Memorial Day Weekend

We headed down to Southern Germany and a bit of Austria for our 4 day weekend. We were really hoping for nice weather because the Alps are so beautiful in that part of the country but alas, we got clouds and rain for the majority of our trip. There's always next time, right?

We took a ferry boat through a beautiful mountain valley to the small town of St. Batholomae on the Koenigsee. It was wonderful to get out of the car after 3 1/2 hours and see some of the most calm and serene landscapes I have ever seen. At one point on the ferry ride the driver stops the boat and blows a fluegelhorn and you can hear the echo bounce off all the mountains around you. The boys really loved that.

We walked around park of the Koenigsee. The water is so clear and beautiful.

Here we are on the ferry boat trying to keep 3 tired boys happy with lots of goldfish crackers!

Saturday we took the salt mine tour in Berchtesgaden. Everyone has to put on these nifty outfits before heading into the mine. There was a fun train ride into the mine and then 2 wooden slides (about 80 feet of pure FUN) and a boat ride across a "mirror" lake during the tour.

Almbachklamm gorge near Berchtesgaden. This was an amazing hike through a very narrow gorge with waterfalls and crystal clear pools of water to admire.

We left Berchtesgaden on Sunday and headed to Reutte. Along the way we stopped in Innsbruck, Austria. This is a photo of the famous golden roof in Innsbruck taken from the top of the city tower.

Tirolean history museum in Innsbruck. There were 3 floors of actual rooms taken from old houses and brought to this museum. We had a lot of fun looking at all the old furniture and beautiful woodwork in the ceilings and floors.

A garden near the Hofkirche in Innsbruck.

We have been in Germany for 18 months now and figured it was time to do the very touristy thing and visit Neuschwanstein castle. You can see the castle in the distance. It really is a fairy tale castle with all the glamor and architecture you would expect from a medieval castle (only it's not a medieval castle, it was built in 1876!)

Julian was a real trooper hanging out in the back pack for the tours. Here he is with Hyrum in front of the other "Kings Castle", Hohenschwangau.

Julian enjoys a break from the back pack while we wait for our tour of Hohenschwangau. The gardens were simply beautiful and the view from both Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein were simply amazing.

Goodbye for now Southern Bavaria. We expect nicer weather next time we visit!

Some Exciting Firsts

We have hit some major milestones in the last few weeks. Here are just a few.

First ride on the bike without training wheels:
We finally got around to taking the training wheels off the boys bikes. We have been waiting for them to grow tall enough so that they could reach the ground with their feet if they were going to tip over. It was really amazing. Hyrum helped them out a few times pushing their bikes while he held onto the seats but then they just took off. They had no trouble at all with balance or steering. We were really proud of them.

Townsend getting ready to take off on his bike.

First cast:
OK, so the first bike ride without training wheels wasn't all perfect. Emerson was doing a great job but on his first trip down a small hill his chain came off his bike causing him to lose the ability to use brakes! He ran right into the side of a big metal dumpster. Thank goodness he was wearing his helmet!!! The x-ray showed a small crack in his arm bone, he will have this lovely cast on for about 2 weeks.

Emerson and his cast.

First haircut:
Julian's hair was getting a little too crazy, even for me. He has really straight, thin hair and so when it was long it would just get in his face and his eyes. Don't get me wrong, I loved the beautiful color and softness of his hair but at 15 months old I figured it was time for a cut. He sat really well for the first 5 minutes of the haircut. Then he sort of realized that something bad was happening and he burst into tears. I tried to console him with a lollipop but every time he opened his mouth to cry the lollipop would fall out and get covered in hair. After about 3 lollipops I stopped trying to get him to sit good and we ended up leaving the barber shop with a less than perfect cut...but at least his hair is out of his eyes:)

Poor little man Jules.

Recent Favorite Photos

Not much has been happening around the Durtschi household so I thought I would just post a few of my favorite photos from the past few weeks.

Julian and Daddy. Julian is getting so much better at walking these past few weeks, it's just amazing to watch.

Emerson strikes a pose.

Mommy and Julian. He loves swinging and I love being with my little man.

Townsend enjoying the spring weather.

It doesn't get much cuter than this.

Flowers For Mothers Day

There is nothing like fresh beautiful flowers to make you feel all girly on Mothers Day. Trust me, in a house full of boys I will take all the "girly" I can get!

Hyrum and the boys went to the store and picked out new flowers to fill our planter boxes.

Flowers on the breakfast table.

And last but not least, flowers on my Mothers Day cards.

My boys on Mothers Day

Life is good

A Visit From Uncle Jason

Hyrum's brother Jason came for a visit in April. He was only able to stay one week but I think he packed a lot of fun things into that week so hopefully it was worth the trip. We went to Nuremberg, Regensburg and the Felsen Labyrinth. Hyrum and Jason also took a "brother" trip to Prague for a few days. All in all it was a fun visit. The boys really got to know and love Uncle Jason and that makes it all worth while:)

If you ever come to stay at my house let it be known that you will be woken up around 7:00 AM by two jumping boys.

Daddy and Townsend in Nuremberg

Uncle Jason and Emerson in Nuremberg


Being very silly with Uncle Jason. I am convinced that the only reason Jason put up with my crazy boys is because he has a twin brother. Maybe it helped him understand the craziness a little more!

Jason and Julian (sitting) enjoying the beautiful weather in Nuremberg.

We took a day trip to Regensburg to walk around the old city and enjoy gelato and bratwurst.

Uncle Jason and Julian enjoying the view by the Danube river.

Jason bought the boys a basil plant that they got to then plant in the garden. They have been pretty responsible for it, taking turns watering it. They also put a rock circle around the plant to, "keep out the slugs."

The boys had Friday off of school so we took Jason to the Felsen Labyrinth. The labyrinth is not stroller or even back pack friendly so Julian and I hung out at the cafe near the parking lot. I think the boys enjoyed having Jason all to themselves for a while:)

Goodbye Uncle Jason. It was so much fun to have you visit. Come back soon!

Spring Break: Part III

We boarded a plane for Madrid on Friday (April 16th). Leaving the Canary Islands we had heard that there were a bunch of flights canceled in Europe due to the volcano that erupted in Iceland but figured from Spain we could find some other way to get home so we set off anyway. Alas, all flights were canceled, a rental car would have cost us $3000, the train workers were on strike in France so train travel was limited and a bus ride would have been sheer torment for all of us involved. That is why we say we had a fabulous "vacation" in the Canary Islands and then a wonderful "volcation" in Madrid...you know, thanks to the volcano!

It turns out that Hyrum and I enjoyed Madrid even more than the Canary Islands. It was so much fun to walk around a beautiful city and relax in the parks and explore the history. Because we had not planned on visiting we didn't have an itinerary so most of these photos show us enjoying the beautiful weather and having fun being together as a family.

Day One: We landed in Madrid. Our luggage was not to be found. We got booked (by the airport hotel desk) into the worlds worst hotel. I don't like to remember day one!

Day two: We checked out of the hotel we were in and into a great hotel. It was located in a cute neighborhood with a grocery store just a few blocks away, the subway station just down the road and this fabulous city park! The best part was that this new hotel was cheaper and had enough beds to sleep our whole family. Oh yeah, Hyrum stood in line at the airport for about 4 hours and found most of our luggage, so that was good too:)

Julian enjoying the park near our hotel.

So you can't make it to the gym? No problem! These park benches were equipped with bicycle pedals so you could exercise and chat with your buddies at the same time.

This is how we ate most of our meals. It is so stressful to try and take 3 kids into a restaurant and with weather this beautiful you couldn't really justify spending time indoors anyway.

Day Three: We met these nice young men and they invited us to church. It was all in Spanish and we didn't bring any church clothes so we ended up going in shorts and t-shirts but it was still a good experience.

This is a memorial sculpture to fallen bull fighters. There was a bull fight happening on Sunday afternoon but I just didn't think I could sit and watch an animal get hurt, even for the sake of cultural experience.

After church we took the subway to the "Teleferico." It was pouring down rain, can you tell how soggy Townsend looks? The Teleferico is a cable car that takes about a 15 minute ride over Madrid. It was neat to see Madrid from the air. The boys really enjoyed the ride and by the time we went up to the top and back down again the rain had stopped!

Julian and Daddy at the lookout point at the top of the Teleferico.

These are the ruins of a 2000 year old Egyptian temple. Kind of an odd bit of Egyptian history in the middle of Madrid but still very interesting and amazing when you stop and think just how old 2000 years is.

The sun came out and we all dried off.

Day Four: We headed over to the Reina Sofia art museum. One might think we were crazy to even attempt this with three children but Madrid has some of the most famous art pieces in the world and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. This is Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Hyrum had told the boys the story behind this work and so the boys were actually really excited to see it. They did relatively well for most of the museum but kids just get worn out with this sort of thing so we had to cut out some of the other exhibits...next time maybe?

Townsend took this photo of Hyrum, pretty good huh?

Another dining experience, al fresco.

Walking around downtown Madrid.

This is Townsend being extremely silly in the Plaza Mayor. This is the biggest city plaza in all of Madrid. There were multiple performers and artists in this square. It was a great place to sit and people watch and also a great place to chase pigeons...if you are 6 years old.

We found a movie theater in Madrid that had English language movies. We took the boys to "How To Train Your Dragon" which we all loved. Afterward we found yet another great playground.

Julian and mommy splashing in the fountain.

Dinner at the Plaza Mayor. We thought dinner in the plaza would be fun. The boys could run around and we could enjoy the fresh air. A very mediocre dinner and $90 later we realized, we should have thought a little harder about this decision!

Day Five: A trip to the Royal Palace in Madrid. I have toured quite a few palaces and mansions while here in Europe but this one was fun because it is still used by the King and Queen of Spain. The rooms were well furnished and since we didn't take a tour we could go at our own pace...very quickly as dictated by three small children...but still a fun and worthwhile experience.

The Royal Palace. There was also a museum filled with armor and weapons that we visited while at the palace. It was just amazing to see the suits of armor from the 1400's. Not very comfortable looking to wear but an amazing piece of history to see.

Emerson: Forget about the history, art and culture! What kind of ice-cream do I want?

Mmmmm, gelato!

After the Royal Palace we headed to Retiro Park in central Madrid. It is so nice to have a big park right in the middle of a city. You can find a little corner and relax or find a tree to climb.

There was a little lake that you could rent a boat on. They wouldn't let us take Julian on the boat so I was able to snap this photo from the shore. The boys liked the boat ride and Hyrum even let them try and row for a few minutes...what a sight!

Here is Townsend trying to locate our stop on the subway map. We got pretty good at finding our way around Madrid via the subway and it was sure a lot cheaper than taking taxi's everywhere!

Day Six: At the airport (April 21). Goodbye Spain, thanks for the fun memories!!!