Friday, December 22, 2006
Holiday Quiz
This year has been a very exciting and fun-filled one for the Cook Clan as we’ve been gallivanting around Europe making the most of our time here in Germany. We're keeping that sprit alive over Christmas and getting ready to head off to spend the holidays in Rome (with stops in Pisa, Pompeii, Naples and Florence as well). We’re not Catholic, but I’m really looking forward to Christmas Eve Mass with the Pope in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Before we depart I figured I'd post our annual holiday quiz. Remember there may be more than one answer for each person. If you need the answer key, I'll post that after we return. Enjoy!
Benjamin is a very observant 3½-year-old, who adores his brother & sister—whom he now calls “Wack-a-wee” & “Ke-tsee,” is all boy—except for his frog (jumping) and monkey (climbing) traits, and:
a. enjoys going to school twice a week and is making great strides with his speech therapy...to the point now that he rarely stops talking!
b. is studying to be a gymnast and gets in extra practice running and jumping on the curbs everywhere we go
c. loves visiting various castles throughout Germany, although distinctly remembers riding on Pam’s back as we walked down the mountain from Schloss Neuschwanstein (the model for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle) after we missed the last bus, and now regularly uses the line “my legs hurt” as an excuse to be carried
d. is very smart and can already count to 12 and sing “A-B-C-D-E-F-EEE, next time you sing with me”
e. managed to climb the 768 steps to the top of the tallest Gothic Cathedral in the world all by his “new own self” for a rather windy view of the Swiss Alps from atop the Ulmer Munster in Ulm, Germany
f. is a bowling fanatic who is getting quite good at knocking down pins then showing his excitement by jumping on the ball return after each throw
MacKenzie is an 8½-year-old, Brownie Girl Scout and a 3rd-grader at Patch Elementary School, and:
a. enjoyed visiting the Monet exhibit in downtown Stuttgart after studying him in class, then asked if we owned any of his original artwork
b. loves sampling the ice cream wherever we visit, with her favorite thus far hailing from Venice, Italy
c. is interning with the local veterinarian after school to get a jump on her future career caring for animals
d. was excited when her best friend from Kindergarten, who lives in Belgium, came to visit and spend the night
e. enjoyed cheerleading for the first time, although was still a bit hesitant to yell her cheers very loud
f. was on the lookout for foxes when we went traipsing through World War II foxholes in Belgium near where the Battle of the Bulge took place
Zachary is now 11, a 5th-grader at Patch Elementary School, a Webelos II Cub Scout and:
a. has been on several Cub Scout camping trips, including to the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps as well as a few local campouts near some 18th century ruins
b. being a Lego aficionado, absolutely reveled in our visit to Legoland Deutschland where he rode several Lego-themed rides and studied the many massive creations in Mini-World
c. built his own computer (and quickly loaded “Sim City 4” on it), prompting several people to comment that he’s destined to be the next Bill Gates
d. is keeping track of our travel excursions by writing a kid-friendly travel book that he plans to publish when we leave Germany
e. enjoyed our Veteran’s Day visit (other than the rain and cold) to the Luxembourg American Cemetery where Gen. George Patton and more than 500 World War II soldiers are buried
Pam is getting used to being a single again, now works in U.S. European Command’s Plans and Operations Center doing Public Affairs for the command’s 92-country area of responsibility, and:
a. nearly doubled the number of countries she’s visited in her lifetime within the past 8 months by adding Scotland, Iceland, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Belgium and Poland to her repertoire
b. tamed NASCAR’s Monster Mile, driving the #36 car several times around the Dover Downs racetrack
c. let her hair down at the Bad Cannstatter Volksfest (Stuttgart's equivalent of Munich's Oktoberfest, and the second-largest fest in the world) by singing, dancing on the benches, and enjoying the German spirits
d. is updating her Girl Scouting skills as one of MacKenzie’s Brownie leaders (but not the “cookie mom!”)
e. dusted off her skiing attire and hit the Austrian Alps to ski the Hintertux Glacier in July
As we enter the New Year, remember that we would gladly welcome all of you if you decide to make a visit this way. We hope you’re all doing well and looking forward to 2007. Take care, and please keep in touch!!
Before we depart I figured I'd post our annual holiday quiz. Remember there may be more than one answer for each person. If you need the answer key, I'll post that after we return. Enjoy!
Benjamin is a very observant 3½-year-old, who adores his brother & sister—whom he now calls “Wack-a-wee” & “Ke-tsee,” is all boy—except for his frog (jumping) and monkey (climbing) traits, and:
a. enjoys going to school twice a week and is making great strides with his speech therapy...to the point now that he rarely stops talking!b. is studying to be a gymnast and gets in extra practice running and jumping on the curbs everywhere we go
c. loves visiting various castles throughout Germany, although distinctly remembers riding on Pam’s back as we walked down the mountain from Schloss Neuschwanstein (the model for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle) after we missed the last bus, and now regularly uses the line “my legs hurt” as an excuse to be carried
d. is very smart and can already count to 12 and sing “A-B-C-D-E-F-EEE, next time you sing with me”
e. managed to climb the 768 steps to the top of the tallest Gothic Cathedral in the world all by his “new own self” for a rather windy view of the Swiss Alps from atop the Ulmer Munster in Ulm, Germany
f. is a bowling fanatic who is getting quite good at knocking down pins then showing his excitement by jumping on the ball return after each throw
MacKenzie is an 8½-year-old, Brownie Girl Scout and a 3rd-grader at Patch Elementary School, and:
a. enjoyed visiting the Monet exhibit in downtown Stuttgart after studying him in class, then asked if we owned any of his original artworkb. loves sampling the ice cream wherever we visit, with her favorite thus far hailing from Venice, Italy
c. is interning with the local veterinarian after school to get a jump on her future career caring for animals
d. was excited when her best friend from Kindergarten, who lives in Belgium, came to visit and spend the night
e. enjoyed cheerleading for the first time, although was still a bit hesitant to yell her cheers very loud
f. was on the lookout for foxes when we went traipsing through World War II foxholes in Belgium near where the Battle of the Bulge took place
Zachary is now 11, a 5th-grader at Patch Elementary School, a Webelos II Cub Scout and:
a. has been on several Cub Scout camping trips, including to the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps as well as a few local campouts near some 18th century ruinsb. being a Lego aficionado, absolutely reveled in our visit to Legoland Deutschland where he rode several Lego-themed rides and studied the many massive creations in Mini-World
c. built his own computer (and quickly loaded “Sim City 4” on it), prompting several people to comment that he’s destined to be the next Bill Gates
d. is keeping track of our travel excursions by writing a kid-friendly travel book that he plans to publish when we leave Germany
e. enjoyed our Veteran’s Day visit (other than the rain and cold) to the Luxembourg American Cemetery where Gen. George Patton and more than 500 World War II soldiers are buried
Pam is getting used to being a single again, now works in U.S. European Command’s Plans and Operations Center doing Public Affairs for the command’s 92-country area of responsibility, and:
a. nearly doubled the number of countries she’s visited in her lifetime within the past 8 months by adding Scotland, Iceland, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Belgium and Poland to her repertoire
b. tamed NASCAR’s Monster Mile, driving the #36 car several times around the Dover Downs racetrack
c. let her hair down at the Bad Cannstatter Volksfest (Stuttgart's equivalent of Munich's Oktoberfest, and the second-largest fest in the world) by singing, dancing on the benches, and enjoying the German spirits
d. is updating her Girl Scouting skills as one of MacKenzie’s Brownie leaders (but not the “cookie mom!”)
e. dusted off her skiing attire and hit the Austrian Alps to ski the Hintertux Glacier in July
As we enter the New Year, remember that we would gladly welcome all of you if you decide to make a visit this way. We hope you’re all doing well and looking forward to 2007. Take care, and please keep in touch!!
Labels: Benjamin, Christmas, MacKenzie, Zachary
