Week 6: Back to life in Munich!

We were happy to be back in Munich! Monday, our first day back, we took it easy. I looked for some rain pants for the boys, but no luck. I also walked past the ATM that stole my card, and there's a big paper taped over it now. I'm sad I had to be the one who found out it was out of order, but grateful no one else lost their card. 

Look at these beautiful, wide, flat sidewalks! We were so happy to be back.

Hugh's new nickname, One Shoe Wonder. He's always taking one shoe off, and it never bothers him that it's only one!

The sad ATM machine

I was cooking dinner, and the boys really wanted to watch! 

Tuesday was a warmer day, so we hit up a water park. I love these sand parks that have water! The boys love playing and it provides plenty of entertainment for the morning. Hugh loves these parks the most. He doesn't mind the feel of the sand everywhere and will get as dirty as he possibly can. It's fun to watch him embrace the water play! We stopped by a little bakery on the way home to get some treats, and the lady offered the boys free little croissants. They were so cute, and the boys were so happy! 

Free croissants! 

Just a beautiful neighborhood street.

Wednesday and Thursday were more fun park adventures. There were several parks along our walking path, so we made the most of it and stopped at every single one. One of the parks grabbed Jay's attention a little more, but it was a bit of a struggle day. I think Jay was starting to get sick, so he didn't feel super well. Plus, the rain the night before made the parks wet and some of the slides wet or muddy which is never very fun. The park we found on Thursday was super fun and it entertained the boys all morning. Hugh was feeling very sick, so he mostly stayed in the stroller or in the swing. I was grateful he didn't venture over to the water area. 

Jay wanted to help with dishes, so he washed while we finished eating. He was drenched by the end! I say to say "ta-da!" and this is how he posed! 

We all had fun trying to balance the rings on our heads Wednesday evening. 

A cool church clock tower that I think we hear chiming every now and then.

We had some guys working on installing a shelf in our bathroom and Jay was soooo curious. Luckily, they were very good sports and kind to let him be so close and watch.

Friday we did our grocery shopping and many loads of laundry. We only went to the grocery store twice this week, which was a huge win! We got what we needed, including some pretzel snacks and headed home to play at a nearby park. It was sprinkling a little when we left, but I knew we needed to get out. I convinced myself it would just continue to sprinkle. It did just lightly sprinkle for our first 20 minutes at the park, but then it started to come down hard. When it was starting to come down, Hugh decided he wanted to climb up the playground. I ran over to him to spot him, and he climbed all the way up. I wanted to get my shoes, but my feet were so sandy and wet it wasn't going to be fast enough for how high Hugh was continuing to go. So, I hopped onto the playground barefoot. I don't know how kids do it! Owww! All the rope bridges hurt like crazy, I had to carry Hugh all the way across those because his feet are small enough they just fall through the holes. When we finally got to the slide, Hugh wasn't ready to go down. I waited, hoping the rain would let up but it got heavier and the slide got wetter. I eventually just had to get brave enough to go down and embrace the wet and sandiness that accompanied my ride. Jay also decided to walk across the single rope bridge and I was terrified. This particular bridge is between 10-15 feet off the ground. I watched as he started and hoped he would turn around like he usually does when he feels unsafe. He didn't, he kept going. He got scared in the middle, but as I talked him through it, he made it! He was so proud and happy when he got to the other side! And, I was so relieved! I hoped I would be able to catch him or at least slow the fall if he did fall, but I was nervous. I also knew I couldn't walk it with him, he had to do it alone because I couldn't safely navigate that bridge myself and be prepared to catch him. So many Gospel parallels I am noticing as I read this. Heavenly Father lets us choose the path we'll take. Sometimes those choices lead us down skinny scary paths. He's there, always, to cheer us on and help us through. He won't take away the challenges, but he's there to help us with the strength, courage, and confidence to keep going! 

This fun horse is in all the stores called "dm"

This is the rope bridge Jay did, of course I couldn't take a pic and spot him.

Hugh, climbing up!

I put as much laundry on the rack as I could, drying costs 4.60E a load (almost 5 dollars), so I wanted to save some money.

Hugh's so close to reaching the button

Saturday we went to Dachau Concentration Camp. We all took the train to Dachau together, and then Matthew went to the camp first. I took the boys to a super fun park! It had rained the night before and we forgot our sand toys, so we weren't totally set up for success. Regardless, they had a fun time. Hugh was starting to feel better and loved climbing up the tower and to the slide. Jay climbed around some, went down the slide a few times, and then was ready to go. He was pretty tired most of the day, so I think he caught a variation of what Hugh had. We joined up with Matthew at Dachau after he'd finished his tour of the museum, barracks, and bunker. We walked out to the crematorium together, so this was the first place I saw. As you read the signs walking through, they told victims they would be showering, showering in gas, then they would burn them. It was horrifying to see. We also saw the wall (aka SS Firing Range) where they shot prisoners and the ditch they'd fill with the bodies and make other prisoners bury the dead. The museum did a great job of outlining the truth of what happened, including to specific prisoners of all kinds (not just Jews). There was some video footage playing on a small screen, but I could hardly watch. Everyone looked so sickly and it broke my heart. It was a horrifying, humbling, and somber experience. I think it's good to learn about and to know about. We need to learn from history to be sure we never repeat it. Elder Cook this past conference said, "Given our “likeness” before God, it makes little sense to emphasize our differences. Some have wrongly encouraged us “to imagine people to be much more different from ourselves and from each other than they actually are. [Some] take real but small differences and magnify them into chasms." This quote was shared on Sunday in Relief Society and it reminded me so much of the Holocaust. We can choose to find likeness in those around us and become one through Christ! That is our job while here on the earth. To love, and to share Christ's love with everyone.

Can you see Jay?!

Beautiful walk along the canal

Main camp entrance

One of the watch towers

Between the Bunker and the Museum, which was the kitchen or place for Officers

Cell door in the bunker, these rooms were so small. Some used to fit 6 prisoners standing as torchure. 

There were 30 bunkers at Dachau, none of the original structure remain but the foundations are there.

Crematorium

Post nap snuggles that I loved! 

Sundays are beautiful days and a favorite of mine. There were some very good talks given in Sacrament meeting about how we should be grateful we can meet in English, but realize we have no right as we are in Germany. They also talked about how our Gospel learning should be home centered, church supported. This truly hit me as I thought about teaching my children at home. Think about it? What if you went to church every week in a different language and didn't understand anything? How much would you learn? It would be very difficult! However, we are counseled by our Church leaders that our Gospel learning should be at home. At home is where I can and should be teaching my children the Gospel. There's no way they will learn everything they need to know about Jesus and Heavenly Father in a 20 minute lesson on Sundays in Primary. Matthew and I have a big responsibility! On our way home from church, we did our 20 minute walk to the station and realized we forgot Jay's backpack. We headed back to the church. It was hot, so we were all not super happy about returning. My friend grabbed Jay's backpack and because her daughter was sick, she had a few extra seats in her van and took us home. Her service saved us more than an hour of our time, late naps, hangry kids, and much more. I was so grateful! Plus, our stroller fit in her trunk, which was another miracle. We went for a Sunday afternoon walk through Olympiapark and enjoyed time together as a family! Matthew also took the boys outside to play while I made dinner on Saturday night and Sunday, which was a very nice break! It's much more enjoyable to cook when you don't have screaming children and divided attention.