on costumes and went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. To our surprise there were a few other kids t-o-t as well. They didn't get alot of candy but they had lots of fun.

Spiderman Marcus, Spooky Max, Batman Felix

Marcus Shooting Around

2008-11-04T09:12:00.002+01:00

Charly took Marcus to a new playground near his mom's house. There's only one basketball hoop but the ground is rubber so it's nice and bouncy. Normally big boys are playing there so the little kids never really get a chance to play but this day it was empty so Marcus got to shoot around all by himself. Check him out...

Maxwell's Bike Training

2008-11-04T08:46:00.004+01:00

Here in Germany (or Europe for that matter) bicycling is very popular. The people believe that biking is a really good sport to get exercise, it's very affordable because you don't pay a tax, insurance or need gas like a car. The bike is also good for the environment because it doesn't make noise or release harmful fumes. With a bike you can drive short distances faster than you can in a car, they are more maneuverable, easier to park and you don't sit in traffic.

All the 4th grade students in Germany have bicycle safety training with the local police for a few weeks. They learn the parts of a bike, how to control a bike (driving straight, braking, and turning), how the helmet should fit, what the bike needs (reflectors, lights, brakes, bell, etc.), and what they should wear when driving in the dark. They also learn the road signs, how to turn left and right, hand signals, and the most important rules of the road. They practice with the police and teachers for a few weeks and then they take a two-part test. There's a written test and then there's a driving test on the street. Me and another mom was asked to help with the driving test where we each stood on a corner to check that the kids did what they were suppose to do when they came by and mark off points if they missed something or did something wrong. Once they pass the test the police gives them a bike pass - that means they are allowed to drive on the street alone without parents. They all passed! Here's some pics from the driving test.

Here they come...

making a left turn

making a right turn

Good job, Max!

Apple Harvest 2008

2008-11-04T08:27:00.006+01:00

It's that time of year again for apple plucking and apple juice making! Yeah!!! Charly's family has a small property not far from our house where they have a few apple trees. Every year we go up there to pluck all the apples. The boys (Charly included!) love climbing the trees and the ladder. We then take the apples to these people who crush and cook the apples and make apple juice for us. It's lots of fun!

a view of the property

Charly unloads the baskets from the car

Where is Marcus?

Can you see Marcus?

There he is!!!

Mamas don't climb trees or ladders

Papas do!

our haul

a harvested cornfield across from the apple trees

making apple juice

Kibongo

2008-10-05T10:48:00.004+02:00

We went to an indoor playground with some friends. The kids love it! There are trampolines, slides, a climbing structure and lots more. Here's a few pics and a video of Maxwell doing super somersaults on the trampoline...

Marcus on the big slide

kids playing soccer against the dads

Gordon's New Team

2008-10-05T10:38:00.004+02:00

Our friend Gordon Scott is playing for a new team called Kirchheim Knights. Gordon played in Ludwigsburg with Justin in 2005/06. We went to see him play on Friday night and hung out with his new girlfriend Angie who is very sweet.

Gordon warming up

Marcus (in red) shooting at half-time

Angie, Demi and Marcus

Angie, Gordon & Demi

First Day of School

2008-10-05T10:22:00.004+02:00

The first day of school for the first graders is a big thing here in Germany. There's a church service and then everybody walks up to the school where the rest of the students, 2-4 grade, do a welcoming ceremony where they sing some songs and put on a little skits and such. Then there's coffee and cake for everyone while the 1st graders have their first lesson with the teacher for an hour. The elementary school is really small with only 42 kids in the whole school. There are 8 kids in Maxwell's 4th grade class and 10 in Marcus' 3rd grade class.

2-4 grades singing welcome song

Kids singing Hokey Pokey

Kids Room

2008-10-05T10:15:00.003+02:00

I took some pics of the kids going to bed in their room. They have a homemade bunkbed that Charly made out of a two beds and a few 2 x 4's! Max sleeps on the bottom and Marcus up top. They have lots of stuff in their room and we need to organize it a lil better. All in good time!!!

Max sleeps with a tiger and a dog

Marcus hanging loose

Good Night Moon!

Closet, desks and Justin's poster

Ellen's Brunch

2008-08-31T18:22:00.007+02:00

Charly's sister, Ellen, turned 50 years old last week and had a nice brunch with about 40 friends and family members. The brunch was at the really nice Le Meridien Hotel in Stuttgart. In the room next to ours was Stuttgart's pro-Soccer team, VfB Stuttgart, having lunch before their big game against Hannover. Of course the boys were excited and took pics with some of the players. Here are a few.

Ellen

Ellen's son, Maurice

Ellen

Marcus & Thomas Hitzlsperger

the boys with Mario Gomez

the boys & Matthieu Delpierre

Jens Lehmann (the goal keeper)

Marcus & Maurice

me & Reimund

New Pool

2008-08-31T17:52:00.004+02:00

We bought an inflatable swimming pool for the kids to "swim" in the backyard. It was on sale for €50, so we said what the heck! It took over 3 hours for our super slow water hose to fill it up. The kids like the fact that they have something to cool off in and splash around a bit. The water is pretty cold, about 32°F, so we hope the sun heats it up a bit before winter comes. But Marcus doesn't care, he'll swim in ice water. He went scuba diving in it! We think he's part Eskimo. I'm not getting in til it's at least 80°! You know I'm from Cali.

Quick-Up Pool Set

Max and me filling it up

Marcus is checking on it

almost full!!!

Charly & Marcus' first cold test swim

Max first test swim

Marcus scuba diving!

Row, Row, Row your Boat

2008-08-31T16:25:00.010+02:00

We borrowed a canoe from a friend of ours to go canoeing on the Enz river near our house. I dropped Charly and the boys off in Vaihingen/Enz, went shopping and picked them up 1 1/2 hours later in Oberriexingen which is about 7km on the river. The river is really nice and calm with only a few fast flowing parts. The boys enjoy rowing and looking at the trees and birds along the way. It looks really fun so maybe I'll go next time.

unloading the canoe

helmets and life vests of course

drag the canoe into the river

London

2008-08-29T18:11:00.012+02:00

Last weekend I went to London with three girlfriends. On Thursday, we took the bus from Stuttgart, Germany at 8pm and arrived in London on Friday at 10am. It was my longest bus trip ever! We had a great time and I did all the things I wanted to do: see the Tower of London, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, ride the red double-decker bus, eat real British fish and chips and drink a pint of beer in a pub.

We did a little shopping for souvenirs and such. I also love to hear the British talk, their english is so different from American english, especially the kids. They say "Mum" for mom. I also think it's so weird and strange the way they drive on the left-hand side of the road. We drove back with the bus on Saturday night at 12am and arrived in Stuttgart at 3pm! The trip was nice but too short. I will definitely like to spend more time there again but next time I'll fly. Now that's one place I can cross off of my bucket list.

Tower of London

me and Feray having our first pint

on the red double-decker bus

London Eye Ferris Wheel

red telephone booth

?I forgot what this was?

one of the Tower of London Beefeater Guards

another guard

knight and horse armor in White Tower

London Bridge

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

fish & chips and another pint of London Pride

Buckingham Palace

Happy 10th Birthday Maxwell

2008-08-20T07:42:00.004+02:00

Maxwell turned 10 years old on August 17!!! I can't believe my baby is 10 already. Time goes by soooo fast. I told him he is not allowed to get any bigger than this! He just laughed. We didn't have a big party with all his friends. We went to an amusement park called Europa Park with a few friends. I'll put those pics up in a few days.

Here's some pics and videos from our small family party. Grandma Lola sent M&M two Nintendo DS games. I knew they would be so excited so I video taped them opening them. They like me to hide their presents in the living room and then they search for them. Max found his first and was so excited, I thought he might hyperventilate. Marcus almost started crying asking if he had one too. Max said that he thought he was dreaming. They are talking in German but don't worry their reaction is all you need to understand.

Marcus with orange soda in his beer mug

Lunch with the Family

2008-08-20T07:28:00.003+02:00

We went out to lunch with Charly's mom, Helene, his sister Ellen, her husband Raimond, and her son Maurice to a local restaurant. Maurice is 18 now and just got his driver's license in April. He also came over one day by himself in his mom's little Mercedes A Class looking so cool!

Biking with Friends

2008-08-20T07:13:00.006+02:00

Maxwell and Marcus have lots of friends who they play with and all the kids like to play with them. But their best friends are a brother and sister named Luca and Maxi. Luca is 10 and Maxi is 11 and they are really nice kids. They are always either at our house or their house. They also like to eat lunch and dinner together and do sleep-overs. They play really well together and get along great, always laughing. Luca and Maxi have a 15 year old cousin Timo who lives across the street from us, he's really nice and plays with them as well. I also help Timo with his English for school. Charly took the boys bike riding up to the next town where there is a BMX bike racing track with these bumps and hills. They had a blast!

Marcus, Maxwell, Luca & Maxi

Timo, Luca, Maxwell & Marcus

Moped

2008-07-14T08:30:00.004+02:00

Max and Marcus love to ride this old moped with got from a neighbor a few years ago. They take turns riding it a few times around our yard. They can't wait to get a real license when they turn 16 and can drive on the street! Oh, my nerves!!!

Fritz' new truck

2008-07-14T08:12:00.004+02:00

Charly's friend Fritz bought a new (old) truck. It's a 1956 Mercedes pick-up truck. He came over to show it to us and took the kids on a ride through the town. Fritz looks really crazy and grumpy in the picture but he's a good guy who just hates taking pictures...

Kids Race

2008-07-14T07:56:00.005+02:00

The kids participated in a school kids race. They ran 1.7 km (1 mile) through this small town. There were about 12 students from their school, Grundschule Riet (Riet Elementary School) who participated. Maxwell's time was 6:55 minutes and Marcus' was 8:08 mins. They were pretty tired but proud.

Max before the race

Marcus and friends before the race

the start

run Maxwell, run

Max after the run

run Marcus, run

Stuttgart Race

2008-07-14T07:46:00.003+02:00

Dee walked a 2,5 km (1.5 miles) race in Stuttgart with some girlfriends. It was a very nice and sunny day to walk through this big park near the Stuttgart zoo. Everybody who participated got a free t-shirt, bag with some goodies and a certificate. We were pretty tired and hungry afterwards, so we went to the Stuttgart Festival and had a steak kebab and a beer to regain some strength ;)

Dee, Emma, Cecilia, Jocelyn

Dee, Jocelyn and Emma

Dee walking

the afterparty...

Idea Park

2008-07-14T07:39:00.002+02:00

We went to a kids science and technology expo in Stuttgart called Ideen Park (Idea Park). There were lots of exhibits and fun things for the kids to do and learn. Our friends Maxi and Luca and their mom Silvia joined us. We stayed all day and had lots of fun.

Max at the bubbles exhibit

Max on the balance beam

Towers built with blocks

with the Expo Mascot

Marcus at the other bubble exhibit

May Day

2008-05-14T13:47:00.006+02:00

On the first of May it's May Day. It marks the first day of summer (although it rained!). The fire department put up the maypole in our small village in front of the townhall. A few days later started a 5-day festival in the big town with rides, games and booths to eat and drink. Everybody from the area came to celebrate. On Monday there was a parade where different schools, clubs, bands and organizations walked through the town wearing costumes, making music and such. M&M walked with their school wearing chicken costumes. Note: you can click on pics to see them bigger

Maypole is up

the kids sang a song

the parade

their school in the parade

Max the chicken

Max riding Top Spin

it turns you upside down and sprays water on you

crazy

Maurice's 18th Birthday

2008-05-14T13:39:00.003+02:00

Charly's nephew Maurice turned 18 years old. We went over to celebrate with him and give him his present. He also got his driver's license (you must be 18 in Germany to get one). His father let him borrow his car for a month so he was really happy. We had coffee and cake with the family and the next day he celebrated with his friends.

Ellen, Maurice & Maxwell

Charly and his mom (Helene)

Maurice blowing out his '18-shaped' candles

parking his father's car

Handball Tournament

2008-05-14T13:24:00.004+02:00

Marcus' class participated in a Handball Tournament. There were kids from different schools in our area, with maybe 15 teams in all. They were all in the 2nd grade. Marcus played really well and scored lots of goals. They also had to complete an obstacle course. They wore blue school t-shirts and of course Marcus had to have Jordan's number #23. They won 3rd Place! They got a trophy that each kid was allowed to take home for a few days before they placed it in the school trophy case.

Waiting on the bench

their first game

3rd Place trophy

Mole Update

2008-04-04T08:55:00.002+02:00

Charly decided to try to flood the mole out of the ground. So he shoveled away all the mole hills and stuck a water hose in one of the holes and tried to flush him out. Well, after about 15 minutes he gave up and turned off the water. We never saw the little critter. He hasn't made any more hills, so we are hoping he moved on.

Marcus helped

Snow

2008-04-04T08:52:00.003+02:00

Just two days after those Easter pictures in the previous post it snowed. This was the most snow we've had this year. M&M quickly put on their snow suits and ran outside to play. It didn't last though, the next day it had all melted away. Stupid Global Warming!

Marcus goes to play in the snow

Easter

2008-04-04T08:41:00.004+02:00

Happy Easter!!! Here's a few pics of our Easter activities. M&M dyed easter eggs. Marcus was very excited about it and Maxwell, well, not so much. (Just a note to check out the green grass outside the window. It changes on the next post)

We had brown eggs and some white eggs.

They turned out okay. Some were hollow and some hard-boiled.

Marcus showing off the eggs.

Our dining table decorated.
That yellow thing is called a Banana Box. It's a special Tupperware for holding bananas.
They got it from Aunt Ellen filled with choco eggs.

Who got Game?

2008-02-27T07:24:00.003+01:00

Marcus loves playing basketball like his cousin Justin. He wanted me to make a video of him playing in his room showing off his moves. Check him out...

Those Love Throwbacks

2008-02-03T09:23:00.001+01:00

I found these old pics of Marcus wearing Justin's basketball jerseys from Ludwigsburg. They're a lil bit big but Marcus doesn't care, they're Justin's. They'll fit in a few years...

Mole in Garden

2008-02-03T09:05:00.000+01:00

We have mole in the garden!!! It is making these little dirt hills all over. We wake up almost everyday to another hill. We want to get rid of it before he messes up the whole yard. Any tips?

it even made one in the soccer goal! Urgh!!!

Kids...

2008-02-03T08:59:00.001+01:00

These are just some random pics of M&M. Marcus got a red doo-rag that he thinks is so cool. He wore it to bed the first night and to school the next morning.

Maxwell having chicken wings for breakfast!

Marcus fell asleep in front of the tv.

Roast Chicken

2008-02-03T08:53:00.001+01:00

Okay, I know this is a really dumb post but I just had to show you this cool chicken roaster thing I found. It's a metal wire stand that you put a chicken on to roast it in the oven. It's suppose cook the chicken like routisserie style. Here are some before pics. The chicken came out really good, crispy and juicy. Sorry no after pics. If you want one let me know...

chicken roaster with onions on baking paper in pan

Carnival Party

2008-02-03T08:46:00.001+01:00

Carnival is really big here in Germany. Almost like Halloween in the US but without the trick-or-treating. I went to a Carnival party with my friend Jocelyn. She was a cat and I was a Pirate. We had lots of fun and got home at 3am. Here are a few of the pics I took before my battery died...

some friends

a monster who sat at our table

Hauser Look-alike Meter

2008-01-10T18:27:00.001+01:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Historic photos

Hauser Look-alike Meter

2008-01-10T08:34:00.001+01:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Dynasty

New Year's Eve

2008-01-05T09:08:00.000+01:00

We went to our friends house for New Year's Eve - Jule, Thomas and their two kids Joelle and Joven. We grilled on the raclette grill, drank wine, champagne and shot fireworks at midnight. It was a really nice night.

Jule & me getting our eat on

Jule, Joven & me

Max & Charly trying to stay awake

Marcus & Thomas play Playstation

it started snowing when we started the fireworks

white hair so young? no, it's snow!

what does snow taste like? ask Marcus

Ice Hockey

2007-12-28T17:43:00.001+01:00

It's been really cold here lately. It's 14 °F in the mornings and heats up to about 41° in the afternoon. It's so cold that everything is frozen. It looks like snow but it's just ice. Everything looks really pretty and white. We drove to a small frozen lake near our house where Charly, Marcus and Klaus (Charly's friend) did some ice skating and played ice hockey. We forgot Maxwell's ice skates at home :( so he just slid around on the ice. I just drank my gluhwein (warm spiced red wine) and took pictures.

Frozen trees on the road in Vaihingen (see castle in background)

on the playground at the lake

on the frozen lake

Marcus playing ice hockey

Charly, Marcus and Klaus

Max sliding around

Klaus pushing Maxwell around the ice in a chair

Video - Max sliding across the ice

Christmas 2007 part 2

2007-12-28T17:39:00.001+01:00

Here's a few pictures at our house on Christmas.

Our tree decorated by M&M

playing Playstation

Charly opens a present

Christmas 2007

2007-12-28T17:26:00.001+01:00

We had a small family Christmas lunch at Oma's house with Ellen, Reimund and Maurice. We had pancake soup, roasted duck, spätzle (homemade noodles), schnitzel (fried breaded pork chops), knödel (potato dumplings), red kraut (cabbage) and a fruit dessert with vanilla sauce. Sounds yummy, huh? I know...

Lunch is served

hanging out after lunch

opening presents

Family Circus Day

2007-12-19T10:00:00.001+01:00

Oma (Grandma) invited us to lunch with Charly's sister Ellen, her husband Reimund and her son Maurice. First we went to Ellen's house, then drove to the restaurant then back to Ellen's for coffee and Christmas cookies. Later we went with Oma to the circus. It was a nice day with the Hauser family.

Charly, Marcus & Maurice

Ellen & Reimund

Ellen & Charly

Oma

Marcus, Charly & Maurice

me & Marcus at the restaurant

Maurice, me & Marcus

Max, Marcus, me and Oma at the circus

Marcus rides a pony at the circus

Tightrope Walking Circus Girl

Christmas Cookies

2007-12-19T09:55:00.001+01:00

We baked Christmas cookies. M&M liked rolling and cutting out the cookies. They were yummy too!!!

Maxwell's Yellow Judo Belt

2007-12-19T09:06:00.000+01:00

Maxwell completed the test for the yellow Judo belt. He had to do a variety of throwing and holding techniques. Here's some pics...

His group greeting

Warming up

Holding technique

this head-stand was just for fun...

getting the award certificate and yellow belt

the new yellow belts!

First Snow

2007-12-09T08:17:00.000+01:00

We had our first snow of the year. It snowed very lightly two days but it didn't stick because it was too warm. We took a few pictures. Check them out...

Maxwell on his way to school

Can you play basketball in the snow?

Maxwell can try

Marcus doesn't like to sleep alone so he gets in Maxwell's bed

Marcus' 8th Birthday

2007-12-08T08:16:00.000+01:00

Marcus turned 8 years old on November 25!!! Boy, how time flies. We celebrated by going to Jumpinn, an indoor playground, with 8 of his friends. They ran, jumped, played and ate for 4 hours then we took everyone home. This place is the best because Mommy doesn't have to clean, cook, entertain or anything. And the kids have a great time!

East & North Europe

2007-11-09T09:13:00.001+01:00

We made a trip through eastern and northern Europe. We drove from Germany through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia (where we visited Justin & family), Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark in 8 days. We drove 2,986 miles and took 3 car ferries.

on one of the ferries

a castle in Denmark

on another ferry

border crossing somewhere!
(I think it's Sweden to Denmark)

on of the ferries we took early in the morning

this ferry trip took 9 hours from Finland to Sweden
so we had a cabin in the ferry

hotel room in Finland

on one of the ferries

My Titanic pose

our car was pretty full

another ferry ship

a schnapps I got in Finland, cute huh?

and yet another ferry...

a video driving onto the ferry

Berlin

2007-11-09T08:55:00.001+01:00

We stopped in Berlin on our way home and did a little sightseeing. Berlin is a big city with lots of see and do. We will definitely go there again.

the east German car Trabant

the Berlin Wall

Silver Soldiers

Brandenburg Gate

Checkpoint Charly

Berlin Train Station

Biker with warm Pretzels

Reichstag (German Parliament Building)

More Latvia

2007-11-09T08:40:00.001+01:00

More pics from Ventspils, Latvia with The Loves...

shopping

Deme & Jami girl

a church in Ventspils

an anchor on the Ventspils beach

at the Ventspils beach

one of many Ventspil's cows

Charly locked up

Pork heads for sale

Ventspils, Latvia

2007-11-09T08:10:00.001+01:00

We drove to Latvia to visit Justin and his family and had a great time.

Justin warming up

Jamison & Katy

Jamison & Maxwell

Charly, Jami, Max & Marcus

Marcus loves holding Jami

enjoying the game

Jami is one cute, happy baby

Justin drinking his Hefeweizen

New York

2007-11-09T07:37:00.001+01:00

We had a great girls weekend in New York for Erica's birthday. There was me, Erica, Cassandra, Gloria, Alice, Tasia, Cheryl and Cassandra. We rode the cute red double decker tour bus to do a bit of sightseeing. We also saw The Color Purple play with Fantasia. It was the best weekend ever!

Horse carriage in Central Park

Apollo Theater in Harlem

Statute of Liberty from Staten Island Ferry

Happy Hour

Samuel Jackson wax figure

Times Square

Happy Birthday Erica!

Europa Park

2007-10-07T08:40:00.000+02:00

The kids had a few days off from school so we went to this amusement park about 1 hour away from us called Europa Park. Maxwell and Charly rode all the roller coasters while me and Marcus rode everything else.

Max & Europa Park Mouse

Marcus & Mouse

On the dinosaur ride

Max & Charly on the Swiss Bobcar ride. Max is the one going "wee-oo-oo-ooh"

Cows

2007-10-07T08:36:00.001+02:00

There was a small festival at a farm nearby. We took a tour of the barn and saw (and smelled!) the cows. They were getting milked.

Hedgehog

2007-10-07T08:30:00.001+02:00

We found a hedgehog in the backyard! At first I didn't know what it was. Then I looked again and was like "Aaaah!" And ran in the house to tell Charly. He went out and took some pics. It sat there for 2 days before we realized it was dead. Charly picked it up with a shovel and put it somewhere....

Apple Juice

2007-10-07T08:16:00.000+02:00

Charly's mom has a small property were she has 3 apple trees. We plucked all the apples we could and put them in bags and baskets. Once a year this truck thing comes to town where the people can bring their apples, they get crushed, processed and then the juice is cooked at a high temperature and bottled into these 5 liter plastic bags which are then put in boxes. We had 100kg of apples which made 150 liters of apple juice (we have 30 boxes). They last 3 years unopened and 3 days once opened. The juice tastes really good too.

Charly taking the apples out the car

Charly puts apples in the crusher

Apple Juice boxes

Apple Juice Cooker

Video of packing

New School Year

2007-09-14T18:53:00.001+02:00

School has started!!! Yeah! Maxwell is in the 3rd grade and Marcus in the 2nd. They have lots of subjects (math, german, english, sport, culture, music, nature and religion). Maxwell also has swimming every other week. There are 7 kids in the 3rd grade and 8 in the 2nd. Let the games (and homework) begin....

Max on the first day

Marcus in his classroom with his teacher Frau Körper

They had a lil party program and did a skit to welcome the first graders.
Max was a rabbit and Marcus a mouse.

Max (rabbit) and Emily (donkey)

My friend Janet and family
Christian is a 1st grader with his Spiderman Schultüte

Swimming

2007-09-07T07:58:00.000+02:00

Summer vacation is almost over and school starts on Monday, Sept 10. Whoohoo!!! We went to a really nice swimming pool yesterday where they have a really cool water slide. Charly and Maxwell went on it but me and Marcus were too chicken...

Marcus watches from the side.

Maxwell looks out from the top

Charly slides

Maxwell slides

Charly's Triathlon

2007-09-03T15:21:00.000+02:00

Charly did a triathlon in a lake here in the area with his sports team.
They had to swim 600m, bike 16km and run 4km.
He made it in 59 minutes
and made 16th place in his age group of 50 men.
His team leader won in 49 minutes.

before the race with friends

Charly's bike, shoes, shirt and bag at the
changing station.

warming up in the lake

Ready,

Set,

GO!!!

Go, go, go!!!

now change for the biking

change into bike gear

biking

Run, Charly, Run!!!

He made it!!!

Tree House

2007-09-03T14:39:00.000+02:00

Charly finally finished the tree house.
He used old wooden pallets and some wood he found.

view from the back

the front

Marcus watches as Charly puts the top on

Maxwell peeking

We still need to make a ladder.

Maxwell and Daniel inside decorating.

Marcus taking notes

They've been playing in there everyday.
They put in some camping mats, blankets, pillows, pictures,
water guns, a clock and a radio.

Maxwell's 9th Birthday

2007-09-02T11:06:00.000+02:00

We celebrated Maxwell's 9th birthday by going to a indoor playground with 7 of his friends. Everyone had a great time including me and Charly because we didn't have to cook or clean up!

Opening presents

Climbing the huge slide...

Max did his first backwards sommersault too!

Golf

2007-09-02T09:49:00.001+02:00

We went with Charly's sister Ellen and her husband Reimund to visit her son Maurice, who's working at a Golf Club over the summer. M&M loved playing golf, Tiger better watch out!

Reimund shows M&M how to golf.

M&M, Reimund and Maurice practice.

Trying to look strike a golf pose!

Golfing makes you thirsty!
Yes, 17 year old Maurice has a beer.
Kids are allowed to drink beer in Germany at 16!

August 2007

2007-09-02T09:31:00.000+02:00

I know it's September but I want to share with you some of the stuff we did in August. The kids have only 6 weeks summer vacation so we did some things here locally. Nickelodeon came to Stuttgart so of course we went to see Sponge Bob. Marcus wouldn't get close enough to take a pic but Max did. We also went to the castle garden in Ludwigsburg.

Castle in Ludwigsburg

Max & SpongeBob

1st Post

2007-09-02T08:54:00.000+02:00

Welcome to my first blog! I got the idea from Katy and Justin whose blog is oh so cute with Miss Jamison. I think it's a great way to share info and pics with family and friends. Especially for us being so far away here in Germany! Now let's see if I can just keep it updated...

This was in the Grand Canyon Aug 2006