The elms tree

AHH Venice!

2011-07-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

Piazza San Marco

Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge
Gondola on the grand canal. A little expensive if you ask me. 100-180 Euro for a ride!! Thats over 150-270 dollars right now!
Venice was great. Yes it was scorching. Yes it was continuous up and down stairs with strollers. But Gelato for breakfast lunch and dinner was a plus! And is was so amazing. I WILL be coming back here-- NO strollers and probably no kids. Sorry guys.

We just got back from non- stop vacations. My mom came out and we went to Dubrovnik, Croatia, Olympia and Athens Greece, Padova, Verona, and Venice, Italy back to southern Bavaria, and finished in Paris. SO much fun and we are very tired. I still have clean clothes in bags and no desire to put things away yet.

We finish our time here in Germany mid September and it's coming too fast. We have one more big trip planned to Switzerland and Western Italy. Still going strong. There is so much to post. I hope we can get to all of it!

In Bruges

2011-06-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

I LOVE THIS PLACE.

Brussels

2011-06-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Elizabeths
mmmmm. Waffles
Manneken Pis, (the only reason Andrew came:)

In all his glory
The Grand Place

Construction, Not so grand. In the background you can see one of the tintin comics on the wall.

I'm still dreaming about belgium waffles.... We might have to make one more trip.

London

2011-06-20T06:14:00.001-07:00

The Tower Bridge

West Minster Abby

The red car on the London Eye

Big Ben
mmmm. Fish and Chips

London Tower
Helpful road markings

Princess Diana Ring
The Queen is in

Strawberry Fields

2011-06-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

I love this picture because it really shows just how forever the strawberry fields go. I don't love my finger in it.

Highlight= The Minnie Mouse strawberry.

The Black Forest

2011-06-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

Family Pictures. My Happy Mothers Day:)

2011-05-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sooo behind at blogging by this point it's going to take me a while to catch up....... there are so many pictures to post!!! BUT these I am so excited about! Our extremely talented photographer/ friend Nicole Miller took family pictures for us. I am SO in love with them. It is such a miracle we got any shots at all. Will was stinky the entire time! Throwing fits and not sitting still. You can totally see it in his solo pic. Here they are!

Will is eating goldfish, The only way.....

The News

2011-02-04T04:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a while and I thought I would write something before it gets to be two months. I've been really, really bad with the blog for a while.

So the big news for us... Will is a walker! He took his first steps two days ago and now we have a determined little boy. He goes boneless unless he can walk. So much fun:) It's so cute to watch him as he gets so excited that he giggles along the way to Andrew or I. He is just a sweet little guy we love him too much.

Ellie started German pre-school (which they call Kindergarten) at the beginning of January. It's been a rough start, but she likes it now ( about a month into it) and the German is coming along. I can imagine it's extremely tiring for little ones learning a new language. Which has been pretty evident in that she is exhausted and a little moody at the end of the day. Regardless it's a great deal for her. I tell Ellie all the time I wish I could go to her school, but I'm too old. They have a cooking class, craft time/art, science experiments, play time outside in the snow (in all the snow gear), gymnastics and more. When someone has a birthday they dress them up as a princess or prince, sing and eat treats. I really like Ellie's teachers, who have been a huge help in dealing with the language barrier and her transition to school- which meets everyday from 8:30- 12:15! It's a ton of school. I'll admit I've been trying to cut it to about 3 days a week instead of 5 against their recommendation. We'll do more as she gets more adjusted. Overall she has shown more independence and I think she is starting in small ways to come out of her "shell" something we have been hoping for her. She's a smart little one and I'm super proud of her.

Other than that we have been dealing with the other end of starting a new school-- the germs!!! We have all been sick. Everything you can think of- we've had it the past 2 months. I took Will in to the doctor today with another ear infection, cold and rash ( he's also teething 7 teeth)!! It's been a bad, bad winter. I hope it ends soon. I'm ready for the nicer crisp air of the spring already. Not the "my hands are bleeding from the sub-zero temperature" ice storms.

Yesterday it rained and then it froze, then hailed and snowed. Because it rained in the morning it was impossible to walk on the sidewalk without slipping. It was actually totally funny watching all the kids try to make it to school yesterday. EVERYONE slipped. Ellie slipped 5 times, I slipped twice, and everyone around us was falling and wailing and scooting along taking millimeter size steps. A lady salted the stairs and then right after she was done totally ate it at the bottom. No one was hurt, but what a mess! I know it's bad but I got a good laugh -especially at a little boy in a puffy blue snow suit laying on his stomach on the frozen sidewalk muttering out his frustration in German; so funny!

Our trip in January was to a small town in the Czech Republic called Cesky Kromlov. A friend of mine (thanks Miranda!) had recommended it a long time ago and I've been meaning to go. It was the perfect little visit. It's a small city with a huge castle surrounded by water. Beautiful. It was gorgeous at night the way the water reflected off the castle as it lit up the town. I also liked all the rugged rocky outcrops in the architecture of the castle and throughout the town. It was a really neat little place. Our next trip this month, I'm so excited for-- Switzerland and Italy- just a quick one because we will be back again over the summer. But still I'm excited to see at least some of Italy. We have a lot of traveling to do before we go home in September:)

The Castle

This was a fun little treat. The town is all about their Devil Santas (not really Santa--he's the guy that accompanies St. Nick and punishes the bad kids by beating them with reeds during Christmas). So every store sold a weird devil puppet of some sort. Those are easily two of the scariest things know to man= devils and puppets! So of course I bought one. This picture is pretty awesome--the little doughnut guy is this towns version of a sort of cinnamon roll. They wrap dough around a metal rolling pin, bake it, and then roll it in the sugar and serve it hot right off the pin. Here it looks like the Devil and the Trdelnik (the name of the cinnamon roll) are in cahoots or the devil wants to eat him. Either way, I loved this picture--it's pretty funny.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Yes, I know we are a day late. But since I'm pretty much late for everything, why not this? Better late than never, and New Year resolutions are still a few days away.

First of all, I want to thank all my family and friends for housing us, thinking of us, and offering support these past months with Andrew away! He is home safe and we are back in Germany. It is so awesome having him back home and he has stepped back into taking care of babies like a champ! We have had a great time going to Christmas markets, being snowed in with the family, and getting over our jet lag.

On the 23rd my sweet little baby boy turned 1! I can't believe he is so big so fast. I really feel like I just came home from the hospital with my bundle and he grew up overnight. It's not fair. We joke about the fact that he doesn't look much like dad at all- so white and blue eyes to match. He had a fun little party here in Germany and he got cake-faced really fast--it was so fun to watch. Such a sweet loving little guy, a good listener, good eater, and all around pleasant person. I can tell he is the kind of guy already that people will want to surround themselves with--a real positive spirit.

Ellie is a bona fide big girl, big sister, and Disney Princess. She wears Princess underwear, paints her nails and demands to wear a dress or skirt every day--even in the snow. Although she is shy, she knows what she wants and is not afraid to stand up for herself. She is quite the artist and dancer, very good at accessorizing, singing, and riding ponies. :) She is sweet with animals and even lets horses, goats, and birds eat out of her hand (I've always been afraid of that!). She is my love, and it's astounding finally having real conversations with my little girl.

We wish our friends and family peace and happiness for the holidays. And hope your Christmas was merry and white! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~The City and The Farm: It's good to be back home~

2010-10-22T00:12:00.000-07:00

The perfect pumpkin

One of the only pictures with Catrina- fun visit!

Cousin Blakey in SF

heaven

My brother Rick and Will

lombard

Phone Pictures-- Month in Review

2010-09-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Will is crawling!!

Ellie is a dancing princess!!

Ellie is 3~ yeah!!

Disneyland!! We took Ellie to a special lunch with Snow White, Ariel, Aurora, Belle and Cinderella. Little girl heaven! It so much fun. She really thought they were the real thing. I hope it will be something she remembers in a special way as she gets older. All of the princess' were very sweet except for Ariel. She was a bit pushy with the picture taking. I always liked her until now:)

Fun at the park

Will is 9 months old tomorrow!!

Show Me the Teephies!!!

2010-08-17T12:02:00.001-07:00

Will is almost 8 months and we have 4 teeth!

Pictures For Andrew... VENTURA

2010-07-31T16:07:00.001-07:00

Summer Fun

2010-07-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

She is pretty hard to impress these days. Always up to no good this one.

Where did Will get these awesome blue eyes??

He really is this sweet. No Lie.

I love Ellie's face in this picture. Pure terror mixed with pure terror and a little fun. This swim suit is so awesome. I think it was one of Amy's old ones. The elastic is a little worn in the butt and it rides every time she wears it, ALL THE WAY ACROSS! Great for pictures?

Ellie has been potty training and it has been a huge struggle. She thinks it's o.k. to go outside because that's where we take the dogs. Hence the need for more than one swim suit these days. We went out the eat with Grandpa's side of the family on Tuesday for Great- Grandpa and Grandma Elms 62nd anniversary! Ellie had been so good with her training for about 2 days and so I had her in real chonies. Besides trying to feed her, which is a whole other story all together, and feed Will, she told me she needed to go PEE. So we ran to the bathroom and she decided that she didn't want to go on the potty they had there and she wouldn't put on a pull up. Needless to say a little while later there was a puddle of pee in the restaurant and a really wet little girl. She is really stubborn. Everything is a fight right now! The only thing getting me through her tantrums is the unprovoked kiss and "I love you mommy" before bedtime. Honestly. I'm so glad that Will is such an easy, happy baby right now. He saves me from insanity altogether.

Potty Training

2010-07-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Lucy got a bladder infection!! Poor Girl:( As if potty training two babies wasn't enough. (We put a diaper on her because she was dribbling.) Ellie is still resisting and I've done EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. Please Ellie and Lucy! Cut me a break already!!!!

So MANY Firsts

2010-06-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

FIRST WHEAT BREAD AND PIG TAILS

FIRST BIG HORSEY RIDE

FIRST DANCE CLASS

FIRST HAIR CUT

FIRST SUMMER SWIM

FIRST PUPPY!!

These sweet pups were born on May 5th 2010 to Papa and Pepa's dog Penny. So when we came here we had new puppies for the kids to play with! Papa named them Pancho and Lucy when they were born. We get to keep Lucy! She is so, so wild and therefore, fits right in. We all love her so much! (p.s. Erin I'll call you! I had no idea!! But it's such a sweet name!)

The Sweet Pupper

Her first bath

We take her for her first shots on Monday and we'll find out more about what type of dog she is. Her mom is a chihuahua/ dachshund mix. I think the father is a puggle, but we shall see. Either way she will be a small pup. We're super happy to have her in the family.

Big Willy is 6 months!

2010-06-29T22:11:00.001-07:00

Will is already 6 months! Papa calls him Big Willy, but just so we have it straight, no one else is allowed to call him that! His name is Will:)

This little man is super strong and wants to explore all day.

He is officially an ambi-turner- he could only turn one way for some time.

He sits and walks with help.

Loves to swim with his papa.

Loves sweet potatoes and applesauce.

Hates peas

He cut his first tooth on Saturday the 26th- a bottom front tooth.

When he doesn't get what he wants or wants something he can't have he throws a fit, thanks to the best teacher around--Ellie. He's been doing it for 5 days now!

But he's mostly a happy, happy smiley baby. And so sweet to all. I love this cuddly sweet little man. Every morning he gives me a huge baby smile, excited laugh and fat juicy baby kiss on my cheek that melts me even if it's 6 am. I smile just thinking about him.

We LOVE you DaDdY!!!!

2010-06-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers day!

Pictures from Daddy

2010-06-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Dental Clinic
Daddy in his costume at his quarters. The fact that he's wearing his bullet proof vest scares me.

The lovely Afghanistan Mountains

Andrew is doing just fine.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-06-03T23:26:00.000-07:00

Remember this picture-- One month down!

You officially have the longest birthday ever this year. I talked to you last night and I'm writing now and it's still your birthday! We wish you a happy 31 and send you all of our hugs and kisses. We miss you and love you so much! I'm so proud of you and all you are doing for us and for your country. We love you daddy! You're one amazing guy!

Back To No Good and Lov'in It

2010-05-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

We went to Yosemite with Andrew's family right after stepping off a 12 hour flight. Needless to say it was a little rough. But we had a great time! This is the part where Ellie wanted me to carry her up the trail --not a happy camper. Poor Grammy Liz ended up caring baby Will and Ellie ended up in the baby carrier the whole trip. Jet lag is a bee sting.

When we got back there was a party with camels, elephants, vultures, snakes and other wonderful creatures. The camels were set up for rides in the front lawn and there was an elephant in the driveway that we could pet. In the back yard there was a presentation from the owner of these guys. He raises animals and trains them for movies and such. We would have stayed longer, but Ellie was really sick. On the car ride home she said "Mommy, elephant scary." Yeah guess we can cross that off her favorite animals list. She was so scared of him she was shaking. Totally understandable for a little kid though! I've never seen one so close!

Needless to say the trip has taken it's toll. Both kids have double ear infections for double the fun! And mommy is a bit sick too. But we are with family and being taken care of well. We get to talk to daddy on Skype every day and he is doing just fine! We feel really blessed and happy to be where we are. We have such wonderful friends and family that have been such a awesome support through all this! Thanks so much you guys!

Goodbye Daddy!

2010-05-07T12:26:00.001-07:00

Today Andrew loaded up all of his costumes and went to Army. Andrew- I can't wait to see your awards. Please can one of them be a plush seal from playing the Claw?? Then I would know you're really in the arcade and not in Afghanistan. We love you Andrew, be safe!

Mr. Potato Head by Ellie Elms

2010-03-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Tim Burton Eat your heart out.

Ok, so I'm trying to grow out the bangs and Ellie keeps ripping her hair clip out and why the sore lip-- please see below. Yes, she has a licking problem.

My Angel Babies

2010-03-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

Will and Friends

Will is so much fun these days with his little baby laughs and giggles. Time is going by too fast I want him to stay this tiny and sweet forever! This week he is 13 weeks old-- over three months already and he just discovered his new favorite thing-- his tongue. Almost every smile has a tongue in it. He is starting to put things in his mouth and play with his toys. Just loves his baby gym. And his sleeping is a bit better as well only one wake up a 3am. And with Ellie sleeping through the night again I'm feeling great.........well, feeling rested and getting over mastitis:)

The Tongue

Ellie is such a little lady these days. We went to Ramstein last weekend and she found a buddy to ride Cinderella's carriage with. Needless to say she was in little girl heaven.

Some things about Ellie, so I don't forget:

- She loves reading and is borderline ocd about how to place her books when she is done reading them; especially at bedtime.

-Her favorite foods are Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, cherry flavored craisens, grapes, apples, pizza, chicken nuggets and milkshakes.

-She is incredibly artistic. Loves to color and never colors on the walls or chairs.

-She sings on key and dances very well. Her favorite songs are the Sleeping Beauty waltz, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

-She is a clean girly- asks me to wash her hands all the time and likes to use a fork.

-She hates walking in the snow, the mud and won't step in the rain gutters:)

-She has a serious shoe fetish and is awesome at matching all of her outfits with the appropriate shoe.

-She can count to 21, knows all her colors and can tell me all the letters in the alphabet. Her favorite shape is a star.

I love Ellie's hair in the morning- so wild! She and Will are really cute together. Ellie makes Will laugh now and I think they are really starting to connect. She is turning into a huge helper and sings while she's cleaning like a true little princess.

Worst Mom Evs

2010-02-24T03:29:00.000-08:00

OK. So imagine this strapped onto Ellie's head. I told her it was a princess hat and they had to put the nodes on her ears and wrists as well so naturally they were earrings and a princess bracelet. Ellie is REALLY into the Disney Princesses lately (she can name them all by their first names and movie), so this wasn't as hard as it looks! She even sat still in it for 15 minutes while they had a look at her brain activity:) So let me back up.

Last week I was feeding Will and Ellie was rough housing on the couch for attention and got a little carried away. She fell right off the couch on her head and started screaming! I put Will down and picked her up to make sure she was alright and she passed out in my arms with her eyes open and dilated---my worst nightmare. I totally panicked. She came to really drowsy and we called Daddy who came home from work super fast. We went to the hospital and sure enough, it was a concussion. They kept her for 2 days to check her vital signs every 2 hours (day and night--not fun for anyone). She is home now totally fine, very healthy and as crazy as ever.

Will is 2 months now! He got his shots yesterday so it was another night with about 3 hours of sleep again. Ellie has been waking up with Will so that's been fun for everyone. Mommy was so tired last night we had all the babies in bed for a little portion of the night. Although the sleep is rough it really has gotten a little better. Will can sleep for 4 hours a time at night and Ellie has been sleeping through the night more often during the week. Still working on it. We have lots of tricks up our sleeves that don't work at 3 in the morning (especially when mommy has gone consecutive nights without sleep!). But we will get back to normal someday?

Will is such a great little man despite all the sleep issues I am in love with this guy. He makes the cutest baby sounds, has the smelliest little boy farts, and when I try to give him a pacifier he clamps his lips down so hard it's impossible to put it in his mouth. He is so easygoing he let the doctor yesterday do all her tests without a cry even though he was really hungry. He has the cutest smile he flashes at mommy and daddy with little baby chuckles already too. He is so sweet.

Ellie is camera shy now and wild as ever. She is a lot more "outgoing" ever since the arrival of her new brother. So we are all getting used to that. She has been calling mommy and daddy by our first names lately which I have to admit is pretty funny. She says our names so awesomely I had to get a video. Andrew sometimes calls her Boonie as a funny name for her when she's wild so here is what we got, take a look:

Baby Will--Five weeks (plus two other posts!)

2010-02-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

Baby Will hit his five week mark! Here's the little guy in his Sunday best.

And we want to give a special thank you and say goodbye to Grammy Lynette, who left us just last week.

Plus, check out the two other new posts just below!

Jealous Ellie

2010-02-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Okay. First things first. Ellie is really sweet to Baby Will, and she is a really good big sister. BUT...she is definitely entering into jealous sibling mode. If she feels slighted in any way, out come the tears (fake and real...but mostly fake). And if Andrew happens to be holding Will, well, forget about it. Here are a few examples.

Taken the morning of Will's blessing when we were photographing him.

Meant to be just Daddy and Will but Ellie intruded to show her opinion of the goings on.

But Ellie loves her little brother. So much! Heaven help us.

Blessing Day

2010-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

On January 24 we were able to bless Baby Will in Church. Yes, we know it wasn't a Fast Sunday, but we decided to go ahead and move things up since Grammy Lynette was here. It was a wonderful experience. Even if Andrew didn't have a tie on for the post-church picture. :)

Here's Baby Will--he was dressed in the same outfit Andrew wore on his blessing day and he looked adorable:)

Editor's Note: We just found out that not only did Andrew wear this, but his father, Papa Bill, also wore this outfit when his parents were sealed in the St. George Temple!

2 1/2 weeks

2010-01-10T04:06:00.000-08:00

Ellie and Grammy out on the town

Tired Daddy- He has been so great with Ellie too!

2 Weeks

Christmas day-- We got to come home! (2 days old)

Time goes so fast. Will is going to be three weeks in a few days! We couldn't be more blessed with this little guy. He is a great sleeper, feeds almost every 4-5 hours at night, cries only when he has gas and won't take a pacifier (he HATES them.) Besides his chronic stuffy nose he is in perfect health. We had to wait until last Wednesday (when he was 2 weeks old!!) to get him circumcised and he took it like a champ. Really, he is such a perfect babe. Ellie is doing better. She had a really rough start and is getting back to her sleeping routine, but she adores baby Will and is a big help. We are going to miss grammy and Catrina so much when they leave on Tuesday. Andrew and I have actually gotten some much needed alone time with the help of these two. They have been so awesome through all of this!!

Baby Will--December 23, 2009

2009-12-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

WILLIAM HARPER ELMS

"I'm free!"

Here he is! Everything happened so fast--the planned-for induction and epidural never made it into the picture. Instead, when the doctor started the initial examination, we had water breakage and then, thirty minutes later, baby Will was born, healthy and whole.

Here are the stats, in full: born at 10:08am on December 23, weighing in at 6 lbs. 10 oz., and with a length of 19.5 in.

Dressed in a little sweater the German hospital provided

Also dressed in an outfit the hospital provided (with his tongue out--apparently he doesn't dig the clothes OR the pink blankie).

All of us together on the night after the delivery (Mommy's radiant, Ellie's sporting her rain boots, Will's hiding, and Daddy's sporting his nice hat hair/travel beard combo).

We want to thank everyone for their prayers, love, and support. More pictures are forthcoming!

IT's AlMosT BaBy TiMe!

2009-12-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor today and he said it's time. I guess the baby is more than ready to come and my fluid levels are waning. SO I have an induction time set up for tomorrow at 9 pm. I'm so excited for this little guy to be here already- what a great Christmas present! I will admit though, I cried tonight putting Ellie to bed for the last time being the only child. It's crazy how time flies and how fast they grow up. Ellie is such a sweet girl and we have been so blessed to have her in our lives. She is going to be an awesome big sister. I can't wait for her to meet her new baby brother and teach him the ways.

36 weeks

2009-12-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

So at 30-32 weeks I was thinking it was easier being pregnant than having a newborn....... at 36 weeks I'M DONE! I can't sit through an hour of Sacrament meeting without totally swelling up. It's time, he needs to get here or mommy is going to lose it. The doctor thinks he will be here sometime between the 21st - Christmas day! Let's hope it's sometime soon! Andrew leaves for LA on the 16th to the 23rd and is praying the baby doesn't come while he's gone (and so am I!) But no worries we are excited to have Andrew's mom and my friend Catrina out on the 15th- can't wait!!

On another note, I have to tell one Ellie story. Last Saturday she woke up talking to herself (as she often does) and I heard a barrage of words, but most clear were the words: doggies, baby Will (her new brother to be) and Jesus. Maybe she woke up from a really cool dream. I thought it was cute.

Colors

2009-11-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

Ellie has been learning and practicing her colors. Her new favorite thing to say is "daddy's brown."

A Little Concerned

2009-11-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the check out the German hospital where we will be delivering in a few weeks. It's really nice, they have relaxing quiet rooms and the delivery rooms look like a day spa (that's spelled d-a-i-y-e.) To get in we had to ring a bell like we were waiting outside someone's house. When they finally let us in we waited for 5 minutes before we saw even one person- who was not a nurse. Upon finding a nurse, she didn't speak English and kept asking me if I was in pain. Of the 3 nurses there at the time (and NO doctors) only one spoke enough English to be able to converse in English and German and the first thing she asked me was "Why are you here," and "Well, are you pregnant?" A little concerned, I laughed giving her a "No, I'm just really fat in my tummy" look and said- Yes! I'm 35 weeks and will probably be here in about 2 or 3 weeks to deliver! No one seemed to understand I was just there to check everything out and ask questions. Another point of concern, all of the patient rooms were taken on our visit. I think everything will be fine, but I'm really going to have to brush up on my German medical terms and stuff. And I am nervous that there were no doctors around. I guess they have to be called to come in. Trying not to worry!! Thank goodness Catrina will be here!!!

Latest Ultrasound!

2009-11-09T09:26:00.001-08:00

Pardon the off-kilter scan, but we wanted to share the latest 3D Ultrasound of our little guy! Isn't it amazing how you can actually visualize the little features? We think he resembles Papa Slim Gutierrez a bit. What do you think?

Silent Protests

2009-11-09T01:02:00.000-08:00

Ellie is all about protesting these days. Sometimes it's loud and convulsive and others silent, but she always ends up on the ground. Usually it's over shoes or food. Other times it's the fact that she dropped something and wants mommy to pick it up (but that is getting pretty hard these days) or maybe she needs a certain book. Sometimes I have NO idea what it's about. I'm finding it really hard not to laugh at it though-- this is so terrible twos. I really think we are in for it when number 2 gets here in 2 months!!!!!

I let her wear her sandals today even though it's raining (don't worry she's not leaving the house like that.) Some battles are not worth it--esp. when your 8 months pregs.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE.......

Look what we found in the PX the other day!!! We were looking at the limited baby stuff they have there and found this: BABY HITLER . Somebody drew this on his face and yes it's sooo bad but we totally died laughing:)

Snow White

2009-11-02T07:43:00.001-08:00

The Pumpkins

Halloween Crafts and Stuff

2009-10-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some things we have done to pass the time:

This is how I found her watching her "do dos." Not sick enough to rip off the keyboard protector.

She posed like this for the pic-- not joking!

In mommy shoes and YES I really do her hair everyday. She just woke up from a nap!

Mommy made homemade cinnamon rolls.

Starch ghosts and bloody candles

Shrunken Apple Heads-- you can tell Andrew's is better

We still have a ways to go. Thanks to Martha I've been cutting out mice silhouettes, bats and owls and we are putting those up too. It's fun, but I'm afraid that I'm giving Ellie a phobia ---ghosts! She's obsessed with them and very much frightened, but always wants to watch and read the stories and shows that have ghosts in them (Little Einstein's Halloween Show--It's awesome.) At first it was keeping her up at night, but she seems to be doing better now. She tells us the ghosts went bye bye before she goes to bed so I guess we're ok now! I'm a bad mom!! I love it when she says ghost though, she says it so funny and with a spooky drawl. I'll have to get video of it. She makes me laugh!

28 Weeks!! Things Could Be Worse!

2009-10-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

We have all been sick now for about 2 weeks! All of us with varying versions of Bronchitis and the flu. Yesterday I was sneezing and coughing and I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib!!! So breathing, sneezing, coughing-- you get the idea and it's not fun!! The worst part is that we were supposed to be in Garmisch last week for a dental conference and I was super excited to go to Innsbruck, Austria, but alas my body decided it was better for me to have a bleeding throat instead. The good news is that the baby is doing great and I get to see him every two weeks now! I love being pregnant in Germany!

Keep in mind I'm sick and have a cracked rib so my hair can be messy:)

OHH Andrew!

2009-10-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Everyday he says something witty that makes me laugh. So I decided that I should start writing these things down so I can remember them. Here is one from today and another from a couple days ago.

1. In regards to Obama (and 2 other economists) winning the Noble Peace Prize:

-"They must have renamed it the Piece prize"

2. In regards to army meetings:

-"If a German captures me the worst thing that's going to happen is they will make me eat crappy food and listen to Pink."

We are busy watching the news online trying to figure out where that little 6-year- old boy is that floated away in the balloon. Hope he's OK. So that's all for now.

Last day in Paris

2009-09-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

"Hotel God" Right next to Notre Dame. It's also a hospital, the French are funny.

The Louvre

My favorite picture of the Mona Lisa. She is so small and attracts a crowd. This is what I saw.. a bunch of heads.

The quick run down. We went to the Louvre and Notre Dame. The Louvre is BIG, I got lost many times!!! Andrew stole me a virgin mary candle from Notre Dame. It's my favorite souvenir yet--have it by my bed. Should I burn it during the football games in hopes they lose every game or is that necessary? Good thing I'm not Catholic or I might be in a little trouble, maybe I am anyways. We ate fresh, hot croissants for breakfast and chowed on crepes for dinner. Paris is awesome!

24 weeks

2009-09-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

The little guy! He is so sweet I can't wait until he is here! In the ultrasound video he was snuggled up and smiling-- so cute!! I don't deserve these sweet little ones......... well, at least Andrew doesn't-- j/k!!!! We are so, so happy and excited for him to come.

Ellie's 2!! Paris Day 2 Disneyland

2009-09-15T06:21:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Ellie!!

She takes her cupcakes very seriously. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the way she was eating this thing- just licks like an ice cream cone; she was cracking us up.

Happy Birthday Ellie!! She turned 2 on the 5th, and we can't believe she's growing up so fast. Just this week she's been singing for the first time, and I'm talking real, mostly understandable words and in the right tune people!! And she can cut a rug at the same time. I love watching her dance and sing to her shows. She is so much fun--each month is a new fun adventure with this one.

Daddy's little girl is 2

Mommy with scary eyes- I was all off balance on this wobble bridge with my big belly- thought I was totally going to take a dive.

Ellie's favorite part by far was "the Bear"--she loves Pooh

She was glued the whole time

They have Big Thunder Railroad (My favorite)

Phantom Manor (which is the Haunted Mansion back home)

and of course Skull Rock and Pirates of the Carribean

Paris Day 1 (sort of)

2009-09-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night, on our way to Paris (about a 7 hour drive,) we stopped halfway and visited a little town called Trier, which is sort of on the border of Germany, France and Luxembourg. It was a cute little town with a ton of history and lots of old Roman ruins including a very old roman catholic church and a what seemed to be an excavated bath house. We spent the night there and then continued on our way arriving outside of Paris, by Disneyland Friday afternoon. We passed Metz on our way there and thought of grandpa Bill, Andrew's dad who served his mission in France a few years ago:)

We took the train to Paris and first saw the Arc De Triomphe. It was in the middle of the road so we had to cross under and though a sea of people and army guys with guns (something was going on) to get there. It was our first view of the town since we came from the subway and it was so charming! The Arc De Triomphe so huge and inspiring amidst the quaint town with white townhouses, trees and the street lamps exactly what you imagine Paris to be. In the distance we could see the Eiffel tower and thought that walking there would be easiest, since Andrew had to carry Ellie in her stroller up and down stairs to get to the subway- the French were not so big on elevators where you needed them.

So, we then walked from there to the Eiffel Tower. I wasn't sure if I was going to be that impressed with it, after all it's just a whole lot of metal and I've always heard it was smaller than everyone imagined. But I loved it. It's hard to to even explain why it's so cool. It is huge despite the rumors and there is something magical about it. Maybe it's because I've seen to many romance movies, but it was beautiful, surrounded by a river, the scenery and it's own design made it a very romantic place and I can't wait to see it again.

From there we took the train to the Opera house and went out to eat at a good French restaurant. I ate some ratatouille for the first time and tried out all the different sauces they could give me with my steak. It was my kind of meal, I love sauces! Andrew had a really good burger and loved the fresh green beans. For dessert we shared some creme brulee and that was a treat! Ellie actually really liked her food too- which is a big deal these days!

Our first day in Paris was a blast!

Almost 2, It's time for a Dirndl

2009-08-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ellie will be 2 this Saturday so we're taking her to Disneyland in Paris this weekend. I just love this girl and I know she will love it!

Before we get out of town, I thought I should get some 2 year old pictures in her new dirndl. (Which I found in Garmish at a 2nd hand store- got to love that! Some nice ones can be over 80 euro out here which is about 120 dollars and I got it for 1/4 the cost- love great deals.) I wish we could have taken them in Southern Bavaria, but I settled for Bamberg (for now) at the rose gardens outside the Residence. I'll try to get more professional ones later, but I figured with our great camera these would work for now. So here is my little Miss Bavaria.

This was unprovoked she wanted sit like this for the picture. Don't know where she gets that from.....

Mostly Wonderful Pictures

2009-08-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just stopping to get some gas on our way to Neuschwanstien. Yes, I said this was at a gas station:)

Bonz and I at Castle Heidelberg

Ellie is WILD, Linderhof Castle

Man it's great here

Getting big, this was at about 19 weeks and I'm 22 now so I need to update this mug.

Prague, Radiohead, etc, etc.

2009-08-31T05:50:00.001-07:00

The Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and New town taken from Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge looking into Old Town

Looking out to toward the Opera House

View from the Castle into town- "New Prague"

Saint Vitus Cathedral outside

St. Vitus inside- simply put, the most amazing cathedral I've ever been in.

St. Vitus spires

Old town Prague Tyn spires

The Oldest Synagogue

Executioners Square

The Opera House

Radiohead Concert

The stage set up was wild really liked it

Thom rock'in it

The Good King Wenceslas looked out

Prague was the most wonderful city we have ever been to. My friend Bonnie was able to come out and we got sold out Radiohead tickets before the trip, to make this one of the most spectacular adventures to date.

I think Prague wins best city ever for many reasons. Everything is within close proximity and transportation is cheap and easy to use. It is very clean compared to other big cities. And there are a good variety of things to see, all of which are spectacular, stunning, mindblowing...... etc. My favorite memory is looking out from Charles Bridge at night onto the water glowing with the lights from both sides of spiring hills and city, in the back ground a 1930s type band was playing and I felt like I was in a dream. Seriously, put this city on a must visit before any other city in Europe list. We were lucky to have someone watch Ellie for us and I think that made all the difference too:) Can't wait to go back.

Hypnobirthing

2009-08-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I've been totally intrigued with this movement ever since my first conversation about it with a good friend of mine over 2 years ago. I've had friends do it and I also watched a dateline or something to that effect and was quite impressed, but I've been skeptical because I have had a ton of preconceived notions about birthing and hello, I've been through it! BUT I have been reading the book "Hypnobirthing, The Mongan method" ( I believe it's the 3rd edition) and it's done nothing less that change my life and totally open my mind to birthing, strengthen my testimony and give me a new sense of confidence about the whole process. And I know this is bold, but I think that it could be an interesting book for any reader needing to deal with stress in a better way. I feel totally empowered and better able to cope with having a baby in Germany! Totally recommend this book!!

Stone Martens, House Spiders and Wasps OH MY!!

2009-08-05T02:36:00.000-07:00

So, we have had our fair share of vermin this summer.

Last month we came home from California to find a good size wasp nest outside, right by the kitchen window. These guys managed to find a way inside the wall and make it home. Oh, and did I mention that the German government lists wasps as a protected species? Very cool and predicable... so we couldn't call an exterminator! The good news is that we were able to kill them ourselves and they are all gone!! Thank goodness!! I hate wasps!!

Last week we had a surprise visitor leave animal prints all over our car and then we found out that he got in ate some wires in the car and made a home for himself as well!! Turns out it was this cute guy--a stone marten. It'll be an easy fix--we just have to get a marten shocking device and some new wires. HA. I have NO idea what makes these guys drawn to car engines.

So, last night Andrew and I were in horror reading about this guy:

YES, that is a bird!!! We vowed never to go to Australia after that. As if microscopic killer jellyfish in their oceans wasn't enough to keep us away. So this morning, right after reading about that horrifying spider, Andrew was putting on his army costume and a German "house spider" ran up his pants up to his neck!!! EWWW !! I guess these spiders are pretty common here, but it was a little smaller than my HAND and the freakiest "house spider" I have ever seen. Spiders suck so bad.

News

2009-07-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

I waited 2 hours at the doctors today for my check up! During this time Ellie managed to slice her finger in a pencil sharpener (what doctor's office baby area has sharpeners for kids to play with?) and bleed everywhere, poop her buns out, spill a big bag of goldfish all over the floor, sit in every chair in the office with a bloody finger, fall about 10 times and go limp/ shy when anyone looked at her. I was well prepared to wait a while, and I was truthfully watching Ellie like a hawk! When we were finally called in she started screaming bloody murder when the nurse took my blood pressure and when the doctor finally came in, he wouldn't do the check up because Ellie was "having bad day." I guess it's sort of a German thing, but I understood. So luckily Andrew was able to get Ellie, since by that time he was off work. I then waited another hour to be seen again. But, when I got in, saw the baby, and the doctor said that we were having a little BOY it was all worth it! And truth be told, even though Ellie had a rough day today, she will be the best big sister ever and certainly bossy enough to keep her little brother in line! I love that girl! We are sooo excited!

P.S. Yes, that would be Andrew who posted the wonderful illustrative picture above. What a dad.:)

New Camera New Pics

2009-07-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

While we were back home my dad gave me the best gift ever- his camera. This is not just any camera its a very nice Canon EOS with a really nice lens. I've been trying to study up so I'll know how to use it. It's great. I've been having way too much fun with it, thanks dad! I'm still learning, but here are some pics from Würzburg today.

Ellie Loves Her Babies

2009-06-30T11:27:00.001-07:00

The other day I thought we left them at the grocery store- thank goodness they were in the car. Ellie can't go anywhere without them, including to bed.

She felt like a princess in this dress today:)

It's Been A While!

2009-06-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

I think to conserve my energy (or lack thereof), I need to condense everything important that has happened from the past two months and just post in order of occurrence. Here is my list. I've been so bad at blogging lately- please forgive me!

1. We had the most amazing time with our friends Mike and Erin Allen who came out for a visit at the beginning of May (yes it's been that long ago!) We traveled all over Southern Bavaria, Kassel, and visited Saint Goar on a river cruise down the Rhine. Ellie had the best time getting to know their adorable son Jonah (they are about the same age), who helped triple Ellie's vocabulary in a week. He was sadly missed as were they all when it was time for them to go. We had a ton of fun!

Andrew doesn't want you to look at his belly here. :)

2. After our vacation I thought that I had mono or really bad allergies, but it turned out that I was pregnant!! I'm due January 8th and we are really excited for Ellie to have another brother or sister! Still, I can't believe it.. I hope this gives me a bloggers alibi. I have zero energy and don't remember being this wiped out or sick with Ellie. My doctor here is great, he speaks English very well, is very thorough and he does 3D ultrasounds at every visit. I'm loving that. They have a movie option but I'm still not too stoked about it. 3d is a little weird, but can you imagine a movie of yourself as a baby in the womb?? Not sure if that's the type of memory I want to create for my child. We are super excited and I am getting fat- ha. Sorry if ultrasound pictures gross you out, but I love this. See the sweet little cheeks at only 12 weeks- you have to admit that is pretty cute. Everyone is healthy and doing great.

3.We went back to California for 3 weeks and just got back. It was so nice to visit with family, eat "real" food, shop at all our favorite places, and speak English with everyone. I miss it so bad, but I don't miss the 14 hour plane ride. Ellie is still getting over the jet lag, she is almost back to normal- wish I could say the same! We miss our families so much--Thanks for such a wonderful time guys we loved it and we love you!!

Watching TV w/ Grandpa Bill

Andrew's BD dinner with the family

Ellie taking Ruby out for a walk

4. Other than that I have nothing to report unless you want to hear how I've been so sick and tired that I have a hard time even showering in the day. Ellie has been watching Backyardagains non-stop, she calls them the do-do-dos, at least she has that! I feel so bad for her! I'm just waiting for this stage to end so we can get out of the house again without expending my energy for the week. I'll get there. Andrew is doing well and back to work, his boards went great!

Terrible twos- yeah right! This pic cracks me up! Terrible 1 and 3/4! Love her.

SpRinG TiMe FoR ElMsfAm In GeRmAnY

2009-04-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Ellie's Easter Dress

On the Road
Ostheim
Out side the walls of Ostheim

Just some Pics from out the window today.

Max: In Memoriam (1989-2009)

2009-03-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

Bought in a cake decorating store, you first came into our lives when I was in fifth grade. You were so small, you fit inside Mom's coat pocket. You were so small, in fact, we had to tie a small bell to your collar so we could know where you were.

You fit into the family immediately, even if you would run away from us in the front yard. You were loud, and funny, and sweet. You were good with everyone who came into our lives, both young and old (well, maybe with the exception of Myron and Soto, that is).

You grew with us and went from a tiny, all black puppy to a greying, distinguished Elms family member. You were there for all of the ups and downs. You had a preternatural sense of how to comfort us, snuggling up to us when we were sad or knowing to curl up at our feet to watch over us when we were ill. Thank you so much for that.

You saw us go from children until some of us had children of our own. We're so happy that Ellie got to know you. She loved you so much that it was no coincidence that her first word was "doggy". We're thankful that it was her four-legged pursuit of you in Bakersfield that was the impetus that taught Ellie to finally crawl. And we will always remember how she would light up when she saw you appear over Skype.

We love you and will miss you immensely. You were part of the family--a true Elms brother. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to post this for you. It's been a hard time to get past all the raw emotion and find the right words.

Here's to 20 great years! We love you, Max.

Funny Alien

2009-03-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

She was having way too much fun with this toy....... but then it got a little weird. My baby is a good cheesy scifi actress already!!

Creepy Bunny Award

2009-03-28T03:09:00.000-07:00

And the Creepy Bunny Award goes to................................

Catrina! Hands down the scariest THING I've ever seen!!!!:) But you got to give me props for trying.

Dinkelsbühl

2009-03-19T03:46:00.001-07:00

So bright out. I love that she is still smiling.

"Prisoners were left in this tower to rot." (In the guide book)

Not sure about this guy.
So, I guess the story is that during the 30 Years War the Swedish were coming to invade the city and so the towns people gathered together all their children and sent them outside the gates to plead with the army to spare their city. The captain of the Swedish army had just lost a son and felt compassion on the children and so Dinkelsbühl was not invaded. So unlike Rothenburg (which is still amazing) this city was not rebuilt, everything is in it's mostly original state. Every year in July the towns people re-enact this in traditional garb and celebrate. And of course all the children get bags of candy.

Andrew found this on the side of the old church, we thought it was pretty cool. Go Crusades!

One of the entrances to the city.

Ellie had a great time.

For Tim

2009-03-04T23:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes stars do things in other countries they would NEVER do in the states.

Does that say what I think it says???

I believe it does.

Munich

2009-02-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

We went to Munich over Valentines Day weekend. The highlight of our trip was the Nymphenberg Palace, where King Ludwig was born (the one who built Neuschwanstein.) One of museums held old carriages that were used by the family. Most of these were designed to be way over the top made with gold and intricate paintings all over. It was very interesting.

The nice part about visiting this palace was that we could take pictures! It wasn't until I was about 3/4 of the way done, that I found out we were not supposed to be using our flash.... so some of the pics are really dark. It was also great that the tour was self guided, Ellie wanted to do some exploring and wasn't about to stay put for any amount of time. So, for these reasons this was one of my favorite palaces so far.

Inside the palace was glimmering with dozens of white chandeliers, more intricate paintings, mirrors, carvings, pictures, tapestries and an amazingly huge garden outback (which we'll have to go back and see because it was too cold to wander around outside.) In the front they had a fountain and a pond with swans. It was quite an amazing place.

Music Class, Princess Castle And Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Tracy Phillips our brilliant organist, primary pianist and amazing music teacher we have a really fun music group for the little ones. We sing songs, dance and play, Ellie has a lot of fun. Thanks for all your work Tracy!

Ellie got a new toy, for V day. She LOVES it. I think it must be a German thing, I don't recall castle tents being popular in the States.

Russian Night

2009-02-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

We have a few Russian members in our ward and a German member that just got back from his mission to Russia, I'm the activities chair at church........... presto, Russian Night. Good times were had, especially by the lady in the white shirt, scarf and boots. One of my favorite families at church are the Grebes. Sister Grebe is the kindest person I've met, she went all out making tons of food for us to try. Although she speaks Russian/German I can still understand her or at least understand that what she intends to say is very sweet. That night she and her brother played the accordion for us. The first song she played was the Tetris song, a traditional Russian folk song, but all I could think about was my favorite Nintendo game- totally made me laugh. Members danced and Ellie had fun dancing to the music too.

Autobahn fun?

2009-02-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

I'm still getting used to going 110mph on the freeways. (We were driving next to a Polizei (German Police man) for about 1/2 an hour at this rate.) They do have areas that you have to go 80kmph and instead of pulling you over to ticket, the state just takes your picture. The picture takes most of the shame out of getting a ticket ( I think.) Even though Andrew's been "flashed" once (on New Years) no bills yet....

Favorite Pics

2009-01-30T03:06:00.000-08:00

Ellie is so much fun. She can say baby, she holds her nose and says stinky when she has a dirty diaper, and she says doggy about 50 times a day. She is so busy hording all of the craziest things into her favorite hiding spots in the house and into containers. She puts her crayons in moms kitchen cupboards and her books in the closets. At the end of the day I always find a little bucket with all her treasures from the house: ear plugs, pens, hair things, candles, paper flowers, and plastic lids from the kitchen. How does she snag all these things with out me seeing??
Doing Ojitos for mommy. It means "Little eyes" in Spanish- she learned it from Grammy Liz.
We had the missionaries over last last night. Ellie welcomed them by handing over all her toys and books.
These two are best buds, I love this pic.

Nutella For Breakfast

2009-01-30T02:57:00.000-08:00

She learned this face from a friend:) It's also the, "I know you have more" face.

mmmmmmmmmm. We love Nutella.

Broken Promise

2009-01-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

So, I promised myself I would try really hard not to say anything negative about the German people as a whole. Stereotyping in general bothers me and I know that there are things that I do as an American that most likely bothers others. But for some reason I need to get this off my chest, so here it goes (and this does not apply to all, just most in my 3 months here:) Germans are brutally honest, emphasis on the brutally! If something is wrong you are notified directly no matter where or who you are with and forget about points for effort.

Most Germans are meticulous, deliberate and expect the same of everyone else. Everything is where it should be and everything has a place. Once again, if something isn't as it should be you are notified instantly. The dishwasher repair man came over a few days ago to fix a leak. When the leak was fixed he told me that I needed to use salt in the dishwasher because the water is hard. Totally important tip, that I was doing, but at the time it needed more so we put more in. Then he said that I needed to use rinse aid, also something I was doing, thank you. And then he said I was putting my knives in wrong- the blade is supposed to be up. Ok. 10 min later. Are you done?? Thanks. Other offenses that you might get yelled at about: putting the wrong trash in the wrong container, using too much electricity (we pay for it), running your child into the apartment quick without a hat or gloves, translating something for church on the German translator on your computer (it doesn't translate right) and drinking something that is too cold. I guess my lazy attitude doesn't cut it over here.

New Years, Heidelberg and Shopping With Ellie

2009-01-08T03:33:00.001-08:00

New Years was a battle zone, but it was awesome! Imagine everyone in the city having illegal (not illegal here) fireworks and blasting them off at any time come 12pm and on. When New Years was finally here the city was ablaze, all you could see were fireworks and smoke. I thought I was going to get hit multiple times. This picture does it no justice, but everywhere you see light its a firework. It was insane!

Madonna statue with castle Heidelberg in the background.

The walks to castles are always straight up. I wonder how hard it was to get there back in the day?

On the Castle tower overlooking the city

In side the castle walls
In the Castle gardens. It was so cold!! Ellie wasn't liken' it!

Heidelberg. The bridge takes you on the old philosophers walk.

More of the Castle Garden.

This is Knight Ritter's home that they have converted into a hotel.

Inside the church.

Ellie finally started really walking yesterday!! Yea! She is still pretty scared of walking without support, but yesterday she really started to get brave. We walked out to the car and just as I was about the pick her up and put her in her seat she decided she wanted to climb in the car by herself and ended up falling into the snow. She let out the biggest scream I've heard, not because she was hurt, but because she didn't know why she was so cold. As sad as it was she totally made me laugh. One of her favorite things is to play with her shopping cart. She puts all of her babies and bears in it and walks all over the house collecting all of mommies decorations on the way. It cracks me up so here's a pic.

Getting the pics up is half the battle. The internet is getting fixed today so with all luck, more commentary to come:)

Ellie Tenenbaum

2008-12-30T08:55:00.001-08:00

Santa, German-style

2008-12-30T04:25:00.000-08:00

Of the many things we've learned since we've arrived, one that is often repeated is that we are indebted to Germany for many of our Christmas traditions. The Christmas tree? That came from Germany. Advent calendars? Those as well. As did "Silent Night" (technically, it was written in Austria), the modern image of Santa Claus (drawn in Harper's Bazaar by German-American Thomas Nast), and the name Kris Kringle (actually a misidentification and corruption of the German "Christkindl" which means the Christ child, who here in Germany is the actual bearer of gifts on Christmas morning).

Thomas Nast's now-famous image of Santa

Well, we know our blog has actually leant itself to be over-historical lately, but we couldn't help but point out a few more choice things about Christmas in Germany. Actually, let's just narrow it down to this--German Santa is flat-out weird and a little creepy.

First of all, over here, there is no "Santa"; it is St. Nikolaus, who delivers treats to the shoes left outside the doorways to youngsters' rooms on December 6. But in appearance, he is Santa, without doubt. And his past is a little sketchy, for he used to visit children accompanied by his trusty aide, Knecht Ruprecht, who carried a burlap sack, a switch, and for all intents and purposes, looked like a bum. Of course, St. Nikolaus would reward good children; Knecht Ruprecht, on the other hand, would discipline naughty children by beating them, stuffing them in his sack, and then later eating them.

No, not this Ruprecht.

But of all the crazy things about the German Santa, the thing that stands out the most is how they decorate with the guy! After Thanksgiving, we started to notice Santa showing up at different homes in various strange poses. Well, we thought, maybe it is an isolated thing, but no! It is pretty wide-spread, with Santa adorning houses all over here in strange, suspicious ways.

First of all, you have the Santa who apparently took his home-entry cues from the Wet Bandits, as he is scaling a ladder to suspiciously enter through a window.

Almost...there...

This house had the added bonus of the creepy Santa in the window as well

Then, you have the peeping-tom Santa, who is often suspended from the rain gutters or off of a ledge or balcony or whatever. Maybe he had a little too much eggnog or something.

Here, in probably the strangest incarnation of Santa, is the suicidal Santa. No, he is not atop the roof with his reindeer and sleigh--instead he is precariously looking over the edge and pondering whether another off-season of toy building and good/naughty accounting is worth it.

"I salute you all and bid adieu..."

So that's that. German Santa! Breaking and entering, spying on unsuspecting showerers, and ending it all like only the great elf can! It brings a whole new meaning to "you better watch out, you better not cry...", doesn't it?

Whole Bunch of Stuff

2008-12-15T04:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I blogged..... Ellie was way cute for Halloween. (Thanks for the costume Carc!)
We had a new baby 3 weeks ago.

Nothing like a fake wild pig.

The weekend Christmasmarts in Schweinfurt opened, it was busy and sooooo COLD.

Visiting the marts with friends is the best. This is the Nichols family, Holly's husband left for Iraq a couple weeks ago:(

The Schweinfurt Rathaus (city hall)

Ellie's Bling: sunglasses, necklaces, sparkly pants, fake tattoo on arm (not visible), and a cell.

A play area for the kids outside our place

The view off our balcony.

The living room with army furniture.

Ellie's new favorite toy, though at first she was scared of it.

We have really let the blog go for a while sorry!! Where do we start???

We found a nice 3 bedroom apartment in Schweinfurt that is surrounded by forest. There are tons of walking and bike paths all around and if you go about a 1/2 mile around the corner you are in the middle of the freaking woods, no lights just trees and a cute restaurant. Our apartment is a little bigger that the one we had in LA, but thats not saying much. The view however, is amazing. We have huge windows that surround our apt. overlooking the woods (our place is on a steep hill) which we love. All things considered it's not bad.

The move has been pretty hard on Ellie we lived in a hotel for about a month before we finally found the right place and just as she was getting used to that we up and moved her here. So, it's been a slow transition and Ellie is still getting used to things out here as we all are. The Army gave us furniture, pots and pans etc. for all of November and we finally got our stuff on December 2! Boxes and boxes of stuff with sooooo much paper. We crammed all of it in the guest bathroom and hallway and the movers came back last week to pick it up, which was a huge blessing because getting rid of trash in Germany is a bee sting. We have 5 different trashes that go into 5 different garbage cans. They sort EVERYTHING out here: Anything paper, Anything plastic including laminated paper and tin foil, Cans, glass, and trash. The paper garbage can has a little slot for throwing out paper and there was no way all our trash could have fit, so yeah, that head ache is OVER.

Andrew really likes the clinic over here, the dentists are all really nice and for the most part chill. He is really busy, but still comes home in a good mood and says that "he might be able to really do this as his profession" now. Which is also a huge blessing:)

We are still working out the power kinks as all of our appliances and stuff don't work over here. Some of our computer stuff and cameras are dual voltage, but everything else is not. So we are trying to weigh out the costs and benefits of getting transformers or brand new stuff. We did finally get a new microwave this weekend- it is surprisingly really hard without one!! And I think we will get a new TV soon. The new TVs are nice because they are dual voltage so we can take it back home when our time is up here.

We get most of our groceries at the Army's commissary and some in town. They have really cheep produce in the German market and it's sooo fresh. I still need to take a picture of their produce here- it looks about 3x bigger than produce in the states (everything seems bigger over here including the spiders.) I really enjoy taking the bus to the central market- lots of shopping and bakeries on every corner. And we did finally get a new car out here, (we were driving rentals for two months) a black BMW X3, it's our new baby, really fun and roomy.

As for church, we both have callings, Andrew is the YM Pres. and I'm the activities chair and primary teacher. We just had the ward Christmas party on the 12th and I think it went ok, it's my first time throwing a church party but we had excellent food and a ton of people so that's good I guess. The ward is split 50/ 50 German and English so party planing and pretty much everything is just a little more challenging, still getting used to it.

We have been so busy lately and a little sick with all the new German bugs that we haven't had to much time for traveling yet, but we still have a lot of time. It's good to relax for a bit though and get used to our new city.

Hoenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles

2008-11-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hoenschwangau Castle, where King Ludwig II lived as a child, was built by his Father (King Maximilian II.)

Ludwig had the Neuschwanstein castle (New Swan Stone Castle) built across from his father's. Both castles have rooms, names, and statues dedicated to swans. Turns out that Swan Lake separates the two castles and most people believe Tchaikovsky was inspired to model the story of Swan Lake after the tragic life of Ludwig. He was found dead in a river alongside his psychiatrist, probably murdered, at 46. Some say he committed suicide because he was crazy and also gay. He never married and lived with his mother. But his castle was designed for a man with fabulous taste. It's amazing inside and out. Definitely a home for someone off his rocker and living in a fairy-tale world. In fact, there is a room that is built to look like the inside of a cave, with stalactites and stalagmites, etc. This is the castle that Disney used to design the Sleeping Beauty castle and it's really not that old as far as castles go. They began building in 1869 and when Ludwig passed in 1886 it was still not quite complete.

Done with the history lesson. So, that aside, it was a really pleasant trip and only about 3 hours away. Not bad. The only downer is that there were no accommodations made for handicap folks and therefore strollers are pretty much impossible. To get there we walked (about a 30/40 min walk) in the woods uphill with many stairs, and when we got there strollers were not allowed inside (or anyone in a wheelchair for that matter.) But it was so worth it. The view at the top and the walk were both refreshing and it was a good workout. Ellie was on my hip for the tour and way too excited about all the stairs in the castle. She also made friends with a little Italian boy who was about 2 and kept blowing kisses at her. Lots of fun.

Our flight and first Days in Germany

2008-10-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long awaited post! It's been a process getting here, but we are here safe and sound. Andrew had to come out 2 weeks before Ellie and I because the army still had some processing to do for us. Ellie, my friend Catrina and I arrived on the 12th-- We are so blessed to have such good friends!! Catrina was so much fun and so much help! I CANNOT imagine coming here by myself! I had 7 big bags including a port-a crib and high chair, a car seat and stroller, a diaperbag, a carry on and coats. Oh and I had a screaming baby:) (I packed so much because we won't have our stuff until December- not so cool.) The flight was over 10 hours and Ellie did ok. She was awake until about 10:30pm wanting to walk up and down the aisles (with my help) and so we got to know everyone on the plane pretty well. Especially the people she would stop and stare at for minutes at a time. She finally went to sleep and slept for the remaining part of the flight. It went fine. We got into Frankfurt at about 4am our time (1:30pm German time) there is a 9 hour time diff. and were taken to Schweinfurt in a VW van by Andrew and another army guy.

Andrew and the Army guy (specialist Sawyers) trying to move all the bags out of the elevator.

I thought the trip on the Autobahn would be a lot scarier than it was. Contrary to popular belief they do have speed limit "suggestions" and people do obey for the most part. I actually like the street signs and highways rules more out here. I think it's a lot safer and more organized even though people are going 230 km/hr (130 mi/hr) in some places- you just have to watch out for them. I'm still getting used to everything in km, but I'll get there.

So we arrived in Schweinfurt, an industrial town, and are staying on base. (In German Schwein means pig so the town is full of all sort of pig signs and staues.) The base here used to belong to the Nazi's and it has been converted and restored in some parts to serve the Army's needs here. But it is still pretty dated.

Since arriving here Andrew has been in meetings all day and we currently have no phones, no house and no car. We are in a hotel, renting a car when needed and plan to get phones really soon. We've looked at 3 places and will hopefully find the right one soon.

So, we decided to get out and get to know the area. We went to Bamberg the first day. The Wurzberg residence the next and castle Rothenburg odt the third. Then we traveled to Fussen for 2 days to visit the Neuschwanstien castle (the sleeping beauty one) and the Hohenschwangau castle across the way. I promise I'll go into more detail soon, I have so much more to talk about, but Ellie just woke up so I'll leave you with some pictures. Hope everything is going well back home we love and miss you guys!

Bamburg was a good place to start- your classic German town with a small castle and so much to look at. It so beautiful out here. The trees are changing color and everything is so green.

Bamberg really is a little venice as you can see here. There are many small shops in the town and so many good bakeries.

These pictures are of the Wurzberg Residence Gardens. It was a royal palace and the inside was just as beautiful with huge stair cases and painted ceilings (no pics allowed inside, sorry.)

This is Castle Rothenburg odt. I think it was the most surprizing castle we went to because inside was a city within the walls of the old castle with hotels, shops, churches and bakeries. We ate a nice lunch at a turkish cafe (the donor sandwich is sooo good!) and visited older parts of the castle including a grave yard and garden. Rothenburg was so much fun!

I have a lot to say about Schloss Neuschwanstein so I'll save it for later!

Firsts

2008-09-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Ellie has had a month for firsts. Her first big girl shoes, first poopy in the potty, first baby molars and canines (she has 8 teeth and is cutting 4 more right now), first trip to Disneyland and first trip to Germany before the month is over. That's right!! Andrew is officially DONE with dental school!! So PROUD of you Andrew, we are so blessed!! And so we are off to Schwienfurt, Germany for 3 years. Sept 30th is Andrew's report date and we have soooo much left to do for our travels. It also turns out that it's snowing over there right now- another FIRST for Ellie. So, because we are leaving in such a hurry the family came over yesterday and we all went to Disneyland. Ellie loved it! I was really impressed at how much we were able to do with her regardless of her age and lack of walking ability. She rode the Jungle boat, Pirates of the Carribean, Mr. Toad's Wild Adventure, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh and went to the Tiki room all before she crashed. We had a great time!

First Shoes

First poopy

Naturally she reads the magazine while doing her business

First trip to Disneyland. Grandpa Bill, John, Sara, Michelle, Tim, Grandma Lynette, Grammy Liz, Ellie and Mom. (Daddy took the pic)

She LOVED the animals on the Jungle Cruise

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Not so good at this.

Ellie's 1st Birthday

2008-09-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

More details to come....

Ellie was spoiled this year as we had two birthday parties--one for some of the grandparents in Bakersfield and one at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood with family and friends. Papa made a really fun clown birthday cake and Grammy Liz provided the fancy party hat. Ellie was overloaded with toys and clothes and soooo excited about everything that she hasn't been wanting to sleep. When she wakes up in the morning its like Christmas!

The El Capitan theater was awesome. It's an old theater on Hollywood Boulevard now owned by Disney, and of course they only show Disney movies and always put on a little pre-show in good Disney fashion. We saw Sleeping Beauty and had cupcakes and ice cream after.

We just can't believe that she's one. The following are some "tricks" and things she enjoys to do now that she is ONE.

She LOVES dogs. Max is the Elms family dog and Ellie is in love; she follows him around the house making doggy noises and tries to eat his food. She tells us the sound a doggy makes on cue.

She also squints her eyes when we say "ojitos" (literally "little eyes" in Spanish) and calls us "Mommy" and "Daddy" respectively.

She also has a "hiding spot" under one of the corners of our sofa where she likes to stash things. There have been many a time where we can't find the remote or something similar and, sure enough, we can always find it in Ellie's spot.

We've also tried to teach her to hold up one finger when asked her age. But instead, she sticks her one finger up her nose. Great stuff.

There are so many things, but we won't go on and on. If any family members or friends read this and want to relate a fun Ellie story or moment, we'd love for you to share.

I'm One!

The Crew

When the movie got boring we broke into the candy shop.

Best Party EVER!

2008-08-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have my man
Papa Cake
Tim in Drag
Challa in cardboard (he was on a mission)
Cooka break dancing
All the best friends and family!!!

Today is cousin Bums big day (as well) and we wish him all the happiness he deserves. Really wish we could be there for the next best party ever!!!

Tres Años

2008-08-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Love you so much sweetie! Sars and all:)

San Diego Zoo Megapost

2008-08-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went down to San Diego with the Grammy Liz, Tim, Papa, and Pepa to visit Elms cousin Meggie Amis, who had a bye day after participating in a basketball tournament. So there we went, caravan-style, down the 5, picked up Meggie, and decided to go to the zoo. Here are a bunch of pics of the rowdy animals (and the zoo animals, too). It was a really fun day that was ended by meeting up with our friends the Oblads at an underwhelming Mexican restaurant. Enjoy!

Shawna, Grammy Liz, Pepa, Meggie, and Tim

Meggie, Papa, Tim

Near the kangaroos

What's up with Andrew's face?

Giraffe and '64 impala

Duck Tales (A-Woo-Ooh!)

2008-08-05T11:01:00.001-07:00

On our way back from Lodi, we stayed overnight at Papa and Pepa's house in Bakersfield. That morning, we were awakened by the neighbor, who alerted us to a visitor that had taken shelter under our car. We went out, and there, separated from its mommy and siblings, was this little ducky.

It wouldn't come out at first, but when we placed Ellie down to see it, the duck came straight to her. We took the ducky inside, and Ellie didn't know exactly what to think of the little guy.

Look how small!

We didn't know what to do with it. Luckily, out by Pepa's house, there is a small zoo called CaLM (California Living Museum), and with a quick phone call, CaLM agreed to take the ducky in.

As a reward for bringing in the duck, the management agreed to let us into the zoo for free. So Ellie, Papa, Pepa, and the two of us walked the grounds, and had a lot of fun. Here we are with the sheep. So all in all, we found a new home for the duck, and we had a great time at the zoo.

Lodi Froggy

2008-08-05T10:57:00.001-07:00

When we stayed in Lodi at Wine & Roses, there were dozens of these little frogs outside of our room. Here's a picture of one of the little guys.

The Happening (not to be confused with a lame movie)

2008-07-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Those teeth can tear through wire- isn't she sweet.

The new entertainment play center. I have a feeling this won't last long.

Me and My Bros. in Lodi. John, Ellie and I, and Rick.

I have some of the Book of Mormon CDs on my iPod, which is cool when I want to listen to it BUT so not cool when its on shuffle.

Other news, I'm 99% sure Ellie is left handed, quite possibly lactose intolerant and 100% adorable. She is getting into everything. I had to turn our entertainment center with all our DVDs and CDs into a playhouse today so she wouldn't tear everything out and to take her attention away from all the cords/ outlets in the house. YES, Ellie is obsessed with electricity and putting it in her mouth= not cool. Those teeth can tear through anything. She is almost 11 months now, just love her. I'm very excited that she can be in the states for her 1st BD and have Papa cake--can't wait.

Andrew and I will be going to my grandma Miller's funeral in Angel's Camp this weekend. She had pancreatic cancer among other things and I'm sad that she's not with us any more but so happy she is out of her horrible pain. I had the opportunity of traveling to Lodi last week and visiting with her for a moment with Ellie. We had a nice talk and she was so happy to see Ellie. She was an incredibly strong, beautiful woman and always made me laugh. We will miss her very much.

Papa Bill's New Teeth!

2008-07-12T13:56:00.001-07:00

Poor Papa Bill. For years he's been grinding his teeth at night, which not only led to shortened teeth, but one even fractured on him. Here's a picture of how his mouth looked.

But then, Andrew finally helped him out. Here are his new veneers, placed just yesterday.

And a front-on shot. What a smile!

From the 4th

2008-07-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

We um, found these "cool" hoodies. Can you guess who Huey, Dewey, and Louie are?

It's Andrew, Tim, and Challa!

Uh-Oh

2008-07-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Look who's crawling. And by crawling, we mean all over the place. Yes, the house is no longer safe, and in addition, Ellie is now pulling herself up and biting our ottoman and couch. It has begun.

New Orders

2008-06-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

We found out today that a soldier got hurt in basic training and he can't follow through with his original orders to Bamberg, Germany. So guess who's going instead...........................................

that would be US. No big deal, just moving to GERMANY. This is really new news and needless to say, there will be more to come. I'm still trying to let it sink in a little bit.

Mishap!

2008-06-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

When we changed the background all of our links got erased. It will be a little bit before we get it fixed again. Please excuse our construction:) Oh, do you like our new house in Tennessee? (See above) Just kidding.

Fifteen Minutes?

2008-06-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

On my way to school, one of the morning radio guys quoted some unspecified source that stated that 1 in 4 Americans have appeared on TV in some way (i.e., on the news, on a game show, as an actor, etc.). They had previously asked for callers to participate in a blind survey, so as to solicit unbiased answers, and 6 of the 8 random callers had, in fact, appeared on TV. But then again, we live in TV Land out here.

But this got me to thinking--how much water does this theory hold? I've appeared on TV, as has my wife and many members of my family and friends. Could it be true that 25% of all people have been on TV? Please comment and tell if you have been broadcast over the airwaves, and tell what it was for. Thanks!

Beach Baby

2008-06-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

We've taken Ellie to the beach on other occasions, but this was her maiden voyage into the water and sand.

In her hat

With Mommy and Daddy in the surf

Mommy, Ellie, Daddy, Blake, Challa, and Lauren
(apparently Grammy Liz and Tim were hiding)

Bleeding the Blue (For Christy)

2008-06-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last week we had cousins Blake and Lauren Gutierrez visiting from Utah. In addition to hitting the town and the beach, we took full advantage and headed up to Chavez Ravine on Friday night to watch the Dodgers beat the Cubs, 3-0 (way to go, Kuroda!). Of course, we hit up the All-You-Can-Eat Right Field Pavilion, and thanks to Grammy Liz, who babysat Ellie, we caught the whole game.

Here we are!

Lauren and Blake

L-to-R: Challa (check out his Laker-colored Dodger hat), a sliver of Blake, Lauren, and Fat Tim in his Penny shirt

That's Drew as in An-DREW, not as in J.D.

Can you believe our little Sony took this pic from the right field pavilion? Oh, and Loney was about to walk here.

Fat Tim double fisting his 7th Dodger Dog and a water bottle

Hey! We're healthy overeaters! (32 Dodger Dogs between six people, but at least we drank water!)

Ellie Eating Yogurt

2008-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile, Ellie gags when she eats (she particularly doesn't like peas--just like Daddy!). But this was the first time she actually would close her eyes between bites. It'll take a while to show up (around the 1:05 mark), but it's worth watching!

Lodi High Ten Year Reunion

2008-06-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we all headed up to Lodi for Shawna's Ten-Year Reunion. Isn't crazy how fast time flies? So we hit the 99, traveled up, and had a great time!

Shawna and Caprice at the Reunion (too bad we didn't take more photos)

Thanks to Shawna's dad, we stayed at Wine and Roses, a wonderful spa and resort located in Lodi.

Our bed

Our balcony

Ellie and Daddy in bed

White out!

Ellie says, "Thank you Grampa Bill!"

Superbaby

2008-05-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Aunt Amy went to Six Flags Magic Mountain last weekend, and she bought Ellie the cutest gift--a "Superbaby" onesie, complete with velcro-on cape! Not only is it cute, but it's right up Andrew's alley what with his Superman fixation and all.

In flight

Atop Papa Bill, with the poopy Dodgers on in the background

Shawna and Ellie in Yosemite!

2008-05-14T14:36:00.001-07:00

Last week, Shawna and Ellie were able to go with the Grandma Lois and Grandpa Bill Elms (now greatgrandparents) on their annual Yosemite trip. They all stayed in Curry Village, and were joined by Papa Bill, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Amy. Here are some pics, and make sure to check out some nice pics on Fat Tim's blog: tigelms.blogspot.com

Yosemite Falls

Deer!

Ellie in her Yosemite stroller

Lower Yosemite Falls

Papa Bill and Great-Grandpa Bill

Amy, Ellie, Papa Bill, and Tim

Ellie!

Wow! A New Post?

2008-05-14T14:33:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the long delay in new news. But here are some random pics of Ellie to get things rolling.

Family Pictures

2008-04-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

We thought it was about time to get some good family pictures. And because we have lived in downtown LA for most of our married lives (2.7 years, haha) it seemed like the perfect place for our pictures. Here are some of our favorites, taken by Victor Iorillo.

Eastertime Ellie

2008-03-30T18:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of Ellie in her Easter bonnet, courtesy of Grammy Liz.

Fort Campbell, Our New Home!!!

2008-03-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Well, if you haven't heard the news, we are off to Kentucky or Tennessee on June 15 for three years!!! Fort Campbell is on the SW tip of Kentucky and NW tip of Tennessee. It's about an hour away from Nashville which I hear is a fun city. The closest "big" city to the fort is Clarksville, TN, so it looks like we will most likely end up there. Housing is ridiculously cheap. We are looking to buy and huge 3-4 bedroom homes with tons of land are under 200,000 some are even under 100,000! BUT, it is a sad goodbye to the city we have close to our hearts, as it is where we met, married and had our first baby. And a goodbye to the state which houses both our families and where we both grew up. (It's only three years:) Hasn't really sunk in just yet, we are somewhat excited. At least we will have cool neighbors:) (Steve and Christy are 2 hours away!) More posts to come......

Baby Kisses

2008-03-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ellie is doing this new thing where she attacks Andrew's face when she is sitting on his chest. Most of the time she bites his nose or kicks him in the face, at other times she just gives him slobbery baby kisses. She's her father's daughter.

She has also recently discovered herself. The other day I noticed that she was grabbing the mirror with both hands and checking herself out. What a babe!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-26T20:43:00.001-07:00

The Fambly

Challa, Ellie, and Grandpa Bill kickin' it

Easter was fantastic! Church was great, even the talk delivered about church magazines went well (?). Then we came home and had turkey, ham with all the fixings, and Papa's homemade brownies for dessert (yummy!). Ellie was really excited to get her Easter basket full of baby toys so she could put them in her mouth, and Mommy and Daddy were excited to take home a garbage bag full of candy -thanks easter bunny:) We were so glad that my sister Michelle and friend Bonnie could join us with Andrew's family in Bakersfield for the day. Bonnie found the coveted "fruity monster" egg as pictured above- good job egg decorating Michelle!

6 Months Old Today!

2008-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

Its been half a year since she was born; where did the time go? She has been such a blessing in our lives. We just love this little one.

Twins

2008-02-27T13:45:00.001-08:00

Baby Ellie

Baby Shawna