The Bathroom Renovation

O.K. The only reason that I am writing about this is because as a stay at home Mom, you don't always get such huge feelings of accomplishment. A checkbox off your list can sometimes (sadly :-)) be extremely satisfying!!! Even though it seems so trivial and even though it is definitely not the most gorgeous bathroom renovation in the history of Bathroom renovations - I could not be more excited about the finished product for many reasons....

The first being that the green 1950's Bathroom tile was beyond hideous and the bathtub was (to be honest) just yucky. Not to mention the toilet with a "shelf" - yes, I am not sure if this type of toilet ever existed in the U.S., but here (back in the day), the toilet bowl had a flat shelf on it, which you can imagine is not the most pleasant thing. So to be gone with the yucky tub, the green tile, and the toilet shelf - is quite thrilling in isteslf. Another thing that is different here is that the tile is not just used on the floor, but all over the walls too, so the green tile was amplified times 10, with the fact that it ran up the walls too. Sometimes it is even wall to ceiling (I think it has something to do with preventing the very common problem of mold).

Even more thrilling about this renovation though, was the fact that we organized it with non English speaking Electricians, Plumbers, and Tile guys all by ourselves. Frankly, I am amazed that we pulled it off (and living over an hour a way now to boot). Yes - the new room is not the most modern thing or the most decorative (it is a very typical plain German Bathroom) - but it is new and it is clean and most importantly, it is finished! Yeah! So happy to have that crossed off  my list!

Here is the old tub - isn't it gorgeous (don't you love the green tile :-))

"Bad" means Bath in German - gotta love the door decoration :-)

This was Bryan (2 1/2 years ago, ripping down the lovely Sea Horses and pink wall paper from the previous owner :-) 

And this was in March - the beginning of the destruction (the bathtub had to be removed)

And lots of old stone, brick, piping, and cement to be lugged off (houses here are not made of wood - they are made of cement) These buckets are heavy!!!

And the new Bathroom - very plain, but...

very clean,  bright, and spacious

and no more green tile!!! Yeah!!!

And even though, it isn't always easy - we are so glad to still have a little piece of Bamberg!

Prom 2015

Bailey went to the prom this weekend. It was a Junior/Senior prom (she is a sophmore), but she went with a big group of friends (no dates) and they all had such a great time. She has such a nice group of friends at her school and has kind of been taken under the wing by several of the older kids. When we moved here, I was the most worried about Bailey finding her nitch, but she has really loved the friends and experiences that she has had this year. In the morning all 4 soccer teams played at home. So afterwards, half the varsity gilrs soccer team went to one of the players' houses to get ready for the prom all together. They all then went to another friends' house whose parents are from the Philippines and cooked them up a delicious dinner (unbelievably generous to feed 20 plus kids!!!). And here is where the big differences start with living in a foreign country. They all took a taxi to the prom (yes - only a couple of kids in the school have drivers' licenses - and yes a taxi is a very common mode of transportation here).  The other huge difference is that the legal drinking age is 16. Oh yes - quite different.  Because it is legal though, it is not such a big deal. Bailey had such a great time and it will definitely be one of the really fun memories of high school!

She had so much fun!

Bailey and her friend Sarah who she has cheered both Seasons with and plays soccer with too! 

Such a great group of girls!!!

Soccer Season

Bailey and Camden are both in the midst of Soccer Season. Bailey tried out for her High School and started out the first game as one of a couple of players who would be switching between JV and Varsity, but got moved up to starting on Varsity. She made her first goal of the Season last week and is having so much fun with it. She thinks of herself much more as a cheerleader than a soccer player, so it is funny to see her being so aggressive on the field. Her team is not fairing so well this season as a whole, but she is having such a great time anyway. Camden had his first game last week and it was so funny because he is on a new team this season and the game was against his old coach's team (and many of the players from his old team). The team that he was on was such a tight group and it is hilarious to watch the guys tease each other and "talk smack" (all in fun of course) - truly hilarious!!! They ended up tying in the end - which was probably a good thing because if one of the teams won, the other team never would have lived it down. So grateful for these opportunities! Both of the kids are really enjoying the soccer season. We tease Mia that she should play Fussball (soccer in German), but she has absolutely no interest - she says she'll stick to tennis :-)

Bailey's team has such a great group of girls on it!

My little point and shoot Camera...

did not do too bad...

trying to take ...

a few action shots :-)

At Camden's practice, sometimes the pilots fly so low, that the kids wave to them (and they wave back :-)) Not so typical!!!

And I look at this picture and can't believe that this guy will soon be 15!

again...

so fun to watch!!!

Lake Bled, Slovenia and Misc. Photos

We had one of the most interesting experiences one night while we were there. We went for a short walk into one of the villages nearby and this dog came running out and barking at us. It scared us quite a bit, but you could also sense that the dog was just protecting his owners. A nice lady came running out and apologized profusely for her dog chasing us. She was so kind and took us out to see her horse and then invited us in to her home for a drink. I won't go into detail, but it was evident that even though they had so little, they were so generous and giving of what they had. It just makes you want to be a better person. Her kindness definitely stuck in my heart.

On our way back up to Germany, we drove through Slovenia and stopped at a famous lake called Lake Bled. It was quite touristy, but gorgeous nonetheless. We had such a fantastic week with the Hatcher Family. I can always tell truly how much it meant to me, when my heart has a pit in it after the goodbyes. We all had the same pit :-( So many fun memories to cherish though and so grateful for each one!!!!

Lake Bled, Slovenia (you can see the snow still in the Alps)

Bled Castle (notice the crane - things are always being restored :-))

The reflections were gorgeous!!!

So glad to have my friend Amy there to snap a few family photos :-) We rarely get them - so this was great!

Our friends in the yard where we stayed :-)

Beautiful!!

This was the dog - after his owner came out he was super friendly. Not so friendly before though :-)

The sun set, near the small vineyar on the way out to the horse...

We weren't quite sure where she was taking us :-) 

Her Horse was so nice too!

The next day, we brought all of the kids back to give him carrots...

A Happy Bunch!

Rabac, Croatia

The last 2 days of our trip we spent in Rabac. The water was amazingly clear and I could have easily spent another week just in this town alone. It reminded me of the Caribbean, but with the rocky coast instead of sand. So pretty!!!!

In the morning, the water was mostly blue...

But as the sun came up, it became a brilliant turquoise...

We had pizza at the same restaurant for lunch both days - so yummy (the Aperol Spritz was quite nice too :-))

The kids loved playing on the rocks and made a small fort.

And enjoyed yummy ice cream too!

yes - I could have spent many more days here :-)

and I think the kids could have too!

so pretty!

you could even see star fish, 30 plus feet down...

Rovinj, Croatia

Rovinj is a well known town on the Coast. It was probably the most touristy place that we went that week - but even so, it didn't really seem too touristy at all. It is a beautiful little place with oodles of character!

Cuba is in the news a lot now for being so untouched by time (and commercialism). I definitely felt like this part of Croatia had that similar vibe. You would see adorable old cars like this, Wild Goats crossing the street, people doing everything by hand etc. It was quite refreshing and so neat to see!

This little fella found a yummy fish to munch on :-)

The is the City of Rovinj (The Church Bell Tower dominates the view)

All of the colors were so cool!

It was great to get so many family pictures this trip!!!

I was excited to see this Picasso exhibit sign. The same exhibit had already made it through our little town  in Germany earlier this year and Mia's class went to see it. 

Lots of the scenery reminded me of Venice (which is just across the Adiratic)

Mia being goofy :-)

We did not see much extravagant wealth on this trip - but this boat definitely stood out. It was from the Caribbean and was fun to look at :-). I think I prefer the little blue boat in the picture above though :-)

Such a great group of kids!!!

Sometimes - you just wish that you can freeze time!!!

 

I loved our little (Ok 12 might not be so little :-)) travel group!!!

This was the bell tower climb. With no liability in Europe, the tower steps are sometimes quite interesting. Everyone did great though and made it to the top!

And the view....

was....

spectacular!!!

3 cute girls at the top!!!

Such a beautiful....

place!!!!