Our French Road Trip

This past week we decided to take a fun road trip. It had been awhile since we really went out and did some exploring and Brian and I were itching to get out of Germany for a little while. I especially wanted to take Luke to Disneyland Paris, I thought he is at the perfect age to be introduced to the magic of Disney, and Brian wanted to try out the waves in Southern France. Last Wednesday we headed to Disneyland - what was supposed to be a 6 1/2 hour car ride turned into almost 9 hours!! The traffic on A6 leaving Germany was pretty awful and then we had a heck of a time finding an Esso gas station before we left the German border. (We prepay for gas at Esso stations and pay only $4 something per gallon instead of the $8 or $9 something per gallon gas costs on the economy - a perk that the military has worked out with the German goverment for us). We arrived at Disneyland Wednesday night and walked around Disney Village which was a fun area full of restaurants and shops right along a little man make lake - it was literally a stone's throw away from the back door of our hotel. On Thursday we woke up bright and early to head to the park (when you stay at a Disney hotel the park opens 2 hours early for hotel guests!) and we stayed all day. We had a great time and Luke absolutely loved it. He got such a kick out the spinning tea cups and was in awe at It's a Small World ride. We went on a few rides that he did not care for at all - namely the ones that were in the dark - we would hear a little voice saying "all done! all done!" while going through the blackness. We took him on the Pirates of the Carribean ride which is a boatride with small drops throughout and every time the boat dropped Luke said he was all done and wanted to get off. :) We had fun Friday morning at the park and rode the Buzz Lightyear ride for the second time and Brian went on Space Mountain and the Indiana Jones roller coaster. By lunch time the park was insanely crowded so we walked over to Disney Studios park to check it out - we went on a ride and saw a Donald Duck stage show. Luke was so funny throughout the show - he was mesmorized and clapped and cheered and pointed to the stage every time Donald or Mickey came on. We were surprised with how well he did - it is a 20 minute show and we were prepared for him to get bored or want to walk around but he just sat in his chair transfixed.
Saturday morning we headed to a small surf city on the coast of Southern France. It was surprisingly chilly there but Brian surfed regardless - he rented a wetsuit and dove in. The waves here are not as nice and clean or as predictable as the waves in Hawaii so it took him awhile to get used to it. We walked around a lot and explored the little coastal town. On Monday we drove down to Biarrtiz, which was Neapolian's summer retreat and it a huge tourist town, and we had a great time. It was a little cool again and the wind was crazy along the coast. We walked out on a huge pier to the ocean and followed a pathway up along the coast to an old marina, past and old church and back into town where we stopped for paninis and crepes - yum! We went down to a small beach to eat and them Brian and Luke walked out to the ocean to throw rocks. We then headed to Spain - San Sebastian and holy cow that city is GORGEOUS! And wouldn't you know it, my camera battery died right as we entered the city. We drove around but didn't get out to explore. We headed back to our hotel and the sun was shining and it was warming up so we woke Luke up early from his nap to take him out to the beach (right outside our hotel) for a couple hours. He had been asking for 2 days in a row to go into the ocean and play in the sand and we had to tell him it was just too cold. He thought about that and then turned to me and told me that the ocean was cold like ice cream. :)
By the following Tuesday we were ready to get home so instead of driving part of the way home and staying in a hotel 1 more night, we buckled down and drove the entire 1500km home! It took about 15 hours and Luke was surprisingly great the entire way. He must have known we were headed for home and he would be able to sleep in his own bed again. :) AND he took a 3 hour nap in the car which was such a nice and welcome break.
We had a fun trip and we'd definitely go back to all the places we visited. Brian declared our next big trip will be to Spain which I am excited about because I'll be able to put my high school Spanish to the test. :) And we will definitely go back to Disneyland again, just next time during the offseason so the prices are a little lower and the crowds are smaller.
I wouldn't leave you without any pictures of our trip so here you go - enjoy!



































Little Frenchy tidbits:
The French say "Voila!" all the time (sounds like "walla!") - it means "look there!" but I think a better translation is "here you go!" or "great!" because every time you order food, the waitstaff will repeat your order, you say "oui!" and they say "voila!" OR, when you check into your hotel room, the staff hands you your room card and say "voila!" OR, when you pay a toll on the highway - they hand you your change and say "voila!" - you get the picture...
The French only understand their pronounciation of words (or at least pretend to only understand their pronounciations). We ordered creme brulee and said it the American way and the server looked at us like we ordered boogers on a stick. It took us saying it 3 times and then pointing to it on the menu for her to understand and then she says "Ahhhh, crema brula!" (like creme brulee sounds SO different) :)
France is very pretty - rolling hills, perfectly manicured landscapes, windmills and lots and lots of cows. AND, the majority of their highways are tollways so with all that money going towards their roads, their roads are PERFECT - smooth and gorgeous and clean. (However we weren't too fond of paying about $80 in tolls for the whole trip - ouch!)

Frère Jacques - Luke's version

I taught Luke to sing Frère Jacques and he just loves it. Lately he does or says silly things to try to make us laugh and he changed up the third line of the song a little bit for some laughs. The first time he sang it I about died because it was so funny and he was so cute - he loved the reaction and kept singing it over and over and over. I had him sing it for Brian (without telling him that Luke changed some words) and Brian about died laughing as well and since Luke loved that reaction as well.....well, let's just say that this song is sung many times a day in our house and Luke will repeat his little "punchline" over and over and over until we say "ahhhh...you are so funny!" and then he does a crazy little "haaa!" It makes his day. Here's a video clip - it isn't his best performance but you can hear him sing. :) Enjoy! (Sorry about his lack of clothes - he just woke up from a nap which explains his wonky hair as well. But notice the lack of diaper? That's right! Our little guy is potty trained and in big boy underpants full time! He just decided last Monday that he didn't want to wear diapers anymore and we haven't looked back! YAY!)

The Nurnberg (Nuremberg) Zoo

I have been feeling pretty lousy the past month and a half - nauseous, tired, grumpy - but wouldn't you know that good ole sunshine and the great outdoors is a wonderful cure for all that morning sickness! We've been pretty active lately - going to Passau, Germany and Cesky Krumlov (a beautiful medieval city in the Czech Republic) last weekend, attending BBQs and hail and farewells at local Gasthauses, shopping for outdoor furniture in Neumarkt and today we ventured out to the Nurnberg Tiergarten (Zoo). It was a beautiful sunshine filled day and the temperature stayed around 74 degrees - perfect. We got off to a late start - Luke has taken up sleeping in later than usual so he didn't get up until 9:45am. Brian and I weren't much better, sleeping in until 9:00am. Anyway, we headed out the door around quarter to 11 and arrived at the zoo a little before 11:30am. We spent 2 1/2 hours walking around, sans stroller. Luke is at a wonderful age where he doesn't need a stroller, stays fairly close to Brian and I, and when he gets a little tired he let's us carry him, for a few minutes anyway. He can be a little pokey so our walk around the zoo was a little slow going at times but we had a great time looking at all the animals, wandering around the kinder (children) zoo (complete with a HUGE playground, pigs in sand and goats to hang out with) and stopping at the little garten for french fries and drinks. The Nurnberg zoo is nice, a good amount of animals but nothing compared to the St Louis Zoo or Milwaukee County Zoo but we still had a very nice time and I'm sure we'll go back again and again. We had a great time and have some pictures to show for it. I'll try to get our Passau pictures posted sometime soon but in the meantime, enjoy the pics of the 3 of us and some friendly animals.

The Prarie Dogs - Luke adored these little creatures - they are pretty playful and active so he got a kick out of watching them run around and scramble up the side of the logs.

See? On his tip-toes watching those Prarie Dogs.
Time for a shoulder ride! He realized he could see a LOT of stuff from this vantage point.
The playground in the Kinder Zoo
Fat pig buried in the sand.

The goats! You could pet them but Luke had no interest - he just liked to walk around.
This is as close as he got to these guys - he would not touch them (not that I minded at all - ewww, dirty goat!) ;)
Snack time!

There are wild horses behind us - exciting I know.

We are looking for seals. Luke had no idea what was in the water until a seal popped it's head up and snorted out water right in front of us. He figured out what was going on and was trying to find them all.
Spotting seals - he loved it!
A penguin parade

We've Got Some News

Hi everyone! I know it has been awhile since I have posted on our blog. I swear I haven't forgot about you all - I just have not had the energy to do much of anything lately. I've been exhausted, sleeping whenever Luke sleeps, and even catching some cat naps on the couch while he plays. I don't feel very well the majority of the day and any bursts of energy I have are spent on Luke or trying to keep the house looking half way decent. I also just recently kicked a hard core Diet Coke addiction and stopped drinking my morning coffee. Why you ask? Because I am pregnant! The baby is due in January. I have a few more weeks left of my first trimester and I am really hoping that the exhaustion and nausea disappear soon. We are very excited for baby #2 and are glad we have plenty of time to prepare for his or her arrival. Here are a couple new pictures of Luke with the ultrasound picture - we sent these pics to the grandpa's for Father's Day as a surprise. They got a kick out of it and are very excited for the baby. Hope you all are doing well. And I hope as I get some energy back I'll be posting more often. Take care...



Oh, and I taught Luke a new trick. Not sure it was the best thing to teach him but it had been so cold and rainy for awhile and we hadn't gone outside in a long time so we were trying to think of fun things to do in the house. Here's a little clip -

Hello!!!!

Hello! It has been crazy and hectic around here lately and I haven't had time to blog! Brian went to France for a staff ride earlier this month. He went to northern France to learn about Normandy. They had a professional photographer on the trip with them so hopefully Brian will get some great pictures and send them my way so I can share them with you all. He got back from France on the 16th of this month.
We had some sad family news last week. Brian's grandma Ledford passed away on Saturday, the 17th of May. He was able to attend the funeral and he flew into Atlanta on Monday, the 19th and stayed through Friday the 23rd. It was a sad reason to have to go back to the states but he is glad he did and he enjoyed being with his family, and his grandpa, during that time.
Since Brian has been back we have been enjoying the great outdoors! The weather has been beautiful (although if you have allergies I guess it's not that much fun!) and we have been trying to be outside as much as possible. We had a neighborhood BBQ on Saturday, we ventured out to a flea market on Sunday and the past couple of nights we have been walking on the trails in the woods near our house. Luke loves it and walks the entire time. Last night I brought the camera along with me and snapped a few pictures. It's beautiful where we live, huh?

Luke running on the gravel path

The forest right by our house
And the train tracks...
Walking up 1 of the paths
Wheat everywhere!
And little flowers too...

We stopped at the park on the way home to play for awhile...

Well if daddy can do it so can I!
Hmmm...how do I do this?
Hanging on!
I think I like this. :) (Notice his cool baseball belt? I made that for him!)
Every time Luke sees sand, it's in his hand and then thrown on something else.
Luke loves this thing and Brian went around so many times that Luke couldn't walk! I caught it on video, it that mean? :)
Fields of flowers!
A flower in Luke's little hand
He really didn't want to leave the park so we had to distract him by finding dandelion puffs for him to shake and when those ran out we found wild daisies for him to pick. It worked like a charm.

The End!

Germany in May

Last time I posted I gave you pictures of all the plants blooming and of Luke. Today, I give you more of the same. :) I know we haven't done anything adventurous lately but we are really settling into our house and enjoying our home so we have been staying around the town on the weekends and enjoying Parsberg. Every day Luke and I enjoy the beautiful May weather (sunny and in the mid 60s) and while Luke bounces on trampolines, slides down slides and destroys flowers, I take pictures of him and of the beauty surrounding us. The neighborhood is nice and quiet during the day when the neighborhood kids are at school and I can let Luke play in the backyard while I am getting things done inside the house - I just check on him frequently but I usually hear him talking to himself or making a racket.





Yesterday Brian played in a golf tournament and when he got home we grilled out and stayed outside until way past Luke's bedtime. Luke get to bed a little after 9pm. He was so worn out that he sacked out right away. But not before we could capture some video footage! I wanted to upload our clip of Luke telling Brian all the endangered animals in the book "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" Luke says "take a bite of..." before saying the animal - he thinks he is pretty funny. But it is a large file and it won't upload so you'll get Luke starting his ABCs and changing it to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and then Luke bashfully singing his ABCs while I hold him. Enjoy!