Christmas 2014

We had a lovely, and quiet, Christmas 2014 in Kempen. The entire holiday season we thought it would be our last in Germany so we were trying to take full advantage of the Christmas markets, the food, the culture and all that makes Christmas in Europe magical. It was only after Christmas that we found out we will actually have one more here. Christmas was pretty special this year as we were able to experience it through the eyes of a 4 and 2 year old. Jacob was especially excited and it showed with his constant decorating, singing and talking about Christmas. To sum up the season Jacob told us everyday, "sometimes it's Christmas." Here is our favorite picture from Xmas 2014 of the kids on Christmas Eve:

And one of our tree after Santa departed...

And Christmas morning of Bria in her new hat and scarf....

Looking forward to one more Christmas season in Europe next year! 

Jacob turns 4

To Jacob on his Fourth Birthday,

          Words can't express how we feel watching you grow and becoming such a big boy. We remember the day you were born as if it was yesterday, and here you are turning 4. At the same time, when we watch how empathetic you are to others, it's hard to believe that you are actually only 4.  You are our sweet, caring, compassionate little boy and you make us proud every single day. We will never tire of your need to stop everything you are doing to tell us,"Mommy (and Daddy), Jacob loves you, " or "Mommy you are my heart!" You are the boy who wants to sing Christmas songs all year long, genuinely loves making his little sister happy, and wants to be a superhero...we hope you never lose your special spark.  We had our reservations when we threw you into German school when you didn't speak the language, but we have been so impressed at how you have handled the situation.

Happy Birthday Jacob, you are my (our) sunshine! Love, Mommy and Daddy

A Very Sunny Thanksgiving

At some point I decided that I was just crazy enough to fly 10.5 hours solo with two toddlers to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Despite not getting a minute of sleep the whole flight, the kids did exceptionally well. It was obvious that they are pretty accustomed to travel these days, and they were great helpers.

As is tradition, my entire family gathered in Naples, FL to celebrate the holiday. The long trip was completely worth it. We had a wonderful visit with everyone, and the sunshine definitely didn't hurt!

In addition to all the family time, we were so excited to meet up with my college roommate and her family and meet adorable baby Grace. It's a given that Duds and I always have a great time together, but the highlight was seeing how much fun our kids had together as well.

Here's a recap of the visit:

This is the result of not sleeping on the flight.

 

 Ignoring the jet lag and having fun at the Children's Museum. 

 Fishing with Grandpa at the Museum,

 Beach baby.

 Having fun with our friend Jackson. 

 Baby Grace and her beautiful mama. 

 "I didn't travel all this way for nothing, let's go swimming!"

"I could get used to this view, what do you think Jacob?" 

Beautiful sunset on my birthday. 

Bill and Casey sending birthday wishes from Germany.

All ready for our Thanksgiving Day Race.

Sisters on Thanksgiving

Cousins and 2nd Cousins

We passed the torch to the next generation of babysitters. Thanks Jack and Spencer! 

Cousins heading to the beach.

Thanks for swimming with us for hours and hours Grammy and Grandpa! 

"Is there something on my face?"

Enjoying our last sunset before heading home.

It was such a fantastic visit and worth every minute of that long flight. A huge thank you goes out to Grammy and Grandpa for opening their house to us and letting 2 toddlers take over. This last picture sums up the week perfectly- family, fun and sun! 

Venice with the Girls

In early November I headed to Venice for a little girl's getaway. I think it was a wise decision to leave the kids at home, it's not the most stroller friendly city. What a unique and marvelous city it is though. I give tons of credit to the local Venetians because while it is breath-taking it is also a lot of effort to live there. Between the flooding and garbage disposal, there are plenty of unique challenges the locals face.

Our first stop was to a small town outside of Venice called Nove for a little pottery shopping. They are known for their beautiful ceramic and pottery pieces, but we also found a few interesting pieces as well...

After stocking up on pottery, we continued on to Venice. The best way to see Venice is by boat, so we were thrilled when our hotel sent a wooden boat to pick us up.

 Maria and I on the boat. 

Jill admiring the view.

The Grand Canal

This is a picture of our hotel. It was stunning inside and out. 

 Hotel Palazzo Stern

And the inside...

We had some time before our dinner reservation so we decided to visit the hot tub on the roof for a night-time view of the city. It was raining, but we barely noticed. 

True to form, Rick Steves' food recommendations did not disappoint. We had a fantastic dinner the first night but were eager to crash after a very early morning and long day. The next day, we headed out for some sightseeing. 

Where George and Amal were married. 

We noticed that everyone we saw was wearing rain boots, yet it was not raining. When we reached St. Mark's Square, we realized why, the entire square was flooded. We happened to be visiting at a time of year with the highest water level, and the flooding even went inside the Basilica. There were risers set up to walk on, but we bought a pair of fancy disposal boots and just waded through the water.

 Our pink rain boots! 

 

For our last night we signed up for a Bar Crawl of Venice. Our tour guide, Alessandro, was so informative and took us to some of the most historical bars (and also well hidden) in Venice to taste some of the local wine and food. We met a great group of other American tourists and we went out with a bang! 

 

 Loved the pots hanging from the ceiling at this place. 

 We love Alessandro! 

 Rialto Bridge at night. 

 Some of the fun ladies we met. 

What a quick, but remarkable visit. Ciao Venice!