Mom and Dad's Visit and Bergkirchweih

The annual Bergkirchweih is going on near our town this week.  It is the longest running beer festival in Germany.  To read more about the history of the event, read HERE.  Last year we had a 3 day old baby when the festival started, so we didn't go.  I did see a few babies that looked not too much older than that at the Berg this year!

Prost!

It was pretty warm and there were LOTS of people.

We love to play outside!  There is so much to see and so many new things to put in our mouth...

Time to celebrate our other May birthday... happy birthday to my wonderful husband!

What a wonderful time.

Mom and Dad come to town - Birthday and Prague

My parents came to visit us a couple of weeks ago.  As always, we are very excited when we have family and friends willing to make the long trek to see us.  This visit was particularly exciting because in the midst of it we had a party to celebrate the little girl's birthday!  Cupcakes were eaten and songs were sung... what a wonderful time!

She ate her cupcake very daintily at first.  Once she was used to everyone's eyes being trained on her, she excitedly dug into it!

I love celebrating birthdays.  It's such a nice way to show someone how appreciative you are of their life and their place in yours!  We are so grateful for our little girl.  She is so beautiful and we love how excited she gets when she learns something new.  Her eyes light up and she has a look of pure elation.  She really enjoyed getting to know her Grammy and Grandad better.  Having someone's constant attention will certainly win hearts over!  I love that my parents were able to witness her growing and changing. 

The day after my parents arrived, we drove over to Prague.  Our navi took us on a bit of a sidetrip... in case you were wondering, Plzeň really isn't worth seeing.  The main reason for the drive to Prague was to visit my cousin, his wife and meet my new little nephew.  The little guy was so sweet... just 8 days old when we got there!

Prague was nice.  We were able to spend a few hours wandering the city and taking in all of the sights.  We visited the Old City and also Vyšehrad, which was nice because it was a little bit less touristy. 

I couldn't help myself... they were so tasty.

Here we are celebrating Abigail's actual birthday.  When she woke up on her birthday we opened some presents and then we ate cupcakes again that night!

Happy birthday, little one!

Mountains

When I was young, I remember having a conversation with a friend as to whether the mountains or the beach was better.  Having been born in Denver, CO, I stand by my affirmation that the mountains are better than the ocean.  I lived the early years of my life in a Denver suburb and we spent a lot of time in the Denver Metro and mountains even after moving to Oklahoma.  The lovely Rocky Mountains were just a quick glance to the west.  My mom and I were discussing memories the other day, and it dawned on me that most of my earliest memories involve time in the mountains (most of them good... there was a traumatic skiing incident involved in there somewhere).  I moved back to the Denver metro for a job two weeks after graduating from University.  Moving back cultivated my love for the Rockies and it is also where I met Stu... so I have many reasons to be thankful for the draw of the mountains!  This last weekend we visited Berchtesgaden, Germany in the Alps and I realized anew how much I love the rugedness of mountainous rocks and trees. 

Here are just a few things I love about the mountains:

I enjoy the 4 seasons of the mountains.  The snow is incredibly beautiful in the winter.  In the spring the alpine flowers bloom and the elks are bugling.  The summer is warm and with vibrant greens.  The snow is melting, so the rivers flow strong and make the most beautiful sound.  In the fall the aspen turn golden and from a distance the tree-line is beautifully dressed in gold and green.  Each season has its own scent, as well... all of them earthy and lovely!

I love that the mountains offer such a wide variety of sport for all of the seasons... hiking, skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, rafting/ kayaking, etc.  I thoroughly enjoy hiking because it's something you can do all year.  I am not an avid hiker... I don't have to conquer the highest peaks (although I enjoy it when I can make it to the top of one).  I simply enjoy a walk on mountain trails that lead to beautiful scenery along the way. 

Every time I am in the mountains I feel closer to the Lord.  I know there are various opinions on how old the earth is, etc.  To me, it doesn't matter how old it is or how it happened, but God created those mountains and they are beautiful.  In Psalms, it says that God brought them forth and that He is more majestic than the mountains.  That is going to be a beautiful day!

Stockholm, Sweden

Stu had a conference in Stockholm, Sweden last week.  We decided that Abigail and I should meet him up there so we could explore a part of Europe that we hadn't seen.  Some other colleagues' families were flying up, so Abbey and I planned our trip for the same time (which was very nice, as I had extra hands to hold bags and Abbey when needed!).  The total travel time was supposed to be a little over 4 hours... 11 hours later we made it to the hotel.  Phew!  Abbey was such a perfect angel with all of it.  I am so blessed!

Five minutes prior to planned departure... this is never a good sign:

Stu's conference was over at the end of our first full day, so Abbey and I did some exploring on our own.  That usually involves eating!  She loves to eat, but she also likes to share her food.  Soggy cracker, anyone?

We found a really cool international market.  There were booths with food from all over the world. 

I think this was the only "American" type food.  Although there was a Pizza Hut upstairs...

That night we ate some super tasty Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar).  They were much better than the Köttbullar you buy at IKEA.

Yum...

Stockholm is on the southeast "shore" of Sweden (the city has an estuary from the Baltic, but there are quite a few islands between it and the sea).  You can read more about the city HERE.  Stockholm is essentially a bunch of islands connected by bridges.  It really was very beautiful with water and bridges everywhere.  We stayed across the lake from Gamla Stan, which is the Old Town.  

Watching the Royal Calvary march toward the Royal Palace in Old Town Stockholm.

Apparently Abbey has not developed my fear of heights as of yet (and yes, Stu is holding her very tightly.  I made sure of it)...

The Old Town of Stockholm is where we spent the most time.  It is very lovely.  I loved these buildings, although I didn't really get a chance to get much background information on the architecture.

The Nobel Museum:

On Saturday we walked to one of the islands to see the Vasa Ship Museum.  The Vasa was built in the early 1600's and it sailed for 1500 meters and then sunk to the bottom of the harbour.  The ship stayed there until it was recovered in one piece in 1961.  It was really interesting to see such a huge ship in amazing condition that was laying at the bottom of a harbour for over 300 years!  You can read more about it HERE.

We were going to go on a boat ride to see the city from the lakes and estuaries, but we thought that an 11-month old might not enjoy a 2-hour boat ride as much as we would. Abbey and Mr Mouse trying to decide where to go next...

The trip home was relatively less eventful.  The last leg of our flight was canceled, so we had to hop on a train to get home.  We made it safe and sound, although our luggage is still to be recovered.  Hopefully it will be delivered today!