August 2008

"Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."
- Michelle L. Thieme, August's Crown

The month rushed by, as per usual, but we had fun spending time with Bob, Criss and Rafe. They stopped by Prague for a few days on their big road trip. We also made a quick trip to Berlin to file some paperwork. While we were there we stayed with Karin and even met up with our old pal Benjamin. It's sad to see summer 2008 coming to an end but this fall and winter are sure to be lots of fun, too!

Oh the fun daddy has with Lolo's hair during bath time. How do you like the punk-look?

Bob, Criss and Rafe came for a visit. We're still waiting for them to send us some photos so we can add them to our blog but, in the meantime, enjoy the bathtub photos of Lolo and Rafe.

Lolo doing her Flashdance routine to the now infamous "gummy bear" song.

Happy Birthday to you! Melinda just L.O.V.E.S. her new Nespresso machine. For her next birthday I'll be sure to update that bathrobe.

Have we mentioned what a good little girl Lolo has been lately? She's been so good, in fact, that Melinda bought her a mechanical pig. Yes, apparently it's a Nebraskan rite of passage for all little girls.

"They were giving out free balloons at McDonald's to cute little girls with pig-tails so I said, why not?"

Mother and child waiting for the train to Berlin on platform 3 at Prague's Holesovice station. We had to take care of a "visa situation" and luckily Britt's friend, Karin, came to the rescue. She met us at the train station in Berlin, let us stay at her place, cooked for us, and even helped us with paperwork. See. It's good to have friends. Thanks again, Karin!

"And in a few short hours we'll be there, won't that be wonderful?"

Waiting for the s-bahn to take us to dinner.

We met up with our long-lost SLA leader, Benjamin, and his good friend/roommate, Amy. It was so great to see him again. Though he looks like a gust of wind could blow him away, Benji was his old self--energetic, funny and charming as ever. More great news, Benji recently moved back to Berlin so now we're only a few hours away! Not that we didn't want to fly to India to see him, it's just that Berlin is so much more convenient.

Is there anyone that Benji can't charm? Karin was such a gracious hostess, we can't thank her enough.

Someone please tell me what the sign above Lolo's head means. Hopefully it'll be something exotic and not an ad for noodles.

The dynamic duo strikes again!

It's 11 o'clock, do you know where your children are?

"Rhinos!" Before saying goodbye to a magical 48-hours in Berlin, we stopped by the city zoo. Apparently it's ranked as one of the top zoos in the world and, from the moment we stepped in, we found out why. There's not much separating the animals (at least those without sharp teeth) from the visitors, just a small concrete moat. The animals are so close you can almost reach out and touch them. Luckily for us, the Rhinos kept their distance.

Maybe we should have gone to the other side of the elephant sanctuary before snapping a photo. This is the ass-end of the sanctuary.

I'm in my happy place.

No gorillas were harmed in the making of this photo.

Is it feeding time yet?

The black jaguar from the Jungle Book lives at the Berlin zoo.

Big brown bear surrounded by white artic wolves.

Next stop. Los Angeles. Notice that Melinda and Lolo have had a wardrobe change. Apparently Lolo had a "wardrobe malfunction" earlier in the day when she peed all over the two of them. Good times. Luckily, Melinda was a good little girl scout and prepared a change of clothing in advance.

"Hi mommy! Watch me go down the slide!" The zoo had the most amazing kids playland and Lolo took full advantage of the slides, both short and long. She was too small to join the other kids on the group trampoline that was built right into the jungle gym but we all agreed that when she's a big girl we'll take her back jump to her hearts content.

Near.

Far.

The Berlin petting zoo animals were incredibly well-behaved. Unlike other zoos, the animals here have their own pens where children aren't allowed. If the animals feel like being petted and fed, they come out. If not, they stay in their pens. Simple! It took Lolo a couple of minutes to get the courage to touch one on her own. Once she did however, there was no stopping her.

Daddy says if you put your ear up to it you can hear the ocean.

So many goats, so little time. Come here everyone, group hug!

Yahoo! They re-opened the park closest to us at Zofin! Now my favorite swing is only a block away.

See you next month!