To all my visitors....

It is safe to say that I am extremely blessed in the friend department. I have wonderfully loyal friends...and that was apparent by the number of visitors I had this year. I want to give one final "thank you" to everyone who made the trek to wald-michelbach over the past year to visit me. Though this year was not easy, the visits and excitement leading up to the visits helped me keep the homesickness and loneliness at bay. Seriously, to my visitors, it means more than you know that you took the time to travel to the sticks of Germany to see me.

A tribute...

First my sweet parents came to drop  me off to start this adventure!

Though sadly she didn't get to see Wald-Michelbach, Lisa and I met in Munich for Oktoberfest.

My mom, back for round two, in October!

Kate and her roommate Erin flew over for a quick stop at the Christmas Markets! 

Adelaide, still a favorite for the dragons, hopped over from London to visit and we flew home together for Christmas!

Kate also came back for round two at the end of January and got to see the lovely Wald-Michelbach!

Emily and Bizzell did a team effort, and took the Odenwald by storm!

Rita paid Germany a visit, then traveled with me for three solid weeks!

Loin, as I knew she would, came to visit to make this whole event come full circle!

Eleanor and Kevin came to Wald-Michelbach...and it was an honor to spend time with the newly weds!

And Elisa, my d-group leader and friend, came yesterday and we had a lovely day together!

I cannot believe this year is nearing its end, but I am so fortunate to have had so many wonderful visitors! I am so glad I got to share my German lifestyle with you all :)

xoxo

Aquarium Dragons

I suggested a few weeks ago that we take the dragons on a field trip to the Heidelberg Zoo, teaching them all the animals in english, then spending a day seeing them in real life. And after numerous German conversations that I did not fully understand, we were off to Sea Life with the kids yesterday. 

Not quite as cool as the zoo, but I taught them the aquarium animals in english and the kids loved it all the same!

They gave us these awesome paper scuba masks...so of course we sported them all day long! 

The cutest part, by far, was how enthusiastic the dragons were about seeing all the animals. We even got to watch them feed the sharks, which was pretty cool!

And, as usual, the kids were running wild and wanting to ride on my shoulders all day long. I sure will miss these crazy little dragons!

xoxo

A Very German Weekend

I have said it before and ill say it again, I am blessed to have friends like Kevin and Eleanor in my life. Their visit this weekend was hilarious, refreshing, and wonderful in every possible way.

 

From the dragon lesson to introducing them to my German friends, and the beer gardens to the rainy bon fires, from the festivals to the schnitzel eating and trips to the cafe, this weekend was packed to the brim with German fun! Here are a few pictures to give you a glimpse.

Here Ele and I are goofing off in Heidelberg with my friends Martin and Hippie!

Eleanor and I enjoyed shopping while the boys had man time outside...it worked perfectly!

We rented baby paddle boats to ride around Heidelberg. It was a blast and such a fun way to show them the city.

 

I can't wait to visit these two in their soon to be home of Scotland!

xoxo

Kevin and the Dragons

While I was beyond excited to host Eleanor and Kevin for the weekend, the dragons were beyond excited because a real live brain surgeon was going to teach them. 

It was a huge success. The kids were glued to Kevin for almost two hours, which is about two hours longer than their usual attention span! They understood his english and retained all the functions of the brain for their oral quiz at the end. Eleanor and I loved listening and observing it all. It was adorable and such a fun day.

 

The rest of the weekend has followed suit, but we are off to Heidelberg today so I will post more later!

xoxo

Thumbprint Art

If you need an idea for entertaining kids, I was so pleasantly surprised by how occupied the dragons were when I showed them how to make thumbprint art.

Eleanor (who is coming to visit tonight!!) and Alison got me this cute thumbprint stationary kit and I just randomly remembered it the other day, so I brought it to school. The kids literally went crazy and were busy making cards for more than two hours!! Especially at a free school when the kids get bored every two seconds, this was a miracle!

Dario made thumbprint characters of his whole family, cats and guniea pigs included, as well as making a birthday card for his dad (even though he had no idea when his dads birthday is!!). It was precious.

 

Literally everyone was obsessed with this. All the dragons were crowding around the table and even the other teachers made cards!

 I even made a few cards for friends, so start checking your mailboxes and maybe you'll be lucky enough to receive one :)

xoxo

The Venice of Scandinavia

Stockholm was a treat. It was just one of those cities that you instantly love. It has that fresh, clear, crisp air and a vibe that makes you want to stay forever. The Swedish style is evident in the streets, shops, and architecture. The people are beautiful, which makes it the ultimate destination for people watching. We can also thank Stockholm for bringing us IKEA, H&M, and Spotify. Really, if you get a chance, visit Stockholm and you will certainly share my new affinity for it. 

As wonderful as the city was, our flight was cancelled Thursday so we did not arrive til Friday AND our luggage did not make it until Sunday afternoon, but despite the setbacks, we still had a wonderful few days exploring the city. But don't judge us for having the same clothes on in every picture. 

One of the coolest parts was that it honestly never got dark. The sun set around 11pm and rose about 2:30am, but the sky was illuminated constantly. Loin and I were really thrown off by this, which included us not getting dinner one night because it wads 11pm before we realized we were starving and everywhere was closed, staying out way too late, and just overall being unsure of the time for the duration of the trip!

 

These pictures were taken at midnight, mid afternoon, and about 2am!

Highlights include:

An incredible, fresh seafood lunch at B.A.R.

Ample opportunity for "honeymoon" photos for Loin and I

A beautiful rainbow after a rainy afternoon

Visiting the flagship H&M (and buying new clothes compliments of AirBerlin...)

Seeing Reindeer and a Moose

Watching the sunset from a Sky Bar (again, we were so baffled that it was 11pm!)

A boat ride out to the Archipalago Islands

 

And all too early Monday morning, Loin and I said "cheers to a great weekend" and she flew back to Nashville as I returned to Germany.

 

xoxo