Happy 40th Birthday Jacquie!

**Here are a few pictures from our friend, Jacquie's 40th Birthday. We hosted a playdate birthday party for her during the day so her husband could prepare a surprise birthday party that evening. The cake was my labor of love...homemade strawberry and cream! It was a great day with the kids and then a fun adult evening with the gang. We hope you had a great birthday Jacquie!!

Holzgerlingen 1000 Year Celebration

On April 26th we attended a tradition German celebration in the city of Holzgerlingen. The city is celebrating it's 1000th birthday....wow! One of Jeff's friends (who speaks very fluent German) told us about the celebration and offered to get tickets for a group of us. Holzgerlingen is a beautiful old city and just minutes from our village. Jeff and I were so excited for a night out together, we jumped at the opportunity.

The evening consisted of a 14 course German meal set in the beautiful Holzgerlingen Castle. We were part of a play, as the evening was an entire show. We were guests of the royal family and we had to behave as such. The food, wine and beer never stopped flowing as the entertainment kept us laughing. I was even part of the Magician's act later in the evening. Although the evening was all in German, Terry translated for our entire group. It was an amazing night and we loved experiencing such a traditional cultural event.

Picnics in the Park

As the weather as been so warm these past few weeks, Lily and I have taken advantage of every minute. We have hosted a few play date picnics down at the Weil im Schonbuch park. We enjoyed one afternoon with Kim, Beth and Gabi and another with Jacquie, Anika, Alexander and Kim. We usually take a nice walk through the fields and then head to the playground for some swinging and sliding. There are picnic tables so we throw down a table cloth and enjoy a yummy picnic lunch. After lunch the kids run around the playground and dig in the sandbox. Of course Kastor enjoys his favorite past time, chasing the ball. Thanks for the relaxing afternoons in sun ladies. Can't wait until next time!

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY!!! We love you so much sweetie!!! Enjoy your special day today!!

Hugs and Kisses!!!

A Girl and Her Dog

Lily and Kastor are truly best friends. You'll be hard pressed to find pictures or videos of Lily without Kastor appearing in the background. How wonderful that our little girl is growing up with such unconditional love from her best buddy!

Oh My!

As I am typing this post, my little girl is sleeping in her big girl bed for the first time. After her bath and books tonight she just looked at me and said, "sleepy mama, time to go night night. " She laid down and covered herself up. It was so sweet and an eye opener for mama. My baby is growing up!! sigh....

Hiking in Waldenbuch

It was just another beautiful day here in Germany. Jeff, Lily, Kastor and I hit the trails in Waldenbuch for a beautiful two hour hike. We are so lucky to be having this spell of summer weather. It is really helping me feel better, get more exercise and enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy. We had a great time on our hike. Lily walked the entire time and especially loved all the bridges. Kastor chased the ball in the fields so much his paws were bright yellow from the dandelions. We also stopped for him to swim. Lily loves watching Kastor run and dive into the water to chase his stick. It was truly a wonderful day and I loved spending such quality time with my family.

The Stuttgart Messe Park

On Saturday April 14th we met up with our friends, Beth, Bryan, Gabi, Jill and Lucas at the Stuttgart Park. It is an absolutely beautiful place with a bier garten, walking trails, lakes, beautiful flower gardens and live animals. They even have a train that will take you around the Park. The weather was bright, sunny and 78 degrees. We enjoyed eating at the bier garten and walking around the park with our friends. The kids especially love watching Kastor jump in the lake and feeding the baby goats. That evening Jeff and I got a babysitter and went out to dinner with Beth, Bryan and Jill. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant, Ganesha, for the first time and my dish was especially spicy. The atmosphere, company and food were all wonderful. The only problem...the restaurant was small, quaint and without air conditioning. By the end of the evening my feet and ankles had swelled so much I couldn't get my sandals back on. Oh the trials of pregnancy!

A Day at the Playground

Just wanted to post some cute pics of our play date at the park with Jacquie, Anika and Alexander. The weather has been so beautiful so Jacquie and I had a blast enjoying the sun and watching the girls run wild all around the playground. We're sad that the Waskiewicz family is moving in a few short weeks. We'll just have to make the most of their time left here in Deutchsland. We'll really miss you guys. Good luck with your PCS to Japan!

Friends From Maine!

My good friend Jenn (we're sorority sisters from UMaine) and her sister, Heather, were on my side of the pond and decided to come visit me. They were traveling all around Europe but staying with a friend in Munich for a few nights. Since they were so close, Jenn and Heather drove up to Stuttgart for the afternoon and spent some time with me and finally met Lily. They also wanted to see me all big and preggo...hee hee! While they were here we chatted, chatted and chatted some more. Kim and I also took them to the Weile Heutte for lunch and gave them a scenic tour of Weil im Schonbuch. Thanks so much for taking the drive up ladies. It was WONDERFUL to see you and get caught up. I look forward to seeing you again this summer when we're home!

Easter 2007

On Saturday, April 7th Jeff, Lily and I met all our friends on base for the annual "Spring Fest." It was a great day of children's activities and the weather was absolutely beautiful. The morning started with a busy egg hunt. Lily had her Easter pail and was so excited to collect the eggs, she could hardly wait for the buzzer to sound. She and Daddy did a great job collecting eggs, although it didn't take long to clear the field with the number of kids scavenging for brightly colored eggs.

After we finished the hunt, we enjoyed the many arts and crafts, jumped in the bouncy house, ate some free BBQ food and visited the Eater Bunny. It was such a great time, we loved watching Lily enjoying the festivities and getting so excited to see the Easter Bunny. The base did a wonderful job providing a day of family fun.
Easter morning Lily awoke to a big basket of goodies and another egg hunt. She wasn't sure what do to at first, but once she got started she was running around the living room looking every where for eggs. Once she found one she would stop and eat all the jelly beans. We had to redirect her a few times so the hunt wouldn't take three days to finish. Thank goodness Daddy bought sugar free jelly beans.


















Later that afternoon Jeff and I hosted an Easter Potluck with all our friends. We had a house full of company and lots of yummy food. I'll post some pics of the potluck soon. Thanks to all that attended. It really made our Easter holiday very special. We hope all our family and friends had a very Happy Easter!!