Our last days...

We were very busy the last few days before our departure from Europe.  

Bryan and I didn't prepare at all for the 1/2 marathon in Karlovy Vary, but we both did okay.  The scenery was beautiful during the run.

Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

The day after the race, I got to experience a beer bath.  You bath in beer and can drink beer and eat beer butter on beer bread.  Quite interesting, but a cross off of my bucket list! 

 The girls got to visit their cousins one last time and play dress up!

 We got to meet the newest addition to the Izu family, Charles.  Super tiny, but not really.  

 We will miss traveling with this crew.

 One last hang out with our kindergarten friends.

 Good-byes to the best candy giving neighbor and friend- Regina.

And lastly, a good-bye for daddy at the airport in Baltimore.

Auf Wiedersehen

I like to keep a list of all the things we have done in the "area" where ever we move.  One, I can look back and see all the things we have accomplished.  Two, others can browse through and get ideas. And three, I like lists.  I already have a few things to check off in San Antonio!

Black Forest, Triberg waterfall, bought cookoo clock

Prague (bone church)

Berlin

Tropical Paradise

Eagles Nest (want to hike someday)

Salzburg 

Berchtesgaden

Lake Konigssee

Phantom of the Opera Musical in London

Dachau 

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Brussels, Brugge, Ghent

Hiked Zugspitz

Bastei Bridge

Devils Bridge

Polish pottery shopping in Boleslaweic x3

Rhein falls, Lucerne, and Lauterbrunnen

Kuekenhof tulip festival (maybe later in the season)

Hofbrauhaus & Munich

Nuremberg rally grounds and castle

Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Nymphenburg, Herrenchiemsee castles

Ettal monostary, cheese making 

Ring tour and Rudesheim

Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival x2

Straubing Fest x3

Highline 179 and ruins

Innsbruck

Belgian waffles and chocolate

Lake Bled & Vintgar gorge, Slovenia

Ski in Austria x 1

Guteneck Christmas market x2

Dresden Christmas market

Hike Jenner Mountain

Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and snowshoe to waterfall (drive up the road made by WWI POW)

Nurnberg Christmas market x2

Hike Appenzell, Switzerland 

Thurn taxis Christmas market

Buy Holland shoes and see the windmills

Kuhstallcafe Christmas market

Sicily- Catania, Taormina 

Partenkirchen gorge

Kuchlbauer Tower tour and Christmas market

Stonehenge

Parsberg Christmas market

Lupberg Christmas market

Playmobil 

Cologne fasching

Neumarkt Christmas market

Bath, UK

Dietfurt Chinese fasching x2

Liverpool, UK

Munich 10K, glockenspiel, English park surfing

Nurnberg color run 5k

Berglegenfeld Christmas market

Pottenstein, Germany

Waldwipfeldweg

Rothenburg- Christmas market and night watchmen tour

Vienna and Bratislava

Half marathon in Vienna, Austria

Kristall Palm Beach

Rome, Pompeii, Herculeneum, Capri 

Wunseidel Rock Labyrinth 

Parkstein inactive volcano

Lake Garda and Verona

Ronda, Nerja, & Malaga Spain

Hiked Caminito del Rey

Würtzburg 1/2 marathon

Snow White Castle in Lohr 

Gibraltar (tour of the caves)

DB museum, Nurnberg

Heidelberg, Märchen Paradies

Luxembourg City, casemates, American cemetery and memorial

Ljubljana dragon bridge and castle

Postojna castle & cave

Croatia: Plitvice National Park, Split, Dubrovnik, Krka National Park, Zadar sea organ

1/2 marathon Füssen

Ice cave hike in Berchtesgaden

Hallstatt, Austria and bone house

Mittenwald and Krün Almabtrieb

Oktoberfest 

Half marathon France

Mediterranean East Cruise- Venice, Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens

Athens authentic marathon 2016

Anne Frank house, Corrie ten Boon house 

Budapest, Hungary: parliament, Buda castle, St. Stephen's basilica, market square, Christmas markets, old synagogue, heroes square

Vienna Christmas market, Straubing Christmas market, Stuttgart Christmas market, Strasbourg Christmas market 

Skiing Söll, Austria x 3

Fuerteventura, Canary Island, Spain

Therme Erding 

Velburg fasching parade

Disneyland Paris, Eiffel Tower Carousel

Cesky Krumlov girls weekend

Barcelona and hiked up Montserrat

Scotland: Stirling, the Kelpies, Edinburgh, the Trossachs, Isle of Arran, Hadrian's wall

Ireland: Killarney NP, gap of Dunloe, ring of Kerry, Dingle, Cliffs of Moher, Dublin, Burran NP, Book of Kells

1/2 Marathon Karlovy Vary

Beer bath

We have high hopes of returning back to Europe, whether on vacation or another tour with the military.  I still want to visit northern France, do a Band of Brothers tour, and go to Paris as a family.  Of course, there are plenty of other things I'd love to do, but that was high on our list.  We just didn't have time.  Unti   

April happenings 2017

The girls and I watched our friends dogs for a couple days.  It was very helpful for Jane's fear of bigger dogs.  

 Kate and Jane running towards each other during kindergarten pick up.  They love each other so much, but also love to fight so much.  Haha!

 Dinosaur park with our friends-

 Sammy, Toni, and Lucy.

I took an overnight girls trip to Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic with Leanne and Meagan.  We chatted way too late into the night, ate Czech food, and toured the city.

Always some crazy weather in Parsberg during the spring.  

Bryan spent two weeks in the field (March 19-March 30) and earned his Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB).  So happy for him and glad to have this over with! (especially if you know the history)

Oh yeah! Movers came and packed up our crap.  Really hoping my polish pottery makes it safely!

Easter 2017

We celebrated Easter a little earlier due to our upcoming move.  

It has been fun to see Kate remember holidays from previous years.  She couldn't wait to color eggs and hide them. Oooh! and candy too!

 Jane just wanted to play with the plastic eggs.

 Searching for eggs on Easter morning.  We filled them up with jelly beans. 

 Painting some ceramics the Easter bunny left in their baskets.   

The military base had an egg hunt for the little kids.  Jane would not come close to the Easter bunny for a picture.  Poor girl does not like life-sized costumes.

Fasching 2017

 I Love Fasching!

  

 We went down to the Chinese fasching parade in Dietfurt.

 Great costumes. Great floats. Lots of candy.

 It was fun to see the different personalities of this crew.  One ate everything that was dropped. One ran around picking up all the candy.  One stood around and waited for candy to be placed in her bag.  And the last one had mommy open up all her candy.  

The crew.

 All the loot. 

 Wnother day we went to the fasching parade in Velburg.  It was smaller, but still just as fun.

Love the Trump jokes!

 Kate had a fasching party at her kindergarten.  She wanted to be a princess, but they were supposed to be a forest animal.  We made her Sven from Frozen and she seemed mostly content.  

 This is Kate's best friend from school.

Kristi's Visit

It was so much fun to see my little sister over President's day weekend.  She was out here for a bobsledding competition and then stopped over on the way home.  We went skiing in Soll, Austria again.  Our cousins also came down for the weekend. 

 We went to Munich and watched the Glockenspiel chime,

  ate lunch at the famous Hofbrauhaus, 

 and watched the surfers at English park. 

 The weather was fantastic.  We went to Therme Erding, the largest indoor water park in Europe.  We had too much fun to take pictures though!

My girls love Aunt Koko!

Kate turns 4

We had a friend birthday party for Kate at the local indoor playground. 

Princess Sofia the first was the theme.  We had strawberry cake, meat and cheese sandwiches, chips, and fruit/vegetable trays.  

Kate loves to play with the cake decorating figurines.  

Most of her friends were able to show up! Toni, Ember, Aspen, Iris, Ronja, Amelie, Ellie, Will, and Sami.

I brought all our dress-up clothes and the girls played around in them.

Blowing out 4 candles!

She got lots of fun stuff from her friends- fairies, coloring stuff, hair accessories, sticker dolls, crafts and bunchems. 

Kate has turned into a little crafter.  This is a gift she received from Will.  She also enjoys play dough, painting, coloring, baking, dressing- up, and singing.  She is really good at putting together puzzles too!  She loves to be the center of attention and I can hardly get her to eat anything, except candy and dairy.  She has become quite the handful, but we love her dearly!

 On her real birthday, we had fun decorating at home and opening family gifts.  

She got princess Elena from grandma and grandpa Koplin.  It came with a book and movie too!

 She also got money, clothes, chapstick, magnet tiles, candy,  

 and her 4 year old shots.  I was a mean mom and made her get shots on her birthday.  I actually didn't think she would be getting any shots.  But then I found out they give shots to 4-6 years olds for kindergarten and I would rather hold down a 4 year old than a 6 year old.  Jane got her 18 month shots too.  It was a wonderful doctor visit.