So sorry. So very sorry. It's funny how maybe there is less to say now...so much of my blogging was often about what is "unusual" about life in Berlin and well, now it's much more home to us. But, that doesn't mean I still don't have things to say...
So where did we leave off?
Gosh, back when school was ending. Man, that was forever ago. Oops.
So, the boys passed their grades...
(This was not the picture seen on Facebook...we had to take a "fake" one without Dalton's glasses for Facebook as he didn't want anyone back home to know he had glasses before we arrived in Colorado.)
Autumn finished kindergarten.
I was pretty sad to say goodbye at that point.
They gave us hugs and presented Autumn with this special book of cards and pictures they had been working on. She got gifts from her teachers. It was really special and I'm so grateful to that place and those people for teaching her German.
Her last day was a Friday. The following Monday, we all left for the States. Jason left earlier in the morning for San Diego for a work thing. The kids and I headed out a few hours later for our very long journey to Colorado.
Jason joined us about 4 days later after his conference. Just in time for my birthday on July 25th:
(I realize Jason is not in this picture...however he is babysitting the kids so the rest of us could be there to celebrate me.)
Colorado was wonderful other than the jet lag being super hard on ME (kids did surprisingly well, however). We got to see many friends and family.
We also got to be there for my sister Lauren's birthday which was great as I know it was hard for her not to have us last year.
Jason's dad and step-mother drove all the way from Louisiana to join us at my mom's for a few nights.
And later, my mom even splurged on this amazing weekend in a mountain town (Breckenridge) with all her descendants.
Colorado was wonderful. Jason stayed just over two weeks with us in Colorado before heading back to Berlin. The kids and I ended up staying a month total. We left Colorado on August 20th and after a stop in Chicago and then in London, we arrived back "home" in Berlin on August 21st.
Autumn's 6th birthday was a few days later on the 24th. Jason took the day off work (a Monday) and we celebrated our little Goose.
Because we were so newly back we didn't plan a birthday party with friends for her right away. We decided to wait till she had some new school friends to invite to a party but there always seemed to be something on the calendar so it was awhile before we ended up having a birthday party for her...that will come in a bit.
The boys started back to school on August 31st.
On September 5th, Autumn had her "Einschulung".
And on September 7th, she started her very first day of primary school.
She already had several friends in her class thanks to being in a class of 1st and 2nd graders...she knew a few 2nd graders from having been in the halls and such with her brothers last year. Plus one girl from "the other group" at her old kindergarten specifically requested to be in Autumn's class.
For the first time ever, all three children were going to the same building. SO NICE.
Before long, "school stuff" started back up: I'm volunteering as a parent representative for the second year in a row (last year was Easton's class, this year is Dalton's). And we had to get to work right away on preparing for the school-wide "Festival of Nations" fundraiser on September 27th. Dalton's class (that I'm a rep for, remember?) teamed up with another grade to present: Indonesia.
That took up a bit of time. Combined with trying to plan out our upcoming vacation (see below), I felt quite busy.
Right after the Festival of Nations ended, we school "event people" decided to take on planning a Halloween party. And that took up even more time. But before I was able to get super into Halloweening, we finally had a birthday party for Autumn on October 4th. I hosted an "Autumn tea" for about 7 little girls after church. Jason and the boys left for the afternoon , so I indeed hosted. It went well enough. Nothing fancy, really, but it was good enough for Autumn. Poor thing had to wait, like, a month and a half!
But back to Halloween.
Halloween falls during the "Fall Break" for the Berlin schools so we had to plan the school's party for after the break.
But instead of doing party stuff for the whole of Fall Break...we went to London for a week! (Perhaps much more on London will come another time.)
In addition to the regular typical sight seeing, highlights included a trip to the WB Studios where they filmed Harry Potter, taking in a musical in the famous "West End" (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and standing in two hemispheres at once astride the Prime Meridian.
We were back in Berlin for Halloween which we celebrated by putting on our costumes and sitting around the house.
We could have headed out to one or two neighborhoods a ways away to Trick or Treat, I hear, but the kids opted not to. Fine by me. Instead, we watched Harry Potter to see some of the things we had just seen in London (the kids watched Harry Potter LAST Halloween too!).
That whole following week I turned a crazy person preparing for the Halloween party. With my mind elsewhere, I completely forgot to take Autumn to a birthday party we had RSVP'd for. D'oh! To complicate matters, my intensive German course began that week as well.
The first day of class should have been a Monday but it was a "teacher work day" for the kids so they didn't have school. Naturally, I had to stay home with the rascals. Second day of German should have been that Tuesday but when I showed up, the building had been evacuated due to discovering an old, undetonated WWII bomb. (A common occurrence, apparently.) By the time we got back in the building, most people had left so they cancelled class on the rest of us!
But after that I was finally good to go. There is only one other American in my class, she's also the only other native English speaker. Class is 4 hours a day, 4 days a week (plus significant homework!). Wednesdays are my "free" day. I have started back at the beginning: A1.1. Thanks to my first "mom's course" and living here for 16 months or so, I should have easily been a level higher but that class didn't start until January and I was ready to get going so I went back to the very first level and, obviously, it's easy so far. But, I'm still learning stuff and definitely building confidence. Again, it's so neat to be in such an international setting. Sometimes I wonder how I'll do when we finally move back to the States one day. This experience of living abroad has been extremely eye-opening and enriching.
Anyway...
The Halloween party was the Friday night after my first "week" (2 days) of German school (November 6). It was quite a success! Funny though, I took it on so that my kids would be sure to have a Halloween party. If someone didn't step up, Halloween in the school might not have happened. (It's sort of a bummer part about living here)...and then, well, I was so busy at the party I hardly even saw my own kids at the event! Oh well. They had a great time. And, Easton's class won the pumpkin carving contest:
And there's me not realizing my picture is being taken as I play a game with the 273 kids (and their parents!). (I really hope I do not always look so slouchy and frumpy. Let's blame it on the pirate attire. Yikes!)
Just as before, we continue to host small group, Jason continues to play quite regularly at church. The boys are still doing tae kwon do and Autumn just had her first ballet lesson (they wouldn't let the first graders start extra curricular's until November since starting school is such a big change for them already). Jason's job is going well. A few months back his company was acquired by an American company. As a result, Jason's role has changed and expanded...for the better. But, we're staying in Berlin for now. Don't get your hopes up, Family. :)
I cannot believe that it's already time for Thanksgiving back in den U.S.A. Which means Christmas is basically here too, right? More things to keep me busy!
Hopefully I will find myself with some time to blog again before then. Until next time...
