Chocolate Pretzels (by Carly)

we made some chocolate pretzels it was fun. 

And Macy got a chocolate nose ring.

 

We got the cookbook from the junk pile (where people put stuff that they don't need anymore).  Some people were moving and then we got some good stuff like the cookbook.

The Dancing strawberry (by Carly)

 

My Birthday Weekend

Once we already had a rental car for a trip to our temple in Frankfurt, Myles was nice about helping me plan a last-minute extension for the long holiday weekend, so we could meet some friends and see a few new places.  It happened to be my B-day weekend, which was great timing!

We were married in this temple in Utah, and are grateful to have a temple not too far away from us in Germany.  The temple is a great place to feel peace and continue learning about our Savior.  The girls were excited about seeing this temple for the first time and staying in a guest house on the temple grounds which used to be a fire house.




We then drove on for our first visit to East Germany.  We stayed in Arnstadt, a cute, little town that's over 500 years old, and were able to visit the church where Sebastian Bach played the organ for a few years.  It was interesting how dark the church looked from the outside, but how light it was in the inside with the light coming in through the stained-glass windows.

We enjoyed seeing lots of castles and castle ruins from the car on our drive.  We were blessed with warm, sunny weather almost the whole time.





We were excited to meet some friends in Erfurt who helped us with our move to Germany and in our transition into German culture.  They were wonderful hosts, and we had a great time together.  They treated us to a homemade meal, a personal tour of their beautiful city, and taught us some fun, new games, including Ubongo.

It was also fun for the girls to make some new friends so easily at church.  After the service, while the adults were talking, they made some chains out of flowers together.

Erfurt is famous for The Dom, a Gothic cathedral where Martin Luther was ordained in 1507.  It's also known for the Kraemerbrueke, a bridge dating back to the 1100's that has shops and houses built over it.  (This is where our family picture is taken in the slideshow).

 

On our way back home, we stopped in Eisenach.  We enjoyed a tour and concert at Bach's house, along with a hike up to Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin into German.  I thought Robyn could especially appreciate that since she knows both of those languages now.

It was neat visiting such old places together as a family, enjoying nature, and spending time with friends!

Robyn's Mini Marathon

Robyn had fun running her 1st race in Germany with kids from her school.  I'm sure she'll post more details on her own blog.

We had fun cheering her on!

Sisters Playing in Harmony

This may be something you played in 4th grade and never picked up again.  Here, this instrument is taken quite seriously.  Kids start learning in first grade (Carly's giving Macy a head start) and can continue through HS graduation.  It is fun to walk by the school with the windows open (no AC) and hear the kids practicing.  

 

Cards by Carly

Mom and Me

Dad's Birthday card

 

Dad and Me

Myles' B-day (way overdue)

I attempted chocolate cake with broiled frosting and was so happy it turned out.  (Everything is different here from the ingredients to the oven).

The best part to me was how excited the girls were to make, get, and give Myles their cards and presents.

 

 

 

 

 

Our First German Easter

My girls think they're going to be taller than me someday, too.  They're probably right.

We enjoyed our first Easter cake lamb.  It reminded me of my Aunt Sue's famous pound cake and was really yummy.  We also introduced my mom to raclette, the French grilling-on-your-table system.

The girls were super excited to wear their Easter hair clips, skirts and sandals, even though it was cold and rainy and all the old people gave us a hard time at church.

I like that Easter is a special time to remember our Savior that is much less hectic and commercial than Christmas.  The girls did each find a surprise Easter morning.  Macy's baby dolls now have orange juice and milk bottles.

Carly got her first fountain pen for school.  She came home a few days later with blue hands and asked, "Guess what we did today, Mom?"

Robyn got a top to play with--a kind that all the kids here play with and collect.

Alles Gute Zum Geburtstag, Macy!

Here is Macy showing off her fun Sunday dress and french braids Myles put in for her for church on her Big Day.  Unfortunately, Carly and I had to stay home sick (at least it wasn't Macy).  They came home carrying so many presents, they forgot the umbrellas.  I guess that's what you get for having such a verbal child who let everyone know ahead of time, and for having so many thoughtful friends.

Carly made this super cute party hat for Macy's doll she's had since her first B-day, and the signs above for her friends' party.

Robyn was nice to let us use some cute Pippi Longstocking pictures she had for B-day signs and invitations. 

Some higlights from her friends' party:
Don't Eat Pete
Bowling with empty water bottles
Freeze dance
Straw and cotton ball race
Pass the Parcel (what her British friend calls it)
Hearing them sing Happy Birthday in German and also in English with a British accent (that's what they learn here).

Myles did a great job, as always, with the cake.  Sure looks like Mr. Nielsen to me!  Macy had fun designing it and making it with him.

Here she is opening her box from Mom & Dad with great anticiaption.

It is fun to give her something she's been wishing for "for like a year."  I'll post her "Hot Cross Buns" song on You tube.

When Myles downloaded the pictures, he found this.  I guess we have a budding photographer on our hands.  Much fun with Macy in the year to come!

Oh, yeah, and her B-day menu requests:
Breakfast:  Sunshine in a bowl with cinnamon sugar toast
Lunch:  tuna sandwiches, apple slices, and pretzels
Dinner:  Vikingstopf (meatballs, carrots and peas with sauce over rice)

She brought American cookies (peanut butter blossoms) and milk to share with her kindgarten.  She also brought a "Choose the Right" ring in German for everyone.

I was sad to be informed that now she's too big to hold my hand to cross the street.  Oh, well.  Maybe she'll forget...sometimes.

The One-Cent Smile

When my mom was still in town, we took a trip to Heidelberg to show her the famous city.  Although the castle was impressive, one small act by one small girl left a greater impression. 

Early that morning while waiting for our second train, Macy was estatic to find a penny.  She has been lucky that way since we've arrived, somehow finding coins in places like playgrounds or parking lots where many people pass by, but don't ever seem to notice.

 We had already been to two places that week with one of those wishing wells where kids gather around, let their coins go and watch them go around and around until they drop, finally, into a hole for some noble cause like feeding the monkeys at the zoo.

Macy asked me to keep her coin in my pocket for the next time we came across a wishing well.

The day passed with a train ride up the mountain, a picnic lunch, a tour of the castle, and a stop at the bakery.  Once we decided it would be much too late to try to eat dinner after we got home, we rushed to grab some "German hot dogs" at the train station.  We were stressed to order, stuff our faces, and get on the train (no food allowed) in time.

While the rest of the group ran ahead to cross the street, Macy tugged on my arm and asked me if she could have her penny.

"Why do you need that now?" I asked, not very nicely.

"For that man."

"What man?"

"Over there," she said pointing, 

"With that cup."

I hadn't even seen him.

She marched over, right up to him, and dropped her prized possession into his cup.  I was blessed to witness his smile, lighting up his whole face as if he'd been personally visited by an angel.

In a way, I guess he was.

 

From the day we got to take this girl home from the NICU 6 years ago, we have been greatly blessed.

Last week, I had a meeting with her kindergarten teacher who had an entire page filled with a list of what Macy does well and how great she is.

To name a few:

Macy gets along with everyone--the adults, the little kids and the oldest ones.  She is friends with everyone and everyone wants to be her friend.  She helps people when they are hurt.

She has a good brain.  She has good ideas and the other children like them.  She is creative.  She loves to draw and is always making things.

She has learned German far better and far faster than most kids ever do.  You do realize that, Frau Watson?

She is ready for school.  She's good with numbers and letters, and likes to play with the language.

She knows the rules and follows them.

She's confident.  She knows how to tell people when she doesn't want something, but always in a nice way.

So, besides growing straight out of all her pants and shirts this year, she has grown in many other amazing ways!

I think of how difficult it was for her in the beginning, and how soon after she told me, "Mom, it's OK if I can't talk to all the kids yet.  We can still be friends, even without talking."

We are grateful for our Little Miss Sunshine.

Happy Birthday!

love, Mom :)

Euro Disney

My mom said the girls were at the perfect age, and she was right.  Despite the cold and rain, it was still magical.  (And, the lines were shorter, I think).  The parades were pretty cool.  The girls surprised me and went on their first big roller coaster.  The Toy Story village was really cute.  It was fun sharing rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World that we liked as kids with our kids.  All in all, a great day!

Paris Prints

 

When we were in Paris, we saw these prints as postcards.  Just a few days after we got back, the photographer, Robert Doisneau, was featured on Google's Home Page.

Carly says she has seen lots of people in Germany rollerblading and holding onto the rack on the back of the bike where a basket can go.  We have also seen moms walking their bikes home with their school-aged kids riding where the basket would go.

We have a couple cellist friends here and think the second print is pretty fun, too.

Mom's Visit

I like this picture of my mom and I.  I think we look like little elves with our hats, trying to stay warm during Spring break.  Not only was this my mom's first trip to Germany, but also her first time in Europe.  Who would've ever thought we'd be giving her her first tour here?!  It was fun to show her how and where we live, the girls' schools, how we grocery shop, local castles, etc.  We even got to explore France with her for the first time for all of us.

We decided to take her to our favorite park on the one day with the best weather.  We thought these pelicans were pretty fun.

I think this pic. captures the true sense of a break--just kicking back.  Besides this boat ride, at this huge park, we also enjoyed fresh waffles, Chinese gardens, trampoline jumping, zip line riding...

This is the famous Gummi Bear mascot here.  I love Macy's expression.

You know that saying, "like a kid in a candy store?"  Well, this is "like Gram in a European bakery!"  So many bakeries, so little time.  We did get to try a lot of new, yummy things.  We'd each choose one thing and then share.

Stay tuned.  More to come!

Paris, Belgium & Luxemburg

Since we only had 2 days and we were with my mom, we had to pack it in!  Thanks to some friends, we were given some really helpful tips to help make our stay wonderful, like seeing the Eiffel Tower from the perfect place and seeing it sparkle at night, and finding sugar bread in Belgium.  Of course, all of the bread and other bakery items were to die for.  The baguettes in Germany are good, but the French ones are also good in a different way, softer maybe.

We packed a picnic lunch for the way there (only a 5 hour drive) and thought it was funny that we were eating grapes from Chile, cheese from Holland and German sausage in France.  For all you Fancy Nancy fans out there, we thought it was funny that even the symbol for bathrooms is more fancy in France.

I loved the drive--seeing fields of gold and all the cute little villages in valleys, always surrounded by an old church.  We even got to see a beautiful castle on a hill lit up at night.  We got an extra scenic drive through Belgium when we came upon a very long detour.

Notre Dame was breathtaking.  The Eiffel tower was much bigger than I'd expected.  I loved the little side streets we walked down that were filled with florist shops.  The Louvre and its gardens were amazingly big.  The girls were excited to find a park with a playground in the middle of it.

Carly told our friends that we walked so much Myles got a hole in his new shoe.  We did walk a lot, even in the cold and rain.  (I know, we're such demanding parents).  We did let them have some rest in the hotel room.  I had to laugh when I saw that they were glued to Tom and Jerry's rendition of The Wizard of Oz in French!

It was weird feeling like we weren't really supposed to be speaking German or English.  My mom did get to put her HS French to use for us a few times.  German suddenly felt a lot less like a foreign language to me while being surrounded by French.  I did think it was fun to listen to.

Upon returning after the break, Macy's report to her kindergarten class was, "We got to rent a big, black van and 2 of the seats could turn around backwards."

I was impressed with Myles' driving and parking skills.  When we arrived at our hotel, we discovered that our van was too tall for its parking garage.  A very nice security guard at another garage went the extra mile to help us out.  We were pleasantly surprised with how friendly and helpful people were, especially since we'd often heard that the French aren't always super fond of Americans.

My second grade teacher warned me that if I kept squinting, I'd get wrinkles.  I guess she was right.  Little did she know that my wrinkles would be in the shape of a world-famous landmark.  I should have have been charging people for a limited-time photo opp.  Oh, well.  Maybe next time.

The Joy of Easter

Like many of you, I have experienced some "Fridays" in my life, but I know that Sunday always does come.




I know that my Redeemer lives.

May you feel the wonderful joy and true peace of Easter.