Another Christmas Market

So we ventured out once again in search of a Christmas market. This time we decided to head to Guteneck which holds their market inside a castle. It was unique in that it was all done up in a medieval theme. There were jugglers, knights, horses and all within the gates of a castle. It was lots of fun. Hyrum's favorite part was all the fires they had set up around the market to keep the guests warm. I really liked walking around an old castle courtyard in the evening with candles shining through the windows from inside the castle. The boys favorite part was the blacksmith shop. There was a man using all the old blacksmith tools. They loved the fire, the hammer and the sharpener he used. They could have stayed at that booth for an hour! We got to hear lots of Christmas music as each little building had a stage where there were performers playing period instruments. It was well worth keeping the boys up past their bedtime!

The little video Hyrum put together shows part of the live nativity they put on each hour. The men are shepherds (I don't know what they are saying) and the donkey and musician were filmed from inside the stable they used for the nativity.

Only 2 more days until Christmas. Even though there isn't any snow on the ground we are surrounded by the sights and sounds of Christmas here in Germany. We hope you all have a good one!!!

Sledding Fun

We headed out of town in search of a sledding hill this past Saturday. We hadn't gone far when we spotted this great little hill. There were even other people out braving the frosty air. The boys had lots of fun. Thankfully they are old enough to pull their sleds back up the hill once they have come down!

My Three Sons

Yes, it's official! The OB I am seeing here was finally able to "see" if I was having a boy or a girl and he told me it was a BOY. I told him, "No, it's a girl. All my friends and family think I'm having a girl. I have the most wonderful name for a girl already picked out. My friend Jennifer has made me a PINK blanket!" He told me not to get mad at him, it wasn't his fault...it was my husbands fault. Well, needless to say Hyrum sure got an earful when I got home from my appointment. I mean really, is it that much to ask of a husband to let you have your wish? I don't ask for much really, I just wanted a girl.

When I told my brother (the only boy in a family of 8 children) he told me that it was a curse that he had placed upon all his sisters to have only boys so we would know what it felt like to be the only one of our "kind" in the household. I really don't think this is very fair, it was really my Dads fault for all those girls!

Three boys. I told my physical therapist I was upset about the news and she told me, "Just wait and see. This might be the boy that changes the world. Maybe he will find a cure for cancer. Maybe he will be the one that holds your family together when bad times come. You wait and see, this is a blessing." I felt a little better after this. I mean, it's not like the doctor told me I'm having a porcupine! I guess I just really got my hopes up for a girl and the pregnancy hormones got me all worked up and upset.

I really am happy and grateful. I don't mean to sound like a whiner. I'm sure everything will be fine, I mean look at how great his two older brothers turned out (ha, ha,....boo hoo hoo...I'm doomed!)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This week was pretty uneventful until Saturday. We started the day by hitting yet another Christmas Market. This time we drove about 30 minutes to the city of Bayreuth. It was raining pretty hard when we set off from home but as we drove the weather cleared up. We ended up having a pretty dry day after all. The Christmas market was fun. We were able to buy a few gifts for the boys and a few others on our list:) We had some Nuernberger bratwurst and french fries from a little stand in the market for lunch. The boys rode on a pretty silly carnival type ride but they were happy because there were two motorcycles right next to each other they could ride. We once again enjoyed the sights and sounds of Christmas in Germany. We wanted to catch an organ concert that was happening at noon but all Hyrum could remember was that it was at a church in the altstadt (or old city.) This is pretty much like remembering it's at a Mormon church in Salt Lake! Needless to say we couldn't find the right Cathedral and the boys were in no mood to wander around the city. Next time we'll be sure to get more specific directions.

Since the day was sunny we also decided to get our Christmas tree on Saturday. We had exactly 45 euro to spend and guess how much the tree was we picked out? 45 euro, it was meant to be! The boys had fun decorating it with all their toy cars before we made them clean that up and help us put up more Christmasy decorations. We had a lot of fun listening to Christmas music, hanging ornaments and being together as a family.

I love this time of year!

At the Christmas market in Bayreuth. Hyrum didn't catch it on film but this dinosaur had a Santa Claus hat on!

Picking out the Christmas tree

Townsend having fun decorating with toy cars

Now Townsend getting very serious about hanging Christmas ornaments

The boys had lots of fun decorating the tree, even if in the photos they look really serious

The finished product