Isn't she Beautiful?

Well, its about time to close the book on a rather entertaining subject.  Yes, the kitchen sink fixture is installed and truly beautiful.  The plumber arrived promptly at 2pm and 40 minutes later and not a word, its flawless.  Her grace will help us to forget the time, agony and cost of installation.  With every use I will be reminded 'not to change a good thing'.  But I promise to enjoy its every function.

Now, I must commence the returns process (2 of them).  I know my friends can attest, I am quite good at that, in any lanuage =)

A weekend of no driving

Its a beautiful weekend here in baden-württemberg.  80s during the day, not a cloud in the sky.  With all the chaos of the week, we decided to make it an easy weekend and enjoy our town.  Our goal is to NOT get in the car once.  So far so good.  They are having a summer fest in our town (this cute little town surely has 'fest fever' as every time we turn around there area signs for more celebration!)

Gotta love this slide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLQqD1HIar0

Also, Nick is a bit of a dare devil in this one - I think he takes after his Aunt Stosh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzJ856X86Jk

This was a cute 'stroller stand off'  Erin wasn't feeling 100% and Nick has just bounced himself off the bounce house and onto his elbow.  So they needed some chill time.  It only took another 10 minutes for them to be outta their strollers and running around again.

We ended the evening viewing fireworks from the balcony of our friends at the top of th hill in Neuhausen.  They had the perfect view!

Sunday was spent doing little things around the house and ended with an afternoon at our pool.  It was the perfect 'no car' weekend.

Plumbing update

I know you are dying to hear the status of my kitchen sink fixture. On Friday I purchased a 60 Euro fixtures from a local ‘home depot’ lets call it BauHaus. Friday night, Chris opted to venture into the installation processes. Later that night and an electrical wire later (seriously, why is there electrical to the kitchen sink fixture) he decided to bail – only to start again Saturday morning. The fixture is installed, looks great, however the water pressure is such that filling an 8oz bottle would take you 20 minutes. Not really acceptable.

Monday morning we made another appointment with the plumber. He came over Wednesday at 5pm to tell me there is something wrong with the NEW fixture (again, this conversation was NOT in English) Today I went to another plumbing supply store in hopes of getting a fixture and install for one price and ONE VISIT. He asked me how soon? Of course I said, is now possible? Of course not.

Needless to say, my father (refer to earlier blog) has asked me twice if I have sent the American faucet back yet… seriously?

Crisis averted

I just wanted a simple walk....  But at the end, Nick's brakes locked up (thus the hanging bike) he couldn't walk Mario (the dog we are babysitting) because Mario saw a slug and his 20 lb body pulled Nick's 30 lb body off its rocker...  Mario does not know anything about walking in a straight line.  Did I mention Chris was on a business trip duess home after midnight...

Man it’s been a long day -

It ended with that little dog on the left being brought back to me via German polizi. Shall I tell the day backwards for entertainment?



10:10 - Called German police - yep, they have the dog and are bringing him to me

9:53 - Call farrah in hopes of having a sane mind weigh in (she suggested I call the polizi - while talking to her I was convinced I had lost my cell phone - you got the while talking to her part... yes, I was on the cell phone)

9:15-9:45 search the street of Neuhausen with Pauli who manages to discover 5 hedgehogs - great

9:10 - Bike to the Atkinson's house while my two boys sleep in the house (Pauli is standing guard and I am totally confident in her abilities)

8:40 - scope entire area with no signs of Mario (Pauli is helping)

8:30 - walk out back looking forward to finally sitting down and a glass of wine.

Persistance Pays off

Shane is 10 months, 2 weeks and loving life. 

He is crawling all over the house.  Any time we put him down he makes a bee line to the dog food.  It depends on our persistance as to how many times he makes it there!!  He alternates between babyfood and enjoying exactly what Nick is having - from eggs, to bread to bananas - he loves to eat and boy is that refreshing!  (Nick was a PICKY eater)

Another point of persistance is his budding friendship with Macy.  They are both starting to really enjoy eachother's company.  The occasion poke in the eye, smile or slight hug just warms my heart.

Stuttgart summer fest is known for their food - Shane is more than happy with a little teething biscuit. 

Still only 2 teeth, but man do they work hard!

This video makes me laugh every time I see it.  Of course its my munchkin so I am totally biased.  But its our version of Lady and the Tramp.  Even with a specail showing of the Shane face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkQuLG6ZUS4

After all these action - Shane sleeps HARD at night.  This photo even had a flash and he did not even stir!  Comfy right?  I are sore just thinking about sleeping like this.

Night night..................

Good friends feel like home

We had a wonderful time with Steve and Monica this past week.  Having them in our house felt as if we had a bit more of 'home' living with us.  They fell right into our life, helped with a crawling child, taught another one the proper points of tackling and enjoyed great conversation at the end of the night (sometimes a little late into the evening).  We loved showing them our favorite things about life in Germany. 

Here is a beautiful shot of the two enjoy the Gardens of Stuttgart.

The next day Monica and Steve planned to enjoy the streets of Stuttgart together, without any kids!  Shane, do you think they can make it?

Nick - will they find food?

Turns out they had a great time - Cheers to Steve and his quality beer pouring.  Some things never change.  We love you Steve and Monica.  Thanks so much for staying with us.

This weekend was packed with adventure and BEAUTIFUL skies

We are thrilled to be showing Steve and Monica the beautiful spots of Germany this weekend.  We are hoping they get a real feel for what life is like out here. 

Friday night was a great example.  Chris was dying to check out a town called Bad Urach.  I swearched it on the internet and found a great hotel/restaraunt.  I managed to make a reservation for 1800.  We arrived to the beautiful place and were the youngest folks by 40 years!  I think they were wondering 'who' we were visiting as it was a retirement home.  Too funny!  It was great food and surely a great example as to, you never know what you are going to get. 

We walked into the town for ice cream which was enjoyed by atll.

The next morning it was off to Hiedleberg.  We took the scenic route along 'castle road'.  There were about 6 castles on ramdom moutaintops and I kept the informed on construction dates etc.  We ended the drive at the most beautiful castle in Heidleberg.

Beautiful city

The next day we decided they HAD to see Munich.  Its BY FAR our favorite city in Germany.  We hit the road and were slowed by autobahn traffic for about an hour - typical experience for us. 

We passed through Dacau as a rememberance of what the country has endured and a bit of history

Next stop was the Hoff Brau Haus for a different light on History.. 

Nick's version of a Ham Hock

Steve enjoying his first schweinhaxen

We made it to the Glockespiel just in time for the 5PM spin.  Monica actually heard the bells ringing as we were headed off in a different direction.

After a quick check of the church we decided to dip our feet in the fountain.  Nick loved it, but Shane thought it was a bit cold

Onto the English gardens - the is the only river that can actually be 'surfed'

A beer here was the perfect spot to end our travels in Munich