Friday, May 4, 2012

Luxembourg City

After we went to Trier a couple weeks ago, we headed to Luxembourg City since it was only about 30 minutes away. Abe spent the majority of his mission serving in Luxembourg City and really wanted to be able to go back and spend some time there. A couple of years ago when Abe and I went on a European vacation, we stopped in Luxembourg but were only able to spend about an hour at the most there. I think Luxembourg City is so pretty and it is really clean. There is also really great shopping... however it is not very doable with three tired kids. We first visited the American Cemetery and the girls had to bring along their cool windmills they got from Trier.
After the Cemetery, we drove into the city, parked and started walking around. The girls were SO ornery! They had slept hardly at all the night before and were really hard to be around. Let me just say it is not ideal to have 3 little kids and two adults in the same small hotel room. Norah is usually the easiest little kid and she was a pill. We still managed to enjoy the beautiful scenery. How could you not!
After we walked the city, we were planning on doing a tour of the casemates (the tunnels through the rock in the side of the valley), however all the kids were falling apart. Norah was in the stroller bawling and whining, Adeline was whining and Meika was screaming because she needed to be fed. We walked back to the car to grab our jackets since it would be cold in the caves and also to feed Meika. As soon as we got to the car Abe said, " I am making a command decision. We are leaving!" It was a really good call. I thought I was going to go CRAZY and was in need of an adult only vacation. We just started driving and ended up going about an hour into a little town called Vianden. Luckily all 3 girls slept in the car. The silence was heaven. Vianden was such a cute little village in the Country side of Luxembourg. The best part about it was the huge castle on the hill. The girls LOVED it. Adeline was trying to figure out the entire time which princess she thought the castle must have belonged to. She ended up saying Rapunzel due to a little tower on part of the castle that looked like hers.
While we were walking through the castle, Adeline seemed a little scared at one point and so Abe pretended to be a little scared. In the cutest little voice possible, Norah said very slowly, "Don't worry daddy, I WILL protect you", as she was holding his hand. She continued to say this over and over while walking through the castle. Ever since then, she continues to tell Abe that she will protect him. She kills me.
The best part of the trip for the kids(besides the awesome castle) was the pool at the hotel. The girls were in Heaven and never wanted to get out!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

When Abe is gone....

I really hate when Abe is gone... to work. I kind of feel like a brat saying that because I have become so spoiled. He is home so much and I am able to spend loads of time with him. Today he had to work a 24 hour shift. It sucks that it is Sunday, but at least we were able to see him at church today. Tonight I really missed him. We had a BEAUTIFUL evening and I loved being with the girls outside. We went for a fun walk (well Adeline rode her bike), we ate dinner outside on the porch, and the kids played on the trampoline. Say hello to our new babysitter!!! Can't wait for all the warm summer evenings with the family!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Goodbye Hair

Adeline's hair had gotten so incredibly long and it was getting to be quite the pain to brush and do. She absolutely hated for me to brush her hair because it would get so many rats in it. It also had to be done all the time (not saying I did do it all the time) if I didn't want her to look like a little raggle-muffin. My friend Sara was going to cut a couple inches off so it would be a little healthier and Adeline decided she wanted to cut it short just like her friend Mary from Boston. So, that's what happened. I really didn't care at all, but felt a little sad that night before bed. I have gotten over it pretty quick though. It is so much easier to do, or not to do :) And, it takes 2 seconds to brush and there is no screaming involved. Adeline hasn't cared one bit that her hair is gone. That is a little surprising to me because she did love her hair and would always tell us it was long like Rapunzel's. Before pictures
After
Funny story. When Sara cut her hair off, she first braided it and then cut it off so we could keep it. The day after she had it cut, Norah walked into the kitchen and I could see tons of hair all over the front of her dress. I asked Adeline where her hair was and she said, "On the couch". She had gotten her hair out of the braid and they brought it over to the couch and were playing with it. They even had clips and rubber bands out. It was on the floor, the coach and after I took the picture I realized there was a big wad on Adeline's dolls head (you can see a little bit in the picture). Oh brother.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Trier, Germany

Last weekend we decided to go on a last minute trip. Our first stop was Trier, Germany which is the oldest city in Germany. I LOVED this city. The city was bustling (but wasn't too terribly crowded), music was playing in the town square, ice cream shops everywhere, bright buildings, etc. Wouldn't mind going back again. The weather was absolutely perfect and the girls were awesome. Amphitheatre- I was really looking forward to seeing this. Unfortunately it had closed about 15 minutes before we got there. I was able to sneak one little picture through the front gate. Oh well. I'm sure we will visit again at some point.
Hauptmarkt- Trier's main marketplace. Tons of cute buildings, TONS of ice cream shops and great shopping.
Just some German nuns
Trier Palace
The palace grounds... not sure what is up with the posing
Imperial Roman Baths
Yummy fried balls with sugar on them. SOOOO good
Can't remember what this was....
St. Peter's Cathedral
Market Fountain
Another picture of the main square
Black Gate (Porta Nigra). Pretty awesome entrance into the city.

After all our adventures for the day, we sat down outside at a little pasta place. When we were finishing up, I decided to feed Meika. I went to go and burp her and she projectile vomited over my shoulder about a foot and onto the ground. A poor single guy was sitting right next to me at a table and was staring at her right when it happened. I have never seen such a disgusted face in my life. It was priceless. Abe and I got a good laugh. After we finished up, we got in the car and drove to our hotel in Luxembourg. More on our Luxembourg adventures in my next post!