Dog for SALE!

Don't be fooled by her cute face and smile. She is a NaUgHtY DOG! She is for sale but, I must tell you some things about her before you agree to buy her.
Early on a Sunday morning she is very capable of jumping up on the kitchen table and eating the plate of cookies that were brought over by the neighbors. Then, she just might poop on the rug as if eating the cookies wasn't bad enough. THEN, while you're at church..she just MIGHT eat through the bag of garbage that was left on the patio by a certain 12 year old and drag in an old crusty disgusting roll to finish up on the couch and an old rotten bag of cheese on the rug. THEN, while you've discovered the mess in the family room, she just might sneak out the front door and meander through the village sniffing and enjoying the breeze. BUT, it doesn't stop there...she'll then puke it all up (thankfully in the yard) and go back sniffing to the back yard to find if anything else was left out. So, if she sounds like something you might want....call us!

BernKastel-Kues

Every year on the First weekend of September the town of Bernkastel-Kues which is about an hour from here has a wine festival. This town sits on the banks of the Mosel River. There are miles and miles of vineyards on the hills. It's a beautiful little town.
The kids are pointing to the castle we came to see "light up" with fireworks. This festival is known for the firework display in the evening. The river below shoots off fireworks then the castle shoots of theirs. They go back and forth simulating an attack when finally the castle lights up appearing to be on fire.



The videos below show the fireworks. The first video shows one display from the ground shooting up to the castle. You'll notice a HUGE explosion that I don't think was supposed to happen. It set a TON of fireworks off in the middle of just a normal display. It actually startled all of us because we were so close, I thought something was going to shoot off in our direction. The 3rd video is the castle doing a display. You'll see some fun smiley face fireworks. The rides below show how INSANE European rides are. We're spinning on a gravity type ride w/out any seatbelts on. It goes quite fast then slows down a bit to do the bumps. Then, after minutes of going one way, it switches the opposite way. The ride went on FOREVER! I hope you enjoy!

A Reward...but was it REALLY earned????

When we were in Arizona, the girls started talking about getting a hamster. They made a deal with me that when they got home they'd keep their room clean for a month. Both Nana and Papa (Mike's Parents) and I laughed at the idea of them keeping their room clean for a month. We knew it was a no go, so therefore I said yes. Nana and Papa even agreed to a year's worth of food. (by the way.....where is the food???) :-)


So, The girls get home and day after day clean their room. With girls camp in the middle of everything, they went about 6 weeks with a clean room. And, they couldn't argue while cleaning it either.
So, they handed over their money to help buy these cute dwarf hamsters and off we drove. They're cute little buggars, not big and ugly and really don't make a big mess.
Here we are 7 weeks after the deal....now who was the sucker? I admit, they got me on that deal.

We're alive...really we are!

I'll start waaaay back at Girls Camp. What a fun week we had staying in an old castle. The girls enjoyed the week with the theme "Fit For His Kingdom..A Princess in Training".

Here is Maddi chillin in the window with a couple of her friends.

Looking out into the fields as we did our hike.

The girls getting ready to make facials from bananas, yogurt and honey.
Striking a pose with Maddi as we get ready for the snipe hunt. Oh was it an event. One sweet 12 year old told me "I'm allergic to animals so if it has too much fur, I might not be able to pet it."

After awhile, the toothpaste did begin to tingle, we looked silly didn't we?
The beautiful blonde was one of the camp director's. She is an amazing lady who did a super job. I'm one lucky gal to serve with the other two beauties in the Stake YW's. We have a blast together!