A Big Announcement

We have a new baby! No, I haven't been keeping secrets from you. My mom (Mimi) skyped us one day, and this is what she bought as a belated birthday present for Eliza:

He She is a male female seal point Siamese kitten (9 wks now). Eliza is over the moon! Her His name is Kitzel which means "tickle" in German. Eliza named him her. The cat on the left is my stolen my parents cat, Simon. Kitzel will be returning to Germany with us after our visit the US in August and September (if Mom, Dad, D, and Micole will let him come. She's He's apparently entranced the entire household.).

Update: Turns out the breeder was wrong and Kitzel is a little lady. We don't really care. We are excited for her to (eventually) come home!

More Visitors

An old friend of mine came with his wife to visit. It was really nice to finally meet her as I've heard so much about her over the years. Here are Bastian and Nina:

We took Eliza to the Gasteig downtown. There were a multitude of cultural performances and workshops. Eliza attended a class on balancing on a ball and tight rope walking.

She also got her face painted. Many thanks to Nina! There was a problem with the line and our tickets, but Nina got it worked out in the end.

We also ate some awesome food. Sorry, no pics. After lunch we went to a "Self Cut Flower Field" and cut some gladiolas.

In August, we go to their house on the Baltic Sea! We are really excited.

Visitors!!

We've finally had visitors! Friends of ours from Santa Barbara were travelling Europe and stopped in. It was so great to see them. Also, this week I stayed with a family from our ward and had four kids all week (5 sometimes). Oh my gosh! It is so much easier than I thought it would be; however, that being said if I had to get through the baby years with each one it might kill me. So, here's a picture that I stole from Brandy:

Also, we have visitors this weekend. Our friends from Kiel are here. What an exciting week!

Autobahn!

Yesterday, I went with my friend to Stuttgart. It is about 2 hours from Munich on the Autobahn. On the way home, I drove her beautiful BMW. All I can say is WOW!!!

So, sometimes there is a speed limit. If traffic is slowing down, weather is inclement or there is construction there are these billboards overhead that will slow traffic down before it reaches the stau (slow down).
The signs look like this:

If not, the sign will display this to indicate no speed limit:

Yes, they drive fast when there is no speed limit, BUT:
-The roads are paved beautifully! There are banked and are lovely to drive.
-Everyone follows the rules. Fast cars on the left. Slow cars on the right. No passing on the right.
-When there is a speed limit, people actually do slow down.
-Maybe it was just the car I was driving, but going really fast wasn't as noticeable as usual.
-There is something incredibly liberating about choosing your own speed!!!

The car I was driving had a heads up display. It was awesome. It gave me the current speed limit (it could talk to the signs), my speed and the gps directions. It looks like this:

On the way home, we stopped in the rest stop to use the ladies room. So, it actually costs to use the toilet, but it was really clean and check out this:



Awesome, huh!?!

Please note: I didn't take any of these pictures. I have no desire to die on the Autobahn.

Eliza Today

Kit10 Returns

Look who was back for a visit:

Dear Bopeep

Dear Bopeep,
Just thought you should know that Woody has been running around on you with a cheap, knock off mermaid. They say they are in love and are getting married.
-A Concerned Friend

Addicted

If you ever come to Germany, don't try these! Next thing you know, you've got five empty bags around you, and you've gained 5 pounds. Seriously, so tasty!

It's Been Awhile

Here is your gratuitous Eliza picture:

Neuschwanstein

O

This is H's brother, O. Isn't he delicious!?

While H and Eliza entertained one another and had tons of fun, O was the perfect child of the day. He was our "go along guy." He rode in the stroller, took a nap, ate a little bit. He was pure delight.

I Wonder Where She Gets That...

Eliza has tons of moments lately where it is blazingly obvious who she takes after. She is stubborn, headstrong and bossy. Obviously, this is pure Claron. Hahaha.

Apparently, we even do the same cheesy smile. Sigh.

Girlfriends

Eliza's friend, H, is visiting from the States. We all went to Neuschwanstein together. The girls had an absolute blast together. Here is the evidence:

Playing with the iphone on the train

At the castle signs

Eliza thinks she's ready for Vogue

Sorry for the bad pic, but I had to shoot quickly. The owner was having a fit, but the girls were LOVING it!

Sitting on the bulldog outside of Taco Libre in Munich

Typical German Scenery

This Saturday, we went to Neuschwanstein. I'm working on more pics, but I had to share this idyllic, very typically German scene.