Visitors from Germany

Matt has fifteen first cousins, and last year Kate met every single one of them.  That's pretty impressive considering none of them live in this state.  I only have four first cousins, but because they don't just live out of the state, they live out of the country, Kate hasn't had the chance to meet any of my extended family.  Until yesterday!

Kate and Kadda

My cousin Katharina and her friends are currently on an American adventure, and one of the many stops along their tour was Columbia!!!  I was so excited when I found out they would be able to spend a day with us.

Katharina brought Kate some early first birthday gifts, and they were amazing, she handmade a Tigerente for Kate! (My German readers are probably reacting with shouts of "ahh!!!" while my American readers are wondering what a Tigerente is.  The literal translation is "tiger duck", he is the toy of a character in a beloved, classic children's book called "Oh Wie Schoen ist Panama.")  I squealed with excitement when I opened it and could not believe she made it herself!  She also gave us an English copy of the book, and memories of my childhood came rushing back as soon as I started looking at the familiar illustrations.

Bear, Tiger, and Tiger-Duck heading off for Panama

Kate's very own custom Tigerente

Special first birthday gift- Book, striped duck, and "Tiger Tea" to make you strong and brave like the Tiger

Katharina's friends spent the afternoon touring downtown, and we all met up for dinner at a local microbrewery called Hunter Gatherer.  The food was delicious, and although I'm told that by German standards the American brewed beer was weak, everyone still enjoyed it.

Fascinated by Timo's camera equipment

Strolling on a sunny day

After dinner we went to watch the South Carolina women's basketball game against Kentucky.  Although women's sports do not have the same following that men's sports do, there was still a very energetic crowd on hand making the whole experience more fun.

A decent turnout

We had a short, but lovely visit and are looking forward to hearing about all the rest of their trip.  One cousin down, three to go for Kate to meet... (Carina, Christina and Julia- I hope you're reading this!  Start planning your next vacation!)