THE CATES

Friday we all went to Ramstein for the day and got to do a little shopping there. I was lazy and didn't take any pictures. I got an SLR camera for my birthday but didn't know how to use it yet (I still don't... I need to get some lessons from Cami).

Sooo... I SWEAR I saw a sign saying that the Weinheim Sommerfest was on Saturday so we planned on going all week long. We got there and quickly realized that there was no fest going on. We were bummed out but still enjoyed walking around the Weinheim Castle and even though it only got up to 67 degrees that day, at least it never rained on us! We also experimented with the new camera.




Let's see if you can tell the difference:

This week started off with Kayla's 5th birthday.
The kids insisted on making a "cake" out of all of her favorite doggy treats.

I could never get her to look up for the picture.

The weather has been nice here. Upper 60's - low 70's. Not warm enough for the lake but perfect for bike rides!

Taking a break to look for frogs on the lily pads

Stopped to pick some veggies and fresh flowers




Stopped at a neighbors house to see her new baby ducks

Yes, that's duck poop on my shirt!

Eating ice cream and reading books outside. Does it get any better than this?

Not sure what was going on in this picture. Someone hi-jacked my camera and took some pretty funny shots. This picture makes me smile. I love my little goof-balls!


My birthday!! Jeremy made me a yummy cake and the kids frosted it. Presents included: new jeans, a dress, gift card to H&M, gift card to Douglass (perfume store), and an SLR camera!! Get ready for some awesome pics on here!!

For my birthday I wanted to go to my absolute favorite place in Germany... maybe in the world!! Luisenpark - we spent the whole day there and I still could have stayed longer.







Aiden begged me to take his picture by this flower because "it's so beautiful!"

Ok - these flowers are called Fuchsschwanz- Agave and they come from Mexico. I have never smelled anything like them. I am officially on a mission to find these flowers and plant them all around my house some day. I had to take a picture and post the name on my blog so I never forget them. They are seriously that good!!





After playing at Luisenpark all day we got to eat dinner in the rotating restaurant on the top of the tower outside the park. The views are awesome and the kids loved going in circles while we ate!!

One day we were by our old boarding house, Platanenhof and decided to play for a bit at our old park. Aww... the memories!

Come rain or shine we know how to have fun in any weather!!

This week felt like the first official week of Summer. The family are all gone and it's just us! We spent the week doing lots of summer-time things...

Playing in the fountains at the Burgerhaus

I think we need a bigger pool

Bowling!

When we got to the bowling alley I couldn't find Whitney's socks but did happen to find an old crusty pair of Aiden's way in the back. I made her wear them. She was so humiliated to have to wear these socks. It took her a while but she finally got over it!

Sleep over!!

While the boys had their sleep over Whitney enjoyed a fun bubble bath!

Homemade pizza's for dinner

The boys were picking on daddy!

Drying off in the sun

As we were cleaning up all the towels, toys, food, etc.. the kids thought it was a good idea to play in the sandy "volcano". UGH!!! Time to clean them all off again... :) Fun times!

We've been here so many times but it was so fun to be there with my family. We had a great weekend!

The resort went all out for the 4th of July! They had activities going on all day and into the night.

They had one event where you stacked beer crates on top of each other and climbed as high as you could before falling. Jeremy was very proud of himself for stacking 17 tall before falling.

Connor and Aiden both did it too.

They had a BBQ buffet for dinner and lots of shows for entertainment

And then we waited for the fireworks!!

The next day my Mom celebrated her birthday by going to Neuschwanstein Castle while Jeremy and the kids went to the Linderhof Palace (they had already seen the Castle).

The Linderhof palace completed in 1868 by Ludwig the II, King of Bavaria... was the smallest of three palaces built by Ludwig.

We met back up that night for dinner at Zuggy's and cake of course!

On our way home we stopped at the Swarovsky Chrystal World in Innsbruck, Austria.

My Uncle Philip is such a kid at heart!!

Happy early birthday present to me!! :)

When we got home Jeremy was grilling dinner for us in the rain. I love him!

The boys always made fun of Lindsay for always wearing something that said Ohio on it. So her Mom brought us all back Ohio shirts. Then we got really crazy and tried to spell Ohio. It seemed like a great idea at the time!

We went to a new restaurant in Heidelberg, Schnitzelhaus, that night

The next morning we all had a big breakfast and said our final goodbyes. I know we will see Lindsay again. She will always be a part of our lives!