Happy Easter!

We wish you and yours a very Happy Easter! 

I am not sure what I am going to do with this blog, seeing how it has been dormant for a couple of years. I will decide once we know where we are moving to and what our next adventure will look like. Karl is going to defend his PhD dissertation at the end of April and we hope to be off for a post-doc or (gasp) real job sooner than later this summer. We will keep you posted!

In the meantime I just wanted to post some pictures, mostly for my family back in Germany to see. I doubt anyone is still looking at this little space of the web, so I figured this would be a good way to let them know what Max and Noah look like these days and what they are up to and if any of you happen to stop by, then you can too!

Playing Badminton in the front yard

Looking for Easter eggs. Loving spring here in Utah. The blossoms are amazing! 

Taken from our backyard. Blossoms galore. 

Apple tree in the front yard. In love with spring! 

My three boys. And one hedgehog. It's all Max wanted for Easter. 

First, we hide the eggs and the kids find them. Then they hide them for us. We had 48 and only lost 1 in the end. Not bad... 

Our backyard and the neighbor's house. They have a trampoline, so we are over there at least once a day.... 

Noah is still playing soccer. Here he is with his friend, Finn. They play for Utah FC in the U10 age group. 

Max took a rock climbing class last month and had a great time! It was mostly indoors until the last day when they went outside to climb in Rock Canyon. 

Here are a few more pictures of what we were up to this winter! 

Max and I took a late afternoon one snowy winter day. We didn't make it far up the canyon but we had fun together and enjoyed each other's company. And the snow. 

Max got this beautiful jacket from his Aunt Jeanette who knit it just for him. He should've worn the matching hat because obviously his ears are cold! 

Karl busted out the ice axes one Sunday afternoon. Anything to get the kids outside in the winter... 

It's fun to have the kids old enough to play some fun board games together. Game of Life isn't necessarily my favorite but I remember playing it with my sister when we were little so how can I say No? Good memories. 

Some fun in the sun over MLK weekend. St. George and Snow Canyon never disappoint! 

Max thinks that the best part of him is his nose. Here is why: 

 Goofing around with the free hats I got them. 

Super late 7-year check up. Kid is healthy as can be! So grateful. 

This one too. Although he suffers from a bad case of teenager-itis quite frequently... 

That's it for now! We hope you are all well! We miss you and hope to see you soon! 

Fun in the Sun - Snow Canyon Camping Trip

I just found this blog post that I never published. It has a bunch of fun pictures, so I am going to post it now. And look at them myself. Wow! This was only two years ago and yet the kids seem so little. Time flies but I am glad we can make some good memories and fun pictures to look back on! 

I had just run the St. George Marathon and was in need of some recovery! 

It's such a beautiful place! In case you look at this, live anywhere close, want to go there, and are free the first weekend in May (2016), then you should come join us! Karl and the kids will be camping there while I race the St. George Ironman 70.3 and it will be a great time for sure! 

Lessons from Max

(I just posted this over on my personal blog but seeing how I have been neglecting this blog for a while now and this is really more about Max than about me, I figured I would put it on here as well. Life is busy, the kids are doing great, Karl is hanging in there with his PhD, and I am trying to keep things flowing nicely. Emphasis is on trying! I will be back here again soon...)

Max came home from Kindergarten with this wonderful piece of art the other day:

I certainly can't keep all my kids' art projects and was about to throw this one in the trash, when I folded the bottom out and read this: 

When I am 100 years old I will... 

... be a professional at any sport. 

It made me smile. And laugh. And melted my heart. 

He is such a cutie and SUCH a stinker. 

Of course his older brother just busted up laughing when he got home. Because, d'uh, do you know of any 100-year-old that is a professional at any sport? Karl and I were silently laughing as well. 

I love Max's confidence. Obviously he has no idea how long 100 years are. He gets weeks and months and years mixed up and tomorrow seems an eternity away. But he has a strong personality and, although exhausting most days, will come in handy many times throughout his life, I am sure! If there is one thing I hope I can teach my kids besides kindness (which I am struggling with because, let's face it, I have a lot to learn in that department) it would be: dream big, work hard, reach for the stars, fail and try again. You can be anything you want to be! Now I just need to remember that myself... 

This is now the second kid whose teacher has taken time to let us know that we need to work on good sportsmanship. Not in a bad way necessarily. They are good kids. But they are competitive and fierce and, apparently, think they are the best in the world at anything involving sports. Yikes! 

But Noah has learned over time and Max will, too. We talk a lot about what it means to be a good sport. How fun is it to be the best soccer player but to play mean and unfair? No matter how good you are, if you can't play nice, no one wants you on their team. So now the best Kindergarten teacher in the world decided to let Max stay out after his recess and help ref some of the games of the older kids. Needless to say: He LOVES it. And it sounds like he is learning a thing or two. 

It's a process but we are all learning together and enjoying the journey! 

What do you wanna be when you are 100 years old? 

I want to be healthy and sane and able to enjoy my grandchildren and great-grandchildren! 

Why We Escape To Utah All Summer: WATER!!!

My ideal summer day looks something like this: 

train with friends

eat lunch right out of the garden

spend the afternoon with the kids and friends at the pool or lake

eat dinner outside 

play games

And I am happy to report that they were quite a few days just like that this summer! Lucky me! The new Provo Rec Center is awesome! Love, love, love it! Makes me want to move back to our old condo which was right by it! 

it's always more fun with friends

my little fish

new goggles for completed swim lessons

being silly

warming up

lots of snacks are a must

sometimes a little rest is not a bad thing

The inside of the Rec Center is all new and fancy! Noah loved the climbing wall and jumping off the water fall. The waterfall was probably about 8-10 feet high. He was super excited about doing a flip off of it but then got a little scared. I told him I would give him a dollar if he did a flip. So he did. And again and again and again. Best dollar I ever spent! 

I also love BYU campus which is right by my in-law's house. So pretty, family friendly, and well taken care of. This is one of our favorite places right by the bell tower. 

We went there a couple of times during the day and one evening after dinner when it wasn't too late yet and the kids had some energy to spare, I took them there and we had a great time playing hide-and-seek with the sprinklers on. Good times! 

Don't worry. Max threw plenty of fits all summer long making sure we wouldn't be enjoying ourselves too much! That kid!