Birthday Weekend

Our sweet Lissie turned 17 yesterday. She woke up to a waffle-strawberries-fresh whipped cream birthday breakfast before the boys headed out to help with an Eagle project. We met up with them again a few hours later for birthday lunch at Cafe Rosso in downtown Heidelberg. Christian and Bryant then drove (Christian can legally drive now, remember?) to their jazz band performance at the Village Pavilion, and Tracy and I took Lissie up to the Loop 5 Mall in Frankfurt for a three hour shopping adventure wherein she traded much of her birthday money for H&M stylishness. Hmmm ... we could have stayed in Heidelberg for that!

Oh, and the birthday celebrations turned into "weekend" celebrations mostly because I hadn't had time to make her cake (a.k.a. cherry pie) yet. We saved the cherry pie making, singing, and blowing out of candles for today!

Here are some pictures to commemorate her special day:

At the Cafe Rosso

The ever lovely Lissie (in H&M birthday outfit)
and the festive cherry birthday pie

Happy Birthday, Lissie!

November's "Top Ten"

So basically, I'm not doing much better in the "post slacking" department. My goal was to write about November while we were still in the month of November . . . I'm no longer sick, but I think maybe I'm still dealing with homework, picture and camera issues. Sorry!

But anyway, here are the "Top Ten" highlights from November:

1. Tracy got to visit Matthew in DC.

2. Tracy, Christian and Bryant enjoyed a Switchfoot concert in downtown Mannheim, (Tracy's birthday present this year).

3. Lisa and Lissie had a girl's movie night: We watched Victoria and Albert (my favorite!) and Pirates of the Caribbean (Lissie's favorite!).

4. Christian got his German and USAEUR driver's licenses. Woohoo!

5. Christian finished his college applications.

6. Lissie beautifully performed her Grieg piano duet for Young Women in Excellence.

7. Lisa received the "hedgehog" award at Young Women in Excellence (in honor of the dream I had back in August that one of the YW got bit in the big toe - by a hedgehog - whilst on our high adventure ropes course!).

8. Bryant's soccer team won all of their games in November.

9. Bryant survived a soccer cleat gouge to one of his legs -- he earned that win.

10. Bryant got his hair cut . . . he was starting to look like an ELF, again!

And here are some pictures to go along with the highlights:

Christian's German driver's license -- it NEVER expires!

The Switchfoot Concert

Dad and Matthew in DC

Sick and Slacking

Well, you may or may not have noticed that I have been slacking on my blog posting. (This might out all of you not-so-dedicated followers!)

It got away from me in September when I actually wrote a nice long post about how Tracy kept falling asleep in Sunday school on the very day that our favorite teacher taught on how the Apostle Paul healed a man who had fallen (asleep) and out the window during one of his sermons! Well, it's mostly funny because I had inadvertently given Tracy a double dose of Tylenol PM (it has Benadryl in it), and he kept nodding off in church. Just a little embarrassing. Hey, I thought it was regular Tylenol! We figured out the real culprit (not me, the Tylenol PM) when we got home and read the ingredient list on the medicine bottle. Hmmm .... I really should not have let him drive us home from church that day. Oh, but this is how the blog posting got away from me on that very day -- the post wouldn't save (or post) and I therefore lost my interesting (and somewhat long) narrative. Bummer. It's taken me two months to recover.

And I can add to that explanation with a long list of other reasons and excuses for my blog slacking:

1. I have too much homework.
2. The dog ate my homework (we don't have a dog), Turtle??
3. I never have pictures to post.
4. I never have the camera to take pictures.
5. The camera is out of batteries.
6. I forgot how to save other people's pictures from FB.
7. I rarely get on FB.
8. I have an aversion to FB (I even have to abbreviate it).
9. You've probably already seen these pictures on FB.
10. . . or Notesshewrote!

Well, you get the picture. The lovely list goes on and on. But I'm trying to play catch up, so here are a few pictures from the (also neglected) month of October:

Christian decided to go to the HHS homecoming dance at the last possible moment. He cleverly used the money I had sent with him for the ordering of his cap and gown -- for a Homecoming Ticket! What?

He's the cute one -- second to the last on the left.

Their homecoming restaurant reservations also changed last minute . . .
to McDs!

A few more pics from homecoming week --
The seniors had a "Lord of the Rings" theme.
Here he is in his Lord of the Rings toga:

And one of his favorite classes - AP Lit, also in toga attire:

And finally, here is a picture of Lissie from the stake Halloween dance. She cleverly made herself some antlers so she could go as a deer. I had hoped that she would take some pictures of the boys too, but all of her shots were taken in the girls bathroom. That explains it, I guess. But just so you know, Bryant had come up with an Aragorn costume complete with (toy) sword. He looked fabulous! Christian wanted to be an "alien hunter," and I broke down this year and made him a very clever costume (square silver helmet, square silver body armor with "alien hunter" in large print), but he decided (last minute, again!) to go as HIMSELF! What?? I think I'm back to never making costumes again.

And one last excuse: I'm home sick today!

Oops . . . I was wrong, again!

I learned just today that Bryant was given a CD of pictures from the canoe trip from which to make a Court of Honor slide slow for tonight. What? Actual photo evidence from that crazy trip?!

So basically, the purpose of this post is to add a few pictures (that I convinced myself were nonexistent), and to admit that I was wrong, again!

Bryant and/or Christian are in each of these pics . . . see if you can pick them out.

The Truth About Camp . . . and Other Summer Matters

Well . . . when we really get to the bottom of our summer schedule, we soon come to understand why a school semester was dragged out until yesterday. Yes, Yesterday! The last of the school assignments were finally turned in by about 4:00 p.m., and now we can all relax (for about a week) until school starts up again on the 29th! Flexibility is one of the perks of homeschooling, right?

But truthfully, no one is complaining about school or summer schedules here at our house -- we had girls camp in Baumholder, a "turning 18" birthday celebration in Berlin, EFY in Blaubeuren (which overlapped with a two-and-a-half week fun-filled visit from the Clark boys), and a 50-mile scout canoe trip down the Neckar River. I've actually been holding out on this post because I was hoping for some pictures from the canoe trip, but here is where the truth comes out: Boys (and leaders, for that matter) do not take pictures on a canoe trip that includes a large amount of capsizing, chasing, and dunking! If they had taken pictures, I'm quite certain the pics would have ended up on the "lost or ruined" list by the end of the week. In fact, here is a list of the items that were either completely ruined or quickly sank and settled to the bottom of the river:

Christian -- 2 pairs of shorts, 1 towel, 3 shirts, 1 backpack, 1 duffle bag
Bryant -- 1 hat, 1 shirt, 1 pair of shorts, 1 towel

You may be interested in knowing the following --

1) Christian was wise enough to store his ukelele in the transport vehicle.
2) He wore only underwear for part of this trip (yes, his mother was horrified).
3) My boys now have a keen interest in jumping off of bridges.
4) Camp showers can be very tight, brief & towel-less.
5) Watching out for barges is imperative -- they are bigger than canoes and errant swimmers.
6) Every single item (including themselves) was wet and reeked of river water when they returned home. An immediate shower and many loads of laundry were a must as soon as they stepped through the door.
7) The above mentioned backpack and duffle bag actually made it to the "things ruined" list because they disintegrated in the washing machine.

Smelly Mess was swapped for Shredded Mess!

I should briefly mention highlights from girls camp too -- Lissie did a record amount of hair braiding, and a five kilometer hike in the pouring rain -- but was one of the few who did NOT jump in the lake; she also got to know a pet pinecone named Gerald, was cast as Taylor Swift in the ward skit, and apparently only lost one thing (our camp chair bag!).

When asked to share highlights about EFY, here were the kids' answers: testimony meeting, dances, classes, the variety show, and all of the new friends from 31 different European countries!

And finally, a few pictures to remember the summer by . . .

Matthew and Bryant playing their duet!

Lissie and "the Sailors" performing at the variety show

Klara and Lissie

Matching ties (How did they manage that?)
Christian, Ezra, Taylor, Bryant

Braiding marathon

More camp fun!

Our summer is quickly coming to a close -- and that's the truth!

Here it is . . .

Well, here is the picture from the Europa Park Fun Day that I promised I would post ("the boys are flexing and the girl is screaming!")

I only wish I could see your reaction when you first set eyes on it!

You're probably wondering about the boys' shirts . . . I think it was a combination of:

1) Not wanting to get (the shirts) wet and
2) Wanting to show off!

It was the perfect picture to remember a wonderful day which was spent mostly on

ROLLER COASTERS!

"Lissie and The Sailors"

Somehow Lissie is able to get these guys to pose for pictures, learn new songs, make music videos for her blog, wear matching outfits . . . and even sometimes speed walk, jerk step, and cartwheel to the park and back!

Really?? What an amiable/cooperative/good looking group!

Obviously, they've ALL got me charmed. I know you've probably already checked out their latest music video -- "Lissie and the Sailors" playing and singing the Good Life by One Republic (if not, you can find it over at Notesshewrote) . . . but you might not have seen the kids' EFY talent show videos yet. Here they are performing the same song for the 300+ International EFY crowd in Blaubeuren, Germany last week:



And then Matthew Steffen and Bryant got another chance to wow the crowd with their Grieg duet:



ENJOY!

The Fun Continues . . . at Europa Park

Well, the fun continued with more band practice, playing soccer, watching the women's World Cup soccer match at the ice cream shop (GO USA!), a trip downtown for shopping and more pictures, swimming and making music videos, but the highlight was an entire, beautiful, uncrowded, rainless day at

EUROPA PARK!

Christian just had to get his picture taken with the princess when we arrived:

(that is one lucky princess!)

The kids rode EVERY roller coaster -- some several times!

Well, actually, Lissie and Ezra went out on their own a couple of times while the others rode

Blue Fire and the Silver Bullet

(and I was thinkin' along those same lines for almost every roller coaster choice)

Hey, it was Ezra and Lissie that got the cool pic out in front of the Blue Fire!

There were opportunities to GET WET!

. . . and plenty of reasons to SMILE,

. . . or to be caught OFF GUARD!

Here they all are at the end of the day -- just a little more tired. I'm thinkin' roller coasters can cause some wear and tear! Ezra and Bryant weren't so sure they had the willpower to pose for just one more picture. In the end, though, they proved to be characteristically cooperative!

Christian, Lissie, Taylor, Matthew, Ezra, Bryant

I have one more pic to add to this post once I get it scanned. It is from the Poseidon roller coaster experience . . . the boys are flexing and the girl is screaming -- most definitely worth checking back in later!

More FUN to follow . . .

The Fun Begins

The long awaited arrival of Taylor and Ezra Clark has come

(and Christian, Lissie and Bryant are elated!)

Here is a rundown of the first day's happy reunion:

1. A jam session in the band room for a couple of hours -- this seemed to be their first priority!
2. A bit of eating and sleeping in preparation for the forthcoming evening/night activities.
3. BBQ and water games (after heavy thunderstorm!) with the Heidelberg Ward Youth.
4. Double Feature of Harry Potter 7 - parts 1 and 2 -- Premiere midnight showing.

They got to meet and greet some of the HP characters (Deatheater and Hogwart's students?) before the start of the show:

And here they all are with their 3D glasses anxiously awaiting the start of the first movie:

Matthew, Ezra, Bryant

Christian, Taylor, Lissie

Notice all the lighting bolt scars?

We got home about 2:30 a.m. which was still normal waking hours for the Georgia boys, and I let them all sleep 'til noon the next day. Hey, they needed to recover and rest up for the remainder of the upcoming week's activities, right?

More to follow . . .

Birthday Bash in Berlin

So, turning 18 should be memorable, right?

Christian just turned 18 last week, but when he was first born I remember thinking that every year his special day would be "heralded with fireworks" (because his birthday eve, aka The Fourth of July, happens to be a rather "celebrated with fireworks"" occasion). This year we not only enjoyed birthday eve fireworks, but additional festivities in the form of a pre-birthday bash in Berlin.

Consider the following sampling of memory makers:

-- A "Fat Tire Bike Tour" through the city of Berlin complete with knowledgeable guide, pouring rain, and ponchos!

-- A visit to the Pergamon Museum to see (among other antiquities) the impressive and marvelous gates of Babylon. Imagine us conjuring up images of King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel.

-- More rain.

-- Some public transportation challenges -- construction, detours, and other subway and strassenbahn mishaps.

-- The Beatles Musical -- All You Need is Love at the Berlin Estrel Hotel (despite the mishaps, we arrived just in the nick of time!)

-- A little more rain.

-- Sunday morning church in the Berlin-Dahlem Ward.

-- A Sunday afternoon walk through the city of Hof -- one of Tracy's mission cities.

-- And some more rain.

-- Our arrival back to Heidelberg -- to SUNSHINE!

Remnants of the Berlin Wall and a sniper tower:

Jewish Holocaust Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate

Imagine Babylon in Old Testament times:

Before and After Church:

Christian's facial expressions tell a little more of the story:

Public transportation woes . . .

Poncho complications . . . and museum contemplations.

The Beatles Musical was the highlight for Christian.
All You Need is Love!
This picture was taken right after the performance.

And finally, the birthday boy, on his actual birthday, getting ready to eat his favorite meal.

Happy Birthday, Christian!

Red, White and Blue

I apparently made those red and blue bow ties just in time for the patriotic season. Lissie was able to talk her brothers into wearing them (and matching her) to church last Sunday. At first the boys were both a little hesitant, but their sister's charm eventually won them over.

Really, how could they resist?

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!