We have had a busy week so far. Not so much for the kids and I but more so for Joe and Rob. We picked Rob up from the airport Tuesday morning without any problems so that was nice since I was a little worried about getting around the Hamburg airport. We came home and he took a short nap to catch up on some sleep while the kids and I just played and made dinner. That night I had my final German lesson before leaving for America and my teacher brought different cheeses for us to try. I guess here in Germany you always eat cheese with bread, grapes, and wine so she fixed us up a tray and we got to try the cheeses. They were all really good surprisingly. The two softer ones I wasn't crazy about, but the others were great.

That night Joe and Rob went downtown to watch England play (on TV) and didn't get home until late. They were both up and gone the next morning before the kids and I even woke up. Joe was off to, of course, work. And Rob had caught a train to Berlin for the day. I didn't feel too great for some reason so the kids and I just hung out inside mostly aside from a quick walk to the store to get more apple juice. Maggie was so funny all day. I was changing her diaper and told her that when we get to Mimi and Grandad's house she can't wear diapers anymore. I told her she'd have to wear panties because they don't have any diapers there. She thought for a minute and said, "I guess Mimi will have to go to the store." I laughed and told her that she wasn't going to go to the store to get diapers because they don't have diapers at her store. She looked at me again and said, "oh mom, what are we gonna do about Owen?"
I have been trying to get some plans made for Owen's birthday and found an adorable cake to make. I was so excited because I had been trying to think of something cute to do and then found this idea the next day. I am not going to tell what it is though, so you can wait and see when I post the pictures on here. He also had his "photo shoot" for his birthday announcments but it didn't go so well. He would smile at me when I talked to him but the second i held the camera up he'd start laughing and lunge out of his chair. So before I leave I have told Joe he's hired to help me get a "perfect" shot of him.



This day turned out to be pretty long for me since Joe didn't get home from work until almost midnight and Rob got home about 10 or so. Joe worked super late so that he would be able to go Thursday to the World Cup game. Pretty pathetic vacation day huh, you have to work 18 hours the day before in order to take it. Guess that is Caterpillar in Kiel for ya. Well, Thursday started out the same way, they guys were gone when the kids and I woke. Maggie asked several times where her Daddy and "his friend" were. The kids and I didn't really do anything once again, I began packing for our trip and making a list so I didn't forget anything. I don't have to pack much for the time we are there since mom has basically everything I need, 2 cribs, high chairs, toys, strollers, and car seats. But packing for our plane trip is the big one. I need to have anything and everything I would ever need to make our trip as easy as possible.
The guys had an awesome day it sounds like despite the US losing. They said it was the most incredible experience and so much fun. The 6 plus hour train ride wasn't too bad going since they were really excited for the game. But they said it was pretty long coming back that night. They did get lucky and had seats right next to Landon Donovan's (US player) fiance. Her name is Bianca Kajlich and she I guess is an actress who has been in movies such as Halloween and Bring it on. She was also on Dawson's Creek a few times. She even gave Joe her brothers number in Prauge so he could call him when he visits and her brother could show him around. So Joe told me on the phone that night coming home that Jessica Biel was on the train too....well turns out she wasn't exaclty on the train, just on the phone with Bianca as they were riding. Close enough I guess. They didn't get home until almost 2 am which means I didn't go to bed until then since I am not really too fond of being home alone at night. Thanks to Neila and Kari though I had someone to talk to so I didn't have to listen for creepy noises. Here are some shots from their trip, they said it was so cool to see all the USA flags and such in Germany.








So as you can see they had a really fun time. Today we are basically just resting up and heading down to Kieler Wocher this evening to try foods from the International Market.