Week 8 - Our First Visitors!

Monday started with a bang! The raining evening worried me, but the morning turned out really nice. We walked up to ALDI and did a big grocery haul. I wanted to buy all of the dry, expire-proof items I could for the next two weeks while Grandma and Grandpa are here. Hopefully this will help our grocery trips be a little simpler and shorter. It was a heavy stroller coming back, but it feels good to be stocked up a bit. When we arrived back, the apartment was clean! That means the cleaning ladies got the memo to come in the morning! Yayyyy! Hopefully we won't have any more evening, dinner, or naptime visits. The boys were thoroughly entertained by the lift workers outside who were fixing nearby windows. I unpacked all the groceries and got everything ready for the park while they were still watching, it was amazing. Once their fascination was over, we went to the park. Jay did the scary bridge again, this time I trusted him a little more so I snapped a picture but was still very close. They loved the sand and we were lucky we got to enjoy a dry park playtime. 

The basket below the stroller has groceries, and these two bags hanging from the handle are loaded. 

So much fun to watch the "guy up there in the tractor!"

There he is, doing it! 

Tuesday was a fun day! We went to a park more in the city with water and a little less shade. I didn't expect it to be hot, so I didn't expect the boys would get very wet. There were some big kids at the park who made the water look too fun and everyone ended up getting wet and sandy. Sand and water are necessary evils of almost every park here, so I am getting used to cleaning the boys up. I thought the boys were very tired, but they must have known something was up because they wouldn't nap. Jay finally fell asleep 10 minutes before I left to go get Grandma and Grandpa from the airport. He wasn't thrilled I was waking him up until I told him that we were going to go find Grandpa. Immediately, his eyes filled with excitement and he was willing to do anything necessary to get on the road. We got to the airport train station just a couple minutes after Grandma and Grandpa! Jay was excited about their suitcases and to take them on the train. Although I am sure they could have made it here on their own, it was fun to show them the first sites of Germany on the train ride home. Hugh was mister chatty on the way home, which was very fun to listen to as we rode the train. 

Hugh loves slides he can do all by himself

I spy a little Jay! I thought it was cool they build a slide into the hill too. 

Can you see how much he loves this?

We got Grandpa and Grandma! 

This was our second train, and almost home! 

Wednesday we got to take Grandpa on our morning walk to a park! We walked through Olympia park and stopped at a bakery on our way. The bakery gave us ammo to keep the boys awake on the walk home. The park we went to was another sand/water park which the boys loved. It was a big park, and I was grateful for Grandpa's extra eyes and hands to help take care of the boys. They always like to go in different directions. 

Jay, Hugh, Grandpa

Very fun water table and play area here. 

Jay loved kicking the ball to Grandma at the park

Hugh learned very quickly how to say Grandma and it's very sweet

Jay convinced Grandpa to come up with him

Grandma reading a book to Hugh, and Jay sneakily listening

Thursday we went to Marienplatz in the morning. Grandpa's dad, Blaine Jay Blaylock, who Jay is named after, took a picture of Marienplatz when he was serving in the war here over 70 years ago. It was very neat to be able to show Grandpa where the picture was taken and it's amazing the building is still standing. We got to see the Glockenspiel turn for the first time! The music played and the dancers moved, it was very fun! I think the figures were a little too far away to grab the boys attention, but they did okay. We walked around the Viktualienmarkt (an outdoor market) and into one of the church's as well. Grandma and I tried to find some cool souvenirs, but no luck. In the afternoon, I was supposed to meet up with my friend Alena (from Columbia) and her grandson to go to a park nearby. The elevator broke, so I didn't want to carry the stroller down so we didn't go. She did invite us into her yard to play in a little pool. Jay loved the new space to play with water and always wants to go back. They had a great time until Jay sprayed everyone with the hose water, including Alena! She was a good sport and laughed it off. We enjoyed our snack time with Grandma that afternoon, she popped us popcorn and then I took Jay to the grocery store. He was so much better in the store without Hugh. Hugh might just be too much of a temptation, or he was just enjoying the mommy 1:1 time. 

A fun sign at Viktualienmarkt

Hugh gets gelato, he really wanted to hold it himself

Again, Hugh trying to take over the cone holding

Jay loved it the most, for sure.

It was very sweet, Jay wanted to walk with Grandma

This is often how getting the boys to bed goes, you think they're asleep and you have to crawl down and peek up to see if they're awake. 

Friday was the start of our night out. Matthew worked from home, which was fun and the boys handled it a little better this time. It was laundry day and a trip to our favorite sand/water park. Matthew got off close to 5, we ate dinner with everyone, then left for Füssen. We miraculously made all the train connections, even one we thought we'd missed but I said we should check the platform and we made it! We hiked through some groves to get to our hotel, which was a very fun experience. We were exhausted by the time we got there and went to bed early. I thought sleeping in a hotel would feel normal and I'd sleep like I do at home in Germany, but no, it felt like a hotel bed and we both didn't sleep that well. 

Laundry day is exciting for Jay, clothes in the washer and dryer are so cool!

This play phone made the park so much more fun!

On the train, kid free - I felt like I was forgetting something every time we went anywhere. 

Hotel!

Saturday was such a fun day! We got up fairly early and went to a bakery for breakfast. We got some really yummy pastries and pretzels to kick start our day. We walked to the start of our bike tour and the guide handed us a map, circles a few points, gave us our bikes with a lock, and said, "have a great time!" We thought we'd be with a tour group all day, but we got the bikes and were able to create our own tour. It was amazing! We biked to what they call a "See" which is a lake. It was beautiful and the water was so much warmer than I thought it would be. It was beautiful to see a lake and the Alps all together. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our swimsuits, it would have been the perfect day for swimming. We biked from there up to the castle area. We walked through a few shops, and then to Hohenschwangau Schloss. It was a beautiful castle and great views into the valley. We didn't go inside, but enjoyed the outside view and gardens. We stopped by another See, which was beautiful and again much warmer than I expected. Our hike up to Marienbrücke, Marien Bridge, was strenuous! We were both sweaty and tired, even had to take several breaks along our route. It was for sure the road less traveled to get there, but it was gorgeous and fun to do something so physically challenging. Maybe it was harder because we biked, who knows. The views of the valley from the bridge were spectacular and beautiful. You could see the Neuschwanstein Schloss so clearly. The Neuschwanstein Castle is what Disney designed their trademark castle from. Our guided tour was very cool, so much ornate wood decorations and designs through the entire castle. The throne room really made me feel like I was in a palace like on Princess Diaries and there were swans throughout the entire castle decorating everything. Being able to do a guided tour without kiddos was awesome, and much more enjoyable. We biked from there to an Alpine Luge, or toboggan. Google Maps said it was closed, but we were so relieved when it was actually open. The first run was super fun, we used our brakes a little more and enjoyed the scenery while still getting a thrill. The second run I told Matthew that we should try not braking. We agreed, and he went first. He started flying, then I went and I started flying. Matthew soon caught up to the dad and daughter in front of him, meanwhile I was soaring behind him screaming the whole way. I had to break even before I caught up to Matthew because I was going too fast. The adrenaline was real and made everything so fun. We got ourselves some lunch, and hit the road. Our bike ride back was beautiful, through the fields and town of Füsson. Seeing the farmers out bailing their hay reminded me of Virgina, Idaho and this time of year when they're brining in the hay crops. The farmer running one of the tractors was even wearing traditional lederhosen and the hat you'd imagine to go with it. Our train ride back to Munich was peaceful and we knew a lot better how to get between platforms so it was much less stressful. We found a Mexican food restaurant here in Munich for dinner. It had great reviews, and it was okay. I think the burritos I've made here are better that what we had, but we've been itching to try it. We got some super yummy gelato on our way home, which was very refreshing from our hot long day. The boys were surprised to see us, but I think Hugh was holding a little grudge. Grandma and Grandpa were in great spirits, even with the lack of sleep and challenging task of watching our boys for 24 hours. 

Bakery breakfast, our favorite when we travel

This was a teal river, beautiful 

The scenery everywhere was just gorgeous.

The first "See" we stopped at

Again, can you believe we were biking here?! Gorgeous!

Hohenschwangau Schloss

Another "See" near the castles

The water was clear and beautiful

Waterfall part way up the mountain to the bridge

Neuschwanstein Schloss, from Marien Bridge

Stunning view of the valley

The Alpine Luge / Toboggan 

Farmers hard at work

Refreshing and quickly melting gelato

A castle badge on my fitbit on the same day we did Castles 

Sunday we spoke in church. Matthew spoke about prayers, and how we should be sincere in our prayers and one aspect of that means taking action after our prayers to help Heavenly Father give us what we ask for. For example, when we pray for someone in need, what do we do to then help that person? Sometimes it's truly just prayers, but other times it may be sending a card, giving a call, cookies, etc. I love hearing Matthew talk. He gave a talk on Mother's Day the year we were dating and I remember thinking I should write that guys name down because someday I could claim to know him. And, here we are 7 years later and now we speak together! He practices a lot and is very well spoken. My talks are more of an outline, with quotes, and I even change it as I deliver it. I spoke about Faith and how to build faith based on President Nelson's talk a few years ago in Conference. I enjoyed giving the talk, and feel like it went pretty well. Right after church, we headed home to pick up our stuff to travel to Nuremberg, Germany. Just as we were getting ready to board the train, the train got cancelled. Across the platform, there was another train heading there. We finally found someone who told us we could hop on with our original tickets, so we did. We luckily found some available seats and the boys did exceptionally well on the short train ride. Once we got there, we checked into the hotel, dropped our bags and the boys and I hit the town. We went to a park that looked super fun, and it was soooo busy! Grandpa joined us a bit later, which was a great help to keep track of the boys amidst all the other children. We then walked into town. Things got busier and busier. Everything is normally closed on Sundays, so we were expecting a quiet city stroll. Nope...we found out from huge signs in the town square that it was the World Music Festival. Every corner had a different band performing and floods of people everywhere! We weaved our way in and out, into a beautiful Cathedral and up to a castle and the city wall area. Matthew joined up with us and we continued to walk around the town, avoiding the crowds as much as possible. The boys were exhausted that night, so we got to enjoy the evening talking with Grandma and Grandpa in their room across the hall. We set up a call between our phones so we could hear the boys if needed. There were such old structures everywhere, they reminded me of a term Kara taught me when we were in college, Wattle and Daub. She would go over her Interior Design terminology while we were running as a review for tests, assignments, etc. Wattle and Daub is one I've never forgotten!

Headed to church!

Wattle and Daub

Very steep hill up to the Imperial Castle

Matthew would run with the boys and turn them around quickly, and they loved it!

Looking down into the city of Nuremburg

Isn't this cool, a zipper so the kid can climb into bed when they want! The boys loved playing with it. 

One random fact about the week, the elevator is broken in our apartment. It goes up to the second floor, but not the third. It's exhausting to have to carry the stroller, our loads of things, and the boys up a flight or down a flight whenever we go somewhere. I have found this week that the button on the third floor works so we can now go down from the third floor, but going up is still a bit of a gamble. When Matthew is with us, he will run up to the third floor and push the button so that it will take us all the way up. They taped the number 3 in the elevator, so my guess is this will be our situation until we go home. 

Broken Elevator, so sad! 

Matthew's niece, Olivia, recommended a book to me a few months back. I decided to try an audio book version and it got me hooked this week! I loved listening as I walked with the boys or did dinner prep. Normally during those times, I'd call various family members but with the time change they're all sleeping when I'm available. The book made things fun and I enjoyed reading a book for fun! This was my first audio book, the last audio books I listened to was Oma reading to me while I was in college to help me get through all my C.S. Lewis books in a semester. It reminded of listening to her read, and I loved it. I may do more audio books just for enjoyment!