Pizza + Anne Frank's Home

We set out with some of our friends to look for a new {local} place to eat dinner.

One that John had seen on the way to work one day and heard great things about.

It's called Dick & Doof and it had some amazing pizza!

And the people that worked there were so nice and friendly - especially to the children.

Not that the other places we've gone to haven't been also good to us (becaue the German food is sooo good too!), but we've been finding {and hearing from others} that the Italian restaurants are a bit more friendly towards larger families.

We had a great night out and LOVE our new friends! :)

Kids had cheese pizza and Fanta drinks.

Landon had a cookie after his veggie. 

I had prosciutto pizza and John had a calzone.

So yummy!

 After getting to the restaurant, it came to our attention that Anne Frank's childhood home was RIGHT across the street from where we were eating! I knew the home was somewhere in Frankfurt but still had yet to find it. Mission accomplished! :)

On our way back home, we stopped and took pictures of the house and read the historical sign out front. Rather, I should probably say that I was able to read a few words as it was written in German. Having read The Diary of a Young Girl back in high school, I think it's fitting that I will be putting that book on my shelf to read next! I never knew how much I'd love history again until moving to Virginia and Germany. So much to see and learn!

Stonehenge

Being in England for John's work conference allowed us spouses and children to take a few trips throughout our week's stay in Lakenheath. While John was away for all day meetings, the kids and I piled onto the bus and made our first stop to Stonehenge. It was quite the adventure with just myself and my four kids but I knew we may not have the opportunity to see it again so I kept my focus on that to get through the day. Trust me, it was A LOT of work! Thankfully, my new and dear friend Emma helped me out with my kids when needed and offered to push the stroller for me when I wanted to take photos or to tend to my kid's needs. She's awesome and I'm so grateful for people who stand up and help without being asked!

Aubrey sat next to her friend and they played ds games much of the bus ride.

Landon played and dosed off and on and was quite the trooper!

Andrew and Jocelyn sat next to me across the isle and weren't always this cute and loving so I did what any Mom would think to do...take a picture to preserve the good moments when they happen. Hahaha These two are wonderful and love each other but being siblings, they aren't always so nice! :)

A few hours later, we arrived at Stonehenge! It was sprinkling the whole bus ride and cleared up just in time for us to take our tour. Still cold and windy but definitely doable!

The rocks were HUGE! And due to them preserving their history, you aren't allowed to go past the gated off area and touch them. Still very neat to see though.

We were given devices for our self walking tour but the kids used them more like walkie talkies. So funny! :) Walking around with the kids and taking photos didn't allow me to hear much but it was a great place to sight see. I decided to buy their tour book and read up on it later. :)

It was so pretty there and I wished the whole time that John was there to join us! With my brother and his family living in England, I'm sure we'll be able to go again while we live in Germany for a few years. And if not, we have pictures! :)

Next up: Windsor's Castle

Sunday Solitude

After we got home from church, the girls went down for quiet time after lunch and John was working on a home project so that left Andrew and I twiddling our thumbs. It was a beautiful day and I've been wanting to go and enjoy some peace and quiet and take in all the Fall colors. So I packed up Andrew and I and we drove off to Lee Drive - one of our family's favorite places to go in the general area. Of course I've noticed a lot of the amazing red and orange hued trees were along busy two lane streets or off the busy 95 Interstate and I just couldn't justify pulling off the main road and calling it an emergency to take their picture so the green and yellow hues were my company today. I didn't regret it one bit. It was an hour of solitude that I am so grateful I didn't pass up! I really admire nature. Enjoy the pictures.

American History Museum

It was the first day of Aubrey's school spring break and our family drove up to Washington D.C. to meet up with my cousin and her son for the day at the National Museum of American History. Our goal while living out here has been to see as many monuments and museums as possible. Especially when most of them are free attractions! Andrew is almost 4 months old now and I'm finally feeling like it's a good time to get out and travel a bit more again. Here's some of the photos I took on our adventure:

{Sign in front of the museum}

{Girls playing with blocks on a level board}

{Girls playing with magnetic items - a science exhibit of some sorts}

{Gigantic telescope!}

{Jocelyn and her cousin wrestling around in the kid play area}

{My cousin and her son}

{Jocelyn spent much of her time at this table - coloring! :)}

{Jocelyn in front of a train}

{And another train}

{Andrew preferred being held over sitting in the stroller. I sure didn't mind!}

{History on our hometown: Portland!!}

{Cousins & best of buddies}

{Our fam!}

After lunch, we stood in a VERY long line to see the National Treasures of Popular Culture and here are a few pictures I took from there:

{Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz}

{Kermit the Frog! My girls were like "Who???"}

I wish I remembered more of the trip so I could tell you some more things that we saw and did but it's just not coming to me. If you click on the links to the Museum, it will tell you more of what they're showcasing.