B.C.

June 20 - July 5

B.efore I got my C.amera and after my quick trip over the pond Alessandra and I had a few little get togethers.



On the 21st Dale had surgery on his knee.  Big bummer all around.  It did however give me a chance to run out to the Ranch and visit the Eich's.  Although we didn't get a lot of time with Grandpa we did get to spend the day with Oma.  We enjoyed SpaghettiO's and banana pudding.  We got to see a bunch of birds and horses and all in all had a great day.

Our first weekend we spent taking care of Dale except for when we slipped away for an afternoon to check out the zoo.  It was Alessandra's first time and she loved it.  Especially the elephants and monkeys.


After that came a very warm whirlwind of playdates, playground trips, and outings.

We got to see one of my friends from high school, Krista,  and her two little girls at Monkey Bizness.  So much fun and I was so glad I got to see her.

We also went to the Wild Life Experience.  It was my first time and to be honest I didn't expect it to be so awesome.  It was like the zoo but for Alessandra it was even better because it was shorter, inside, and she could easily find all the animals.

Alessandra and I made it out to the playground I used to play in when I was a kid.  Luckily, for Alessandra's sake, it has been fixed up a bit and she loved it.

A quick lunch date with my Jonesians, and a an ice cream social with Aunt Katy.  A lunch date with my Amber and Lisa - two of my very best friends from high school.  Some cupcakes, fro yo, hugs and giggles finished out our week.

The weekend found Alessandra and I at a Marrieds lake adventure.  It was AWESOME.  So relaxing and fun with plenty of sunshine and water to go around. By the end my cheeks were hurting as much as my heart.  My cheeks from smiling. My heart from the realization that these times are short and before I know it I'll be an ocean away from  all the people I care so much about.


A playdate picnic with my Oracle girls and some of the most beautiful babies in the world.

An extended family trip to the Butterfly Pavillion.  I got to hold a friendly little tarantula and Alessandra got some play time with her second cousins.

We got to see my Aunt Mary and most of her clan.  My cousin Jenna was sorely missed.  She was away on some archaeological expedition - no joke - so I didn't get to catch up with my Jennamerink this time around.

A Barbecue pool party with my Mom and Dale's good friends. to celebrate the 4th of July.  No firework shows this year because of all of the fires in CO so Alessandra had to settle with watching three different shows on t.v. You should have heard all of her owwwws and awwwws.  She loved it.  And we loved watching her.

The rest of the week was jam packed with errands/logistical chores.



It was a crazy couple of weeks and now that I look back on it I was Really Busy, even though I was itching to do and see more.  Isn't that just how it is.

Charmian

The Newest Marrieds

Welcome to the world little 

Keagan Thomas!!!

On this - your one month birthday - I want to officially induct you into the Marrieds.

You are now the youngest marrieds, 

knocking poor little Brady out of his very short reign.

You better get your rest because you have four little marrieds (not counting your big sister) 

and six big marrieds (not counting your folks) who can't wait to play with you.

I'm glad to see you're such a laid back traveler because 

you'll be doing a fair share of globetrotting before you know it.  

Already flexing - showing us those little guns!

Look at that face - I have a feeling you're not going to have any problem keeping up 

and you'll be giving all of the kiddos a run for their money before we know it.

Happy Boy!

But not nearly as happy as we are to have you here with us!

Welcome to your extended marrieds family little Keagan.

Charmian

Marrieds Baby Bumps

Our Marrieds are growing by leaps and bounds.

I may be biased, but I do believe those are the most adorable baby bumps ever!

First time Dad, Luke, is super stoked!!!

While second timer Todd is already trying to mellow out his little man.

All in all it was a pretty typical marrieds - we ate, we drank, we talked, the kids played, the babies slept.

And because I was there, we capped off the evening with a very squished squishy!

I love you guys and I miss you all SOOOOOO much!

Charmian

F is for...

Friends

Fountains

Flowers

Finding Out

Flowers

Fruit Bars

Flowers

 

Forty Winks 

  

Flowers

Fotos

Friends

Fast Foot Races

Flowers

Feeding

Flowers

Fish

Flowers

Funny

  

Flowers

Fussy

Friends

F is for an absolutely Fabulous day at the botanical gardens with your girlfriends.

Charmian

Twists

One of my best friends Kendra found out that my mom was going to buy some baby gear for my little trip.  She thought it was totally ridiculous and insisted I use all of her stuff while I was in town.  This is Alessandra enjoying the loaner car seat.  Alessandra is a funny Pea.  She doesn't love her paci but she does occasionally want to suck.  And if she wants to suck and her paci isn't readily available she'll go with whatever she can get her hands on.  Sometimes she sucks her thumb, sometimes her sleeve (which her Daddy absolutely can't stand) and today it was the tip of the hat from the upside down Santa bib she was wearing.  (Yes it's the end of May and I have my daughter in a Santa bib).  

As you can see she was pretty comfy in her loaner.  

After a short nap and some play time at the Reps we headed out for a walk through downtown Parker to the fro-yo shop.  Kendra and I daydreamed of how awesome life would be if we lived on the same continent, in the same country, in the same state, and even in the same town.  We could go for walks just like I do with Katrin.  Our kiddos could play and grow up together, and the thought made my heart ache.  I would love that so much, but at the same time I love what we have in Germany.  

I love this life that we are living our way.  Cutting our own trails and getting the bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes that go along with being a trail blazer.  I know, I know, we aren't the first expats - we aren't even the first in our families.  However, we are still a little bit crazy and love a little bit of adventure.  We may be back in Colorado before the end of the year but we may be able to stay in Germany for a few years.  And if Jon and I had our way that's what we'd choose.  We'll see where this life takes us but for now, on this little vacation of mine I'll appreciate having my girlfriends close, and our families close.  I'll get as many hugs and lunch dates and parties as I can.  And then I'll go home, to Germany, and wish I was back in Colorado again.

Charmian  

Heading to Berlin

This morning turned out to be an eventful one.  We were heading to Berlin today and our dog sitter had a change of plans and wasn't going to be able to puppy/house-sit after all.  So there we were scheduled to catch a train in 4 short hours and we don't have anyone to take care of the girls.  Jon was asking some of his classmates while I hopped online to see what I could dig up.  The marrieds made it over to our flat all packed up and ready to go.  I told them about our little predicament and the boys went into fix-it mode while the girls helped with the puppy arrangements, the kids, and tying up the loose ends around the flat.

Have I mentioned in the last few posts how much I love these people!!!!

If you haven't gotten it, let me tell you again - I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!!  They are amazing!

So the boys headed to the train station to take all the bags and to pick up some dog food.  They dropped the bags off in lockers so we would have one less thing to think about when we were trying to board the tram - all 5 adults, 4 kids, and 3 strollers worth.  After that they headed back to our flat just in time for us to pack everyone up and head back to the train station.

We were all go, go, go, until we got to the train station and found out we couldn't take the train we were planning on - so we grabbed a bite and hopped a squat.  Jon was finally able to catch up with us after he got the dogs taken care of with the kennel (they actually came to the flat and picked them up, they didn't speak any English but luckily Jon's German is better than he lets on.)

We caught the train and enjoyed our short ride to Berlin.  We managed to get off and out to the taxis with only a little sweat off our brows.  Jon, and the Reps were in the first taxi and I was with the Enfumes in the second.  Jon's taxi pulled away and that's when our taxi driver told us the babies couldn't go.  I guess this afternoon was pretty eventful too.

Jeremy - My protector
Photo by Kendra

I quickly called Jon and told him our predicament.  He told me to take Jeremy (not Heather because he wanted Jeremy to be there to protect me - isn't he sweet) and catch a tram to the flat we were renting in Berlin.

Okay switch on Amazing Race mode:
First objective - find where we are on the map.
Second objective - find where we want to be on the map.
Third objective - find the trams that run from point A to point B.
Fourth objective - find the place that sells tram tickets.
Fifth objective - figure out what tickets we need to buy.
Sixth objective - catch the tram.
Seventh objective - get a beverage!

Done and Done!!!

Watch out Berlin, here we come!!!

Catch Up

Today we did a little catch up.

Seeing and doing all the things we haven't had a chance to do yet.

We Played at the Park.

Alert!

Alert!

We interrupt this playful post to bring you this 

Breaking News:

Giraffe-girl escapes from the zoo!

Giraffe-girls are closely related to Droolopotamus'

She has been known to slobber 

on everything she can get her hands on...

...and if she can't get her hands on it 

she'll bring her tongue to it. 

If you find her, smother her with hugs and kisses until the proper authorities can be notified.  

But you have been warned!

We'll now return you to your regularly scheduled post.

 We ate at Kildare's Irish Pub.

We saw where a famous guy was buried.

We saw a couple cool organs in a couple of pretty churches.

We saw a Rathause.

We bowled!

So in a nutshell, we had a very full, very fun day.

Charmian

all photos in this post provided by Kendra - Thanks Ken!