Hohenzollern Castle

A couple weeks ago we took a trip to a local castle named
Hohenzollern
(as usual, click on the pictures to enlarge)

It was a beautiful castle sitting up on a mountain
(like a lot of the castles do here in Germany)

The view from the castle

The boys were playing in one of the turrets

Elizabeth joined them

It was a twisty turny path to get up to the courtyard in the castle

Princess Elizabeth

If you look real closely, the boys are standing in front of the cannon. ;)

We took a tour of the inside of the castle. The tour was entirely in German but we had an English guide book to let us know at least a little of what they were talking about. All adults had to wear slippers and all of the children wore capes like below.

While everyone was finishing up in the gift shop, Elizabeth played with the pretty blue flowers. :)

Tribute to Copper

We've had a bit of a sad week. Not only are we beginning to say "goodbye" to many friends, we've had to say good-bye to Copper. He missed his original flight out of Germany and because of a bunch of red tape and unforeseen circumstances we had to find him a new home.

He has a great new home now though, so we are taking a lot of comfort in that.

We will miss you Copper!

I just wanted to share with you all some of the joys that he has brought us through the years.

We found Copper on the internet 6 years ago - originally named "Little Red". We chose his name Copper as a play on words with that but mostly named after the famous Copper from Fox and the Hound.

He was born in the same town where Nana and PopPop lived, they graciously checked him out for us and brought him to where we lived in NC.

Here he is being potty trained by Summer. LOL look at his little belly dragging on the ground.
Summer is a Golden Retriever to compare their sizes there.

Copper loved to sleep this way as a baby - it was adorable!

He was the cutest puppy in the world.
He was all paws and ears.

Sean took to him right away.

Ryan needed a little warming up, though they became best friends quickly.

Copper could be a model for Hush Puppies shoes

Copper loved his family and loved his boys!!

He loved to sleep and laze around.

And he loved the snow!

We will miss you Copper!
We know you are loving your new family now!

Annual zoo trip

Dennis had off work today, the weather was beautiful, so we put away the books and took a trip to the zoo!

Elizabeth had such a great time running around and seeing all the animals!
She was completely worn out by the end of the day.

We thought it was funny, they fed the fish "salad" (as Elizabeth said).

These two cracked me up! First the one on the right was poking his head up at the glass. When I went to take the picture, the little guy on the left came over. I think he's a camera hog.

Nemo and Dori!

Funny looking unicorn fish!

Cute little monkey munching on an egg.
Elizabeth loved the monkeys!

Here they are looking in on some monkeys ;)

Sean decided to act like a monkey instead, and climb on some rocks.

Then Ryan got in on the game.

Pretty maned wolf.

We stopped and had an ice cream/snack break near some llamas.
They were enjoying the spring weather as well.

Snacking:
Dennis telling me to "quick get a picture of the ant eater"

He was pacing up and down behind trees.

Finally we saw the bears. Most of the bears were all in hiding or inside but the Polar bears stayed around to give us a show. I think they loved the camera as much as the lizards.

Cub Scout to Boy Scout

Last night Sean made received his Arrow of Light Award and made the cross-over from Cub Scout to being a BOY Scout.
Can you believe that he's old enough to be a Boy Scout already?!!?
(click on the pictures to make them bigger, some didnt turn out so well)

Dennis prepping the boys for their ceremony.

Ryan and the Wolves Den - about 3 seconds after this picture they all went wild. Sitting and waiting isnt possible for boys this age.

Games began:
Here is Ryan holding up his "TWO" sign - a sign to signal everyone to be quiet and listen.

Sean listening to the rules of the game.

The "Cheer" box, when he opens the box, everyone cheers.

Wolves singing - I Know a Song That Will Annoy You

Wolves about to receive their much deserved Wolf Badge

Ryan was up there making funny faces the entire time... that boy cracks me up!!
(you will have to click this one to make it larger and see)

Painting their faces with red for the Wolf Badge.

Webelos2 about to receive their Arrow of Light

Lighting Candles to represent character traits they have learned

(sorry this is hard to see, the lights were out)
Sean crossing the bridge from Cub to Boy Scout.
What you cant see, is behind the curtains there are the Boy Scouts there to receive him. They changed out his Blue epaulets for Green ones. :)

Dennis gave each of the boys a Boy Scout gift for all their hard work!

At the end, it was discovered that there was a Webelos cap left forgotten on a table. Sean was the owner of such cap.... as "punishment" he had to dance infront of everyone on stage (with support of a fellow WEB).

A great end to a great scouting year!
They boys worked really hard this year.
We are proud of them!!

Toddler Preschool and some singing too...

Here's a little video I took of Elizabeth learning her shapes and colors today.




and here's a video from this past Sunday, the boys singing in Children's Choir at church for the Mission's Conference

Something different for dinner?

Looking for something different for dinner?

We made Madagascar chicken this weekend and it was great! It's sort of like a chicken curry - but not spicey, more of one of those sweet curries. You make this up and eat it over a bed of rice. Yum! Give it a try!

The recipe says to marinate the chicken for 30min. I changed that bit and marinated it in lemon juice, coconut milk and olive oil over night.... the chicken has a great citrus taste to it and the milk and oil kept it from getting too tough from the citrus. Make sure you fully drain the chicken from the marinade before cooking though or it wont brown properly. ;)

Madagascar Chicken

2 boneless chicken breast halves, cut in bite size chunks
2/3 cup canned coconut milk
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper or tomato, sliced and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 tsp (or to taste) cayenne powder
salt
pepper
lemon juice
oil

Marinate chicken in lemon juice 30 min, drain and season with salt
and pepper to taste Saute over medium heat until cooked on outside but slightly pink inside. Drain oil and place chicken in a container and set aside Saute onions, stirring constantly, until slightly browned. Add bell peppers and garlic and saute 3-4 min, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer, add coconut milk, ginger, cayenne powder, and lemon rind. Add chicken back to stew.

Cover and simmer 30 min or until in thick stew consistency. If mixture is too thin simmer with lid removed until desired consistency is reached. Serve over a bed of steamed white rice.

NOTE: One pound shelled and deveined shrimp can be added to or
substituted for the chicken.