This Day That Day

Some days have a lot going on.  For example....

Joe and I drove out to Baumholder Army Garrison to get our car inspected.  Yes, we could get it done here, but they are ridiculously strict here, and we heard that it was easier to pass inspection in Baumholder.  1 1/2 hours away, it is a really pretty drive.  Lots of vineyards, quaint little German towns, and even some of the foliage was changing colors.

While Joe waited for the car, I took Bo on a walk, because we were nice enough to bring her along for the day ;)

 While we walked, I picked weeds.

 Looked at insects.

 And got excited when I found some wild blackberries.  Alas, they were bitter.  Maybe they were poison?  I don't know.  I don't have much experience with wild blackberries.  But I didn't die.

The car passed, and Joe wanted to get a bumper sticker that said, "I love Baumholder" or "Baumholder is amazeballs".

On the way home we stopped for lunch, and I impressed myself by ordering everything in German. Sometimes I'll ask them if they speak English, or sometimes I'll start in German, but then ask them to switch to English if I get stuck.  A few times I've had to do it all in German, because they didn't speak English, but I didn't understand everything, and we've both struggled.  But this time I understood everything they said and was able to respond in kind.  Yay!

We hit traffic, and then were glad that we weren't in traffic on the other side of the autobahn, because it was way worse.  But we weren't in a hurry, because we like each other, so we can be stuck in traffic together any day.

 

After that it was a whirl wind of kids getting home, a mad dash to get Joseph packed and off to another overnight scout camp, chores, dinner, and picking up dirty socks from everywhere.  Why can't we all just wear flip flops?

Joe and I finished the day by finishing reading the 3rd Harry Potter book, and then watching the movie.

So there's your example of a busy day.  Not WAY busy, but we did stuff.  We got stuff done.  It was a good day.  A typical day.

Then there are other days that look like this...

Who is lazier,
Me or my dog?
Sitting here together
Like two bumps on a log.
One watches Netflix,
And one takes a nap,
Listening to the rain
While the house goes to crap.

Writing that poem was literally the only productive thing I did that day.
Some days are like that.

I Love to See

Recently we had a Young Women's activity to attend the Freiberg Temple open house, 4+ hours away. The Freiberg Temple was the first temple built in a communist nation (East Germany, before the wall came down), and the first built in Germany.

We didn't end up with a big group, but it was still a good trip - definitely not something you get to do every day.

Then, this past Sunday, our whole family was able to attend the temple re-dedication, broadcast to our chapel near Frankfurt.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who presided, said, "Temples are an unyielding witness that goodness will prevail...While each temple increases the influence of righteousness in the earth, the greatest blessings, of course, come to those who actually attend the temple. There we receive further light and knowledge and make solemn covenants that, if followed, help us walk in the path of discipleship. In short, the temple teaches us about the sacred purpose of life and helps us get our true physical and spiritual bearings."

I'm very grateful for the blessing of the temple in my life.

And then there was August

August is where summer usually starts to unravel around here.

The summer schedule is holding on by a thread. We haven't been to the library for......well, we have overdue books......and they aren't even getting read.  For some reason, I always read the least in August, my goals temporarily forgotten, and then I've got to try to make up for it in the Fall.

Even though the kids are only supposed to stay up late 2 nights a week, it's turning into more like 5 or 6 nights a week.  People are sleeping in longer and longer, essentially de-conditioning themselves to get ready for when school starts.  That's going to be super fun.

And school?  It's fast approaching, looming over us with store shelves full of school supplies, and kids complaining that their shoes don't fit.  I don't want to buy school supplies.  I don't want to buy new clothes.  Wouldn't that money be better spent if we went on another vacation?  I think so.  School of life, ya know?

But no, school is coming whether we like it or not.  I've got emails in my in-box to prove it.  Stupid emails.  Why are emails still a thing?  I hate them all.

On the other hand, when school starts it forces us to get back on a tight schedule.  We will all be more productive (in theory), so that's good, right?

Plus, the Olympics are on right now, and NBC, despite all their monopolistic tendencies to control the viewing of this event, have graciously allowed military members to watch online for free, so I'm enjoying that.....even though many of the events I want to watch come on in the middle of the night.  I love watching what those athletes can do with their bodies.  I love cheering for different countries.  I love hearing about personal triumphs.

And even though August is usually the hottest month elsewhere, here in Germany it is raining and in the 60's today, and otherwise in the 70's and semi-cloudy.  Thank goodness, because even days in the 80's are pretty bad when you don't have central air, and live on the top floor.  Please don't let us have another heat wave!

Cora has girl's camp, Alex has Cub Scout day camp, and Joseph has an overnight camp in Belgium with the scouts, all in the same week!  I guess that means me and Madelyn can have some quality us time....whatever that means ;)

I guess August won't be a total loss.  Gotta soak up the rest of summer while we can.

England, Part V

And now, sadly, we come to the last day of our trip :(

We spent some time in the morning in the local town center where my in-laws live.  We had a mission to go to all the charity shops (thrift shops), and I couldn't believe how many there were in a very small area.  My sister-in-law, Adreann, recently found an 1875 copy of "Sense and Sensibility" at one of these stores for only $40.  That is insane!  Not that I was under the delusion that I'd find something that great, but it was fun to look anyway, and I did find a pretty plate that I bought.

Then we cleaned out the car, and did all our packing, because we were planning on leaving at 6:00 in the morning.  While we had been there, the Dover docks and ferries had been in the news.  Because of what happened in Nice, France, they increased boarder security checks on the French side.  For the ferries, they were searching every single vehicle (something they don't usually do), but didn't have additional boarder agents to help.  This meant that each vehicle was taking about 40 minutes to process, instead of 5-10 minutes, and the lines backed up to the freeways.  There were people waiting for 8 hours, overnight, with no food, water, or access to bathrooms.  It was pretty bad.  Police started handing out water.  Luckily, they loosened up a bit day by day, and we had absolutely no problems getting there or getting on the ferry.

And I just have to mention one more thing about England before I go on.  It. Was. Crowded.  Every place we went was just swamped with people, other than the neighborhood we stayed in.  The only tourist place I can think of that wasn't crowded was Tintern Abbey, and maybe that's why I loved it so much (of course, that wasn't in England). But the crowds weren't a huge negative for me there.  I was able to enjoy everything anyway.

Anyway, back to our last day.  This was the day we went to Warner Brothers Studios Tour London - the Making of Harry Potter!

It. Was. Magical.  I mean, if you like that sort of thing ;)

Cora even cried with happiness, like actual tears, and she never cries.  She had JUST finished reading the series, so it was still fresh.  They start you off in a theater and show you this cool little video, and then at the end of the video, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk through the big door that leads to the great hall, and beckon you to follow, and then the screen lifts up to reveal that big door, through which you walk into the great hall.  It's pretty fabulous.  That's what made Cora tear up, and it warmed my heart.

The exhibit was extensive - it just kept going and going and going.  It was so worth it.

These pictures, which aren't the best quality, do not need any captions or explanations, so enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Above is the small model of Hogwarts, and below is the giant model used for filming.

 

 

Well, that's it.  That's our whole trip. All we had left was the ride back on the ferry.

I know I'm always saying how much I love the Netherlands, but I think England has found it's way to the top.  This was such a great trip, and even though we spent exorbitant amounts of money on souvenirs (which we don't normally do), we had no regrets, except that it wasn't nearly long enough.  If we had more time I would have devoted full days, or multiple days to many of the things that we did, and I would definitely see more of Wales (that could probably steal my heart pretty quickly too).  I don't know if we'll ever get back there, but I can dream.  I can definitely dream.