Here Comes Christmas

Well, now that Brian is married and has tons of children (haha...just two actually) we have started drawing names for Christmas. This year we drew two names each, plus we all get gifts for mum and pop. This year I got Brian and Luke. Brian was pretty easy - but I won't tell you what I got him in case he reads this. Luke however is a whole different story. His list is very specific and also - strange. For example he asked for a Bugatti Veyron(very nice, very expensive, and very impractical sports car) and t-shirts - but not just any t-shirts of course but "t-shirts that don't flare out after going through the wash and make me look slim and trim and also don't get all stiff and wrinkled at the edges." So, I laughed out loud when I read his list and still have not gotten him anything. Not cuz I don't want to, but because his specificity has challenged me to surprise him, but I haven't thought of something clever enough to do it with yet. Anyways, Christmas is coming!

Loved At All - Joel Ansett Featuring Dan De Cristofaro

Baking

So Oliver and Layla helped me use up my old bananas the other day...I think they had fun and I know Oliver liked the muffins.

Layla ate while we cooked...actually Oliver fed her:)

Layla's ONE!

Layla turned one on the 12th! I went over and babysat for about an hour for Paige and had to document the day...Oliver prefers to take pictures rather than be in them.

She is the happiest baby I've ever met and we all love her - me especially.

Crepes - Paris again?

Margeaux, Monique, and I were really missing our crepes - which we had every day in Paris. So, we decided to have a little reunion and make ham and cheese crepes for dinner, with tomato, basil and mozarella salad, and then nutella and strawberry desert crepes. They were delicious!
Oh and we invited Jill along cuz we love her! We missed Kate, but decided that maybe we should just visit her in Spain before she leaves...so that's the dream for now.

The Dunes

Last weekend we went to the Dunes. It was so nice and warm, even though the tide wasn't out as far as it usually is in the summer. Layla and Oliver loved it...

Riding out the roof.

My Fair Ride...thanks to free tickets from Paige!

The Fair

I met up with Brian and Paige and the kids at the Moscow fair tonight. It's not very fun, but Oliver loved the animals - and the ride too apparently though I wasn't there for that part. He and Brian spent a long time watch the huge pigs and their babies...
They also petted the cows.
While Layla and I just hung out together - we had a great time too.
Fair Food Anyone?

My Date with Oliver

Today Oliver and I went to the park...
We saw Jill there as she was leaving her last class of the day.

Oliver ate a very large cookie.And then he did some yoga.
It was soo fun. I haven't gotten to take little O out for a date in such a long time - because of how busy I was with school. Now I am no longer in school and have a lot more time to take him to the park and buy him cookies and teach him how to shop for toys. Isn't that just grand!

School...again.

I finished my first week of school and loved it. I'm only taking two classes this semester, but that's mostly because I am trying to finish my pre-reqs for nursing so that I can get into an accelerated program. Anatomy/Physiology is so interesting...especially because the professor is a veterinarian-which means she relates everything to animals. Chemistry is less exciting, but still cool. Plus I love the fact that I can just memorize things and then write them out on tests and that's all I have to do. I'm crazy busy right now because I'm also working 20 hours at Logos, but I love that too. I do secretarial things and then put band-aids on scraped knees etc. I start volunteering at Gritman next weekend, which should be interesting, since I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet. I love being busy though, because I seem to get more done in shorter periods of time. I know I haven't put up pictures for awhile, but it's cuz I haven't been carrying my camera around with me as much, so I need to start doing that. But for now, that's it and I'm off to study the cavities of the body.

Le Creuset

Go here to win a le creuset gift card:

http://mandkchurch.blogspot.com/

Camping

I went camping with some girlfriends this weekend and it was soo fun. We were going to stay at Priest Lake, which was full, so we ended up camping at Marshall Lake and driving to Priest Lake for the day. It worked out great. Beautiful Priest Lake...
Delicious Breakfast made by Lizzie (eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, and coffee).
Sitting around our lantern fire while we waited for the logs.
Driving around looking for a campground...nourishment and a map.

Palouse Cup

So, the boys all played in a little soccer tournament a few weekends ago. The Gordons came over from Seattle and we had a grand time watching the games and hanging out.



Oliver got a little tired of it all...

Layla Jane

Long Time

Oh wow...it's been forever since I last posted. Well, I am back in Moscow and it's great to be back! I finally got to hug Oliver and smooch Layla...and I got to see my parents and Paige and the bro's, not to mention all of the friends. I just started a new job which I am loving and I'm all set to take classes for nursing in the fall! I'm loving being back, but let me tell you how that happened.

Kirby and I caught the early train from Strausburg to Paris the day before our flight. We planned on meeting Kate at a specific metro stop at a certain time. Then we were gonna go to our airport hotel, check in, and come back to spend our last day in Paris. Well, we never found her...We waited for an hour and a half and then gave up on her(it wasn't her fault, because she was there...we must have just passed each other several times without realizing it). Anyway, Kirbs and I decided the best thing would be to go to the hotel, and we would try to connect with her there. Keep in mind that we didn't have any way of communicating except email, and facebook was more consistent than that. So, Kirbs and I got on the subway, despite the numerous announcements in French about train delays. Well, you should never do that. The train stopped in between Paris and the airport...and then they told us to take a bus. So, we followed the crowd...mostly because we were getting pushed along with our suitcases, to the bus stop. There we waited with probably 300 other people pushing and shoving trying not to miss their planes. People were running over other people with their bags, throwing bags onto the buses to "reserve space," and generally forgetting that everyone else was in the same boat. After about an hour the transportation people figured out they should check people's boarding passes to get as many people as possible to their flights. That was really too bad for Kirbs and I because we didn't leave till the next day. We tried to take a cab, but never could get one to come for us. We had almost lost all hope of ever finding Kate or our hotel, when the tracks suddenly opened up again. Then we joined the crowd again and ended up on the train to the airport. We waited 45 minutes for the shuttle, then found our hotel. At this point we were really worried about ever figuring out where Kate was again. Not even 15 minutes after we got into our room, someone knocked on the door. It was Kate! Turns out she took the other airport subway, which also closed down and dealt with all the same issues. (we found out later it was because someone had jumped onto the tracks and committed suicide). She got a cab to the airport with Vera, caught the shuttle about 5 minutes after we did, and found the hotel. So, it was stressful, but we all made it and had time for a delicious and huge meal before we left Paris.

Dachau

Entrance was free and the
audio-guide was 2.50. The
Spring green of the trees is
in sharp contrast to the small
white pebbles that keep slipping
into my shoes. The arch is
austere and unimpressive, a simple
iron door at the center. Well ordered
courtyard stands at the other side.
The audio-guide tells us that
Dachau is responsible for over
65,000 deaths. Following the tree
lined road through the barracks, we
listened to Eric Vin's memories of
work, death, and cruelty. The doctor
gave them water as he pointed at
the sky saying, "He says the need it."
Everything is done for God
and Germany:
Murder, experiments, and torture.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Castle

Today I went on my first non-required tour. It was fun and funny and odd. People are weird. Being with alot of people you know nothing about is weird. People do strange things, where strange things, and get oddly attached to their group. We went to see the Neuschwanstein Castle of Ludwig II. He was one of the last Kings of Bavaria, was declared insane, and drowned in the lake the day after, with his doctor. strange. The castle was incredible. He was obsessed with Wagner and swans. There were swans all over the walls, on the chandeliers, and even the door handles were gold swans. Every room was dedicated to a different Wagnerian opera. His bedroom had incredible wood carving all over it, that took 5 years to finish. Anyways, here we are in front of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Castle...
And here's a picture that shows the beautiful lake in the background.
oh yes, we had a grand time.

We were on this bridge, then we climbed down to the water...which was obviously freezing since it came from the alps. We put our feet in it anyway.
This is how Ludwig II got fresh, cold running water throughout the entire castle. Crazy or ingenious? the age old question...
We loved the tour and had a great time on the train and wandering around before and after. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We are getting up at 6 to check out of the hostel and take our bags to luggage check at the train station. Then we will get on the metro and bus to Dachau, the concentration camp. I'm not really excited to see it, because I know it will be overwhelming. But I think it's a part of history that shouldn't be forgotten or glossed over. After Dachau we head to Straussburg on the train. We have a few days there so we are visiting an English speaking church and renting bikes and taking a little European vacation before we head home.

First Day in Munich

So excited to be on the train finally!



The Germans really want you to stay healthy...very health concious place. Also super eco-friendly.
One of the memorials to the Israelite athletes who were killed at the 1972 Olympics.
Marienplatz center. It's a great big shopping plaza, where the great bells chime and put Munich to bed traditionally every night at 9.

Yummy Candy shop.

Trying to get out of France

Well Kirby and I began our adventures with a lurch...but we can see the humor of it now. We started off our journey down the metro stairs with my huge bag and Kirby's smaller but not light bag. No worries though, a cute French guy helped me carry mine down and then smiled good naturedly at us as he walked away. That bodes well does it not? We thought so...We got down to the RER-which is the fast metro to the train station. Unfortunately, the French soccer team was on their way home and closed down all the really nice trains. So we had to dash to the "Magenta 4". So did everyone else apparently. It was so crowded that I had absolutely no control over where I went or where my body went....or my bag for that matter. A tall and skinny black girl pushed my back so she could get through and my lack of control just sent me and my bag over forward. Luckily it was so crowded an old man in front of me pushed me back! So very very crowded...kirbs got pick-pocketed at some point in this mess. We didn't figure that out till the train station when she was looking for her ticket to get out. Then she got stuck in the exit gate with her arm and bag at the wrong end. A nice old man helped us out. We then waited in a very long line to get our ticket validated...then ran for our train since we only had ten minutes. A nice attendant informed us that we were at the wrong station. Really? the wrong station? yesterday I asked that specific question since as many of you know I have a history of arriving at the wrong place or at least thinking it's somewhere else. Anyways we had to sprint 3 and a half blocks to Gare L'est. We didn't really know where we were going so I had to ask several people and all of them laughed...But I guess two girls with bright red bags one huge and the other medium(the bags I mean) sprinting through traffic is probably a comical sight. We made it to the station...but that timely train had left at 20.20 exactly. It was 20.22. We then waited in an incredibly long line to figure out the next step where we were told: "I'm sorry you came to France", "welcome to France", and "in France this happens all the time." Oh-nice to know. We got to the front desk and were told our morning schedule. and he did say that they did indeed switch the train station. That's swell. So we got back on the metro and came home. We didn't have a key at that point and the other girls were out-without a phone-so we got gelato. And canceled Kirby's cards. So we are going to Munich in the morning. At least that's the plan. We've discovered that we can indeed take our bags anyhwere...they're just heavy. French people will steal your stuff if it's crowded. The train system isn't that great, but it's easier than the airport...unless they switch your station. We're very excited to be able to see the country as we go through it and we are going to be in Munich in time to wander around for several hours before dinner.

Fete de la Musique-minus the videos

One of the many drum circles scattered around...in front of Pompidou-which was looking lovely today.
The river at night!
this man called himself the one man circus...he was a freak, but a strong one.
Kate got escargot and we all tried it. It was chewey and tasted like butter...definitely not grand, but not as gross as I thought...