Bolesławiec, Poland

After visiting Dresden, we headed over to Poland. We stayed in this village known as Bolesławiec. This area is known for its pottery...Mimi and I sure had fun perusing, shopping, and buying! {Matt was amazing and played outside with the kids so I could shop with no inhibitions!} I bought some beautiful plates and bowls. I wanted to collect something useful from the countries I visit, so I decided to start buying a dinner plate from every country I visit. I don't really have a set of dishes, and I thought this would be fun dinner conversation to talk about our European plates.
We stayed at The Blue Beetroot Hotel, another lovely place. The food was amazing {Fish and Chips, Perogies, and Pumpkin soup to die for}, the room had a place for all 7 of us {so fun}, and we even enjoyed riding donkeys and horses in the fields out back. {The kids are in LOVE with burros and horses by the way!} A couple from England reformed an old farm house to this wonderful bed and breakfast. I hope to go back to that very spot. Who knew Poland could be so enchanting.

Dresden, Germany

For Veteran's weekend, we headed up north to Dresden, Germany. We still have Mimi and Papa in town, so they came too! We enjoyed the Royal Palace, the Zwinger, Dresden Frauenkirche {the church where Martin Luther changed Christianity - also, the most expensive remodel and most famous church in the world},and Dresden Opera House. We found a nice apartment to stay in from homeaway.com. I would recommend this place to everyone! It was lovely. Dresden is formerly Saxony, and is filled with Royal Baroque and Rococo style and culture. The buildings are old and new and beautiful to look at. We were pretty much freezing our patooties off...but the sites were worth it. We always enjoy the roadside entertainment, and of course the German bakeries...hmm, cream puffs....

First German Fall

So, although I totally miss Ohio's AMAZING falls, Germany's are not to shabby! The colors have been gorgeous. The weather has been wonderful {60's}. Here are the kidlets in the leaves, I couldn't decide which one to put up, so I just put up a bunch. Life is good. I still feel like we are trying to get in our groove, but we can't complain. I'm thankful for family, fall, and fun times ahead.

Our German House

Well, I've been slacking at putting up our house pictures because I'm STILL not done with it...but, let's be honest, it might be awhile because we'd rather travel than put our house together! We feel SUPER fortunate to live in the home we have. Most German homes are VERY tiny and have several small rooms. Most also do not have any kind of "garden" or yard. We love our home. It fits us well. Our neighborhood is full of children, and the kids love to play with them and are learning their German! All the neighborhood kids love our trampoline. Our neighborhood is not a typical German neighborhood. Most neighborhoods are filled with row houses and duplexes.

When you walk into our home, you first come in the entry way where we keep all our shoe cupboards. IKEA made some pretty cute ones! Next I have pictures of our family room. It is nice and open. Then there is a pic of me in the kitchen {the laundry room is off to the side}. I'm in there a lot! This was the room that sold me on the house. Then we go upstairs where there are 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. Next we have G's room. She really wanted to decorate it herself {which was hard for me to give up, but we have to let our kids fly, right?!} She was happy to put stickers of different woodland creatures on the walls. Next you can see J/S's room. The boys share. S loves sharing his room with J. He really looks up to his big brother. We have cute state/country pictures of the places we've lived {thanks aunt Kristi!} and tons of Lego creations {which J won't let me clean off his dressers...again, oh well}. I painted those dressers in Ohio before we came out here. I love the color!

So, my room is still in the works. It's half painted right now, so pictures will come soon {or not soon because we have tons of trips coming up!} I also have a craft/guest room {which is currently occupied, so I'll post pictures when it's back to normal}.

So, there you have it...my house {with all it's imperfections}. Is it what I would love for my dream house or decor to be like, no...but, hey...we are in GERMANY, baby! Who cares?! Some day my house will come, but til then, my $$ and time is saved for my family and travels!

{thanks to Mimi for some of the pictures that I never got around to!}