how old are you anyway?

Okay so we celebrated Toby's birthday forever ago, but he only just turned two a few days ago. So now I am doing Toby's 2 year old update. :)

At 2, Toby is 36 inches tall (85th %) and weighs 31 lbs (80th %.)

In the past few weeks he has REALLY started putting some words together and communicating with us. I hear a lot of "no unt to," and "Toe do it," and "air Guy go?" throughout my day. ('Guy' is his favorite stuffed frog's name.)

Toby and I love having our mornings together, while Charlotte is at school, to go for walks, clean, play, and do puzzles together. He is obsessed with puzzles right now and is shockingly good at them. I mean, we're doing 60 piece puzzles now. I keep at the puzzles with him, because when I don't, he finds other things to take apart and put together again-- like my vacuum and the TV remote. Someone told me this means he'll be an engineer. I think I told them that's only if he survives long enough to do so!

His temperament is still amazingly mellow and easygoing. I love that about him! I also love that Charlotte told me he is one of her best friends, and that he holds my face in his two hands, looks me in the eyes, and says "wub ooo mom" before bed at night. Seriously, someday there is going to be a lucky, lucky girl in my little man's life. I already kinda don't like her. (Just kidding!)

So, happy birthday to my sweet boy. Toby, you are one in a bazillion and we love you. xoxo

Bonus Charlotte story...

Tonight while Charlotte was in the tub I asked her about her day at Kindergarten.

Me: So what happened at school today?

C: I saw a kitten by the fence on the playground and my teacher picked it up and put it on the other side so it could be with its mommy.

M: Wow, that was good that you helped the kitten.

C: I didn't help it, my teacher did. (rolls eyes.) I was holding hands with that boy with the soft hair.

M: You were holding hands with the boy with the soft hair?

C: Yeah.

M: Do you know his name?

C: Nope. He's not my friend.

M: He's not your friend.... but you were holding hands?

C: Yeah, he's nice.

M: (Thinking at least I learned something at the parents' night that was all in German when I met a mom who told me that Oliver liebt 'Charlotta'... Oliver is 6.) Is his name Oliver?

C: Oh yeah. His name's Oliver. Can I paint my nails?

M: Sure, we can paint your nails after your bath. (I realize she changed the subject, but I'm kinda glad about it.)

C: No, I want to paint my nails.

M: Fine. You paint your nails... your highness. ;)

She didn't do half bad.

Our first slumber party

I checked on the kids before I went to bed last night and found this--

Cuddled up together, fast asleep in the corner of the nursery.

(I love that Toby did not forget to tuck in his beloved Lisa too.)

Legoland

This week I took the kids to Legoland, or Diegoland, as Charlotte is calling it. We went 2 days and spent the night in a hotel nearby. It was quite the adventure! The kids both loved it, and I liked that we could go on most of the rides together and have crepes and ice cream. So everybody was happy. ;)

Here are a few highlights...

At Legoland, they have a lot of stuff made out of Legos...

like the entire downtown of Berlin.

And Allianz Arena.

There are over 1 million Legos in this one. Each one of those people is a little Lego guy or gal. So crazy. Somewhere there's a guy who says, "I build enormous stuff out of Legos for a living."

Of course they have a lot of amusement park rides. This was one of the few that I wasn't also on, so it was a lot easier to take a picture. (Yup, you guessed it, those pterodactyls are made of Legos.) They have a few small roller coasters and a log flume, but nothing really extreme.

We watched a magic show and performers from the Chinese National Circus. (I anticipate Charlotte attempting a lot of crazy stretches and balancing acts in the coming days.)

They also have an area called the Duplo village, which is a giant playground for toddlers. We spent a bunch of time there.

Charlotte and Toby hard at work in the "Lego Test Lab."

Now, if you are a Star Wars fan, you may be excited to hear that Legoland has an annual Star Wars event. I did not know this. And my kids have never seen Star Wars. So of course we were there for the event! There were characters all over the park, and the guy who played something Grievous doing a meet and greet. There were lightsaber fighting demos. And I will have the Empirial March in my head for days.

Despite all of this, THESE are the characters my daughter wanted a picture with.

Oh, heaven help us in 10 years.

If you can't fight 'em, join 'em.

I forced my terrified children into one photo with a couple of the 100 or so stormtroopers marching around.

So, Legoland was a huge hit. :) And we all survived, despite the menacing looks from Darth Vader... or now that I think of it, maybe he was just wondering where I got that crepe. ;)

Let's go to the movies

I'm trying to do something really fun for the kids each week right now. This past week we went to see Toy Story 3 at the movie theater on base. It was Toby's first movie experience... and he was really as good as I could have hoped. Except of course that every time Big Baby came on screen he'd yell "baby! baby!" and when he left the screen Toby would yell "baby go?" If you've seen the movie you'll realize this happened about every 3 minutes for the entire film. But, like I said, it was pretty good. ;)

If you've never gone to a movie on a military base, you might not know that they do things a little bit differently. This particular theater is huge- but it is only one screen, so on any given weekend they show 3 movies at most. An adult ticket costs me $4.50 and the kids are free. Also, before the film, they play the national anthem along with clips of the military doing their thing and everyone stands and/or salutes.

As a non-military person, I find it an interesting contrast to everyday life in the States, where it seems the national anthem is traditionally associated with baseball and little else these days. My opinions on nationalism, the military, and Americana in general are really mixed. I am thankful I was born in the United States. I think we don't appreciate the HUGE blessing that is until we spend some time away from the luxuries and freedoms of home. But I also know other people who are extremely proud of their nationalities, and I don't think we, as a country, need to force ourselves, and our ways of doing things, upon the rest of the world.

Charlotte asked me after the anthem, "What is Army?" Hmmm. I explained that these people she sees on base are soldiers, and as a group they are "the Army." That satisfied her... but it's bigger than that, as I well know. Anyway, sorry to wax philosophical, it's not usually my thing on this blog, but it's really a strange life we are living here sometimes and I felt like sharing my thoughts today.

Toby turns 2!

On Saturday we celebrated Toby's second birthday. We had some friends over for Indian food and birthday cake. (And peach pie... what can I say, I was feeling ambitious in the kitchen.)

Toby loves puppies right now, and especially Blue's Clues. So I made this cake and we played a quick game of Blue's Clues before singing Happy Birthday.

Toby blew out his candles like a pro.

Yum.

"Party people in the house."

Toby just adores Kate and Ella.

Jack attacks the cake...

... and then Toby attacks the cake! ;)

2 year Germiversary

This past weekend we celebrated 2 years in Germany (by going out for Greek food, actually.) As we are looking to the future and questioning where we will be at this time next year, (answer: we have no idea,) a lot of thoughts have come to mind....

"There are canned goods in our cupboard that don't expire until well AFTER we will leave here."

"We are really going to miss the chocolate, and the cheese, and fresh baked bread. Really."

"We are really not going to miss Schnitzel, or chasing down the only waitress in a restaurant to beg for a packet of ketchup."

"Living in a village with a walkable pool, grocery, pharmacy, school, forest, zoo, and playground is amazing, and not a possibility most places in the US-- that are not cities."

"Not to sound like a broken record, but I miss Target, and Panera, and Chik-Fil-A... and this week-- Pizza Pipeline, is that still a place?"

"These past two years we've had a really unique opportunity to travel and experience life as a tight-knit family, without the distractions of outside activities, and social commitments."

"We miss our extended families and dear friends terribly."

"We've made some great new friendships based on these shared experiences."

"It would be soooo nice to not have to drive 45 minutes for a trip to the library."

"We need to figure out where we are going to live all over again."

In short, we are thankful that we have had this opportunity to live in Germany at this point in our lives... but we are getting ready for it to be done. :)

Charlotte and Toby are each other's best friends.

(And the silliest kids I have ever met.)

Family bowling-- Charlotte's celebratory dance.

Toby is a bowling fool-- throwing his hands in the air and saying "YES!" (They totally beat Rob & I-- but they did have bumpers and ramps.)

First day of Kindergarten

Charlotte was a bit nervous this morning on our way out! lol

Charlotte started German Kindergarten today! We walked around the corner to her school and she said she was excited, but she definitely looked nervous. I was also very excited, and a little concerned about how the day would go.

We got to the school and met her teacher, Moni. She took us upstairs and let Charlotte pick out a cubby and put her picture above it. Then she gave Charlotte a necklace with her name on it. She checked our backpack and was impressed that we had everything that had been on the list- mudpants, rainboots, haus-schuhe, photos, etc, etc. Finally, we did something right on the first try! And then it was time for "Mama, sagen auf wiedersehen." And we were ready. Toby and I went home and Charlotte went off to school! :)

About 11:45 am I asked Toby if he was ready to go get Charlotte and he said "YES!" and ran to put his shoes on. (I guess mom is kinda boring, with the laundry and the potty training and all.) We walked over and rang the bell. The door opened and Moni spotted me and brought Charlotte over. And then...

Charlotte burst into tears! Oh. No. My heart just sank. Please don't let this be how this is going to go! When she took a break from sobbing, I asked what was wrong. "Mommy, I don't want to go home! I want to go play outside with my friends!" Hallelujah!!! "Okay Charlotte, we'll stay for 10 more minutes so you can play outside with your friends."

It turns out she had a FANTASTIC first day. She told me her favorite part was when her teacher read them books. Moni told me that she thinks Charlotte is wonderful. Apparently she talked all morning long. (No surprise. Really.) She even learned how to say her colors in German already! She can't wait to go back tomorrow. And neither can I! Kindergarten rocks!!! ;)

I love this place

Check out this video from some BYU film students, parodying the Old Spice ads.

I LOVE the Harold B. Lee Library. I think I spent more time there in college than anywhere else. I majored in family history, and they have a HUGE records collection, where I could do most of my assignments (for some I had to take the hour long bus ride to Salt Lake and the Family History Library.) I also interned in Special Collections. I also worked as a research assistant for Kip Sperry-- which meant more time with my beloved green Filby's Passenger Lists. I also frequently slept on the couches there between classes. And don't even get me started on the Law Library. ;)

Libraries are magical places-- full of information, entertainment options, and usually sponsoring great art and cultural events. And public libraries are open to EVERYONE and rock for entertaining your kids with storytimes, activities, and books on tape (or CD, or even MP3 now.)

If you haven't done so in a while, go check out your local library, I bet you'll be surprised. :)

churchy stuff

Charlotte gave her first talk in Primary today!

Here's a little background for those not familiar with our church meetings... Sunday services run about 3 hours. The first hour everyone is together in the chapel for the Sacrament meeting. Then the kids go to Primary, and then their Sunday School classes by age (12-18 year olds go to Young Men's/Young Women's.) The adults also go to a class called Gospel Doctrine, and then to either Priesthood (Men) or Relief Society (Women.) Toby goes to a Nursery for the last 2 hour block and has snacks, music and playtime, plus a mini-lesson.

This morning before church.

So, Charlotte was asked to prepare a talk for Primary. Obviously, I helped (a lot,) but the idea was hers. Here's what we said (You can probably figure out some of the Charlotte bits):

This is Polar Bear. He is Charlotte's favorite friend. We take him with us when we travel. He helps her feel safe and comfy. His favorite food is vanilla soup. We can be baptized just like Jesus was. And then we can have the Holy Ghost with us, no matter where we travel. He can also help us to feel safe and comforted. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I appreciate that kids are asked, even from 3 years old, to help teach one another gospel principles. I am really impressed when Charlotte shows me she has her own understanding of questions that I sometimes struggle with as an adult. We have also been reading Scripture Stories together for about a month now as a family and we have put Charlotte in charge of reminding us to do that each day. She has really surprised me with her enthusiasm for this responsibility. (I know the ice cream reward that comes once a week when we do it doesn't hurt!) Anyway, I am just happy to see her asking good questions and really trying to understand the answers we give. It's great to have these conversations with her already!

Bonus Toby shot.

We took the front off the crib, so Toby is now able to get in and out without climbing over the top. One night we found he had climbed out of bed and "read" the General Conference issue of the Ensign (that is a semi-annual worldwide church meeting with talks from our Prophet and General Authorities) in this chair in the Nursery and had fallen asleep in the process. (It happens to the best of us!)

not quite what I meant

screaming, upset Toby

Me: "Toby, use your words."

Toby: "Words."

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. :)