This will probably be the longest post ever with the most insane amount of pictures ever. But I made it across the ocean and back and by golly I am going to document it to remember just how wonderful it was! The day after the family reunion the kids and I headed south to Great Wolf Lodge. We picked up Mimi along the way and after a nice lunch at Rainforest Café we headed to the hotel where we swam our little hearts out! We picked up a fast food dinner and ate while enjoyed story time around the fire! Brody and Mimi disappeared for a bit and when I came back I learned he had thrown up all over the bathroom. Poor baby!
We all slept fantastic and were feeling good the next morning. We swam for a couple of hours and then headed upstairs to get all of our luggage together. We ate a nice lunch and then we got ready to say our goodbyes!
Mimi and Meg were heading back to Oklahoma and Brody and I were headed to the DFW Airport to catch our plane to Germany to spend a week with my dear friend Katy. Katy and I met when she was pregnant with her second little girl, Finley, and I was pregnant with Meg. We became fast friends. She lived down the street from us and we happened to both work the exact same part time schedule, so we had lots of time to hang out together. Katy is one of the most fun people to be around. She is laid back and such a good momma! When her husband got stationed in Germany three years ago I promised her I would be coming for a visit and since they are only there for about 6 more months I knew my time was running out. I had originally envisioned our entire family going....but that wasn't going to work. I decided to take one kid (two would've been a little too difficult and expensive) and since Brody is the oldest he got to decide if he wanted to go. He went back and forth but once he found out there were movies on the plane.....he was all in! It was really hard for me to say goodbye to my girl but I knew she would be in great hands for the next 8 nights!
As we were waiting for the airport shuttle Brody threw up again. Awesome. I didn't know if it was a virus or just a nervous stomach and the thought of being on a plane for nine hours with a sick kid started making me a little sick to my stomach.
Brody killed time by putting together a new lego toy while I talked myself into actually getting on the plane (kidding.....kind of).
We made it on the plane and nine hours later (and 2 Xanax's later) we made it to Frankfurt, Germany! Brody did awesome on the flight even though he only slept two hours and besides two little bumpy parts it was really not that bad.
He was obsessed with the "double decker" airplane at the Frankfurt Airport!
There was some unusual décor in the airport! After a short layover we caught our final 45 minute flight to Dusseldorf! Where we were thrilled to be greeted by Katy and two of her sweet girls!
It didn't take these two long to get reacquainted. Thankfully they get along a lot better now than they used to. You would think if your kids didn't get along that you might not hang out together that much, but Katy and I enjoyed our time together so much when they lived here that we just kept forcing them to play together despite all the drama that inevitably happened between the two. Glad we all stuck it out because they played together great the entire week!
Our first day/night we hung around the house and got caught up in between me dozing off on the couch most of the afternoon.
We both loved their beautiful house!
After Katy whipped us up a yummy dinner we headed to their local gelato shop. Oh. my. goodness. It was just about the most delicious thing ever. I loved all the outdoor dining in Europe and how there are playground everywhere.
You may not be able to find a bathroom or water fountain anywhere but you will find plenty of playgrounds!
Eventually jet lag kicked in and my little man went to sleep. I never thought about the fact that the sun doesn't go down until really late there and comes up super early. Thankfully Katy had some eye masks for us!
The next morning we headed to Drielandenpunt. This is where Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium all meet so you can stand in all three countries at once! It was about a 45 minute drive and I just loved looking at all of the beautiful scenery. It all was just amazing to look at.
They had a wonderful playground (surprise, surprise) and a very tall tower that you could climb up and look out at all three countries. So neat!
Now if it isn't weird enough to have your first favorite girl move to Germany how weird is it that Brody's second favorite girl moved to Germany too? Brody and Bailey became great friends this past year. They had actually been in the same class during Kindergarten too but this year they really hit it off. I was shocked to learn that her dad had been stationed in Germany too and that they would be moving there just a couple of weeks before we would be visiting. I put her mom in touch with Katy and I was so happy they were able to come along with us for the day!
One of my favorite pictures from the trip!
The next day was a little rainy and we were all a little on the tired side. We ventured out after Brinkley's morning name to Hoensbroek Castle. After seeing all of Katy's amazing castle pictures over the years I was really excited to see one myself!
This kid managed to lose his tooth that morning!
During our tour we learned the kitchen had a vomit hole. After all of Brody's stomach troubles we decided that he definitely needed a picture by the vomit hole!
Sweet little Brinkley may not have been in many of the pictures but she was there. One of the things I looked forward to most about my trip was meeting Katy's third baby. She is precious. And just about the best baby ever. She happily went everywhere with us and never made a peep!
Later that afternoon we enjoyed some time at their neighborhood park.
I loved that almost every park we went to had a zip line!
Bedtime snuggles with Brinkley. I loved watching Brody with her. He loves babies!
Another night of me being amazed that he could fall asleep with it still looking like daytime outside. The kids all went to bed early most nights while Katy and I enjoyed watching TV together, talking, and watching random You Tube Videos (thank you Brian for introducing me to the Party Pooper Video.....I can just think about it and laugh).
The next morning I had to wake Brody up bright and early (5:00 a.m.) so we could head to Paris. I had been looking forward to this day so much. I couldn't believe I was actually going to Paris!
Katy did the most fabulous job driving us the 4 hours to Paris and then navigated the crazy streets of Paris like a pro until we arrived at our designated parking garage for the day. We then made it to the Subway. And again like a seasoned pro she figured out what line we need to get on to take us to the Eiffel Tower.
So I had never been on a Subway before. I was slightly nervous and a little grossed out but I did my best to go with the flow. I had one freak out moment where I asked Katy if we could get off and catch the next train. I felt such a deep need to listen to my "inner voice" that Oprah used to always talk about.
Eventually we made it and we were all thrilled to get our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!
All the pictures I had seen just don't do it justice. It is so big and impressive!
Checking it out while we wait to buy tickets!
How many 7 year olds get to go up the Eiffel Tower with one of their favorite girls?
While we were waiting in line to buy tickets they closed the top of the tower but after venturing up to the first level the views were so spectacular that I didn't feel sad about not getting to go to the top!
Couldn't believe how pretty it all was and how many buildings were packed into that one city!
After getting our fix of the Eiffel Tower we hoped on the subway again to hit more of the best tourist attractions. I was so thankful Katy knew all the best places to go!
The Arc De Triomphe
We then walked down the Champs-Elysses and admired all the fancy stores! And then decided it was time to eat some lunch.
If I am going to eat McDonald's eating it in Paris sure makes it better!
After walking and walking (according to Brody who we learned that day does not like to walk) we finally stopped to pick up souvenirs. Brody finally got the Eiffel Tower he had been dying to get and Kennedy ended up with some cute Eiffel Tower earrings. We also learned that the Tour De France started earlier that day and we passed right by the starting line.
Loved this Ferris Wheel!
And getting pictures in front of the Louvre was fun!
While we were looking for the Subway we stumbled across the Pont des Arts bridge also known as the Lock Bridge. It may have been my favorite part of the day!
It offered a beautiful view of the river and it was fun letting the kids get a lock and then throw their key in the river!
Did I mention we had the most beautiful weather while we were there?
We ended up buying some artwork and a few more souvenirs and then caught the subway back to our car. Then headed back home! Paris was all I had hoped it would be. Would love to go back sometime and stay longer and see more of the wonderful sites!
All that walking wore this kid out!
The next day we were super lazy. We all enjoyed a nice morning laying around and letting the kids play. That afternoon we headed to a local Wildlife Park. It was a beautiful day and this park was really neat!
We bought bags of food for them to feed all the animals!
And of course we had to stop at the playground to play!
Where we found another great zip line! That night we enjoyed some delicious pizza from their local pizza place!
The next day we ventured to another town to an amazing park. We learned quick that the three kids love them some parks and Katy and I were happy to let them play their little hearts out at some pretty amazing parks! This place was unlike any park I've seen. All of their wonderful parks and nature activities left me wondering why we don't have neat stuff like that here?
Look at those slides!
Maybe its all the suing that goes on in the United States that prevents us from having cool stuff like this! Because these slides were an accident waiting to happen!
No worries.....they were prepared with a first aid station.
The park had at least 5 or 6 different play areas and we gradually made our way around to most of them. Isn't Finley the cutest? Her and Meg would be best friends if they still lived here!
They even had cool motorized cars to ride!
And some crazy climbing thing that Brody loved.
Couldn't resist taking a picture of the "Poorthugs" Restaurant
Such a fun day!
When we got home they wanted to go to the neighborhood park. They had just played at a park for hours and yet they still were asking for more park time!
That night Brian was so nice and watched the kids while Katy and I went for a nice dinner in Sittard. I absolutely loved the town square and all of the restaurants and shopping there. Bryson really wanted to make sure I saw some old churches and brick streets. I checked them both off the list that night!
Dinner that night was so delicious and I just loved watching Katy be just like the locals!
The church
On our last day we went back to Sittard and met some of Katy's friends at Bagels and Beans. We enjoyed lunch outside and Brody has been asking for a bagel lunch every since then. We all did a little shopping and I picked out some more souvenirs (this time for myself).
We went to the park one last time!
And went to the Gelato place one last time where Brody did the crazy slide!
Then we said our goodbyes and Brian and Kennedy drove us back to the Dusseldorf airport.
Our trip was absolutely fantastic. It was so much fun to spend an entire week with one of my favorite friends and getting to see what life is like in Germany. She made us delicious meals and took us all over the place showing us a good time. Brody loved playing with her girls and we absolutely can't wait until they move back to the States in January. Omaha, Nebraska is a lot closer than Germany and although I haven't been to Nebraska I am sure it will be just as fun of a place to visit as Germany :)
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