You Can Lose the Weight but You Cant Lose the Experience.

This week has been a BLAST. I am reminded everyday how very blessed  I am to be able to be here. Let me catch you up on a few things- Like I said I arrived in Germany on August 2, after a long flight and new introductions. The children, are darling. John, who is 6- is the best helper ever and has the most impeccable brain I've ever seen in a six year old. He wants to be a scientist when he grows up and I am already convinced he will be just that. James turns the big five in October. He is a little blonde hair blue eyed wonder boy. He is so passionate about everything and its so wonderful to know that theres so much love in one small child. Miss Genevieve is so spunky and so charismatic, its hard to believe she's going to be 3. She loves Peppa Pig and the color pink and has tiny fly-aways  in the front of her hair line that she constantly brushes to the side with her cute little fingers. Luke has just turned one and waddles around as if he knows just how adorable he is. I've been here just over a week and I love these kids and my wonderful bosses John and Jacqueline. We had a lot of bonding time this week and I'm excited to give you the highlights! Here we go. Bare with me, it was a week chuck full of adventures. Hence, the much longer post.

 Of course no one could sleep the Monday we got home. Jet lag is a killer. So we basically packed up that morning and headed for Nuremberg, Germany bright and early in the morning. The kids were great! I remember being so tired but I just couldn't let myself go to sleep. There was so much to see! Every town we passed held something so significant. We made the long first part of the drive ( 4 hours?) and stopped for lunch and a tour once we hit the magnificent town of Nuremberg. We had lunch and toured the Cathedrals and the Imperial Castle. Its so mind blowing to think that these structures were created before someone even dreamed of being in America. They were so beautifully hand created. Blood sweat and savings went into these cathedrals and sprinklings of bombs washed that hard work right down the drain. It made them so much more precious.

Imperial Castle. So lovely!

Some of the inside of the castle walls. I LOVE that there are flowers EVERYWHERE. 

And the green! Everything is so green! John says green is the color of hope. I think that's wonderful. 

This cathedral was finished in 1502 (?) or somewhere close. I took in a lot of history this week. Don't expect me to get it all right haha. 

The stained glass in these buildings are impeccable. I love them. 

Miss Genevieve and her german version of apple juice that she so generously shared with the floor of the cathedral. 

After seeing these beautiful places and a bit of ice cream, we were headed to Garmisch! We stopped in a quaint little town known as Zugspitzland where we stayed for the night. This part of Germany was a lot more in touch with the Swiss life style. There were a lot more mountains and plenty of paintings on buildings. So we unpacked there and stayed for a while. 

Our awesome hotel with a rainbow over it. Look close. 

Day 1: We climbed the Zugspitze. Otherwise known as the tallest mountain in Germany. We didn't even have to hike it! The train took us right up through the mountain which was really neat. Once at the top you could see where Austria began and where Switzerland went on for ages. Nature is really neat. You know that? 

Little Johnny Bravo and I sitting at the tip top of the Zugspitze. 

Having real German food on top of the mountain. 

Germany share the border to Austria atop this mountain, so we payed a little visit;) so technically we were in two places at once! 

The cute kiddos after we got off the thrilling ride down the mountain. 

*Notice that Genevieve will most likely always have some artifact that is pink. 

Then during quiet time, I got to explore by myself for a little bit. The problem is I have this fetish with buying postcards. So they're all I've bought. Those and sweets. 

And then I learned where the freshman fifteen comes from. 

Day 2. We headed to Schwangau! We drove through Austria to get there and if you didn't know, its the home to the Neuschwanstein castle! The castle that Sleeping Beauty's was created after. So of course Miss Genevieve was ecstatic. We also checked out Hohenschwangau, the castle that the king Ludwig || stayed in during the construction of Neauschwanstein. The history behind these places are amazing! 

Here we are at Hohenschwangau. Don't worry I'm not sure how so say it either. 

 Miss Genevieve and I. The look-out through that arch is impeccable. 

We made it to Neuschwanstein! And so did pet rocks and dragon stories! 

Ahh. Beautiful. 

We cooled off at the lake right before but of course. Four toddlers in the water is bound to promise at least one wet body. We got two. Haha. 

We stopped for a five second photoshoot so I could feel like Julie Andrews and so the hills could feel alive with the sound of music. 

Day 3. We headed off early again and stopped in Liechtenstein for lunch! It was a cute place, and we saw the government building. But it was very hot, and there was so much more to be explored, so we kept going! 

Just driving through! 

 Mr. Lukey and I. More castles and more government buildings. 

So after a few more hours of puffed rice treats and Peppa Pig, we made it to Lucerne, Switzerland! The view was BEAUTIFUL. 

The lake with the city buildings- so dreamy. 

Several hours in the car called for ice cream and feeding the swans. 

See- like Camie says, "You can lose weight, but you can't lose the experience." The greater advice I've heard. 

We stayed in a hotel right on the lake, so it was no surprise when the "pool" ended up being a small swimming area that was fish free (yippee). If you see behind us that door frame opens up to the whole rest of the lake. Coolest pool. 

Day 4. We woke up and it was hot hot HOT! The intentions were to bum around and stay cool. Then Jacqueline has the wonderful idea to go boating! We did just that! 

How pretty is that landscape? I learned that children will feed off your fear. So of course I can't act scared that the fish are going to bite my toes off in front of the kids. So there I went. Plus, Im in a lake in Switzerland. Id hate myself forever if I let fear control my life. 

Eating strawberries and feeding them to the fish Im not scared of.. 

Day 5: After an actual good nights rest, it was Sunday again! I'd been here for a whole week! Wahoo! We found a swiss church and the cool thing was that they had a translator for me. So I could still hear everything. I loved that they sang songs I knew too. So they'd sing in Swiss and I'd quietly sing in English. They couldn't have picked better songs either. I Know That My Redeemer Lives  and Ill Go Where You Want Me To Go  are both wonderful choices when you're in need of comfort and you're four thousand miles away from home. Heavenly Father knows the needs of every single one of us. He'll help you but of course, you have to be the one to ask;) 

We totally matched. You know what they say, "twinning is winning!" 

Then we pastried our way back into the van and headed for Strasbourg, France. It. WAS. DARLING. 

I loved the colorful houses; so much personality! 

Of course, France is not France without Carousels, French windows, and Cathedrals. 

Im telling you, stained glass is a hidden art. 

More of our scenic walk. 

The crew, minus Luke who was sleeping. France my friends! 

Miss Genevieve and her carouseled hair along with her heart shaped meringue. 

Just like that we were headed to our final destination! Luxembourg! We checked into our hotel and made an eventful evening of finding some place to eat and finding out way back to the hotel after that! Haha. But we got a BEAUTIFUL view of the city. We woke up the next morning and headed to the Casemates. This cool, cool wall, built around the whole city way back when. It has caves and cavities and caverns weaved all through out it. It was used as a safety mechanism so defend the city from enemies. It was like walking through the mountain. Which technically, it was. 

All though the lighting is horrific and James and I aren't being very photogenic, the Casemates were super fantastic. 

After a picnic in the parking lot we swung by the Luxembourg American Soldier Cemetery and Memorial. Its haunting yet inspiring. Mr. Wallace would be so proud. 

Do you know what makes me proud to be an American? The fact that the U.S of A built the Germans a cemetery too. But for every one headstone, it represents four soldiers. 

After a long journey such as that I must say the adventure didn't stop! We learned we have frogs in our window wells! So of course we had to take the time to catch them! 

 

I love these kids so much. 

There you have it lovelies! My adventures this week! I've learned that it is so much better to stay busy when I'm missing home. I've also been reminded that Heavenly Father would not give us challenges if He didn't think we could accomplish them. So, remember that. Hard time will pass. Growth means growing pains and lots of memories to come with it. We are never alone and He will remind us of that in the small and simple things we do everyday. So now go have some adventures and feel the love. 

Till Next Time, 

     Hanny the Nanny.