Family Visits

It has been a busy time in the Groth household. OK, it's always a busy time, but we have enjoyed having family visit. First Larry's mom came and spent time here for the kids birthday's and then my parents came for 3 weeks over Ali's school break. They had an opportunity to visit her school and Landon's too. Then we spent a week driving through southern Germany and into Austria. Although it was cold and snowy, we shared many laughs and had a good time. So I've posted a slide show from our trip.

Happy Birthday Landon

It’s hard to believe our little boy is going to be 3 years old on Friday! I remember very well thinking he would never be. But on September 18th, 2006 we were blessed with our little boy. He was a challenge to create, he was a challenge as an infant and he continues to challenge us each day as a preschooler. He can stir emotions in all of us that we never new we had. We can be laughing and tickling one minute and then the next we will want to toss him into the moat! We have never loved so much and been frustrated so much by the same little person. Landon is curious and clever. His guardian angel is exhausted at the end of the day. He loves the Backyardigans, Winnie the Pooh and Hannah Montana! He LOVES his big sister! He will happily watch Barbie movies with her and dance to Best of Worlds. He LOVES his daddy! They have a special bond. Landon and Daddy go for walks to the bakery and enjoy their special quite time at bedtime. He LOVES his mommy! Every morning they say goodbye to Alianna and Daddy and that’s when the Landon and Mommy Morning Show begins. They have live cooking demonstrations and special guest appearances. In August Landon took the show on the road and reports live from kindergarten. They even have a theme song! Yes, our little boy isn’t so little any more. He is beginning to speak more and really let his personality shine! He loves his “brotchie” and “cucumbie” and everyday we must walk to see Frau Schumacher to get his bag of gummie bears! He isn’t interested in riding a tricycle or playing with trains but boy can he chase and terrorize our family of ducks! He would rather jump on the trampoline and eat rocks then swing. He definitely dances to his own tune.
HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY LANDON! We love you!

Time just keeps flying

I can't believe how fast time keeps flying by. We seem to always be so busy. Larry has been very busy at work, often not coming home until 8:00 pm. Alianna has several school functions and playdates and Landon is beginning to build his own little social life. I'm just trying to keep it all together! I am waiting for the day I forget to pick someone up from something!

We are currently planning for the kids birthday parties. Landon will have a small party at home some of his friends. I will let him skip school that day and we will celebrate with a Winnie the Pooh theme! Alianna will have her party a week later and we have invited 12 children. The party will be at an indoor play place with trampolines, climbing wall, bumper cars and bouncy things. She has been planning it in her head since last year. Her theme is horses. I think both parties will be great and I will post pictures when the time comes.

This past weekend I went with my German teacher and some of her other students on a 14 km hike in the Eifel region of Germany. We took the train about an hour south and hiked through a wide range of terrain. We stopped in a couple of small villages along the way to warm up with hot chocolate and coffee. It was a fun day, but my legs are still sore this afternoon and I am very tired. I wish there was time for a nap.

Larry misses the opening weekend of football. Even I miss taking the kids to Ann Arbor and walking around the stadium before the game starts. Opening weekend of football here just wasn't the same. We send our hugs and kisses to everyone and hope all the kids have a great start to the new school year!

Summer Vacation

Southern Spain was a wonderful change of pace. I was finally hot! It has been so damp and chilly in Germany. In Spain we had 80 degree weather and sunshine each day! We stayed in a great apartment. For us apartments are the best way to vacation. We have room to move and a kitchen! When we know the kids just won't make it in a restaurant, it's nice to be able to cook and eat at home. Alianna made several girlfriends at the pool. There were many British families staying there the whole summer. So Alianna had a chance to speak English and swim all day long.

Landon loved swimming as well. He loves jumping in! He spent hours jumping in and climbing out, jumping in and climbing out. He slept great at night! He speech made big improvements on our vacation as well. He has started saying small sentences. My favorite is "Ah, come on..." which he says drawn out when he doesn't get his way.

We didn't do much, which is what we wanted, but we did manage to take a few drives in the mornings. We walked through Marbella (we loved), Estepona (just OK), and Torremolino (very touristy). It was something special to be sitting at a beach side restaruant and staring at the rock of Gibralter. Then just past that was the coast of Africa. The views were beautiful.

We have 3 weeks left of summer vacation before both kids start school August 17. Alianna will start 2nd grade and Landon will start German Kindergarten. During the 3 weeks we hope to have lots of play time, bikes rides and maybe one more mini vacation. I am currently planning our next trip for October when my parents come to visit. We are very excited to be having family stay with us. It great to go home and visit but it is also nice to share our life here with family and friends.

It's all the same in a very different way...

June 25, 2009 is just a few days away. That day will be exactly one year since we left for our adventure abroad. It has passed so quickly in a very slow way. There were several days at the beginning that I never thought I could do this. It was so difficult; the hardest, biggest change I think ever in my life. Even harder then going from a couple to a family. Everything changed all at once and we were on our own.

But now, a year later we are a stronger family unit. I still don't feel like this is home, but there is a comfort level I wasn't sure I would ever have. When we return from a vacation out of Germany there is something about crossing the border that feels 'normal'. We don't spend so much time talking about all the things we miss; instead we've started enjoying the things we have here. We have even talked about things we will miss from here once we return home! I will always have bad German days, but I also always had bad Michigan days. So one year later we are stronger, wiser and a little fatter from all the bread! No matter how much time passes though, my German will always stink! I will never get use to the language.

I was thinking about the year and then the question that has come up so often by friends. "What is it like there? I just can't imagine what your daily life is like." I came up with it's really all the same, just different. Let me explain...

1. We wake up to church bells ... instead of an alarm clock.
2. We eat breakfast ... called frühstück and eat brotchen instead of toast
3. The kids go to school each morning ... no busses, we drive them
4. We go shopping and run errands ... just not on Sundays or after 8:00 pm. The stores are closed.
5. We have clocks ... but they are in military time. I pick up Alianna from school at 16:15.
6. We drink coffee with friends ... yep! Starbucks is here too.
7. We drive or take public transportation ... just with different signs, rules, speed limits and in metric.
8. We have Park and Ride lots ... and actually use them!
9. We watch TV ... Grey's, Lost, House is just not the same in German!
10. We use debit cards ... they are called EC Karte.
11. We get money from an ATM ... it's called a Geldautomat
12. We take weekend trips ... instead of going up north we go to the Eifel.
13. We go on vacations ... instead of Chicago we go to Paris, instead of Mexico beaches we go to Spain, instead of skiing out West we go south to the Alps and instead of the Caribbean we go the Canary Islands.
14. We have trash/recycle day ... 3 times a week! Yellow day is plastic, Blue is paper, Brown is Bio, and Gray is regular trash. Glass is recycled in a different container that we have to drive to.
15. We go grocery shopping ... several times a week because our refrigerators are so small.
16. We go grocery shopping ... we have to put money into the cart to use it and bring and bag our own groceries.
17. You have one-stop shopping ... we go the butcher, baker and the getranke shop (for drinks only)!
18. You have Buschs, Country Market, Hillers, Sam's Club ... we have Edeka, Aldi, Rewe, Kaufland.
19. You have Target ... and we have nothing even close!!!!!

So those are just some of things to help you understand what things are like here. The best way I can describe it... it's all the same in a very different way!