Senior Trip is here!   We sent our 3 Seniors off to Rome tonight.  Each year, the senior class takes an academic trip to Rome.  They get to see all the normal cultural sites:  the Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Vatican City, etc.  It was a spirited send off.............

Dateline:  26 Sept 2012
Topic:     Dorm Parenting 101
Subject:  "You just never know what will happen next!"

It was "Dorm Shakeup Day" for the staff here at Haus Blauen Dorm this morning in Germany.

Last night I did all the normal checks........  doors locked? - Check
                                                                 windows locked? - Check
                                                                  kids are here?  -  Check.      
So Sally and I went to bed.

Here's what we found this morning!

Dorm Shakeup Day really surprised us!  Our Dorm Council had secretly coordinated with another Dorm Council for Dorm Shakeup Day.  All of our girls swapped dorms in the middle of the night with the boys from Dorm "Sonne" which is an all boys dorm across the street.  So we found a pile of sleeping boys in our living room this morning.  And then it was Breakfast Time.  Needless to say that 17 boys eat just a little more than 13 girls.   Yes, we ran out of Food!   There was much laughter, and the morning was sweet as the kids left for school.  

Sally is the Master Chef.  Last night was home-made pizza night here in the dorm.  Sally started out by herself making the pizzas.  As the girls watched, one by one, they asked if they could help.  Soon the kitchen was nearly filled with kids and pizzas.

And the pizzas were really good.  The dorm has this big "convection" rack oven.  It is perfect for fast baking of large numbers of all kinds of goodies from cookies to rolls to pizzas.  This may fast become our favorite Saturday Night activity.

Haus Blauen Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors.  First Day of School, 04 Sept 2012.

Blauen Seniors, Class of 2013.  First Day of their Last Year of High School.  May it be a Great Year !

The 1st day of School for 2012-2013 arrived, and here is the proof!   Flags!   Yes, that's right.  The proof is flags.  The opening ceremony tradition here at Black Forest Academy is the shown above.  The senior class has the honor of carrying in the flags.  It was a moving time, one filled with both reflection and enthusiam.  For Sally and I, it was confirmation that this is where we should be.  Thanks everyone for helping us achieve this day!   Thank you!

We are ready !   All the training classes, driving instruction, and dorm prep is as good as we can get it.  It's time to start school.  Today, Sunday, Sept 2nd, 2012 is the first day of student arrivals here at Haus Blauen in Marzell, Germany.  Our first two girls arrived just after 12-noon.  They came all the way from Korea, an 11-hour flight, with a 2-hour layover in Munich, then another flight to Basel, Switzerland.  Sally had a great lunch waiting for them after the shuttle van dropped them off.   All in all, we'll have 13 students in the dorm.  School starts on Tuesday, Sept 4th.  Thanks everyone for all of your support.  We are truly blessed!