Saint Nickolaus

Our sweet German grandma that lives behind us in the bakery told us that St. Nickolaus would be coming to the park and we knew we had to go.... even if it was FREEZING! There were a few little tables set up with crafts and goodies to eat. The smells of hot cider and sweet waffles filled the air, mixed with fire and smoke (see photo below). We were very intrigued by this fire log. It had been cut inside and with the holes leading to the top where the smoke would rise like a chimneyA community choir sang 3 songs and St. Nickolaus read a short verse. The little kindergarteners sang an adorable song (this is all in German of course)... and then the children all gathered around the stage area and were given a small sack of chocolates from the Saint. By then we were all cold and ready to go home for some nice hot chocolate.

*gasp*

AHHHHH!!!!!
I really wasn't gone for very long and to be honest if Ben hadn't taken the video I wouldn't have believed it had really happened. LUCKILY... yes LUCKILY that was my "old" mascara.

My baby is growing up!!

I guess he is not the baby anymore... but instead an adorable 6 year old boy who just lost his FIRST TOOTH!!! I'm actually surprised this hasn't happened earlier with all the exciting and adventurous activities we are involved in. We also were surprised to see the new tooth already poking it's way through inside (like a row of sharks teeth)....and we were told that is completely normal. But who knows, the way this kid swims I wouldn't be surprised if he DID have shark teeth :)

POLAND

With a holiday off from work and school, we decided to visit the nearby country of Poland. Everyone talks about getting their handpainted ceramic pottery, dishes, bowls, etc... and we are glad that we made this trip. There are a lot of "shops" which were not very big, some were the size of a small bedroom, but they were stacked with loads of the painted kitchenware. It was also their National Independence Day so many of the shops were closed. In our short time we saw A LOT of dishes and also saw some of the painters at work, ate at a local restaurant, saw glass blowers at the BOROWSKI Factory (well known for their modern glass sculptures) and enjoyed our stay at the a nice bed and breakfast. "What's for lunch?"To the left is the Blue Beetroot Inn, an old barn that has been tranformed into a nice little getaway. We just loved the old exposed beams throughout and the arches in the eating area.

It really was like Christmas uncovering all these from their brown paper and bubble wrap. A very fragile and breakable Christmas.... happy to say that none were broken during that time.

I just love this boy!