Our Visit to Neuschwanstein Castle

On Wednesday of our trip to Bavaria (southern Germany), we headed to the Füssen area where the Neuschwanstein Castle is located. It was a cold and dreary winter day but a beautiful and scenic drive through the area. And all the kids got somewhat of a nap in the car that day during the hour and a half drive from Garmisch.

When we arrived, we bundled up and headed to buy our tickets for an English speaking tour of the castle. Then we stopped into a guest house and enjoyed some great German food.

Then we opted to take the horse-drawn carriage ride to the top of the mountain where the castle is located. Years ago when Don and I visited the castle we had learned what a long steep walk to the top it is and tackling that with three kids in tow just didn't seem ideal.

Samuel really adored the horses and as we got off the carriage near the castle, he leaped out and tried to pet the horses. We stopped him before he could get to them but then the driver picked him up and let him pet the horses. He was thrilled! He definitely is our animal lover.

Before we entered the castle, Benjamin was pulling the "I don't want my picture taken" attitude and Samuel was throwing a fit about going into the bathroom with Daddy. ugh. I was not excited about entering a guided tour through the castle at that point. But surprisingly enough once we started the tour the boys were attentive and curious about everything. They really thought it was cool that they were in a castle! Phew! I was so proud of them for being so well behaved (as was Grace). And Benjamin even had a question for the tour guide at the end... "How did the King die?"

Apparently, King Ludwig was a good swimmer and mysteriously drown before the castle's construction was finished. The King didn't even live in the castle a year before his death and once he died the construction of the castle was stopped. Much of the castle remains unfinished but the parts open to the public are impressive. Photos of the inside of the castle are not allowed.

Neuschwanstein is one of Germany's most recognizable castles due to the fact that the Disney Castle is modeled after it.

Ski Time

Last week we headed out for our first European family vacation! We went to Garmisch in southern Germany... the Alps! We had all been looking forward to our vacation for weeks and were thrilled when the day finally came.

We had a good four and a half hour drive to the US Armed Forces resort in Garmisch called Eidelweiss. It is a newer resort and is a very American style hotel nestled in the foot of the Alps. Shortly after we checked in we headed back out to get Benjamin and I equipped for skiing and sign up for ski lessons for the following day. Benjamin was a little hesitant at first about the prospect of skiing but as soon as he saw all the other kids on the little slope (which they call the "backyard") he was excited. In fact, as soon as we were fitted for all our gear he wanted to get out there and try skiing!

On Tuesday morning, Don dropped Benjamin and I off at the ski school and we got started! I hadn't been skiing in over a year so it took me a little while to get my confidence back up so I was glad I started my ski lessons in the backyard of the Alps! Plus, I was able to keep an eye on Benjamin and see how he was progressing as well. The young kids' ski school day was broken up with some time indoors... playing and watching movies and eating (too bad I was a little old to join him in that class!)

By lunchtime, Benjamin seemed a little discouraged and I was just hoping he would make it through the day. I hoped he would keep his skis on and maybe even figure out how to side step.

After lunch, I was headed up the mountain to do some real skiing! woo hoo. I was excited and felt ready to tackle the slopes after spending the morning in the backyard. As we rode up and up... and up... and... up in the gondolas I was getting a little intimidated. But I kept telling myself that the instructor must know what he was doing taking us up the hill. By the time we got to the top I was okay and ready to take on whatever came my way. The view was breathtaking and I was bummed the only camera I had with me was my phone. I had an awesome time skiing all afternoon.

And, apparently, Benjamin had a fun afternoon too! He begged us to let him return to ski school the following day.

So, we signed him up and then got Don fitted for skis for Wednesday. This was a good day for me to take it easy with Samuel and Grace back at the hotel. Don and Samuel had spent the previous day doing some sledding and enjoying every minute of that adventure. While Grace had spent the day in child care at the military base. Samuel was fighting a cold and a bad cough and some down time was just what we needed.

So, after a morning of rest, we caught up with Benjamin and got to see him ski! Woo hoo! Day 2 of ski school and he was up on skis, going up the tow rope and skiing down a small portion of the backyard. I was so proud of him and I could tell he was having a great time.

Of course, he would have loved to ski another day but we decided to do some other activities during the rest of our stay in Garmisch. So, he reluctantly turned in his ski equipment and is already anxiously talking about his week at ski school next year!

Our Mr. Clean

Ever since Samuel was very young he has had a helpful spirit... and that hasn't changed. I try to put that interest in doing all things helpful to good use and today was no exception. Samuel LOVES Windex! More than likely, he is fascinated by the spray bottle because I think he would happily use up an entire bottle of the stuff in a very short time frame.

Anytime Samuel notices that I'm cleaning something he jumps into action. So, today once he finished helping with the dishes, he wiped down the stovetop, refrigerator, and the stainless steel garbage cans. He was loving it as much as I was! He kept asking "What else can I clean?" So, I sent him onto a mirror in the hallway and that's when he noticed that Grace was up from her nap. So, he made his way right into her room and decided that she needed some company. When I came to check how the mirror was coming along I discovered him in Grace's room... and Grace in her crib along with about 15 stuffed animals and toys that Samuel decided she needed. Grace was all smiles! Not only is he a helpful cleaner... he's a super big brother too.

Our Three Lil Monkeys

We have been enjoying a week full of wonderful weather here in Heidelberg! We have been spending lots of time outside rediscovering everything... and it's been fun and exhausting for the kids. Samuel has been earning some long naps after playing outside and Benjamin seems to conk out as soon as his head hits the pillow each night.

Grace on the other hand has been battling a cold and has been on the opposite extreme and has been insisting on spending a little extra awake time with me most nights and during the night. ugh.

I'm just not used to getting up with her throughout the night anymore and I'm hoping she gets over this cold and back to her normal sleeping-through-the-night routine again soon.

So, here are a few pictures of the kids outside... Grace all snuggled up in her stroller soaking up some sunshine, Samuel enjoying some time with his buddy Elmo (the bubble blowing machine) and Benjamin climbing down from what the kids call "the climbing tree." The climbing tree is a new discovery for Benjamin and he (and many of the neighborhood kids) are very into climbing on the tree... forget about all the nearby playgrounds, they'd rather climb on this poor tree. At any given time there may be four or more monkeys hanging from this tree's branches.

Hello Sunshine!

Grace after her morning nap today... waking up happy and enjoying a little time in her crib.

It was a gorgeous afternoon here after a rainy morning so we finally enjoyed a little sunshine and fresh air as I opened up the windows and let a nice breeze in.

The boys spent much of the afternoon playing outside. Now that the snow has melted and we've had some more rain, the ground is very muddy. Samuel went through four changes of pants today and Benjamin managed to go through three. Benjamin doesn't like the idea of having a speck of mud on him but Samuel was literally rolling in the dirt so he had to leave his pants at the door twice today! Such is the life of boys.

Farewell Frosty and Other Snowy Day Fun

It looks like our snow filled days in Heidelberg are coming to an end but I thought I'd share a few photos I took just last week. There was a snowman in our neighborhood that the boys were very fascinated with... mostly because the snowman's eyes were Oreo cookies! We walked by this tropical snowman on the way to Benjamin's kindergarten for about a week and managed to get a quick photo with the snowy friend before he melted away.

The other photos of Samuel and Don were taken last Monday (on Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Don had a four day weekend and took Samuel out sledding while Benjamin was at school. Samuel had a blast (of course) and I caught them having a little snowball fight outside our building when they returned. Then the snowball fight took a turn for the worst and they attempted to bombard me... who was innocently taking photos from our balcony above.

Silly me to think my camera and I were out of harms way since we were situated high above on the balcony. Watch out Winter Olympics... my boys can really hurl some mean snowballs!

Some Silly Video Clips of Grace

I captured a couple video clips of Grace recently. Last night she found the laundry basket to be quite the entertainment as she climbed in and out of it over and over again. The first time she attempted it I wasn't sure she'd be able to get back out of the basket once she got in there. But she proved me wrong... she found several different ways to escape out of the basket each time she crawled in.

Tonight she was laughing when I was tapping on a big ball. Her laugh just brightens my world.