MEET ME IN HANNOVER

My cousin Steven came to visit on his way through to Madrid. It was the first time we've spent time together without any other family there. He's 21, so we aren't really close in age and we live in two different countries, but we hit it off great and had a remarkably good couple of days together. I only wish that we would have the opportunity to see each other more frequently.

He was of course jet lagged the first night, so the kids challenged Steven to a Buzz game (Monster Party). Here they are just chillin' - nobody would even look at me for the pic.


So since we only had a couple of days together, we were off the next day to see Hannover. We got so lucky. It was a beautiful day here. If you are going to be meeting someone downtown, then you say "treffen wir uns unter dem Schwanz" (let's meet under the tail) So here's Steven and Jeffrey under the tail.


So we walked around downtown for about 4 hours. The literal high point of our tour was taking the elevator up to the top of the council building for the phenomenal view of the city. I don't have a picture of the elevator, next time maybe, but it is renowned for the fact that it goes up the side of the building and tilts as it climbs. Better than a rollercoaster, I'm tellin' ya. Here is a panorama pic of the Maschsee (lake).


And here's Steven with Jeffrey and Tyler at the top.


Here's what it looks like from below.


Martin met us in the city for Döners (Turkish pocket sandwiches) for lunch, but before we ate, we also visited one of the churches that had been completely bombed out on the inside and left to stand as a reminder.



Well, I can't do anymore tonight, but, take a look at the imageevent link to see all the Hannover pics - but not tonight. I'll do it tomorrow.

AND HEEEEERE'S TYLER......

Tyler had absolutely crazy hair yesterday when he woke up from his nap. When he looks like this I think, oooohhh I need to get him to the barbershop today!! But then other times I think, oooohhh his hair is so cute, maybe I shouldn't cut it yet. So, since everyone knows how horrible I am at making decisions.... I thought I'd let you all help me on this decision. Please vote and feel free to leave your comments.

JEFFREY'S SIXTH BIRTHDAY

WOW! What a day that was. Jeffrey asked me in the morning to show me his baby book. I sat and cried while I read him just a few of the cards and notes that were sent when he was born. He was really worried and gave me a big hug and said I didn't need to be sad. I told him he was just so sick when he was a baby and he said, yeah, but I'm big now and I'm not sick anymore. And he's not, I almost can't remember the last time I was in the hospital with him and to look at him you would never know he only has a half a heart.

Every birthday celebrated with him is an extra special milestone. Jeffrey loves life and brings joy to all who are around him. He had a lot of friends that I let him invite for his party and they all had a great time at our "Jeffs Olympics". We had about 8 different competitions and divided everyone into two teams. In the end we had gold and silver medals for the winners and pizza and cake of course. For ALL the pictures check out my foto site. (link on right - imageevent/bqschulze) Here are my favorites of him with his cake, blowing out the candles and then his favorite present. Jeffrey, as many know, is a soccer freak! (Isn't it IRONIC) We got him a membership to our Hannover's professional soccer team (Hannover '96), so he can go to the games and get fan merchandise and stuff. He was SO happy! The Nintendo came in a close second though.

I thought I would add something about the crown... he wore it most of the day. They make them for each birthday kid at his "Kindergarten".

STADTSPARKASSE TENNIS MEISTERSCHAFT

That title means "city bank tennis championship" and for this particular tournament that took place last weekend, Niklas came out a winner. He lost his final match placing him for 2nd, but he was so happy just to "be there". He lost the first match he played as well against the kid in the orange (John) with whom he is oggling the trophies. John is now one of Niklas' current "best friends". Niklas is very attracted to people who achieve. Anyway having lost the first match put him in the B group and there he won 2nd Place. Way to go Niklas!

WE'LL MISS YOU LUNA

Luna has been a member of our extended family for 8 years now. She developed cancer this year and her health deteriorated to the point that she was no longer able to move to go eat. This was a hard day for all of us. She leaves a vacant spot in our lives. I thought I would get a couple of shots to remember her by. I have lots of pictures with Luna, but not specifically of Luna. These were my favorites from her going away party we had on Sunday.

NOT JUST A CASE OF NERVES

Tori had an unforgettable first day of school, not just for her, but everyone else will remember her as well as the girl who threw up all over the classroom and in the hallway and in front of the school as well. Obviously, I thought as I drove her home early, this is not just nerves. She must have a stomach flu. The next day didn’t show much improvement. She still had severe stomach cramps, but nothing was coming up as she hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours. As I related the story to a school teacher friend of mine, she said, “I am always careful with things like that, you never know when it could be appendicitis.” OK, I must be totally clueless, because the thought never entered my mind. Sure enough though, her father took a look at her and it was off to the hospital. After Benny and our pediatrician did some debating as to which hospital, or moreover which procedure was better (an incision or scope), they opted for a very experienced surgeon who happened to have night shift.

Tori went into surgery immediately late Saturday night and they pulled a 15cm (normal being 5-7cm) ready to explode appendix out of a very small incision. She was released from the hospital on Monday and we took her back to school on Wednesday because she was doing so well. All in all it was an amazingly short overall ordeal, thank goodness