BUILDING BL(ayl)OCKS: 80 Parks in 90 Days, Our Munich Summer Wraps Up

I can hardly believe I am writing this as my last post about our time in Germany! It almost feels like a dream and a different lifetime even today and we haven't even been home a week yet. Our last week started on a rainy note. Oma and Papa went on their bus tour to the castles, which Jay and Hugh were very confused and disappointed about. We did our grocery shopping run to ALDI, realizing it could be our last one. Of course, in true German fashion we went a couple more times later in the week. We went to our favorite "tractor" park in our rain gear and enjoyed playing there. It was fun to welcome Oma and Papa back from their adventures that night and they had a great time!

Always my eager helper, and I try to embrace it whenever I can, no matter how messy it gets.

Tuesday we went to the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, also known as the Transport Museum. This was something Papa really wanted to do, and I learned when he was little he had a magazine or book that had many of these vehicles inside. He also made little models of cars and trains like the ones we saw too! There were unfortunately not many cars the boys could touch or play in, so we took advantage of what we could and spent most of the time in the kid play area. There was a very big slide and I only lost Jay once. Luckily, I could see the exit so I knew he hadn't left, but it was still a little nerve-wracking. We went from there to two different parks within walking distance. These were the first parks Oma and Papa saw and they seemed to really enjoy them! The boys loved the freedom of the parks and then we went home for naps. During naptime, Oma, Papa, and I went to Decathalon and ALDI. Matthew was working from home because he wasn't feeling well, so it allowed us to go out. Decathalon is a sporting goods store where we all found a few treasures. We hit ALDI for some chocolate and bread. We took the boys to a park in the afternoon that is usually empty, but there was a girl there with a tractor. Jay and Hugh thought it was the neatest thing! She was very kind to let the boys play with it! In the evening, Matthew and Papa gave Hugh and Jay blessings of healing. Hugh was getting a pretty bad cough and Jay seemed to maybe be catching it. Our original plan was for only Hugh to get a blessing, but Jay requested one. It was very sweet.

They loved playing in the big truck

This looks like the bike from Princess Diaries

Here comes Jay!

These were some cool building toys they had in the kid section

Oma, Hugh, Jay, and Papa by the huge snail

Train adventures on the way home!

Oma and Papa resting, we wore them out!

This is how all the kids swing!

The boys and the girl's tractor

Papa and Hugh

Wednesday we had a beautiful morning at English Gardens. We went to English Gardens for about an hour our first weekend in Germany, but we really enjoyed the time we got to spend there with Oma and Papa. We started with watching the surfers on the Isar. Some were better than others, and it was very cool to see them! We walked into the park and found several playgrounds along the way to entertain the boys. We stop, play, walk, stop, play, walk. We got beautiful views of the city and the weather was perfect. During naptime, I helped Oma and Papa find some yummy treats to take home and Oma and I got to visit while all the boys napped. We wrapped the day with a trip to the BMW Museum. Oma and I sped walked through the entire thing, stopping to ride on a motorcycle and snap a few pictures. The boys wanted to touch the cool cars but none were open to touch which was very disappointing. Matthew and Papa took their time looking and met us back at home.

Can you see the surfer?! Cool!

Both boys looking at the camera, very rare!

Jay loves pushing the stroller and Matthew had to run to keep up sometimes

Climbing this rope bridge was very hard for Jay, but he did it!

Jay loved sitting with Oma on the trains, he did so well with her!

Motorcycle simulation!

Thursday I hit 80 parks! I didn't think I would get to 80, but with the help of Oma and Papa we made it! 80 parks in 90 days, I could maybe write a book about it. We went down to Westpark for the morning. We found such fun and creative parks! The scenery was pretty and varied, which made the walking very fun as well. The huge slides and water park had been on my bucket list, they looked so fun from the pictures. I wore my slick pants just so I could go down the slides fast and I flew! Papa with his jeans went VERY slow, one slide he had to scoot himself down, which made us all giggle. Oma's pants provided some friction so she didn't go as fast as me, but still got a good slide in. The water park was so cool! The entire playground was surrounded with about a foot deep of water. I stayed close to Hugh and Jay did his masterful climbing up to the big slide and back to us. The boys could have played in the water all day and we will miss these water parks when we go home! Someday, maybe I'll build my own. Days like the morning at Westpark are my favorite, wandering around beautiful areas soaking up the parks and the scenery with no real agenda. During naps, Papa napped with the boys, and Oma and I went downtown into Munich for souvenirs. I found a beautiful Munich ornament that is a nativity, and the perfect thank you gifts for Betty Jane and Jack for taking care of our house for us while we were gone. I also found some shorts, wide leg shorts that are a German style. They are long and comfy and I was very sad when I thought all the stores had turned to fall and gotten rid of their shorts. I really wanted a pair and was very excited when I found them! We also got some gelato at one of the shops we passed, it was a hot day and the gelato was very refreshing. I loved the chance to shop without little hands reaching, grabbing, and touching! Thank you to Papa for helping it happen! Most evenings with Oma and Papa we ate Magnum bars. They went on sale and we couldn't help but buy several kinds. It was a great way to end every evening!

This swing was run on a pully system, pretty neat!

Friday morning I woke up early to take Oma and Papa to their airport train. The tram we were supposed to take never showed up, so we had to take the one that came 10 minutes later. Luckily, the airport train said it was also delayed and we had just a couple minutes to get from the tram to the train in Moosach. I prayed, I told Matthew to pray! And, we made it. I even took them to the wrong platform, but we had just enough time to get to the other platform and then to the train. Our prayers were heard and they made it in plenty of time for their flight. It was sad to see them go, but we had a wonderful time with them. I loved being able to share this part of my life with them and truly see Papa on vacation! When you're abroad, it's a lot harder for people to get ahold of you, and Papa actually stayed disconnected for the most part. The first part of the morning we spent at a park I happened upon at one point. I dropped a pin so we could find it again and had a great time playing there. I braved going into downtown Munich with the boys to exchange Matthew's Bayern shirt, but unfortunately they wouldn't take it without a receipt. We went into a couple other stores, but Jay and Hugh were not having it. We finally made it home, ate lunch and I got the boys down to bed just as Matthew arrived home. We packed up during naps and when Jay woke up he knew exactly what was going on. Suitcases, airports, and travel cause Jay excitement and great anxiety. He could not remain calm and for the rest of Friday got more and more worked up. I was stressed too, feeling the pressure of needing everything to be packed up by morning. Matthew took the boys to the park to give me a little space and time which helped me get to a much better mental and emotional place. After dinner we walked through Olympia Park. It was beautiful, peaceful evening and we enjoyed walking and reflecting on the past three months. Jay's cough got really bad Friday night as he was going to bed. We gave him honey and Matthew gave him another blessing. I prayed so hard for Heavenly Father to please let us get home before we needed to get medical attention. His cough was scary enough I didn't know if we'd need to go to the Emergency Room. Our prayers were heard and he eventually was able to fall asleep.

Our last picture in Olympia Park!

Saturday morning we were up early as Jay woke with a start talking about the suitcases and the airport. It helped us get an early go on packing up the last minute items and food. I gathered all of our unused kitchen items, food, spices, my frying pan, etc. and took them down to my friend Alaina. She was so sweet and had a little bag of goodies for us including, snacks for the boys, crayons, coloring book, a car, a board book, and a spoon holder for cooking. We helped her load everything into her house, I gave her a hug and told her I truly thought God sent her to me when I needed someone. I teared up a little as her gifts and hug were such kind gestures. She told me to come find her whenever we go back, she'll be living in the same corner apartment. Alaina was an angel from Heaven for me, someone to talk to and to laugh with when I felt so alone. Once we gave her all of our extra items, we finished packing and checked out of the hotel. My last bucket list item in Munich was to ride an electric scooter. They have them for rent everywhere and they make it look so fun! I was excited when Matthew encouraged me to do it. We rented one for 10 minutes, sharing rids and going up and down our street. We loved it! We played at Taxis Park then caught our shuttle to the airport. We were blessed to be able to skip the security line by being a family! I love that European airports have separate family lines. The airport lines were long, and we were so grateful we didn't have to wait in them! While we were waiting for our flight, we got paged to the gate. It's always scary to hear your name called, and I worried it was because all of our bags got stopped at security because of our water bottles. The attendant asked me if we'd like to upgrade to business preferred and take a row where we could put up a bassinet for Hugh. It was a center aisle option, which made me a little nervous, but I took it. This free upgrade was an answer to the many prayers offered on our behalf! We had enough room we could stand up in front of our seats with no one in front of us to bother. We kept the boys up for about the first four hours of the flight and then they slept for the last six. I got Hugh to sleep and then was able to lay him in the basinet. It was an amazing blessing! We arrived in Denver early, had no lines through customs, and beat Jack to the curb. It was so wonderful to see him! We kept the boys up that night as late as we could to try to help with the time change. We were so grateful to be home, Jay was ecstatic about the basement and the slide, and it was beautiful to have a home to come home to.

Jay, so thrilled to help with the suitcases

Ziplining!

Hugh got to try the zipline and loved it!

I even took Jay for a ride, he wasn't the best passenger but it was fun!

Such a cool bassinet!

Sunday started early. We all woke up around 3 AM. I was awake and not tired, Jay was awake and ready to go, and Matthew was able to go back to sleep. Hugh woke up around 4 ready to start his day. Because all the toys seem new, watching Jay and Hugh wasn't very hard. They would find a new bucket of toys dump it out and play and find the next. Our house was chaotic, but it was all we could do to survive. The boys were still coughing so we only went to Sacrament meeting. All things considered, the boys did well during the meeting. I laid down for a short nap in the afternoon but tried to stay awake so I could adjust. The whole day we went through waves of tired and energized, our bodies not knowing whether to sleep or stay awake. The Merrills brought us dinner! I loved seeing all of them, their light, energy, and excitement about the basement was so fun! I also got to share my magnet collection with them, and share stories about where we'd been and what we'd done. The homemade dinner was divine! Plus, delicious dessert! Not having to cook was amazing and such a relief. Being surrounded by family made everything feel more like home and we are so happy to be back! Here are the pictures of the completed basement: