Long awaited day....sort of

I have been waiting for the day that these two can sit down and play a board game together.  Ethan LOVES board games and wants us to play constantly.  Lincoln is just not into them.  

This morning, after breakfast, they got out Guess Who and started playing together.  I left them alone and ran upstairs to get ready.  Within five minutes, I hear, "YOU LIAR! QUIT CHEATING!"  Apparently, Lincoln didn't want to lose and lied about his man being bald.  

So, I am still waiting on that day!

Chapins

 The Chapins arrived a week ago.  Nate has known Patrick since college and I've known Pat and Sara since we were in Ohio (nine years ago).  They will be here for our next two years!  :)  

 They have three little girls and none of us were sure how the boys and girls would do together, but they hit it off immediately!  Each day, the boys ask if the girls are coming over!

 This past Saturday, we went to Burg Lichtenberg.  Exactly a year ago, we went to the annual medieval festival.  It was cool to take them to our first castle experience for their first castle experience!

They did NOT have this deliciousness last year!  It's grilled bread with butter, cinnamon, and sugar!  Oh my it was yummy!  

Erzenhausen Play Date

The Monday after school was out, the Erzenhausen folks met up at the playground for some playing and some snacks! 

 Tami made some homemade scones.  They were a hit!

There was a group of about 20 German kids (on a field trip?).  Our playground is not very big, and our kids were really shy and bashful.

 I noticed they kept going to the playground equipment without any Germans.

It was also getting HOT!  They kept begging to go home. 

 I think they had forgotten that we don't have AC at home!  

Guilt

 I took the fellas to see Epic at the movies today.  I brought my baggies full of treats for the boys.  As we were waiting in line to buy our tickets, they asked if they could have popcorn.  I whispered, "No.  I brought treats. Please don't say anything out loud because the movies don't want you to bring treats in."  As the movie was about to start, Lincoln said, "I don't feel very good.  My stomach hurts. I don't think we should have brought those treats in."  Talk about guilt trip!  

This boy could have cared less.  He said, "Pass the treats over!"

Ethan's Talent Show

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ETHAN'S TALENT SHOW!!!

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

 After visiting Keukenhof last month, we got excited about the Netherlands and wanted to visit Amsterdam.

 We didn't make too many plans for Amsterdam.  We really just wanted to walk around and explore.

 The canals were really cool!

 My only real plan was to visit Anne Frank's house.  It was the highlight of the day for all four of us!  Lincoln has already asked if we can read it together!  He really loved the house and all the pictures.

We took the tram over to the museum area and found the famous Amsterdam letters.

 Right next to the letters was the Van Gogh museum.  

 One of the museum ladies gave the boys a scavenger hunt.  Ethan had a blast!  

It really gave Nate and I time to look at the paintings.

 The Irises

 The Bedroom

 The Sunflowers.  It was really cool to see so many paintings that you recognize.

 The boys LOVED getting their picture taken with the wood shoes.  These shoes were big.

 These shoes were even bigger!  We bought some yummy cheese!

 This was the biggest shoe!

We only had one mishap yesterday.  On the way back to the Central Train Station, we decided to hop off and walk part of they way.  Ethan and I jumped off the tram.  We turned around and Link and Nate were riding off.  They weren't able to get off the tram.  A lady had blocked the door.  Ethan I decided to stay put and wait for them to come back.  Apparently, Nate and Link decided to get off at the next stop and stay put, waiting for us.  Neither of us budged for 10-15 minutes.  Finally, Ethan and I decided to hop on the next train and cross our fingers that they were at the next stop.  They were! We now have a plan for if this happens again!  Surprisingly, Ethan and Lincoln were very calm.  

I expected Ethan to freak out, but he didn't!  

 We stayed in Leiden (about 30 minutes out).  I thought Amsterdam was full of bikes, but I was mistaken.  They were EVERYWHERE in Leiden.  This is bike parking at the train station.

 More bike parking.

 EVEN more bike parking!

 We stayed about 10 minutes from the North Sea.  So, we drove over to run on the sand!

We were planning on going to Kinderdijk to see the windmills today, but it was raining.  We decided to stop by next year when we see the tulips again!  It has been a great "end of the school year" weekend!

Last day of School 2012-2013

 It was a bittersweet day....the Last Day of School!  So many of the boys friends are moving this summer.  They also had the BEST teachers this year and we will miss them too!

 Lincoln's class autographed tshirts, and enjoyed cake and ice cream!

 The Erzenhausen boys waiting for cake!

This little sweetie, Emma is leaving for the US on a plane tonight!  

We are going to miss their whole family!:(

 Mrs. Hudnall, BEST KINDERGARTEN TEACHER EVER!

 Mrs. Hall, Lincoln's mommy #2 this year!  

I am a little afraid he may try to take her to first grade with him!

 Miss Desiree, high school helper and Lincoln's first crush!

 Ethan's class has been earning "money" all year.  Today was the big day to spend it!

 Ethan somehow picked the tallest boys in the class to be his best buddies this year!  

Mr. Woodfork, BEST THIRD GRADE TEACHER EVER!!!!  

Thank goodness our little German world is so small.  

I know we will run into each other many times this summer!

Reading Buddies

Ethan's class has been reading buddies in Lincoln's class this year.  Ethan chose to be Lincoln's buddy. Today, they ended the year with a story and a movie.  Mrs. Hall sent this picture to me!  So sweet!

Field Day

 On Friday, the fellas had field day!  Link's class had the morning activities, and Ethan had the afternoon activities!

 I was assigned a station, but there were a lot of volunteers so I abandoned my station and followed Link's class around for pictures.  As I was looking for him, I hear "You're Under ARREST!"  It sounded an awful lot like my child.  Sure enough, I found Link in the police car!

 Field day was on the brand new field next to their school.  The field was so nice.  Here Link had to put  on oversized clothes and race to the finish line.

 By the afternoon, I was baking!  We've been begging for warm weather and it arrived on Friday!  In this picture, Ethan is using his new running strategies during the rubber chicken relay race!

 Galaxy ball was a big hit with all the classes.

 We were all wishing we were in the dunking booth by the end of the afternoon.

 The big FINALE, was the pie in your face!  Mrs. Hudnall was picked for a pie in the face and Lincoln was lucky/unlucky enough to be the one to throw it.  He was so cute!

I made his pose for a picture with her and after the picture, he said, "I just realized she rubbed her face on me so I would be sticky too!"  It was so cute!  Field Day was so fun, but we were so exhausted by the end of the day!  We all slept good!