Euro Disney

As promised, here are some of the million pics we took at Disney. As you can see we had a great time! Seth's absolute favorite ride was the buzz lightyear ride...I think we heard "toooo infinity and beyond" a thousand times that weekend...so cute! He also loved the cars ride which was next door at the Disney Studios Park. Most people have asked me how it compares to Disneyland in CA or FL. Its pretty much the same with the exception of no toontown, no splash mountain, no matterhorn...oh and the Indiana Jones ride at Euro Disney is totally different..its a full blown adult roller coaster. It was a wonderful weekend and gave us a nice distraction from Loren leaving.

On our drive home we ran into a snow storm coming from Germany. Crazy! We had to pull over at a rest stop for 2 hours until it stopped snowing. So a 4 hour drive home turned into a 7 hour drive. Luckily the boys slept most of it so it wasn't that bad. When we arrived home we had 4 inches of snow! Way too early in my opinion for snow!!!! Our part of Germany usually doesn't get snow until January. So now we are all freezing!

The Cars ride


From one of his favorite movies, Monster's

At Downtown Disney, inside Rainforest Cafe

Outside Disney Studios

His favorite ride!

Waiting for the tea cups

My little angel

Back from Disney

We made it back from Euro Disney on Sunday after a wonderful mini vacation! Seth LOVED Disney and Adam was a complete ANGEL all weekend! The only problem we ran into was a snow storm on the drive home...that's another story in itself! I'll post pics soon!

Things are really busy until Loren leaves so I probably won't blog much this week. I want to spend all my free time I have with him. The good news is my Dad made it to Germany yesterday and will be here for 2 months. Yep, 2 months...YAHOO! The other good news is Loren and I are headed to Amsterdam on Friday for the weekend!!!! We are really excited! My Dad will be watching the boys while Loren and I spend some much needed couple time together!

So again, off to do laundry and packing!!

And lastly, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! We will be spending it with our friends Stacy and Jared. Hope everyone has a wonderful turkey day! Here are 5 things right off the top of my head I am thankful for:

1. Healthy children
2. My marriage
3. My Dad being with me in Germany for 2 months
4. My parents and sisters
5. Kohl's extra 30% off!!! haha!

Okay, so I'll be honest here, the past 2 days have sucked. With the news of Loren's departure date I have been sad, teary, and impatient. Luckily Loren has been wonderful and supportive...like he always is!! The good news is today is his last day of work till he leaves. We have debated about doing a little family trip for awhile but didn't know where to go. We have done all the day trips around here and gone to all the places within driving distance. So it came to us last night around midnight! (yes we were up that late. sleep isn't that important these days) We need some fun family time rather than sit around all weekend with our minds occupied on the deployment. So, hmm, where can we go that will give us some much needed FUN and DISTRACTION....

THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!

That's right we are off to see MICKEY MOUSE!



We leave bright and early Friday morning for EURO DISNEY and get home Sunday!!! Its in Paris, which is only a 4 hour drive! We are both REALLY excited! We haven't told Seth yet! He's going to be SOOOO EXCITED! The poor kid has never been to Disneyland...I know, I know, but hey he's only 4 and we have lived in Europe for 3 1/2 years.

So off I go getting us ready for our trip...laundry, packing, oh my! *smiles*

One of those days..

Today has been one of those days where you have been so busy you don't sit down until the kids are in bed. You know those days, right? The good news is I got most of my Christmas shopping done today...YEAH! I always have to start early since I mail my family their gifts. I have been done with Seth for awhile but of course I keep picking up things for him every time I go down the toy isle. So needless to say, like every year, Seth will be very spoiled!

Also today has been pretty sad. That's partly why I went Christmas shopping. We found out the date Loren will be leaving for his deployment. I can't give dates on the internet but its sometime at the beginning of December. He'll be gone for 6 months. My heart is very sad tonight. I know we will get through it, but I hate that we have too.

Veterans Day Fun!

Last week for Veterans Day we decided to head to the KinderSpiel. As you can see from the pics its a mix between chuck-e-cheese and bounce house. Seth had a BLAST!!! It was a great family day!

This the first thing he saw and ran right to it, didn't even take his jacket off!

Surprisingly, this is his first ball pit ever!

He rode this over and over and over...

LOVED climbing this!

If there is a slide...Seth's on it!

Mr. Smiley

Its official, my baby is already growing up faster than I wish. Adam started smiling about 2 weeks ago. Here is one of probably a hundred pictures we took of him smiling. His 2 month check-up is Monday so I'll post his stats than. He truly is the sweetest baby...and a GREAT sleeper....HALLELUJAH!! Pretty much the complete opposite of Seth. Seth was fussy, needed constant attention, and a horrible sleeper as a baby...but of course the biggest joy too! Adam is calm, self soothing, and a wonderful sleeper (he's already sleeping through the night)...let's hope his sleeping habits continue!! Most people who know us well say, Seth looks like me but has Loren's personality while Adam looks like Loren and has my personality...let's see if that stays true as they both grow up :) I couldn't love them more. I feel so blessed to be their Mommy!

Seth at 4 years, 1 month

Adam at 7 weeks

Oh and yes that is a Christmas stocking you see in Seth's picture. I'll post more on that later, basically Loren is leaving in 3 weeks for Qatar and we are doing Christmas early this year. Our tree is already up and we are in full holiday spirit!!

My top 5 baby items

I got an email from my wife's group on fav baby items a couple months ago. I thought it was a great idea so I'll share mine here. Here are my favorite...of course I have many more things that I love but these stand out for me. I love them all! Maybe I should have a 3rd child just so I can use them again...hmmm... lets not get too crazy...haha! What are your favs?

1. Carters Super Cozy Blankets. I love love love baby blankets and these are really a great price for the quality of blanket. Super soft and perfect size!!

2. Advent formula dispenser. I probably use this everyday. I'm not a breastfeeding Mom so this is wonderful for taking formula on the go!

3. JJ Cole Diaper Pod. So I'm just not into diaper bags at all...I know, I know, how dare I! I have always just used a bigger purse. My coach bag works just right for me now that I have this. On the back there's a place to put 2-3 diapers and wipes.

4. Maclaren Easy Traveler!! I love this stroller! Yep, I have one of those huge travel systems and hate it! Its too heavy and takes up half my trunk! So when I saw this I had to get it. I've been a HUGE FAN of Maclaren strollers since Seth was 8 months old when I got my first. They are really worth the money! Lightweight, tall handles, and take up no space! Great to travel with when in and out of airports/cabs!!

5. JJ Cole BundleMe! I would of never needed this when I lived in Vegas/Cali but in cold/rainy/snowy Germany this is AWESOME! Keeps Adam really warm!

Ireland

Here are pics of Loren's trip to Ireland. They didn't take a lot of pictures. Figures huh....3 men won't use the camera much, but here is what I got to show everyone. All of them really loved Dublin. They went to the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, Dublin Castle, and 2 Cathedrals...and of course many pubs along the way! One thing that stood out while I heard the details of the trip was the Irish were super friendly. Having traveled all over Europe that is clearly not the norm. So it was nice to hear not every culture hates Americans. Because, believe me, we have tried to hide the fact we're Americans when we travel (especially in France!) but Europeans can tell immediately! It must be all over us in ways we don't even notice. Anyways here's to Ireland, cheers!



Overview of Dublin

After the Guinness Tour

Loren's Dad, James at one of the Pubs

Dublin Castle

Loren with his Dad

Inside the Guinness Storehouse

Grandpa's visit

Today, Loren's family left after a 2 week visit. It was their 3rd visit to Germany since our arrival here. It was great to see his Dad and Brother and we were all sad to see them go back to Florida. Seth adored his Grandpa and climbed all over him every chance he got. Loren took them to Dublin, Ireland for some "male bonding" time as I like to call it :) I couldn't take Adam since we don't have his passport yet...so I stayed behind to take care of the boys. Below are pics of their visit, I'll post the Ireland pics later.