Labor Day Weekend

Hyrum was on call for Labor Day weekend so we couldn't travel very far from home. Lucky for us there are lots of fun things to do just minutes from our house. Here are the highlights from our four day weekend.

Friday: Hyrum had the day off of work but the boys still had school so we got the rare opportunity of hanging out together with just baby Julian. We headed down to Regensburg (about an hour away) to walk around the old town, enjoy some sushi at our favorite sushi bar and watch Julian enjoy gelato on a warm day.

After we picked the boys up from school we went for a family bike ride to the Grafenwoehr duck pond. It's a pretty easy bike ride on the way to the park because it is mostly down hill but the way back is slow going with two 6 year olds. It was beautiful weather and we just enjoyed being together as a family and took our time on the bikes. What a great way to start a long weekend.

Julian and mommy by a fountain in Regensburg

Mmmm...gelato

Little man Jules was worn out by the end of our busy day

Julian and Daddy by the duck pond

Saturday: We headed out to Nabburg (about 45 minutes away) for a hike and a trip to an open air museum. The museum had about 12 houses they had restored and brought from all different parts of Bavaria. There were little houses with small gardens and chickens and big houses with flour mills and water wheels. It was a great place to walk around and enjoy the beautiful day as well as some interesting history.

On our hike we found some donkeys that loved the attention (and fresh green grass) the boys gave them.

My four boys hiking

It was a great day for a walk through the woods.

At the top. There was also a lookout tower at the top which is always fun for the boys even if it makes my heart race when I see them peering over the edge for a look down...200 feet down!

Lunch at a park near Nabburg. Hyrum and I have decided this is the only way to eat out with kids...bring a picnic and let them run around!

Daddy and Julian on the slide

The boys playing in the goat house at the open air museum

Daddy and Emerson in the kitchen of one of the museum houses

Oh the fun of chasing chickens!

Sunday: After church and Julian's nap on Sunday we headed out towards Kemnath (about 25 minutes away) for a hike. Once again we were blessed with great weather. Some of the hikes that Hyrum finds are very hard to locate just exactly where they begin. The instructions were to head to this small town, find a small Catholic shrine chapel and head up the hill. Needless to say we had to ask a few people for some directions and even then we got lost on our way up to the top. It was worth all the hassle though because the view from the top was amazing!

Emerson and Townsend at the top of the hill

Family photo

Monday: Our four day weekend ended with a trip to Bayreuth (about 40 minutes away). We headed to the beautiful Ermitage garden. I had been there twice before but Hyrum had never gone so we decided to make a family trip of it. The garden is so well taken care of and the fountains are neat to see, it was a fun afternoon.

The boys in front of one of the many fountains.

They loved floating leaves down this stream and running along watching where they would go

Posing for a photo

Julian loved getting wet under the spraying fountains (daddy wasn't such a big fan of getting wet!)

Once again we had great weather. Overall it was a great four day weekend and it turns out we don't have to travel far from home to have a wonderful time.