Monday Memories: "The Goal is between the Flip Flop and the Backpack"

family fun at the beach!

We are far from the most athletic of clans, but we make up in enthusiasm what we lack in regard for the rules. Sportsmanship is not our strong point. Most games end in all of us collapsing on the sand, out of breath, vigorously contesting which side claimed victory (and frequently, even at the very end of the game, still discussing who is on which team). Some members of the family seem to think you can compensate skill with rigorous debate. I belong in this camp. My motto is:  you can cheat, foul, yell, pull shirts and trip ankles, just as long as you're pulling off an adorable orange blouse while you do it! 

In this photo, my father is failing to catch, my sister is failing to block him, my cousin is failing to care, my mother and aunt are failing to participate and my grandma is just hangin' out in the middle. I may suck at sports, but it must be because an apple does not fall far from the tree. And amen to that, because I wouldn't give up this crazy clan or my genetically predetermined two left feet for anything!
 
Look up at the Sky!
 
Zanna

PS. Hanging out with the same crew at the lake, in a restaurant, and around the pool, way back in the day.

PPS. Another picnic at a California beach!

Monday Memories: Picnic in California

Family picnic at the beach (those not pictured are off treasure hunting for sea glass and shells!)

Today I had two exams back to back and they are going to keep on coming. One last two-week sprint, and the semester is behind me! 

All this studying and stressing and stupid, stupid procrastination is taking it's toll, and what I need now is a little sunshine. One of those special memories you can keep tucked away, only to be unfolded every now and then, when you really need it.  Just pressing away the well-worn creases and drawing strength from the remembrance of happy times. 

Part of my family lives in California and whenever we are visiting we always make time for a visit to my favorite beach in the world for a bagel picnic by the sea. I love those long, lazy afternoons, all of us hanging out together, eating on a blanket spread on the sand and then dispersing for naps, walks, and beach-treasure-hunting.

I just booked flights for a visit to the Bay Area this spring and I can't wait to head to the ocean and feel the sand squidge between my toes and that salty spray on my face. Here's to getting through the next couple weeks!

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. Memories of a ski trip with Karl, playing "Who am I?", having some summer fun at the lake, a romantic weekend in Lausanne, and last year skiing with friends!

Monday Memories: "Who am I?"

 

One of the greatest blessings in life is family, and I am lucky enough to have two. I like to call them the bloody and the non-bloody families, because that's what they are: the one I am genetically related to and the one my parents built for me. 

In a way, I was born into both of them. I have my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins galore who all live far away. I also have an incredible, close-knit group of "aunts" and "uncles" right here in Berlin, friends of my parents who have known me from birth and whose kids, in turn, are like nieces and nephews to me. We all love hanging out together at our lakeside mini-cabins and we try to meet en masse as regularly as we can! Here is our annual Christmas Goose-Eating Event (held at a restaurant this year so no one spends four days cooking and no one cleans up!) We love Engelbecken in Berlin--they have the best Wiener Schnitzel around!

Zelda entertains the gang

Kiki, whose artistic talent graces many napkins at restaurants all over Berlin

Papa makes a point

 Sleepy Cousins

The restaurant empties around us

The evenings tend to get long, and the kids get antsy while the wine is still flowing freely on the adult side of the table. So this time, I took some decisive action in providing entertainment.

Multi-generational Who am I ?!

And it turned out amazing. So. Much. Fun!

Everyone, young and old, gets to write out a name for their neighbor. The not-yet-learned-to-write faction gets a little help.

We ended up with quite an eclectic cast of characters. 

Johnny Depp

Wagner

Moses

Dumbledore

David Cameron

Mika Häkkinen

Then, you go around the table and each person asks yes-or-no questions until they hit a no. Then it's the next person's turn. You go around till everybody has guessed who they are. Unsurprisingly, the kids did way better than the adults!

Richard Wagner was a tough one...

The five-year-old wins first place!

It was a wonderful evening and I'm missing the crew a lot right now! There's just nothing like spening a cold winter evening cozy inside, with a whole big bunch of family. 

Zelda holds Kiki and we all say goodbye

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. These photos were taken as a group effort (ie. a camera was lying on the table and most everyone fiddled around with it for a while. Thanks, Team!)

PPS. Past Monday Memories: A Day in Lausanne

Monday Memories: Pool Cousins

Cousin Bobby plays "the throwing game" with Zelda

I only have one sister- Zelda the Goofball, Queen of Makeup and Math, our family's fashion arbiter and eternal baby. I sometimes wished for more siblings, but other times I was jealous of the attention my baby sister commanded and was glad our parents' booboo blowing and artwork admiring skills were only split between us two. In the end, it just felt right to be just us four--and continues to feel right to this day. But we had a saving grace: a large, chaotic, and kid-heavy extended family. And although they live on the other side of the country, if not of the other side of of the world from us, the adults always made a huge concerted effort to meet at least once a year, often in California. And of course, those sun-drenched days of being spoiled by grandparents and carted around in a caravan of cars were fun fun fun for us kids.The only hardship I remember was the mandatory 30 minute wait after lunch before being allowed to reenter the pool. Only the half hour before the doctor gives you your test results compares. 

Cousin Lina, Zelda, Me and Cousin Bobby in Grandma's Pool

I can't wait to see my kids and Zelda's playing in a pool together. Cousins have such a unique position in a kid's life: age matched, not as bicker-y as siblings and closer than friends.  I hope my kids have as awesome a relationship with theirs as I do with mine! This week we found out Bobby got into Stanford Law School and I am just over the moon proud for him. 

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. If you need a overview of the cast of characters find one here!

PPS. More Monday Memories here and here!