Drinkin' ze bier!

When I asked Nathan what he wanted to do for his 30th birthday, he quickly replied "Oktoberfest"! So we started planning and met Janet and Guy in Frankfurt, Germany a few months later. Our trip ended up coinciding with Nathan's Aunt Miriam and Uncle Alton who were heading to Rome. They joined us for a several days in Germany before continuing on their way. We took the train to meet up with Julia, Anita and Wolfgang Schnaiter (our German cousins on Janet's Dad's side). We hit the ground running staying very busy!

We took a tour around Broggengin, Germany where Janet's ancestors are from.  Owen thought it was hilarious and quite clever to pose like the soldier fountain. And if big brother did it, well... little sister is quick to follow (with a little help from her Jido!)

There are tons of orchards of various fruits and fields of vegetables. The locals were currently harvesting apples and grapes, both of which we got to help with. Owen and Riley really loved seeing the chickens and horses we walked by. We stopped to feed the chickens through the fence. 

The vinyards were all over with beautiful grapes ready to be picked! 

Riley's 1st apple picked straight off the tree!

Owen suddenly decided to jump across the ditch. It was super adventurous!

Trying our hand at feeding this magnificent horse a pear. He was pretty uninterested.

Owen pumping water! Our group on our walk.

 

Our cutie Riley-bug. Anita and Julia in their traditional dirndl and Wolfgang in his lederhosen. 

Chacha, Riley, Europa Park Mouse, Owen and me ready for the Oktoberfest at Europa Park. Nathan was so excited! 

Nathan and me at Europa Park Oktoberfest. Here is Nathan's 1st bier in Germany!

 

Let the birthday celebrations begin!

Nathan with his babies and of course a Black Forest hat!

We decided to cross the border into France and check out one of the castles, Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg. Amazing!

Owen taking our picture. 

We took the "short cut" up to the castle and got to hike through the forest a bit. Super fun! This 6 month pregnant momma made it just fine! Nathan was jumping for joy he didn't have to carry me!

My sweet Owen is becoming quite a poser when he's in the mood. It's making for some fabulous pictures. 

He was telling me all about the weapons. The picture on the right is of the beautiful country side from high atop the castle.

Family picture by a huge cannon!

Owen and Riley selected their weapons. Owen chose a traditional knight role with a sword and shield. And what's a girl to pick? A mace of course! Right on sister!

There was a festival going on at the castle and they were holding a bunch of activities in the courtyard. Owen wanted to walk across the tight rope holding the box. Then he got to add it to the box castle everyone was making. The French guys working got Julia to walk across too calling her a princess. :) 

Check out this little peep hole!

Owen hammering in a steel nail to a log. Posing as Owen the Knight, Defender of the Castle! 

Riley caught a ride down from the castle and Owen helped Jido steer clear of the rocks. 

Then we were off to Oktoberfest in Munchen!

An apple juice to toast with Jido

At Oktoberfest

Stopped for Burger King. The kids loved the crowns! Owen passed out after he ate still wearing his. Super cute!

In one of the bier gardens

Nathan's 1st real Oktoberfest bier!! Later that night he hacked my Facebook account saying he was wasted as many of my friends know. I wanted to feel apart of the group with all the bier drinking so I posed with one of the giant steins.

Eins zwei g'suffa!!

Owen prosting with Julia and Marina, our Germans! He loved it as you can tell by his massive smile!

Nathan and Julia

We adventured around Munchen the next day. Riley was really good a catching a ride on Daddy's shoulders. 

Owen posing again with "Pumbaa". Haha! Nathan and the kids on the train. 

Oktoberfest fun!

Three generations at lunch. Chacha walking with Riley. 

Nathan and Owen at the Hofbrauhaus - I snapped the picture just as Nathan got slapped... :/ Miss Riley on a mission to shop! 

Playing in the Munchen market

Back in Broggengin we saw some of Anita and Wolfgang's neighbors harvesting their grapes.

Meeting Emil the duck. Riley thought he was really cool! Later at the wine festival, she was conked out! Too much German fun!

Anita found me some alcohol free bier! I tasted just like the real thing! 

Owen and Nathan throwing up their horns at the wine festival overlooking the amazing German countryside. 

 Janet and me at the wine festival. 

In Freiburg we got Owen a little boat to pull in the water canals. There were street performers all over the city. Nathan gave Riley a coin to give one of the guys painted all in silver. There was no way she was getting close or giving him her coin!

Super cool! This machine separates the grapes from the stems!

We went on a wine tour in Kiechlinsberger. It was awesome to see how they make wine. Plus a little tasting never hurts!

The building behind Nathan and me was once a castle in the area. The gentlemen pouring Nathan some wine is the CEO of the wine company being our tour guide. Wolfgang really hooked us up on this tour!

Red wine barrels - yum!

Julia, Anita, Wolfgang and Guy took Riley and Owen to their apple orchard. Owen and Riley worked hard harvesting apples. Owen was so proud to pick a special apple just for me! Nathan, Janet and I snuck out to do a bit of shopping in Herbolzheim. 

Owen was incredibly fascinated by Wolfgang's motorcycle. We geared him up and Wolfgang took him on a slow ride around Broggengin. Talk about smiling from ear to ear!

Not trip to Broggengin is complete without a few games of boule ball! The kids found a little playground and had lots of fun while the adults competed on the official boule ball court in the town. 

Anita and Julia in action!

We had an amazing trip! Wolfgang, Anita and Julia were fantastic hosts and we loved spending time with them. Guy headed to Denmark for a little business then back to Texas. We got to bring Chacha back to Angola with us!!! We are so excited to have her visit!!

Ciao!

Growing!

Baby and I are doing great and growing lots! The kids are so sweet with the baby, kissing, tickling and hugging my baby belly. We took this picture this week which marks 6 months. The baby is getting stronger with his or her kicks and movements. Nathan and I can't believe and are so excited that in 3 short months we will be holding our 3rd child!

Cravings: Hawaiian pizza, anything chocolate, must have pickles on my sandwich, otherwise I'll figure out something else to eat

Our big kids are growing too. Owen and Riley LOVE riding scooters! Owen showed me the different ways you can wear your baseball cap yesterday. Super cute! Riley likes to add princess to everything. The best phrase yet has been "Princess Rirey Hulk Smash."

Riley and Owen are now sharing a bedroom with 2 twin beds. About a week ago she rolled out of bed in the middle of the night. There were lots of tears and calming her down. The next morning poor Riley-bug's lip looked like this. :0( It's all healed up now thankfully.

Nathan brewed his our Wiessbier. He just has to bottle it. He is super excited about it!

We have our Germany trip coming up. We're so excited to visit Anita, Wolfgang, Julia and Miriam! We'll be meeting up with Janet and Guy and for a few days Uncle Alton and Aunt Miriam. Here we come Oktoberfest!

Ciao!

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Itching like Hell

Wednesday night I made a yummy Mushroom Stroganoff for Dinner. It's a really delicious vegan dish we learned for the E2 Diet. Later than night I woke up with my neck, chin and checks itching like crazy. I thought it was bizarre and maybe the cause of not washing my make-up off (don't judge, we've all done it).

Thursday morning my legs looked like I had a couple small bug bites. I immediately thought we had a nest of bugs living in or under the bed. Found nothing after stripping the sheets, lifting the mattress and having Nathan examine underneath. No bugs and still super itchy. By Thursday evening I was going crazy! Incredibly itchy and desperate for relief. I took a Benadryl in hopes that it might help.

Last night the itching got worse. It seemed whichever side I laid on that's where the worst itching spot flamed up. I did my best not to itch and focus on going back to sleep. Somehow I go some sleep without scratching too much.

This morning my legs looked like this....

I was able to get Owen off to school in a very positive way. It surprised me how patient I was with the kids all the while dying to strip and scratch my legs, back, arms and neck. Nathan did a little online research and brought up that women can develop hives during pregnancy. He thought it would be go to visit the doctor to be sure. With the help of good friends here, I was off to the clinic with a driver by 9am and Riley was heading to a play date.

As most of us have experienced, by the time you can see the doctor, your symptoms have subsided. I had taken pictures to e-mail Nathan but they we exactly what I needed to show the doctor. He immediately looked at them and said I was having an allergic reaction to something. I explained what I had for dinner the night the itchy hell started. He's sure it was the mushrooms. I've never had food allergies other than an occasional upset stomach, so this seems bizarre.

Even with my arms and neck currently inflamed and driving me nuts, I am thankful:

1. I'm not crazy imagining the itching and creating it. It's actually something. 2. No bugs in our bed. Hallelujah! 3. I have some medicine to start calming the reaction down from the inside. Plus lots of water to naturally flush the system. 4. It's me and not the kids. 5. No harm to Baby!!

The next couple days will be itchy, but I should feel better soon. Never a dull moment!

Ciao!

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Tres Chic!

This morning turned super girlie when Riley asked me to paint her feet aka her toes. So we headed to the bathroom and got out mini mani/pedi station set up. She held perfectly still and was so excited! Of course "paint Rirey fingers" followed to complete the full mani/pedi. She keeps pointing at her nails saying "so pretty!"

Ciao!

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First week of school at LIS

We made it through the first week of school! Not without some tears (not just Mommy!) but we did it! Wednesday night was the parent meeting where we learned all about the school's philosophy specifically for the Early Learning Center. Nathan and I are so excited about it and think the school makes being here in Angola well worth it. If y'all are interested, the school follows the PYP curriculum in combination with the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

Riley disappeared during the meeting. But then we noticed these 2 little legs standing behind an art easel. We went over and she was dressed in a painting smock with 2 gallons of paint on the paper! It was awesome! The teacher was pretty impressed with her and was surprised she is only 2.

They had a hand out with important information, dates, etc and a few pictures. Check out who's making friends and playing in the sand! (Or as Owen calls it, the beach.) My guess is they are digging to Texas!

Ciao!

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How old are you?

Riley loves coloring! And she likes counting. The thing with her counting is that we aren't quite to numerical order counting but more "security code" type counting. Her favorite is "9 4 8". So while we we coloring this morning, she asked me to write the number 8. I wrote it and gave her back the marker where she immediately mimicked my 8. Here's the result:

Nathan and I are pretty impressed with our 2-year old!

Ciao!

 

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Owen is FOUR!

Wow time is going fast and the kids are growing even faster! Our sweet baby by is a big boy. He turned 4 on the 11th. I can't believe it's been four years since we were in the hospital starting out as new parents, totally overwhelmed and in love with our new baby boy. This year Owen you have had so many changes and conquered so many milestones. You are quite well traveled and live in Africa. You are 3' 8" and still growing strong! You have an amazing personality, incredibly loving and sweet, and love laughing at silly things like toots. This Monday you start at your new school. I know this time next year your Dad and I will be even more blown away by the awesomeness that is YOU!

Before your birthday party, you and Chacha brainstormed about what you'd like at your party. It pretty much sums up your likes at this point in your life. All chocolate food and fighting bad guys!

Ciao!