Monday, February 16, 2015

Texas & Legoland

Hannah and I weren't the only ones having fun last summer.
The day that we left for Europe, Ivan was returning home from a solo trip to Texas - where he was being treated to so much fun and making special memories with family!

After Hannah and I left and Ivan arrived at the airport, Donald and Jenelle picked him up and the next day, caught a flight for Legoland in California!
A surprise for both of them!

A really special treat came for all of them when they were in the Lego building room.
Lots of kids were there and Ivan worked on a dragon head that he got to put up on the cool creation shelves.
The woman in charge of the creation room, Renate, started a quiz for the kids there with the prize being a small Lego set.
The rules of the game were that if you were under a certain age, in order to win, a parent must be present.

Donald and Jenelle had already left to go get some Dippin' Dots.

The quiz question was, "What does Lego mean in Latin."
One kid guessed, but got it wrong.
Ivan knew the answer..."I put together".
He answered the question, but then told her he couldn't win because his dad had left the building.
Well...his honesty paid off big time!

Renate was so pleased that he had been truthful up front, that once Donald and Jenelle returned, she rewarded all three of them with a very special tour - something that rarely happens.
They got to go into a room where the Lego bricks were actually made.
An extremely rare treat for visitors to Legoland!
They were given a personalized Lego for all five of us, but Ivan got a little extra.
His Lego sat on top of another that holds the plastic beads used in the manufacturing process, and that was stuck on top of some red extruded Lego plastic! 
An incredibly cool souvenir for a kid who loves Legos!
And incredibly proud parents!

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Random Memories from Europe


There are a few more pictures that I want to share from our trip this summer.
Not important in the big picture...but pieces that make up the story anyway.

London.
Always beautiful.
I could go back and back and back.

In every city there was graffiti.
There seems to be a universal desire for some people to spray things with paint.
Sometimes its sad and awful, but other times it can be pretty interesting.
Hannah captured a couple of pieces of "street art".

Amsterdam
 Eisenach
Monterosso
 Paris

Paid toilets were always so much fun.
Loved having to find the right change in order to use the bathroom.

When we left the city of Cologne, we took a train a short ways out of the city center.
Once we got off the train, we had to walk a short ways to our room for the night.
I think this cat liked us and wanted to come with us, but I don't speak German so I couldn't be sure.

These were a couple of the staples of my diet on the trip...
Bi-Fi sticks (pronounced Bee-Fee) and cheese sticks.
Delish!!
Smoked salmon sandwiches!
WHY don't we have these readily available in the US?!

Euros!

More from the German Alps.

We didn't bring home much in the way of souvenirs...mostly just our photographs and memories.
There was the "not spending too much money" thing PLUS the "can't squash anything else into my back pack" thing.
I brought a small pink leather coin purse to Jenelle and some gorgeous rocks from the Italian beaches for Ivan.
I also took home a cool bag of Italian pasta - crazy pasta!
And from Bavaria until the end of the trip, this trusty German grocery bag saved me - and as you can see - actually gave its life so that I could carry more crap around!

And so it comes to and end...finally!
Amazing adventure - amazing memories!
What does 2015 hold for the next Baumbach family adventures?!

A Week in Pictures - 8 February - 14 February

I'm always capturing the "events" of our lives and forget to pick up my camera for just "life".
Since we're not really always on an adventure as my blog might imply these days, I thought it would be fun to record the everyday - the stuff that makes up the patchwork of who we are!

2/8 - Sisters.

2/9 - My attempt at eating a healthier breakfast.

2/10 - Sunshine!!

2/11 - After school feeding frenzy!

2/12 - Morning moon.

2/13 - Yakima morning skies are killer!

2/14 - Happy Valentines Day!