Gibt's die noch …

Oder sind die Altmanns vom Erdboden verschwunden?

Es tut mir leid, dass wir nicht früher etwas gepostet haben. Einigen habe ich gesagt, dass es 2-3 Wochen dauern würde, es sind leider 2-3 Monate vergangen, bevor ich dazu gekommen bin. 

In Kurz

Hier unser Haus (für 1 Jahr gemietet) von vorn und hinten.

Mit etlichen Fehlstarts--so viele Häuser angeschaut, eines fast gekauft (wir haben dann doch abgesagt)--sind wir am 5. August in diesem typisch amerikanische Haus gelandet. Die Ranch muss warten: Es wäre doch zu viel Neues auf ein Mal. Unser neues Heim war weit unter schweizer Niveau (vor allem der Putzstandard!), aber wir geniessen das grosse Garten, die 3 WCs und Nähe zur Familie (etwa 15 Gehminuten zur Peters Schwester). Unser Kontainer ist am 7. Aug dann heil angekommen.

Jetzt, 6 Wochen später, meinen wir endlich etwas von einem Rhythmus gefunden zu haben: Die Kinder wissen, was die Lehrpersonen von ihnen erwarten, mit wem sie Mittag essen können und mit welchen Schulbus sie nach Hause fahren. Die Umstellung war (ist) alles andere als einfach. Sogar die Symbole und Namen für Multiplikation und Division musste man lernen!

Doch manches bleibt gleich: (Eli am Springen)

Sehr viel haben wir erlebt …

Segeln bei San Francisco mit den Grosseltern

Wenn im wilden Westen …

Regelmässig Fro-yo (Frozen Joghurt). 

Dieses Mal mit den Cousinen.

OK. Es gibt natürlich viel mehr zu erzählen, aber wir wollten mindestens ein Anfang machen. 

Bald mehr …

First Day of School, Aug 2013

Trying to keep up the tradition of first day of school pictures, but it's tough, when school already starts in the middle of August. Getting stared was like "no big deal" this year. No big nerves, not being able to sleep the night before, etc. Guess they are getting older ...

More Summer 2013 Fun

OTHER ADVENTURES

We did do some other stuff this summer too. The Austrian family came to celebrate Eli's birthday. Reuben and Dina went to a "Dog Fun" camp for 4 mornings, and we took Chayton (the horse finally has a name--means "falcon" in Sioux) to a nearby lake to try to get him to go swimming.

Reuben & Dina

With treat in hand, Dina dutifully follows Reuben's wishes

Eli's B-Day

What would Aug. 2 be without breakfast in bed? Certainly not Eli's birthday!

Swimming?

We tried our best to get Chayton to go in the water. He did, eventually, put his front hooves in, but that was as far as we got.

Visit from the Austrian Family

This was something we never thought we'd see …

Peter's Godson

It's more of a responsibility/honor that we expected, but here's Paul Wyss, our neighbor downstairs, who got to come home after a couple of weeks in the hospital.

Summer 2013

Summer 2013

Here are some of the highlights of our summer vacation. We went to Italy for 10 days--shopping and sightseeing in sweltering Rome, and then the beach with friends in Tuscany.

Reuben lookin' over the ruins of the Colosseum … Interesting for a few minutes, but not quite as cool as the gelato waiting outside on such a hot evening.

What do you think about these new digs ... Eli exchanged all her money into Euros to go on a Roman shopping spree, which included the pink jacket and the hats (she bought one for Reu too)

WATCH OUT! Mom driving the pedal car in the middle of Rome (well, in the Borghese Gardens)

Beach--Here We Come!

A sea urchin we found while snorkeling

One of the beaches we went to ... look at that--"waves" in the Mediterranean

Wine tasting party in a Tuscan village. Yum, yum!

Reuben's Drum Recital

A few weeks ago Reuben had his debut performance, playing "Zombie" by the Cranberries. Eli stepped in as camerawoman. Hope you enjoy (and don't forget to turn down the volume on your computer)!

And ... just for fun, here's a little something Reuben found in the woods (now resting in a special corner of our balcony). Ah, the troubles boys will go through to rule the world.

Breakdance Performance

Reu can't wait to get all this broken arm stuff behind him so that he can get back to this

The Fastest Draw in Dielsdorf

Reuben's discovered a new world: the Wild West as told through a series of cartoons called Lucky Luke, which happens to be written by a Frenchman (They are available in English too!). Reuben has read over 40 of these comic books now, mostly this summer.

Behind the back … No problem!

Not even a broken arm can slow down the Lucky Kid