In August, I had the opportunity to spend some time in Germany at an R&D conference. It was held offsite in Herdecke, nearby our main headquarters in Ennepetal. Herdecke has an origin in the mid 9th century, and is between two Ruhr lakes. There are canals that join the lakes and our hotel was on one of the canals. The city is known for it's historic timber structures, and the Ruhr viaduct.
Walking trail along the canal.. it was great for an early morning or evening walk.
The viaduct was created in 1880's, and was partially destroyed during WW2, and reconstructed shortly after the war.
Herdecke is also known for sandstone quarries and buildings created from this sandstone. This cathedral in town was quite beautiful.
Back home, we started to see piles of dirt in the yard and had no idea where they were coming from. At the front of the pile was a perfectly circular round tunnel into the ground. After some investigation, we discovered that these were created by Cicada Killer Wasps.... These wasps are HUGE (1-2 inches long) and frightened Molly several times... We also learned that they are generally harmless, but like to use their size to dive bomb and intimidate you. Not so much fun when you are trying to mow the lawn! I got a few pictures with a zoom lens, but it's hard to appreciate how big they are with nothing relative.
Molly with Grandma at Bowling!
Not a strike, but almost!... with cousin Madison
Molly and her cousins Madison and Marissa.
First day of 2nd grade in 2012 for Owen. After a poor few weeks with Manheim township school district at the end of the year when we moved back, we decided to look at our options locally. After several interviews, we decided to enroll Owen with the Lancaster Mennonite Locust Grove Campus. They were incredibly supportive of his challenges, coming from a French immersion 1st grade and knew they could help him re-integrate and be successful. Writing this over a year later, this was the best decision and it has been absolutely wonderful.
