Karen-palooza

During the first half of July my college roomie Karen came to visit! We had sooooo much fun hanging out together. We mostly stayed close to home, but still did a lot- including: a Rhine Cruise, Michelstadt, Rothenberg, shopping in Heidelberg, and a spa day in Baden-Baden. We also lounged by the pool, ate many, many ice cream cones, and watched BBC period dramas. I loved it! Karen took about a million photos, but here are just a couple of my favorite moments. I'm so glad you came Nerak, I can't wait to hang out with you again. :)

Taking a break in the shade in Michelstadt.

After riding Top Spin at Heinerfest in Darmstadt. (While spinning you up in the air, it periodically shoots water in your face.) I haven't been on a ride anything like this in years. It was awesome!

Karen is such a trouble maker,

she got locked up in Rothenberg...

And then I took her to the Vivarium and threatened her with being fed to the R.O.U.S.s... although it turns out they are vegetarians.

Toby and I climbing around some castle ruins.

Killing time on the Rhine cruise return trip.

overheard

Charlotte: I want the yellow and pink jammies, and yellow panties.

Rob: (With pink jammies and white panties,) those aren't in your drawer.

Charlotte: Well, I need pink panties (to match.)

Rob: It's okay, white goes with everything.

Charlotte: (Notices pink on the elastic waistband.) Pink and white are my favorite colors. And yellow and orange. Those are my favorite colors in the whole world.

Rob: What about purple?

Charlotte: And purple. And yellow and orange and pink and white. Those are my favorite colors in the whole alphabet.

Celebrate good times

These have been a CRAZY busy few days... but we have a lot of reasons to celebrate that we'd like to share with you.

First our dear friends have arrived! Yay! And we had a fun Father's Day picnic here last night with yummy food, great friends, and even some very special music, courtesy of Aubrey's dad. (Charlotte sends her love to "that grampa with the 'tar.") I meant to take pictures... but then I completely aborted that plan and decided to just enjoy the evening. And I really did! :)

Second, around my birthday back in February, I decided that I wanted to run a 5K. I have never run a race in my life. Even (especially!) in high school, I avoided exercising in front of people like the plague, and I couldn't run a mile without walking parts. Well, 4 months later, and I have been running 3 times a week every week-- 9-12 miles/week for the past 2 months! And on Saturday morning, my friend Jenn and I ran in the Frankfurt Women's Run. I am very proud of myself... although I didn't run as fast as I'd hoped. I did it. :)

Pre-race, a little jittery, and glad to have Jenn with me!

Where's Julie? (I'll give you a hint- I'm wearing a pink shirt.)

It took me a full 2 min. just to get to the starting line, which is not even in this photo.

That's me approaching the finish line behind that muscle-y chick in blue.

(I did manage to pass her.) 34:54.

Thank goodness it is OVER! I came in 311th (out of 4,000-ish,) and I was 43rd in my age group.

And finally, but MOST important this weekend, is my sweet ROB. :)

He cheered me on and watched the kids through an extremely long day on Saturday. But it's not too surprising really, as he supports me all the time in my efforts. He is such a great husband and as Charlotte told him on Sunday night, "I love you, you are my favorite Daddy, AND I like you."

Rob skipping rocks in Croatia. We love you babe!

Croatia- Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice Lakes is a National Park in Croatia. It was also the center of hostiliites in the Croatian War in the 90's. And you weren't allowed to leave the trails, in case of undiscovered land mines. We took a bus trip there to see the waterfalls and hike around for the day. It was a loooong bus ride- about 2 hours each way. Rob told me there was no way sitting through that torture with the kids would be worth it-- but at the end of the day we agreed-- it totally was!

I'm having a really hard time picking my favorite photos... but here are a few.

This one turned out kinda crazy, but I still like it a lot.

WATERFALLS!

I ended up carrying Charlotte for about half the day-- it was a lot of hiking for a 3 year old. We had Toby in the little stroller, but the path got pretty rough in spots, and there were a lot of steps, so Rob would pick up the stroller (with Toby strapped in) and just carry the whole thing. Also, Europe is different from the US in that most of these areas had no handrails. There was nothing keeping you from tripping off the path and down a ravine, except your own caution.

Rocks + water + rainbows = beautiful.

Family photo, taken by Charlotte's new Italian friends from the bus.

There were so many spectacular views.

Gorgeous blue water, big mountains.

The "big one."

(That family photo posted up above was taken at the base of the waterfall in the top of this picture.)

A very happy Rob at the end of the day. :)

Croatia- part 1

Last week we went to Croatia.

We'd been wanting to go to the beach for sometime, but thought France, Spain, Italy, etc. looked a little too expensive for this summer. Then we stumbled upon the idea of going to the Dalmatian coast in Croatia and we were hooked! :)

As we told our family members our plans, we kept getting concerned responses... Hadn't they recently had a war there? Well, yes, they had a war of independence from 1991-1995, but they're totally stable now. Isn't it dangerous? Not at all! Although we were warned to stay on the marked trails at one tourist site, as they haven't fully cleared the place of land mines yet. Who goes to Croatia?!? Lots of people! Overwhelmingly we heard German, but we saw license plates from all over Europe and Slavic countries. We really didn't hear much English though. And we had people ask to take pictures with our kids-- maybe they looked famous?

Here are some snapshots!

Relaxing by the pool.

Since it is still early Summer, the resort we stayed at was not crowded at all. It was a perfect getaway! (The water was pretty cold, but we went in anyway.)

Rob taking the kids out to look at the big floating play area. The Adriatic is great for kids because there are no waves to speak of, and the water is really shallow for a long way out-- or at least it was on this stretch of beach.

The next day we decided to take a boat ride out to see some of the islands along the coast. They drove us past this cave-like place, and learned that this is where they kept their war ships. We oohed and aahed appropriately, but later remarked that those must have been some tiny war ships, since our tourist ship (capacity 100) wouldn't have even fit through there.

The first island we went to was rad. Only one house on it- the lighthouse keeper's. We were left to explore on our own for a few hours and we did just that.

White rock "beaches."

I'm glad we bought the kids those water shoes.

Rob and Toby walking down the pier.

The lighthouse.

Really, really clear blue water.

The second island they took us to was to go to lunch at a restaurant. Yes, I ordered this fish. (We only had two choices.) I am very allergic to shellfish, but I do eat tuna. I've never really had other fish, and they said it was their "specialty," so I thought I'd be brave. When they brought it out all scaly, and head-and-tail and all, I realized just how brave I was going to have to be. And it was... okay. I ate it anyway. (By the way, Charlotte liked it so much, she asked to have it again 2 days later!)

The boat tour was a fun way to pass a cool, drizzly day. There are soooo many little islands out there. This one was just covered in flowers. And we got to see a group of dolphins too! Some people think we're nuts traveling with two little kids (sometimes we even think so,) but we love getting to have these adventures as a family, and this is just our life right now. :)

Geht's Schloss!

hee hee- I made a play on words- in German! ;)

"Geht's los" mean's "let's go." And a Schloss is a castle. Okay, I'm a dork.

We've been bumming around some "local" castles lately. We took the kids up to Offenbach one Saturday and took a walk along the Main River. While there, we also saw the Schloss below. I think it's apartments or something now. Not terribly exciting. But those kids are CUTE, huh? :)

This evening we went into downtown Darmstadt for the Schloss Graben Fest. There are many, many fests in Germany. This is an outdoor music festival with about 100 bands performing over 4 days. They usually have about 400,000 people attend and there is a LOT of beer. And a lot of food. And we had a good time. Apparently we missed Right Said Fred (of "I'm too sexy" fame-- they performed on Thursday night. Serious bummer, right?)

Rob and I think this is the best band we heard. They are called Mr. Virgin and His Love Army... which is just kinda lame. But the music was fun- very 80's alternative rock/pop sounding.

Charlotte and Rob checking out the scene.

Toby and I after eating some yummy Indian food.

Afterwards we hung out in the Schloss gardens and listened to this drum group near the statue of young Goethe. (I don't know why he's naked, and pink. Well the pink is probably graffiti.) Charlotte and Toby really preferred this quieter, more laid back atmosphere. So much in fact, that Charlotte decided to join the performance.

I cannot begin to explain the video below. Charlotte LOVES to dance. She hears a beat, and her body moves. I have honestly never seen it move like this before, but we don't usually listen to this style of music, so who knows. I've said it a million times-- where did this girl come from?

Moving to the beat of her own drum.

kiddo update time

Toby

Toby cracks us up. He is becoming a boy and is going non-stop all the time! So far this morning he has emptied a water pitcher on the floor, sat on his sister, gotten himself dressed (over top of his jammies,) and cooked me (pretend) breakfast.

He has successfully peed on the potty-- once. We jokingly call him Mr. Hygiene because he wants to brush his teeth 10 times a day, loves to have his hair blow dried, and take baths. He copies everything that Charlotte does and thinks she is the coolest person on the planet.

He is the sweetest little boy I have ever met-- he adores babies and wants to share with them. He gives Charlotte kisses goodnight every night (that she will let him.) He tucks in his baby doll, Lisa, so carefully at bedtime. He wants to hold my hand when he feels a little nervous in new situations.

He also loves going on walks, trying to ride his bike, and collecting rocks. He has started saying things like "Dude!" and "Geez!" He is really into tools-- even if the tool is a fork. Dinnertime is very long now that he insists on using his fork to poke each individual pea with it, and refuses to use his fingers. And while he is kind of a picky eater, he will eat anything that is shaped like a "ball" including brussel sprouts. Rob and I joke about using the melon baller on every food item from now on. :)

Charlotte

Charlotte is our wild girl! She isn't afraid of anything. She tells me every day now that she isn't a baby anymore and she is a big girl. And it's true! We can't believe how tall and leggy she is looking these days.

She really likes having a little brother and (usually) puts up well with Toby and shares with him. She loves to play outside and with friends. Last night she brought me home (from a walk with Rob) a whole armful of pine cones "to make Christmas ornaments" (an activity we did last December that she really liked.)

Charlotte loves anything girlie, or fancy, or princess related. She loves to run, and jump, and especially laugh. She asks us to tickle her almost daily, and asks Rob for "tickle kisses" before bed at night. She tells me all the time that she is really funny and clever... and I have to agree. :)

She starts German Kindergarten in August. And I think she will really love that. It is just 2 doors down from our house and she will be there for half days, every day. It is going to be a new adventure for her and she can't wait to get started.

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