That's how boys do it...

 James building a rocket ship for his skeletons.

Some people may think we're a little crazy, but our family loves legos. Honestly nothing keeps my kids  more entertained than legos. When we moved to Germany two years ago we thought it was going to be for just two months. We brought along a few toys for the kids but figured we could run around Germany for a few months and we'd be fine. It was fine while the weather was nice, but then when we found out we were staying longer we had to get a few more things for the kids to play with. Some how it worked out that both kids actually wanted the same thing. Legos! We had brought Hailee's from the US and James decided he was a fan as well.

Now a few years later we have quite the collection. James builds, rebuilds and plays with them for hours. Today while we were playing he was using his teeth to take something apart. I told him not to use his teeth to which he quickly replied, "Mom that's just how boys do it." Oh silly me. I had no idea.

Thinking....

All done.

I love seeing the creation process and how each kid has different priorities. If James is building you can almost guarantee it will have some kind of 'rocket boosters' or 'jet packs'. If Hailee is building it's going to have something pink and lots of flowers.  I absolutely love to have something they love playing together albeit in a very different way.

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.