Driving to Prague

Probably not the most flattering of pictures but it does capture the sheer enjoyment Rob experienced while driving from Germany to the Czech Republic Sunday afternoon.
The 3 hour drive was spent with the convertible top down and racing at fast speeds (highest the car would go was 213 km/hr- down hill) through the countryside.

The landscape was beautiful and the sunny skies made for a great ride.

Potsdam- Sanssouci Palace

Sunday morning we reloaded our rental car (always an adventure) and began our drive to Prague.

Before leaving Germany, we decided to detour to Potsdam to visit Sanssouci Palace- the residence of Frederick the Great).

The palace grounds were gorgeous.
There was no charge to access the grounds (only to tour the inside of the various structures) and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll (2 hours) throughout the gardens.

Playing in the trees

I was so tempted to sing a song from the Sound of Music under the canopy of trees (but Rob wouldn't let me :)

Every path led to another beautiful building.

As we were walking back to the car, we passed this tree.
The little stubs appear to be the roots climbing out of the ground.

Onward to Prague....

Berlin Buddy Bears

Just for my Madi! (and Grandma Joan)

These statues, known as Berlin Buddy Bears, were all around the city. Started in 2001 and were meant to be a short term exhibit (similar to the Chicago Cows or the Liverpool Super Lambananas) but they were such a success that the exhibit was extended another year and the some of the bears still remain 10 years later.

Companies began to buy the bear for advertising and soon the bears became global ambassadors.
A total of 1350 bears were created.

We found 6 of the bears during our tour of Berlin (I was quite excited and anxious to find them).

This one was in the American embassy window

It was fun to find the bears and I was often reminded of my Grandmother and Madi and our previous adventures through cities to find the unique statues.

Saturday in Berlin

While our original plan was to tour the city of Berlin on bicycles, the weather did not cooperate and thus we had to go with Plan B- trains and walking!

It was amazing to see the blend of old buildings and new construction and to see first hand the impact of history.

This is a large memorial to the Jewish families... each stone represents a family and the various sizes capture the number of members. It was very sobering to see the nameless structures and all that they represented.

Museum Island....
Dome of Berlin.... quite beautiful from the outside. We were not able to tour the inside in detail due to a concert.


New Museum was extremely interesting because not only where the exhibits interesting (ancient Egypt) but the architecture of the building was amazing. Add to that the fact that our colleague (and tour guide) had completed vibration testing within the museum and thus knew many interesting facts of the exhibit, it was an unforgetable experience).

This is the entrance to the Berlin zoo. Unfortunately I was not able to tour inside... my plan to return Wednesday while Rob was at work was thwarted by the rain. The twin elephants guarding the entrance were quite impressive.

Adventures In Europe

Greetings friends and family!

Rob and I were quite exctied to begin our European adventures this summer.
We left Thursday 12 August from Indianapolis for JFK and then onward to London Heathrow. It was only a short stop in London (3 hour layover) before we jumped on our final flight to Berlin.

Arriving 6pm local time (they are 6 hours ahead of us in Indiana) we picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel.
After settling in and finally getting a hot shower we adventured out into the town for dinner and a bit of exploring.

Jet lag quickly took over and we were back in our hotel by 10 and asleep by 10:05pm.

The girls are safely tucked away at home at Camp NanaPa and Grammie Ellie will be arriving the second week.

Let the adventures begin....

First day of 3rd Grade

It is hard to believe that another school year has begun.

Madison boarded the bus at 7:41am Wednesday 11 August for her first day of school.

Dressed in a pink skirt (made by Mommy) and her new pink cowboy boots she was ready for the adventures that lay ahead.

We met her teacher, Mrs. Young, the day before when we dropped off the bag of school supplies.

It is supposed to be a challenging but fun year for Madison.

We are so proud of her.

Arizona Presents

The girls love their Grand Canyon presents.
Madison has a pink shirt and hat (of course) and Lillian a critter tree (stuffed animals of the area in a tree trunk.... she shoves them in the holes to go night night and then wakes them up by pulling them out again)

(This was actually the first attempt to get a decent picture but what can you do...)

I love you prizes

Lillian loves her new Monkey shirt and rainbow sneakers... she picked them both out herself.

Madison was super excited to find pink cowboy boots in her size (she had a pair when she was 3 that she wore out and as been looking for a replacement pair ever since). A pink camping chair for her monthly Brownie campouts was another great find.

Camper Madi

Another year of camp for Madison.
She returned for her second year at Camp Pyoca this past week.
We dropped her off Sunday the 4th with the promise of another great experience.
Third Grade Explorers camp is 3 nights and 2 days. She had a blast.

Madison is the first second generation camper to attend Camp Pyoca. Executive Director Rich is quite excited to have the tradition continued :)

Madison's counselors, Tavi and Natalie, were very sweet and quick to welcome the girls to their cabin- Spruce.

The girls loved playing on the ramp outside the cabin. Lillian especially enjoyed running up and down.

With a tearful good-bye, we loaded Lillian in the car to return home. We would pick Madison up Wednesday morning after the closing ceremony.

The sisters were happily reunited. (Lillian couldn't wait until the end of the program to get to Sisie, so she climbed under the chairs and raced to her arms).

The week was focused on being a HERO. All of the campers shared who the heroes were in their lives as part of the closing ceremony. Madison and Heather had a great time at camp together- they even shared bunk beds together.

Next year they will return for a full week of camping fun.

Our beautiful girls