Herbst (Fall)

Here is what we've been up to recently:

Back to school! Brennan started his second year at Kindergarten and here he is on his first day back. He wore the "Cars" hoodie that Patrick brought him from Italy and was welcomed back by his friends and teachers. These are his Hausschuhe waiting for him above his coat hook. His symbol is bread and he also has a designated hand towel in the bathroom and a drawer for his artistic creations.



Isla and I headed to the commissary on Brennan's first day back, but we took the scenic route and stopped to admire Kasteel Doenrade and Schloss Terborgh. Isla snagged a chestnut in the parking lot, a sure sign that Fall is here.



Scenes from around the house.



We biked to Gangelt to check out their Middle Ages camp and ran into one of the teachers from Brennan's school. Brennan was a little disconcerted to see her in a new venue and dressed in traditional clothing. She let him test out her husband's sword and shield. Brennan and I bought two rounds of target practice and may or may not have gotten a bulls-eye, (Patrick claims it broke the line and therefore counts.)





Later that evening we drove to Kasteel Hoensbroek for their hot air balloon festival. We arrived just in time to watch the 3 parachutists land, scope out the owl exhibit, let Patrick admire the solar panel display, grab a bratwurst to share and settle in to watch the balloons inflate.



There were about 14 or so balloons and it was a lot of fun to watch the teams set them up, attach them to baskets, inflate them, hop in and then float off. Apparently our house was upwind because we had great views of them along the horizon on our drive home.



The next day we headed into Heinsberg to check out Buure Maat. I had seen it advertised in the paper and still don't know what it means. I knew there would be animals and farm equipment and in that we were not disappointed. I believe that it was some sort of industrial agriculture exhibition or farm machinery show. Heinsberg was filled with tractors, combines, threshers, and other things that I cannot name, as well as some livestock. One stall contained two large pigs with a table next to them holding prosciutto samples. Brennan loved sitting in the open tractors and had a great time.





My sweeties.



An afternoon picnic lunch after shopping at the commissary and Brennan posing in front of our neighbors tractor during the potato harvest.



More ice cream. I've begun to abstain; it just gets to be too much and it's not even near the top of my list of favorite treats. Brennan, on the other hand, loves it but is still able to share with a generous heart, and Isla can spot a cone a mile away and loudly demands licks of Brennan's.