Nine and Eleven. (The undead version.)

ELEVEN! (OMG!)

Cutting edge birthday gift

Last month, out of the blue B turned to me and said: "You know what I'd like for my birthday? A sharp knife so that I can whittle wood!" I said something to the tune of: "Why sure! When pigs fly." and went back to whatever I was doing.

A couple of days later, however, serendipity hit! The wooden canoe museum in Stuttgart (Holzkanumuseum) was holding a day-long workshop in which children could make their own woodcarving knives (with the help of a parent.) What an amazing opportunity!

M and B spent Saturday afternoon cutting, sanding and even sewing! And now B is the proud new owner of a supposedly kid-friendly whittling knife!

(**As of this afternoon we already have our first (minor) whittling injury, but other than that things seem to be going well... *knocks on wood and spits over shoulder* For those of you considering a call to child services: don't worry! He's only allowed to whittle when either M or I are around to supervise.)

NINE!

Дай нам Алясочку назад!**

Last night M and I went to see Любэ in concert with a couple of Russian friends. We've had these guys on rotation for almost 20 years, so it was *amazing* to be able to see them performing live! (The people-watching was such a treat as well!)

**Give us Alaska back!

Finally catching up on posting!

We rounded out the summer vacation with a trip to Paris to visit M's cousin and his family. The weather was beautiful and M's cousin lent us his deux chevaux! What a treat! We made a quick trip around the area and then came back and ate stinky cheese and drank Bourdeau out in the garden! It doesn't get much more French than that, does it?!

We also spent an afternoon in Disneyland Paris. The crowds were inSANE! I'm glad that the kids got to see it but don't feel the need to go back any time soon!

Here are a couple of pictures from that weekend plus one of B's ingenious solution to the woes of chopping onions.


S was away last week on a class trip to a youth hostel in the country. We certainly missed him, but B also really enjoyed the perks that come with being an only child! Here is documented proof of one of his over-the-top dessert creations: bunny s'morez! As a vegetarian this is about as close to bunny meat as B is planning to get, but I thought the exploding marshmellow effect was a particularly cruel / funny twist!

S is now back home, safe and sound. He had a great time-- he brought several cool music playlists along and relished his role as the class dj. How is it that he's getting to be so big?!!!