Germany post #1

I'm finding it difficult to describe our trip to Germany.  Since that 2 week experience, I've had lot's of friends and family ask how it all went.  It's tricky, because I feel like I should just say, "of course it was awesome! I'm so lucky that I got to go, I mean, who doesn't love Europe??"

And all that really is true.  I haven't been back to Germany since the summer after I graduated high school.  It was wonderfully nostalgic being in my grandma's house, seeing so much of my extended family, having the opportunity to practice my German--and Germany is just so beautiful!  I love how old everything is, all the old stone buildings, the tudor woodwork, cobblestones, tiny little roads. and of course the food is amazing.  Pretty much, Germany is a YUMMY place.

That being said--Unless its super important to bring your kids along (and it was totally important for us--my Oma has never met them!)--I would definitely NOT recommend traveling that far with toddlers and preschoolers.  The jet lag turned them into tired little balls of stress (oh wait, maybe that was just me?).  All four kids caught some sort of illness while we were over there (my kiddos got Hand, Foot, Mouth disease, Jessica's got the flu. blech.)  They all had a great time, but I kind of felt like we were playing a twisted game of Hot Potato.. nearly every day, one of the kids was somehow struggling or causing drama.

NOT trying to complain, I know I'm lucky that I got to travel all summer.  Looking back on all the vacation pictures, all the really fun parts of the trip float to the surface, and for that I am grateful.  I'm grateful that we went, so happy I got to see my Oma and other family again.  I'm happy that my kids were able to learn a little more about their German heritage.

Collectively, I think we took about 3,000 pictures--it was tough to narrow down the favorites for sharing, but I think I pulled together a pretty good representation.  For today I'm just going to write about the first few days of the trip.

I need to write a little blip about the flight out to Germany.  Oh man it was a rough couple of days.  We took a 9 pm red-eye out of Baltimore on a Monday night.  After spending the entire day chasing around 4 wild kids, we were pretty much exhausted from the get go.  After getting through the check in and security (which turned out to be a very stressful ordeal by itself), we nervously waited to board our flight.  

I remember chasing my kids around the terminal, my heart pounding, knowing what was coming.  Mia can't even sleep in the same room with anyone, how the heck was I going to get her to sleep on a plane all night long???

I never found the answer to that question folks--Mia slept for 3 hours in the middle of the night when she couldn't stand being awake anymore, and then stayed awake for the remaining 5 hours of the night. and Jake slept less than 2.  And those sleep times only overlapped by about 45 minutes.. so Aunt Sydney and I pretty much pulled an all nighter.

We arrived the next morning feeling totally stoned, the kids were practically cross-eyed from sleep deprivation.  Then we spent another 3 hours navigating through Customs, Baggage, and getting the rental car, followed by a 2 hour drive to my Omi's house.  (At which point, about 15 loving family members were excitedly waiting to greet us and meet our kids!! It was wonderful to see everyone, and be on the other side of that flight, but I think it's safe to say we were all seriously stretched to the max!)

We took it slow the first couple days, just trying to recover from the jet lag and help our kids get comfortable with their surroundings.  Jake was really thrown at first by all the German speaking, but by the end of the trip, he had learned several words and was very excited to use them with everyone! Jessica and Syd stayed at Omi's house, and I stayed with mom next door at my Aunt Gabi's.  The weather was beautiful, rainy and chilly some days, and always somewhere between 60-80 degrees.

(Mia with my cousin Annika and her daughter Merle (she actually has 3 kids)  --Annika is my Aunt Gabi's daughter, and lived a couple minutes away.  We saw a lot of them throughout the whole trip--we had such a great time together, and all the little kids loved getting to know each other!)

On day 2 we drove over to my Aunt Sonni's house, where we spent the day with my cousin and her 5 kids.  Her oldest is almost 17, and we had such a great time hanging out!  I haven't seen them in such a long time, it was fun being able to relate to them on more of an adult level.

My Aunt lived in the most adorable little town, their house was nestled between little cobblestone streets and old churches. SO beautiful.

I felt like we were constantly hunting for fun playgrounds so the kids could let loose! :)

My cousin Jenny. I LOVE her, she is so easy to talk to (even though my German is pretty rusty, we still laughed until we cried)

I'm sad that Wesley wasn't there, but I'm really grateful that I had my mom and sisters with me.

(These next few were taken at my cousin Kirstin's house.  She lived just down the street from my Oma.)

As much as I wish she would go ahead and jump on the baby bandwagon, I was very grateful that Syd had her hands free to be Super Aunt.

had to post--Mia was obsessed with my cousin's bunny--constantly tried to find a way into the bunny pen.  also, her little booty in those jeans makes me crazy. SHE'S SO CUTE!!!

In heaven :)

Aunt Gabi, constantly feeding us! She was pretty much our slave for 2 weeks. thanks!!!

And this is the reason we call Germany the motherland. It was worth everything to see her again :) I love you Omi!!!! 

One day some good friends drove up from Switzerland to see us:  My mom's friend Dagmar, and her daughter Kristie.  (yep, we have the same name!  We go way back,  but it's been a long time since we've seen them.)  We spent a memorable day together in Buhl, shopping and seeing the town.

 I've come here to get ice cream since I was a little girl.  My mom grew up here! We have a lot of history in Buhl :)

 Mia with my Aunt Gabi

 The driving force behind going to Germany this particular year was that my Oma turns 90 this fall!  They had a big party, and family came from all over Germany to celebrate together.  It was a great way to see a lot of people in a short amount of time, I'm so glad they planned that!

On the morning of the party, we escaped for a couple hours to go to a local farmers market.  It was set up right next to this gorgeous old cathedral.  Those Germans really know how to do markets!

Here's a few close up shots of the party food tables. They set up a big tent in my grandma's backyard, and the party went from about 3 in the afternoon til about 11 that night.  We pretty much ate cake and drank hot drinks for about 4 hours straight before they served dinner.  It was sinfully delicious. 

My grandpa passed away back in 2004, so my grandma has been on her own for a long time.  Mentally she's still sharp as a tac, but she has been in and out of hospitals a lot the past few years, and is now confined to a wheelchair--although I don't know if confined is the right word.  I couldn't believe how productive she was every day.  She keeps herself so busy!  For the party, she sewed all these little packets of dry lavender for the guests.  

 Happy 90th!

 My mom and her sisters, with Omi.

 Thank heavens for that trampoline!

 I love this picture! It's hard to capture genuine expression from both kids at the same time.  Thanks Syd!!

 This picture pretty much sums up how our trip went, haha.

 Almost all the kids, grandkids, great grandkids

 Almost all the cousins!!

I'm gonna stop here for now, this post is getting long.  So much more to tell, check back soon!