JULY 2021

Brady and Elizabeth went off to Paris and Spain for 9 days.  

We took the kids to Miseau Pool.

We took them to church.

We took them to the little oasis church in the woods 

above Kirchenarnbach

And a fun trip to the Dinosaur Park, Gartenschau

Tessa was tired of having long hair and begged for a haircut.  We took her to the salon in the BX. Mimzy, Ryan and I watched them cut it off and I sent the long braid to Locks of Love. 

Bath Time

Play time

Luke and Tessa's last day of German school. 

We feel so lucky that they had this opportunity. 

It was so neat to see how the Germans do things differently and mostly better.

They had great teachers and wonderful friends that we will always remember.

Tessa often creeps into our bed.

We took Brady and Elizabeth and fam and Mom and Dad to Trier.

I took Brady, Elizabeth and Gus on a trip to Luxembourg and Bastogne.  It was pouring rain when we got to Luxembourg but we were still able to enjoy the cemetery and city.  But we did need to buy a couple more umbrellas.

We stayed in this charming "Glamping" site in Belguim.  I was so glad that we were up higher and in a cabin because the river flooded and many tents had to move.  We were nice and dry and on beds.

Bastogne - Battle of the Bulge. 

Gus was super cute with the tanks and fox holes.

We also went on a road trip to Worms, Rodenbach ob der Tauber, and Nuremberg.

Elizabeth's ancestors are from Worms and this is where Martin Luther is from. 

 It was nice to see the church and the statues to him.  

Rodenbach ob der Tauber, sit down lunch (the doner place was closed) and walk around the city

Then Nuremberg.  Mom and I were going to take the kids to Playmobile land.  I didn't reserve tickets in advance (change with Covid) and were not allowed in the doors.  I felt horrible but we took the kids to the park and rented a paddle boat.  The kids had fun dipping their feet into the water.  I am a little shocked that no one was in a life jacket!  Maybe I shouldn't let Brady and Elizabeth see this picture.

Mom watched the twins and Dad took Brady and Elizabeth on a tour of the city.  Unfortunately, the awesome museum was being renovated and so that was too bad.

The ball pit was a hit with the kids

We met up with the Harshbargers at the Barefoot Park.

Brady was late as he had to get gas. Mom and Elizabeth went to the bathroom while Dad went to get Brady from the car.  Rachael and I were in charge of watching ALL the kids. 

When Brady and Elizabeth got there, they realized that Gus was no where to be found.  He was not with the other kids.  We all ran in different directions.  I had a split thought about going to the other side of the river but thought surely he couldn't have crossed the ONE WAY rope bridge or gotten on the boat alone.  It seemed that he was gone for a long time.  Elizabeth was in tears and trying to hold it together.  Just as she was notifying the owners, dad found Gus crossing over on the bridge.  He had crossed the river to play at the playground.  I think Brady and Elizabeth blamed me but everyone was mostly happy that he was ok.  I was worried that it would ruin our time there but we were still able to enjoy the park, everyone but dad who has extremely sensitive feet and did not enjoy walking barefoot.

The last big trip with them was to the Black Forrest and Switzerland.

Here we are enjoying the hike at Triberg.

I watched the kids while Elizabeth picked out a cuckoo clock from Oli's, handmade for her parents.

We slept on the border on the German side and stocked up on groceries for our day in Switzerland.

We went to Lucerne and had a picnic by the lake before catching a bus to get on the funicular up the Pilatus Mountain.  Of course, Mom and Dad paid the huge bill. 

On top of Pilatus.  It was crystal clear views and beautiful.  

Right as we were leaving the clouds rolled in and as we were going down there was a HUGE hail storm.  We could see the golf size hail bounce and hit around us as we were safe and warm inside.  It made a great loud sound that was unreal and quite the memory.

And then, just like the world revolves around us, when we got back outside, the clouds and storm cleared and it was perfect weather for us to explore the lake and bridge.

We drove into France and stayed at a hotel with a restaurant and indoor courts in Mulhouse. It was perfect to let the kids run around and get some energy out.  Then we went to Riquewihr which never disappoints.

We made one last stop at Strasbourg for some carrousel rides, church tours, and food. 

Brady and family left and 2 days later we were back on the road for an epic road trip through France.

Total trip: Chambord, Tours, Elyzay, Lascaux caves, Carcassonne, Nimes, Avignon, Provence, Verdon Gorge, Sisteron, Annecy, Thoiry (night stay) back to near Grenoble, Geneva, Bern, Colmar.

I really wanted to see Chambord.  I remember it being such a grandiose chateau with spiral staircases.

We went to Leonardo da Vinci's home at Chateau du Clos Luce.  In 1516, the Italian Renaissance genius accepted an invitation from King Francis I and settled in France. From Rome, he brought with him his notebooks and 3 of his major works (the Mona Lisa, St Anne and St John the Baptist), which are now kept in the Louvre. He died on 2 May 1519 in his room and was buried not far away in Saint Hubert chapel in the royal château of Amboise.

It was a beautiful garden, home and museum featuring his inventions.  

Chenonceaux-  In 1547, King Henry II gave the original castle to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. She added an arched bridge over the river.  When the king died, his wife, the queen, Catherine de’ Medici, took over the château. She threw out the mistress, converted Diane’s bridge into a fancy ballroom, and, according to legend, put her own portrait above the fireplace of her rival’s bedroom.

It was so different from 30 years ago.  You could no longer picnic on the grounds but had to pay much further away to get to the grounds.  

Finally in Tours!  We had two apartments on the same street of our old apartment.  There is a new marry-go-round and ferris wheel.  The apartment and river look the same. So many memories came flooding back.  

As the story goes, when Brady and Branagan were found after getting lost, Dad made us all memorize the address: 11 Place Anatole France. 3rd floor past the "scary" lady on the 2nd floor that we never saw and that never bothered us.  We got our imaginations going so much that we would all be in tears, thinking she was going to kill us while mom and dad were on a date.  

The kids got to ride the "scandalous" merry-go-round just like Brady and Kazie back in the day.

A topless woman is totally appropriate for decor of a child's ride.  

Place du Plumereau

A happening place full of restaurants near our old apartment.

We stopped for some yummy food.