Trip to Europe

Saturday

We're finally at  the point where we have traveled to Germany to visit Tom, Martina, and the boys. Bob got home on Wednesday evening, and we spent Thursday packing for the trip and getting ready for the painters to come while we are away.

We got to the airport at 2:30 and had time for a  glass of wine before our plane departed. Because of stormy weather east of us, our departure was delayed about an hour. The flight itself was uneventful - the bad part was that neither of us slept.  I watched 21 Jump street and The Artist.  We arrived  at Frankfurt about 1/2 hour late but still had 2+ hours until the flight to Hannover.

We arrived on time; Tom and Yannik met us at the airport. We then went to their home and met Niklas for the first time - what a cutie! He has blonde, curly hair and a big smile complete with dimple.  It was a beautiful day, so we played outside on their massive swing set. Tom grilled our dinner, and we had a lovely day.  We checked into our hotel and were asleep by 9PM.

Sunday

The day was cloudy and gray. We walked to their house and had a lovely breakfast. Martina was concerned because Yannik had a fever. He slept for a while and then seemed to be better. We played with both boys all day when we weren't eating good food. Niklas refused to go to bed for the evening while we were there. Because it was raining so hard, Tom drove us back to the hotel.

Monday

Another cloudy day. Yannik seemed better. Jill and Ingo came to visit, arriving at noon. We caught up with them, had another grilled meal for lunch, and had Mexican pizza for dinner. Jill and Ingo left after dinner; we stayed a little longer but took a 20-minute walk when it was time to put the boys to bed.  When we returned, they were asleep. I guess they didn't want to miss anything when we were in the house!

Tuesday

Today was supposed to be a sunnier day, but the sun didn't arrive until after 4PM! I also misread my watch, so we got up at 5:45. Yannik had a little cough when he awoke, but it didn't seem so bad, so Tom took him with Bob and me to the Hannover Gardens.

 They were quite lovely, but Yannik's attention span was very short, so we did a quick tour. By the time we got back, Yannik was really coughing. We sat at dinner for a while and then just walked around the block until Niklas was in bed. Yannik didn't fall asleep right away, so we said goodby for real the second time. Tom walked back with us in order to pay the hotel bill. the hotel owner gave us some homemade schnapps to try, and he gave Tom a bottle to take home.  Bed before 10.

Wednesday

Today we leave for London. Bob and Tom have taken the boys to the doctor's so that Martina can sleep because she was up most of the night with Yannik. The diagnosis was not so bad - they just have colds and post-nasal drip.  We had milk rice for lunch - rice mixed with milk and some kind of fruit in a sugar syrup - we had cherries and pineapples.  Tom took us to the airport at 3PM so that we could make sure we got our boarding passes for our flight to London.

We arrived at Heathrow at 5PM.  We had an issue, however - we're used to having flight attendants give us customs documents on the plane before we land.  This did not happen on the flight from Germany to England, so Bob got out of line to get the documents, and I filled them out while we were in line.  We both forgot that Bob was pulling his bag, and so we left it in line and left the customs area before we realized the second bag was missing.  Bob went back in and was able to get the bag, but the customs person told him that in some countries, he would have been fined and sent home.  Terrorists.  Hate them.  We finally arrived at the Axel's home after 6:30.  Axel was not home from work yet - we met little Ann-Sophie, an adorable 8-month-old charmer.  She and Niklas rival each other in the size of their smiles!!

We caught up with Steffi and played with the children until Axel got home.  The kids must have been prepped because they were not shy at all - in both households, they took to us almost immediately.
We had a late dinner (the rule rather than the exception in this home b/c of Axel's work schedule) and watched the Portugal-Spain soccer game (not the World Cup but still watched by all Europeans!!) and went to bed around 11.

Thursday
For some reason, Bob and I both slept until 9AM!!  When we got up, Mark and Annie had already had breakfast, so we ate with Steffi while they played.  After we played for a while, we took a walk into Richmond for a late lunch at a German restaurant right on the river Thames. The day was supposed to be gray, but the sun was brightly shining, and it was WARM!  The walk  was lovely, and we decided to sit outside in the shade at the restaurant.  The meal was good, the beer was great, and we had another leisurely walk back to the house, stopping at their favorite coffee shop for some caffeinated beverages.  


The children fell asleep on the way home, and Mark continued to sleep in the stroller.  Annie continued her nap in the bed.  After they awoke, we played with them until Axel came home, again after 8.  We had another late meal of bread and "lunchmeat" and went to bed after 11PM.  We had given Mark The Little Engine That Could, and they had been reading it to him the week before we arrived, so I read it that evening.  He loved it!  Afterward, Axel had to read it to him again because he loved it so much!!

Friday

Again we woke up after nine o'clock.  I apologized to Steffi, but she said we obviously needed the sleep (and she's an MD, so she knows).   We got ourselves ready and took the tube into London to meet Axel for lunch at the "best fish and chips place in London."  Steffi carried Annie in a front carrier, and Mark "walked" (often carried by Bob) so that we didn't have to worry about double prams and space on public transportation.  Because we were late in leaving, we got to the restaurant late; Axel could only stay for about 40 minutes.  We did have a great lunch, and Mark ate almost all of his "kiddie" meal, which was pretty substantial.  



We then decided to take the train back since the restaurant wasn't too far from Waterloo station.
The ride back was uneventful, and we arrived back at the house around 4PM.  


More playing took place, and Axel came home a little early so that we could eat before the Germany-Italy game.  Unfortunately, the game was a bust - Italy pretty much dominated the scoring.  It was fun watching with them, though.  Bed after midnight.

Saturday

We actually awoke a little earlier than normal, but the others were either sleeping or quietly playing (the kids!!).  After a leisurely breakfast and more playtime, Steffi and I walked into town to pick up some clothes she had ordered.  Everything fit perfectly, and I bought a really nice cotton blouse at another shop.  We had a great time talking.  Then we got ready for our lunch at the The Plough in East Sheen.  Axel had been telling us about this place for a while, but when we arrived, he discovered that the awesome microbrew selection was GONE!  Apparently, a major brewery owns the place and decided that they would only serve their beers.  We had a great meal except that Steffi walked all the way back to the house because she didn't have her purse with her and couldn't remember whether she'd taken it with her. Of course, she'd left it at home - I so commiserated with her!!  

After lunch, we walked by some gorgeous mansions and through the forest near their house.  What do we call a place with lots of trees?  Not a forest; we have so many places like that...hmmm.  Anyway, we got back to the house after 5PM. 

Playtime again and then dinner - we helped with the children's baths.  I love doing that!!  I helped with Annie, and Bob helped with Mark.  Afterwards, Axel read Mark's new favorite book -- he was quite good.  Mark is ENTRANCED by this book: there's one part where, at the bottom of the page, there's something about the toys and dolls being happy the the train will try, and at the top of the next page, they say, "Hurray, hurray!"  Axel read the bottom of the previous page, and before he turned to the next page, Mark whispered, "Hurray."  It was the cutest thing EVER.

We chatted and had some wine after the children went to bed; I had pretty much packed everything except our toiletries and clothing to wear the next day.

Sunday

We awoke at 7:30 and got ready to leave.  We had our last continental breakfast with the London family, and then the taxi took us to the airport.  Even with 2 1/2 hours to kill, I didn't have enough time to shop the duty free shop because the airport is so big, and our gate was at the opposite end from the shops.  The flight went off without a hitch, and we arrived in Philadelphia ahead of time.  We were home by 5PM. 

Last day with kids.

This year has totally flown by.  Today I said goodby to some really awesome classes - this was such a good year.  In two classes, every students hugged me as he/she left the room.  My room is in good shape - tomorrow I have to label all my furniture and take out my personal things.   We don't have our normal faculty meeting tomorrow because school ended so quickly - our contract stipulates that we must have one full day after the students leave in which to finalize our grades and clean up our rooms.  So weird. 

I will miss Karen, the gifted coordinator for this year.  She and I became great friends during our time together.  I'm sure I'll get along fine with the new coordinator, but Karen and I share the same wicked sense of humor. 

One more day...

A really fast school year.

After this week, we have 7 more teaching days; finals begin on June 7!  This year has been such a good one in terms of the level of students and their engagement with the literature.  We're reading Kafka's Metamorphosis, and even though they don't really get it, they're fascinated by it.  We look at surrealistic art as we read and discuss existentialism on a very superficial level.  I think it's something they've never thought about, so they're really interested in it. 

On another note, Sam's college girlfriend received her doctorate this past week -- I'm so glad for her.  I'll never forget how people used see us together and think that she was my daughter.  I'll also never forget Jess and Chrissy telling me about what they said to Sam after meeting me for the first time:  Your girlfriend looks like -- YOUR MOTHER!! 

Creative journal entry!!

This morning I had my first period draw the place they would like to be at this moment - then we had a gallery walk around the room to see what people had drawn - worked great, great fun!

Mother's Day...

Bob is home for this year's Mother's Day - we joined Frank and Chris for dinner in Peddler's Village last night - it was a fun evening.   Bob and I went to  Peddler's Village by way of Horsham. Since Dad passed away, I don't have any reason to go to Glen Mills, where there is a Fresh Market with really good coffee beans; there's also one in Horsham with all the same good stuff.  I also bought a really cute maxi dress at Chico's in Peddler's Village; I had actually seen the dress online in the morning, but supposedly no one had it in my size...

So today we're just lounging around playing Words with Friends, reading the paper, and doing laundry.  We're due at Mrs. Roselli's house at 4PM for a little surprise party for Fran and Perry - it was their 25th wedding anniversary this past week.

Miss the emails with the message on the subject line and "see above" in the message part from my California baby.

Another week is history.

This was the week that I finalized the probate stuff at Delaware County Courthouse.  This was also the week that decisions were made about staffing at my school.  Because the gifted coordinator position does not require any special gifted certification, it seems to be the new dumping ground for teachers who would otherwise lose their jobs.  While I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone lose a job, the ultimate burden of training said coordinator rests with me because I'm the only one left standing -- all the other GIEP writers have moved back into the classroom.  I'm lucky that my principal understands that and is willing to keep me in the classroom with all gifted students, but it's still very time-consuming, especially at the beginning of the school year.  This year's crop of kids is so wonderful - I'm truly lucky.

I'm reading Game of Thrones per my brother-in-law's recommendation.  It's compelling, I must admit. I'm also playing - badly - Words with Friends... strategy is obviously not my forte.

Another Saturday, another sad occasion...

The sisters made an executive decision to inter Dad's ashes separate from the funeral.  While I agreed and still do, we now need to bury his ashes, so today is the day.  Fran, Judy, Connie, Steve, and our cousin Becky are coming.  So many sad occasions in so many weeks...

I was out for 3 days after Dad passed away, days which were spent gathering photos and getting ready for the funeral.  Connie and I spoke; Frank and Fran sang; and Kelsey, Alicia, and Nicole read from the Bible.  Pastor Krewson, who married Bob and me, officiated.  We had many people come through the line that we hadn't seen in years along with friends and colleagues for all of us.  It was a long, emotional day - even my uncle, who has recently had ankle surgery and lives in Ohio, came to the funeral.  My mom's brother and sister(married to the above mentioned uncle) were there, too.  Members of the Jones Boys came - Roy Straigis can still work a crowd - and Mike DeSimone came.  He told us that a Red Cross pavilion in NJ had been named after Dad - wow.

Then Connie and Steve and I went to the lawyer on Tuesday to start the estate stuff - and he's Bob's hearing aid guy's son!  Small world.  Next Monday, I go to the courthouse to sign and swear for my part of the probate -- the probate stuff  is necessary only to deal with Dad's wretched time shares....

Time to text Judy and find out if there's any plan in place for today.

Later in the day...
It was cold and windy at the cemetery, but the interment was well done by Pastor Krewson.  Afterwards, we all went to Lamb's Tavern in Broomall for lunch - a place Dad enjoyed going to for lunch or dinner.