Pumpkin Festival Ludwigsburg

The annual Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival is awesome! We've not made it there until now, just seen pictures and heard about it from friends. Had we known about the delicious pumpkin entrees offered, you could not have kept us away! And for once, the kids had a great time on one of our family outings! It greatly helped that we ran into a ton of their friends' families from school.

Our kids have made some great friends at their international school these past couple of years. One of those families is the Frikkens from the Detroit area. They are here for 3 years working for Bosch. Easton and their son, Anthony, have been best buds since the first week of grade 1. However, grade 3 finds them in separate classes this year. Luckily, us moms have been able to get them together for some after school activities, Cub Scouts, and this past weekend we found ourselves together at the festival! Awesome fun!

Just missing Joe here!

All pictures in this post are courtesy of Joe and Vian, because while I remembered to pack a good picnic lunch, water, the stroller, the diaper bag and such . . . I forgot the camera! Argh!!! I'm so glad they got such great shots! THANK YOU!!!

It was one of those last beautiful warm days before the chill of autumn arrived. We all picked this day to go because of the Pumpkin Regatta. About eight ginormous pumpkins are hollowed out and stuck in a big pond for people to race in. Why not?!

One of the kids' dads got to participate because they were short a competitor. That white pumpkin above was the fastest, easiest to maneuver it seemed. After watching a few races and eating our picnic, we meandered down to where the pumpkin sculpture garden was set up.

With October Fest getting underway, if you're out an about you will see lots of Germans decked out in their lederhosen and dirndl dresses. Vian caught this picture which is just too cute!

Here's a shot looking down into the sculpture garden and festival area. Previous years' themes have been sea creatures and dinosaurs. This year it's all things Swiss! Notice from left to right -- an edelweiss star flower, the alp long horn player, and the Matterhorn!

 The traditional long horns, we love these!

The Swiss Army knife!

Alpen milk cow and farmer pouring milk. {We hope to attend the upcoming festivities and parades of when different towns bring their cows down from mountain summer pastures. They deck the cows out with all sorts of regalia and really throw a good party we hear.}

The house there had every kind of pumpkin gourd displayed on the outside with a gift shop inside. The hay bales and pumpkin paths made great seats whenever you needed to park for a bit and enjoy the views!

Gourde creations! Cows, snakes, mice, frogs, eels and all sorts!

But by far, the best part as far as the kids were concerned was the hay play area! They were having so much fun that Ryan couldn't help himself. He just had to join in, more than once! The kids pounced on him and I am still finding hay in random places! I absolutely love how Ryan gets such a kick joining in (or leading) all the fun!

And me on my perch keeping track of our little wanderer who couldn't decide which was best - the crazy fun in the hay, roaming the pumpkin displays, trying to push all pumpkins off the hay bales along the paths, or taking a break snuggling with mom. Let it be noted that he only wanted to be snuggled when kids were interrupting his roaming with too much excited attention. Whatever, I'll take it!

Best buds! I love that all our kids get along real well! 

Representing USA, Mexico, and England!

So if the hay was the kids' favorite, the food was me and Ryan's favorite! Pumpkin soup with toasted-to-perfection, spicy pumpkin seeds and classic German crusty dipping bread. YUM!!! As many ways to cook pumpkin and to serve it were here! Roasted, sautéed, fried, grated, pureed served in sweet strudels with whipping cream, savory soup, tasty spaghetti sauce over pasta, served like potato wedges for dipping, and in a gumbo concoction. It was mind-boggling! There were also sweet roasted seeds or spicy curried seeds. Man, I wish we had more of those! We need to track down a recipe ASAP! I also find it fascinating that at these festivals there is no paper and plastic serving ware beyond the cafeteria tray and napkins. There's a big dishwashing operation behind the food hut. Very interesting!

This gal has saved my bacon many times when in a jam! She is one of the most gracious, beautiful, stylish, easy friends to have! She also puts on a mean Middle Eastern food spread in keeping with her Chaldean (Christian Iraqi) roots! YUM!!! 

It's so great to have a picture of us together! Thanks, Joe!

Venetian Mask Festival in Ludwigsburg

We had a gorgeous Saturday last weekend and while we had a lot of chores to be done, I just couldn't bare the thought of not going out to enjoy the sunshine. But as my family likes to joke, "I got hot!" Ryan had tried to warn me it was going to be hot out there, but I was determined - so off we went!

The Venetian Mask Festival happens every other year in the center of old town in Ludwigsburg, not very far from our where our ward meets. We've been up here a couple times - once on a date night for their Christmas Market and also once with the kids to enjoy the grand palace that was built by royals on the site of their hunting lodge. They made their own Versailles with beautiful gardens and it's a lot of fun. It was these royals who brought the festival here from Venice back in 1768 and then it was reintroduced almost 20 years ago. I was itching to see ornate costumes and boy did we! Plus every 30 minutes a new act would begin on one of the many stages around the square. Some of the performers we saw included a colorful group that danced on stilts, an improv comedy troupe, a Gypsy-like novelty  acts, acrobatics, and some inventive mimes. I can only imagine what Carnivale in Venice would have been like in it's hey day!

So the costumes were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! It was so odd to find myself staring unabashedly and having it be welcomed! Those costumed readily stopped and posed if they noticed you raise your camera. Very nice of them, but also just odd! I don't like not being able to see people's eyes, it kind of creeps me out. Here's some of the variety we saw, some with masks, others simply in period costumes or modern creations.

Smartest costume given the heat of the day!
This guy loved all the attention!

All those peacock feathers were mesmerizing to me! 

These soldiers really enjoyed being showmen! 

The deer stag on her headpiece is the symbol of the region's royals.
On their coat of arms is three stag horns. This area was royal hunting grounds.

Venice is famous for its lacework like that found on this parasol. I love this costume because of her Middle Eastern mask with Western European frock and parasol. It's all very Venetian to me with Venice's medieval position as the  East-West trading crossroads. Venice had a thriving cottage lace industry for centuries which Western European royalty took note of and brought to areas in northern France and Belgium. The regions' styles are different, but it's all very beautiful yet a dying craft. Parasols, delicate little fans, handkerchiefs, and all manner of personal items and linens are big sellers on one of the Venetian islands. At least that's what I understand and remember ;)

This gal was a mime and at one point got off her box and gave Ryan a hard time about having exposed leg. He was wearing shorts and white socks with his shoes. Ryan got a good kick out of that! They say you can spot an American anywhere in Europe because they'll be wearing white socks. :) 

I got McKay and Morgan to join me on this delightful couch.
They were a bit freaked out by it all but have talked about it a lot since.  

Now lest you think this was a glorious adventure with the kids, it wasn't. We'd planned to meet up with one of Easton's best friends and his family but it just didn't come together. Easton made it his duty to make sure I heard him whine the whole time about the injustice of being dragged to an event only interesting to adults. It was lovely. We did run into a different school friend at this shipwreck sandpit in the square so there was some fun to be had.

McKay is in side this barrel being rolled. He loved it! 

There were these big balloons being bounced around the festival and the kids pounced on one. They hit it around, chased it with wreckless abandon and I even had to buy my first beer because of it. No, the outing didn't drive me to drink - the kids knocked a man's tall beer into his lap so we needed to replace it. Thank goodness he was already in a happy place and his replacement arrived shortly.

The soldier created this photo op. Easton was not thrilled at the idea of him popping the balloon and took some serious convincing to participate. Funny, literal kid!

See Easton, it wasn't a total wash! I'd do it again in two years time if we're around, but perhaps as a date night! Sure would be awesome to see those performers' acts at night!

Our week in review

This week went by in such a blur! We had outings or errands to run each day and since I'm such a happy home body, it wore me out and I had to take an afternoon nap twice just to survive! I should haul this aching body to bed after all the nesting I've done this weekend, but I didn't want to forget . . .

Morgan was moved out of the crib today. She'll be three in October, so it's quite overdue but just in time! She was so excited and asked me to get her b'anky and read her a book in her bed. She never got up once tonight! Phew! I haven't been in a hurry to move her out of the crib because she never tried to get out and it'd been pretty nice to have her trapped in there sometimes. In the mornings she'd just hollered for Easton to get her out unless she heard me or Ryan up. Same for her breakfast. It was a beautiful thing while it lasted but I'm excited for all her latest big girl-ness!

Ryan got the boys an electronic money version of Monopoly this weekend and they can't get enough of it! I think they played non-stop yesterday for at least 5 or more hours a break for dinner and then back at it for the evening! We're having quite the cold and rainy snap lately so they haven't been as eager to head out to the trampoline. Easton loves being the banker and managing the game which is fun to see him working those skills. McKay seems to have a pretty good grasp of how the game works and both boys quickly got the hang of Ryan's explanations of making good property trades. It's a bit surreal to hear them talking about having 7.2 million dollars and buying up properties. Every time I hear the electronic transaction going on it sounds like they're playing with my printer and I have to resist the urge to get upset. Where's the volume button?!

McKay's best buddy, Evan, had to have his appendix out last Monday so I took the kids to the hospital to see him and play board games. Before the hour was out, McKay and Evan were up to their usual mischief and Easton was in tears. They'd tried to lock him out of the children's wing. The two are both second born boys and take pleasure in uniting against a bigger foe. Easton's a sensitive soul, poor guy!

We went to a ward cub scout camp fundraiser on Friday night. A friend of mine was in charge of it all and it turned out really great, especially since it was the only bit of sunshine we'd seen in days. Prayers were answered because the minute the closing prayer was said, drops began to fall! We were fed hot dogs, chili, chips and drinks followed by a range of Minute-to-Win-it and classic picnic games -- like the 3 legged race where McKay and Ryan discovered they're not such a good matchup. McKay was eager until the second step taken and the pain/fear set it. Ryan's excitement and the crowd taking off had him mistake McKay's tearful cries for happy laughing. Poor kid probably won't ever want to try that one again! The evening ended with roasting marshmallows and making s'mores! It's been so long since I've had one with campfires being against the law in Germany . . . unless you're on US property like this camp training area we were in! Ryan got a kick out of swapping stories with a ward guy he works with about who's got the deepest pioneer roots. There was such a good turnout and it was great fun to chat with old and new friends in the ward as well as Easton's best friend from school's family joining us too. A third of our ward congregation changes over each summer as military families on three year assignments arrive or depart. We're losing and receiving some great families!

Easton and McKay were chatting tonight over more Monopoly and Easton said that Dad was older than Mom because he was tallest. McKay concurred but then the boys got curious and asked if me if I would/could grow taller than Dad still. They were a little surprised that we were done growing taller but were pleased to hear their own chances were still good for quite some time. They're both very eager to be taller than Dad some day!

Morgan has taken to calling her brothers, "my boys." It's pretty darn cute - especially when she is excited to have put on a dress, twirls around happily and then announces, "I go show my boys! . . . See me boys?!" Everything is possessive -- her toys, her friends "my 'ydia (Lydia)," "my 'avney (Davney)" and so on. It's so fun to have a little girl and she's losing her baby roundness and stretching out. Ryan and I just love this age she's in . . . except for the screaming when she's not getting her way. Yikes! Quite the bossy Bessie!

Ever seen or heard of the Food Nanny? I've watched a couple of her episodes online and really like her meal planning idea of assigning days of the week themes - Italian night, Mexican night, soup night and so on - sounds like it could help get more participation in the discussion of what should be on the menu which I often draw a blank on. I haven't assigned my days yet, but it's swirling in my brain. We recently got a low pressure cooker (for faster prep/cook time) and a juicer which seem to be a big hit. As for the juicer, the kids really liked the initial attempt of apple, carrot, celery combo that I made into a smoothy with a banana. With my discovery of a bakery nearby that bakes delicious fresh baguettes for dinner time, I might just have a new favorite theme to rotate into the dinner repertoire - juice and bread night! That is, if I can keep myself from inhaling the baguette before we sit down to eat! Guess I'll have to buy more than one to be on the safe side.

Ryan's little '95 BMW commuting car is ready to give up the ghost. He's only had it a year and he estimates the dumb thing has probably cost at least $300/month to own with all the little things failing and adding up. So he's on the hunt and having fun dreaming of some of the fun rides he's seen advertised by owners on our local version of craigslist.

I was a blubbering mess today at church - totally hormonal and blessed to feel the Holy Ghost so strongly. Our youth got back from the first international EFY held this past week and shared some of their experiences. 27 languages were represented and I was so happy they had this opportunity! While English was the dominant language group represented, our youth had many chances to be humbled by the strength of their peers in countries where they or their families are the only members in their city or country even. The speakers also addressed the themes of living a Christ-centered life and it being Pioneer Day in the church. The adult speaker spoke of his mother who was the first member of the church in his family and how she wasn't perfect, but left a legacy of being willing to always start again on the fundamentals of a gospel-centered life. I was teaching about Jesus Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the Last Supper so the sacrament hymn "I Stand All Amazed" got me right off the bat. Darn pregnant post-nasal drip, I was a mess! I loved sharing my testimony with my class and am always grateful for the opportunity -- I soooo need the practice and love seeing the potential of these young ladies!

We've been moving furniture around between rooms this weekend getting ready for the baby and I've now sorted through every box of kids' clothing we own and gotten the baby stuff out and washed. He can come anytime now since he's got a place to sleep and clean clothes to wear. It's so exciting to see all those teeny tiny baby socks and imagine favorite outfits being filled soon!

Guten Wochenende!

What a nice, beautiful Saturday we had!

Ryan's had his car in the shop most of this week so we've all had to be out the door early to get everyone where they needed to be. It was so great to enjoy leisurely sleeping in before heading to McKay's last t-ball game of the season.

He always pulls his hat down and makes his ears stick out, it's so adorable!

This kid loves being in a uniform!

McKay enjoyed trying t-ball this spring. He had a nice coach who would play tag with the kids on the playground after practice. There were 14 kids on his team and each game consisted of two innings where everyone got to hit once. In the field, McKay always ended up scooting up near the pitcher's mound to be able to scramble after the ball. He liked playing in the dirt but didn't like all the standing around with direct sun beating down on him. These little kids are just too cute to watch but I will not miss a few smokin' screaming parents that henpecked their lil' boys. Yikes!

Easton endured the games, today enjoying a free comic book from the library.

This boy loves to read anywhere, anytime!

Morgan liked shelling peanuts and getting some lovin' from her Daddy!

She's such a tease!

We headed home for some lunch and I took a nice long nap. Oh I love a good Saturday nap! A thunderstorm blew in and when I woke up it was a gorgeous sunny evening. Ryan proposed we head to a simple little Italian beirgarten nearby and it was great to eat outside and let the kids play. They played tag, sat and watched birds, and enjoyed some fun Ring-Around-the-Rosies.

Bird watching.

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?

Ryan had the chance to hit the road with some buddies this weekend but decided on a day with his munchkins instead. I love, love, love this man! A friend's kid at church today asked his mom if Brother Carter got old! She was puzzled until she saw Ryan's new beard he grew while we were in Greece. We're going with "distinguised," not "old"! Look at that young flawless, sun-kissed skin and salt-n-pepper hair. I'm so lucky!

P.S. We've recently heard it looks pretty certain we're here for at least another year with Ryan's contract. YAHOO! I'm soooo glad I won't be moving right after having a baby again!