Family Mellmann

Vermont winter is finally here. And with that comes ski and snowboard season. Today, Katherine started her third year of snowboard lessons. Since Patrick has graduated from the ski program (it only goes through eighth grade), Katherine brought a new mountain buddy, a classmate from Trinity.

It's our last day of Christmas break. Patrick is enjoying his last moments with a friend, Katherine is enjoying a little screen time, and Jörg continues his work with taxes and all things accounting. I have accomplished a few projects (or parts of them) over this break, but I will bid a sad farewell to this Christmas break knitting in front of the fire while I watch a TV show and enjoy the smell of beef stew wafting from the crockpot.

Christmas in the Mellmann house was quiet and relaxed; a nice change of pace to the long days and busy schedules leading up to the break.  Joerg took about two weeks off from work, and the kids had almost two weeks off from school. Our Christmas break was spent decorating cookies, playing games, sleeping in, staying up late, and enjoying the lack of schedule and obligation.  We did manage to get a few little projects done, and Joerg spent a couple of days working on finances in preparations for tax season, so we weren't complete slouches the *entire* time. :) So, from our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Frohe Weihnachten und Frohes neues Jahr!

After fifteen years of celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve (in the German tradition) we're mixing it up a little bit this year. Patrick has been singing a lot this past year.  He has participated in youth choirs over the years, but anytime a choir performance conflicted with our Christmas Eve activities we would keep him out of the choir.  But since he's been enjoying singing so much this year we decided it was time to give him a chance to participate...even if we had to rearrange our traditions a little. So, this year we did something different for Christmas Eve.  Most of the day was spent relaxing and preparing food for tomorrow.  Then we brought in the tree and decorated it.  For dinner, we took advantage of our unseasonably warm weather and had burgers on the grill.  I even sat outside on the deck while the burgers were cooking.  After dinner we got dressed and went to the evening service at church where Patrick sang with the high school choir. ...

Getting in a little knitting while we watch The Polar Express.

Yes, I know. This post is a little late. Katherine has been enjoying her life as an eleven year old for a few weeks now, but I'm just now getting around to processing pictures from the camera. Our birthday routine includes a birthday meal of the honoree's choice. Katherine, who has been looking forward to this day since her last birthday, chose Koto's Japanese Steakhouse...like she does every year.  We sit around the hibachi grill and watch as the chef artfully cooks up our dinners.  Then we go home to have cake, and open presents. With age comes some maturity for Katherine. She has observed that she doesn't do well in larger groups, and prefers small personal gatherings over large chaotic ones.  Based on this introspective observation, she decided to trade in her annual birthday party with lots of friends for a sleepover with two close friends.  It was a wise choice, and one that she enjoyed immensely. Here are some of the highlights of our family birthday...

Chocolate cake...and popcorn!  They couldn't decide which they wanted to eat first, so they had both. In the morning, they were up bright and early playing Lego Friends. Katherine celebrated her birthday with friends by hosting a small sleepover rather than a party with lots of kids. At the beginning of October, when we were planning these events, she astutely observed about herself that large groups make her uncomfortable and grumpy, and that she would prefer to have more time with fewer people; people she really enjoys being with. She was right. The girls played nicely after school on Friday, into the evening, and even through the morning. Once everyone left, she crashed for a little solo time in her room.

The cousins in Germany: Nico, Janik, Jara and Mirko (top to bottom). The photo is taken at Oma's garden in Eichenau.