Again, another much delayed post. Sigh. And apologies. We're back from an awesome and wonderful time in Germany and are currently recovering from the three solid weeeks of pure fun (well, most of it, minus the 13 hours it takes to get there and the 30 it takes to get back here). We were in Willingen, Germany, which is a sweet little village that caters to tourists, and kindly deals with those crazy Americans who don't speak a lick of German. What I thought was hilarious was that no one could tell I wasn't German when they looked at me! Wow! I blended in even though I totally didn't. WOW! Blows my mind away. This is a big deal when you live in a place where you stand out no matter what you try to do. People spoke to me in German. And I spoke to them in English. We got along great.


Some of my highlights of our time in Willingen (for all you English speakers out there- which is probably everybody if you're reading this blog- is pronounced "Villingen) include:


-waking up Dizzle every morning and finding her snoozing away in a deep deep sleep, with her mouth wide open of course (it's a genetic thing, I do it too)


-walking to our favorite bakery and buying the best raisin bread ever, and then slathering that awesome raisin bread with loads of cream cheese for breakfast


- watching Eden and Isaaq interact with their Ama and Apa and Aunty Dizzle


- figuring out ways to deal with Isaaq's major mommy attachment issues (he made significant improvements by the end of the trip)- maybe this wasn't so much of a highlight


- buying sandwiches and going to a beautiful park in town, watching the ducks, and eating those delicious bakery treats


- chocolate crossaints


- going through gallons of cream cheese in four days time (well, maybe a little less than that)


- playing Dominion and our awesome snacks (think German chocolate, ice cream, cheese, fruits, baked goods) and sophisticated drinks (I liked to call them "bubbly"- made with the perfect combination of fruit juice and Sprite- nothing else- and they were MARVELOUS- invite me over and I'll make them for you too)


- Mini-golfing, discovering Germans follow different rules than Americans do. Turns out you're supposed to go through the obstacles not just see how quickly you can make it to the hole. Who'd have thunk?


- Berliners anyone? Think perfect delicious fluffy sugar coated doughnut with a hint of strawberry filling. I'll take 10 or maybe 22. JFK liked them too:)


- Learning the proper etiquette for eating Brie. It really does exist. I know, I'm shocked too. Though I'm pretty sure my savvy brother-in-law Ben probably already knew aforementioned etiquette existed.


- Wearing jeans, foregoing "Tent Dress Awesomeness" for three weeks (though to be honest, I'm happy to be back in them now, it's hard work making sure all your clothes match, aren't wrinkely, don't have your kids' snot wiped all over, etc.)


-Photo date with Dizzle. And discovering I know nothing about photography or my camera.

-Watching Eden play with her sidewalk chalk and eat pink marshmallows (her favorite)

-Taking more hot showers in three weeks than I've taken in the past three months. And, I took long hot showers b/c hey- there were three eager beavers to watch my kiddos so I didn't have to worry about a thing.

-Eating tortellini. So good. It's been so long my friend.

-Chicken Nugget Pizza. It's heavenly. Who even knew such a thing existed?

And, there's a whole lotta of other stuff that I'm probably forgetting about. Maybe I'll add them later if I think about it.