4th Day- Germany

A Journey Down the Rhine

This was one of the most exciting moments of my trip to Germany and I believe for Erik as well. It was an absolute breathtaking drive down the Rhine. I wanted to know the name of every castle we drove by. We teased Michael because he knew none of their names. We told him that he gave us a great picture book and when we were with CJ in England, he gave us a great history book. CJ has always been fascinated with facts and could rattle off everything about England to us. We were very impressed. We were also impressed with Michael's ability to know just when the next castle was coming and when to snap the picture.

The road is small and there is not a lot of places to pull off, so most of the castles we had to drive by and snap the pictures. Im not sure I give the pictures justice. There must have been 30. Every new bend had a castle upon it.

On this one you can see the old castle behind the new and refurbished castle. They turn a lot of them into hotels.
Another Hotel

These pictures of Erik and I are when we did get to stop and get out. It has been a long time since we have had our picture taken together that I let Irina take a few. Im glad I did, they will always be a memory

3rd Day- Germany

This morning we left Manchester, flew into Zurich, Switzerland drove 400 kilometers to Kaiserslautern to see Michael. It was a long day of traveling again, but beautiful scenery on the drive. We saw lots of things from the road, but did not stop only so we could get to Kaiserslautern quickly. The weather was about 90 degrees when we arrived. Within the hour a thunderstorm rolled in and cooled things off quickly.

In Germany everybody eats at little cafe's on the street. We are beginning to think the Europeans do not work. The English love to shop and the Germans love to have tea and coffee at all times of the day. Here we are with Michael and Irina and some friends of theirs that found us on the street.

This was taken from the car on our way to Kaiserslautern. (like the telephone poles) Of course I do not know the history of it, but it looks like it holds gobs of historical facts doesn't it?

We stayed at Michael and Irina's house which is a cool little place. They have a cute new puppy named Daily that Erik just adores.

2nd Day in Europe!

Today was definitely a better day, full nights sleep and well rested. We spent the day in Liverpool, touring the City Centre and their shopping district. If we came to Europe to shop, England would be the place. Erik found the Liverpool FC store and was in heaven. You can’t believe the things we saw. We bought Liverpool airfreshner. We also ventured to Anfield where Liverpool play their home games. Pictures down below. From there we went to an amazingly huge church. We were in time for their evening session, where the choir sings. It sounded beautiful with the acoustics.

We have enjoyed our brief stay in England and have loved the people. They are “quite lovely”. We have also learned a few things about the Brits that we never knew.

#1- The men love to wear their Capri’s and flat espadrille shoe.

#2- The English are the only Europeans that drive on the right side of the road. That was very scary as a passenger up front with CJ.

#3- the trunk of a car is called the boot. The bathroom is referred to as the toilet. The elevator a lift, a jumper a sweatshirt,

#4 They don’t have any sprinklers, yet their yards are so beautiful with English flowers. You must ask for your bill or you will sit for hours waiting for them to bring it., The sun goes down at 11:00pm, The weather is never predictable,

#5 One drawback, they don’t care much about food like we do in America and therefore have not mastered the fine cuisine their country is capable of mastering. I have great faith by the next time I visit they will, CJ is bound to change the way they think of food.

#6 In Chester, the City Centre Clock tower has 4 sides. On 3 of those sides is a clock. The side that faces Wales does not have a clock. The people of Chester “Don’t give the time of day to the Welsh.”

#7 we also learned that some old laws still apply because no one has bothered to abolish them like….

If a pregnant women has to go to the bathroom, a policeman is obligated to tip his hat for her to “wee” in, taxi cabs are required to carry a bail of hay in the boot of their car,( to feed the horses) If you are on the Chester wall on Sunday after 12:00pm and you see a Welshman, you are allowed to shoot him with an arrow???? And kill him.

All in all, we had a great time with CJ and Carly. They were great tour guides and hosts. Hope we can return the favor soon. (Thank You)

From Liverpool we decided to stay in Manchester to stay close to the airport. We leave for Germany tomorrow morning.

Until next time!!

Erik and I in the Church

Anfield

Anfield Museum

I am having technical difficulties loading pictures here across the pond. I will have to post more as the week goes on.

Our First Day in Europe- Chester England

We are exhausted, missing a whole nights sleep has left us feeling bushed. We arrived in Manchester and waited 2 hours to go through customs. CJ my youngest brother picked us up and we made our way to Chester. Chester is the quaint city that they live in, filled with tons of Roman empire history. I'm not going to spend to much time explaining the history on my trip, or I will miss out on more touring!! (I will come back and edit someday soon. I just want to get pictures up of our trip so the kids and family can see.)

Chester Cathedral!

The Cathedral was built in 1092- you can tell how old it was by the gargoyles. They were a thing of the time. CJ says they were to warn off the bad spirits. In churches built after the 13th century, they would use angels instead of the gargoyles.

I also have read somewhere they were to represent the spirits that were lost between Heaven and hell.

This is the City Centre in Chester where all the shopping is done. We spent a little time there. Lots of shops.
Erik and I posing in the Roman Gardens
More of the Roman Gardens
Whats left of the Roman Gardens
The back of CJ's work. Spital Vault.
A man and his house traveling the canal.
The steeple of a church. Very beautiful
Erik and I in front of Carly and Cj's house.

Good Things to Come

I loved this when I saw this.  I couldn't help but think of Cassi as she has packed up her car and belongings as they moved across  the country. Yes, they seemed to have the same car, one that broke down and could not seem to make the way home.  Just hold on!  Times I'm sure will get better.
Good Things to Come

Our Little One is Off to High School

(was I surprised you threw your arms up in the air?  No I tell Grandma Webb/  This is the kid who got baptized and then turned and yelled (in a soft tone) "YES!!!!")

Where has the time gone?  I still remember your first day of kindergarten at Buchanan.  We loaded up the stroller with Tallen and Callie.  Callie was barely 1 and Tallen was 2.  You were so excited and went right in to your class sat down and were enthusiastic to start.  I was so thrilled for you, that I had no tears.  You were  eager to make new friends and start a new beginning.

Mr. Kelly was your first principal at Buchanan.  He later was promoted to work in the district.  I thought it was special he was presenting your promotion certificate to you. He has a pretty tight grip on it.  It looks like you might even be pulling it from him.

You and Sage the day you promoted from 8th grade.  I have a picture of you and Sage on your first day of kindergarten that I am trying to dig up and now look at the two of you.


Kelsee, Samantha and Breanna
Perry and Kelsee- They have been friends since kindergarten as well when both of you were flower girls in Jimelle's wedding.  Perry moved here and you were so pleased.  Friends for life.  You two just understand each other.
Kelsee! congratulations on your completion at Warm Springs and hello to a new chapter of your life "High School!"

Cute Little Hadlee

Cassi is getting ready to move to Virginia for the summer. Before they go, she has been asking if I would take some pictures of her kids. I went over yesterday and none of the other kids were ready except Miss Hadlee. She was the only willing participant. We found a field near Cassi's house that had great flowers and green pastures. She did nothing but pose the entire hour and a half. I have never known a 3 year old who could do such a thing. She was hysterical, because she listened to me and moved her head in positions that I wanted her to. I took over 200 pictures of her. These are some I thought were cute of her. (She actually did help me with my assignment for my mamarazzi group.)

Boom Boom Pow- Glowman Group

So last year while Erik and I were in Cancun, we went to a show with our friends the Pulsiphers. It was an hour show with glow people, glow hula hoops, glow balls, you name it, it was glowing. While we were sitting there I couldn't help think what a fabulous idea this would be for our kids in the talent show. (We have this little thing about going over the top with Talent show.) During intermission Rebecca leaned over and said this would be a great idea to remember for talent show. Yes, you know how us mothers are! We are always thinking of our kids.)

A little background information on the Talent show-- for the last 8 years at Buchanan my kids have participated in the talent show. Each year the group gets larger and larger and better and better. This year we decided against all odds to go for the glow-man costumes and do a fun glow in the dark dance. The kids spent days re-hearsing and us moms spent hours trying to black out the Multi Purpose room to get the full effect. It paid off. They were a hit, and the audience loved it. They got to perform twice during the school day and one evening performance. (The evening performance was great and the darkest.) Unfortunately, my video camera would not pick up the fluorescent lighting from the glow sticks. I was able to get a copy of the first performance from our neighbors the Vincent's. (The boys costumes you cant see very well from so far back.) I am working on getting a copy from the evening performance to post on my blog.

Anyways, the kids felt like stars and wanted the night to go on and on. I was approached by 5 4th grade girls at the end of the show and they said, "Mrs. Webb, we understand you have 5 fifth graders going out next year, and you will have 5 positions open. Can we audition for your group?" That was one of the cutest things I had ever heard. ENJOY

Valentines Day!

I really have good intentions. I finally sent out Valentines Card's this week to friends who were supposed to be on our Christmas list. Last year I did not send Christmas cards because I was so sick and this year during the hustle and the bustle I thought it would be such a great idea to send out New Year's Cards. Well New Years came and left and the guilt of sending nothing is just killing me. I would hate to have anybody think that we have forgotten them or taken them off of our Christmas list. I do lay awake at night and say to myself, "They do know that we have been busy and that we still think of them often, don't they?" (It is the same guilt that I carried around for 12 some years about the wedding gifts that had no cards attached to them. Would I ever be able to know who got me the pancake griddle that I use weekly, or the beige towels? Do those individuals, I never thanked hate me and think I am selfish for never sending a thank you?)

These cards had to go out sometime this year, and Valentines just seemed to be the date, whether it was anti-climatic or not.

I finally got the kids to pose for me, during half time of the super- bowl. Erik would not have anything to do with it. Maybe some year he will. Here they are, my Motley Crew. This year I vow to do better!