Aloha!

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Saturday afternoon we went to an awesome Hawaiian themed birthday party at Temi's and Daniel's house. Olivia turned 1, and Sophia had just turned 3. It was seriously one of the most amazing parties we have ever been too. So much love and effort put into it - we all had a ton of fun!

The birthday girl, her big sister, and the other guests admiring the cake and abundance of food.

The bounce house they rented was a huge hit.

As was the professional "fairy" that entertained the kids. She was really good at face painting (Finn and Lily chose to have their arms painted, though), making balloon animals and playing games with the children. She also didn't seem fazed by the fact that most of the guests only spoke English.

Three pretty girls. :)

Daniel getting whacked.

And you will get 10 points if you can guess what that brown creation on Neil's lap is supposed to be. My guess "pile of dog poop" proved incorrect.

All good things come to an end (at least this side of eternity)

Even month-long visits from Grandma and Grandpa. We took them to the airport yesterday and are happy that they made it back to Canadian soil safely, even if they are not home yet.
Thank you for making the long trip to Germany and for being such awesome guests. It was a pleasure spending so much time with you, and having you around to help out, especially when things were intense with Ina. Have a great time in Calgary with Kristine and at the baptism.

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Look, with the third row seats folded up we all fit in one car now!

And if you are willing to sit like this we can even bring all the suitcases along. (I volunteered to drive, ha.)

At the airport we found a cool balloon to take to a birthday party we attended later in the day. Finn and Lily were easy to spot after we bought it. ☺

Bye for now. See you next year in Canada!

10 years!

We celebrated 10 years of married life last Thursday. Norma and Kurt surprised us with (half a) cake that they ordered at the bakery. Thank you! We had a great day. Lily had an important appointment in the morning (more on that later), then Norma and Kurt took us out for a celebratory lunch at our favourite Italian restaurant, we had the cake in the afternoon, and at night Norma and Kurt babysat while the not-so-newlyweds went out on a date and had a drink or two.

To commemorate the occasion I stepped into my wedding gown again. Neil couldn't put on his suit, though. Ten years later, the mystery of the missing pants is still not solved. (Sorry, dear, but you are never going to live THAT one down. ☺)
On to the next decade! So happy to have you in my life. ♥

And these two, of course.

And here is Lily at her important appointment. Our friend Temi is a pharmacist, and pierces ears at the pharmacy she owns with her husband, Daniel. Lily loves Temi and was so excited about going to "Temi's store to get my earrings" that she was up and ready to leave at 6am! Here they are picking out a pair of earrings together.

All ready to go - and ...

... done!

It did hurt her a bit (of course) and there were some tears, but by the time we were out of the pharmacy Lily declared, "Well, that wasn't so bad!"

Showing off her new earrings - little pink flowers.

And back to her old happy self at Michelangelo's for pizza e pasta.

Rosalie the Unicorn

Actually, it is "Rosalie the unicorn, and Baby Rosalie the baby unicorn", if you ask Lily. Big Mama Rosalie was a birthday gift from Oma, Opa and Omi Lotti (I got away with purchasing the little one), and I can tell you that both Rosalies are a big hit around these parts.

Big Rosalie is carried downstairs every morning (by me) and after a good brushing (she came with her own pink curry comb) Lily lets her join in all the fun, like wearing Lily's birthday crown from Kindergarten. Baby Rosalie is always close by, naturally.

And after a long day full of adventures Big Rosalie faithfully carries Lily upstairs and drops her off in La La Land. Where they probably run wild and chase pink butterflies together.

Finn loves Rosalie, too, and luckily she is big enough to carry two children. He might be a tad jealous though that Rosalie is bigger than his rocking horse. The other night Lily didn't want to go to sleep. I asked her why. Lily told me she was worried that if she went to sleep and let go of Rosalie she would wake up to a tiny tiny unicorn. Finn had told her Rosalie would shrink dramatically over night. The little stinker.

Boat rides and other fun

Kurt and Norma picked a good time to come to Germany - the weather has been very nice these past weeks. We are enjoying spending time out of doors. Last weekend we went for a boat ride on the Danube and explored the Weltenburg monastery (Kloster Weltenburg). It's a beautiful place with great hiking trails. Kristine will remember hiking there with little Lily in the back carrier!

And then we took the kids to ride their favourite pony - Felix!

The barn is close to the Manching airbase and Neil wanted to get a picture with one of the airplanes flying over our heads. The horses sure are used to the noise!

Lily loves all things horse: riding them, brushing them (at home, Rosalie the unicorn will have to do), and playing horse. Most of the time she is a "brown mama horse".

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you mothers out there had a great Mother's Day! We went for an almost four hour brunch at a restaurant that conveniently has a playground attached. Let me tell you, there are worse things than to sit around talking, eating and watching the kids play on a gorgeous sunny Sunday. It was extra special to be able to celebrate this Mother's Day with both grandmothers here!

The little guy who made me a mother more than 5 years ago is not so little anymore!

The three mothers. Clearly, with three husbands taking pictures simultaneously, we didn't know where to look. ☺

Grandpa and Opa checking out the playground.

And here is all of us squinting into the sun.