Karneval

Here is a little bit of catch up from February. We had some excitement in the form of a flat tire on the Prius recently. Fortunately I realized it while we were still in our village, but sadly not before the tire had been ruined by my driving on it.



Fortunately I have roadside assistance and was able to call this handsome guy in to help.



Brennan was pretty happy to lend a hand putting on our stylish yellow spare. He informed me that if we had 3 more we could be a race car!



This screw was the culprit.



Happy Valentine's Day!



We had some old high school friends come to visit us over Karneval weekend. We had a great time catching up with everyone and giving them a taste of Karneval in this region of the world. Here we are headed to a local parade.



These lovely ladies were watching the parade from across the street and they were having a blast; lots of dancing and waving.



Lilly casually pulled this festive wig out of her purse and fit right in.



I had thought to bring Isla's antennae as well.



The parade was a lot of fun, but it was very cold. We had a great time catching the treats and prizes being thrown from the floats, and admiring the elaborate costumes.













A lot of the floats have political humor and the one that these folks were following was pretty much ragging on the state of the economy in Greece.



Our most interesting catch of the day: wurst.







Chris caught this snowman for Isla.







Heading home to thaw out, have lunch, and count our loot.





Not a bad haul. Michelle scored a bunch of chocolate bars and we came away with some nice cups, keychains and rubber ducks. I recycled that yellow noise maker when no one was looking and I think we ended up with the juice boxes more out of self-preservation than actual intent; those were dangerous projectiles!



Chris and Lilly.



Darren and Michelle.



It was so great to visit with old friends!

Kirchhoven Kindersitzung

It's Karneval season in Germany, and in the spirit of cultural immersion I signed Brennan up to attend a Kindersitzung through his Kindergarten. I thought that the kids would be showing up to view some sort of entertainment, but the principal approached me to inform me that the children on the signup sheet would be performing a dance. We discussed his refusal to perform at the Weihnachtsmarkt in December but agreed to give it a shot, with the understanding that it was possible he would back out at the last minute. The kids practiced at school quite a bit for a few weeks and performed in front of their classmates, all of which Brennan enjoyed. I paid e2.50 for a Tyroler hat and last Sunday it was game on.

The tent was packed and the music was incredibly loud. It was overwhelming and crazy with lots of beer and fries.





"Wow this is crazy loud"



Brennan was a little intimidated and I dropped him off with his group and left them to talk him down. It was hard to do, but we had planned this in advance with the teachers and they said they'd come find me if they needed to. Here are another group of dancers waiting to go on stage.





The MCs presenting candy to the dancers.



The Prince and Princess; nice plumage.



When Brennan's group made their entrance I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure that he would be with them. Patrick told me that while the kids were lined up waiting to enter that Brennan did a good job fighting off tears and that his little friends were very solicitous and encouraging. His partner, Cora, ensured that he made it down the aisle, and once he saw me he even smiled before re-clenching his jaw. Here are some highlights from the show, Brennan did great!













They announced each child's name and had a bit of a difficult time with "Brennan Hudock."



Brennan coming off the stage with his candy and medallion.



It was all worth it! He was proud to have participated and I know he feels good about performing despite his initial nervousness.



Posing with our superstar.



Time for some fries.



What's that? Fries you say?

Brussels, Belgium

We recently found out that a family we know from our Whidbey days is living in Brussels for a year, and last weekend we made a daytrip out to visit them. It was great to catch up and see how much the kids have changed, and so relaxing to visit and reminisce with navy friends. They were gracious enough to brave the elements in order to show us the main square in Belgium and the Mannequin Pis. The latter was very important to us; we're classy like that.

Their three boys welcomed Brennan into their midst and he was so happy to be one of the guys.





Sleepy eyes.



A former mayor of Brussels.



The market square in Brussels.







Having fun despite the cold.



The Mannequin Pis! So worth the cold trip over.



I think it was too cold to actually pee.





Conveniently located waffle shop next to the statue.



Isla couldn't hold out and she missed some tasty waffles.



Belgium's Arch De Triomphe.



Random red crocodile.











Isla making a dent in some wonderful homemade ice cream. We had such a great day and really enjoyed hanging out with friends. I know the kids made the most of it because they both passed out within 10 minutes of the drive home.