Rheinfels

On Saturday we made a daytrip to Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar. (It's just over an hour away.) The day was kinda chilly and overcast-- which is really perfect for tromping around an old ruinous castle, I think. The ruins are massive, and apparently the place used to be 5 times bigger than what is left there now.

Only a few steps remain in this tower. Charlotte decided she was the princess since they didn't already have one. And she talked non-stop the entire day about how the castle was broken and somebody should "bix it."

I love this little man.

That's all. No other comments required. ;)

The Rick Steves book describes the ruins as a "dead pit bull." I guess because it was big, and scary, and stuff, but now is just a shell??

They have a lot of tunnels at Rheinfels. We didn't go into the underground ones, but this was one interior tunnel. They dug them and filled them with gunpowder (at some point in history) so that they could blow up any invaders or defend against the French attacks that sometimes occurred.

This area is near the underground tunnels that you can explore. But it is muddy and dark, and not really our cup of tea.

The beautiful Rhein, and many more castles to explore.

On the way home we stopped at IKEA to buy some shelving and left Charlotte in "Smaland" for the first time. (Their in-house daycare for 3-7 year olds.) I was nervous. After all, everyone else speaks German there and she isn't usually left with strangers. But, of course, she loved it. When we came to get her an hour later she was watching UP (in German) and refused to leave. I had to go in and get her. Seriously, where did she come from?!? She is so different from Rob and I! But we adore her and I really admire her outgoing, ready-for-anything personality. She's amazing. :)

fun and games

A little over a week ago we took the kids to the Darmstadter Messe. It's a local thing, very similar to the West End Fireman's Carnival I grew up going to each summer. The kids rode a few rides, we browsed the stands, and had a hot dog (bratwurst) and french fries. It was a fun little family outing. (We didn't go on the grown-up rides because they looked seriously lacking in safety measures-- even these kiddie rides had NO SEATBELTS.)

Also, last night, Rob's Elders quorum (Elder is an office of the Priesthood in our religion) hosted a family bowling night at a local bowling alley. We had a great time being silly with some of our friends. And I was amazed how smoothly everything went considering how many babies and toddlers were there.

"Don't touch the buttons!"

I don't know how many times we said that. Of course, the controls were in German, but thankfully some of the guys actually speak German. (We did find in the options 'English' and 'American' languages listed. lol)

William Blacoe and Benjamin and Anouk Woite.

Zed and Anton.

Toby was the youngest bowler, and he LOVED it.

After every turn he'd say "MORE!"

McKenna and Josef.

Harmony and her boys.

Yup, I bowled too. ;)

Charlotte just loves Anton.

(Whether he likes it or not. Though, usually he does.)

Finally, we spotted this car on our drive home.

In Germany the first letter or two is for the Gemeinde (or city area), and then the others are random. We play the license plate game a lot on our drives-- looking for familiar words or abbreviations. Rob has been looking for a WTF plate for nearly 2 years, and when he spotted it we just happened to have the camera with us. hee hee

oh what a night

Not much going on around here today.

Yesterday the kids were so cranky and difficult. I was very frustrated. So we had pizza for dinner, which we had to force Charlotte to eat. And then Rob took the kiddos on a hike (or 'forced march' as we jokingly called it.) Well, then I went out for a run. (yes, I'm running now, and for the record, I have lost 21 pounds. Woo-hoo!) And I came home to "the worst domestic disaster we have ever had." (or something like that, I forget Rob's exact words.)

Charlotte had been standing on the stairs to the loft when she yelled out, "Daddy, I spilled!" Rob went to see what happened and discovered that Charlotte had vomited all over the (open riser) stairs (and the wall, light fixture, and the second set of stairs below.) Oh how happy I was that I hadn't been home at that moment. ;) Clearly she is a sick kid. And yes, we feel really, really bad about the pizza and the hike.

There were about three more incidents during the night. We've introduced the concept of the "barf bucket" and she used that like a pro-- once anyway. Charlotte also knows many, many words now to explain what happened instead of saying "I spilled."

So, today is a day at home- with chamomile tea and, so far, one piece of toast. And many movies. And laundry. And bleach. I hope this doesn't spread to Toby next. :) Aren't kids so much fun?!?

Pitstops

Huh. That title just reminded me of a funny story. Among the kids that I grew up with, (shout out to the Meadowlake gang!) the boys liked to race cars. I mean, really, race cars. And so we all lived and breathed racing. When I had Charlotte, my friend Shaun teased me that we named her after the racetrack in Charlotte, NC. And then when we were expecting Toby and I told him the name we were thinking of, he informed me (while laughing) that Toby Tobias is a racecar driver! I swear I did not know that. We did not name our kids with a racing theme in mind! (That said, a special hello to Angel Daytona and Victoria Lane-- you girls are beautiful.)

So anyway... as I was saying- PITSTOPS. On our last two trips we made brief visits to places that we wanted to see anyway. It gave the kids a good chance to get some wiggles out mid trip too.

On our way home from Switzerland, we stopped in Strasbourg, France. The cathedral there is gorgeous. It's completely disarming to just be walking down a narrow street and then turn a corner and BAM-- huge cathedral.

We'd like to go back and explore Strasbourg some more. Maybe when we have some visitors. It really looked charming. Rob enjoyed chatting in French with some ladies who were admiring our kiddos. But it started to rain and we didn't stay for long at all.

Toby's been taking posing lessons from the master herself.

(Charlotte, that is.)

This is a really cool astronomical clock. There's more to it up above this photo. It keeps a perpetual calendar. And obviously, the time.

Toby and Charlotte took turns in the umbrella stroller. The goal, after all, was to wear them out for the rest of the drive. I really hope we have time to come back to Strasbourg again.

On the way to Bruges, we stopped in Aachen, Germany. Aachen has the oldest cathedral in northern Europe. Charlemagne began building it in 792. He is also buried here.

It is not the biggest... but it is probably the most beautiful church we have seen. The stone work, gilding, and layout are just breathtaking.

Beautiful.

You can really see, when you are in buildings like this, how the church was often the centerpiece and gathering place in a village. And how it inspires you to think of God as a magnificent, creative being.

Again, we didn't stay long in Aachen, but maybe we'll make time to return here. The downtown looked fun and inviting, but we only took the time to grab lunch in Old McDonalds (as Charlotte calls it,) and head out on our drive again.

Just one more note. We LOVE our GPS. Rob got it for me for Christmas. It has been an absolute lifesaver on these trips. Locating gas stations, making detours, finding parking. We love you Little Miss Maps. ;)

Bruges, Belgium

This past week, we drove to Bruges for a few days. (In part, to celebrate Rob's birthday- happy birthday, my love!) We had heard great things about this little city (a five hour drive away) from several of our friends here, and our trip was really laid back and fun. If I had to pick one word to describe this place, it would be CUTE. Bruges is the capitol of cute.

And also, chocolate. We consumed quite a bit of chocolate. And waffles. But no Brussel sprouts. (Rob was bummed, but he was the only one.)

The first "old school" windmill we spied after crossing the Belgian border.

Our room at Fra Bartolo had bunkbeds. Toby's first time in a big boy bed was a complete success. Also, Charlotte thought it was very cool.

Toby attempting to call dibs on the big bed.

(Sorry little man.)

A comfy spot to sit and look out the window. We really liked this B&B. It was very affordable, and comfy and accommodating to our kids. Breakfast included homemade breads, jam, bread pudding, and even locally made cheese. Yum! (Also, I made use of the hot water bottle they provided for the bed- toasty tootsies all night long. Why did these ever go out of style?? I want one!)

There was also a backyard with chickens. The kids ran off all their pent up energy from sitting in the car and Rob and I enjoyed playing petanque (like Bocce ball.)

Cute old buildings on the market square.

Our one "splurge" on this trip was a tour in a horse drawn carriage. Charlotte thought she was a princess! (Not that I'm saying she isn't.) The guide gave us some interesting narrative, and we got to see the sights while relaxing. It was a fun activity. :)

Cute old convent.

Cute little girl dancing in the daffodils. What's that? There was a "keep off the grass" sign? Sorry.

Cute canal.

Bruges (basically) means bridges. There is a canal all around the town, so obviously- many, many bridges.

Globe trotters at rest.

In front of the "Lake of Love." I saw this name absolutely nowhere, but that is what our horse drawn carriage driver called it. "Tot ziens, Belgium!" Thanks for the memories. (And the chocolate.)

Frohe Ostern!

Happy Easter ya'll!

We enjoyed dying eggs for family night last Monday and talking about the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This is Toby's "cheese" face. Be prepared to see a lot of it in this post.

Being extra sweet, just in case the Easter Bunny is watching.

Easter morning!!

The kids were so excited to see what the bunny had brought.

We had General Conference this weekend, so we did not go to our chapel on Sunday but watched the broadcast via internet at home. After naptime, we went to the Wolfe's home for some Easter dinner, an egg hunt, and fun with our friends.

Nick and Kate Pettyjohn

Jenn and Max Wolfe, and the awesome bunny cake

Rob and Toby

(I'm tellin' ya, that cheese face)

Charlotte and Max

Harmony, Aubrey, and many kiddos

Charlotte during the Easter egg hunt

Babies are getting tired

My best shot of the whole gang-

Ella, Kate, Jack, Lucas, Max, Charlotte, Toby

Oh look! It's me and my Rob. ;)

"Cheese!"

It was a beautiful, sometimes rainy, Easter Sunday. We had a great time together as a family and with our friends here in Germany. We hope you all had a wonderful day as well. :)