Before I torture you all with more Canada pictures :) I thought I would update on life in good old Germany. August is here and an era has ended. After three and a half years in his Kindergarten Finn is officially not a "Kindergartenkind" anymore, and on his way to become a "Schulkind" in September! July was filled with activities to celebrate this transition to Elementary School.
Here all the Kindergarten kids are on their way over to the church. Every year the kids leaving the Kindergarten are recognized and blessed at a special service. (In Bavaria you are Catholic whether you really are or not :) , and although our Kindergarten is not officially Catholic, the church plays a big role in community life.)
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Finn looking at the camera, walking beside his friend Florian.
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Lily and her friend Anna
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The service (or is it called "mass"?) wasn't too long or boring, but Lily still found the paintings on the ceiling more interesting. But getting sprayed with holy water was apparently "really cool".
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The priest putting a cross necklace around Finn's neck.
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Finn's parting gifts from Kindergarten: a folder with selected artwork from the past 3 years, and a "Schultüte" filled with treats and school supplies.
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Other activities for Finn and his friends (6 kids from his classroom of 24 will leave the Kindergarten for First Grade with him) included a sleepover, complete with a treasure hunt and a campfire. Lily cried because she has to wait a whole year until it is her turn.
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She was VERY happy to see him the next morning when we picked him up. Finn cried because he wanted to do it all over again. He even asked us if we could keep him back from first grade for another year, just for the sleepover.
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And then there was the trip to Playmobil FunPark, my nemesis. One parent had to go with each child, yay. (I think I've been there about a dozen times too often by now.) But the kids had fun, and especially loved riding the bus there.
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Lily got to come, even though she is not leaving the Kindergarten. She lucked out because I needed to be with Finn and the Kindergarten was closed for the day (all the teachers were on that trip). For once she was happy about the absence of grandparents or other relatives. And I liked having her along, for sure. She LOVES that place.
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The long practiced "in-sync-sibling-jump".
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And now, with all the excitement behind us, we just hang out at home and enjoy summer. We only have a small pool at home this year, and a couple sprinklers, and if that is not enough water there are awesome outdoor pools a short drive away. So far the kids are having lots of fun though!
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And, of course, then there are the horses. With Finn and Lily in Kindergarten I went and rode Bella almost every morning. Now I guess we'll have to split our time between the barn and the pool.
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Bella is an okay horse, but because of her breeding (half Paint Horse, half Friesian), her temperament (not the calmest) and her (lack of) training she has her limitations and is definitely not a horse Finn and Lily can learn how to ride on.
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Enter Fritz the Pony. Same stable, same coloring (also a pinto), but shorter and sweeter. :)
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The kids are riding him on the weekends, and are learning how to take care of a horse. Leading, tying, brushing, cleaning hooves, saddling.
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And, of course, riding.
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The stable not only has two outdoor arenas and a big indoor arena, but also a big covered round pen, which is perfect for teaching Finn and Lily, and with the horse flies being SO bad outside this year, a real life saver.
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Lily of course just wants to go FAST all the time, but I told her she needs to learn how to walk, trot, steer and stop Fritz before she is allowed to gallop on her own.
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Now, we only need to convince Neil that instead of Bella and Fritz a seasoned, well-trained, calm Quarter Horse of our own is the way to go. We're working on it. :)
Edit: Neil says, if our financial situation was a TAD different he'd be with me 100 percent. Sooo - any sponsors out there? :)
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