The start of 1st Grade!

Today is the beginning of 1st grade for Isabella.  The summer went too fast, and as I sit here I miss having my oldest with me.  She is so incredibly precious, kind-hearted, and a huge helper.  She loves to entertain Charlotte when I desperately need to get something accomplished around the house. 

 

My prayer for Isabella this school year is that she learns a lot, makes sweet friends, but most importantly is a positive witness for Jesus. 

 

 

Ending Our Summer

It is so hard to believe that we dropped off Nana and Poppy at the airport this morning!  Oh how we miss them!  Their time with us was fantastic, but went by way too fast.  On Monday our school routine starts again!

Here are some pictures of our last few days with Nana and Poppy:

Nana did a bunch of cool projects with Isabella and Jack.  On their last evening with us Isabella did an art exhibition, showing all the neat things she worked on.  Besides all the art projects, Isabella has been a reading queen this summer, as well as working on math.  She'll definitely be ready to start first grade in just a few short days. 



 

Gartenschau Kaiserslautern

On Nana and Poppy's last day with us we went to the Gartenschau.  We've been meaning to go all summer, but have just been too busy.  We were not disappointed.  The kids loved the dinosaurs and playgrounds, and the adults enjoyed the beautiful gardens.  We ended the morning with a fun picnic.

The kids look forward to taking Daddy there before it closes at the end of October.  While we were there they were working on making different displays using pumpkins and gourds.  It will be neat to see the final product this fall.

Paris for TWO!

Nana and Poppy were kind and gracious enough to watch the kids so that Steve and I could get away for a few days.  Originally we planned on going to either Oslo or Palma, but we want to take the kids to both of those places, so we decided to go somewhere easy and romantic...Paris.  It is such an easy train ride (making Steve super happy that he didn't have to drive anywhere), and we found a wonderful hotel close to both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.  We had a great few days going through the Museum d'Orsay and shopping.  We loved not having to be on a strict timeline as far as eating goes.  We ended up eating dinner both nights at about 9pm, which is the European way.  It was a fabulous few days away, but we were glad to get home to the kids and the grandparents!

We had too much fun to take a bunch of pictures, but here are the few we took with our cell phones:

Salzburg

Isabella LOVES The Sound of Music, so while we were in the area we thought it would be a great time to visit Salzburg.  Isabella's main request was to take a carriage ride.  Thank goodness the weather was gorgeous and we were able to enjoy ourselves!



Getreidegasse



Each shop on the Getreidegasse has a beautiful wrought iron sign.

Hohensalzburg Castle

Monument to Mozart

The famous fountain from the Sound of Music

Nana and Poppy were kind enough to watch the stroller for us
while we went on the carriage ride.

Inside the Salzburg Dom Cathedral.

Isabella trying on the dress we bought
for her in Salzburg.  She was not happy that
she has to wait for Christmas to wear it again.  :)