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. :)

Ski Switz!

For the past few days we have been in Switzerland. Rob and I desperately wanted to go skiing-- just for ONE day-- and we had never been to Switzerland, so we finally decided to drive down to Grindelwald (about 5 hours away) before all the snow was gone for the season. Our hotel - Gasthaus Aspen- was very nice, and was actually ON the ski slope. (It's kind of different to ski down the mountain past lodges, restaurants, cows, and sheep.)

Our hotel- the Aspen.

Charlotte and Toby at the hotel- a family (with a 9 year old girl) lives in and runs the hotel and our kids really enjoyed playing with her old toys, books, and her cat.

Downtown Grindelwald.

Check it out-- I'm famous here! ;)

(In case you didn't know, my maiden name is Kaufman.)

Fancy food in the hotel restaurant. (But they actually did great with the kid stuff- providing plastic dishes and menu items they would eat.)

Ski day! We took this four-seater cable car up the mountain to the day care where we were leaving the kids for the day. It took 30 minutes. The kids LOVED it!

After we dropped off the kids, we headed down! Last time Rob and I went skiing was 4 years ago. We proclaimed ourselves "intermediate" skiers when we rented our stuff, but OH MY GOSH, these intermediate slopes nearly killed us. It was so hard. We had a lot of fun!!! But we also spent some time on our butts, broke into cold sweats, and even hiked our way out of one particularly bad situation. But hey, the views were gorgeous. ;)

Here we go!

We went "all the way" down the mountain only once-- and it took us about an hour and twenty minutes. These are MASSIVE mountains. We also tried some of the other slopes and lifts up at the top. (Although these were not short runs either- one took us 45 minutes.)

Riding back up in the cable car after our long run.

Rob and kiddos enjoying the view at the end of our ski day. :)

After we were done skiing (aka completely exhausted) we headed to the cable car to go down and learned that it was closed due to high winds. With the kids we were unable to ski down, so we had to take a huge gondola down the other side of the mountain and then a train up the one side and another train down the other side to get back to our car. In ski boots. Hauling two children. And skis. Sigh.

At the bottom of the mountain we learned we could return our skis & boots there, so that is what we did. Sure, we had to buy new shoes to walk in, but it was soooooo worth it. :)

View of the glacier on our train ride over the mountain.

Back at the hotel. Washed, jammied, and reading a bedtime story.

The next day we took the kids swimming at an indoor pool and bought a couple t-shirts. Then it was time to head home to Germany. This is a snapshot I took while we drove past one of the huge glacial lakes near Interlaken. The water is incredibly blue because of the sediment in the glacial melt.

Auf wiedersehen Jungfrau!

You kicked our butts, but we had a great time and who knows, we may be back next year!