Visitors

Last week we had some wonderful visitors come spend Thanksgiving with us. My parents and my sister, Nicole, came to spend a few days here in Germany. While wanting to see our home, our town, and our daily lives, they also wanted to see some different parts of Europe. We took a five day tour around central Europe, heading down south to southern Germany, over to Salzburg, Austria, and then up to Prague, Czech Republic. The time went so fast, but it was so great to have them here while they could. We spent a lot of time in the car, but we saw everything we wanted to see!

I think the best part of the week was going to the Chrsitmas markets. Even though they are a tad overwhelming with thousands of people scrunched into one area, they are still quite the site to see. I love the atmosphere and all the great food!!

The worst part of the week was the weather. It rained/snowed on us almost every day, which made it really wet and cold. It was absolutely amazing to wake up to snow while in the Alps though. You certainly can't get much of a better view than that. Unfortunately we didn't get a very good view of the mountains. It was really foggy while we were down south and never got a clear shot. Nonetheless, the snow made it perfect for pictures.... much prettier than the brown, empty trees.

While they were here, we had some friends over to play a game of Balderdash. Mom had more fun playing with the kids instead!

Pictures of a few of the places we went...

Mannheim

Heidelberg

Neuschwanstein Castle

Salzburg

Salt Mines

Prague

Rothenberg

 So... perhaps we decided to be kids again and have a snowball fight. Jay got the blunt of it, but he was a good sport. The people watching us got a kick out of it too!! We have to take every chance to can get to play in the snow!

 Jay just got nailed! You'll notice the white on his left hip!

 This was the evil look we got after both of us hitting him!

East/West Germany Boarder

Erfurt

The time they were here went entirely too fast! I wish they could have stayed a whole month!!! I had a really hard time telling them goodbye. We won't get to see them again until we move back to the states. It was our choice to stay in Germany another year and we think we made the right choice. But situations like this really make it hard! We know the next year will go by quick as we have a lot planned. Jay has a rough draft of a schedule for trips planned out! We are going to take every opportunity we can get to travel before we head back.

Mom, Dad, and Nicole, thanks for taking the time and spending the money to come visit us! We are so glad you were able to see us and see how we live our lives over here! Can't wait to see you again in a year or so!