A sandy beach . . uh, yard.

Exactly a week post-accident and we're all okay still. I am sore, but it's not from the accident. It's from doing a little yard work last Saturday! Apparently I don't sit on my haunches very often and they are making themselves known!

Once a year, our building's landscaper and hausmeister (lives across the hall from us), do a little work in our yard for my landlord. Since we live on the ground floor as does our hausmeister, we have the only yard space of the building and lucky for us, it's not shared. I was curious as to what they'd do back there and felt compelled to go help.

I was a little alarmed, however, as I saw them heartily raking up all the moss in the grass. Moss constituted at least half of our "grass" and I think I'd prefer it to what we've got now. They spread down grass seed and then COVERED it all with sand. As if my floors weren't already bad enough -- now I've got sand in every nook and cranny! McKay was in and out all day and kept saying, "Mom, it snowed!" He'd throw it up over his head and giggle with glee. I feel robbed of perfect spring weather being enjoyed on a blanket with a good book, Morgan gurgling, McKay snuggling up and Easton reading by my side. Good thing it's been a little cooler and rained yesterday! Besides, my "good book" is the driver's exam study guide right now. Hmph!

So why is this ol' bod sore, and not just grumpy? To "help" in the landscaping effort Saturday, I decided to attack a little spot on the side of the house where some lavender bushes, a small tree, and ground cover had grown amuck. I'd been told by a friend earlier to trim off the tops of the lavender to help the new stuff grow in. I had some little pliers and some scissors just going at it nice and slow. Herr Gotz, the Hausmeister, approached me in his broken English with a huge grin on his face and a manly pair of clippers to demonstrate for me - his horticultually-challenged neighbor. He was literally laughing at me! I had to laugh at myself when you compare my dinky little scissors snipping off each stem one at a time to shearing whole sections with robust chops! I think then and there he realized how desperately he needed to guide me.

I asked him for help now and then and each time he expertly showed me up, very kindly with a grin. When I told him I wanted my lavender bushes to look like his, I think he just about laugh/coughed up a lung! A girl can dream, right?! In the end, I weeded and cut back those bushes like no one's business. I weeded a couple other little areas too and felt pretty happy with myself for the little time I put in. I am looking forward to planting my Morning Glory sprouts when they've grown a bit more in the windowsill. I hope they really take off and bloom, climbing up one of the trellis's outside the living room.

But for now, I'm resisting the urge to shew away the birds pecking away at my sand covered grass seed. I'm a softy since it's the same momma bird who lost her eggs to a magpie two weeks ago. And they were such perfect speckled eggs and I was so excited for me and the boys to watch momma take care of her chicks! For a few days in a row, I'd hear momma and papa bird screeching and I'd run out to shew away said magpie. One morning, I was too late and the magpie had eaten three of the four eggs. Now momma and papa only fly in to eat my grass seed and peck in the yard, having abandoned their pretty nest. These pics were taken just a couple days apart.

PS. . . Ryan found us an 8 passenger 2006 Honda Odyssey minivan. Utility vs. Machismo - He has finally succumbed to being a van driving family man and I love him dearly for it! We also have a friend gifting us their old van until it dies. We will actually (GASP! Be still my heart!) be a two car family and I can run errands during the day again!!! Oh happy day! Now if I can just get my current flare under control so I can really head out and embrace spring's beauties beyond my sandy yard! I'm happy to report, Morgan has adjusted to bottle feeding quite well although she's resisting my efforts still to get her to sleep through the night. And boy do I hate keeping up with bottle washing though! Grrrrr!

A certain Wednesday

This week Easton’s class met Monday – Thursday in the forest right outside of town. He came home happy, filthy, and tick-free each day. They checked in on the tadpoles in a nearby pond, gathered sticks and made a bench together, got a pony ride, and explored to their heart’s content. They do this for a week each month during nice weather.

My friend Heike and I shared carpooling to the forest and Wednesday was my day. We loaded up the fam to drive Ryan in to work a little after 7:30am so I could have the car for the day. Unfortunately traffic was backed up along his usual 20 minute back roads commute took us a little over an hour and then I hit the same mild “stau” on the way back. I was so anxious that Easton and his friend Mason would miss the field trip but all turned out well in the end. I got to walk the boys into the forest to meet up with their class which McKay loved until he got pricked by a bush.

After dropping them off, I was grateful to have a chance to do some grocery shopping minus one kid so we headed back to base. When we finished, we drove back to Schonaich to pick up the boys in the forest. But we never made it. I approached a blind intersection and
I had come to a stop and then proceeded through the intersection when I struck this vehicle on my right that hadn’t slowed for the intersection and was going about 30mph. In Germany, the law states you yield to traffic on your right. Thankfully, no one was injured. McKay and Morgan screamed after impact, being so abruptly awaken from their naps. We were all pretty well shaken up. McKay had a little skin burn on his neck where the seat belt harness rubbed it on impact since his head was slouched to the side while napping. The only other accident I've ever been in as a driver was back in high school when someone ran a red and hit me as I was making a left hand turn at an intersection. I've been so blessed both times with no injuries.

People of the neighborhood swarmed the scene and I was so grateful to a couple of ladies who came to my rescue. One woman, Susie, stayed the whole time with me, translated for me, comforted me through bursts of tears, brought McKay a pretzel and sippy cup, let me use her phone, and held Morgan the rest of the time. My very own angel! I was so shaken I couldn’t remember any phone numbers – Ryan’s work, Ryan’s cell, my phone number, any of our friends, and almost our address!

I am so impressed that so many Germans speak English! Americans really are at a disadvantage for not incorporating learning languages into our education system. My family’s exchange student is from here in Stuttgart and she had to choose between learning English or French. She chose English and her sister chose French.

Since I had just been to the commissary, I had a trunk full of groceries. Two of the half gallons of milk had exploded and were leaking on to the pavement along with all the other car fluids. I spotted an old man from the neighborhood bending down and finger dipping the liquids and TASTING THEM! The milk really puzzled them all until I opened the trunk and they saw what had happened.The German police came and they called in the tow trucks. I was finally able to remember Ryan’s number and called him. One of the other mothers from the school stopped to see what she could do and was able to notify the teacher and my friend Heike. Nothing like being the dumb American in front of your kids’ friends, teachers, and their families! They were so kind. Easton’s teacher gave him a ride back to the school and even distracted Easton while she drove by the accident so he wouldn’t see it.

Ryan's coworker, Shawn, brought Ryan to the scene and helped us load all our stuff into his car. He drove us to Panzer where the tow truck was taking our car, dropped us off at home and ran Ryan to the car rental place near their work. It's so nice to have great friends here!

McKay kept saying, “Mom, the cars bonked. Now they are broken, huh.” The English speaking Germans around us thought this was adorable. When I later told Easton what had happened he got sad. I told him he didn’t have to be sad because no one got hurt. He said he was sad for our car because he liked that car. He keeps asking where our car went. Ryan donated it’s remains because the cost of repair exceeds it’s current value.

Ryan has been handling the aftermath and I can’t thank him enough for that!!! Turns out that we only had liability insurance and there’s a good chance that we’ll have to pay out of pocket for the damages I made to the other car because I don’t have an international license yet. I really should have done that by now with our 90 day “visitor pass”, but while nursing Morgan I just couldn’t figure out a way to leave her with someone for four hours and preserve the friendship. Boy am I’m kicking myself now! And just last week we had begun planning to look for a minivan this year so we wouldn't be a one car family and have space for visiting family whenever they can come.

My friend had picked Easton up from school for me and so when I went to pick him up, I ended up staying to chat for two hours and cry on her shoulder. This day also marked the initial 24 hour period of no nursing so my pain level was high and emotions out of whack on top of the accident. For those who are long overdue to nurse their babies, imagine the pain when I had to pick up and sooth McKay and Morgan right after the accident ! Agony! But snuggle we did and still do regardless because we need it, it's vital!

The silver lining of this ordeal came later in the form of Ryan’s chocolate chip cookies and . . .

Morgan letting Easton feed her! Man I love my family and am so blessed!!!

I resisted the urge to have a lazy pity party yesterday and spent the day cleaning and cooking one of Ryan’s favorite dinners so my jarred body wouldn’t get stiff. I felt it was only fair because I knew Ryan was enduring the headache of information gathering and haggling with insurance and financers. I treated myself to some homemade chicken salad on a croissant, using my favorite Randy Bibe recipe, complete with cashews and swiss cheese. Nothing says spring to me like perfect sunny cool weather, tulips, daffodils, strawberries, and Randy's chicken salad!

Within the first two weeks after arriving in Germany, my mom endured me whining about being stuck in the hotel with the kids. She simply said, “When you’re feeling low, it always feels better to serve someone else.” So I called our new friends who just moved into town with their brand new baby and asked if they wanted enchiladas too. Great advice, Mom! With the chicken salad and strawberries, it made my day to get to know them and chat a bit!

Easter Weekend

Me and my gang had fabulous weather for our Easter weekend. We celebrated McKay's third birthday, hung out in the yard, did some spring cleaning inside and out, nursed colds, and did an egg hunt for the boys. I keep realizing what a home body I am and how happy it makes me - especially surrounded by such beauty and my little buddies!
Let the birthday afternoon festivities begin! McKay ordered mac'n'cheese with hotdogs for lunch. We enjoyed a nice leisure afternoon in the yard until Ryan got home for the birthday cupcakes and presents. It was a nice fun day!


She's already a great gabber so I envision many fun chats and spa days for us as the years creep up on us! Easton and McKay had fun being photographers this afternoon, as did I!

These boys love their yard and racing their trucks around, especially down the little hill on the other side of the yard!


We dyed eggs finally after not having done it in a few years. I don't like to eat hard boiled eggs and don't like to waste good eggs, but the boys are at a fun age to do it so we took it outside! I feared of the combo of dye, kids, spills, and my dreaded ugly wood floors! McKay loved dying these eggs! He was so proud to do it all by himself!

McKay talked about blowing out his candles all day, all weekend. Easton still calls cupcakes "pupcakes" which I find pretty cute!

Lovin' them some pupcakes!

Me and my girl. I know overalls are like a style from a decade or more ago, but I'm a stay home mom who didn't leave the house that day and wanted to be comfy which is why I keep these around! They'll be a wardrobe staple to me til I can afford a personal stylist or perhaps they become all the rage again, so shoot me!

McKay's new little bubble blower was the perfect toy of the fabulous spring evening! The boys shared back and forth for a few hours until we ran out of bubble juice, it was wonderful! Now I just have to figure out where to replenish the supply!

Daddy and Morgan enjoying some tickle time.

So far, Morgan still thinks these bottles are chew toys. Man I love babies and all their cuteness!!! Can't get enough!!!

Meet one of the momma birds in my back yard. She's quite vigilant and I only see her out of her nest in the early morning hours while she's hunting for food in our "grass." I found her here while pruning our hedges and it gave me quite a shock!

While weeding some of our flower beds, I kept finding little empty shells. I finally found a few with snails in them and brought them over to the patio for the boys to inspect. It was so fun to see them watch three little snails do their thing! I did scare myself pretty good when I heard myself smash a shell underfoot. Thank goodness it was an empty shell! PHEW!!!


I had a friend snap a few shots of our family after church outside the building. Not too flattering, but we're all here together!

My mother-in-law asked me to snap some shots of our meeting house. Sorry they're from the car as we drove away. Hope it does it justice!

Our Weilimdorf chapel again shot out the window as we were driving away.

As we leave Weilimdorf, we drive on Solitude Strasse (street) and you can see Schloss Solitude (castle) at the top of the hill. We go up a scenic forested winding road to the top of the hill where the castle sits and I love the view each week!

Church must have worn them out! I thought the knowledge of the Easter bunny leaving them eggs to find would have kept sleep at bay, but apparently not. It did make for a nice quiet ride for me and Ryan!

Easton is quite proficient at egg hunting by now and darted all over the yard having the time of his life! Such a fun age for this stuff. I love that my parents "import" my cousins' kids for their family egg hunts at home and get creative.

McKay had to wake up and shake off the grumps before he got into the hunt. By then, Easton had pretty much gathered most of the eggs much to his chagrin. He'd see an egg, Easton would go grab it, and McKay would whine, "Ohhh, now I never get one of it!" He was pretty content with just having the first two eggs in his basket until we kept prodding him along and then he noticed Easton was getting a lot of them so he had to pick up his pace.

Why is this little crouching position reaching for a prized egg one of my favorite poses? It just seems to capture the wonder of discovery and joy of childhood to me. Love these cute lil bods!

What are these?
Morgan in her first Easter dress. I think I could really enjoy dressing up this little gal!

Our kiddos enjoying their spoils after the hunt.

Easton has never had a hard boiled egg before so I was quite surprised when he ate three that afternoon! I think he enjoyed peeling them the most and I love the look of concentration!

Hope you had a happy Easter too!

McKay is 3!

Nicknamed "BabyK" by his big brother when he was born, McKay has always been such a snuggler and I've always considered him my baby. I remember the impressions I had that I was to be pregnant again and the pregnancy test only confirmed what I already believed was true. I was pretty sick through my pregnancy and tried just about everything to make him come two weeks early! I had a wonderful induction, but upon arrival he looked a little unfamiliar to me because he didn't look like a Bare (my family). It took me almost six months to realize his impish, twinkling smiley eyes were from Ryan's mom's side of the family. They continue to be my favorite feature on his little face!

Naming McKay proved to be a challenge. I had a list of at least fifteen names I liked and Ryan vetoed every single one. We still had no idea what his name would be when he arrived. Finally, the day after he was born, we both liked McKay and it was the only name we could agree upon. Realize, however, that it is Easton's middle name so Easton has been a little confused for the past couple years when we called him by his full name. Ah well, it fits our little toehead and his middle name is Ryan's father's name, Nelson.


When McKay was four months old, we endured a family trial and McKay accompanied me back to work at NRLC. We put in long days that election season of 2006! He was my sanity because you simply cannot stay sad with such a smiley happy kid! In fact, once he was a little over six months it dawned on me that he hadn't even begun to sit up on his own because he enjoyed the comfort of my lap all day long as I worked. We were inseparable! I was so grateful for another good sleeper, but I attribute that more to my Heavenly Father knowing my needs during that period of trials.

McKay definitely gives us all a run for our money! He is the one that introduced teasing to the sibling relationship with Easton. He taunted Easton with looks or noises long before he could say a whole lot of words. He has no problem ordering others around and if a new kid isn't introduced to him as a friend, he's quite the little tyrant. He has no issue fighting back which always surprises me because Easton was the exact opposite. For the past couple months, when he doesn't want to do what's asked of him, he'll often holler 'EVER! Meaning to say "Never." Or now he'll whine, "Ohhh, I never get to do dat!"

McKay often sweetly says, "Mom . . . I love you" out of the blue a few times a day and even cozies up. He also still asks to be held and snuggled. I love watching him play with Easton and they are great friends. Having a yard to play in now has fostered this friendship exponentially. He is learning how to be a good big brother to Morgan and yesterday had her laughing hard much to his surprise and utter delight! He accidentally dropped a toy in front of her and she busted a giggle. He continued to pick it up and drop it while laughing with Morgan. After a minute passed and Morgan had moved on, McKay was doing a fake forced laugh and trying to keep the show going.

McKay is also our more adventurous eater and really likes meats, spicy food (curry, salsas), dipping any food, and SODA! Sucking his thumb while contorting an ear is his trademark and I have no idea how we'll break him of it or when we'll even try. He's been ready to potty train for almost a year now and I'm the one dragging my feet. It'll happen sooner than later because today as I bought more diapers, the thought occurred to me about how cool it'd be if this was our last pack! McKay loves to say prayers and to sing which has helped Easton gain confidence, independence, and desire to say prayers and sing, if only out of sibling rivalry. He's got a great imagination and I love watching him and Easton playing as best buds.

We love our growing boy and am so glad he's a part of our family! Happy Birthday, "K"!

A Saturday Spring Morning

McKay got some new letter fridge magnets for his birthday. Right now I'm listening to Easton sing the alphabet until he gets to the next letter needed. Then, he says, "Okay McKay, where's the R?" He helps McKay find the R and then they sing the alphabet again until they get to the next needed letter. I took them through to F and then walked away. Much to my satisfaction, Easton picked up and mirrored my technique without missing a beat. Love this kid!

They just finished and McKay popped up and said, "Mom! I learned my letters! Now let's get them off!" Just like always, he likes to slide any magnet to the bottom of the fridge until it falls off into a collected heap on the floor. And he walks away. Ahhh, joy!

I turned on the TV for their favorite cartoon Phineas and Ferb - 9:30 Saturday mornings 'round these parts. Ryan and I can actually be caught watching this with them, letting out at least one laugh-out-loud moment per episode. Fun times for all!

This morning could have been perfect if Morgan had cooperated. For the past few days she has been expressing her great displeasure being put down for naps. She scoots herself up to a crib gate, rolls over and just wails until she passes out or I go sooth her. After 20 minutes this morning, I finally gave in out of guilt for what I know is quickly coming to us - weaning. I know she is just testing limits and really is tired. After I held her in the dark for five minutes, I put her down and she only squawked for a minute before falling asleep. This week we began introducing solid foods because I have to wean her to formula and solid foods ASAP. I need to start on a new maintenance drug for my ulcerative colitis that is acting up again and the doctor recommends I stop nursing. (INSERT desire to start crying!) I really enjoy nursing my babies and feel so blessed that it has worked for us. I have loved not having to mess with bottles and hate that now I'll have to. I'm looking forward to sharing the feeding with Ryan or dare I even hope, Easton? The element of freedom is enticing, but I'm bracing for the emotional fallout this coming week from us girls of the house!

A bright spot - Can I say again how much I love my backyard? Not only do the boys love it and ask to go out all the time, but we have a couple bird families that love it too and they're still pecking up their breakfast much to our delight. Spring has sprung! As Dr. Kearl at BYU says, "Self, GREAT DAY!"

Dusting Off and Brushing Up

I dropped Easton off at kindergarten this morning and his teacher, Frau Wenig, let me know the older children would be taken on a walk down to the church for an Easter lesson today. I was excited for them. I was also freshly awash with guilt for not having yet done an Easter lesson this year with the boys.

I got home and of course, Morgan wouldn't go back down for her nap since she'd enjoyed the fresh morning air on our walk to/from Easton's school. So I settled in to feed her again while grabbing something to read to prep for my lesson this Sunday. I am newly called to teach Sunday School for the 10 and 11 year olds and this year we are largely learning principles and doctrines from church history. I picked up the "Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints" to get myself up to speed on what's been covered thus far this year.

I was only a page into it when I came upon something I've known forever, but it struck with new force this morning. Joseph Smith's mother has noted that her young son "was given to serious reflection and often thought about the welfare of his immortal soul." He was just 14 years old when he had the glorious First Vision where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared and answered his humble request of how he might attain eternal salvation through joining a church with the necessary saving ordinances like baptism. What impressed me was that his mother must have often observed his "serious reflection" and knew he often thought about how he could be saved. This means the topic was talked about and studied in their home regularly. We know the family read from the Bible regularly and Joseph began to study it on his own. What I wouldn't give to observe the progression of that mother and son's conversations over those tender years!

I want to be that type of mother who not only teaches the saving truths of the gospel, but discusses and knows the things my children are thinking about because they want to talk about it with me. I want them to know they can find answers in the scriptures and through personal prayer. I want them to know how I know these things are true not just because they read my journal entries some day, but because it's a regular open conversation. Easton's still in that very impressionable inquisitive stage and I've got my opportunities ripe before me! Thank you gospel art kit - we'll dust you off again today!

Leaving beloved Florence for Venice

We did half a day in Florence before heading for Venice "on our way home." We indulged in all sorts of yummy treats this final day. I'd wanted to try one of these sweet smelling waffles and it was DIVINE! Such a mess and Ryan devoured most of it! We got ours with lots of whipping cream and chocolate sauce. Easton didn't like it but he was determined to have more gelato. Venice is gelato heaven!

We also loved all the candy store window displays. How fun to see them ready for Easter!

We had to stop by the wild boar statue to rub his nose and give him a coin to ensure our return to Florence. It was odd to see this cloister behind him teeming with vendors when the night before we'd seen it empty except for a lone violinist serenading little couples sitting randomly on the steps.

Loved these art students' doing chalk renderings of masterpieces on the sidewalks!

A rare moment of peace from the gal buckled in.

She didn't particularly like the drive to Venice.

We arrived in Venice around 8pm starving. We didn't last long wandering for food in the winding alleys of this odd floating city. Venice specializes in decorative masks.