Ludwigsburg Palace

This palace was built in the 1700's and was not destroyed during WWII. We had a great time visiting the beautiful grounds. It was fun because there was a pumpkin festival going on the same day we went. The weather was absolutely beautiful (75 and sunny), and the company couldn't be beat ;0) The grounds were gorgeous and we all had a great time in the beautiful outdoors. J & G decided that they wouldn't want to live there because it would take too much time to clean a "giant mansion".




We also enjoyed fairytale garten, which on the palace grounds. J is pointing to Old King Cole's castle, the kids are locked in the cage where Hansel and Gretel were locked away by the witch, we said hello to Rumplestiltskin, G & S fed the 3 Billy Goats Gruff, S smiled like a pirate, and we yelled to the Rapunzel tower: Rapunzel, lass dein Haar herunter Rapunzel! {Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!} and a long braid would descend from the top of the tower. Many fairytales originated in Germany.

There were TONS of pumpkins too. They built different animals and creatures out of pumpkins, especially dinosaurs. Germans don't celebrate Halloween, but they do celebrate Oktoberfest.






and, last but not least, we always end our trips with Eis {ice cream}!

Tubingen, Germany

So, yesterday my new friends and I took our toddlers on a day trip to Tubingen. This was so fun to shop around in this old city center. Parts of this city date back to the 1300's. We enjoyed some yummy Eis {ice cream}, I bought the largest artichokes I've ever seen at the market in the town square, we enjoyed some yummy pizza at the local Italian cafe, and we shopped at the divinely smelling store called Lush...oh and it was luscious. They sell homemade soaps and lotions. I bought some warming cinnamon lotion for my feet {and it's supposed to heal cracks...and my feed need some major attention} and a lotion bar. I had a great time with Janie and Kim and their kidlets. Thanks super boy for being my date.

Super Heroes

I LOVE being around soldiers. It has been such a great life's experience to be around the men and women who work so hard for our country. I have loved getting to know them and their families and consider it a great blessing to aquaint myself with them. I thought this picture was the epitome of super heroes. It seriously makes me a little misty eyed.


I LOVE that my littlest guy is starting to get into dressing up. His big brother loved to pretend to be Captain Jack, Spider Man, and Cowboy to name a few. Ever since we pulled those froggy galoshes out of one of our boxes, super boy wants to wear those everywhere we go. They are like 5 sizes to big, and he trips all over them, but he always gets right back up. He also loves his super cape that velcros right to his shirt {thanks gap.com}. He is super fun right now. We love you super boy! {Doesn't that hair cut make him look spittin' image of his daddy?} He is such a cheese-er right now with the smiling. I wish you could see those eat-your-heart-out dimples that get away with EVERYTHING!

Blumen

So, there are these blumen {flowers} fields all over the place where you just put your change into the bin and go snip some flowers to enjoy. People are very honest here...this would never work in the states, but I'm glad it works here! I love these gladiolas. Also, you can see a snippet of my HUGE {by German standards} kitchen.

Hmmm, I Wonder

I'm not joking! I opened a box for J's room, and this is what I found! I guess everyone had to find a moving buddy!

First Day of Schule

As I mentioned before, J & G are enrolled at an American school on base, but they were selected to be a part of a German immersion classroom. They are taught half the day in German and half the day in English. J attends a second grade only class and G attends a multi age class of first through third graders. She will have the same teacher for all three years {and we love him, so that is a big bonus!} The first day of first grade is a big deal for German children. It is a grand celebration and a big moment to enter this grade. In honor of this German tradition, G's teacher had a celebration on the first day of school and the class presented all the first graders with a Schultute, which is a cardboard cone filled with treats and school supplies. This tradition has been carried out in Germany for over 200 years. The older children in the class also put on a play entirely in German! They have only had German for 1 to 2 years. I was amazed and so excited for my children to learn German!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

I was so excited to visit this medieval city. I had come here 11 years ago with BYU when I did a study abroad to Europe. This was one of my favorite cities. I love this quaint city. It was one of the cities that was not bombed during WWII, so many of the buildings and the cobblestone road date back to the 1300's. It is so charming and fun to walk around and enjoy culture and history.