Math

Conversation at the dinner table:

Lincoln:  Did you know that when you add a number to zero it's the number?

Ethan (very matter of factly):  Uh...yeah!  It's called identity property.

Sweetness

This guy can be so moody.  Yesterday, he told me that he wished I got ran over!  A few days ago he told Nate that he was the worst Mario player ever!!!  Of course, these outbursts usually occur after we have told him to do a chore or stop playing something he enjoys!
Tonight he got up to get a drink for himself, and he brought Ethan one without anyone asking him.  Later, as I went up to tuck him in, he told me that I was the best Mommy ever!  (Guess he doesn't want me to get run over)!  I know that he is still figuring out how to express his emotions!  For now, we will all enjoy the roller coaster ride!

Buddies

Ethan's teacher wrote all the parents today to tell us that the student's behavior in the hallway today was horrible!  He said that they were so loud another teacher came out to tell them to quiet down!  Ethan's teacher wrote me personally to let me know that Ethan was not one of the loudest (but he was still talking).  He also told me that he had to separate his buddy from him because Chase loves Ethan so much and that he thinks the feeling is mutual!  While I was not happy that he was talking the hall, I am so thrilled that he has a good buddy!
When he got home, Nate asked him what he was talking about in the hallway.  He said, "I was asking if he watched that guy jump from outer space!"  I have to admit that was really cool!!!  :)  

Acht

 Look who is eight!

Happy B/day to my awesome eight year old!!

A few of his favorites:

Song-Call Me Maybe

TV Show-Ninjago

Food-Bacon

Hobby-Making Paper Airplanes

Sport-Soccer

Board Game-Life

Black Forest

After a crazy day at Volksfest, we decided to enjoy a quiet day in the Black Forest!  The drive down to Triberg was just like the pictures you see in books!

I had MAJOR flashbacks to my family vacation to Colorado in the 6th grade.  Every few miles, my parents would say, "OH MY GOODNESS!  This is GORGEOUS!!"  I think I said that a few hundred times today!

We stopped in Triberg because the House of 1000 clocks is here!  We knew that we were going to get our good friends a Cuckoo clock.  We have never wanted one because I think that constant cuckooing would drive me insane!  The guy who sold us the clock showed us that you can turn off the cuckoo!  So, we ended up with one, as well!  

After seeing all the dirndls and lederhosen yesterday, we stopped in a shop to see all the different styles you could get.  Did you know that REAL lederhosen start at 100 euro.  They are made of leather.  I had no idea until we got here.  A dirndl can cost well over 100 euro, too!  

We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant.  We enjoyed lunch with two cute knights!

Today is Ethan's b/day.  So, we ordered Black Forest Cake for lunch.  When the waiter set it down, all you could smell was the liquor!  It was so strong.  The cake was practically inedible.  The boys and I ate the cream and that was about it!

Triberg has a large waterfall.  It had rained all night and I only brought suede boots, so we passed on hiking up the falls.  They were pretty!

This is the self proclaimed largest cuckoo clock in the world.  

The poor kids had to endure us stopping every few miles to take pictures!  The pictures do not do it justice.  The drive was breathtaking!

This village is at the bottom of a hill and has a cobblestone street.

We stopped at Cafe Konig in Baden Baden.   We stopped here with the Prices in August.  Nate had to try their Black Forest Cake!  It was so much better than the cake in Triberg!

This weekend was so fun!  I love our three day weekends!!!

Stuttgart Volksfest

Welcome to Stuttgart's version of Oktoberfest!!!  I knew we were in for a treat when we saw two YOUNG girls on the train to Stuttgart drinking Champagne straight out of a bottle.  Of course, they were wearing Dirndls, traditional German dresses.

There were rides, beer tents, and lots of people!!!!

The boys are both taking a class at school called Host Nation.  Their teacher is a German guy that they call Herr Schuster.  All we can figure out is that he tells them all kinds of random German travel information.  We learned a few weeks ago that we should have gone to Bad Durkheim to the wine festival.  The latest info he gave them is that if the boys go to Oktoberfest to stay clear of the bumper cars because German kids can fall out of them!  Of course, the fellas wanted to try them out!

Guess who saw a pirate ship and HAD to ride it??

After enough carny rides, we stopped into a beer tent for some lunch.  As we walked in, the band started playing Sweet Caroline.  It was HILARIOUS to hear the Germans singing it!

Just a few people here!

 It was so LOUD and crowded, but it was a cool experience.  It's nothing like the Biergarten in Epcot!  hahah!

 This was the "tent" we went into.  It also looks nothing like a tent!

 We took a ride on one of the ferris wheels to get perspective from the air!  This place is HUGE!

 The boys spotted cotton candy.  In german it's called zucker watt.  It tastes the same!   YUMMY!

 Our plan was to make it until dinner.  That did not happen.  I had a few panic attacks. There were soooo many people!  I definitely have some crowd claustrophobia!  We made it to about 3:30, and then got back on the train for the hotel.  Nate fell fast asleep.  

About five minutes into the car ride, the fellas fell fast asleep!  We had a good time.  I am glad that we went to get a feel for how the REAL Oktoberfest is.  I can start planning my panic attacks for next year!

Leaf Day in Kindergarten

 Lincoln's Kindergarten class had Leaf Day today, and I got to help!  The lady helping him is Mrs. Hall.  She is the aid in the classroom and he loves her.  She loves to spoil all the children, and I am pretty sure he takes FULL advantage of that fact!

 I stayed at one center and he rotated around.  He was so excited to be doing the projects that he didn't even miss me!  

 I snuck next door to get a picture of him.  This is Emma, a friend in his class, who also rides the bus with him.  

 One of the last centers was his favorite.  They put leaves in the water and then put pennies on the leaves to sink the leaves.  They counted how many pennies it took to sink each leaf.

I had so much fun watching him at school.  Nate and I always knew how Ethan would be at school.  He is such a rule follower.  We were curious how Link would be.  He is definitely more outgoing than I thought he would be.  Mrs. Hudnall told me that he is very smart and that when he gets into mischief, he looks at her and grins!