Ronneburg

Our family took a trip to explore a nearby town with some friends called Ronneburg. This town also happens to have a castle, which was built in the 13th century - marking 775 years ago this year. It took us all but 45 minutes to get there and this weekend they were hosting a huge medieval festival. And it was pretty funny to be parked next to our friends - just imagine 2 U.S. cars (two Virginia plates to be exact) parked side by side in a field of European cars. :)

A lot of people arrived dressed up in medieval customes. We walked around for awhile, bought some yummy pretzels (with euros of course!), saw great views from the top tower of far off Frankfurt and other towns after a somewhat frightening climb, as well as views of hot air balloons riding in the distance. We're still trying to erase from our memory the images of nude people soaking in a washbin as we were walking around the various venders outside of the castle. Things you don't normally see happening from where we're from but, hey, we're claiming it as another European experience! :) We ushered the kids past there pretty quickly to say the least!

But all in all, it was a fun afternoon! We managed to also run into a few friends from our neighborhood in the midst of our wanderings around the castle. It's always nice seeing familiar faces here in Germany. We also took this trip to venture out on one of the last beautiful days here. In just a few short days from now, long go the nice 70 degree weather and in comes the beginnings of Fall and Winter. I believe the kids had a good time, although there's usually LOTS of walking involved when we go somewhere in Europe which is not their favorite thing to do, but it's neat to go see the places we've only read about! It's so beautiful here anyways!! So walking we will continue doing! :)

{View of the town from our parking space}

{You can see the city of Frankfurt FAR off in the distance...}

We Found It!

After almost 2 long months of not attending church, we finally found the chapel and the right ward we belong in! We still don't have our van yet but for today, we were able to use the company van. This ward was once known as the International Ward but has since been changed to the Offenbach 2nd. So many people from all over the world attend this ward - that live in the area and do not speak German fluently. People from Russia, Portugal, England, France, Nigeria and America. More countries too, I'm sure. We met some very nice people and are excited to be here and to get to know them better. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders being able to finally find our church building. Being LDS, or a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, means that no matter where we live or move to next, family is always there! The other members of the church become not only friends, but family - and it really is a great comfort to me while our real family lives far away. I'm excited and happy for my children too. That they can finally meet new people and have some nearby friends . It's been real hard moving to another country in that regard. Finding people that are close in age as my children has been a tough challenge. But we made it! And we found our ward! :)

Jocelyn's 5 Year Photos

I love the fall time - all the leaves, the crisp air! 

We still hadn't ventured out too far from home yet when I took these photos of Jocelyn, so we managed to take them right outside our front door and areas by the house. Looking back, I would have left BOTH of my boys at home while taking these photos of Jocelyn. It felt like we were at the circus! Next time, I'll be sure to give her some undivided time with me. She was so cute though, giving me ideas on how she wanted to pose! Just love her!

Here's Jocelyn's 5 Year Photos:

Jocelyn Turns FIVE!

{September 14, 2011}

This day has finally come! The day Jocelyn's been waiting for for the past, oh, I don't know, 364 days! :) Always asking us when her birthday is and always sad when she finds out it's not yet "tomorrow!" She's our spunky and full-of-life-and-attitude little girl! She's our cuddle bug! She keeps us on our toes and is such a joy to have around. Definitely learning to push more buttons of course and trying to get her way any chance she gets. You know, the typical child thing to do! But all the days she makes me think about pulling out my hair, she makes up for it on the other days; so thankful there's more happiness than craziness THAT'S for sure! 

We spent the day doing just about anything her heart desired. Played games on my phone, painted fingernails, read stories, played dress up... We had our neighbors, who are also our friends and have the most adorable little girl ever, over for dinner (breakfast at her request) and cake. Speaking of cake, when we were about to light the candles, she yelled out, "FIRE!" And when we were about to cut the cake, she yelled out, "KNIFE!" Hahaha She had us all laughing. It was funny and scary all at the same time. :) I even let her stay up a little past her bedtime so she could call her friend back in Virginia. I think it's pretty safe to say that she loved every minute of her birthday!

I love my little sweetie and I'm so glad she's mine!

Happy 5th Birthday, Jocelyn! xoxo

Jocelyn's FIVE year favorites

TV show: Dora & Diego

Movie: Scooby Doo (pretty much ALL of them!)

Song: I know that my Savior loves me

Meal: Pancakes

Fruit: Strawberries

Veggie: Carrots (with ranch)

Drink: Sprite

Candy: Starburst

Toy: Legos

Activity: Crafts

Color: Red

Season: Summer

Game: Uno Moo

Friend: Leah

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!