Our Crazy Life: Reading, Fasching, and Valentine's Day

The other day, Marcus was reading to Lauren and she was so into it I decided to snap some pics.

He really wanted me to take a picture of his "mean" face.

Germans celebrate Fasching on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, much like they celebrate Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans. Everybody dresses in crazy costumes and they have parades where they throw candy, popcorn, treats and sometimes beer to the crowds. I took the kids to the parade here in Schweinfurt (Eric had to work) where we had a fun, but cold, time (it was somewhere in the 20's).

Dominic sleeping through part of the parade.

Lauren was probably the warmest of all of us,
she had a full body suit on and was zipped up inside my coat.

Marcus with a front row seat looking for the next float.

A cool float with a steaming volcano and palm trees.

An igloo float with penguins.

We took the bus to the parade which I thought was better than parking, until I realized that they shut down the bus depot for the day because of the parade route. We had a bit of trouble figuring out where to pick up our bus and Marcus was a trooper following me all over the city trying to find it. (I asked for directions and they were something like "Walk about 400 m and turn left, then turn left, then right") By the time we found the bus, we could have just walked home, but we survived and learned a bit more about the city we live in. (Like there's a TJ Maxx here!!! I'm so excited!!)

Valentine's Day was a hit in this house!! I made cheese fondue with french bread, Li'l Smokies, broccoli, apples, and potatoes. I was going to make a chocolate fondue as well, but opted for the easier chocolate dipped desserts below. Eric and I didn't discuss who was getting candy for the kids, so we both got some. They were in heaven. We've discovered that Dominic's favorite candy is Peeps. The box in the picture below, was gone the next day.