First Day at Gma's and Apa's

It's hard to remember exactly what we did so long ago (6 weeks is a long time when you travel with two kids!), but I think we spent the first day relaxing, playing with our new toys and saying hi to Grandma Sco.

These pictures were taken with my ISO up too high, hence the noise :(

We're here! and Kate is 6 months!

We left for the US on Kate's half birthday.  It was a long day, but all in all they mastered it pretty well.  We were prepared with snacks, toys and the iphone. Kate did a good job of napping in the Ergo carrier and we kept Blaise entertained, so much so that he didn't sleep.  When we arrived in Chicago it was after 10pm in Germany and he hadn't slept all day! Of course he nodded off in the car on the way back to my parent's house and then woke up cranky.  Once we arrived here all that was forgotten as he explored his new digs, which included a new room, bed and toys! My mom had some of my old toys ready for him as well as some new toys.  It was hard to convince him to go bed.

For as well as Kate did on the plane, she had had it once we were in the car.  We arrived to 90 degree weather in Chicago which probably didn't help the situation.  She tucked in pretty quickly in her new pack-n-play which we strategically placed in the bathroom with no windows!

Powering up with coffee at the airport

Blaise and Daddy waiting to board

Snacking on his apple on the plane

Looking SO big with his earphones and iphone

Chowing on a candy bar from the flight attendant 

We didn't really let her eat it

Refugees

We fled our apartment this weekend.  The crazy carnival ("Fastnacht" if you're a Mainzer) celebrators kicked off the weekend long binge on Thursday evening, and although we heard an occasional screech, it wasn't too bad.  Jan slept with earplugs which made it extra "quiet."  Last year Blaise was still a newborn and easily sleep through the insanity, we didn't want to chance it this year.

The cities along the Rhine celebrate carnival ("Fasching," "Fastnacht," or "Karnavel") in a big way.  The top three cities are Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz.  Each have their own traditions, but a lot of it has to do with the number 11 and the final celebration in Mainz starts Thursday before Lent and has it climax on Monday, the so-called Rosenmontag, or Rose Monday.  Rosenmontag is the day of the big parade - approximately 4 hours.  It is peppered with clubs who play music and dance, political themed floats and many silly people in even siller costumes.  Center stage throughout the festivies is of course food and drink - hence the crazy loudness as the day wears on, and since we live right smack dab in the middle of the madness, we've fled.

We had a great opportunity to get out of town this year.  This is my cousin Kim's first carnival in Germany and she wanted to experience it first hand.  So we swapped domiciles for the weekend!  We left on Saturday morning and got here in time to stop at the local supermarkt to stock up and let Blaise unwind a bit from the drive before bed.  He isn't the happiest camper sitting in the even for a 5 minute drive, but we packed a ton of toys and he had fun pulling things out of my bag.  It is about a 3 1/2 drive and we actually made really good time.  We'll head back home on Tuesday once the major craziness is only a memory and the bouquet of alcohol and urine begin to subside, until then we are enjoying snow covered pine trees and The Best of Friends and Walk the Line in dolby surround sound!

A Shout-Out to My Mom and Dad

There are many things I could give them a "shout-out" for (does that make sense?), but what I have on my mind this morning is this:

I am so proud of them for being so active and so pro-active in their retired life. My Mom deserves much praise for being so committed to becoming healthy(ier) - I have never seen her honestly working so hard to be healthy and be able to enjoy her retirement...she is doing it for herself! A must! While she was visiting us recently she was very mindful of eating healthy foods and getting out and walking. Walking is a way of life here, it is how I get around the city and it is something I always miss when I am home visiting. She has just undergone surgery on her foot to hopefully keep her able to be as mobile as possible.

They are both pro-active in getting the health care they need to assure that any medical issue can be dealt with immediately.

I am also very proud to say that they are using their retirement to travel. They have some serious responsibilities right now taking care of my Grandmother, but I have encouraged them to continue to travel. (not that I am trying to take all the credit, they are the ones who are actually doing it!) Of course, this works to my advantage too, because then they come to visit! They decided last minute to head out west. They're camping. In Rocky Mountain. For me, this is normal, but if I take a step back and look around me I see that it is special. Thank you both for not only making it normal, but for living and enjoying your retirement. I expect nothing less.

See you in Hawaii :) See you at the Christmas Market :) See you in Alaska? ;)

(jan and i are still working on the alaska thing)