Rimini & San Marino

 We decided to take advantage of all the public holidays in May and sneak away for a little trip to relax. We drove about six hours to a little Italian town called Rimini. Thankfully it was still the "off season" so we had the place to ourselves, but with incredible weather. It could not have been more perfect for the kids.

Rimini is perfect for kids. Our hotel was right on the beach and when you walked out there was a play ground for kids and then beach and water as far as you could see. The Mediterranean in Rimini is very shallow and there are no waves to speak of. Both kids had so much fun. James loved splashing in the water and Hailee loved collecting shells and building sand castles. Todd and I enjoyed relaxing and enjoying the sun while watching the kids play.

We basically had the beach to ourselves. There were a few other vacationers, but not a lot. While we were playing at the play ground there were a few other Italian families there. One little boy a year or two other than James was playing as well. For a while the Italian boy decided he didn't like James and kept tormenting him. James was a bit confused because he didn't understand what he was saying. Once I explained to James that he was speaking Italian and didn't speak English it wasn't long until they worked out their differences and because good friends. By that point James had a group of little Italians top play with.  The next day when we went to the playground and the other kids weren't at the playground yet and James said, "Oh no, where did my guys go?" (We discovered our little German kids are much earlier risers than the Italian kids when we went down to breakfast the first day at 7:00 and discovered breakfast didn't start until 8:00!) Thankfully it wasn't long before his little group came down.

 Our last full day in Italy was suppose to rain. We had a beautiful morning, but then the clouds came in. We decided to use that time to check out San Marino. A tiny (27 square miles, 31,000 people) country completely surrounded by Italy. We caught a bus, because I discovered I do not like driving in Italy in our huge German car. James was so exhausted from the last couple of days of playing he was completely asleep in the first couple of minutes. It took about an hour on the bus to get there and we couldn't get James to wake up. I carried him for the first little bit until he finally woke up.

While we were eating lunch the rain came. And then hail came. Honestly it was crazy. I was expecting sprinkles of rain but this was just a down pour. Thankfully it stopped by the time we were done with lunch and dessert, and we got to enjoy San Marino.

 This was the BEST pistachio ice cream. Italy really does have the best gelato.

 San Marino was filled with people shopping. Honestly I've never seen so many little shops. But away from the crowded shopping streets were these beautiful little streets. San Marino, San Marino is on top of a mountain top and just has the cutest little winding, hilly streets. We all fell in love with its charm.

 I am so glad we brought James' bike. He loves riding it and went all over the place. In Germany it's quite normal to have little ones on the bike, but in Italy it was quite a novelty.

Italy is one of our very favorite places to travel, between the food, people and sites you really can't go wrong. I am always so impressed with how kind people are and how sweet they are with our kids. Honestly the Italians are so cute with our kids everywhere we go. One little story on the way back to our hotel from San Marino we were catching our bus and since it was late in the day and everyone was heading home from work it was really crowded. We split up and Todd took the bike and Hailee and I had James. James was doing pretty good, but when you're so short and the bus is getting more and more crowded he wanted to be carried. I picked him up and it was difficult holding him, my purse, and trying to hold on. A lady that was sitting down by us, but down all of her bags and put James on her lap and was really sweet with him. I was worried he was going to be scared (he doesn't like it at all if people talk to him and he can't understand), but she was so sweet with him. My tired little guy just relaxed and almost feel asleep. I wish it would have been less crowded so I could have snapped a picture.

Our kids outdid themselves again by being the best travelers. Honestly they are so good. They were both sad we weren't going on the train, but they both did really good in the car. I can't complain one bit. :)

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.