“. . . and please bless us with awesome presents and stockings. . . .”
Author Archives: jonathan
Merry Christmas . . .
. . . from the Vances (pdf).
The First Snow of Winter
Too bad the snow didn’t hang around for Christmas.
How Long Does It Take Three Little Women to Make Popcorn Strings?
Answer: Much longer if they get the munchies.
Fortunately, it’s a small tree.
Our Little Lamb
In contrast to last year, Annika decided that this year it might be cool to act out the Christmas story. So, last week she played a sheep at the church Christmas party (along with the other little girls from her Sunday school class).
Afterward, she even claimed to have had a good time.
Earrings
In the past few days, Annika has really taken to the lovely earrings shown in the picture below. She wore them to church today and received several compliments.
Unfortunately, when Mrs. Potato Head finds out, she will probably want her earrings back.
First Day of School
The Swiss Misses live in a town that offers an optional year of kindergarten for four-year-olds. So, in late August Annika had her first day of school.
Keeping with German (but apparently not Swiss) tradition, Annika received a Schultüte (School Cone) on the Big Day. It was made by Jenelle and filled with some small gifts. The night before, Jenelle pronounced it “the world’s cutest Schultüte.”
Annika’s schoolhouse is being renovated right now, so until October she is attending forest school three times a week. In the morning, she and her class take the train two stops into the mountains and get off at a little town. They they hike about five minutes into the forest to their “classroom.” The children sign songs, play games, observe the forest and make crafts. On some days an additional teacher works with the students who are non-native German speakers.
In the first picture above, Annika is wearing a fluorescent/reflective necklace, which the kids wear while walking to school. Swiss school children are taught to stop at a crosswalk and, if they see a car coming, hold up their hand or wave to get the car to stop. Once the drive stops the car and waves back, the children cross the street. Waving to stop the cars is Annika’s favorite thing that she’s learned at school so far.
Summer Fun
Last month, Jenelle, Jonathan and the Little Women spent a few weeks visiting their families in the USA.1 This involved dual plane flights in each direction, which were not particularly pleasant, but which everyone survived without excessive emotional scarring.2 In any case, they were very grateful to see their families and stock-up on a few things from home.
Annika made the most of her time, as you can see:
Annika, Water Warrior, stand ready for the next cousin attack.
Annika savors a shaved ice on a hot afternoon at the county fairgrounds.
_______________________________________Alsace
The Vances spent the week of Memorial Day (or the week of Ascension Day, depending on which country you’re in) visiting the lovely part of eastern France known as Alsace. This region has changed hands between France and Germany several times over the years, which explains why so many towns have German names, why the Alsatians bake such good pretzels, and why you find old, half-timber houses like these:
This picture is from Riquewihr, a medieval town wedged into an area of hilly vineyards. Like Germany’s Rothenburg ob der Tauber or Switzerland’s Stein am Rhein, Riquewihr is famous for being a prosperous old town that was seemingly frozen in time. The Vances spent a week in Riquewihr, living in a vacation apartment in a house built in the late 17th century (fortunately, the house had been remodeled a few times since then).
The old houses of this area are awash in color, not just pastels, but vibrant blues, red, pinks and oranges. 1 Alsace is loaded with such eye candy.
But there’s more to see in Alsace than just little old towns. There are also medium-sized old towns, like Strasbourg, which has a beautiful Gothic cathedral.
Alsace’s wildlife star is the stork — and it turns out that storks really do build their nests on top of chimneys, which probably makes it hard for them to get fire insurance. No sign that the storks are still delivering babies, though.
Thanks to its history, Alsace has been the scene of a battle or two. The mountain range there is dotted with military cemeteries, and you can still see some of the trenches that formed the front lines in World War I.
Thankfully, Alsace is again a place where little girls can have fun.
More pictures here.
_______________________________________- Compare, for example, the houses of one of Jenelle and Jonathan’s favorite towns in Germany, Heppenheim.
The Bicycles of Amsterdam
The Netherlands are home to some of the cleanest, most beautiful freeways you will ever see. It’s also home to an amazing number of bicyclists. Maybe because the country is so flat, people ride their bikes everywhere. As a result, in places like Amsterdam, you need bike parking lots like this one:
With so many people riding so many bikes, the Netherlands are a hotbed of bicycle innovation — kind of like the Silicon Valley of Bikes, except that there aren’t any valleys in the Netherlands. One product of this is the Bakfiets, which is sort of the Dutch answer to the minivan.
The box on the front can carry packages, groceries or (preferably with seat belts) your kids. Some appear more comfortable than others:
This one has a front platform that folds up when not in use:
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Dutch neglect the traditional child bike seat:
And if you want some help with pedaling, try this one:
