The Family Pole

....no, not a family stripper pole. We may be crazy, but we do draw the line somewhere! A few years ago, one of the siblings had an art project where they had to depict the family. Instead of a simple drawing of us with triangle dresses and stick legs, a family totem pole was made. Each of us had a part of the log and had to draw things that were representative of our life. We still have it in our foyer and it certainly makes an interesting topic of discussion.

The resting spot for the Family Totem Pole. Notice all of the ah-mazing pieces of art - all hand drawn by yours truly and the siblings.

Meet the family (circa 2004):

Karoline: We went on a family vacation to Arizona and the Grand Canyon about 9 years ago. Apparently the kokopelli was a symbol she really felt defined who she was? She also seems to like to paint. She was only 8 at the time, so what was she supposed to paint? Barbie dolls and ice cream?

Maximilian: Nicknamed Monkey Max (also the CobMan), painting a monkey was only natural. Not much has changed in the last 8 years - still as lovable and mischievous as always!

American/German flag: Max and Karoline were born in the US, so they get to have the American Flag on their side of the FTP. The rest of us (the cool part of the family) was born in Germany, so we get the schwarzrotgold flag

Viktoria: has been a vegetarian since 4th grade. She owns a pig named Pigasso (I call him Bacon) and he is and always be a part of the family pet family (more to come on them!). My parents used to make her have 1 bite of meat a meal but quickly realized she wasn't going to budge on that. She also doesn't drink soda. What a weirdo.

Franziska: the coolest person in the family obviously also has the most going on! This was made right in the middle of High School, so I tried to cram as much into my few inches of the FTP. Cross Country, softball, lifeguarding and music. Interestingly enough, 8 years later, I'm trying to get into Medical School, and I spent 5 years in the UW Marching Band. I guess we all don't change as much as we pretend we do.

Mom: While this was either Max or Karoline's school project, she obviously had the most to do with this. On top of all the awesome craft projects and furniture pieces inside of the house, she also gardens all summer long. What can't she do?

Dad: A doctor and a lover of wine. What else in life is there?