Robin's Eighth Birthday

On Monday proper we had an afternoon in the park with a picknick. That was also an opportunity to invite Micah, Robin's good friend from our old home in Koertestrasse. (Ah, yes, we have moved to Wilmersdorf a few weeks ago!)

The images were taken with my Sony RX100. Big versions for prints etc. can be found here.

Monday in the Park

Michelle made a minecraft cake!	DSC04020.JPG	Robin's friend Micah on the right	Grandpa Hans Peter is watching the action
DSC04034.JPG	DSC04036.JPG	Robin's grandparents Gudrun and Hans Peter	DSC04041.JPG
Aunt Astrid had brought a marvellous mousse au chocolat.	The day was almost too sunny

Wednesday: First We Play in the Park Again

David took many of these pictures. Thanks so much, good shots!
The awesome piñata Susanna made. We just need a piñata.	First station was the ice cream store. I was eager to go there because I needed a coffee and a cake. The children were ok with it.
Having regained my strength, I bounced the children on the rubber mat. This has been Robin's and my favourite pastime lately. You can do it in groups which can be pretty wild, or single, which can result in spectacular jumps. Single file always brings up the "Who's first" problem which was decided by elimination in the group phase. All injuries were minor. Bear with me if I post too many pics, it was so much fun.
Elimination...	.. and single (Liam decided to jump onto the sand).	I was a little more careful with the kids who had never done that ...	DSC04093.JPG
DSC04096.JPG	... but had confidence in Robin's jumps.	DSC04103.JPG	DSC04104.JPG
DSC04116.JPG	Lila did good.	DSC04126.JPG	It's hard to see live how high Robin is jumping. Good shot, David.
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The Piñata

There must be a piñata at Robin's birthday. This year it was minecraft-themed (a block of TNT). Susanna created a great one. We had strict rules so that nobody gets hit over the head with the stick.

Explaining the rules ("everybody behind this line! After each hit the stick must be put down!") The kids were pretty obedient. In the background Susanna who made the piñata is holding the rope.	"You hit it like this!"	DSC04187.JPG
DSC04207.JPG	DSC04249.JPG	DSC04322.JPG	DSC04334.JPG
Sorting through the loot

Going Home

"Apfelschorle! Apfelschorle!"	DSC04358.JPG	DSC04368.JPG
DSC04371.JPG	I think they all have seen the Power Rangers.	Dinner for 11.	Hendrik built something nice.
It got pretty hot! I think the children were little furnaces.	DSC04382.JPG	Evening activities.	The children love chess which I find amazing. On the way home they watched a whole blitz chess game in the park (there is a corner with stone chess tables). They were quite well-behaved and the players, mostly older men, were quite amused. "Be careful! Once they are infected with the chess virus they will not get rid of it!"
We made camp in the living room. We watched Mulan to complete the day. The children got pretty tired during the movie which was according to plan. The movie has some action in it but towards the end it calmes down: Mulan hugs the emperor, the hero visits their place and pretty much proposes with violins and stuff — we should have switched off there. Because suddenly one of the critters gets behind a modern drum set and plays a crazy drum solo for the credits! Immediately everybody was wide awake, jumping around on the mattresses and dancing. Oh my! But it was only a straw fire ;-). But the kids sure love to dance. Nice to see.
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The next morning some children got up pretty early while others slept in. The early birds could play in Robin's room so that the living room stayed quiet for another hour or two. I had slept on the sofa for the first part of the night and later retired to the bedroom. In the morning Michelle took over and let me sleep longer. At some point we started to prepare for the breakfast. I think all children look somewhat tired and dazed. (These are the more flattering pics!)
Robin is showing some of his favourite videos on the iPad.	DSC04402.JPG	DSC04403.JPG	Not the only picture which looks like Integrations-Kita.
DSC04405.JPG	DSC04407.JPG	At some point the childrens table was transformed into an adult brunch table.
We spent the afternoon with Dörthe and her family. Fabian had fun playing with Robin's swords while Nicolas was watching	DSC04414.JPG	DSC04417.JPG

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