Exploring Stuttgart

R took a day off work in the middle of the week, and we had a great family day together.  We kept Little R home from school and spent the day exploring some places right here in Stuttgart.

First we visited Schloss Solitude.  It's a pretty castle, but we didn't do the tour because they were all in German!  The grounds alone were worth the trip...beautiful grounds and a beautiful, sunny day.

Schloss Solitude

A & R LOVED this tree!  They played on it the entire time we were there.

These smiles make my heart happy!

The grounds were amazing...I kept thinking it would make a beautiful outside wedding...

The tree lined road up to the castle...beautiful!

Next we headed to Rubble Hill.  We read up on it a bit before we went.  This hill is made up of debris from WWII...lots of debris!  I'm not sure what we were expecting...but we weren't expecting this big of a hill!!  It's amazing once you get up to the top...you can see a 360 degree view of Stuttgart, the Black Forest and the entire surrounding area.  It was a little hazy the day we were there...but still amazing!  T complained the whole way up, and little R got off into the weeds and got a rash, but overall it was a still a fun time!

We made it to the top!!

The view is AMAZING!!!

More amazing view...of the city...

The view of the forests...

All the houses in every village/town are pretty much the same...white houses with red tile roofs...

Peaceful up here...I'm thinking of bringing a book and staying a while next time!

Piles of rubble...

Little R is all about posing for pictures...not sure what this pose was!

We walked back down, and headed to lunch!  It was a great lunch at an Italian restaurant.  R and T are really the only ones who like the German food, so we don't eat at German restaurants too often.  Then we headed home.  It was a great day in the middle of the week.  Such a rare opportunity to have R with us during the week!!

And then on the drive home, we saw R's future car...in his dreams!!

It was going a wee bit faster than our minivan!! : )

Zoo Day!

The weather was beautiful last weekend, so we decided to head to the zoo.  Stuttgart has a great zoo and botanical gardens!  It was the first place we visited when we got here last year, and we hadn't been back since.   This time we bought the annual pass, and I think we will be making many more trips in the future!

We had a great time, just enjoying the animals, enjoying the kids, and enjoying the warm, sunny weather that finally made an appearance!

"Oh, no!  Mom's got the camera out already!"

"Cheese!"  We started off with lunch...they had dinosaur chicken strips that Little R devoured!! 

A little boy humor...he was quite proud of himself for "picking" the gorilla's nose!

Playground...A and Little R conquered it!

He loved the "cave".

Little R is such a "mama's boy"...but I love seeing him with his Daddy!!

If there is a rock...he WILL climb it!

"No more pictures!" 

Yep, they are all pretty tired of the camera!

A took this picture of R and me.  R LOVED it!  He has been lifting weights in his workouts, and he said "Look how BIG my arms are!"  Then I noticed my arm looks just as huge as his!!  It must have been the angle of the camera!! Or I need to go on a massive diet! : )

Of all the amazing animals at the zoo, what did he love the most?  The DUCKS, of course!  We actually had to drag him away from them after about 15 minutes!

And my favorite picture of all!!  This is my AWESOME family, and what a GREAT looking family they are...especially that Mom...she's quite the hottie!! : )

Black Forest Trip

A couple of weekends ago we had a tour scheduled to see the Black Forest.  There was a trip to a beekeeper where you cold buy local honey products, a woodcarver, and a cuckoo clock-maker.  And then a trip to the largest waterfall in Germany.  I was very excited about the trip, because we haven't been traveling much lately.

Unfortunately, I was feeling VERY under the weather the day of the trip, so SuperDad took all 3 kids on the trip without me.  It was a cool, rainy day but they had a good time, and R enjoyed this special time alone with the kids.

We are planning on going back...I think this is a trip I just can't miss out on!!

The trail through the Black Forest

The beekeeper...R brought home some fresh, local honey and the girls got some honey lip balm.

After finding out that the toilet was an outhouse, T decided she didn't really need to go that bad after all!

If you want to make T happy...give her sausages! : )

Typical traditional German house...

My 3 favorite kids in the whole wide world!!

Woodcarver making masks...

His work was AMAZING!!!

Cows in the background...this was photo material, because we don't see a lot of cows here...

Those 3 favorite kids again!!

T showing off her "single lady" hat!

A sporting it, too!!

I love this!!

This is the cuckoo clock R wants...Woo Pig Sooie...

The little town...

My 3 favorite kids in front of my favorite color!!!

The trail up to the waterfall.

Pretty...supposed to be the largest waterfall in Germany...

Very typical village in our area...they all look just about the same..built on a hillside, and while the people don't always have yards, they ALWAYS have flowers!!

4th of July...a couple of weeks late!

I LOVE the 4th of July!!  It is usually one of my favorite holidays.  But I was kind of dreading it this year. 

This was our first 4th of July outside of the United States.  In a place where we can't fly our flag at our home, or decorate the house in red, white and blue like we usually do.  Where there was no parade for A to march in, and no flags for little R to wave as she walked by. 

So...it was definitely a different 4th of July for us.  But we went to the most "American" feeling place we have found so far...Ramstein AFB!!  They had a great experience, with lots of food, bounce houses for the kids, carnival games, rides...and of course fireworks!!  The only language we heard was English the entire day!!  It was wonderful!!

We still missed our friends and family back home, but it was a great day nonetheless. 

Loaded up and ready to go!

Obstacle course...A won!

This was hilarious!!  Boxing with these big, heavy gloves!!

T took out all her agression that has been built up in the last 10 years...everything A has ever done...

And this is the position she kept A in pretty much the whole time!!  Our non-violent T really enjoyed the boxing...maybe a little too much!

Little R loved watching the fight!!

R had to pose with the bunny...they matched!

Waitin' on fireworks...

King of the World!!

I forced T to smile for a picture!

Waiting patiently...

R picked flowers for all his ladies...

This one's for you Uncle Dave!!!!

Lots of fun things for the kids to do!

This is the line I stood in for over an hour...just for a funnel cake!  I hadn't had one in years!!

Little R kept his ears covered through most of the fireworks...they were LOUD!

The end of a great day together as a family, celebrating our great country that we love and miss so much!!

 Side Note:  For all of you who keep saying that I am never in the blog pictures.  I appear TWICE in this blog post...that should be good for a while! : )