A Georgia Girl in Germany

I have an absolutely wonderful uncle. I couldn’t have asked for a better uncle than my Uncle Sam. He’s my mom’s younger brother, and I was born just a few months after he graduated high school. When I was young, I remember visiting my grandparents’ farm and running around the front yard while he -- playing the role of “Tickle Monster” -- chased my brother and me. He always seemed to catch us at some point and would tickle us unmercifully (well, it seemed so at the time -- he sure knew how to find all our tickle spots!), but we also got away a good bit of the time. It was good clean fun (and great exercise too)!

I remember for my third birthday, he gave me a green inchworm. I had so much fun riding that inchworm up and down the driveway!

As I got older, every now and then, David and I were able to spend the night with him and Aunt Gail. It was always a treat. We’d pull out the hideaway bed from the couch, get ready for bed, curl up under the covers with our cousins and watch TV until the wee hours of the night. I even remember watching the National Anthem play a few times indicating the end of programming before the TV screen went to static. Mom and Dad would NEVER let us stay up late enough to see the National Anthem play!

I also remember him and Aunt Gail taking David and me to see “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” in the theater. They even bought us popcorn and soda! We rarely convinced our parents to buy popcorn and soda at the movies, so we were ecstatic! They had gone to see the movie already, so knew to take their girls to the lobby to buy popcorn during the scariest scene (I don’t remember if David went with them or not), but since I was 13 I was allowed to stay in the theater and watch it.

My first paying job -- other than babysitting -- was working in Uncle Sam’s pepper fields. He paid me $75 (and even had to report it to the IRS) for picking and sorting peppers. I was pleased to make the extra money, and (despite the South Georgia summer heat) enjoyed spending time with family in the field. I also topped tobacco in his fields one summer. That was awful work since we had to wear long sleeves in the South Georgia heat to protect us from the sticky sap that oozed from the plants when we broke off the flower clusters from the tops. The job was even more unenjoyable since I had to reach above my head to top most of the plants -- boy did my arms get tired! Fortunately (?), I never had to help harvest the tobacco -- either I was too young (so I stayed back at the house and helped Granny Walker prepare the meals for when they finished for the day) or we weren’t visiting when it was harvest time. A part of me wanted to help on the harvester, but I know it was miserable and back-breaking work so was thankful that I didn't have to.



Since my parents lived in Colorado and Texas while I was in college in South Georgia, I’d go to my grandparents’ farm for the weekends since they were just over an hours' drive away. Sometimes I’d get to steal away a bit with Uncle Sam (of course, after I’d started my laundry and worked on homework a bit). Everywhere we went together, whether it was to a fall festival downtown, making a house call on extended family or to the Dairy Queen for a mid-afternoon treat, I always felt special when with Uncle Sam. He knows just about everyone in town (and the other nearby towns as well!), and he always proudly introduced me to everyone we ran into while we were out and about. I’ve never heard a bad word spoken about him, which makes me doubly proud to be his niece. Even to this day when I travel back to my mom’s hometown, all I have to is mention that he’s my uncle and everyone knows who he is and shares a kind word about him.





Now he’s carrying on that same tradition with my own kids. He gladly takes them for rides in his John Deere tractor (they all look forward to that every time we head to the farm) and steals them away for jaunts into town. Zachary once asked for 20 pieces of chicken at KFC -- he was thinking nuggets instead of PIECES! Uncle Sam also talked to Zachary about college and the Hope Scholarship -- now Zachary has his mind made up that he’s going to move in with Uncle Sam and Aunt Gail so he can graduate high school in Georgia and go to Georgia Tech on the Hope Scholarship!

Thanks for all the wonderful memories, Uncle Sam (aka “Tickle Monster”). I couldn’t have asked for a more kind, generous and loving uncle than you -- I’ve truly been blessed to have you in my life! Happy 57th birthday. May you be blessed with many more! I love you!!

Labels: Birthdays, Pam's thoughts

Back before we left Stuttgart, we took an afternoon trip to the Fernsehturm Stuttgart (Stuttgart TV Tower). We went in April 2008, so it was still a little chilly outside -- even more so from the top of the tower.

This was the world’s first TV tower built from concrete, and was placed in service in February 1956 after 20 months of construction. It has two observation decks -- at 490 feet and 504 feet.

We had a wonderful view from the top -- of the city, forests and vineyards. It wasn’t quite clear enough to see the Black Forest and Swiss Alps.

The top of the tower reached to 711 feet. It was pretty windy on the observation decks, so I can only imagine how windy it was another 200 feet higher!

Benjamin thought it was a bit too chilly and windy, so he found a place to sit down -- inside.

It was a nice afternoon excursion, and the kids enjoyed exploring one of the city’s more well-known landmarks and attractions.

Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary

As is tradition, I have to take a photo of the kids’ first day of school. Now that we live on-base again, they all walk to school. MacKenzie has the shortest walk to the Middle School, and she walks with Benjamin until they get there then he continues across the street to the Elementary School. Zachary has to walk a little further (about a mile) to the High School. Yes, he’s in 9th grade this year!

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Benjamin’s teacher. When I waited with him outside the entrance to his school on the first day, one of the staff members commented that he was very lucky to have Mrs. Maxey because she was an excellent teacher. When he came home that evening, he told me that one of his friends told him that she was the best 2nd grade teacher. Yeah!

MacKenzie’s now in 7th grade, and seems pleased with most of her classes. She was disappointed, however, that one of her best friends isn’t in a single class with her, and another of her friends who is in four classes with her wasn’t there the first week of school! What a way to start of the school year. However, she was excited that she was able to keep the same gym locker that she had last year (in a good location and she remembered the combination!).

Zachary’s now in High School -- wow! He’s taking a pretty heavy load, but he thought about it and made a conscious decision to do so. He already earned high school credit for taking Algebra I and German I in 8th grade. This year, his schedule includes German II, Language Arts, World History, Geometry, Lifetime Sports/Personal Fitness, Physics Applications and Biology. Yes, he’s taking two science classes as part of the pre-engineering track. Even though he requested both classes at the end of 8th grade, they gave him Pottery instead of Physics Applications (I had mixed feelings since they actually gave him Biology, which is typically 10th science, but was frustrated that Pottery wasn’t anywhere on his electives list -- he would have preferred Computer Programming instead). So, after thinking it over all summer and talking with his Boy Scout scoutmaster (who is a Physics Applications teacher) about possibly taking two science classes instead of a traditional elective, he decided he wanted to push for the two science classes. After a little back and forth with the school, everything worked out (by the second day of school) and his schedule was changed. I’m so proud of him!

Thought I’d remind you of how the kids have grown over the years with links to previous first day of school photos. Enjoy the walk down memory lane.

2005: Zachary 4th grade & MacKenzie 2nd grade (third week of school, but their first day)
2006: Zachary 5th grade & MacKenzie 3rd grade
2007: Zachary 6th grade & MacKenzie 4th grade (fourth day of school since I was in Moscow for their first day of school)
2008: Zachary 7th grade & MacKenzie 5th grade
2008: Benjamin Kindergarten (a week later than Zachary & MacKenzie)
2009: Zachary 8th grade, MacKenzie 6th grade & Benjamin 1st grade

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Zachary

Every summer that we’ve lived in Germany, I’ve noticed that Missoula Children’s Theatre visits and puts on productions with kids. Unfortunately, the past four summers we’ve been gone or otherwise unavailable for the kids to participate. However, this summer, MacKenzie was here and she wanted to get involved. This summer’s production was Pinocchio, so she watched the movie the weekend before auditions and decided she wanted to be the Blue Fairy.

Missoula’s Children’s Theatre comes in and puts on a production in only six days’ time! They begin with auditions Monday morning, and conclude with the final performance Saturday afternoon. What a wonderful experience to start from scratch and have such a feeling of accomplishment in such a short amount of time. They even held a makeup workshop one day after rehearsals -- hence MacKenzie’s lion appearance here (no, they didn’t add a lion to the cast of Pinocchio!).

She was disappointed that she didn’t get the part of the Blue Fairy, but she still had quite a few lines to learn as Urchin #6. In this adaption, Mrs Geppetto told the story of the wooden puppet to the urchins, who then helped narrate. I didn’t take many photos during the performance, but did snap this during the closing number. MacKenzie is two to the right from Pinocchio.

What beautifully dirty street urchins!

No performance is complete without flowers for the star -- even if she still has “dirt” all over her face!

Labels: MacKenzie

MacKenzie’s tooth activity called upon the Tooth Fairy once again last month when she lost another molar. She was hoping to lose the baby tooth just in front of it so the dentist doesn’t have to pull it to make room for her permanent teeth, but no such luck yet...it’s barely loose. She has two more weeks to loosen it and yank it before the dentist's turn.

Labels: MacKenzie

In keeping with what’s becoming tradition when we visit Nana and Papa, we went to the beach this summer. We like going to Lewes Beach since the waves there are much milder than at some of the other nearby beaches -- perfect for pint-sized (and slightly larger) kids! MacKenzie got started with what she does best at the beach: build. She loves filling the buckets with sand and making all kind of sand creations.

Zachary’s favorite thing to do at the beach is to be buried. He seems to enjoy it so much that it was one of the first things he did. David, MacKenzie, Rachel and Andy helped him when he was ready to emerge from the sand -- by pouring water over his covered body to let it seep through the sand. He didn’t mind when they used the watering cans, but David used a 10-gallon bucket -- Zachary said that was a lot of cold water all at once!

Rachel also enjoyed being buried -- and being turned into a mermaid!



Andy was great at bringing water from the ocean in a watering can. He watered lots of things back on the sand (and under the sand, as was the case when Zachary was buried!).

Papa enjoyed being in the water with his five grandkids.

Benjamin and Rachel were Papa’s buddies in the water. They kept heading back to him.

When he kept playing with them like this, I can see why! They really enjoyed this game.



Even Andy got in on the action after a while.

After a while, Papa had to call it quits -- they really wore him out!

Zachary and MacKenzie spent some time digging a hole near the water. The tide was coming in, so they stayed busy trying to keep the ocean from overtaking their hole.

They soon had help from Rachel and Benjamin to keep the hole filled with water.

Rachel had picked up a few rocks that she found along the beach, but wasn’t pleased when Andy found the yellow bucket and wanted to add some of his own rocks. Fortunately, she was a good big sister and decided to share.

Another of our beach traditions is making mudballs to bring as snacks. We brought them one year when Benjamin was small, and ever since then he equates a trip to the beach with having mudballs. Not a bad tradition!

Even Andy and Leslie had to stop for a snack. It can’t get much better than shoving a handful of Cheetos into your mouth while curled up on your mom’s lap!

Of course, Benjamin and Rachel didn’t take long of a break -- they were soon back in the water.



MacKenzie decided that she wanted to be buried too. Once she was fully covered by sand, we made her into an octopus. She was a good sport about it and didn’t turn into Ursula the Seawitch!

Benjamin even had a turn, although he didn’t want his shoulders and arms covered like MacKenzie. I think he made a pretty good fish.



We couldn’t convince Andy to be buried. I don’t think he could have stayed still that long. Instead, he spent some time jumping into a water-filled hole. The water kept being absorbed into the sand, so David, Zachary and MacKenzie stayed busy bringing water up to refill the hole.

While Andy would jump in and quickly step out, Rachel enjoyed sitting in the water a little longer. Two very different approaches to enjoying a water-filled hole on the beach!

We even enjoyed watching this historic ship on the horizon. In all seriousness, Benjamin warned me that the pirates were coming!

After a while, Benjamin settled in at the water’s edge and played with the sand.

I love how intently he was playing as the waves crashed around his feet.



One last dip in the water before time to pack up and head home. I’d say everyone enjoyed their day at the beach. David’s job here was to keep everyone in the water while the rest of us packed up the toys -- so it would be a little less obvious that it was time to go. It worked -- no fits!



I love how Andy enjoyed being with his big cousin. Zachary was a great help at the beach -- keeping the younger ones involved and helping corral them when need be (like when it was time to get out of the water to head home).

All wrapped up and ready to head home. What a great day at the beach!

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Zachary

Other than a short visit with my brother for my grandmother’s funeral in November, I haven’t seen him or his family in nearly two years. We were long overdue for a visit, and I’m very thankful that it worked out that they were able to travel to Delaware for a long weekend while we were in the states. The kids got along wonderfully -- as if they’re around each other all the time (well, maybe even better than that since there was very little arguing or disagreements). Zachary and Rachel definitely inherited the tomato-loving gene from Nana!

Andy shared his love of animals with Zachary and Benjamin. Fortunately, Nana had a classic toy barn for them to pull out and play with.

Andy really loved spending time with Zachary. Zachary’s really good with young kids, so it was a natural attraction.

Rachel and Any picked out their first Webkinz animals, so my three showed them the in’s and out’s of Webkinz World online.

Don’t Benjamin and Andy look cute in their matching shirts? Since Benjamin often makes faces for photos, and Andy doesn’t always like staying still for photos, I was doubly impressed that I got this photo!

Andy needed a little cuddle time with his daddy after running around a bit.

From “A” to “Z:” Andy, Rachel, Benjamin, MacKenzie and Zachary.

They all had a very good day in front of the camera...well, except if you look closely at Benjamin. He’s sticking out the very tip of his tongue (yes, this was the best photo of the group).

Nana with her two youngest grandsons.

We went outside to explore in Nana and Papa’s backyard. Andy decided to pal around with MacKenzie that evening, and he had lots to show her.



Since we couldn’t recreate the “dirt road” photo of Nana walking with the grandkids that we take each year on the farm, we tried taking one amidst the row of trees in the backyard. Rachel was intent on being the leader so is in front of everyone yelling directions into her toy microphone. When we tried to convince her that we needed a “leader in the back” (in an attempt to get her closer to the group), she paused and told someone else to be the “back leader.” Too funny! She wasn’t giving up her role as the main leader in front of this gaggle!

We eventually managed to get her to join everyone for a more traditional pose amongst the pines.

Andy liked it when Zachary and MacKenzie helped him jump real high. What a treat!

Then they’d help him jump into MacKenzie’s arms.

Before heading back inside, we played a “Nana- and Papa-friendly” game of duck, duck, goose (no sitting down). The kids really enjoyed chasing after each other. They actually fared better than the adults most times. I suppose it’s because they’re closer to the ground and more agile so could get away quicker.



Andy didn’t quite have all the rules down, and managed to slow down Papa by grabbing hold of his legs.

When Papa chased Andy around the circle, Andy broke free and ran through the yard. He was determined to get away at any cost.

When Andy chased Papa again, he managed to catch up to him and tackle him. Fortunately, Papa was able to control his fall so neither of them got hurt.

What a great-looking group, if I do say so myself. We were all tickled that all the kids were cooperating and looking the same direction! Yeah!

Before everyone left for their respective homes, MacKenzie, Rachel and Benjamin had one last Webkinz session. They all logged on at the same time to play games and take care of their online animals. Benjamin enjoyed buying/sending presents to Rachel, and Rachel enjoyed earning money by playing the games.

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Zachary