Double Digits

 

 

 

 

Happy 10th Birthday, Mason!

Autumn in Kaiserswerth

My very favorite time of year and I found some beautiful places in this little town we live in...

Maastricht, Netherlands

Day-tripping is so fun here.  A short drive in the car and you can be in another country - different language, different landscape, different food, people, architecture.  It's fascinating.  One of our favorites is The Netherlands where the people are outstanding and so friendly...a welcome change from, er, nevermind!  (wink, wink)
 

  Maastricht, Netherlands

 



Better hope your bicycle is easily identifiable!

 

Fußball (Soccer!)

Soccer, or Fußball (foos-ball, translates to football) as it's called over here, is a BIG deal.  Mason wasn't too interested in it back home, but quickly learned that soccer is the way to a boy's heart here in Deutschland!  They play it before school, during recess and after school.  They have soccer practice, soccer games and soccer birthday parties.  I don't know much about the game, but I'm quickly learning!

Mason is playing U-12 soccer this year on one of his school's soccer teams.  They practice and play in all weather conditions.  There are no rain delays or weather-related cancellations.  Freezing outside?  Put on some winter gear under your uniform.  Wet outside?  Who cares - enjoy the rain and mud and hope your mom has some good stain remover for your uniform.

That's Mason on the right - #6



These two aren't too interested in watching the games so they make their own fun.

Summertime...finally!

Boy, howdy were we ever ready for summer!  We needed the sunshine, warmth and a good dose of the USA.  Our vacation was laid back and full of family and friends - nearly perfect if you ask me!

 

 

Beating the heat in Düsseldorf

It stormed hard our first couple of nights in Minnesota.  Our neighborhood lost a lot of trees and there was debris all over the place.  Thankfully, all homes were spared, but the yards looked a little sad!

Street flooding during the storm

Tree down from the storm

Happy to be another year older - 6!

 

Spending time on the water

 

Cousins!

Always working...

No fear

Happy 4th Birthday, Payton!

 Fishing trip with my guys on Rainy Lake (International Falls, MN)

Mason's monster walleye - one of the biggest catches of the trip

Happy 6th Birthday, Natalie!

This girl had a birthday in June shortly after we arrived 'home' on summer vacation.  Balloons, neighborhood friends and smiles all-around!

 

 

Normandy, France

Favorite trip in Europe so far...hands down.  We took a lot of pictures, but unless you see it in person, pictures cannot do these sites any justice.  They are beautiful beyond words and when you stop to think about what happened in each particular place - wow.  Just wow.  So grateful.

Pointe du Hoc

 

US soldiers arrived by boat, swam to the barely-there shore and scaled these cliffs with their bare hands and a knife.

 

Standing in a bomb crater

 

 

Another bomb crater...with Sofia running around the perimeter looking for the easiest way down

The monument at Pointe du Hoc - a knife sticking into the ground to remember the brave soldiers who fought there.

Utah Beach

 

 Omaha Beach

 

 

The American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arromanches