Cinderella Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle

&

Hoenschwangau Castle

One of the neatest (and most exhausting) stops on our trip was to the famous castles. For those of you who don't know, the Cinderella Castle at Disneyland (the one on Disneys famous logo) was designed after the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. The castle is massive and completely gorgeous! The inside was really fascinating. Many of the paintings were painted straight on the wall, complete with fake frames painted around them! Almost every square inch inside was painted in some way, whether with murals or decorative colors.

The hike up to the castle was a killer though! We started out hiking up to Hoenschwangau, which is where we are in the photo below. Look how far away Neuschwanstein is! Both castles are situated on hills, so we had to hike up and down the first, and up and down the second. This was one of the hardest parts of the trip...being nautiously pregnant while hiking up mountains. Paul was the trooper though, as he had to push the stroller the whole way!

After we toured Neuschwanstein, we took yet another hike up to an old bridge which affords a greater view of the castle. Much to our chagrin, when we arrived we found the palace bedecked with scaffolding for a massive rennovation project. Still, it is an impressive castle to say the least.

Some more Fall foliage, with Hoenschwangau in the center.

Here is the close-up of Hoenschwangau. It was also amazing, just different. I have never seen an orangy-yellow castle before.

We were all pooped by the end. I envied Logan at the time!

Garmisch

On for the next installment...

GARMISCH - Linderhoff Palace

We spent one week in Garmisch, which was absolutely breathtaking! The mountains you see behind Paul and the boys surrounded the entire area. The leaves were starting to change for the Fall, so there was a panorama of colors everywhere you looked. I could not believe so much beauty could exist in one place!

Our first day-trip in the Garmisch area was to the Linderhoff Palace, which was built by King Ludwig II. It was the most elaborate, ornate, and all around decked-out building I have ever seen! Every surface was covered with something or other.

Here is the palace exterior.

And a picture of the royal bedroom. Can you believe it!!! (Maybe there was a little ego involved in the building of the palace, what do you think?)

The grounds were equally impressive with a massive fountain and immaculate gardens. I loved these covered walkways. I could have wandered through them for hours meditating, if the kids would have allowed it. I have to admit, the boys did all right considering it must have been pretty boring for them. I kept Aaron distracted by pointing out any sculptures of horses and the color purple (his favorite), which he calls "puh-puh."

Here is an elevated picture of the grounds and palace.

The king also had a grotto built for him, complete with seashell ship in a pond, choir seats, and a stage for performances!

We took this picture to start the photo journal of my expanding waistline. (Didn't know where else to put it, sorry).

The Linderhoff Palace was a fun stop for our family!

Rothenberg

Rothenberg

(rote-en-berg)

Rottenberg is an ancient walled city in Germany we visited in the first week of our trip. What a neat city! The architecture was incredible! I would have loved to just sit for hours enjoying the atmosphere and passersby (preferably on a warmer day, that is).

One of the most morbidly fascinating part of Rottenberg was the building of torture. Here are Logan and Jason in the stocks.

These large baskets were used for dunking alleged witches. If they drowned, they were not a witch...rather late to be finding that out, don't you think! They also dunked bakers who's bread did not weigh the required amount. They were dunked one time for every ounce their bread was off the mark.

The kids just playing around, having fun.

Germany Vacation

Hi friends and family! We are now back from our two week trip in Germany to visit our friends the Brooks, and relax. It was a whirlwind trip and we are absolutely exhausted, but it was well worth it! There was so much to do and see that I'm going to divide the trip into multiple posts.

BAMBERG

We arrived in Germany by flying space available through the military. We flew in a huge cargo plane, where all of the luggage was stacked in the middle! It was an all-night flight, which I was nervous about at first. However, as it was not your traditional plane, we all got to lay out on the floor and sleep!

We arrived in Ramstein, where our friend Aaron Brooks picked us up. The poor guy had to drive 3 1/2 hours to get there, and about 5 hours to bring us back to his house in Bamberg (due to traffic)! It made for a very long day of traveling.

The first place we visited was downtown Bamberg. We were in luck as there was a huge flea market going on that weekend. Paul was in his element roaming the streets trying to find a good deal! It was so neat seeing the old buildings and tasting the German treats. We sampled roasted chestnuts (you know, like from the song "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."). I didn't like them that much, but Paul did. While shopping around we took pictures of the massive old buildings.

Here is a little side street packed with vendors.

We didn't know what half the buildings were, but took pictures just because they looked cool!

We found flowers in windowboxes to be a very common yet beautiful aspect of German scenery

In case you were wondering, Paul got really good deals on a German beer stein, (he's always wanted one) and a nutcracker. He bartered in Russian so that he wouldn't sound like a touristy American, and the tactic worked in our favor. :-)

Family Portrait

We'll give you a second to mull this one over.

(April 25, 2009)

First Day of Preschool

Logan started preschool on Tuesday. He was so excited and proud to go to school. He has about 4 other friends attending the same school, so it has been an easy adjustment for him. As for his mommy, however, I can't believe how hard it can be to say goodbye to your child for a few hours! My little baby is growing up!...(nevermind he's only three).

Aaron has decided he's big enough to start brawling with his big brother. He likes to tackle him, while Logan just lays there giggling.

More of our daily silliness! Don't they just crack you up! They make me laugh every single day.

Paul had a four day weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed having him around! To make the most of it, we decided to do some more sight seeing. We went to the Holocaust Museum on Saturday, which was a sad but interesting experience. Aaron cried through most of it since he was tired and hungry (never a good combo!) and a lady near us said "go ahead buddy, there's plenty to cry about here." Very true. We also visited several art galleries around the Smithsonian Castle. Logan was the one wh0 cried through this one. None of the art lovers were as sympathetic about it this time around, so we hurried through and made a hasty exit

Here we are in front of the Smithsonian Castle. Neat architecture and lovely gardens. I also like this picture because I feel proud of my mom muscles, being able to carry both boys at once. :-)

Another shot of the castle

Logan is sword-crazy!!! Just ask anyone who speaks for a few moments with him. The first thing bound to come out of this mouth is a request to sword fight (sound familiar grandma and grandpa Rose?). Aaron is finally old enough to somewhat hold his own. They are so funny together.


Paul has been fiddling with the settings on his camera and needed guinea pigs. I have to admit I was rather reluctant. I never realized I was so shy in front of a camera! The boys have no fear though, if they can hold still long enough.

Random Summer Pics

We've decided to take a moment to post some random pics we've taken over the last few months. It feels like we haven't had a chance to catch our breath lately, with so much going on. A crazy school semester and even crazier tenants in our house have made this a very stressful and busy month. We apologize for our tardiness in posting, and hope to catch up soon. Until then, enjoy!

What's a summer without good bubbles?

This is Aaron right after a LONG nap. He just looked so cute, even though he was grumpy, that I just had to catch the moment.

Here is how we entertain ourselves...

Earlier this summer, Pauls parents came for a visit. Needless to say, I think we wore them out! ("Hey Gwampa, wake up!")

Family Fun

Our most recent adventures have been with Paul Family.
This is a picture of a baseball game that we went to. With the Dodgers vs. the Brewers. While the atmosphere of the game was good, as well as the company, the weather was pretty cold, making for great snuggling. We love spending time together.

The beach is always a good excursion to go on, and even more so by seeing wildlife. This is a baby sealion that we saw on the beach, it seemed to be sick or lost, because it didn't seem do much besides sit there, I guess they could say the same thing about us, we just sit on the beach as well not doing a whole lot, but it sure is fun and relaxing.

This was Aarons first time at the ocean, and he loved it. One big sand box with water close by, what better way to get dirty!

Paul's parents love playing with the boys at the beach, and the boys love spending time with them. Being buried in the sand is something everyone needs to experience some time. This was one of Logan's times.

A Traumatic Week

Our sweet Aaron gave us quite a scare this week. When I went to check in on him at the end of naptime on Tuesday, I found him having trouble breathing and completely limp. He couldn't even support his own head or lift a single finger. Needless to say, I was absolutely freaked out! I called 911 and told them the situation and they sent an ambulance over immediately. A minute before the ambulance arrived, my visiting teachers arrived for their scheduled appointment that I had forgotten about in my panic. On finding me frantic about Aaron, they quickly offered a prayer, and told me they would watch Logan while I took Aaron to the hospital. It was my own miracle having them there when I needed help so badly! So the ambulance arrived and whisked us off to the children's hospital in DC, sirens blaring. At this point, Aaron was completely out of it and wasn't aware of anything around him. When we arrived at the hospital, there was a room full of emergency staff ready to take care of him. It turns out he had a seizure due to a high fever, and we have had to watch him carefully to be sure it doesn't happen again. They think he has a viral infection that caused the fever, but we are still waiting for the results of some of the tests. He is doing better now, but keep our little guy in your prayers.