New Year and Stuttgart

We celebrated the New Year at home and went to bed early.  I am not the biggest fan of staying up late, just to be physically exhausted the next morning.  No matter what time Kate goes to bed, she will still wake up at 7 AM.  Although, we did wake up at midnight to fireworks surrounding our house.  These Germans sure know how to light up the night and party! 

 The next day we went on a hike through our neighboring forest.  The snow was starting to melt, so we didn't really have to wear our snowshoes.  Kate enjoys playing in the snow, as long as her hands stay warm.

 We spent three days in Stuttgart, Germany.  We took Kate iceskating for the first time.  She did fantastic.  They have these little chairs that you can either sit on and be pushed or hold onto the back for balance to skate.  She started to have more confidence by the end saying "Kate do it!"

We also went to the zoo which worked out great because it rained ALL DAY!  The Stuttgart zoo is perfect for rainy weather because you can go inside the building on the other side of the outdoor cage and see all the animals hiding from the rain themselves.  I think the hippopotamus was our favorite.  He would hid in the water and then come up and spray the crowd with dirty water.

Old Town Stuttgart.  One of the buildings in the city is dedicated to Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the man responsible for attempting to assassinate Hitler.  If you haven't seen the movie Valkyrie, I highly recommend.

 Bryan and Kate in front of the pond at New Castle.