Last three weeks in pictures

Baseball game with new friends from AL.

What a crazy last three weeks it has been for the Steiger Clan. It was filled with tons of activities and all of them outside. I am looking forward to a slower pace.

 The kids had a blast during a Nature Camp which our church hosted at a local park. However, the real stars was group from Covenant Presbyterian Church of Birmingham Alabama who ran the show.

 They all learned how to handle snakes (not that it was on my list of things to teach them).

Sam handling a snake.



Jo going down a slip and slide.



Exploring nature around us (with microscopes)

The kids had a hard time saying good bye to the mission team from AL.

 After another week of Wilderness Camp we sent the boys up north for a week long camp in the mountains. The girls kept us busy on their own. We headed up north as well for some good old camping and amusement park fun.

Fil and the girls getting wet on a ride.



This doesn't look like it but it is a very fast ride.

 We picked up the boys over the weekend and they join us by Saco river for some tubing fun (and camping in the rain).

The kids going down the river (backwards).

It is good to have all the kids home again.



Sam and Fil going on a ride at Attitash.

I am looking forward to some down time and staying home and watching some Olympics.

Siblings part II.

I was able to squeeze in a little photo shoot for my kids during our busy spring season.

 I was looking at (editing) pictures from our last Europe trip and I cannot believe how much the kiddos grew in just one year.

 Sam officially wears men size shoes.

 Nate is not that far behind him. They are both looking forward to the day when they are taller than me.

 Emma is growing into a young lady. She still wears dresses and skirts only. She is such a girlie girl. She still loves climing trees (wearing dresses no less).

 Jo is our sweet girl who knows how to work daddy very well (they both do). She has a very strong personality.

 Jo finished two years of tap and will be moving on to ballet in the fall. She is looking forward to wearing Emma's ballet outfits to her practice.

 Emma finished year two of ballet and will be moving onto ballet III. She has been dancing and jumping since the day she learned to walk.

 My two little dancers.

 And best friends.

 We have been blessed!

Siblings

One of the rare moments when all the kids will pose for my pictures. They do look cute together.

Špekáčky a Buřty

If you are wondering what "Špekáčky a Buřty" means, wonder no more. Everybody from Czech Republic knows what I am posting about. It brings back lost of memories from my childhood and from our trips back to Europe.

 It basically is hot dogs or bratwurst grilled over an open fire.

 It is a weekly event in the Czech Republic but for us it is a special treat and we decided to celebrate czech style after being done with all of our soccer games for the season.

 The kids loved making their own dinner and working on their Špekáčky to a crispy perfection.

 At times like these we do miss our close relatives who are overseas but we did have a good time remembering our times with relatives when we visit them.

 Nate was working hard on his Buřt. He had the fast approach to grilling while Sam worked slowly on his. 

 Jo need only a little help from us (after a long talk about making sure it didn't fall into the fire. Her's eventually did anyway).

 They all enjoyed it very much and went to work on some more.

 This picture is for Babi since she loves corn on a cob. It is the season and we enjoy it often.

 Can you tell Jo loves her diner?

Cape Cod (Part III.)

For our last full day on Cape Cod we headed to Skaket Beach in Orleans. With the sun visible in the sky it looked like a promising day and it was. First of all let me tell you that we have visited our share of beaches in New England. When we pulled into the parking lot of this beach Fil and I looked at each other in amazement. Our first words were,"wow". Followed by Fil's statement that now he will never get me away from New England. We just stood there in the parking lot with our mouths hanging open. We had no clue beaches like this existed in New England. At that point we knew what the big fuss was about Cape Cod.

 We found a spot for all of our beach "stuff" close to the shore and went to explore. I am saying explore because it was low tide and we could barely see the waves. You see, you can walk out to the ocean almost one mile out at low tide!!!

 These pictures were taken about half way between the shore and the water. The kids had a blast running and looking for critters in little tide pools. When we finally made it to the main water I was shocked how warm it was. The boys and Fil got in and enjoyed the ocean in New England in May!!!

 We slowly made it back to the shore and were we watched the tide move in throughout the day. I do not have more pictures from that beach because I was just soaking it all in. To say that the kids had a blast is an understatement. They loved looking for crabs etc.  

 After a long day at the beach and a yummy dinner at the camp we headed out for some good New England ice cream.

 Can you tell it was good?

 And we ended the day with a big fire and good German beer. The beer was for adults not the kids just in case you were wondering.

 We had a great time on Cape Cod and we cannot wait to go back!