December 29, 2008

Our 12 Days of Christmas...
Part 1

Began on December 19th with the arrival of my aunt and uncle and 3 cousins from Oregon. They left this morning to go back home so technically I guess it's about 10.5 days but I digress. There is much to discuss with regards to our travels and adventures and the all at once amusing and annoying people that share this phenomenal and sometimes too small planet of ours. I will warn you there are lots of pictures.

We started our adventure with picking up the Hokanson family a normally 2.5 hours drive away at Ramstein (which turned into about 3.5 hours) and proceeding to drive another 2 hours to Stuttgart where we had planned to spend the night and catch up with old friends. That and the entire next day were spent driving through horrific rain and ice fog through the mountains and stopping for a brief (4 hours) lunch in Munich. We unfortunately did not arrive in Austria until well after nightfall and were greeted much to our surprise by the owner of the house which we were renting out for two days. Conveniently he had to fly all the way from Florida for some things to do in Austria after we had rented his 800 year old home and we were stuck spending two nights with him. He was very nice at first but a little eccentric and I think we were all a little put off by him being there. There was another little catch too. Several people from his house master's family lived on the bottom floor at night but we were not to worry because they stayed inside their rooms and left really early in the morning. We all began to wonder about this sham of a rental. By the time we left it had begun to get really strange with the owner calling Jim to ask what he had done wrong. Aside from that and the rainy weather, Salzburg was a fantastic city. We got a little peak at the mountains on our last day when the skies started to clear. Of course we checked out the Sound of Music sights and watched the movie to refresh our memories. It was a small city but had such beautiful architecture and so much history. I felt like I should learn more about WWII and what happened there after visiting.

Me and Kelly in Salzburg

Me and Jim in Salzburg

Rhiannon and Her Best Friend Hallie

Scary Creatures in a Parade

All the Women Here are Actually Men

Brad Posing Under the Fortress




My Cousins Tori, McKinnon and Danny

Brad in his Usual State

On our way home from Austria we stopped in Bavaria to see some castles, one of which was Walt Disney's inspiration for Cinderella's castle. They were magnificent to see and take pictures of. Once the clouds clear down there it is so breathtaking to see the mountains. We only got a glimpse but I am sure we'll be back down there again in better weather.

Hohenschwangau

Neuschwanstein

part 2 to follow...

December 11, 2008

Life in Germany

Life in Germany is pretty much the same as our lives would be anywhere. I absolutely love it and am still working hard to learn German. Here are some recent photos of the town surrounding our house on a rare sunny day. Winter is always the same it seems no matter where we are in the world, with the exception of Florida. So to help the time pass until Spring again, we amuse ourselves with observations of the kids. Here are some stories, one of which I thought twice about sharing, but then again they are good for a laugh.




Several weeks ago during Fire Prevention Week at school Rhiannon was very into keeping us safe in case of a fire. One morning while I tried not to hear that the kids were awake and banging around, I heard Rhiannon say to Brad, "Why are you always getting into trouble? You threw all your books into the hallway. Now if there is a fire no one can walk here." I am so glad she is thinking ahead. If it were left in my hands we would all burn up.




Last night the kids were getting undressed for their bath. Rhiannon came running up to me and said, "Mom, Brad just put his hand in my vagina!" I completely lost it and had to bury my laughter in my arms. Of course a more serious talk ensued about when and by whom that would be an appropriate occurrence. Then during the bath she said, "I made brown bubbles in the water." Nice and ladylike.




Last night Rhiannon asked me why Santa doesn't want the kids to see him when he comes into the house with the presents. I told her that was his rule and that he wants everything to be a surprise in the morning and she said, "That's mean."

Rhiannon has also developed an interesting drawing style, kind of reminds me of myself not so many years ago. She draws crazy creatures. Here are just a few...

Mr. Eyeballton

Hamburger Lady

December 4, 2008

For now we just have a few pictures of the first turkey Wishbone Breaking Ceremony between the kids. Brad was not into it at all and preferred to pose for the camera. He initially broke off the longer piece but it was extremely close and after no objections from him, Rhi was declared the winner and thus her wish will now come true.

Brad Updates...
He is 2 years and 5 months old. He can say more words every day and is putting together two word phrases. His latest favorite word is exercise pronounced (eh di die). Good-bye is pronounced (go die) and he calls his pacifier abaco. Oh and I don't know if I mentioned it before but he calls Rhiannon Yay Yo. He is so friendly and says hi to everyone on the street. Roswell, the mean creature that she is has even started sleeping with him. She likes to pretend that he hasn't won her over. He has finally started standing up for himself when she hisses and swats at him too. He yells at her "NO!" Funnny, most kids learn that word really early and Brad has only just begun to say it, and only to the cat. Brad is the only family member who does not need to wake up early for work or school, and he is the only family member who actually wakes up. Rhiannon can sleep through her alarm forever and Jim is also a difficult person to get out of bed. I have to drag my tired self up and bribe and threaten them both but Brad is always there standing in his doorway with a big smile on his face ready to start the day. I don't know where he came from.

Rhiannon Updates...
She got a new haircut last week. It is still halfway down her back but so much easier to brush. She has also been taking how to shower lessons. She has been doing quite well as a "big" girl and it is much easier for me to help wash her hair that way. Her attitude is that of a teenager but she is still so much a little girl. She falls asleep on the school bus ride home and she questions whether I love her as much as Brad. I know that we need more time together just the two of us because I am always with Brad all day. That is definitely one of my New Year resolutions. Jim found an audio recording he made of her about a month before Brad was born. I am working on getting the link up to the site.

Germany Updates...
Still seeing 8 leggers in my house. It's winter, just die already. Hoping to hit up Salzburg and Paris in a few weeks. Separate trips of course. Also hoping that Aunt Kelly and the family can make it out for Christmas. They are coming SPACE A and we all know how that goes. Til next time... Oh yeah, Saint Nikolaus just came to our house tonight. He came to make sure the kids are being good and he had to read the English from his book. Not quite sure how much he understood of what he was saying but I could be wrong. The man in black looks like the grim reaper but is in fact carrying a sack full of candy. I could go many places with that last sentence but I will just leave it alone. They are kids after all.


Rhiannon's Voice