Frankfurt Zoo

Our first time at the local zoo! We ventured out with our friends - who also happen to be our neighbors - and hopped on the train to see some animals. It turned out being a beautiful day too - 80 degrees and well worth 20 euros, no crowds and some fun family time! This zoo actually sits in the heart of the city and has an older feel to it, much like the DC zoo does. After seeing most of the animals, we took a lunch break and saw a few more before taking the train back home. We all had a great time! Instead of naming all that we saw, I'll just give you some pictures to look at that I took from our trip. It was hard seeing some of the animals - hence limited to no pictures. Some reasoning behind that is because a certain curious baby liked to pull and suck on my camera strap while I was clicking away. Hahaha. Silly boy! :) I think I still managed to take a few good ones. Okay.

Ready.

Set.

GO! :)

We Have a Middle Schooler!

I can not BELIEVE my baby is almost 12 years old and starting middle school today. 6th grade already!! So not only is Aubrey starting a new school in another country but she's going from elementary to middle school. HUGE step! She's so smart and talented...I know she'll do GREAT! I'm so excited for her as she branches out and tries new things....one of them being band this year instead of choir. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was in preschool playing on the playground, learning to read and write, having snack and nap time, going on field trips and taking dance class from Miss Debbie! The years have flown by so fast!

 

{Left: 1st day of 6th grade (2011); Right: Preschool Graduation day (2005)}

We went out to the bus stop to greet her home. She was beaming from ear to ear! Was a hard day transitioning to 6 different classes versus the one class she had last year and in the years past as well trying to meet new people and having to sit by herself for lunch (heartbreaking)! But I know with time, she's going to have a blast and succeed! We just love her so much and are so proud of the girl she is and the one she's becoming!

Her dad joked with her before she left for school...saying that it's now HER time to have the long commute. :) She has to ride the bus for 30-45 minutes one way and it only takes him 5 or so minutes to get to work. They've pretty much changed places. In Virginia, John's commute every day to and from work was at least 4 hours and Aubrey's school bus ride was 5 or so minutes. She doesn't see it as a problem though...a little more reading (or snoozing) time could never hurt. :)

England

Two weeks to the day of us moving to Germany and we decided to mix things up again and travel with John to England for an entire week to his work conference (with families being welcome of course). And to think that our big road trips were going to cease after driving to Oregon! Ha! I should have known! :)

  {Holding brother's hand...so cute!}

 {The Rhein River}

 {France!}

 {The Euro Tunnel!}

{Leaving the train and arriving to England!}

 {Driving in England}

{Our rental van for the week}

We left on Sunday the 14th and returned on Sunday the 21st - 9 hours of driving on both days. Kids were getting a bit under our skin at times but it beat the price to fly so you take what you get, right? :) LOL It wasn't all that bad but the van we rented isn't what ours - so you couldn't see the kids in the 3rd row because of the high seats and we weren't able to play any movies. Makes for a fun adventure. Hopefully when we get our van in a few months, we'll be set to see all that Europe has to offer! :) For now, we're going to stay close to home. I know, I know...many of you have already mentioned that it's strange for me to call Germany home and not the States...but home is always where my family and I are residing. Of course the States will always be HOME but this place is growing on us. We'd like to take all that we can from here while we live here. Might as well start off running! LOL I just need to start learning the language, stop comparing or saying "this would have cost this amount in U.S. Dollars" because it'll depress you and there's no point to that (the commissary will be shopped at often!) and figuring out km vs. miles when driving, etc. - and then I'll feel less of an alien around here! Wish me luck...I take a written test to get my license!

We drove through the Netherlands, Belgium, France and then took the chunnel (the underground 35 minute tunnel train ride underneath the channel) into England. I think I felt more at home in England vs Germany - not as big of a culture shock as to what we're getting here in Germany. But it might have been because I still, even with the accent, knew what they were saying. Hahaha

New experiences:
* All of us rode the chunnel for the first time!
* Had to pay 30 euro cents for each person that had to use the restroom at a stop. Sure makes you want to hold it a little longer - or not drink for the entire trip. LOL I think we need to step it up a notch and get used to Euro money because all I had left in my wallet was American change. Not too helpful in times of needing the restroom!
* Heard MANY different languages.
* Techno pop is HUGE out here. I can't wait to get my iPod set with more music I'm used to hearing. Not that change is bad or anything - just not my style!
* Saw many community gardens along the way
* Drive on the opposite side of the road in England - with the right lane being the fast lane! That was interesting to get used to for the week!
* Took kids to some neat places- more on that soon!

We had a blast in England and can't wait to go back and visit! With my brother and his family living there...I don't think that will be too hard to do! :)