At first thought, as I tried to recollect our experiences over the past month, I was not feeling very optimistic. I feel as if we have been struggling with one health fiasco after another. Not to mention, the never ending, lingering 'cold/flu' that seems to hit this time of year. But after looking through our pictures, I realized we still had a lot of fun in between. I probably need to learn something from that...and start having a better attitude and showing more gratitude for what we have. We have been listening to General Conference today, and Elder Uchtdorf's talk really hit home. I want to be the person who truly has an attitude of gratitude, no matter the circumstances. We are so blessed. And I truly do feel that way. There is no other place I would rather be right now, and no other people I would rather be sharing my time with right now. My little family is so special to me--I love them more than I can say. And my faith in the Gospel gets me through the occasional bumps in the road--for that I am especially grateful.
Around the beginning of the month, Germany celebrated their version of Mardi Gras, called Fasching. We heard about a parade in Ramstein village, so I braved the crowds along with the three kiddos. I do feel like I am getting better at going everywhere and anywhere with all three. We have had a lot of practice since moving here ;). It was a gorgeous day. Sunny and warm. And everyone was healthy! So we had a fabulous time. We found some friends from the ward and stood together while watching the parade. The people in the parade just walk down the road literally throwing candy at everyone (as in, I got pelted in the head by a hard candy and it actually hurt!). The kids loved it, and we left with a nice bag full of candy.
This giant chocolate covered pretzel was the highlight of the day for me! Yum!!
On St. Patrick's day, we were at the BX shopping. Nathan met up with us after work and we decided to have dinner at Chiles.
I always buy these little bundles of 'soup vegetables' from the German stores. I love them.
I don't know why I've waited so long to give Violet a hair cut. Call it fear of losing those little curls, or call it laziness. Either way, we finally took the plunge and I even did it myself! It was a good experience, and now she asks me every other day if she can 'take a haircut'.
We have had a very unusual winter here in Germany. We never really got snow, and it has been mostly sunny during the month of March! We have been loving it.
Playgroup at the Wild Animal Park. I love the double teeter totter approach.
The Young Women had a Fundraiser for Girls Camp. It was a Cafe Rio Dinner with a dessert auction. We realized super late in the game that we hadn't planned any decorations. So I pulled this together the night before. A little paper garland, confetti, and tulips from Aldis and we were good to go!
After setting up for the fundraiser, I found out that downtown Kaiserslautern (city where the church is located) was having a 'fabric market' that day. I was already there so I decided last minute to take the stroller and walk downtown to check it out. It wasn't too far and it was a nice day. I found some cute pieces and got the kids their first ice cream of the season! Win for all of us.
Every now and then, I actually try to pull something creative together for my kids to do (i.e., Pinterest). This Sunday morning we added food coloring to some milk and painted our bread. It was a huge hit!
I have been trying so hard to get Sawyer into preschool, to no avail. The poor kid is starting to go crazy. He tells me at least 10 times a day that he is bored. So I put him in the only available sport on base--pre-karate tech. He is LOVING it. I was a little worried that it would just make him more aggressive. But not so far. I have actually been impressed to see how disciplined he has been during the class and how much he wants to learn/pay attention. It gives me hope for kindergarten!
I was cleaning up breakfast one morning (Nougat Bits--nothing but the best for my kids, lol)...found Ariel taking a dip.
We finally made it out on a date! Well, sorta. We took Isla along. It was a dinner date to a nearby Italian restaurant...and Isla was really good so it was fun. Went with our friends, the Barons, and decided it was Zach and Isla's first date.
Just some pics of Isla Bea...getting so big. She's got 2 bottom teeth and is working on cutting the top four right now.
And she learned how to drink from a straw! Yay!
Another attempt at creativity. I said, make some shapes with tooth picks and marshmallows. I showed them how to make a triangle, square, etc. Left the room for a minute and when I came back, Sawyer had created this huge 3D thingy. He was way more creative than me!
First ice cream cone at Ikea
Scored a some free bunk beds on the Ramstein Yardsales a couple weeks ago. I painted them white. And I hated every minute of the process...but I love the result! Their room is finally starting to look 'put together'. And I have no energy to paint the walls, so I'm thinking they will just stay yellow the whole time we are here. Not my favorite, but who cares!
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