Paris

Bonjour y'all!

We just returned from an exhausting weekend in Paris... a trip to cap off Leah's Summer in Germany. We had a great time, and the most perfect weather we could have hoped for (70s all weekend)-- especially considering that the hotel we chose since it advertised AC, turned out to not actually have AC and we were on the 5th floor.

We reaffirmed that we are not "city people," and that traveling with children is a lot more work than traveling just the two of us. But we had a good time seeing the sights, and everyone survived. We took about a zillion photos, but here are just a few of my favorites.

Rob & I at the Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur Cathedral (from the corner view.)

The doors of Notre Dame Cathedral--- I tried to prep Charlotte for this trip by having her watch Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame. Wow!! That movie was way too scary for her, and she burst into tears when they threw food at Quasimodo, so I had to turn it off.

Riding the doubledecker Red Bus around gave us a different view of Paris and let us rest our weary feet.

The landmark that doesn't need explanation.

The streets of Paris---
sooo crowded on a weekend in August.

Leah at the metro stop in Pigalle. This is the "smutty" part of town just down hill from the beautiful Sacre Coeur. Home to Le Chat Noir (not there anymore) and the Moulin Rouge, which we saw only from a distance since I opted not to walk Leah past the 80 or so sex shops between us and there.

This is part of a series of sculptures outside the Musee d'Orsay called "Women of War." Charlotte put on her best "mean face" and posed like the statue. I loved seeing all of my favorite impressionists in this museum soooo much, that I forgot to take any photos.

Waiting for the Metro on Saturday evening.
The next morning we drove to Versaille before driving home.

mmmm, what is that smell??

It must be Cologne! Cologne, Germany, that is. ;)

Yesterday I took Leah, Charlotte, and Toby to Cologne. This was a big undertaking since it's a 2 hour drive each way and I've never been there before. We packed a lunch (which we ended up eating in the car because of rain) and headed out. All things considered, it was a really nice day.

The cathedral there (the Kölner Dom) is massive and amazing. I really wish we could have walked around inside more, but mass had just started.

Can you see that little white dot at the front/right of the cathedral???

That's the priest leading mass.

Cologne is also scattered with random Roman ruins.
Very fun for climbing on and taking photos. :)

And of course there was much shopping to be done.

The one other place that we wanted to see there was the Schokoladenmuseum.
Check out those Lindt bunnies!!

We learned all about where chocolate comes from and how it is made-- or at least as much as can be learned while running past the exhibits following a 2 year old. This lady is making Lindt balls. My favorite.

At the end of the tour is a chocolate fountain running with fresh chocolate. You are not allowed to touch it... but the "cooks" dip wafer cookies in it and pass them out. Charlotte had two. Oh, and then there was the chocolate gift shop-- of course!

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted and hungry for something other than chocolate. It was a nice day trip though, and I definitely want to check out that cathedral some more.

growing up so fast!

Leah got this great little video of Toby walking while I was putting Charlotte to bed a while ago. :)

Toby is now 10 months old and can crawl AND walk AND climb up the stairs! He also likes to nod (yes) and shake his head (no) and wave to people. He does not like baby food, but he wants to eat whatever is on one of our plates-- and so he has already tried many foods that he probably shouldn't have. (Toby would like to thank Daddy for the chocolate and Charlotte for the honey nut Cheerios, oh, and Mommy for cheese.)

He is NOT a good sleeper, waking up every two hours again lately-- but it only takes a minute of nursing and he goes back to sleep. Yeah, I've got to work on that, but I think maybe it's a growth spurt or teething or something.

He doesn't talk yet. But understands and responds to things that we say, like... "sit" or "stand" or "walk to daddy." He also clearly knows the words "eat," "bath," "crib", and "nurse."

Also, he has just cut his first tooth.

I love that he is interacting with us more every day! Unfortunately though, he's already figured out that he can get Charlotte into trouble by bursting into tears. We've caught him checking for our attention before he begins to wail!!! Oh dear. I hope that eventually they will play well together like our friends Sam and Jack. ;)

Escargot?!? Please, no.

Toby was quietly playing on the porch while Rob was on the Internet a little while ago. (I was upstairs getting Charlotte in bed.)

Rob decided Toby was a little too quiet so he went to investigate and found our darling boy with dirt around his mouth... what was inside, you may have already guessed, but a BIG, nasty, LIVING snail!!! Oh, I am so glad I wasn't the one to discover this one. Rob pulled it out of Toby's mouth and did his best to clean up the big man and wipe his mouth out.

Toby was apparently pretty upset about losing his snack.

Recent shot of Toby at the pool--
he has a hunk of soft pretzel in his hand, not a snail.

Auerbach again

Schloss Auerbach is one of our favorite spots within 30 minutes of our house. We took Leah there to see this old bunch of ruins. :)

But first she had to be punished for doing Charlotte's hair. ;)

I had to smile when one little girl walked by us and exclaimed to her parents (in English) "Finally! Someone else who talks in English!"
I asked them to take our photo.

There are really some pretty views from the top of the towers.

And we were blessed with a sunny day for a change.

don't mess with Cindy Lou Who

This is what happens when you have a "big sister."
Believe me, I know.

a nice day for a walk in the woods

Yesterday I took all of the kids to the Vivarium-- the little zoo in Darmstadt. The weather is much cooler this week, and we can walk there from our house-- it's just under 2 miles each way through the woods.

We had a nice walk there and we all loved looking at the animals. Toby liked to wave to them. Charlotte loved the monkeys. And Leah took about 80 pictures!

On the way home, we got a little bit rained on and there were some massive slugs on the trail. oh, and I got us slightly lost in the woods. Leah and I had a great time discussing where we would spend the night (perhaps in a hollow tree) and how at least we had the camera to document our final moments. But it didn't end up being a big deal-- maybe a 30 minute detour-- and I got us back home just fine. No Survivor Man skills needed. ;)

I LOVE these giant tortoises!
They weren't out last time Rob & I came.

Very good action shot by Leah.
The monkey had just jumped down from that window in the wall and swung out on this rope.

My favorite I think. I never knew fennec foxes were SO CUTE.

Eww. Lunch time for the Nasenbären consisted of dead opossums.

Leah, Toby, and Charlotte on the trail.
Yes, we bought ANOTHER new stroller. Used, from the thrift store on base. The big wheels are great on the cobblestones and dirt trails and stuff.

Hainerfest 2009

On Saturday, Charlotte, Leah, and I took our hainers down to Darmstadt for their annual "Hainerfest." Apparently a Hainer is a local or something like that... but it gave me several days of juvenile jokes that made Leah snicker and Rob roll his eyes at me, so that was good. :)

It turns out that Hainerfest is designed to make your hainer larger. tee hee

There were a TON of food vendors and also some rides and a few stands selling various trinkets.

We had ice cream, cotton candy, and pretzels.
We didn't actually eat any of these giant cookies, but they have fun sayings on them.

Leah and Charlotte went on this enormous ferris wheel together while I watched safely from the ground. I don't do ferris wheels. When they got off, Leah informed me that they shared their carriage with a somewhat large woman who moved from side to side and made the whole thing rock. That reaffirmed to me why I don't do ferris wheels.

We decided to take the Strassebahn into Darmstadt and home again.
It was nice for a change to not drive and find parking, etc. :)

So now you know all about Hainerfest.
Maybe next Summer you can bring your hainers over and go with us. ;)

Mr. Toby Tobias

I was trying to get a video of Toby standing up and trying to walk. He takes a few very wobbly steps now! But as soon as he saw the camera, the only thing I could tape was him trying to grab it from me. :)

June

I am going to have at least 2 posts this month!!! SO here we go with #2...

It has been quite a trip around here lately. The driver's side window on our minivan has been stuck in the down position for 4 weeks now. Thank you AAFES for all of the confusion over ordering a part, which part, we don't know if we ordered the part, oh wait you have to pay for the part, etc. Maybe someday the window will go up again. Also, the BMW is in the shop with a possible death rattle. So we are getting used to the feeling of wind in our hair as we drive down the autobahn. ;) Also, Rob test drove a Mini this week. hmmm.

My nieces Leah and Sarah arrived with Leah's aunt Connie (also a librarian) and we had a whirlwind week of sightseeing in southern Germany last week. there were many mis-adventures along the way with poor directions (thankfully we had brought an atlas,) getting caught in the rain repeatedly, and even, literally, missing the boat for our Rhine cruise! But it all worked out in the end (we caught up with boat in Rudesheim) and everyone stayed in relatively good spirits (except maybe me.)

Connie and also Sarah have now returned home to Pennsylvania, but Leah is still with us and being a HUGE help with the kids. Hopefully she's having some fun too.

Also, last night we had Enrichment meeting at church. Not long ago I was asked to be on this committee and so I had a part to play in the planning and execution of our ladies' Summer Social evening--- which involved making about 20 jars of strawberry freezer jam, coaxing Rob and Leah into watching 10-12 kids, and researching & growing a small herb garden. Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but in the context of the past few weeks, it was a LOT to do. :)

Anyway, here are a few snapshots from our recent trip, all in a jumble as usual---

The Rathaus and Marienplatz in Munich.

Our hotel in Baden-Baden was just a short walk down to the city center.

Jetlag, 800 miles in a minivan, & countless castles.

Leah, Connie, & Sarah in Heidelberg.
The view from Neuschwanstein.
Rob would like to spend a week just here, hiking around the lake and exploring the mountains. :)

Sarah and Leah at the gate of Dachau Concentration Camp.

One of the many castles along the Rhine... Rheinfels???
The cruise was nice but MUCH too long (at 7 hours) with our two little ones.

Me and my sweetie. :D

overheard

Charlotte: It's a snake!
Rob: It's not a snake.
C: It's a worm!
R: It's not a worm, Charlotte.
C: It's a DEAD worm [nodding.]
R: It's not anything, just stop freaking out.
C: It's not freaking out, it's a worm!
R: No, YOU are freaking out.
C: I'm not freaking out... I'm just a Charlotte.

PS- Check out http://leahscoolsite.webs.com/apps/blog/ to read my niece Leah's blog. She'll be staying with us this Summer and keeping you all up to date on us as well. :)

Jahjuh

We have been back to our lovely house in Germany for 2 weeks now, and I am just NOW getting around to posting photos from our trip to Georgia. Jetlag will do that to ya... and the 2 little ones sure are demanding of time and attention too. :)

The biggest event of our trip, in my opinion, was "family picture day!" (Thanks to Rachel we have all of these fabulous behind-the-scenes shots.)

Rachel & Becky


Rachel & Mom Anderson

Rachel & Charmay

Rob & Tom

Me, Toby (chewing on my necklace,) & Rob

Toby (like many of us) looks up to his Daddy. ;)

Henley family- Ally, Chris, Joseph, Lizzie, & Savannah

Rob's Dad is a very popular man with the grandkids-- here you can see Savannah, Lizzie, Elanor, Joseph, Johnny, & Charlotte

Grandpa is an expert on rocks... which Charlotte loves. :)

After photos, we went to "5 Guys" for some burgers for dinner. Grandpa taught Charlotte about shelling peanuts.

And SOMEBODY allowed (and encouraged) her to eat this entire little cup of ketchup. hmmm, who took these pictures again???

Daddy & Toby sneaking up on an ice-eating Charlotte.

We had lots of other (less photographed) fun visiting at Grandma & Grandpa's house. This is Charlotte in her "big sister" shirt, with her "pony tail" and polar bear- all ready for bedtime.

Playing nap time with Aunt Rachel.

Aunt Becky & Toby.

We loved having time to spend with ALL of you--- even if we didn't post a picture of it here! Thank you Rachel for all of the great shots, I am notoriously bad at remembering to pull out the camera.

newsflash!!!

Yesterday morning there was a commercial on Nick Jr. about potty training. I thought I'd try to take advantage of this instance of marketing to children and asked Charlotte if she'd like to wear panties and sit on the potty. She did! And guess what! She had an extremely successful day of going on the potty! Woo-hoo!!!

Rob suspected that she just did not want to do it because we wanted her to. Looks like he was right. :) She wore a diaper to bed last night, but otherwise she has been 100% a potty girl since yesterday morning. Way to go Charlotte! :D

good times

When Rob & I were first married, we made some friends who were also married with no children.... 3 1/2 years later it's great to get together with some of our old gang! We bought our first homes around the same time, had our first babies within about 6 months of each other, and had our second babies within about 7 weeks of each other.

Cameron, Toby, & Sophie
(I love how Toby is flirting in this photo!)

All of the kids!
William, Cameron, Toby, Charlotte, Josh, & Sophie

It was a lot of fun to see y'all- Hancocks & Spiveys!

One last photo-- we took Charlotte & Toby to the Visitor's Center at the Washington DC Temple this week. This is where Rob and I were married. The Visitor's Center has a lot of information and displays about the history of the Church and the life of Jesus Christ. When we were walking back to the car, Charlotte said, "This is where Mommy and Daddy and Charlotte and Toby got married." and "That was a good Jesus."

Also, yay! we have a sit & stand stroller!! Let's hear it for yard sales. ;)

watch out world, he's on the move

Toby is soooo close to crawling! I took this video a few days ago. He can now find a way to get to the things that he wants--- which means we are in big trouble! :)