Totally gratuitous...

Took these pictures of the Sophster in front of the ranch just before the party. Maybe it's just because she's my little tulip, but ain't she the cutest thing ever?

Cinco en Mayo...

Although her birthday is tomorrow, we had the kiddy celebration of Sophia's fifth birthday yesterday at Happy Kids in Eppelheim. B wasn't taking any chances on a party at home with the crazy weather we've been having. Last thing either of us wanted was a house full of kids with cabin fever hopped up on icing. The day turned out to be beautiful, which had the unexpected bonus of leaving the place almost completely empty. It felt like we had rented out the whole joint.
This year B somehow averted the usual cake disaster: it was beautiful and quite tasty too! Emily enjoyed herself thoroughly (she’s laughing on the inside). Finally, I think all my talk about grilled chicken hearts has created a scarcity of this precious commodity in the Heidelberg area. Enter the turkey heart. They're about 5 times the size of chicken hearts and every bit as good. I'll spare you the photos as they seem to shock even hardcore chicken heart lovers. I can sense profound your disappointment...

Teeth are falling…

like rain at the Prickril compound; two in the last 2 days. It seems Sophia’s body is in a rush to grow up. B pulled the first one on Friday with thread at the request of Sophia, as it had become ridiculously loose and was bothering her. Once the tooth fairy remunerated her that night, I knew it wouldn’t take long for her to want the other one pulled. I was surprised however when she asked me to use the doorknob method. Unfortunately (for her), it was so loose it came out when I was trying to tie the string to it. Just when you think they can’t get any cuter, they do!

I think Sophia will somehow be even cuter when the top ones come out.

Zoo perfection...

Today we decided to go to the Heidelberg zoo. As I've said before in this blog, it's a whole different (and better) experience if you get there early. It opens at 9:00. We parked directly in front of the entrance at 9:45. I've always been impressed with the zoo's design: it gets you really close to the animals. Today was no exception. We went into the enclosed space that houses a lot of birds and were also treated to closeups of monkeys and even a sloth (who appeared to have been given on overdose of Redbull).

The kids were in top form for most of the trip. I attribute their good mood to the almost perfect weather (sunny and in the 70s).

The highlight was the seal show/feeding. Today it started at 11:00 and kept the kids spellbound.

Robert is beginning to show the same compulsive need to take pictures or video 24x7. Although I recognize it as a clear sign of genious, B’s not sure he can handle 2 shutter bugs under one roof.

Voodoo in the burbs…

Our obsession with grilling shows no signs of abating. My lust for chicken hearts is also in full effect. Even I think they look spooky on skewers. I discovered today that they are excellent in a salad. 

Was playing with settings on my camera and took this test shot of dandelions  . Oddly beautiful somehow.

Spring flowers…

After a winter that was real bummer, I can’t say enough about this spring. Feels like we’re in Southern California (a version with better beer). Yesterday B took the kids to the pool in Schwetzingen. I somehow lucked out and got to stay home. I worked out and then took a jog in the woods close to the salt mines (work). I must say I was really impressed with “Walldorf Pond”, as I affectionately call it.We’d been there once for a function for Robert’s school, but it was dark and extremely cold. Yesterday was gorgeous. Tons of sunshine, flowers everywhere and a nice pond to stare into to relax the ol’ melon. I went back later with Robert, who also enjoyed it.

Today, Sophia’s school had an event at the Catholic church on the Hauptstrasse in Walldorf. She didn’t participate on stage, but was very cute singing along in the audience. My patience for virtually all things religious is well know. I lasted through about half of it and the went down the street to have a cold beer. Something about knowing I was missing an incredible Spring day.

I was later joined by the kids, who wanted ice cream. I gave Emily 5 Euros and sent her on her way. She spent most of it on a 4 scoop monstrosity that only she could dream up.As usual, Sophia knocked back a cold one with Daddy. If you’re offended by a four year old drinking beer, you should see her with a hangover. Brutal. By the way, I am kidding.Showing an international flare, Emily got her hijab on (really a scarf she borrowed from B)        but soon after was spied praying in front of the church. It reminded me of the time we were visiting a cathedral and when B explained what a confessional is; Emily all but broke into a full sprint in the other direction!

On the way home, the girls bought roses. Nice touch, no?

Now we're talking...

It was an interesting weekend weatherwise. Saturday was kind of cold and very rainy. That night we went to Anrea and Thomas's house with the intent of going out to hear some live music. We sat down in their living room to have some wine (chicks) and a few cold ones (dudes) and nosh on some appetizers Andrea made. The next time we looked at the clock it was 3:00 in the morning. No live music, but we had a great time anyway.

Today, Sunday, was a glorious spring day. Emily spent the night at a friend's house so things were pretty calm at the Prickril Compound. We met Thomas, Valeria and the cutest Volmering, Gabriel, on the Hauptstrasse in Walldorf for some more beer and conversation. Spring reconfirms that we made the right choice moving here. On a final note, we still haven't stopped our compulsive grilling. I keep thinking we'll get sick of it but it hasn't happened yet. I'm now serously addicted to lamb, Greek style. B is running some errands now, but as soon as she gets back we'll fire up the Weber and continue the assault on our arteries. This week I'm going to look into legally changing our last name to Adkins...

I love a parade...

Actually, I don't. I make an exception to my "no parade" policy when my kids are involved though. The weather this weekend was exceptional, sunny and in the low 70's. The kids acclimated with impressive speed.
On Sunday, Robert and Emily participated in a parade that started at their school and wound its way through Walldorf's Hauptstrasse. The costumes were colorful enough to put Frosty the Snowman himself in a Springy mood.

Emily made a beautiful flower.
Robert was a gardener, appropriate given how well he typically takes care of his sister (the daisy).
It turns out Sophia is not the most patient parade watcher I’ve ever seen. Below, you can see her resting before the parade got into full motion.
Here you can see her filling the entertainment void (in her mind anyway) left by the parade.
After an hour or so of marching (maybe less), the parade ended at the Astor House.
We then headed to the Hauptstrasse to drink Hefe and have ice cream (I’ll let you guess who had what).
The sun poking through the clouds over St. Peter’s church on the Hauptstrasse inspired me to take an HDR shot. Not too bad (if I do say so myself).

By the way, my blood is a thick jello of saturated fat after a full weekend grilling everything we could get our hands on. It was good, but I've never craved roughage so much in my life. Just a heads up that my next post may be written from the cardiac unit at a hospital in Heidelberg.

It's a Webbuh...

Ever since we moved into a proper house last August, B has been dreaming of buying a grill. Today we finally decided to pull the trigger. We carted up the kids and went to the big Bauhaus in Viernheim and bought a Weber Q200 with a handy dandy stand(y?). In Seattle during the summer, we grilled almost 3 meals a day (throw another Eggo on the barbie).
While I risked our lives setting the thing up and connecting the gas tank (basically a rented bomb), B went to SBK and bought an obscene amount of grillable stuff. As I type, the luscious smell of steak, chicken and linguiça is wafting from our patio through the living room. It's a little past 20:30 and the kids are ravenous.
Now that the temperature is reaching a respectable 20 degrees (about 70 for those in the States), the smell of grill'n has officially kicked of Spring for us at the Prickril compound. We're counting on seeing a lot more of Thomas now that he lives down wind.

By the way, grilled chicken hearts (seen above on skewers) are a taste I developed in Brazil, where they are common in churrascarias. While at first seeing them on spits spooked me a little, I must admit that now they're my favorite part of the grilling experience. All I can say is "don't knock 'em 'til you tried 'em".