First Snow

A day before Christmas, we enjoyed a light snow here in Heidelberg. Dad took Devynn and Colby outside for some winter fun...they put on snow pants and boots and had fun walking in the snow and throwing a few snow balls. They even tried to make a snowman.

Little Girls at Play

Devynn & Eayden hanging out together, reading and being silly...

Swim Meet in Kaiserslautern

Last Saturday we woke up at 7 A.M. to get everyone dressed and in the van for a trip to K-Town, where Andee, Bailey and Colby participated in a swim meet. This was no easy task, as we often stay up way too late on Friday nights and like to sleep in on Saturday. After much coaxing from Dad, we rolled out of bed and began our morning ritual. We drove the hour and a half to the pool without incident, except for Devynn getting car sick in the backseat. That is typical for Devynn. When we arrived at the pool, we unloaded the essentials of any serious swim family...folding chairs, snacks, books, portable DVD player and swimsuits for the little girls since they like to imagine themselves in the pool too. All the girls dropped time in almost all events and are really working hard to qualify for the Championship meet.

Family Ice Skating Day

Cooking with Mom

Today I fixed scrambled eggs for the little girls and they were my helpers. I put aprons on them and sat them on the counter to supervise while I cracked eggs into the pan. They love to hang out in the kitchen with me.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ruybal

Bath Time with Little Girls

This morning we woke up late and decided to lounge around watching looney tunes and looking at books. It was nearly 11 a.m. before I started picking up around the house and finally put Devynn & Eayden in the tub. They especially like bath time when they get to play with toys...usually I'm in a hurry and the girls are in and out in 5 minutes, just long enough to take care of business. Today, they got to play.

Swimming Rocks!

Colby Backstrokin'

Bailey getting psyched for her next event

Andee gets ready for a BIG swim!

Chillin' with her IPOD

Colby's Field Trip May 2007

In spring 2007, my class went on a field trip to the Heidelberg zoo. My mom came with me and I was very excited because my mom never comes with me on field trips. I had a fun time looking at seals and their dances and fun stuff. We also liked listening to lions roars.

There were funny little monkeys all over the place. There was a big fun park that we played at. There were really tall giraffes that were cool. Last but not least, the whole class loved the BIG turtles that I almost fell on.

New Year's Eve in Heidelberg

We spent New Year's Eve at home with the kids and some of our friends. We had a progressive dinner with the Clark's and Poulton's which began with taco salads at our house, followed by dessert at the Poulton's, along with ping-pong and a showing of "Hairspray" and then to the Clark's for late night snacking and fireworks in the street. At 11 p.m., we visited Hilde and Engel across the street, met some of their close friends and ate some of Hilde's snacks. At midnight, we went to their top floor and watched from the balcony as fireworks went off all over the city. It was a spectacular view. Later, Hilde served goulash and bread to everyone. We are looking forward to a wonderful new year with many more road trips and traveling adventures. We wish all of our friends and family a happy and prosperous 2008!