Germany (Part 1)

Our trip to Germany and Austria last month was amazing!  We were able to catch up with old friends, one of Jared's best friends growing up was in Germany the same time we were so we spent the first part of our trip with them.  It was wonderful to see my parents, it had been 15 months since we had seen them!  We got to spend more time with them than we had anticipated which was extra great.  We are forever indebted to Jared's family for coming to watch our boys while we were gone, it was such a treat for them to get to spend so much time with their Grandma and Grandpa Robbins, Aunt Paige and Uncle Devin.  Everything worked out perfect and it was a fabulous trip; time together that will be cherished forever!

I don't really know how to post our pictures as there are sooo many (literally over 1000).  Most of the pictures don't really do justice to the beauty we saw around us.  A camera just can't quite capture what the eye can see, at least not when I'm the one behind the camera! 

We flew into Frankfurt and had hoped to get some much needed rest on the plane since it was a red-eye.  We did get some sleep but a few hours before we were to land I was awoken by someone asking from a few rows back if there was a doctor on board.  I woke Jared up and he went to assess the situation.  There was a gentleman who was having a hard time remaining conscious.  He couldn't answer any questions as he was coming in and out of consciousness.  After retrieving the "doctor's bag" from the back of the plane Jared was able to do an assessment.  His blood pressure was extremely low and so was his blood sugar.  Apparently the same thing had happened on the way over to the US.  They administered an IV (thank goodness there was a paramedic close by because I feel sorry for anyone that has to have an IV administered by a doctor) and gave him a couple glasses of juice and were able to stabilize him.  It was pretty crazy that Jared was the only doc on board. 

Frankfurt wasn't my favorite city, it was big and modern and seemed a lot like anything you'd see in the US.  We caught up on some much needed sleep, did a little sight seeing and some shopping. 

There were some things there that you don't find in the US:

I really wanted to ride one of these bier bikes but unfortunately you can't just buy a seat on it, you have to rent the whole thing.  I don't think Jared and I would have gotten very far just the two of us.  That night Jared drug me out to downtown Frankfurt to watch the US play England on the jumbo-tron, I was very, very sleepy.  It didn't take long to realize that soccer is super crazy in Germany. 

We met up with Travis and Jenny the next day and headed up to Koblenz.  On the way there we stopped off in a small town, Bad Camberg, just to take a look around.  It was a really cute little place and we went into this church that had a great museum in the upstairs portion of the church. 

There was a cute little old couple there playing their cellos. 

There were a lot of fantastic historical items from the town in this little museum. 

And some very creepy mannequins and dolls!

Next stop Koblenz.  The highlights of Koblenz were our morning run along the Rhine River, exploring the festung up on the hill, trying to find the cute little yellow castle with green ivy growing all over it (which we never did find.  We could see it from the river but it was an adventure trying to get there), trying my first döner kebab, the river boat ride down the Rhine and our near death experience in the tunnel on the way up to the festung.  With Travis behind the wheel in a country with no speed limits it wasn't the only time I feared for my life. 

On our way to Rothenburg ob der Tauber we stopped in Würzburg for a few hours, the start of the romantic road.  We stopped a guy on the street to find the best German food in the area.  He told us to go to Weinstube Maulaffenbäck.  He did not disappoint.  It was a charming little restaurant full of locals.  Everyone looked at us as if they were wondering how the tourists found their little hot spot.

The white weiners were not my fave, but I don't really like sausages, however, the mustard was to die for so it made the meal doable.  The bratkartoffel was de-licious!  (Basically potato slices fried in lots of butter sprinkled with green onions and bacon, what's not to love?)

We stopped by one of the castles there and strolled through the gardens, it was beautiful. 

The details on the building are impeccable.

Do we look like tourists??

**Magic Shoes**

I found some super cute sandals at Gap for Cam the man.  I find it impossibly hard to find cute sandals for little boys with big fatty pads on the tops of their feet (meaning flip flops are out). 

They turned out to be an amazing purchase because not only are they cute but they are also MAGIC! As soon as we put them on his feet he started doing THIS:

They transformed my "why walk when you can carry" baby into a little walking machine.  I KNEW he had it in him but the lazy little son of a gun wouldn't do it.  He wouldn't even try, which was the most frustrating thing.  I would stand him up and he would immediately latch on to my legs like a little leech.  He took his first steps April 3rd but hasn't done a whole lot of walking since UNTIL we got these magic shoes.  Now he's all over the place.  I better watch out because now that I don't have to lug my little heifer everywhere I may just end up with Relief Society arms!

Cam loves his new shoes, it's his new favorite word.  He'll find them and bring them to me saying, "shoes, shoes."  It's the cutest thing in the whole world!

Funny Kid...

Carter was listening in on a conversation Jared and I were having this morning about the recent squirrel invasion we seem to have had.  Upon asking Jared what we can do to get rid of the squirrels Carter responds, "Put nuts in the neighbors yard!"
That kid cracks me up!

Columbus Half

A few weeks ago Jared and I ran the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio.  This was our first big race together and consequently Jared's first half.  Despite the rainy weather it was really fun to run together and we ALMOST met our goal.  We were shooting for under 2 hours.  (12 minutes faster than my PR)  Our official time was 2:00:20.  Seriously!?!  TWENTY-ONE SECONDS slower than our goal.  We were so close I could taste it!!  We were using our GPS watch as our guide and we were actually on track to finish in 1:59 and change... well according to our GPS watch 13.1 miles turned into 13.26 which put us just over 2 hours.  {sigh}  Oh well, that just means I get to drag Jared's behind out there again so we can do another one and meet our goal.  I think next time we'll give ourselves a little bigger window.  We were lucky the rain didn't start pouring down until mile 10.  The forecast said rain all morning.  At first it was a welcome coolant but after being completely saturated (my toes were little raisins when I took my shoes off) I was ready for it to let up.  It was an adventure and tons of fun.  We also got to visit some friends from med school who are doing residency in Columbus.  They were gracious enough to watch our boys while we ran and even took them to the zoo.  Thanks Sandberg's!

Ready to run!

Soakin!!  But we're still smiling!  I had a friend tell me to smile while we were out there running because runners never look like they're having any fun.  I was sure to smile really big the whole way.  I wanted people to know I was having fun!  Well around mile eleven I stopped smiling... NOT because I wasn't having fun but because I couldn't quite muster the extra energy required to lift those cheek muscles.  Debbie, if it weren't for the energy expended smiling that whole time I may have been able to finish 21 seconds faster!

j/k :)  

Just a couple of fun pics of my goof balls on Saturday afternoon -

A few pictures from the Columbus Zoo, I love zoos! 

It was fun to see Emelie and Carter together, they spent a lot of time playing together our first 2 years of med school.  

Simple Pleasures...

MUD PUDDLES!

On the way home from school the other day we decided to take full advantage of the puddles that spotted the sidewalk along our way.  Gage found every single one on the way there.  We took an alternate route on our way home and found some even bigger {muddier} puddles.  All of the parents looked at me like I had lost my mind letting my boys indulge in such a thing.  The truth was that I was this close to joining them.  By the time we got home they were soaked from shoulder to toe.  You can see in this last picture how much water made its way into  the boots.  Ah, simple pleasures!

Gage Cut My Bangs...

...Not really, but the job that was done looks about at his skill level.  The timing for a hack job was impeccable.  I  had a work dinner with Jared on Wednesday, a formal for the Josephine Ford Cancer Fundraiser on Saturday and we're leaving for Austria in 4 weeks (there is no chance they will be grown out by then).  They were down to the tip of my nose and I asked her to take an inch off.  Perhaps she thought I meant I wanted them an inch long?!?  Not only are they short but they are totally hacked and uneven {sigh} at least I didn't let her cut all of my hair. YIKES.

When she showed me the mirror I gasped {in horror} and then said, "Wow, thank you" in the nicest voice I could muster.  It was no use getting upset {I will never see her again}.  Surprisingly I didn't cry... instead I laughed about it ALL day.  So this is what I have to live with for the next four months until they grow back out:

Yes, this is my attempt at a smile

Don't be surprised if every picture you see of me for the next four months looks like this :    

Fly aways and all!

It's been 2 weeks and I am already SUPER sick and tired of this look, oh well, it's just hair right?!?!?

My Looth Tooth's No Longer Looth

Carter has been waiting and waiting and waiting to lose his first tooth.  He has watched as his friends have lost tooth after tooth and his first one FINALLY came out. {not without a little tug, pull and a big twist}  I love the little lisp he has and let's face it, that toothless grin is adorable! 

He's Nuts!

i haven't come to a conclusion yet
but I think he may have been trying to kill himself
we had a gardener friend come over and look at our
massive silver maple tree
it probably hadn't been pruned in 15 years
he took one look at it and referred us to a company called "dangerous tree removal and pruning"
jared laughed
like he's going to pay for that
so, he borrowed some tools from a friend
and went to work

{i couldn't bring myself to take pictures of him with the extension ladder on the roof for fear that i may quite possibly capture him falling to his death}

after spending every evening for a week and half of two Saturdays he was done pruning
two weeks later he was done cleaning up all of the branches

he likes to call himself Master Pruner
i like to call him Stupid

well, we're set on firewood for next winter

thank goodness no one was dismembered during the process... although I did look out the window one evening while cooking dinner to see the neighbor boy holding a large pair of pruning shears right over my baby's head, aaaah!  i opened the window and screamed at him.  i really don't like to yell, especially at other peoples kids.  but seriously!?!  apparently he was trying to cut his hair.  oh, sure.  that makes me feel sooo much better, you're going to attempt cutting my baby's hair with a pair of shears larger than you!  and where was jared while this was going on, where else?  in a tree.

Pinewood Derby

Carter had his first Pinewood Derby.  Although he had a sweet looking car and won the award for "most detail" he only won one heat.  He didn't seem too disappointed and had plenty of fun goofing off with his friends.     

Carter with his buddies Kaiden, Spencer and Justin. These boys are all the oldest boys in families of all boys.  Between our 4 families there are 10 boys... it was a pretty rowdy night!

Carter decided to stick with the shark theme.

He started out fast!  Maybe next year we won't wait until 30 minutes prior to weigh in to finish the car...

yah right!  That's just the way we roll. 

Or maybe we'll get some pointers from some of the seasoned derby racers in the family.  

Or we could always cough up $150 for a guaranteed winner online.

DIA

We finally made it to the Detroit Institute of Art.  We'd been trying to go the whole month of March and finally found a day that would work and I ended up with strep throat.  Of course!  Well we eventually got there and had a great time.  Jared  and I plan to go back soon for a date night so we can spend more time enjoying the individual works of art and less time playing "I Spy" which by the way was great fun!

 

Picasso was a favorite.  Carter thought this one was particularly entertaining because, "her face is all messed up."

Carter really got a kick out of this big booty!!

They even got to make their own masterpieces!

Next stop: Mexicantown for some fantastic eats, their pastor (pork) and carne asada tacos are the best.  Who would have thought Detroit would have great Mexican food??  Another fun family outing in downtown Detroit!

Circus Circus

I went to my very first circus...  it was Carter, Gage and Camden's first time too.  It wasn't a big 3 ring circus but it was pretty fantastic.  My favorites were the acrobats and the elephants.  I was hoping for some tigers jumping through some hoops of fire but we didn't quite make it to that level.  Tickets were priced right, the circus tent was small so the seats were close (even though we were on the last row) and the boys seemed to thoroughly enjoy their bag of cotton candy.  It was great entertainment for a Saturday night in Michigan.   

Despite the photo evidence it was a pretty fun circus... next year I think we'll opt for the matinee,10:00 is pretty late for the little guys.