Mika was in doggie heaven this afternoon: during an after swim play date with Lily, their family dog joined the girls on the upper bunk bed!

Our two seniors, Bruno and Tobin, took Mika on an Elephant ride through the jungle of Carroll Playground. Since Tobin hadn’t napped all week, there were a few encounters with a screaming monkey as well…

Today was Tobin’s first day of school as a “senior” student. He was generally looking forward to going back to school, but didn’t like the fact that Mika’s school doesn’t start until tomorrow. Combine that with a rainy commute, and it’s obvious why he would’ve preferred to stay at home and play with Mika all day. He was warming up quickly though, and we left him in a good mood at the end of the “welcome breakfast”. All went well.

Mika’s two BFFs Mica (from school) and Olivia (from pre-school) got to know each other during art camp this Summer. They quickly discovered that both are friends with Mika, as well as share a common love for art. Today, all three girls had a play date together and were already plotting the next super-sleepover…

By Tobin. My mouse pad has been confiscated as a duck pond.
“The big duck has wings to fly … the baby can’t fly”

We went to the Red Hook Pool this afternoon, with only five days left of this year’s season. The kids talked me into buying ice cream right before dinner, which is pretty much unheard of in our house. My only condition: they had to share one…

Note: i am slowly milling through the massive backlog of our travel pictures. Please scroll down once in awhile for updates on the events in August, as i will post them under their original date.

Apart from a library of selected picture books from my own childhood, there is always an abundance of new little Pixi books in Omi and Opa’s house. These 0.95 cent treasures were already a phenomenon when i was a kid, and the publisher has done a great job featuring contemporary storytellers and illustrators along with the classics. Since they’re so small and inexpensive, they get purchased on regular grocery shopping trips, as treats, and as stocking stuffers.

On our third trip to Omi Hilde, Opa Addi drove us over and we all spent the day together. Less than 5 weeks after her accident, Omi Hilde had just lost her right hand cast and was able to take a few, light matters back into her own hands. It was great to see her regaining strength and independence, while showing continued optimism. Mika showed off her latest craft projects, and Omi Hilde helped the kids’ bunnies get better, who had also “broken their arm/leg”…

For the fourth year in a row, Omi Hiltraud and -Ulla brought together their children and grandchildren for a big play date. Although it was raining severely all afternoon, the clouds parted just long enough for our group shot on the stoops. Click through to go back in time … 2010, 2009, 1nd 2008.

This year, we were able to visit one of my oldest friends again in Ludwigsburg. Sophie and i met 1972 in preschool, when we were about the same age as Tobin and her son Robin. Fast forward about 40 years, and our friendship extends to each others family. It is always a special treat to spend a few days together.

Tobin was as excited as Bruno to be riding the ICE again. Thanks to a well packed bag of snacks and entertainment, the almost 6 hour ride went by reasonably fast (last hour treat: watching a movie on the ipod). Mika still remembered our first visit to Schloss Ludwigsburg two years ago (a real princess castle!), and was a little bummed we didn’t tour the inside of the building again. The kids had a fantastic time in the baroque garden maze though, and discovered the Märchengarten with little rides based on Grimm’s fairy tales. On the other two days, we explored the immediate neighborhood, played at home in the garden, made various freezer pops, and had a great BBQ. Thank you Sophie and Frank for making us feel right at home … and thank you Robin for so generously sharing your toys, books, garden, and parents.

We maxed out our HVV family day pass by taking the #62 harbour ferry line all the way from Landungsbrücken to Finkenwerder. On the way back, we made a stopover at Övelgönne, the scenic Elbe river beach with front row seats to the international container terminals on the other side. We watched a massive Hamburg Süd vessel being turned 180° and then pulled backward to dock at Hapag-Lloyd.

Mika and Tobin are missing Luna quite a bit, and their ever-popular ‘kitty’ pretend games have multiplied since we got to Germany. Mika also made a paper cat, whose cardboard core is filled with arts and crafts garbage to add more weight. That way, Mika explained, the cat doesn’t fall over when she is dragged around the house on her leash (it works!).