Happy Birthday Bobber!!!

Or, as everyone except Sophia calls him, Robert. Robert had three birthday celebrations this week: one at his school, a simple one here at the compound on Monday with hot dogs (Brazilian style) and cake and another one Saturday at JumpInn, where 15 kids helped him celebrate the anniversary of his eighth year on planet Earth. Somehow, we spent about 6 hours there. After the guests left, Thomas, ever the bad influence, tried to keep my beer glass full. I, of course, tried to keep it empty. I can't speak for Thomas, but by the time we left I was still feeling quite festive (does that mean I "won" the battle of the beer glass?).
As far as I could tell (by the their sweat-drenched clothing and hair), the kids had an absolute blast. Some of the younger ones could not grasp that some people, especially adults, don't speak German (even though, by now, we should). Their confusion at ours was quite amusing. With enough improvised sign language and help from our kids, not too much was lost in translation.
That night, we got a babysitter and had dinner in Schwetzingen at Zum Ritter. Not the most romantic place we could think of, but their food is good and their Hefeweizen is better. Most of the time, the service there is really good too. Last night, the waiter recommended Camembert cheese with (some kind of) berries as an appetizer. It was outstanding.

We sat and talked until a little after 10 when we decided to head back to the ranch. The kids were still awake and stayed that way until after 11:00. Would have to chalk that one up as a great day.