Misc #2

Again, some pictures and activities that don't easily fit into an entry by themselves...

The boys have been having lots of sleepovers. When families live quite far away from each other but the kids are friends from school it is really the most practical way to get them together. Here are some photos from a sleepover Joseph & Leo and Daniel & Thomas had. As you can see they had lots of fun! They claim they even got a bit of sleep! :)

Do you recognize Monty Python and the tapping coconuts?

On Sunday we were invited to the home of our former German teacher. They have a lovely home in a suburb of Heidelberg. Her husband is a hunter (a serious business here in Germany - lots of training to get a license, hunters often sell their meat to restaurants since wild game is a real treat and speciality here, etc.) and they have a small cabin in the woods - in the Odenwald. They took us there on Sunday afternoon. The colors of the trees on the drive up were spectacular! The cabin was wonderful - very cozy, charming, warm and comfortable. The walls were decorated with hides and skulls from his hunting successes. The room was lit by candles. They served cake and coffee, wild roasted meat (wild boar, I think), wonderful potatoes cooked in a Dutch oven, bread and various other wonderful things! Once again we found the Germans to be so warm and friendly! The kids loved their two large dogs and we spent the whole evening speaking German. We were far from perfect but if, 6 months ago, someone had said that we would have been having a conversation in German for an entire evening in early November neither Jeff or I would have believed them!

Cameras can never capture what things are really like but here is a picture taken out of the window of our breakfast nook to give you an idea of the colors this fall. They have been spectacular and they have lasted SO long! They are past their peak finally but are still beautiful. I took this picture just yesterday!