Adventures in Germany

Unbelievable....August 1st will mark 4 months in Germany.  Our language skills are (slowly) improving and we are continuing to learn and adapt to living in a different place.  After the kids initial time at school Valerie hit a bit of a rough patch with having some anxiety about going.  However, I'm happy to report that I think she has turned the corner and seems to be happy about going again.  Over the summer months they spend a lot (probably the majority of their time there) playing outside if the weather is nice.  They have a large "garten" as they call it with swings, sand, climbing areas, riding toys, all sorts of things.  Sometimes they just bring out art supplies or games and do them outside in the shade with the kids. One thing I am really enjoying about living here is being able to walk/bike everywhere local.  There are bike lanes and sidewalks on nearly every street.  Since we live close to the downtown area it is often easier to walk or bike than to drive and