Tuesday, May 19

Hello All!!

Hope all is well out there. We had a productive day today - we had German class early this morning, followed by laundry, cleaning, playing with peanut butter playdough (we need more people to help play and eat this stuff when it is made - not good for my diet there!), Brenna's nap time (when we embroidered Tinkerbell above with her name - very cute! I need a brighter yellow for her hair though...I had done Blue previously - o.k. a really long time ago - boy do I need to get better at finishing projects), a long walk with Justice (Brenna walked for at least 30 minutes of this and mostly up hill - hope she sleeps well tonight), and then dinner. I was too tired to go out to the store, luckily Dustin was able to go for us (who would have thought a year ago that this would have been a very "productive" day in my life!) :-)

My mom finished the costume that I was supposed to finish for Carnival (I only did the tulle skirt part - but she still looked adorable). Can't wait for her to model it - she wasn't in the mood today :-( Hopefully, I will finish Brenna's bag with the above emboideries soon - she seems to really like them (although she knows Tinkerbell and only knows Blue as a dog).

With the nice weather our apartment is sure getting warmed up - we are going to need to figure out plenty of recipes for the summer that don't heat up the apartment :-)

Well, that is it for today!

Take Care!

Monday, May 18

Hello All!

Hope all is well out there. We had a visit today to a real German Kindergarten - can you believe that Brenna will be going there in the fall?? (I know that I can't!). Brenna loved the place so much that after 45 minutes of playing she did not want to leave all her new discoveries - I don't think I will have much problem getting her to go each day :-) We will be walking to and from there each day which will be great exercise for us - not sure if Justice will get to go much (with needing to go in and drop off and pick up Brenna). Anyway, I'm sure September will be here much quicker than I expect it to (and then who knows what I will do with my mornings!).

My mom has been busy working on my craft projects (dad - can I keep her - she actually finishes my projects?? - just kidding) - today's picture is of the "gathered market bag" pattern that I bought - I love how it turned out :-) We took it to the store and tried it out today - worked very nice - I loved the over the shoulder strap - just perfect length (much more comfortable than the other bags I have).

Justice got out with some decent walks today - he got a chance to visit with another Golden retriever over here - which made him very happy :-) I got my exercise in too (as Dustin took my good walking stroller and I had to take the much bigger jogging stroller today - I had to run back from the kindergarten visit today and have German class). On the bright side my run was all down hill and some more of my jeans are fitting better :-) The weather was very nice - mom wanted to go for a short walk this evening (20 - 25 minutes) and we ended up strolling for a whole hour!

Well, that is all for today! Take Care!

Sunday, May 17

Love the "milk" mustache in these next ones...

Hello All!!

Hope all is well out there. The weather here the last two days has been really nice. We drove to Neuschwanstein Castle yesterday (although it was cloudier there than here with some rain in the morning). We all made the steep climb to the top (including Brenna - she had the most energy and wanted to run up the hill). We had nice tours at both the castles in the area and Brenna did pretty well for her age. She fell asleep after the second castle tour, but woke up when riding on the horse drawn carriage down. My mom and Dustin rode down and I tried to get a couple pictures of their ride down (my best picture was the one of the horses though - not of her in the carriage!). I must remember how many steps and hills there are in the castles - I think I blocked out the number of steps up from my first tour - but I think I am better shape now for them, lol!

We ate at one of the rest stops on the way home. The first thing Brenna picked out was a stuffed animal and a doughnut. The doughnut was actually really good - we all tried some and decided it was very much like an American fresh doughnut :-)

We went to Baden-Baden and Bühl today (which my mom said she was greatful that the hills weren't so high there) and strolled around. The weather here is supposed to be nice the rest of the week, so it should be nice for us to stroll outside when we can. Hopefully, it won't get too hot - the attic apartment will be warm in the summer I'm sure. Justice and I have been getting our exercise first thing in the morning which has been good for both of us - my jeans seem to be fitting a little better so I'm happy for spring :-)

Hopefully, we will be finishing some more of our craft projects soon too so that we can post the finished product :-)

Take Care!

Friday, May 15

Hello All!!

Hope all is well out there. Yesterday, we had a day mostly inside - I had my German class in the morning, then we took a short walk out to the stores (it was very foggy and muggy yesterday morning, not real inviting for long walks, lol!). Mom got to see some of the little stores in town that we shop at frequently. We went into the Schreibwarenladen which is just a big stationery store (o.k., not really too big - it is a small town!) and other miscellaneous nick-nacks. Also went to the bakery and got some fresh Focaccia bread (yum! my favorite so far!) - it went well with both lunch and dinner (but, I don't think it will go well with my new cinnamon sugar that I got at the store last night, lol!). When Brenna took her nap yesterday, mom and I got busy with some embroidery - we embroidered all the new alphabet letters I had bought for the Walt set on http://www.embroiderydesigns.com/ (I love them and loved playing with all my color choices available) - we think we will be making a game of some sort for Brenna - I will let you know how it turns out :-) When Brenna woke up - she had to get her own letter B made (with pretty sparkly thread). I also took a picture of our headbands this morning (sorry, we weren't in them! - mom made the ladybug one before coming).

Justice and I walked all the way to the Sportzentrum here in town this morning - it is over an hour walk, but was good for both of us. The rest of the day today is supposed to be rainy :-(, but maybe we can get some more indoor crafts finished.

Gotta go!

Take Care!

Wednesday, May 13

Hello All!

Hope all is well out there. I'm really tired today - so probably not much writing will go on today - lol! No camera pictures today - I tried to get a headband shot before kinder group today, but it just didn't happen (she looked adorable in it). My new headband matched my outfit very well for the evening (also got to wear my mother's day gift - so pretty) :-)

Brenna had a collision with one of the little boys at kinder group - nice little bump on her head from that! We managed to avoid the chicken and fries for lunch (yeah - I didn't have much cash today - just enough for the strawberries that I bought) and had healthy fresh strawberries instead - very yummy!

We had a work gathering for the international people at the local castle (it is now pretty much in ruins). It was nice as we got to hear the history of the castle (in German and English) and we climbed all the narrow steps to the top :-) Brenna did great and climbed all the way to the top. I'm going to share the pictures from Mom's camera for today's pics. Mom got a taste of local cuisine with the Flammkuchen - I think she really enjoyed it :-)

Well, that is it for today!

Take Care!

Tuesday, May 12

Hello All!!

Hope all is well out there. We had a rainy morning here today and then did some crafts this afternoon. We made matching headbands for all of us today (Brenna hasn't wanted to wear her's since she woke up from her nap, but she was very excited about it before her nap - hopefully, we can get a picture tomorrow). We made an extra one for me as well (well, don't I feel a little selfish getting one for myself!) - but we tried two different free patterns from the internet (both turned out well). We all went out for a walk with Justice in the afternoon when there was a break in the rain (had to get out and go "snail hunting" - we saw a big one today - mom didn't realize how big the one I had in my picture was - the shell was about golf ball size!). Mom got stung by a stinging nettle while we were "playing" with the snails - poking them to have their antenna go back in - ouch!

We made Brenna's favorite, crepes, for supper - she just gobbles these up!

Well, that is about it for today! I'm working to get Justice out for more exercise - it has been good for both of us physically!

Take Care!

Monday, May 11

Hello All!
Hope everyone had a great day :-) We had German class this morning and then a pretty quiet afternoon. It rained some this morning - looks like the future forecast for here has rain in it every day :-( Hopefully, we will still be able to get out and explore some - at least it makes it easy to search for snails, lol!

We got out for a nice long walk this afternoon after Brenna's nap - the weather was nice and warm - we were all warmed up by the time we got back to the apartment.

Mom and Brenna made some light catchers today - mom made several during Brenna's nap - she was very excited to see them when she woke up.

Here are a couple more flower pictures from yesterday - the Gerbera daisy was from our mother's day bouquet :-)

Take Care!

PS - Happy birthday Joanna - hope you have a great day!