December in Germany

Hi Everyone-

Guy and I are currently in Germany. Having fun, working hard, and not getting much sleep. I had planned to post some pictures, but forgot my thumbdrive at home (and Guy seems to think he needs his for his job or something). So as of now, no pictures.

We are staying in Wiesbaden and have gone to Mainz quite a few times, as well as Diederheim (hopefully I got that right). I spent a day with Marni in Frankfurt and had dinner with Roy and the kids. For those of you who wanted to see the INSIDE of Marni´s house, I took pictures and will post them when I can. For Anastasia, I have taken pictures of our not so exciting hotel room so she can see where we are staying.

Thanks to everyone involved with taking care of the kids. The seem to be doing well everytime I talk to them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are "before" and "after" pictures of Walter's turkey (not sure if it's actually the same turkey or not... it kind of looks like one of those cooking shows the way I posted the pictures, doesn't it?). Anyway, in honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to post Walter's turkey. Sorry you can't be here to celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S., Walter. Have a happy Thanksgiving in Germany!

Dinner with Julian

Julian had fun eating pizza with Grace, Zachariah, and Anastasia. He also enjoyed playing with the train set, playing cars with Traffic (the cat/Kutz) and chasing the cat a bit too. Do you think he had a fun night?

More of Melanie's Birthday

I found one more picture of the staff of The Rainforest Cafe singing "Happy Birthday" to Melanie as the fire on the volcano dies down. And yet, another surprise for her!

Melanie's Birthday

We celebrated Melanie's Birthday with a "surprise" party at The Rainforest Cafe. I think she was quite surprised to know so many people in one place! You can see Anastasia getting better acquainted with Julian too.

After dinner we watched the kids play on the GIANT Food in the play area at the mall.

Happy Birthday, Melanie! Welcome to the U.S.!

Halloween, 2007

I'm finally catching up on a few posts again. Here are the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Vogtmann before they went trick-or-treating. Zachariah was a pirate, Grace was a cat (of course), and Anastasia was a teddy bear (a Forest Fairy at school, though). They got GOBS of candy and it is taking forever for them to eat it all.

Fishing Trip - August 2007

Zachariah catches a very small fish.
Grace terrorizes a crayfish!
Anastasia poses for her pictures (what else would she do.. she IS a princess!)

Tortellini Carbonara

Here's is the recipe for Tortellini Carbonara as promised days ago...

2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 lb. cooked ham, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 c. half and half (1 qt)
1 c fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c chopped onion (I use dried, minced onion or omit it)
1 1/2 c. frozen peas
9 oz fresh cheese filled tortellini

Melt butter in large skilled over medium heat. Stir in onion (if desired) and ham; saute 5 minutes (or until onions are translucent).

Pour in the hafl and hafl and teh cheese, stirring frequently, until the sauce starts to thicken and bubble (this takes quite a while.. if you want it to thicken faster, add a little flour). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Fill large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortelline and cook to desired doneness, or according to package directions. Add the peas to the boiling tortellini in the final minute of cooking. Drain all from the water and toss with the ham and sauce mixture. Enjoy!

Let me know what you think!

My adventure with Cindi...

So today I went on an adventure with Cindi. She introduced me to the most WONDERFUL spice shop I have ever seen. We sniffed spices until we sneezed and I am now inspired to start making all the recipes I have been wanting to try, but just couldn't find the right ingredients.

Then we headed over to The Little Bubble Tea House and got our first taste of Bubble Tea (I had Tara and Cindi had Almond). The bubbles are GIANT, Black tapioca that sit on the bottom of your glass of tea like a bunch of rocks. You suck them up through a straw that resembles a really long Penne Pasta noodle that has been dyed to a bright color. It was yummy. For those who are not familiar with Bubble Tea, it originated in Tawain and you can "google" it for additional info for your own personal research project.

Sorry, no pictures taken on this memorable day. We will just have to relive the memories in our minds.

Thanks, Karen!

Thank you Karen for taking Grace and I out to the Palace last night! We had a great time and hope to see you again soon! (Everyone can see a picture or two once Karen sends them to me.. hint, hint, hint).

So it has been a while since I posted anything. Not sure why, but things have been quite busy around the Charnesky household. It's the basic busy that after the days have gone you are not really sure what kept you so busy.. just that you were... if you know what I mean. Things have been so busy that I even mowed the lawn in the dark last night (and the best news is that it actually looked fine in the daylight today:)

A few weeks ago I started teaching a couple new piano students and they are doing AWESOME! My youngest student is now 5 years old (I usually don't start teaching until they are at least 8)! Yes, Brandon, I know I need to schedule some time to teach you too:) -- as long as you promise to not pretend you don't know me when you are driving around town with your new girl.. I am your aunt and all and it's very hard not to see me coming in the bright red truck!).

Grace had a Cross Country meet today and did GREAT. I will try to get the pictures off the camera and post them soon (not even sure how they turned out yet). She came in 30th place (out of a lot of girls.. not really sure how many).. running against a lot of REALLY TALL, much OLDER girls on a very challenging course with some large hills. We are very proud of her.

And for those of you interested in what's cooking at our house, I will post the recipe for Tortelline Carbonara. I made it last night for dinner (it's one of those good recipes that you make and then it gets lost somewhere in your recipe box.. then you find it and wonder.. "why haven't I made THAT lately?"). Watch for that coming soon (and of course, as all recipes I make, it is very easy too). More soon!

Here is Grace running in the GIGANTIC Cross Country meet on Saturday, September 15, 2007 near Holly, Michigan. There were approximately 220 girls running in this race from 4th to 8th grade. Grace did AWESOME especially since it was only 41 degrees that day! Her time for the 2 mile run was 16:07 (even improved her time from the night before.. WOW!). Still trying to figure out a way to get the pictures off my phone so everyone can see the MASS of girls running that day.. (anyone have a micro SD adaptor I can borrow?)

Germany - September 2007

Ok, since I got some grief (tonight, actually) from not updating my blog this past week, I thought I would post a couple new things. Here's a pic of Guy in Germany this past week. Is he at Reiner's apartment? Not really sure yet. Haven't gotten the low down on what any of these pictures are from. So here is the most recent picture of Guy for those of you who haven't seen him lately.

The other picture is of Guy with the "German Dudes" as Grace started to refer to them-- Herr Weihl an Herr Geib. Herr Weihl will be moving to the US very soon with his family and Herr Geib has spent the summer here and will be going back to Germany soon.

More pictures soon (probably of Grace at her Cross Country meets).. I promise. I just need to find the adaptor so I can get them from my phone to the computer!

Grace wins a medal!

Grace ran in her first Cross Country meet today (yeah, I know, it's the first time I have ever posted the same day an event occurred.. don't get used to it!). She ran two miles at Lutheran High North and took 10th place in the girls race. I still can't believe she ran two miles! Her time was 18:07. Tomorrow she runs in the largest meet in the country in Holly, Michigan. She is so excited and is really have fun with this! September 14, 2007.

Wheeeeeeee!!!!!

So Kristine and Randy got a new Wii (is that how you spell it)
and here is what it looks like when Guy and Randy box each other.
LOL! I'm not sure who even won, but it was funny to watch them.

Gary flies again!

Gary makes his 2000th jump out of an airplane. Anyone want to skydive? Give him a call.. he'll be back from Germany soon!

Anastasia's pool party!

Anastasia really wanted to have a pool party to celebrate her
birthday this year. Since the pool closes on Labor Day, we had to have
her party in August. So here she is with her rainbow birthday cake (don't worry,
she has requested a PINK volcano cake for her "real" birthday). August, 2007.

No garden this year!

For those who don't live in this area (which is most of
you, I think), here is what it looks like almost every day in
our backyard. There were two does and two fawns in the spring,
but one doe and one fawn of been killed this year. Yes, we are
in the suburbs, but there are a ton of deer here. They are so tame
and they have eaten everything I planted in my garden this
year as well as all of my hostas! Ugh. At least they look
nice, who needs tomatoes and cucumbers anyway! Summer, 2007.

t-rex

For some reason, almost everywhere we go there is a T-rex!
Of course they would have one at the Toledo Zoo, right? Here are
the kids posing by another of Zachariah's favorite creatures of all
time! In case you can't tell, Anastasia and Grace are inside the mouth
of the beast. August 28, 2007.

Anyone watch M.A.S.H?

Here we are at Tony Packos in Toledo, Ohio.
How we ever found this place, I have no idea! Guy
tells me this restaurant is talked about on the old t.v.
show "M.A.S.H" (supposedly Klinger talked it up a lot).
I guess I will have to watch some re-runs and find
out for myself. The food was a little "different", but
VERY good. Our appetizer was deep fried pickles.. and
they were actually good. Then we each got some sort of
"feat" that included chili (I got chicken of course), a chili
dog (which was good even for Ohio standards), and a
GIGANTIC cabbage roll. I couldn't even finish it all (don't
know what's wrong with my stomach lately, I just can't
pack it in like I used to).

Wow.. I am on a roll now.. I NEVER write this much on my blog!

I do recommend this restaurant for anyone with a hungry tummy
who happens to be in the Toledo area. (August 28, 2007)

{Yes, Shelly, I even posted a picture of myself.. but don't get used to it.. I'm usually the one with the camera!}

Toledo Zoo

This week we went to the Toledo Zoo. The weather was perfect and
the kids had a good time. Here they are comparing how long their arms are to a gorillas arms.

A kitten named....

TRAFFIC! That's right, we now have a kitten and for some reason
(don't ask me why) his name is "Traffic". So far he has been a good kitten.
He moved in at the end of July, 2007.

Another Blue Tongue!

Uncle Gary stopped by to enjoy our ice cream dinner on August 12th.
Here is what he looks like with a blue tongue!

Blue Tongue!

Thanks, Natalie and Dave! Here is what it looks like when you chew the gum with dye in it!

Volcano Cake!

Zachariah blows out the candles on the traditional Charnesky Volcano Cake! Yummy!
Happy Birthday, Zachariah!

Pool Party!

We celebrated Zachariah's birthday with a pool party on August 11th.