Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Sincerely struggling to stay sanguine…

After a couple of weeks of beautiful weather, it may seem petty to complain about the forecast for the Heidelberg area (Walldorf in this case), but the timing of the rain and the return to good weather seem especially cruel to desk jockeys like me. Oh [Higher Power or your choice], why hast thou forsaken me?aaaweekend

Going underground…

For a long time, I’ve been conflicted about exposing our family so deeply via this blog. I think I’ve arrived at the decision to restrict access. The fact is, I’m not interested in writing a generic/impersonal blog. The primary purpose of my ramblings is to keep our close family and friends periodically apprised of our shenanigans (it saves time writing e-mails and yacking on the phone). Blogger lets you limit access to 100 users, which should be more than sufficient given the limited readership of this blog.john-wayne-gacyI’m planning on making the change in the next couple of weeks. At the risk of sounding arrogant and/or self-important, if you’d like to follow this blog (and are not immediate family and/or a psychopathic stalker/killer), would you mind responding to this post so I can add you to the “in crowd”?

Monday, April 26, 2010

Gross!

Although I love Emily dearly, I am often amazed at her natural ability to do things that make me cringe. To wit: no one should be able to bend their leg like this. It’s really hard to appreciate just how weird it is. The first pic looks Photo Shopped, but I swear it isn’t. Next time you lie in bed, try it. IMG_9744 (1024x683)IMG_9743 (1024x683)The word I usually associate with Emily is “beautiful” or sometimes “pest”. All I can say tonight is “Gross Emily!”.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

High times on the Hauptstrasse…

To give B a little rest and to keep my liver from atrophying, I took the kids to the Hauptstrasse in downtown Walldorf for a few hours this afternoon. On the way, we came across one of the floral arrangements that are ubiquitous in this part of Germany this time of year. I (of course) couldn’t resist the temptation to snap a few pics.IMG_9667 (1024x683)Emily only went after assurances she could take her ailing dolphin. I think the spring air did him some good.IMG_9668 (1024x683)IMG_9676 (1024x683)Sophia decided to use one of her sister’s new shirts as a dress. I personally think she worked it.IMG_9670 (683x1024)IMG_9671 (1024x683) Robert was dying to get out of the house. He’s now learning how painful it is to wait for women (even worse Brazilian women) to get ready.IMG_9678 (1024x683)        Walldorf is a hub of activity (albeit low key) all Spring and Summer. I love sitting out with half the city, knock’n back cold ones.IMG_9713 (1024x683)IMG_9714 (683x1024)After a dinner of Wiener Schnitzel and Spätzle, the girl cooled off in Walldorf’s artistic fountain.IMG_9722 (683x1024) IMG_9724 (1024x683)I’m not certain what prompted Emily to spontaneously pray, but I’ve learned over the years it’s better not to ask: This approach provides me with plausible deniability should the authorities get involved.IMG_9708 (683x1024)Robert, as usual, was a saint.IMG_9711 (1024x683)As I stated in a recent (and quite rare) Facebook post, if there’s a better combination than German beer, Cuban cigars and Southern California weather, I haven’t found it.IMG_9687 (683x1024)I was so inspired, I actually took an HDR of (almost) the same shot. God I love Hefeweizen!hefe cigarillos_9703 (683x1024)

Good light on their good side…

A Brazilian friend of ours whooped up a huge batch of feijoada a few weeks ago. It was so big that we had to freeze about half of it. We decided to take it out of the freezer and gorge ourselves on Brazilian grub today. B made a farofa that couldn’t have been any better.

As soon as the meal started, I noticed the light reflecting off our neighbor’s house through the dining room window was almost perfect for photography. What else can I say other than “I love these pictures!”?IMG_9616 (1024x683) IMG_9620 (1024x683) IMG_9626 (1024x683) IMG_9633 (1024x683) Robert was on the other side of the table, where the light was a bit harsher. I still love this shot of him.IMG_9646 (1024x683)How can a little girl with so much ice cream look this sad? I assure you it was only temporary.IMG_9651 (683x1024) See? IMG_9666 (1024x683)It’s the color in the eyes that always intrigues me.Copy of IMG_9666

Erste Communion…

Emily’s first communion is coming up and the Prickril Compound is in turmoil. We’ve got a passel of Brazilians that will hit the beach (pun intended) in a couple of weeks.

A couple of weeks ago the kids communion duds came by mail. Emily and Sophia can wear the same size. Almost. After falling in love with the purple-flowered dress, B called and audible and made Emily swap with Sophia to get a better length.IMG_8619 (683x1024) IMG_8620 (683x1024)Here’s Emily testing the dress’s whirl envelope. It passed with flying colors (whirling colors?).IMG_8621 (683x1024) Here she is in the new dress. For some reason, Sophia was camera shy that day.IMG_8624 (683x1024) IMG_8625 (683x1024) I tried to get two smiles in one shot, but the odds (and the girls) were against me.IMG_8628 (683x1024)Maybe it’s just parental pride, but Robert looks to me like a model in his new shirt and tie.IMG_8629 (683x1024)

Sunday in The Hague…

We weren’t sure what to do on Sunday so I (foolishly it turns out) suggested that we spend some quality time in The Hague. For those who don’t know, The Hague is a city in the Netherlands. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t know whether The Hague was a city, a building or courthouse (it’s the de facto capital of the UN and a place one often hears of regarding international court proceedings).IMG_9394 (683x1024)IMG_9400 (640x1024)IMG_9393 (683x1024)I guess one must have to know The Hague well to have fun there. Poposuda, our navigation system, was profoundly confused by some construction there so even getting into town was trying (I’m sure I broke a non-trivial number of Dutch traffic laws in the process). We parked close to what we though were some landmarks and walked around a bit. It was nice to see bleach white Dutch folks getting their tan on.IMG_9405 (1024x683)IMG_9419 (683x1024) The kids played in a park while B shopped at a department store (and I enjoyed the sun) then we headed like a shot back to Heidelberg.IMG_9431 (1024x683)Next time we’ll drive around looking at tulip fields and/or see Kinderdijk.

Renting time in Amsterdam…

Saturday afternoon (before the boat ride) we found ourselves at The Dam. B wanted to take a carriage ride through the city and, since the carriage was small, I graciously offered to stay behind. The sacrifices one makes for one’s family…IMG_9033 (1024x683)IMG_9031 (1024x683)IMG_9035 (1024x683) Anyway, the 40 Euros (or so) bought me almost an hour by myself. A bargain if you ask me!

Amsterdam by boat…

If you know Amsterdam, you know that you have to see it from the water to really appreciate it. On Saturday afternoon, we lugged the kids on a typical boat tour of Amsterdam.IMG_9128 (1024x683) IMG_9155 (683x1024)As I mentioned in a previous post, the weather couldn’t have been any more beautiful.IMG_9161 (1024x683) IMG_9173 (1024x683) IMG_9181 (683x1024)Due to the omnipresent canals, Amsterdam has over 1,000 bridges. I find the old fashioned draw bridges particularly beautiful.IMG_9214 (1024x683)The kids behaved themselves remarkably well, arrive back at the dock just as dry as when they left it. This is a memory I hope stays with them for the rest of their lives.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Parenting is tricky…

There are two types of parents in the world: those that let petty health concerns prevent their kids from having a little fun and those, like us, who for reasons they can’t necessarily understand after the fact, let their children play with winged rats in Amsterdam. A week later, I can assure you the kids show no signs of any loathsome diseases. Yet.  IMG_9084 (683x1024) IMG_9088 (683x1024)IMG_9061 (683x1024)The truth is, the man selling birdfeed at the Dam made the pigeons look sanitary. On an unrelated note, I caught a nice reflection in my sun glasses (worn by Sophia) at a café beside the Dam.IMG_9050 (1024x683) IMG_9050 (2) (1024x684)Finally, it looks like Robert’s rabid aversion to costumed characters doesn’t apply to superheroes. Not that I have any room to talk, but Spidey needs to lay off the carbs (although the six pack on his sternum is impressive).IMG_9104 (683x1024)