The Residence Museum

We have been the Residence Museum several times. (Between Hailee wanting to listen to every word that was said and James being cranky and needing to get home, it took us a long time to get through all 99 rooms.) Hailee was thrilled to show Emily her favorite Museum. She was so cute to point out so many little things just for Emily, like the elephant clock.

Hailee's favorite statue. She thinks it's hilarious.

 This picture cracks me up. Hailee wanting a picture with her brother and James wanting to run around like crazy.

 Hailee was excited they have finished the restoration work in this room.

Emily and Hailee with the elephant clock. Emily collects elephants so Hailee was sure she would love it.

Schloß Nymphemburg

Very early in Emily's stay she decided she LOVED public transportation. In the first week or so she took it all by herself when I had an appointment, and we met up downtown. I loved this picture on the way to the Schloß Nympemburg. This tram line sometimes has the "old" trams cars. They are not stroller friendly, but they do make good photo opportunities.

Scholß Nymphemburg is where a residential summer palace in Munich. Hailee and Em were excited about going in. James on the other hand wanted to chase after the geese. The not-so-stroller-friendly tram resulted in him not getting his nap in like I had hoped. But since I had already seen the inside, I just sent Emily and Hailee in and I chased after James.

Thankfully the geese were fairly good sports with that plan and just seemed mildly irritated to have a little boy chasing them around.

Salzburg Salt Mine

While Emily was here we tried to show her some things she didn't get to see last time she was here. On the list was the Salzburg Salt Mine. I had heard it was fun, so one morning we headed off. It was quite an adventure to get here. I'm not sure what setting my GPS was on, but it took us on some tiny (small as a sidewalk) roads to get there. It was a fun little adventure.

Once we got there we discovered they discriminate against little boys without hair. They wouldn't let James in, even though I saw another little boy with a full head of hair who was smaller than James coming out of the tour. Ah well, hopefully next time we go he'll have more hair and be allowed in. Thankfully there was a fun playground we could visit while Emily and Hailee went in.

 I love the clothes they made them wear. Too funny. They were both a little nervous about going in, which is just funny that James wasn't allowed. He probably would have liked it the most of all of us.

I am so glad Emily bought this picture at the end. You can see how scared they were. Emily said she didn't understand the "what you're suppose to do at the bottom" part of the explanation and she was a little nervous. Hailee was just scared.

Aunt Emily

We were so excited when Emily decided to come and visit us for the month. The first little bit we spent showing her around our favorite spots of Munich. She came with my parents last year, but they didn't see much of the city. I introduced Emily to public transportation and she loved it. She even went downtown by herself a couple of times when I had things to do.

It was so fun to have her. I forgot what it was like to have a shopping buddy. Growing up with four sisters, there was always someone else who wanted/needed to go shopping when I did. We had so much fun shopping, maybe a little too much. Emily's biggest suitcase she brought had stuff just for us. Going back she was a little tight on space and I still have a package I need to send her. It was fun.

The time went by all to fast and it was time for her to go home and get ready for her school year to start. We sure miss her. James still is asking when Aunt Emily is going to be coming back.

Summer Fun

When summer came so did Aunt Emily. We were all so excited to see her...and not just because she brought us a suitcase of our favorite American treats. We were so excited that she came to party with us for almost a month!

For her first Saturday here we decided to take her to Königssee, and the weather couldn't have been nicer. It was beautiful and the water was so fun to swim in. We've been to Königssee several times, but it was our first time swimming in the lake.  In this area it's shallow for quite a ways. The water was cold, but manageable, until you wanted to get it a little deeper.

Todd and Emily both got in all the way despite the freezing temperatures. I was happy to be the photographer.

Happy Birthday Todd

The birthday tradition for Todd's job here is that the birthday-boy (or girl) brings in cake for everyone. Todd wanted to do something a little different and bring in pie. With the craziness of the last week of school it came down to the wire, but I was able to get three different kinds of pie made at the very last minute. He was able to take them on his birthday! He took in pumpkin, apple and berry. Three of our absolute favorites, and thankfully they all turned out. When he got home, I made a pecan pie just for him. And there were leftovers from work so we all enjoyed pie. I think it should be the start of a new birthday tradition. The only thing better than pie is having four kinds to choose from.

Last Day of School!

Hailee and Ms. Warren

 The end of June, on Todd's birthday, brought us the end of the school year. It is officially Summer! Of course leading up to summer there were a lot of little things going on. One of Hailee's favorites was field day.

They were divided up on teams and spent a couple of hours competing together. Hailee's favorite events were the tug-of-war, the parachute game and the hula-hoop toss. Her team won the Sportsmanship award for second grade.

Riding the afternoon bus, for the last time (at least until next August.)

End of the year singing/recorder concert. I was quite impressed they actually played songs, not just hot-crossed buns.  Then it was time to say good-bye to friends. Always the hardest part for my girl. Thankfully some of her friends will be staying a bit longer in Munich as well. In the International school kids come and go so often.

 Hailee and Raquel

Hailee and Isabel

Hailee had such a great year at MIS. She is looking forward to another fun year. 

The best girl in the whole world...

 In the middle of our trips to Austria and Slovenia my baby girl turned eight. She was super lucky, her birthday fell on a school holiday (hooray for Corpus Cristi day!). The only thing she wanted to do was go to Legoland. Since she is such a sweet girl, we made a day out of it.

 Here are eight things I love about my girl, in honor of her birthday, in no particular order.

1. She is the best big sister. Honestly there isn't anyone better. Her little brother tries her patients, drives her crazy, and usually ends up injuring her in their play time and she takes it all with a smile. She is so patient with him and loves him so much. She sets such a loving tone in our house and as rough and tumble as her little brother is, you can see her sweetness coming out in him too.

2. She loves to learn. She is always doing her best at school and trying her hardest. I still have to tell her multiple times that it is time for bed when she wants to sneak in an extra chapter or two in her book. It's so hard to keep her in reading material. 

3. Along with learning she is really enjoying sports. She always tries her hardest. Even if her team doesn't end up winning she is always a good sport and just happy to be playing. For her just enjoying the game is the best part. 

4. She is the best helper around the house. Honestly I love having her home. She is always great about helping me in the kitchen or keeping her brother occupied. It's going to be a rough adjustment when she goes back to school.

5. She has made some really great friends. But what I'm most proud of is how confident she is. If her friends are doing something she doesn't like, she's happy standing on her own. She let's them know what her standards are, and she has some very good friends because of it.

6. She can do hard things. This little girl has been a champion through moving overseas, learning a new language, and adjusting to life around new things. Shortly after moving to Germany, she missed Oregon and her friends. But it wasn't long until she told me, "You know mom, when we go back to Oregon I'm going to miss Germany."

7. She has so much faith. If this girl prays for it, it's going to happen. She has a strong testimony of prayer and is such an example to us all. 

8. I don't think any of us would know what we would do without our Hailee girl. She brings such sweetness to our family. She is truly a gift straight from heaven, a huge blessing in all of our lives. Everything is better when our Hailee girl with us.

Slovenia

 The Elder family was planning on going to Lake Bled, Slovenia while Hailee was in school. But when their plans changed and they were going to be there over the weekend they invited us to come along. Luckily they had a room for us in the same hotel and we crashed their party again. Lake Bled was absolutely breathtaking.

 The first day we went to the little island on the lake by row boat.

 Our friends in their rowboat. Unfortunately they didn't have a boat big enough for all of us.

 The island in the middle of the lake was beautiful.

After exploring the island we came back to a wonderful dinner and a quiet evening walk around the lake. Quite possibly a perfect day.

 Now it wouldn't be a trip to a new country, if it didn't rain on us. Every single trip we've been on we've had at least some rain. Thankfully it wasn't too horrible, we're from Oregon, so it doesn't really phase us.

The second day with the rain we went to the castle on the hill. It was wonderful, with amazing views.

These kids had such a fun time running around together. 

Last Day

 Our last day in Austria was spent again on our favorite lift up the mountain. This was by far our most relaxing little vacation we've had here. It was so lovely. We had so much fun with the Elder family, it was so hard to say good-bye. Thankfully it wasn't good-bye for long. We caught up with them again at the end of their vacation.

 Bouncing on top of the world. James would have stayed her all day and been happy.

 But then there were ropes and walls to climb.

 Hailee and Adelaide in the sand.

Family picture....James really wanted to be running. He's pretty sure he has the most boring parents in the world. I can just imagine the thought running through his head, "You want me to sit here and smile when I really want to be running around the mountain.....hmmmm, not going to happen."

 They had an adorable scavenger hunt for the kids. We ran around the area trying to get the "cure" for Timooks grandpa before the poachers got it. For a while they all believed that the poachers were real.

Riding down the coaster for the last time. James loved it and I couldn't go fast enough for him. He is definitely my dare devil. Not much scares him and he even likes it if something does scare him.