In case you think this is a shameless plug for my family's Chiropractic practice in Bellvue, Nebraska it is NOT - although feel free to send any business their way:)Dr. Gregg (my brother) Dr. Adam (my nephew) Marketing Director Cami (my niece) and Office Manager Sue (My Sister-in-Law) are all amazing!! hee hee
It IS HOWEVER a short posting of THANKS to them for this weeks "For Your Health" email I received!! One of the articles was about "living in the moment" and becoming more stress-free! There were a handful of good ideas mentioned, but I particularly needed to hear AGAIN about Planning Your Day and Morning Relaxation! Isn't it ironic how quickly we get out of and change habits - even those pretty well "ingrained" - when we change settings??!!! Before coming here I was so good about writing down my 6 "To Do's" for the day each morning and spending some time in prayer and "mediation". BUT....I hadn't done that ONCE until TODAY!!!! although I didn't have much on the official calendar for the day and, therefore, didn't think I needed organizing, I DID come up with 6 things...spent time in prayer...and then accomplished all 6 things!!!! EVEN WITH TIM GONE!!!
So, how am I celebrating???? I'm currently sitting here with FIVE KIDS (my 2 and the 3 from upstairs) watching BALTO in GERMAN ...HMMMM I think I just figured out a new item for my list for tomorrow!!!!:)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Did ya know?? Did ya know???
Exactly one month from today...WE FLY HOME!!! Yep...today is August 14th and we arrive back on American soil on Sept. 14th!!!! What a surreal feeling! Many feelings of excitement but also some feelings of sadness to leave this beautiful area. And we have so much to do yet!! :) But, we miss our family and freinds terribly and cannot wait to see everyong! We're also ready to NOT always look and sound dumb b/c we don't know the language;)
This past week Rylee is talking and thinking so much more about her American friends...
1. She wrote this note...
"Dear Friends,
I miss you in America home, and I really wish I was there with you guys. I can't wait to play with
you soon!
Love,
Rylee
*she was going to write it out for EACH friend and mail it, but it ended up being too long of a message so she finally looked at me and said, "ok mom, just send in on computer!"
2. Today she used her watercolors to paint a picture of Carsen, Lauren and her all holding hands! She said, "I can't wait to hug them again!"
So...her mind is wandering back home just like ours! Good think we have lots of fun things to occupy our last month!!
Love you all -
This past week Rylee is talking and thinking so much more about her American friends...
1. She wrote this note...
"Dear Friends,
I miss you in America home, and I really wish I was there with you guys. I can't wait to play with
you soon!
Love,
Rylee
*she was going to write it out for EACH friend and mail it, but it ended up being too long of a message so she finally looked at me and said, "ok mom, just send in on computer!"
2. Today she used her watercolors to paint a picture of Carsen, Lauren and her all holding hands! She said, "I can't wait to hug them again!"
So...her mind is wandering back home just like ours! Good think we have lots of fun things to occupy our last month!!
Love you all -
Weinheim Festival
We experienced a very LARGE and very GERMAN Festival today in Weinheim, a neighboring city to Ladeneburg! Eventhough it rained AGAIN off and on during the day, we endured and had fun anyway! We rode a very large Ferris Wheel, shopped among the craftmakers booths (lots of items from wood, leather and silver) and ate some potato cakes and brats, and Eis Kaffees (basically ice cream floats)! Weinheim is a really neat town on the hillside with many neat little streets, water canals, playgrounds, parks, shops and today PEOPLE! Weinheim is also the town that has the neat castle with the restaurant that we've been to before (and tried to visit with my folks but it was closed)! Anyway....a fun day had by all...both girls collapsed into sleep in the car but we quickly woke them up with a bath when we arrived home since it was 5:30! Now....dinner???hmmmm...think it'll be German-style with cheese, fruit, salads and crackers!!!
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| The Ferris Wheel - you seemed close enough to touch the castle on the hill! |
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| One of many streets of tents/venders...and Chloe enjoyed showing everyone her panties today!! |
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| Taking cover during one of the rain showers...and enjoying a WeissWine Shorla (White Wine w/ Mineral Water) |
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| The Potato Pancake Shack...served with applesauce! |
51/2 Hours on the Bikes!
This is what Eurpoe is all about (I think!)....meandering around town on your bikes all day! We left our home at 11:00 and returned around 4:30 while never leaving our town! Our day involved:
-riding to a friends to blow up a bike tire:)
-riding to Marktplatz for lunch...at a Chinese Restaurnt (how DOES one figure out what to order on a Chinese menu written in German when one only understands English???) We guessed well and enjoyed some great food!
-riding up the Hauptstrasse and heading to our local animal "park" to watch the goats, chickens and bunnies be fed
-riding just a few hundred feet to play at the next playground along the stream
-riding a few miles to the Apple Orchard to pick up some apples and peaches
-riding back to the Marktplatz to enjoy the kids carnival rides set up this weekend - AND enjoy our Kaffee and Kuchen (coffee and cake)
-riding to another playground for more play....while also watching some sort of outdoor weight-lifiting competition???
-riding home
Whew...what a blast of a day! The weather wasn't the sunniest, but at least it didn't rain on us!!! While those of you back home are preparing for Fall and the start of a new school year...we're still sort of waiting for Summer Sun to arrive here!!! Maybe today????
-riding to a friends to blow up a bike tire:)
-riding to Marktplatz for lunch...at a Chinese Restaurnt (how DOES one figure out what to order on a Chinese menu written in German when one only understands English???) We guessed well and enjoyed some great food!
-riding up the Hauptstrasse and heading to our local animal "park" to watch the goats, chickens and bunnies be fed
-riding just a few hundred feet to play at the next playground along the stream
-riding a few miles to the Apple Orchard to pick up some apples and peaches
-riding back to the Marktplatz to enjoy the kids carnival rides set up this weekend - AND enjoy our Kaffee and Kuchen (coffee and cake)
-riding to another playground for more play....while also watching some sort of outdoor weight-lifiting competition???
-riding home
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| Sisterly Love - while waiting for our Chinese food |
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| Watching the animals |
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| The Motter Girls at the Orchard on our "chariots" |
Whew...what a blast of a day! The weather wasn't the sunniest, but at least it didn't rain on us!!! While those of you back home are preparing for Fall and the start of a new school year...we're still sort of waiting for Summer Sun to arrive here!!! Maybe today????
Kite Flying
We decided to attempt kite-flying this week with our friends Clara and Par (and Mom, Urte). Although the weather never wanted to cooperate fully, we went for it anyway! After decorating two of the flags ourselves with beautiful rainbow colors and pictures, we were off to the street to fly. Thanks to Urte's better understanding of kite!!! we had some success!!
Unfortunately, I can't get any videos to upload to this blog. Our best footage is on video...I guess you'll just have to wait to see that:)
We also had some struggles....mainly with Chloe's running. She took 3 pretty good biffers on the pavement and ended the afternoon with 2 scraps on her forhead and a scraped up hand. It was just so sad to watch but she would NOT stop trying to run -ugh!!!
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| Chloe with neighbor, Anica, getting ready to fly! |
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| Rylee is making it happen! |
Unfortunately, I can't get any videos to upload to this blog. Our best footage is on video...I guess you'll just have to wait to see that:)
We also had some struggles....mainly with Chloe's running. She took 3 pretty good biffers on the pavement and ended the afternoon with 2 scraps on her forhead and a scraped up hand. It was just so sad to watch but she would NOT stop trying to run -ugh!!!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Balloon Fest is a Bust...Bummer!
We wait all summer for the Festival we've heard the most about...and dumb Mother Nature messes it up! The much-anticipated Balloon Festival was this weekend with a schedule to include kite flying, balloon lifts, balloon glows, live band, kids rides and activities etc.. Unfortunately the rain moved in on Saturday afternoon and downpoured on us...and left the balloons grounded. However, we did manage to enjoy some kite flying, kids ride and activities, a local beer and a delicious banana/nutella crepe! Our friends Urte, Juergen, Clara and Par even joined us on Saturday and we had fun with them...especially the part where we walked downtown for Kaffe and Kuchen looking like drowned rats!! So, it wasn't a total bust, but it was disappointing. I'm ready for this rainy and cold weather to move on! After having such a tremendous Spring the Summer has been a tad cool....hopefully August will begin to warm up:)
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| A couple of the kites that had some sky time |
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| Enjoying the Festival and some Eis (ice cream) |
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| Par liked this ride! |
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| Chloe thought it was quite fun as well! |
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| We also met up with our friend, Hannah, for awhile and she joined in on the fun! |
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| Rylee had a plaster hand made...one of the FREE kids activities! |
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| The Traditional Candy House which is found at every festival/event |
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| The very good local band performing |
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| The bigger girls, Clara and Rylee, join in on the riding fun |
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| The Beer "Tent" |
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| The kids' fun activity on our walk to the Hauptstrasse for Kaffee and Kuchen |
Why not in August???
So we USUALLY venture through a corn maze in October while we are also picking pumpkins, but WHY NOT do a corn maze (Labyrinth) NOW??? Do as the Germans do, right?? The location was actually pretty cool - it's created by the large farm/ag. family in our area, and is set up well. There's a store with not only their produce but great homemade Kuchen (cakes)! There's also a playground ---as there is at almost EVERY location we go to it seems---with a trampoline, hay bales, teeter totter etc... Then, in the center of the maze, there's a castle shaped climbing tower with 2 slides. Great fun for all....an enjoyable afternoon with our friend Katrin and Valentin!
A Goat???
WARNING: although the sounds coming out of Chloe these days sound eerily like that of a goat, we do not believe that she is indeed turning into a goat! However, it may be too soon to tell weather these new and annoying sounds are that of some strange transformation into the animal world....or if she is just showing her new age of THREE! If anyone has any great medications, exercises or parenting techniques to eliminate these sounds please pass them on!!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Apple/Peach Orchard
Munich!
I can now say that I've experienced Munich! Overall...not too bad for a city;)
We began our trip late on Friday night because we knew the roads would be packed....this entire region and possible more all went on Summer Holiday as of this week...and we were right!! After two long stou's (traffic jams) we decided to go and meet some friends down by their home for dinner! We dined on some delicious schnitzel, cheese spatzle, and a couple of other local dishes our friends insisted we try. Ok, I admit, I was too chicken to eat the raw meat dish..but I did try out the dish that was basically lard smeared on bread with lots of raw onions on top! This particular region seemed to love raw onions!
After dinner (around 10 pm) we were back on road and arrived in Munich (without ANY traffic) around midnight! We checked in to the "oh-so-german" Marriott and settled into bed!
Saturday was "Castle Day"! After sleeping in and enjoying some Starbucks coffee and pastries in the room, we hopped in the car and headed south. Today was the day to see Neuschwanstein Castle! This is the castle that Disney World modeled their castle after! It's a majestic sight for sure! Just seeing a WHITE castle was something unique, and then one so comparatively NEW was just cool. We spoiled the girls a little and decided to take the horse buggy up the hill! The exciting part for me...we actually TOURED this!! I will never forget the King's Bedroom! There were so many wood carvings around that room - it took 14 woodworkers 4 years to complete it! Yep...King Ludwig was a nut case alright:) So amazing to think that this was only 1 of 3 castles he built--and he never even stayed in or enjoyed this castle. In fact, our tour started in the very room where he was told by the government that they were taking away his throne because they considered him crazy. The next day he was mysterious found drowned...hmmmmmmm govts. never change do they:)!!
Unfortunatley Chloe was not the best during the tour. She's being a tad difficult these days and her little 3-year-old attitude shone brightly on this day!! My arms were exhausted from carrying her through the entire tour and then we had to hike down the hill. Let's just say that she had a meltdown...many strangers had to wonder about my parenting as I stuck to my guns about "walk or piggy-back ride" and "no, you won't get ice cream now"...eiyiyi, that was one long walk down! BUT...we survivied, we stuck to our guns and she promptly fell asleep when we got to the car!!
We had nothing else on our agenda for the day so we slowly worked our way home. Our navigation system has become our best friend over here ---we would not be traveling like this without it!! It lead us to a neat little Biergarten right on a large lake! We enjoyed some Bavarian Sausages (large white ones that you peel first), a gigantic Bavarian pretzel, and some most wonderful potato soup!! While sitting there, we enjoyed watching some wind surfers on the lake and the girls found...you guessed it....a carousel to ride!!! Then, out of nowhere, a traditional German band began to play. We walked around the corner and found them standing on the lawn next to the adjoining hotel. The girls had a blast watching them and dancing - and we had fun watching the locals work their way to the hotel for some apparent event that evening!
Eventually we decided that this too shall end, so we hopped back in the car and headed back to Munich. We asked the girls if they were ok to go out a little when we returned to see some sites but they politely declined. They just wanted to play in the hotel room! Do you remember those days as a kid??? So, we respected their decision and just hung out---and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on our English TV (thank you SlingBox)!!
The next day was Munich day! Stop one: Hauptbahnhof...I'd never seen a large train station before so that was sorta neat. AND, we found some yummy breakfast and coffee! Stop two: Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel dance at Noon! The girls thought that was super cool. Stop three: Rickshaw Ride---why walk when one can be pulled by a cute little guy riding his bike???? Super fun - and we got a few sightseeing tidbits on the way (and we watched surfers on the river!!) Stop four: English Garden - Chinese Tower Biergarten. This was our main destination for the day. This place was packed because there's a brass band that plays on Sundays. There was also a little "try out circus tricks" thing going on in the kids area so we spent much time spinning plates, juggling, and getting our faces painted. It was now lunchtime so we dined on some sausages, fries, another gigantic pretzel and a wineshorla. Ironic coincidence: we sat right next to a German teacher from Colorado Springs who was over here taking a two week coarse. How small this world really is!!
We began our trip late on Friday night because we knew the roads would be packed....this entire region and possible more all went on Summer Holiday as of this week...and we were right!! After two long stou's (traffic jams) we decided to go and meet some friends down by their home for dinner! We dined on some delicious schnitzel, cheese spatzle, and a couple of other local dishes our friends insisted we try. Ok, I admit, I was too chicken to eat the raw meat dish..but I did try out the dish that was basically lard smeared on bread with lots of raw onions on top! This particular region seemed to love raw onions!
After dinner (around 10 pm) we were back on road and arrived in Munich (without ANY traffic) around midnight! We checked in to the "oh-so-german" Marriott and settled into bed!
Saturday was "Castle Day"! After sleeping in and enjoying some Starbucks coffee and pastries in the room, we hopped in the car and headed south. Today was the day to see Neuschwanstein Castle! This is the castle that Disney World modeled their castle after! It's a majestic sight for sure! Just seeing a WHITE castle was something unique, and then one so comparatively NEW was just cool. We spoiled the girls a little and decided to take the horse buggy up the hill! The exciting part for me...we actually TOURED this!! I will never forget the King's Bedroom! There were so many wood carvings around that room - it took 14 woodworkers 4 years to complete it! Yep...King Ludwig was a nut case alright:) So amazing to think that this was only 1 of 3 castles he built--and he never even stayed in or enjoyed this castle. In fact, our tour started in the very room where he was told by the government that they were taking away his throne because they considered him crazy. The next day he was mysterious found drowned...hmmmmmmm govts. never change do they:)!!
Unfortunatley Chloe was not the best during the tour. She's being a tad difficult these days and her little 3-year-old attitude shone brightly on this day!! My arms were exhausted from carrying her through the entire tour and then we had to hike down the hill. Let's just say that she had a meltdown...many strangers had to wonder about my parenting as I stuck to my guns about "walk or piggy-back ride" and "no, you won't get ice cream now"...eiyiyi, that was one long walk down! BUT...we survivied, we stuck to our guns and she promptly fell asleep when we got to the car!!
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| Tim and the Girls on an observation deck right before we entered the castle |
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| The view you see when you arrive and leave - it was a foggy/rainy day but it's still majestic |
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| Our Horse-Drawn Carriage:) |
We had nothing else on our agenda for the day so we slowly worked our way home. Our navigation system has become our best friend over here ---we would not be traveling like this without it!! It lead us to a neat little Biergarten right on a large lake! We enjoyed some Bavarian Sausages (large white ones that you peel first), a gigantic Bavarian pretzel, and some most wonderful potato soup!! While sitting there, we enjoyed watching some wind surfers on the lake and the girls found...you guessed it....a carousel to ride!!! Then, out of nowhere, a traditional German band began to play. We walked around the corner and found them standing on the lawn next to the adjoining hotel. The girls had a blast watching them and dancing - and we had fun watching the locals work their way to the hotel for some apparent event that evening!
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| The girls enjoying the music from the German Band |
Eventually we decided that this too shall end, so we hopped back in the car and headed back to Munich. We asked the girls if they were ok to go out a little when we returned to see some sites but they politely declined. They just wanted to play in the hotel room! Do you remember those days as a kid??? So, we respected their decision and just hung out---and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on our English TV (thank you SlingBox)!!
The next day was Munich day! Stop one: Hauptbahnhof...I'd never seen a large train station before so that was sorta neat. AND, we found some yummy breakfast and coffee! Stop two: Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel dance at Noon! The girls thought that was super cool. Stop three: Rickshaw Ride---why walk when one can be pulled by a cute little guy riding his bike???? Super fun - and we got a few sightseeing tidbits on the way (and we watched surfers on the river!!) Stop four: English Garden - Chinese Tower Biergarten. This was our main destination for the day. This place was packed because there's a brass band that plays on Sundays. There was also a little "try out circus tricks" thing going on in the kids area so we spent much time spinning plates, juggling, and getting our faces painted. It was now lunchtime so we dined on some sausages, fries, another gigantic pretzel and a wineshorla. Ironic coincidence: we sat right next to a German teacher from Colorado Springs who was over here taking a two week coarse. How small this world really is!!
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| The Glockenspiel on the Rathouse in Munich |
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| Chloe tries the plates too! |
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| Fun Plate Spinning in English Gardens |
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| The Chinese Tower Biergarten in English Gardens |
After that nice heavy lunch, it was time to walk! We slowly meandered back through the park and the city...saw many street performers along the way...and ended up back at our car. Time to return home. After one last stop at McDonald for dinner, we arrived at our apt. around 9:00pm! Whew...what a weekend!
A Day in France
Ok...so I'm a little behind...so let's back up 2 weekends ago...
After enjoying a nice dinner with our new friends, Julia and Steve and their boys Mac and James, we decided to join them the following day for a cruise over to France! How funny - in the same amount of time it would take us to drive to Summit County we were in FRANCE!!
We plopped our families in Ribeauville where we started our day with a nice French Lunch. Basics of the meals were: Tarte Flambay (sp?), sausages, pasta for the girls and escargot for Steve! Although our group consisted of 4 adults, 4 children under the age of 6, AND 2 dogs we had a very nice lunch. The weather was nice so we were able to sit outside at a restaurant that I believe was called The Cave?
After lunch, Julia and I convinced the men to take the kids and dogs down to the little kids amusement rides so that we could shop. We did some express shopping but found nothing to buy - bummer! So, back we were with the whole gang...and now we were stuck at the amusement rides...or should I say RIDE (singular)...tim bought 20 Euros worth of coins thinking it would cover any ride but they were only good for the one ride (and NO REFUNDS) so the kids rode that ride MANY times! Even baby James had a chance to enjoy it...well, "enjoy" might be too strong of a word?!? Anyway, we eventually used up the coins and spent some time at the bumper cars and trampoline.
Now that the kids had their fun, it was time for the adults. We walked a few short paces across the park and found ourselves at the small local wine fest! There was a little local band playing as well so the mood was festive. We enjoyed some wine and a great dessert!
Unfortunately, the storm clouds moved in about this time...and the kids were tired...so it was off to our cars for the ride home!
What a great day---fun friends, good food, funny times, enjoyable wine and a pretty ride home. Only bummer???? Tim left his wallet at the gas station on our stop home so we ended up BACK IN FRANCE just 2 days later---we did tag on another French dinner that night.
After enjoying a nice dinner with our new friends, Julia and Steve and their boys Mac and James, we decided to join them the following day for a cruise over to France! How funny - in the same amount of time it would take us to drive to Summit County we were in FRANCE!!
We plopped our families in Ribeauville where we started our day with a nice French Lunch. Basics of the meals were: Tarte Flambay (sp?), sausages, pasta for the girls and escargot for Steve! Although our group consisted of 4 adults, 4 children under the age of 6, AND 2 dogs we had a very nice lunch. The weather was nice so we were able to sit outside at a restaurant that I believe was called The Cave?
After lunch, Julia and I convinced the men to take the kids and dogs down to the little kids amusement rides so that we could shop. We did some express shopping but found nothing to buy - bummer! So, back we were with the whole gang...and now we were stuck at the amusement rides...or should I say RIDE (singular)...tim bought 20 Euros worth of coins thinking it would cover any ride but they were only good for the one ride (and NO REFUNDS) so the kids rode that ride MANY times! Even baby James had a chance to enjoy it...well, "enjoy" might be too strong of a word?!? Anyway, we eventually used up the coins and spent some time at the bumper cars and trampoline.
Now that the kids had their fun, it was time for the adults. We walked a few short paces across the park and found ourselves at the small local wine fest! There was a little local band playing as well so the mood was festive. We enjoyed some wine and a great dessert!
Unfortunately, the storm clouds moved in about this time...and the kids were tired...so it was off to our cars for the ride home!
What a great day---fun friends, good food, funny times, enjoyable wine and a pretty ride home. Only bummer???? Tim left his wallet at the gas station on our stop home so we ended up BACK IN FRANCE just 2 days later---we did tag on another French dinner that night.
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| Lunch Time in France |
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| A cool courtyard for dining! |
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| The "Never-Ending Ride" - luckily they could switch vehicles each time! |
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| And Don't forget Baby James!! |
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| Mack enjoys the ride as well! |
Side Note: not sure why, but so far France is our least favorite country! So sorry to my friends who love it and/or are from there...but we've had the least amount of success overall with the food - and it just seems like the towns are not as clean?? Who knows...it could just be us!:)
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