Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! We hope everyone had a wonderful day! We had quite the international Thanksgiving, with 5 countries (and 4 continents) being represented at the table (none of them German - which is quite funny).  For me, it was quite fitting as I feel our new friends are a little bit like the Indians, and we are a little like the Pilgrims (with a fresh move, they have helped us so much to get settled into living in a new place). So Thankful for family and friends (both near and far), health, and possibilities! Happy Thanksgiving!

One of our favorite things from Thanksgiving - our table cloth with 14 years of gratitude! 

Our Turkey :-) 

New friends

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! 

A busy week!

Last week was the first time that I can remember that our family expanded across three countries. It was quite a busy week! We; celebrated 2 birthdays, had an awards banquet, sent Mia away for her 3 day trip, Sent Bryan off for a week back to the U.S., sent Camden off for a Soccer Tournament in Italy, had Basketball Cheer tryouts (Bailey), had my 4 hour daily German class (had to throw that in there too :-) , and had normal life in between all of it. Everyone is back home now, and everyone had a great week. Mia had a fantastic trip with her class (pictures to come), Bryan had a really nice trip, Camden had a blast with his team - (his crazy/fun team won the entire tournament - Camden kicked the winning goal to advance them to the finals where they beat Aviano, Italy (wish I could have been there to see it :-( ), and Bailey made the Cheer team for Basketball! We survived the week - just in time for the Thanksgiving/Christmas Season :-)

Camden playing at the finals  - the win here qualified them for the Italy Tournament - they were one happy bunch!

Bailey receiving her award at the awards banquet.... 

Bryan opening his gifts...

The kids all gathered at 5:00 am waiting for the bus to take them to Italy

The bus arrives...

and off they go... (we didn't make the trek down to see him play, but I think he had 10 times  the fun with his team ,that he would have had with us! Definitely one of the highlights of his time over here!

His team won the tournament!!!

Had to throw this in here too...My friends' husband has a Ostrich farm - really cool!

They are fun animals to watch! So fast!

so neat!

and here is a preview of Mia's pictures (we sent her with a camera - it was so cute to see what she took pictures of) Here is her bed. All of the girls slept in one room and all of the boys in another. Mia loved having a top bunk :-)

It finally happened.....

After 6 years of; hearing German, trying to understand German, trying to speak German, and finally immersing myself in German, I FINALLY had my first dream in German!!!!! I woke up this morning with a smile on my face :-) It made me very happy! I then asked Mia if she has ever dreamed in German and she responded - "of course! I dream often in German." Then I realized that I still have a long way to go - but baby steps are definitely exciting!!!!

4th Grade Trip

 I don't ever remember going away with my school on an overnight trip. When Bailey and Camden went to the German school, they each got to go away with their class. Camden went to a castle for 3 days and Bailey got to go skiing in the Austrian Alps for a week (not too shabby for a 7th grade trip!). Anyway, this week was Mia's turn. I am not sure if it is because she is my youngest or if I am in denial (or both), but it seems that I think of Mia as still being 5 years old. Usually, she is quite the Mamma's girl, but when I dropped her off to go on her trip she was quite the independent traveler and definitely very focused on the trip and not so much on me :-(. As hard as that was, it was very nice to see her happy and excited at her new school. Her class is heading to a castle for 3 days. They have to be responsible for all of their own things - which is a great lesson of organization and self confidence. It seems like they do these trips by design. It is more about the independence rather than the destination itself. Anyway, they will get to go on flashlight hikes, bake bread from an outside stone fireplace, watch weaving etc..  (I wish I could go too!). I sent Mia with a camera and asked if she might share her experience a bit when she gets home. She is always by my side, so it takes some getting used to having her gone. *As a funny side note too, there are no chaperones. Just her teachers - gotta love it! Camden's class will be heading to Munich soon and they are asking for 20 chaperones - crazy how the 4th graders seem to handle it just fine, yet they don't trust the 8th graders - it seems like something is wrong there? Anyway, Can't wait to hear all about her trip!!!

Leaving for school...

Very exciting! All of the kids were all packed and ready to go!

Making there way to the bus stop..

And off they go! Can't wait to hear all about it!!! 

Happy 16th Birthday Bailey!!!!

I can hardly believe that my oldest child is 16 years old! We celebrated an early birthday on Sunday with all of the things that Bailey enjoys. She opted for a family party, and I think (hope :-)) she had a great day. It is quite funny too, because while she is not able to drive at 16 over here (the driving age is 18), she is legal to drink Beer or Wine. Such differences in cultures!!! We are so proud of you Bailey and can't wait to see how the life that you have ahead of you reveals itself! You make us so happy and we are so grateful to be your parents!!!

Bailey at 16 years old! This was her school picture. I don't usually get the school pictures, but I really liked this one! 

A special morning Hot Chocolate prepared by Mia :-) 

16 gifts for 16 years - and one extra to grow on :-)

I love this girl!!!

Yes - one of her 16 gifts was a proper German Bier Glass and a Radler (a mixture of Sprite and Beer). The great thing is that she wanted to keep it in her room as a decoration (she didn't want to drink it). It goes to show you that just because you can, doesn't mean you will :-)

Mia made her a scarf of Money :-)

Happy 16th Birthday Bay! I love you so much!!!!

I absolutely adore these 3!!!!  

Prague - More pics...

The famous wall tribute to John Lennon 

On the bridge - our friends' daughter got a sketch made. Mia loved watching the artist in action...

This is the type of thing that you typically rub for good luck :-)

So many swans!

The swans seemed quite friendly - I guess they really wanted to keep receiving bread, so they were on their best behavior :-)

The famous Astronomical clock of Prague

Gorgeous!!!

We did not ride the carriage, but Mia loved looking at the horses :-)

So pretty!

Czech Republic - Prague pics

After leaving Jihlava, we went and stayed in Prague. Prague is a gorgeous city of about 1 million people, and is actually a sister city of Bamberg (had to mention that :-)). It is amazing to think that this gem was behind the iron curtain up until the curtain fell in 1989. Now it is completely filled with tourists from all over the world. Pretty neat! We had a great time walking around. We met up with some other friends there too for lunch one day. It is a very inexpensive city still compared to many other cities. It was a really nice week!

There is character in Prague everywhere you turn!

Our fancy dancy room :-) Lots of old in this city.

We were there for Halloween, but in Europe they are just kind of starting to celebrate Halloween. In a city with millions of tourists, we saw only 5 people dressed in costume (and we saw about 6 jack-o-lanterns too!)

The Charles Bridge kind of brings the city together - so much to see!

This was adorable... It was a back alley with a walkway to a restaurant on the river. In order to get there (because it was so narrow), they had a traffic light for pedestrians.  

So pretty all lit up at night!

Over looking the city...

The Cathedral at the top of the hill

So pretty!

Mia beside the guard at the Parliament building

Near the Monestery overlooking the vineyards

Had to laugh at this one...Often in cities, there is a special statue that you rub for good luck..... Oh my!!!

Mia and her friend beneath the Monastery. 

Our embassy