Karneval!

So February is all about Karneval over here.  Karneval here is just like Mardi Gras only on uncensored, hyped up steroids.  :)  They have plenty of non-offensive, fun loving parades for children and families.  They generally take place on weekdays and in the morning or early afternoon.  But the adult directed parades are all kinds of crazy and attract crowds of upwards of a million people in Koln.  The city we attended the "children's" parade in this past Sunday.  It was tons of fun and the kids came home with all kinds of loot!  Here are a few pictures of our time in the city. 

 

Koln Cathedral, really beautiful to see

 

Smurfs anyone?

 

LOVE the costumes!

 

The kids used their umbrellas to collect goodies.  They were quite the phenomenon amongst the paraders.

 

A taste of evening Karneval happenings to come!

Oh yeah, and the most interesting thing about Karneval to me is that all the Karneval hulla-balloo starts on 11.11 seeing as the number 11 is supposed to be a crazy number.  Interesting to me seeing as 11.11 is the little boy Bean's birthday!  Alaaf!

Been a While

So I know it's been a while (ok, a year more like it) but I am pretty sure no one reads this anymore.  Somehow we let Facebook get the best of us, me included, and we no longer need blogs to follow the happenings on ones everyday life.  I have decide though after reading many new blogs by friends over here that perhaps there are some of you out there who may still check in once in a while.  So, a bit of an update to start me back and then perhaps more interesting things later!

I am still in school.  I am taking online classes through National University out of San Diego for a BA in History.  No career plans for this just something I was close to finishing eons ago so I thought what better time to do it then now.  The classes are only 4 weeks each so it is super accelerated.  Makes it nice to be done with each class so quickly but they are super intensive.  Especially the 400 level classes that is about all I am in now.  :(  Anyways, I am 8 classes in now and have 14 to go.  So I should be done by summer next year.  That is the goal.  I am also in a great running groove right now.  I have signed up for a 10 mile race in Paris in September and am contemplating a 10 mile race in Antwerp in April.

Younger Bean will be starting German Kindergarten in August and is THRILLED!!!  Seriously, the kid can't wait!  It's the same one Baby Bean went too just down the street so he is already familiar with the school and the teachers.  It will be so weird to have an empty house for 6 hours a day...what will I do?  Ha!  I have plenty to do!

Baby Bean is in her second half of Kindergarten and loves school.  She "challenges" herself with her writing and is so proud of how well she reads.  This girl will have no self esteem issues for sure.  :)  She is so petite still yet growing so fast!  Her and Younger Bean are actually the same exact weight only she has him by about 3.5 inches in height.  Same shoe sizes though, really, she's petite!

Mr. Bean is finish up some school in the states right now.  He's been there for 5 weeks and will be back home in about 3 more.  It will be nice to have our family complete again.  Luckily the kids and I have so much going on in our daily lives that we have been able to make the time pass super quick.  Still, can't wait to have him back!

Well, that's about it for tonight but trust me, with all the cakes, school, chapel events, travel, etc.  there will be many more updates to come!