Happy 2011

Another whole week with no school? What am I supposed to do with these kids for 7 more days? To make things worse Hyrum had to work 2 whole days this week (I know, pretty crappy right?) Here's a run down of how we said goodbye to 2010.

Monday: We headed over to Mega Play, the giant indoor play area that is usually a mad house. We got there at 11:30 and left at 12:30 and we never saw ANY other kids the whole time. We had the entire play area to ourselves for an hour, it was awesome!

Julian and Townsend at Mega Play

Tuesday: We headed out to Bamberg, about an hour and a half away. We went to the Natural History museum which has a fantastic collection of birds. After the museum we walked around the city a bit and had some hot chocolate, it was a pretty good day.

Townsend and Emerson examining some of the birds on display

Townsend and some birds

Some of the Christmas decorations were still on display in the city

Mommy and Julian on the bridge in Bamberg

Wednesday: Hyrum was at work so the boys and I went to Burger King for breakfast. The boys were so excited to get the french toast sticks!

Thursday: We went to Weiden in the morning and Hyrum switched out a sweater I bought him for Christmas for a larger size. We walked around briefly in Weiden but it was super chilly so we didn't stay out long. Thursday evening we went to our friends, the Platt's, for some yummy pizza and popcorn as well as some fun games. The boys LOVED running around their house with their 6 year old son Cael. They especially liked that Cael had a slide to get off his bed!

Friday: We did a bit of grocery shopping and got the boys hair cut. That evening the Platt's came to our house for movies (the kids watched Scooby Doo) and for games (we played Ticket To Ride and Quibbler...lots of fun!) At around 10:30 PM we decided it was late enough for the kids to be up and we decided to torch our Christmas tree to bring in the New Year...see video clip at the end of this post. I really like how you can see the sparks going up into the air as the snow is coming down.

Saturday: We headed to Nuremberg to visit the German History museum. There is A LOT to see in this museum and our boys get tired after about an hour in a museum so we had to be pretty picky as to what we saw. We saw the worlds oldest globe, so old that America was not on it yet! We saw some paintings by Albrecht Durer as well as Rembrandt. The museum itself is housed in a pretty cool building so it was just fun walking around. After the museum we grabbed some lunch and headed over to the Roxy theater, one of the few theaters near us that plays English language movies. The boys and I watched Tangled while Daddy took Julian for a walk. We tried to sit in the theater with Julian but he is just too young and wiggly at this age to sit for long.

Mommy and the boys at the museum

Townsend and Emerson in front of the very old globe

Our family in front of an exhibit showing how a hunting lodge would be furnished back in the day.

We survived another week with no school but I have to admit I am really happy school starts again tomorrow:)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Merry Christmas To All

Another festive Christmas has come and gone. The boys last day of school was Friday December 17th so Hyrum and I had to come up with some fun activities to keep them busy all last week. Fortunately we have lots of Christmas markets to visit and Auntie Paige came to play on Wednesday evening and stayed until Christmas. Hyrum only worked one day last week and so we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family. We hope you all enjoyed your holiday!

Townsend and Emerson dipping candles at the Nuremberg Christmas market

Nothing beats a warm Nuremberg sausage on a roll when you are out walking around in the cold

Julian at the dinosaur museum in Bayreuth.

Julian throwing snow onto the frozen pond at the Hof Garten in Bayreuth

Townsend and Emerson were allowed to play a bit with Daddy's ipod touch on the train ride home from Bayreuth.

The Christmas Eve feast. We had invited the Senior Missionary couple, the Rivera's, over as well as the young Elders. We also had a lady from our church named Martha as well as Paige here, so we had a full and fun house on Christmas Eve.

Paige at our Catholic Cathedral here in Pressath. We Johnson girls have a tradition of going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve. It was really nice to hear Silent Night sung in its original German

The tree on Christmas Eve. Hyrum and I stayed up until 2:00 AM wrapping gifts and getting our new tv set up.

The Durtschi traditional Christmas morning breakfast. Rolls and cocoa, a German Christmas cake called stollen and some orange juice

We had to take this picture fast, Julian is not a fan of hats!

The boys in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas morning

Julian sort of understood Christmas a bit more this year. He did unwrap a few gifts and played for a bit with some toys but then he got bored with the whole thing and began playing with his old toys.

Townsend and Emerson unwrapping the gifts they bought for each other

I think Julians favorite part of Christmas morning was playing with all the wrapping paper!

The post Christmas morning mess

We went sledding on Christmas day. We had gotten almost a foot of fresh new powder snow. We thought it would be perfect for sledding but it turns out all that fine powdery snow blows up into your face as you sled down the hill and makes for one very cold ride!

Auntie Paige and Julian on the sled

Did I mention it snowed a lot over Christmas? It took a while to shovel our very long driveway but we finally made it possible for Auntie Paige to get out and on her way home.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My Favorite Time of Year!

I know this is everyone's favorite time of year but I have to add my 2 cents. Here in Germany the best part of the Christmas season is the many outdoor markets. Even our small little town of Pressath has a Christmas market . It sure helps to brighten the gray and cloudy Bavarian winter to walk around a market and see the lights, taste the warm cider and hear live music.

The boys received an advent calendar filled with chocolate from the Christkind at the Pressath Christmas market. The Christkind is the traditional bringer of gifts for some parts of Germany and Austria.

Hyrum trying to stay warm at the Weiden Christmas market.

Auntie Paige spent 7 hours in her car trying to get to our house. This trip usually takes only about 3 hours but the traffic combined with crummy road conditions resulted in an awful trip. We tried to make it up to her by taking her bowling...yeah,nothing but the best for our guests!

Emerson and Auntie Paige

I would bring the bowling ball right up to the lane for Julian and then he would give it a big shove. He liked to watch the ball knock down the pins at the end of the lane.

Townsend strikes a pose after a successful hit!

Our house is beginning to look like Christmas. We got our tree set up with all the decorations. I pulled out my nativities and set up as many as would fit in my small living room. We have our advent wreath on the piano and have enjoyed lighting one candle for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. I can't believe Christmas is in less than a week!

Our tree in all it's decorated splendor

Some Christmas flair:)

We got out and braved the cold Bavarian winter for some sledding fun. Julian was skeptical at first but as soon as Hyrum got to the bottom of the hill with him he said, "more" which is what he says if he really likes something. It's great taking the boys sledding now because they are old enough to haul their sleds back up the big hill. The boys really go shooting down the hill with their sleds and they don't seem scared of crashing at all. I love to see them having fun and laughing.

Daddy and Julian all set for their first run

Emerson gets set to go down the hill

My very own snow angel

Big brother Townsend shows Julian how it's done

I am thankful for...

I am thankful for Hyrum. This Thanksgiving was so wonderful because Hyrum was home. Last year we missed having our Daddy home for the holidays and it made this years festivities so much more meaningful.

I am thankful for my two boys who practiced their parts and participated perfectly in their classes Thanksgiving concerts.

Emerson with his class

Townsend with his class

I am thankful to Mother Nature for providing a few inches of fresh snow on Thanksgiving morning. The boys woke up around 6:30 AM and wanted to go outside and play in the snow. We told them they had to wait until the sun came up but as soon as it did (around 7:00 AM) they were outside! They played in the snow for almost 3 hours leaving our house relatively calm and quiet so we could prepare our Thanksgiving meal in peace!

Julian loved the snow. I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember snow from last year so it was really cute to watch him stomp around in the snow and have fun.

Our Thanksgiving feast. Hyrum told me the other day, "Rachelle, you are pretty lucky to have me cook for you." Yes, I know I'm lucky!!!!

After dinner we headed outside to build a snowman. Our friend Ian Campbell was over for dinner so he and Hyrum helped the boys roll those giant balls of snow. It turned out pretty good, don't you think?

I am thankful I live in Germany. It's so great to live here and get the chance to experience how another culture celebrates the holidays. The Christmas markets are officially open and we made our first trip to one the day after Thanksgiving. We went to Regensburg to the Thurn und Taxis castle and walked around the market they had set up in the castle gardens. It had a medieval theme and all the stalls sold hand made crafts. It was a pretty cold day but I'm glad we went and enjoyed the market.

Here we are at the market, all bundled up for the weather!

I am thankful for my family of hikers. Hyrum grew up hiking through the woods with his family. It has taken me many years to appreciate the pleasure of a good hike but I believe I have finally come around. Today we went up in the hills near our house where it had snowed even more than where we live and hiked around in the forest for a while. I have to admit is was wonderful and beautiful to be outside, even though it was pretty chilly. I love watching my boys explore the world around them.

Doesn't Julian look cozy in his sled?

The snow was really deep!

It was so beautiful with the trees covered in snow

Julian decided to walk on the way back to the car so the boys bummed a lift from Dad.

I am thankful for fun times with my family and a beautiful world to explore. We hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday.

Everyday Life

Lest you think all we do is travel and sight see I decided to dedicate a post to our everyday life. Townsend and Emerson joined Tiger Scouts this year. Daddy takes them to their meetings twice a month and I think the boys enjoy the time they get to spend with their Dad. They recently had a "rain gutter regatta." I missed out on this event because I was visiting Paige that weekend but Hyrum said the boys had fun.

Townsend concentrating on painting his boat for the "rain gutter regatta"

They had fun, I promise...even if Emerson looks sort of grumpy

Townsend's ship sets sail at the "rain gutter regatta"

My day starts at 6:30 AM when I get the boys up for school. They catch the bus at 7:10 AM and then Julian and I have to find something to do with our day. We usually clean up a bit around the house, do some laundry and watch some You Tube videos of Sesame Street. On most days we go shopping just for something to do. One particular day, on my way home from shopping, we past Burger King. Julian pointed to it from his car seat and said "bok, bok, bok" like a chicken. I guess maybe I go there too often to get him chicken fries but it is something to do to fill up our day:)

How cute is he?

For Veteran's Day the boys school put on a "Soldier of My Life" assembly. The boys got to wear their scout uniforms and stand up on the stage while the flag was brought in and then they led the school in the pledge of allegiance. It was pretty cute seeing all those boy scouts and girl scouts up on the stage. All of the soldiers that were there, mostly the parents of the students, were then invited to come up on the stage and then all the elementary school students sang patriotic songs for the soldiers. It was really cute. Some of the soldiers on stage were crying when the kids sang "Thank You To Our Soldiers."

Emerson on stage with his uniform

A friend from church works in the pharmacy at the clinic and every once in a while a package gets delivered with dry ice. He gave the ice to Hyrum and the boys had so much fun being mad scientists for the afternoon!

My two crazy scientists!

The weather is turning cold and rainy so we headed to Play Mobil Land to spend the day at the indoor play area. It's a real bargain during the winter season, only 2,50 Euro!

The boys hangin' around the indoor play place

So, my life isn't all about exploring Europe. We enjoy doing regular family type things here in Germany as well:)