Freitag bis Mittwoch.

SO Friday was the goodbye dinner for Lucas! We went to his parents' house and had dinner with Robert and their grandmother, as well. Before dinner, we got to play with and feed the bunnies : ) We then had yummy potato soup and dampfnudeln (not bread!). We then went through the pictures from the parents' visit to Paris (at the same time we went, so there were a couple pictures with me, my mom, and aunt in them). After this, we went to Robert's for a while before heading to Aqua. When we got there, it was soo packed, so we went home early.

Saturday was a nice, relaxing day. I said my goodbyes and farewell to Lucas as he headed to the airport to fly to Canada. At home, I went on a long bike ride in a direction I've never been. I came home and cleaned, did some laundry, read (what?!) a book (to page 32!), and just relaxed. Benji and Sib got home around 5 or 6, and then I got to play with him some more. We had a night in with the fam. in preparation for the hike we were to take the next day.

Sunday was a slow morning for everyone except me! I naturally woke up around 7 and couldn't go back to sleep. We had breakfast together and then prepared for our picknick and hike. We went to the vineyards/mountains/hills about a 5 minute drive from the house. There, we met the parents of Sib and their family friends with their two boys. We took all the picknick supplies to the end of the hike and dropped everything off before we set out. We went back to the beginning and starting hiking. Oma was leading the way! Benji was in a neat kid backpack that Klaus had. The mom of the other kids stayed behind at the end and worked on cutting her vineyards (the ending spot was a picknick area they made at one of their vineyard plots). The weather was wonderful--I was never even a little bit cold! When we first woke up, it was really foggy, but by the time we met up with everyone, the sun was out and shining. So much better!

At the end, we played for a while with the kids and the heated our previously prepared soup up over a fire. BUT we didn't have any method of making a fire, so Klaus went to town and bought a lighter. We had a delicious lentil and vegetable soup and them some freshly baked pretzels (not bread!). Oma made a cake, but I didn't have any. Go me! After we ate, we played some more with the kids, and Klaus started rolling down the hill with them, which was really entertaining. Then, we packed everything up and headed home. All in all, it was a good day.

Monday was a good day. We (Benji and I) woke up and took a walk into town. We went to the store to get more shampoo, soap, etc. and then took our time on the way back. We had lunch with Klaus again, only I had fruits with yogurt instead of bread and spread! It was pretty delicious. After Benji's nap, we went outside and played with Mogli and the soccer ball and basketball. I taught him how to say little ball instead of kleine ball! Klaus took Benji over at 6, so I went on another jog. After, Mira made a pretty good dinner of baked pasta with spinach and cream sauce, and Klaus made a salad (of course!).

Tuesday, gymnastics was canceled, so we stayed around the house. It was a beautiful day, so we went outside several times. Opa came to pick up Benji around noon, and then I went for another jog before lunch. After, Mira came home from school, so we all had lunch together. I headed to class early because I had to go to the post office and then to the store to get some more paper. Class was pretty fun, actually. When I got there, only the Chinese au pair (Kostas) was there. Turns out he also rode his bike--for the first time in Germany, he said! So, after class, he told me to wait and that he was going to ride home with me. This kid is so funny. So we rode home together and then parted ways.

I made a salad with lemon yogurt dressing and a potato, zucchini, and tomato soup for dinner. Benji has been silly calling everything "sour" these days...so he even called the potato sour when it wasn't at all! After dinner, I finally got to talk to my brother on Skype after many days of trying to contact him. I also talked to Julie and tried to figure out the plan for our Europe travel event in May-June. There's much more to figure out that we have originally planned for, haha. But we'll get it!

Today was a successful morning. Benji and I went through all of his old clothes and got rid of any small ones and replaced them with new ones from my mom and aunt, his aunt, and the mom of the two boys that we went hiking with. One of those boys is 4, so she gives Benji all of his old clothes once he grows out of them. After this, we went through the kitchen cabinets and fridge getting rid of another old food, etc. We also went through all of the old magazines and newspapers. Ah, spring cleaning! How I love it : )

I had left over soup for lunch, which was still as delicious as it was last night. Right now, it's nap time, so I get to relax (woohoo) again. I'm thinking Benji and I will probably color (his new favorite activity) more later, and then I'll go for a jog around 6 when Klaus takes him over. Tonight is Klaus's night to make dinner, so we'll probably have pasta again, haha. His favorite meal ever...next to bread and cheese.

P.S. Mom and Aunt Debbie, Benji still asks for "DebbieDonna" every day!