Christmas Pictures... Sort of!

I tried to take some Christmas photos of the kids the other day... It was interesting to say the least (especially when Ben stepped in dog poop trying to help. lol) It is almost impossible to get them all looking in the same direction and smiling at the same time. But here is the result. We sure do have cute kids! 

 Bella really was excited to hold Emalina... although this pic doesn't say it!

 Ethan lasted sitting for about two minutes! 

Bella wasn't much better maybe 5 minutes... and then they were off!

Not as good as LAST YEARS.... Maybe I should have brought candy canes!

St Martin's Day

November 11th was St. Martin's Day here is Germany. You can read about it HERE. This is one of the reasons I love living in a small town. Here in Rodenbach, literally the whole town and all the kids, gathered down near the school. The children all carried their paper lanterns and watched St. Martin ride around in a circle, while we (by we I really mean, the village people) sang the St Martin song. Then we followed St Martin on his horse in a parade around the block and when we arrived back at the school, a big bonfire was lit and the children all received these massive pretzels and the adults got to drink gluhwein (pronounced by us americans glue wine). The German's sure do love their Gluhwein (as it is the drink of choice at the Christmas Markets... more on that later). 

One of my German friends made Bella this adorable Leprechaun lantern. Bella was so excited to carry around her lantern. Thanks so much Dorothe, you are a talented lantern maker. 

 St Martin on his horse... and all the kids with their lanterns

 The kids with their massive pretzels! 

The Bonfire

 The girls

The End. 

Berlin Trip

Over the Thanksgiving long weekend we went on a trip to Berlin with some friends, Andrea, Dennis and their girls Ada and Ella. Ben and Dennis went to pilot training together (way back when) and Ben was actually in Dennis and Andrea's wedding in August 05. When they came through Altus for training a few years ago, I met Andrea for the first time. It was so nice to travel with another family who knows CRAZINESS. With kids outnumbering adults, there were definitely some crazy moments. After the first night eating out (just shy of disastrous) we opted to grab sushi and Japanese food and take it back to our room before heading down to the pool. A MUCH better option with 4 toddlers and a newborn! We enjoyed the Menjivar's company and traveling with them worked out great. We are looking forward to our next adventure with your family. Thanks for the good times!

Berlin wasn't necessarily on my have to see list when we arrived in Europe. But I am really glad we went, and even wished we had had more time to spend in the city. We tried to hit as many places as we could in the 2 1/2 days there. Our first taste of German Christmas Markets... and Berlin definitely put on a great display of the markets. With over 50 Christmas markets in the city... we barely made a dent in the list by going to 5 of them. They were all over the city. These would be a total hit in the USA. Great food, clothing, Christmas decor, gleuwine... and cinnamon sugar doughnuts... my favorite part! Bella's favorite parts were definitely the rides. I remember when the Berlin wall fell. I was 8. I didn't understand the reason why or its significance. But seeing it as an adult and now to understand... it was incredible to see this part of history. I could not imagine living under a communist regime and then feeling the relief freedom brought when the wall fell. One of my friends here in Rodenbach lived on the East side (the communist side) and how after the wall fell her dad put her and her siblings into a car and drove across the 'line'. What a feeling that would have been. I have to ask her more about it. Definitely a worthwhile trip!

Prague Trip

Ben was on his baby leave this past week, so we went to Prague last week for two nights. We took Emalina and left Bella and Ethan with a brave auntie Liz. Our good friend Klara is from the Czech Rep. and gave us some fabulous tips on places to go and things to see. Prague is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I LOVE the architecture, old buildings and History. I had no idea that Prague had so much significant history.   Did you know that some of the most famous composers lived in Prague? Or that the name with whom the Nobel Prize is named after lived there? Or that Einstein once lived in a building off the main square? We had a private tour guide for an afternoon. Petr was his name and crazily, he defected and moved to Calgary for 20 years before returning to Prague to be a tour guide. He was great to have and super knowledgeable about the city and all of its history. One of the most interesting parts of our tour was when Petr took us through the old Jewish Quarters. Prague played a very significant role in the 2nd Wold War, when Hitler was in power. The Jews in Prague were severely persecuted by Hitler. In the slideshow you will see pictures of the Jewish cemetery. They only allowed the Jewish people to burry their dead people in this small cemetery, so after one layer of the cemetery was filled up with graves, the Jewish people would put 2ft of dirt down and use the next level to continue burying the dead. Then they would bring the tombstones up to the next level, so they knew who was buried there. There are said to be over 100,00 Jewish people buried in that cemetery.      It was COLD while we were there... So this little munchkin had to be bundled up well. Here is the progression of her outfits... Ben and I had a wonderful time just the two (well 3) of us. Emalina is seriously the best baby. I don't know how many times I said it over the three days. She literally slept the whole time... SHe sure does like to be cozy. We ate some of the best food I have ever eaten... Walked all over Prague... Had great chocolate... and enjoyed spending time together. Thanks Auntie Liz for watching the kids so we could escape to this beautiful city for a few days.

Adventure with Papa & Gramma

Our time while both my parents were here, was jam packed with lots of adventures, trips and great food. 

We ventured up to the Castle Kusel again. We toured the castle ruins... and this time we all went up to the top of the castle. The weather wasn't supposed to be the greatest, but it ended up being mild and the sun even came out a few times. 

                 

And had lunch in the super quaint and cozy castle bistro... The best pumpkin cream soup ever! I told Ben that this is going to be a destination for a future date night! Hopefully we make it back while they still have that delicious pumpkin cream soup!

 We also went to Heidelberg, Germany. It is one of the only cities in Germany that didn't get bombed in the war. So the old original buildings and churches are in pristine condition and so beautiful. The main street has the most wonderful shops, fashion, restaurants and vendors. 

We can't wait to have more adventures with you, Papa Don & Gramma Susie. 

Hurry back! We love you!