Family Time

Day 1

Jet lag….. What is it? Basically exhaustion after travel coupled with your body needing to adjust to a time difference. Who has it??? We do.

Today we had a nice low key day, just adjusting to our new normal for the next 15 days. Naps were plentiful. And food, we just couldn’t get enough of it.

Now even though we only see my grandparents once a year, it was pretty amazing to see how quickly the kids felt comfortable. Boston brought tears to my eyes as he ran directly to my Oma (grandmother) and gave her a huge bear hug as we came through the airport doors. It’s amazing to see how their love and bond grew through simple Facetime calls and yearly visits. He grabbed her hand for the rest of the walk through the airport. Although Elliana was a bit more shy at first, she has to do what brother does, so she grabbed Oma’s hand too. By the time we were on the train, she was chatting away and her normal squirrelly self.

As a child, visiting my grandparents meant a lot of things. Including drinking chocolate milk, eating tons of yummy food, and helping my grandfather out in the garden. Now as a mom, I love seeing my kids experience those same simple memories, today they’ve already had 2 glasses of chocolate milk, went to a special bakery to pick out treats for afternoon coffee, ate several big feasts (as Boston described them) and watered the garden with my Opa (grandfather). It truly feels like the circle of life.

Day 2

Today we are all feeling so much better! It started off with more pretzels 🥨, I’m totally not complaining!!!

And then we hit the road for a nice German late morning walk. We hiked up the bluff to a beautiful botanical garden. The whole hillside is filled with flowers and greenery. I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful view!

Family is an amazing thing! We can see each other every 730 days and live 4,000 miles away, but when we are together it feels like there has been no time or distance between us.

It was so heartwarming to watch the kids play in the flowers and talk with everyone as if they have known them forever.

Day 3

The day started out a bit wet. So having 16 people stuck inside the house, no matter how big the house, was a bit cramped! But we made the best of it. We played several games, had a dance party, and read enough books to fill a small library!

When the rain finally lifted, we decided to checkout a new park. Boston called it the American Ninja Warrior Park because it had so many fun climbing and balancing activities. I think his favorite was the zip line though!

We ended up playing there all afternoon and having a blast!

Day 4

We have been having so much fun with family! Today we adventures just a little bit further from home. We took the bus down to the next village for a stroll to a great playground and then stopped at a super cute ice cream shop. It was the perfect morning!

The playgrounds we have been finding are super fun! They are filled with different balancing rope activities and climbing opportunities and of course lots of sand!

I love revisiting some of my fondest memories of visiting Germany as a kid with my children. Getting ice cream with my grandparents was always so special to me as a kid. It was something I always looked forward too! Especially because the ice cream shops have the best ice cream, not only the best tasting, but also the best presentation!

The kids were so excited to pick their ice cream bowls today. Boston has chocolate spaghetti ice cream. The ice cream was literally in strings like spaghetti. Elliana has a candy bowl. She has strawberry ice cream with m & m type candies on it and then she even found a sucker in the ice cream. And Grace, she of course chose Mickey Mouse ice cream. It was so cute!!