The End of an Amazing Summer

 

It was an unusual summer but we made the best of it. For the first time in years we did not go to the United States for a few weeks. There was a shortened summer break for the Muggles and Lady Hiva and I could not take leave due to staffing shortages. So we were creative. Lucky Dragon and Koala Bear had a list of things to do each day. Once they had all of that done, they could do whatever they wanted. They had to read for an hour (tell us about it when we came home), practice piano, write from a prompt, do a science project (and send us a video), do all of the laundry, and wash the dishes (this was easy as we have a dishwasher haha). It was fun to see their videos. Koala Bear would make cookies nearly every day. It was fun to taste her creations. 

Even though we did not go to the U.S., we saw A LOT of Germany and the nearby countries. We went to Paris, Brussels, Munich, Regensburg, Dusseldorf, and Zurich. We saw the Swiss Alps again, went to the Black Forest. We did Legoland Deutschland and Disneyland Paris. We had family and friends at different intervals during the year. Overall it was a successful summer. 

One day I took the day off and went to the science museum in Frankfurt called Experimenta. It is a hands on science museum, think of a smaller version of the Curiosity Museum in Utah or the Nemo Museum in Amsterdam (both of which we love). 

He almost got the bubble above his head before it broke. 

She was not sure she trusted the bridge she built. HAHA

Another day I took them to a small amusement park in the Taunus mountains nearby our house--Taunus Wunderland. It was fun for a day. We were lucky to see that they have late entry tickets at a discounted price. It was perfect for a few hour visit. 

We ate at some of our favorite bakeries across Europe. 

And went to grocery stores in every country we visited. Sometimes several grocery stores in a day. We now know what snacks and food we like from every country. Albert Heijn has Bear Snacks, licorice, and fresh vegetable meal boxes. Belgium Carrefour has the best crackers and cookies. France Carrefour has the best butter and peaches. Swiss grocery stores have the best chocolate options. The list goes on and on. 

Any morning we can have a fresh baguette for breakfast is a good morning!

We went to the movies two or three times. We went over a year with no movies at all, but saw several in a row--Moana was a must see for us! 

Went to the Puma factory to buy shoes for school. 

Decorated our neighbor's door for birthday. 

We went to MANY Lego stores. 

We had a craving for good Asian food, so we went to Dusseldorf to get some amazing Korean and Japanese delicacies. 

These two Muggles are ready to go back to school. It was a summer full of activities and plenty of relaxing time. We swam, we climbed, we ate, we laughed, we cried, we exercised and loved every moment of it! But they missed their friends and missed learning. So off they go to the next year. Hopefully they will enjoy every moment of it!