The Neighbors

Across the street live a family of 6.  Four kids; one girl, 18, and three boys, 15, 9 and 6.  One of the joys of my heart has been watching my normally quite reserved kids make friends with these kids, despite significant language barriers.  Besides that, just getting to know this fun family has been inspiring and thought provoking.  They have provided us with a couple experiences that are specific to German culture and will be some of my favorite memories.  I have already mentioned the Labor Day Walk as well as the stockbrot.  (Stickbread)
This family is very sports oriented.  The parents are both PE teachers and their children are already excelling in country level competitions in gymnastics and swimming.  Leisure time also involves sports, they are currently in Italy windsurfing.  They climb trees and scale play structures like no bodys business.  An Ipad they do not have.  Unfortunately the 6 year caught sight of ours and immediately was hooked.  The next day he was back at our dining room table casually drumming his fingers and hmming about as he obviously looked for the, now hidden, technology.

They are sweet kids.  The older two are always looking for a way to help out our youngers.  The 15 year old took it upon himself to set up and fortify a rickety swingset that was hidden away in the trees in our backyard, arriving with stakes and an extra swing from his own house.  I have seen him meet up with an elderly neighbor on the bike path and instead of just passing with a hello, get off his bike and walk with her the rest of the way home, keeping her company.
Their views on some things vary a little from mine.  :)  The loooove fire.  I walked by their backyard to see the children building a fire in a wheelbarrow and wheeling it around the yard with some 10 foot high flames.  The 9 year found a lighter in our backyard somewhere and was flicking it, I said to the mom, "Oh! Is that OK?" And she says, "Oh yes, they always play with fire".  Oh. Right.  Except we usually precede "play with fire" with "never".   She goes on to tell me he almost burnt down their shed and his playhouse because he built a fire in the toy box and then went off and left it- the whole family in fact left the house for the day and they came back to shooting flames.  Oops!  Sure enough, my kids ran home excitedly from their house during a rain storm to tell me that they had been hiding from the rain in the playhouse and he has all sorts of candles and matches and lighters so they stayed warm!!!  Oh boy.
I have heard many stories from the parents.  They do teach the kids safety, I have seen it, but they also very much let them be boys... do, learn, explore.  They have pocket knives and one did in fact cut himself and then proceeded to pass out from the sight of the blood.  They climb trees.  High trees.  Several years ago the oldest boy, then age 13, took the middle boy, at about age 6, to the top of their fir tree.  It was a windy day so the older tied the younger to himself for safety.  They got to the top.  The older got a phone call.  So... he. tied. the. younger. to. the. top. of. the. tree..... and went down into the house to take the phone call.  Then he forgot about his brother.  Some time later the mom comes out and hears crying and looks up to see her 6 year old tied to the top of the fir tree blowing in the wind.  Oops again!

Did I mention the teenage boy makes his own elderberry flower nectar juice?  Yep.  Gathers the flowers and adds water and sugar and brews it on the stove for 12 hours and makes syrup.  Yes, they are truly a unique family.
I have seen Sam and Landon grow braver and stronger just following them.  I am inspired to spend more time in sports and activity outside. 

Before they left for their two week vacation the two little boys came running over to give goodbyes and even looked for Anneke to say goodbye.  They do not speak much English but it has been fun to talk to the 6 year old like I am understood and have him look up quizzically and somewhat
perturbed and say, "VASS?" (WHAT??")  So now we go around shaking our head and scrunching our eyebrows and saying, "VASS?"