Heart Craft

Jackson brought home yet another unique craft from school on Tuesday. This heart is made from vines all twisted around and weaved in and out with different colors of vines. He was so proud of it! We had to make a special trip back to the kindergarten to make sure he had it. Each day of the week they have special activities or assignments to do. On Tuesday and Thursday the preschool teacher comes and does things with the older kids from stories, to crafts to just exploring the forest and learning more about "earth." He tells me some of the most interesting stories on those days. Melanie tells Jackson (and the two other American boys) the stories in german first to see how much they understand. According to his teacher he really does understand a lot of german, but does't speak it. That is great and one of the reasons why we wanted him to go there. It's a great opportunity for him to learn the language. He came home yesterday and told me a new word that he learned. But I can't quite remember...I'm still on the first cup of coffee. ;-) On Fridays Jutta's (the founders) daughter comes and teaches the kids french. He brought home a paper last week that was all labeled with things he colored in french.

The work he brings home will be treasured for years to come. What a great way to be able to look back and remember the great opportunity he had at the waldkindergarten.

Signs of Spring

The crocus have started to bud in our backyard these past few days. I LOVE seeing signs of spring pop up around our house. The apple trees have little apple blossoms that are growing and other bushes around our house have little green buds on them. It is amazing to see the changes that go on and take us into yet another season here in Germany. Seeing colors of life pop up all around gets me really excited about this time of year.

Our new addition!

Well, we did it...we finally upgraded to a new TV and entertainment system. We had a bet going with some friends of ours (the Hammers) that we would be the last to get a new TV...and we lost.

Our other entertainment center was old, and a little on the "could fall over at any time stage." And the TV, well let's not even go there. The only TV that Jason or I had ever owned was a gift from our parents in high school or a hand me down from a friend in Okinawa. That TV weighed I am not kidding about 250 pounds. It was a tank!

We looked for an entertainment center online and decided to take a trip to IKEA to get a decent priced one. Jason wasn't too thrilled about it, because that meant he had to not only brave the store, but put the darn thing together too. Luckily the day we were supposed to go to IKEA we found a deal on Ramstein Yard Sales (think Craigslist). I am very happy with it and had fun organizing and decorating it.

Our new TV is very nice and I'm happy with the new furniture set up in our living room. It feels much more open and homey to me. (Excuse the mess...and other stuff...still in decorate/reorganize mode.) ;-)

I am very thankful for it all!!

Trip to Pisa with Mom!

My mom and I took a weekend trip to Pisa while she was here for her visit. We had looked into many places to go, but kept coming back to Pisa. So...that was it! We booked it and were so excited for our annual trip together. (Last year we went to Prague, Czech Republic.)

Our flight left on Friday morning, so Jackson went to school that day and I took Grace over to a friends house for the day. Grace was so excited to go to Audrey's house that she could care less that we were leaving. The flight wasn't long, only about an hour and a half and we were in Italy. What I loved instantly was the sunshine! We have been thankful to have some sunny days here at home lately, but there was not a cloud in the sky when we arrived. Did I mention the temp was in the 50's? Perfect!

We took a city bus to the Campo dei Miracoli because it only cost .80 euro cents, instead of paying 10 euro for a shuttle. It was perfect for us...and saved some money too. We spent the rest of Friday walking around the grounds and exploring the side streets around the main square. Our hotel was only 100 meters from the tower and a perfect location for everything.

On Saturday we had read about a outdoor market about 15 minutes from our hotel so we decided we had to do that. We were blown away at all the booths! We left with jewelry, scarves and a few other treasures. There were some great boots there, but it was too overwhelming and I just couldn't commit. The remainder of Saturday we took our time around the main square and ventured up to the top of the Leaning Tower. It is amazing how truly leaning it really is! The walk up there was a little crazy, but once we got to the top it was beautiful. I would recommend it for anyone. We ate at a great panini shop for lunch. He made us his own creation for dessert...nutella and mozzarella panini. Yes, it sounds a little gross, but it was SO good! We enjoyed pizza and a bottle of chianti for dinner. We ate...shopped...ate....shopped...and saw the great sights of Pisa. After 2 1/2 days with my wonderful mother it was time to head back home.

It was a much more smooth trip compared to last year (that is a whole other story).

I am SO very thankful that I am able to do things like that with my mom. She is very special to me and I treasure all of these memories!!!

We of course had to get the dorky pictures!
My turn...


The Duomo which dates back to 1063.
The shopping market on Saturday morning.
These stairs were to great to look at while we walked to the top. It amazes me at how much they have been worn down!

Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles)
From the top of the leaning tower.
At the entrance of the tower. Look at that lean!
Our favorite panini shop. We couldn't find the name of it anywhere, but at least we remember where it is.

Inside the Duomo.
Our dinner on our last night. Yum...chianti!!
Our last look at the tower before catching the bus to the airport.
Thank you, mom for a wonderful, special, unique, excellent, amazing, and memorable trip. I love you!!!

Our Romantic Weekend in Baden Baden

While my mom is here visiting Jason and I took advantage of it and went away for the night to Baden Baden. Baden Baden is town on the border of Germany and France that is well known for its spas. We drove on Friday afternoon and went right the the spa house. It is kinda like the onsen in Okinawa...but a little different. There is a 17 step process that you go through. We stripped naked and went right in. It was a little strange at first walking around with no clothes on (co-ed ;-), but after being in there for a few minutes it wasn't so weird. We went from getting really warm in steam baths, and saunas to a whole body scrub. Then after that we went around to the different temperature thermal baths. They were so relaxing! In the end we got a cream massage in got swaddled up like a little baby in the "sleeping room." I didn't think I could fall asleep, but before I knew it I woke myself up snoring. ;-)

We headed back the next day after we took a stroll around the downtown. It is a beautiful area and I look forward to going there this summer and seeing all the green trees.

I absolutely loved being able to have some one on one time with Jason and especially sleeping in together without the kids waking us up early. The trip was SO great!

Jason's Skiing in Switzerland

Jason went skiing with the men's group from church to Switzerland. He had a fun with some great friends and great fellowship. I was going to put one up of Jason and Tom...but it was not the best picture. I know it will be a trip that he makes every year he can.