Maddy

I'm late posting this, but we DID celebrate Madelyn's birthday.  Actually, back at the very end of May we had a COMBINED birthday party for Alex and Madelyn.  Remember how we were supposed to have a party for Alex, and it kept getting later and later, and Madelyn kept reminding/bugging me about it?  Well, I finally suggested that we do theirs together, and they actually thought it was a good idea.  Phew!  And then I got even luckier when they decided they wanted a Messy Party.  I thought they might be too old to want to do that, but I guess you're never too old to get messy.  It's my go-to, super easy party - playing with shaving cream, finger painting, whipped cream pie eating contest, decorating their own cupcakes, and a water fight.  I got ONE picture.  Sorry kids.

We later celebrated Madelyn's birthday as a family, like we do with every birthday.  Madelyn is our little spitfire.  Always has been, probably always will be.  The same things that make it hard to parent her are going to be the things that serve her well as an adult.  At least, that's what I keep telling myself.  I don't want to be the one to put out her fire...but it's a challenge ;)  She does light up our lives though, and we are blessed to have her. 

 

 

We'll keep her.

More Castles

You'd think it would be easy to get kids to go see castles and/or castles ruins.  I mean, they're castles.  But apparently they have a limit to how many they want to see.  So sometimes you have to take kids, against their wills, to see castles and/or castles ruins.  The good news is, they usually end up enjoying themselves, despite the initial protests, and everyone comes away happy.  This may or may not have something to do with getting gelato ;)

 

Eppstein Castle - founded in the 10th century. We climbed up the tower, and Madelyn thought she was going to die. Overlooks a cute little town and beautiful valley.

 

 

Eltville Castle - Built in 1330. Right on the Rhein River, and surrounded by beautiful gardens.  There was a wedding party there when we visited, and really, it's a perfect place.  They even had part of the fence along the river designated for locks of love!  The town itself is such a cute little town, and we walked around and got ourselves some gelato.

 

Biebrich Palace and Mosburg. Joe and I had been to the palace before, but the kids hadn't, and we hadn't walked the extensive grounds/park, or seen the Mosburg, which was built in 1805 on the foundation of a medieval moated castle.  There is a great biking/walking path through the whole area.  We only had Madelyn and Alex with us (the older kids were at another activity), and you would have thought we were taking the little kids on the Pioneer Trek instead of a nice leisurely stroll through a park at a palace. Their legs hurt.  They were dying.  They couldn't go another step. (This was mostly Madelyn) Miraculously, when we found a playground at the end of our walk, they made a speedy recovery and were able to play for a while.

 

Last one, Hiedleberg Castle.  Again, Joe and I have been there without the kids, but this time we specifically went to see the annual illumination of the castle and fireworks show.  We went with some friends, and went really early so we could get good seats.  Really early.  Some got there at 4.  We got there at 6.  The show started at 10.  There were a LOT of people.  People lined both sides of the river, and people in boats filled the river. It's kind of funny because the whole thing is in commemoration of the many times that Heidelberg has been invaded, destroyed, set on fire, etc.  But the fireworks also date back to a tradition started in 1613 when the Elector-Palatine brought his new bride to Heidelberg, and arranged to have fireworks to greet her.  During the first part of the celebration the castle is lit up in red, and it looks like it's on fire.  Then there are fireworks, first coming off the top of the castle itself, and then from the old bridge of the Neckar River.  It was really fun to see, even if we did have to wait forever and brave the crowds ;) I didn't get great pictures, but here's what I got.

 

 

There will be more castles in our future, and I hope that my kids know that we're not trying to kill them.  I hope that they will look back over these times and have fond memories and realize how lucky they were.