Ribeauville, Bikes, and a Full House!

It's been a crazy few weeks here! Sam and James came back to Germany with me and Zoe. They've settled into their lives here, enjoying school and sports. Both boys have joined the tennis team, both are playing German soccer, and in the spring, the plan is for them to play high school soccer in addition to German soccer. I love having the boys here, and so does Zoe. We're going to have a very busy, but very fun year together!

We have been heading to fests, exploring towns near and far, and eating a lot of schnitzel! We recently spent a weekend in Ribeauville, France where we saw a fantastic parade.

I've learned on soccer nights to take Zoe's bike with me in the car. While the boys play soccer, Zoe rides her bike around the playground.

We spent Saturday watching tennis -- the boys play on red clay courts here. Kinda messy for a 2 year old!

Pool, Beach, and Mischief...

Zoe loves to swim! She was in the water from sunup to sundown this summer! She loves to dig in the sand, jump in the waves, and splash in the pool. She and Pierce would play games in the water - he would pretend he was a taxi and pull her around on a boogie board. So cute!

Zoe was caught decorating gramma's bathtub with red marker...oh boy!

Quilts of Valor and more..

Mom helped quilt 100 quilts to be donate to servicemembers for the Quilts of Valor program. We went to see all of the quilts on display before they were shipped off!

Took some pics of Zoe at an amusement park near Teri's house, and at the Arts Fest in State College.

We went to Pittsburgh for a short visit to the zoo...Zoe and Pierce enjoyed the rides almost more than the animals!

Zoe's becoming quite a ham -- she loves to make "funny faces"!

Zoe still loves her puppy...she latched on to him at just 6 months of age. The two are inseperable.

We went to visit Renee and Jenna at their farm camp this summer. Zoe loved all of the animals!

A long overdue post!

It's hard to believe it's been so since my last post. Where does the time go? Life has been very busy, and finding time to write posts and upload pics just never seems to be easy. However, I finally have a free moment, so will start with where I left off...and will post lots of pics! This summer Zoe had a blast with her cousins, and hung out a lot with Pierce, her littlest cousin. We took a road trip to State College, stopping in Doylestown on the way. Zoe and Pierce had fun playing in Teri's backyard, they would sit in rubber tubes and relax enjoying the lazy days of summer. I'm attaching pics of Zoe and her curls (finally, she has hair!), swinging at a pinata, playing in the woods with Pierce, and walking on the dock.

Aah, vacation....

Well, June 8th was my official graduation date for my master's program. I am SO thankful to be finished with my degree, just in time to enjoy the summer. We arrived back to the OBX mid-June, and Zoe and I are enjoying our time with gramma. Zoe has been in the pool non-stop, and we even got her out tubing. At first, I asked Jeff to make sure the boat went very slow - but as Zoe, Jenna and I laid on the tube, it was Zoe that begged to go faster! Before we knew it, we were bouncing and sliding all over the place, and the only screaming was coming from me. :-)
Zoe has started calling me "Auntie Carlen" just like her cousins, and continues to keep us all smiling with the new and funny things she says and does.
Some big news the summer is that Zoe is now potty trained. I was prepared for days of being house-bound with a naked child, taking her to the bathroom every half hour, and cleaning up messes that I was sure she was going to leave around the house. However, it was Zoe who told me she wanted to wear panties like a big girl, and the idea of using lots of different toilets was exciting to her. So, gramma, Zoe, and I headed out to Virginia Beach for a day of shopping. Zoe used the bathroom in every store, and by the time we got back at the end of the day, she was sold on the idea of never wearing diapers again. Yeah!
Pictures from the past few weeks of our fun in the sun will come soon....

Memories of Pop-Pop

Finally....A New Post!

It's been a while since I last posted. Most of you know by now my father is very ill, and Zoe and I went back to the states for a few weeks. We're back in Germany now and life continues to be as busy as ever. I'm posting a few pics from the past few weeks. The first few are from a trip to Stuttgart with Jill and Lucas. We played a silly bugs game the night before heading to the fest. We had a great time - I love that fest! This weekend Zoe and I planted some flowers in the garden. She was a great helper, and she has been in charge of watering the plants every day, too. We finally have a big swingset in our backyard (thanks, Ben!) and Zoe absolutely loves it! Today she took Puppy for a ride on the swing. :-)

Some new things about Zoe.....she no longer has a pacifier. I "lost" her tatter about a month ago, and she never shed one tear about it. Except for today! Today she found one in a basket and popped it into her mouth, exclaiming loudly, "MOMMY! I found it!" I quickly pulled it out and told her she was too big for it, and babies needed tatter, not big girls. Her little eyes filled with tears and she said, "But mommy, I need it!" It broke my heart, and I almost caved. However, I diverted her attention with milk and she never mentioned it again. Phew!

Paris

Teri and Renee came for a visit this week. Zoe and I really enjoyed our time with them. We spent a day here in Germany visiting Ludwigsburg, then took a train to Paris for a few days. I just love that city! We walked for 8 hours or more a day, and took in all the sights - Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees, Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre, L'Orangerie, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Monmartre, Sacre Coeur, St. Chappelle, and the place we visited nearly every afternoon....the Tuileries. This is where Zoe had the most fun riding the horses...I mean, riding the chair that was being pulled by horses. :-) There were these ponies all tied together, and you could either sit on the pony and ride, or you could sit on the chair in the back. That is where Zoe decided to ride each time. Another thing I love about Paris is everywhere you turn there is a carousel. After all those hours in museums sitting so nicely in her stroller, Zoe really enjoyed riding on the carousels every day. After four days in Paris, we came back and spent one day in Heidelberg before Teri and Renee headed home. It was a busy week full of sightseeing, and we had a fantastic time!

Sensapolis!

Today Zoe and I went to Stuttgart to meet Jill and Lucas at Sensapolis! We had a great time climbing, sliding, making music, and running all over the place!

Busy, busy, busy....

It's been a while since I last posted. Working full time, being a single mommy to a 2 year old, and working on my master's at night sure eats up a lot of my time! :-) I haven't been too great with updating pictures, but I'll put some of my faves from the past few weeks up. Zoe has been saying some of the cutest things lately, so I thought I'd share a few:

• She calls Winnie the Pooh "shampoo"
• One night when I was working on my homework, she kept calling me over and I kept saying, "In a minute!" After about 5 minutes, she yelled out, "Mommy, I need care!"
• When you ask her if she wants to wear her slippers, she tell you, "No thank you, just toes."
• I taught her the word "spicy" after she tried my toothpaste and was frantically trying to wipe it off her tongue. The other day, the sun was shining through the car windows, and she said, "Mommy, the sun is too spicy!" Guess we have to work on that word a little more.....