Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Riddle

Q: What weighs 17 lbs., can communicate without talking, brings joy and happiness to our home and always greets you with a smile?

A: Julian!!!!

He is now 4 months old and growing like a crazy little man. He already wears size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes. I keep telling the boys they should not pick on him because he WILL be bigger than them one day! I can't imagine life without this little person. He reminds me to laugh and love.


Sunday, June 14, 2009

Fun Times and Good-Byes

Hyrum took some leave time this past week so we could travel around with my parents a little. On Monday we headed up to Freiberg via a little town called Seiffen. Seiffen is the area of Bavaria where artists began carving nut crackers and wooden pyramids. It was a lot of fun to see all the beautiful wood carvings but our favorite part was the outdoor museum. There were about 12 old houses and shops that had been moved from different parts of Germany to this museum. They were all furnished with period pieces and there was even a few working water wheels and an old saw mill. The boys loved running around and exploring all the old houses and seeing how things worked a long time ago.

In Freiberg my parents watched the boys for us so we could attend a temple session. It's not really something Hyrum and I get to do that often because it is a 3 hour trip one way so it was really great that we got the chance this last week.

Later in the week we headed to Wuerzburg. We toured the palace of the Prince Bishop as well as the old castle. It was a lot of fun walking around the old city and eating yummy gelato. The weather was perfect, warm during the day and cool at night.

We said good bye to my parents on Saturday and it was sad to see them go. My Mom loved playing with the boys and snuggling Julian. My Dad cooked up some of his famous recipes: eggs and potatos, chili and cornbread, trifle...I'm going to miss him:) I'm so glad that my parents got to come out for a visit. They have so many grandkids (22 by the end of the year!) that it's a real treat to get some one on one time with them.


The best playground we have found since moving to Germany. The bonus part...it's the halfway point on the way to the temple so the boys got to run around and get some wiggles out before driving another hour and a half in the car!!!


Townsend at the oudoor museum in Seiffen.


My Dads ymmy trifle. It's a layering of cake, pudding, cookies, fruit and ice-cream...delicious!


A monument to the fallen German soldiers of WWI in Wuerzburg


My Mom and Dad and I standing in front of the residence for the Prince Bishop of Wuerzburg. Most of the building was bombed and burned during WWII but before it was destroyed they removed all the furnishings, tapestries and light fixtures, so there are still quite a few original details inside the structure even if the outside is completely rebuilt.


Emerson in the gardens of the Residence for the Prince Bishop


Grandma and Julian. He is such a great little traveler and lets us drag him all over Germany with hardly any complaints


Wuerzburg from the castle on top of the hill


We'll miss you Grandma and Grandpa!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa

This past week my parents came to visit. It has been a lot of fun having them here and the boys love playing with Grandma. Grandpa enjoys relaxing and reading a good book but he has been seen playing frisbee with the boys and pushing them on their swing.

We went down to Rothenburg last week. Rothenburg is a pretty in tact Medieval town and has an old town wall you can walk along. We had fun exploring the town and seeing the old buildings. The boys favorite part of the trip was a visit to the "Criminal Museum." They had lots of torture devices and different objects on display explaining different punishments for "crimes." For instance, if you were a gossip you were made to wear a metal mask and stand in the town square for everyone to see. If you were caught sleeping in or skipping church you were made to wear a massive rosary around your neck that weighed about 80 lbs. I told the boys that if they don't start behaving I would build my own cage and hang it from the tree in the front yard...they weren't scared.


Me and my little man


My mom and dad outside the old town wall


Exploring Rothenburg


The boys spitting off the city wall...whose kids are those anyway?


Julian and Grandma checking each other out