First Day of School

Axel is now a kindergartner! First day of school was this Tuesday 

The whole family walked Axel to school the first day.

Several of Axel's frends from pre-school started the same day.

The proud parents (and dog).

A little nervousness setting in as it was time to say goodbye to the parents....but...

...this was how Axel looked when we picked him up in the afternoon. A great first day.

Gone Fishing

During our summer visit to Denmark, Axel got a change to go crab fishing in Rørvig - a fantastic little seaside town in north west Sealand. 

Unknown to me and Axel, it turns out that crab are quite stupid - they will hold on to any piece of raw fish with their claws. So to catch them you just lower some fish on a line into the water and wait for them to grab it - then just pull up the crab.

Deep concentration.

Catch of the day. 

Team work by Axel and Matilde. 

Visit from Violet and Grandpa

This summer we had some visitors:

We took them to the beach of course:

And obviously Grandpa never goes anywhere without seeing baseball

Violet and Axel played constantly since they shared many common interests . . . soccer for one

and Dance video games too

We loved spending time with you, thanks for coming to visit us!  

Preschool Graduation

After years of rigorous academic dedication and studying, 

Axel has earned his first diploma . . . graduating from: preschool.  

We were so lucky to have Ms. Kathy as Axel's teacher - she was fierce, loving, academically challenging, and totally no nonsense, which is just about perfect for a class full of 5 year olds. 

As usual, the graduation after party got a little rowdy!  

Wine Tasting in France

When we were in France we went wine tasting at a local vineyard.

The hosts were extremely generous.  

After about 16 tastings, the kids were pretty bored (but not the adults. . . )

Axel got to have his first taste of soda, in a wine glass.  

The next day he asked if we could go wine tasting again. 

At the end of the world...(well - of Sealand at least)

At the end of our Denmark trip we stayed at a vacation house with Claus and his family in the north west region of Sealand called Odsherred, From here it is possible to drive to the westernmost point of Sealand called "gniben". It is a military area, but you are allowed to go in for hikes. There are huge cannons in there, used to protect the Danish waters. I asked Axel why he thought the cannons were there. He said "it is for people who don't follow the rules", which I guess is correct.

This is "gniben" - as far west as you can get on Sealand. 

Time to find some rocks.....

..and then throw them in the ocean.

We finished the hike by building a rock sculpture. A beautiful day. 

The Firemen's Ball

On one of our last days in France, we went to the local firemen's charity ball. It was quite an evening.

Lots of dancing.

Our very friendly host Jay joined us for a while.

No party in Alsace without "flammkuchen" - an Alsacian pizza. 

Axel preferred the pretzel.