Happy Thanksgiving from Germany!

Here are 2 of the missionaries serving in our area--one from Finland and the other from Utah.

Thanks to our friend, Susie, we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.  She rode her bike around town in search of American oddities like sweet potatoes and marshmallows, cooked for 2 days, and made everything just perfect.

It ended up being a send off dinner for Elder Pearson, as well, who is headed to eastern Germany next.  Macy, Carly, and Robyn were great table setters and servers.

It was fun for Ivy to get to wear her "My First Thanksgiving" onesie from Gram.

 

I loved the idea of using hollowed out peppers to hold the dip.

We are sure blessed in more ways than we can count.  Hope this Thanksgiving Day finds you happy and healthy, as well.

Clean up Crew

Steve and Myles having a fun time cleaning up together.

Ivy's 6 months!

It's hard to believe she's this old, and yet if feels like we've always had her.  I didn't take either of these cute pictures--the girls did.

It's fun to see her personality starting to develop.  It seems like every day she has a new trick.  Lately, she likes wrinkling up her nose and making sniffing sounds.  The girls think it's hilarious.  She also likes to growl like a lion, and is starting to get into things that aren't her toys.  She responds to her name and "Daddy." She also likes smacking her lips, playing with her tongue and clapping.

The Czech Republic

We were blessed to get to take a road trip during the prettiest time of year with the leaves in their prime.  Our first time to the Czech Republic, we saw the sights.  This time was more relaxed with more time enjoying our friends in their new place about 30 minutes away from downtown.  We did go to church downtown, which was neat.

All of our kids played amazingly well together, especially considering that they have no language in common.  Their oldest remembered a few words from his short time in German kindergarten, and had fun teaching us some Czech.  We learned lots of animal names and sounds.  One time, I was holding up a pair of socks, trying to ask him what to call them in Czech.  He looked at me like I was crazy, pulled them apart for me, and showed me what to do with them.



Their home, lifestyle, and area reminded me of Montana.  We enjoyed trying new foods, playing games, going on walks, and just being together.

Berlin

After staying outside of Prague, we stopped to see our church's temple in Freiberg on our way to Berlin.  The gardener gave us a personal tour of the area and visitors' center, which was fun.

 

The girls appreciated the Halloween decorations and surprises that awaited us at our friends' place in Berlin.  They walked around with us all day to show us their favorite spots downtown and point out neat things we would've otherwise missed like the bricks running through the street where The Wall used to be, gold memorials in the cobblestones to the Jews where they used to live, and the best place for currywurst in town.  I never thought I'd see The Wall in person or get to take my kids to see it, so that was a neat experience.

Another highlight was seeing the sites made out of chocolate and the girls getting to design their own chocolate bars.  We also enjoyed "seeing" and eating from Paris in one of the malls.

Halloween was a different experience at the zoo in Berlin.  Our friends joked (maybe not so jokingly) that the scariest part of the "scary walk" were the moms and all the kids in strollers in the dark.  Or, maybe the open candles everywhere.  Or maybe the real, live maggots in the "feel box."  Not so many restrictions here as in The States for these kinds of things.  Luckily, they were good sports about it, and our kids were happy to get to dress up and celebrate in a memorable way.

On our way home, we found a pretty park in Leipzig for a picnic and playtime in the leaves.  Ivy did well in the car, thanks to her helpful and entertaining sisters.

I returned home feeling rejuvenated--a sign of a great vacation.

Apple Time!

A friend gave us a bunch of good baking apples from her tree, so we decided it was time to make some apple pie to go with Ivy's apple shirt for her first time in the high chair.

Just kidding! 
Luckily, she seemed just as happy to try her first food--German cereal.

The big girls were super excited to each take a turn feeding her.

They'd been counting down the days 'til Ivy could start eating real food.

 

 

Enjoying her washcloth for dessert.