Edelweiss

Edelweiss is a Lodge/Resort located in the Bavarian Alps and let me tell you it is BEAUTIFUL!!! It really is a little piece of paradise and I did not want to leave. We went up for the weekend with some friends and we are already planning a trip back for this winter. We didn't make any plans or have any schedules, we were all able to just hang out and relax. The kids had a great time too! On Saturday went for a walk, found the playground and let the kids run around for a little bit, then we went to Eibsee which is a gorgeous lake just down the road. We hung out and bar-b-que'd while the kids played in the freezing cold water. We tried to get them to only put their feet in but they were having such a good time they didn't care. Then we went back to the lodge, rested, swam in the pool, and had dinner.

Sunday Israel and I decided it would be fun to jump off a mountain! That's right we went paragliding and it was AWESOME! Unforutnately after we landed we had to pack our bags and head back home. :)

Boats make Mommy nervous!

We went back to Ohmbachsee yesterday because Monkey been asking to ride the paddle boats since she saw them. It was pretty neat, but let me tell you...my daughter and cold dark water make me want to have a heart attack! She actually did really well, and stayed in her seat. I guess I'm just a nervous Mommy.

Play at Home Mom and Kool Aid Tie Dye

I just wanted to share an awesome blog that I found a few weeks ago called Play At Home Mom ( http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/ ) They have awesome ideas and activities to do with your children. Today Monkey and I made a Kool Aid Tie Dye Tshirt. It was so much fun and really easy. Play at home mom reminds you that it's okay to make a mess sometimes! :) Thanks!

Mudpies and Flowers

It finally stopped raining long enough for us to get out of the house!!! :) So what a better thing to do than play in the mud?!? That's right there is a park here that specificly allows the kids to make mudpies!Ohmbachsee in Greis. We had a blast, especially going down the giant slide!

We also finally got a chance to pick some fresh flowers. I don't know if there is a specific name for this but people grow flower gardens and you can just stop on the side of the road, pick a bouquet and drop some money in a little lock box depending on the size of your bouquet. Of course now it's cold and gloomy again, but it was fun while it lasted.

Yummy Breakfast

The weather was pretty miserable today so we stayed inside, but Monkey did help make breakfast this morning. I usually let her "scramble" the eggs in a bowl but today I let her prep it all. I was a little afraid of what kind of mess we would end up with but it wasn't bad. Actually after she cracked 2 eggs she was done with that part. She did like the slimy feeling on her hands. hahahaha! Breakfast was pretty yummy :)

Dachau and Hohenschwangau

This weekend was awesome! We got a group together (10 people in 2 cars) and traveled to see the Dachau Concentration Camp and Hohenschwangau Castle. We also planned on going to Munich and the Neuschwanstein Castle but we didn't make it to everything. That's okay though, it just means we have some more trips to take!

We stayed with an aweseome German family for the weekend. They are amazing for letting TEN strangers, including 2 babies. into their homes. They served us breakfast and Monkey got to pick raspberries, strawberries, and cherries out of their garden, and they knew tons of history of the area. We weren't quite sure what to expect while driving to their house but it sure wasn't all that! I will seriously never forget them.

On Saturday we got up, ate breakfast of traditional Bavarian Sausage and Pretzels with sweet mustard. We also had rolls with homemade honey and jelly! We then made the treck to the Dachau Concentration Camp. We went in planning on just walking around on our own, but somehow we ended up getting mixed up with a group and a tour guide; no one told us to leave so we just followed along. It was a sad experience to hear about all the things that happened there but it was very interesting to see and learn about. After spending all day at the Concentration Camp we headed to dinner at König von Flandern in Augsburg. I was a little intimidated by the menu options at first but everything we ordered was delicious! Some local guys came in a with a boom box while we were eating. One of the guys started talking to us and asked if we wanted to see them dance, then he called over one of his friends who jumped up on a chair and started dancing. It was hillarious!!!! After dinner we headed back to the house where the guys drank freshly brewed beer from a local brewery. I tasted it and wasn't a fan but the guys liked it. I'm wierd and don't really care for German beer. :O

Sunday we woke up and again had breakfast of eggs and crossiants; Yummy! Then went to the castles. We were supposed to see the Neuschwanstein Castle but the tour didn't start until almost 6pm and the guys had to work that night and we still had a 3 1/2 hour drive home so we went to the Hohenschwangau Castle instead. We took a horse drawn carriage ride up to the castle and then went on a tour of the inside. Afterwards we grabbed McDonald's which was crazy busy and not the greatest experience for any of us but the food was good and like I said, we needed to get back on the road.

The trip home....rediculous! We got stuck in traffic several times, almost ran out of gas TWICE, and our 3 1/2 hour trip turned in to a 5 1/2 hour trip! Needless to say we were glad to be home and out of the car, but all in all it was a really good weekend.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Happy Belated Independence Day!!!! We had a crazy busy weekend full of birthday parties, 4th Of July celebrations, and just family fun!

Friday we celebrated an early 4th with some friends at their house, Saturday we went to the Independence Day Carnival on base. We rode the ferris wheel, and Monkey went on a few other rides, some bouncy castles, and even got her face painted. She wanted a pony but the painter couldn't do it so she settled for a kitty, and she was a pretty darn cute kitty if I do say so myself. She LOVED the fireworks show, and keeps asking to go back to watch the "fire". Sunday we went to the movies and saw Cars 2. Israel didn't care for it too much, I thought it was cute though. Then after the movies we went and played at the park. By the time Monday (the actual 4th of July) we were so exhausted we just stayed home, made fork paintings(painting with a fork instead of paintbrush) and folded laundry. FUN! Ha!

Flowers

If you do not know yet, I am horrible at keeping plants alive :O but I thought it would be fun for Monkey, and a sweet lady at the flea market we attended over the weekend gave us some supplies so we planted them today. One thing I thought was cool is that the planters we have are biodegradeable so once our plants start growing we can plant the whole pot in the ground. Of course Monkey got a little over excited with the water and thought it would be fun to plant flowers and peas all over our front porch too but we had a lot of fun...until I locked us out of the house that is. Hahaha!!! Yeah so most houses in Germany do not have door knobs on the outside of their doors. So in order to enter you HAVE to have the key. I went inside to get more water and forgot I did not have the key and shut the door behind me on my way back out. :/ After 30 minutes of ring the door bell, knocking, and yelling for Israel to open up I finally resorted to throwing rocks at our bedroom window to get his attention (he was sleeping). Oops!

The last picture is actually a pea plant that we planted on Saturday really quick. Monkey wanted to watch them grow, but I think she thought it would just pop up as soon as I planted it...however we do have a little bloom, and its only been five days. Hopefully all of the others take well also.

ETA: and the first picture is of Monkey ring the doorbell trying to wake up Daddy to let us in. Hahaha

Yum Yum

The weather is finally nice outside!!!! We went for a walk, and Monkey played in the pool while I hung some clothes out on the line. Then we made Carne Guisada, Tortillas, Rice, and Beans (okay so I cheated on the beans a just opened a can). Monkey had so much fun helping me knead the dough and roll out the tortillas.

a kite and colored ice

The weather has been kinda gloomy here lately but we were able to get out a few times this week. Monkey has enjoyed flying her kite. We hadn't used it since last summer, but she found it the other day and immediately wanted to play with it.
I also found an awesome blog
http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/
that has great ideas for activites to do. We made colored ice cubes. It was a great success. I put out a few kitchen utensils and away the kids went. You definately want to make sure they're wearing old clothes though.

Happy Father's Day!!!

Today was a pretty relaxing day, partly by choice and partly by the nasty rain outside. Either way though we had a good day. Monkey made her daddy some pictures and we ate BBQ ribs. Yes Hubby BBQ'd in the rain :)

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day!!!

Third Time's The Charm

Okay, I have let this go twice before. Let's see if I can keep up with it this time. I decided to delete my (few) previous posts and start fresh, so here we go....

My name is Jackie, I am a stay at home mommy to one sweet and very outspoken and opiniated 2 year old. My hubby is in the U.S. Air Force and we are currently stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany. I enjoy sewing, cooking, and spending time with my family. There are really no specifics to what this blog will be about, I suppose just my general ramblings about whatever comes to mind and the activities we have been doing so that we are able to keep our friends and family up to date.

Monkey and I have just returned from spending a few months in Texas and are hopefully finally getting back into our regular routine.