Yes, We're still alive

Yeah, we're still alive, even though some of you haven't heard from us since November. Back when we first started writing this blog, we said that we're not usually bloggers, and even at that that time we knew that there was a danger that we might get out of the habit of updating it. After a bit of time passes, there's so much to write that it gets intimidating to sit down and catch you up on everything we've been doing. So this blog entry is going to be big on pictures, but without much writing. Nothing clever and no elaborate explanations-- just catching you up on what we've done so we can now start blogging again in smaller chunks.

Well, the fall ended with us having to say goodbye to our students. Four of them knew that they weren't coming back this spring, but we knew we'd see the other 44 this semester.

Our year ended on a high note because the Whites came to spend several days with us. It was so much fun hanging out with some really great friends, showing them around Heidelberg...







Mannheim...

Ladenburg...

...and a swim-park in Schwetzingen.

We got to celebrate Silvester (which is the German name for New Years' Eve) with the Whites and the Daughertys. The Daughertys introduced us to a German tradition-- you melt some tin in a spoon over a candle, and the you pour the melted metal into a pan of water, making it turn solid instantly. Then, you decide what object the piece of metal looks like-- like a fish or a snake. Then, you look up that object on a chart, and it tells you your fortune for the upcoming year. The kids loved it-- what kid wouldn't love melting things over a candle, while the parents worry about you inhaling poisonous fumes and splattering yourself with molten metal.

Right when it turns midnight, everyone in the city starts setting off fireworks-- for about 90 minutes, the entire city was exploding with the sounds of fireworks. We had the best view in the city-- the Moore Haus is on a hill overlooking the old city, so we got an incredible city-wide firework show.

A few days later, our students returned. Along with 44 who had been with us in the fall came an additional 9 students who were with us just for the Spring.

Dominic was really glad that they all got back in time for his 9th birthday, but he never expected a surprise birthday party, with all 53 of our students, the faculty and staff of the Heidelberg program, and two friends that he and Ian have become very close to-- Joni and Tino

Our first trip this semester was to Berne Switzerland. The city is absolutely beautiful, and the boys really enjoyed going to the Albert Einstein museum...

...but they loved finding the World's Largest Chupa Chup (a strawberry sucker) even more.

This semester, our whole group went on a five day trip to Spain. To be honest, I had never really been very interested in visiting Spain before, but we were all so impressed with Madrid...




...El Escorial...

... Toledo...

... and especially Seville.

One real high point on the trip was an afternoon spent rowing boats in the Parque del Retiro.

Spending time in Madrid reminded us that winter's end was approaching, and we didn't want to let the winter pass by without going skiing. We spent a day in the Black Forest at a ski area near Freiburg. It was only the second time the boys had gone skiing. Dom loved it. We couldn't figure out why Ian wasn't enjoying it until the day ended and we figured out that he was sick. That explained why he was so exhausted.

He really is asleep on our suitcase under the coats.

When Pepperdine's spring break arrived, we couldn't go traveling because the boys were still in school. Luckily my sister Anna timed her visit to be here during my Spring Break, so we had a lot of time for visiting great medieval castles and cities like Hirschhorn...

...Neckarsteinach...

...Bad Wimpfen...

...Freiburg (where Ian got sick again-- there's something about that town)...

... and to go stork-watching in Strassbourg...

...and see the tech museum in Speyer...

Anyone who knows Anna knows that one of her incredible talents is photography, so check out the pictures she took on her trip by clicking here. Her picture of the Strassbourg cathedral's rosetta window is one I've wanted to take every time I've been there, but I never was able to get as incredible a shot as this.

Anyone who knows Anna also knows that another one of her incredible talents is getting away from pictures. Dominic, though, is showing an early talent for being a good spy with his ability to take quick pictures before anyone even knows what he's doing. Gotcha!

Well, my spring break ended about the time that Dominic and Ian went on Easter Break, so I wasn't able to go with them, but Stacy and the boys took a flight down to Malta, a beautiful little Mediterrarean island. These two California boys loved being able to get back to playing on a beach...

... and they both rode horses for the first time.

Finally, at the end of the week I got to join them. It is such an incredible place. Unfortunately, we ran into some camera problems so we weren't able to take a picture of one of the high points. We went to il Ggantija, which is the oldest free-standing building in the world. It's the ruins of an ancient temple that was built around 3500 BC, making older than the Egyptian pyramids and the Stonehenge megaliths.

We've also had an incredible time with our students. A couple of weeks ago, for example, our students set up a volunteer service roject to clean up trash around the parking area of the Heidelberg castle and on the walkways around our part of the city. They are an incredible group of students, and we have fun with them whatever we're doing. Plus, the orange vests look cool.

The last excting thing we've done was a trip a few day ago. Stacy and I left the boys with a student, and we went to Hirschhorn, a nearby town where the 13th century castle (perched up on a hill overlooking the Neckar River valley) has been turned into a hotel. This was the view from our room.

So, yes, we're still alive and having a great time in Germany. Sadly, our time here is just about up. Our students leave us in just a couple of days. We'll stay in Heidelberg for the rest of April, but then we'll move up to the Netherlands for May and June.

We've loved getting skype calls and phone calls from many of you. We'll still be able to use skype (my user name is stevenvrouse) and our California number (310-929-5823 - if you've been afraid to call us, it really only costs the same thing as a call to California), so we'd love to hear from you!

Well, now that we've made up for more than 4 months of being negligent bloggers, it won't be so scary to think of sitting down and updating you. So you'll hear from us again soon!