A growing problem solved

The weather man was dead wrong yesterday (yeah!!! It was supposed to rain) and today. Another sunny, beautiful day here in Germany.

I got the kids' bikes down out of storage and they rode them around for a bit. Problem is, the bikes haven't grown at all over the winter. And the kids HAVE - like weeds. Ian still is the big boy in class and Leah now is taller than everyone else in her class too. I identified the problem, and came up with a solution - I'm guessing this problem isn't staying solved...

Don't worry, no kids were harmed in the making of this photo. I had the kids hold one brick on their head and then photoshopped in the stack (which I'd taken earlier in the day).

Prior to the shenanigans above, we all hopped in the Mini and drove a bit down the road to the walking/bike path that was most likely an abandoned railroad line, complete with a tunnel through the "mountain". There are some interesting things to see, but today's was mostly Catherine, Ian, and Leah.

Catherine was a photo diva today. The kids brought their camera and Ian must have taken five or more photos of just Catherine. No one else was allowed in the photo! I just took advantage of his timing, is all.

Finally, one last very exciting development that happened while I was in Georgia: Ian learned to tie his own shoes! He is getting to be such a big boy (which is why I need more bricks).

Have a wonderful day everybody. We did here in Germany!

Cheers,

Marc

Photos of the kids

Ian and Leah are just too photogenic!!

They can be difficult at times to "direct", but ultimately I can count on a couple of keepers every time we go out! This one below is from the Schloss Oberstein (yesterday's castle). I really do love when they hug and have fun together. Not only is pleasant, but it provides me with awesome ammunition in the future...

It seems I always end up cropping my photos to a 4x5 factor (from 4x6), it seems to clear away some of the clutter. This is probably my favorite portrait of Leah from Saturday.

And this is my favorite of Ian's. He seems to be sad or really hamming it up for the camera, so this is a nice one of him just having a nice time.

Have a wonderful day!

Cheers,

Marc

Schloss Oberstein

I got back from the States a bit early - this Thursday instead of this upcoming Monday. I put in most of a full-day's work on Friday, and we got to have some family fun today (Saturday).

The day started grey and rainy, but thankfully cleared up wonderfully for lunch. After lunch we all took a nice walk on the paths out behind our house.

It isn't too often that I get in front of the camera, but Catherine coaxed me out there.

And again with Leah this time.

After our walk I wanted to see Schloss Oberstein (Oberstein Castle) in Idar-Oberstein. I've driven past it many times, but have never actually been there. So I loaded up the kids in the Mini Cooper and off we went. The GPS got us close, but ended up leading us on a wild goose chase. Thankfully there were signs, but it did take some careful looking. There are actually two castles there (apparently brothers had built their individual castles 300 meters apart), and this one is the lesser of the two. The bigger one has a restaurant and what looks like a B&B, though I'm not too sure of the latter.

I have a couple more photos of the kids that I took that I really like that will be posted tomorrow, so look for another post shortly.

I'm glad to be back home, it was a long 2-3 weeks away from Catherine and the kids. And hopefully the last time for quite some time. Have a wonderful day everyone - we've certainly had one.

Cheers,

Marc