Spencer was tall enough to ride all of the rides this time and Josey could ride everything except Indiana Jones (although she was scared to death of everything, even Peter Pan!)  Some of my favorite moments of the 3 days there:  Josey did not want to ride any of the rides…she would take one look at them and say they looked scary and that she was going to throw up if we made her ride on them.  Her very first ride was Peter Pan and she was freaked out.  A teenager in front of us told her she would give her 2 quarters if she didn’t like the ride.  By the time we got off Josey was crying uncontrollably and the teenager stayed and delivered on the two quarters.  She only wanted to meet all the characters: Mickey, Minnie, the Princesses, Tinkerbell, Goofy, all except Sullie from Monsters, Inc.–NOT interested!   Spencer wanted to ride all the roller coasters.  Chris and Spencer would go ride the roller coasters while the Girls waited in lines to meet the characters.  They rode the Matterhorn several times, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain.  In fact he rode Splash Mountain 5 times back to back as a single rider getting wetter and wetter the more he rode.  He loved the freedom!  Izzy loved Tigger, Pooh Bear and Eeyore.  While waiting for Spencer on Splash Mountain, they were coming back from a break and Izzy saw them and with arms out in front of her chased after them, Tigger came out behind her and saw her, following her mimicking her arms and she stole the show and made everyone there smile!  Josey at that age wouldn’t let the characters come near her, Izzy let them even touch her without freaking out!  She was fun!  It was crazy busy, but the magic that children experience while there is priceless…I am so glad that I worked out all the logistics!

Josey apparently told Santa that she wanted a doll with blue shoes and a blue dress with the prince that goes with her…unfortunately that didn’t translate to Santa’s Helpers and on Christmas morning after all but the last present was opened and she didn’t get her doll with the blue shoes and dress, she stormed out of the room crying and slammed her bedroom door!  Jeesh!  Santa was in BIG trouble!!!

Spencer had his whole list ready to tell Santa with a paper that he created while in Ohio with Mema and knew exactly what he wanted for Chrismas.  Santa had a better idea and didn’t bring him anything he wanted on his list and Spencer was thrilled with that he got!  I love when Santa knows best and knocks it out of the park! 

We went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to see the beautiful lights and enjoy one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  We went to dinner at Settebellos (an authentic Italian pizzeria) first, then walked around the area and through the lights. It was freezing cold the night that we went, but my favorite sounds were the “ooooohhhhs and aaaahhhs” coming from my children when they would see the bright Christmas lights, the nativity and the LDS temple. 

Then there was Christmas! 

My kids are at the most perfect age for Christmas this year…Spencer got Imaginext Aircraft and a telescope.  Josey got the fun castle and a bunch of princess stuff, dolls, dress ups, games…what more could a girl ask for?!  And Isabelle got the Weeble-Wobble go round that plays music so she can dance and she loves!  As our final present we had them open an envelope which had a picture of the Disneyland Castle on it and left the evening of Christmas to drive to Disneyland for 5 days for Christmas…they were so surprised and so excited they couldn’t contain themselves!

At Spencer’s school in order to dress up they have to choose a character from any book off of the classical literature list, so Spencer chose Duke for President from the delightful children’s book title the same thing. He was so cute, but shed like crazy thanks to the boa I used to make his feather wings.

Half way through our neighborhood trick or treating Spencer decided he was done and wanted to go home, but Josey didn’t so Bo Peep (that was me) took my sheep and we hit about 15 more houses before heading home.  When we got there, Josey bragged about her haul of candy, and Spencer had told Daddy that he was done because candy isn’t good for you and will give you a tummy ache if you eat to much and he already had enough in his bag!  Chris then looked at me and said, “You are ruining our kids!”  I thought to myself, at least he’ll be healthy!   Happy Halloween!

Chris had to go to Frankfurt, Germany for 3 weeks for work in October and I decided that there was no way he could go to Europe and experience  it without me!  It would definitely not be fair for him to see all those really cool places and not have his favorite person there to enjoy them with him…selfless I know!  So We figured out a plan and amazingly it all (well mostly all) went according to plan. 

Thanks to my amazing Mother and Father-in-Law for giving up their time, sleep, sanity and house to my three orphans for 8 days so we could do it!  They had a blast with them and all their Ohio and Colorado cousins…but that’s for another post…

FRIDAY, October 21st: I flew into Frankfurt on Friday morning and landed to 35 degrees and chilliness, slept a few hours at the hotel while Chris finished up work stuff and then we were off on the Autobahn, an experience unto itself that you must do once in your life (Chris was in heaven having a lead foot like he does)!  We were going 105 on average (that’s mph not kmp) and were being passed like we were going 55 on our local Interstate!  Can I just say CRAZY fast!  We made good time to our first location Rothenberg ob der Tauber (said Rote-en-berg) which means “Red Fortress above the Taber”, an old walled village dating back to 1170 AD.  In the background of the above picture you can see the rooftops covering part of the outer wall.  It was cobble stoned, quaint, beautiful and inspiring!  We wandered around the town, the wall, in and out of little shops and had a delightful day.  We ate at a little, quiet restaurant.  I had potato cakes and a green salad (with a heavy handed pouring of vinegar based dressing) and Chris had a favorite german dish, shnitzel with noodles (just like in the Sound of Music song.) They were both delicious.  Then we went on the Night Watchman Tour.  It was a foggy, spooky night and made the tour that much cooler as he told us the history of his town.  Definitely a must do while there! 

SATURDAY, October 22nd: Our B & B, The Gasthof Goldener Greifen, was right on the corner of the center square and gave us breakfast in the morning which consisted of: hard rolls, sliced deli meats and cheeses, tart yogurt, granolas, and fruits.  Good and hearty!   We explored a few more places, did a little shopping (the grey coat I am wearing in most of the pictures I got there because I left my coat in Utah) and then started on down the road for a day of exploring and adventuring.  We drove through quaint towns and villages on our way Füssen (said Foo-sen).  We found another old walled town called Dinkelsbühl that we explored before continuing on.  I loved the country side with the well taken care of, immaculate farms.  No broken down tractors or white trash junk laying about, it was quite amazing.  We walked down to a beautiful lake and I was awestruck by the beauty of the Austrian Alps in the back ground and the beautiful trees changing color.  We checked into our hotel in Füssen and then walked around this charming town.  Had dinner in the restuarant: Snitzel with fries and baked salmon…delish! 

SUNDAY, October 23rd: Got up early and headed over the river to the town of Schwangau where we got tickets to tour the two castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein (the one Walt Disney based his princess castle off of).  It was a brisk and chilly morning, making the walk up to Hohenschwangau invigorating and the colors crisp and breathtaking.  I loved that the Queen had her own chambers with a secret passage way from her bedchamber to the King’s bedchamber one floor up.  No castle is complete without secret passageways!  We then walked down the hill from that castle and up the mile roadway to Neuschwanstein.  We walked so many stairs and a lot of hills that by that night our legs and calves were killing, but it was fun and worth it.  After touring the castles we got back in the car and headed up the A7 to our next adventure…finding the castle we were staying in for the night in Hirschhorn.  It was great driving along the winding Nekar River on a little two lane road passing through towns and villages and seeing old remnants of castles high on the cliff above us.  We drove through a little archway into the cobbled courtyard of our castle.  It was old and beautiful.  Our room overlooked the river and the village of Hirschhorn.  We ate at the restaurant at the castle: 4 cheese raviolis and surf & turf (quail & grilled shrimp) Yummy! 

MONDAY, October 24th: Got up early and found our way to Heidelberg and the HUMONGOUS castle there.  I think the whole castle and grounds was the size of my whole neighborhood.  Amazing!  I get why they build on a hill, not only for protection, but for the views as well!  It was bitter cold and windy on the hill, so we didn’t stay long wandering around outside.  We saw an ad for some gardens which were 15 min south of Heidelberg and we had 3 hours to kill before returning the rental car and getting our train so we decided to head over there.  After driving a circle around the place, we finally figured out where to park and headed over.  Can I just say that I was so happy we found this gem…it was like the German version of the Versailles gardens!  We wandered around the gardens taking little pathways that lead to marbled statues, ponds, santuaries, manicured trees and shrubs and abundant beauty!  I could imagine secret rendezvous with lovers and never being found out…it was delightful and the day turned out to be one of the best we had.  The sun came out and warmed up to the upper 50s basking everything in its radiant glow!  What a find!  We then found a grocery store and stocked up on yummy chocolate and snacks for the train ride.  After returning our car and adventuring on the metro to the train station, we boarded our train to Paris, France and set off.  It got dark quickly so the train ride was uneventful, but after arriving in Paris and getting a taxi to our hotel, just 1 block from the Arc de Triomphe we went there and walked around it and down the Champs Elysees until we found a little diner and got a pizza and expensive water (5 Euros for one bottle, that’s about $7.50 US) and enjoyed being in Paris together!! I had to pinch myself to make sure I was really there and not dreaming!

TUESDAY, October 25th: Day 1 of our 2 short days in Paris!  Notre Dame first thing.  We decided to go here first to avoid at least one line and we were right.  We got in line to do the hike up the almost 400 steps to the top of the towers and were the 3rd group in.  It was amazing to see the panorama of the city of Paris from up there.  Gives a new perspective and was neat to see the gargoyles up close and personal and I loved all the intricate stone carving and embellishments that went into the building of this great cathedral!  We crossed the little bridge to the small island behind Notre Dame and wandered the narrow streets and shops that lined them.  Next up, the Musee d’Orsay=CLOSED due to a strike!  I was ticked!!!  That was the ONE museum that I wanted to go to.  I love the Impressionist period in Art History.  I was so excited to see all the amazing works of art behind the locked doors of the museum and get lost for several hours there, but not in the cards this time.  I guess that means that Chris will have to take me back there for another visit! So we then wandered across the Seine River to the Louvre through Le Jardin des Tuileries (which is like Central Park in NYC) up the Champs Elysees for some shoe shopping to find my perfect pair of shoes in Paris (souvenir #2)  to the Arc d’Triomphe and a rest at the hotel.  Then dinner at another sidewalk cafe and wandering through the shops.

WEDNESDAY, October 26th: Paris Day 2…we decided to get a Tour Paris bus pass so we could ride at our leisure and get off and on wherever and whenever we chose.  It turned out to be a great way to find out the history of Paris and listen to some great French music…and see the Eiffel Tower!  What a grand sight!  It was intricate and beautiful to walk through and see the detail work that makes it unique.  We got off at the Musee d’Orsay to see if they were by chance open today, but no!  So off to the Louvre where the line was 3 hours long just to get in…NOPE, I didn’t want to wait in that crazy line just to say I saw the Mona Lisa!  So we walked to the park to get at baguette sandwich and sit in the sunshine and enjoy watching people passing by.  We then went on some more of the bus tour and got off on the West bank near the Pont Neuf and wandered through the Greek section of Paris, did a little souvenir shopping and then headed back to the hotel for a little rest.  That night after dinner we decided to take a Night Tour on the Seine River and see the “City of Lights” in all its nightly lit glory.  It was beautiful and peaceful and nice to sit after a lot of walking the past several days. 

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT PARIS:  yummy ice cream, pain au chocolat (really any of their pasteries!), crepes with nutella, cool architecture, the river walk along the Seine, old history, crazy awesome metro, spending time with my favorite man!

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT GERMANY: the OLD, quaint towns and villages; pristine farms; the autobahn; castles galore; friendly people; cobblestone streets and stone walls surrounding villages; cookoo clocks and the beautiful Alps with all the trees changing color.

What an experience of a lifetime we had together!  I loved every minute of it!

We biked starting at Vivian Park and rode down to Bridal Veil Falls, the kids played in the water and then we had a picnic with a surprise showing of Bette Graham and her gang.

We then biked back up to Vivian Park, Spencer was such a trooper and didn’t complain once about it being hard or being tired!  After letting them play on the playground, we decided to drive up through Sundance and over the Alpine Loop to see all the colors in God’s wonderful palette!  It was so what I needed to fill my bucket before Chris leaves for all but 2 days of the month of October.