Elle is all ready to go!!

All of Elle's school "supplies"

Good Evening.  Well, Elle is officially ready to start German Kindergarten (a.k.a. American Preschool) tomorrow morning!  Who knew that she would need so many clothing accessories to start school?! (and a healthy morning snack is recommended for each child)

·      Rain coat, rain boots, and rain pants

·      Gymnastic shoes and clothing

·      Indoor shoes

Tonight, Elle was VERY vivacious and enjoyed trying on all of her rain gear (as you can see in the pictures below)!  Britta was finding Elle very entertaining and wanted to be a part of all of the action and excitement!  Matt and I wanted to make sure that Elle could put on her entire rain-attire since it was communicated to me that she would be expected to do this task on her own.  Tomorrow, the forecast is predicting rain, so we wanted to make sure she would be ready to go; her new school has a mid-morning outdoor activity whether or not the sun is shining:)!

Tonight, I cannot believe Elle is starting preschool. I know that every parent says it, but it truly does feel like I was just changing her diaper.  Elle kept telling Britta tonight, “you may miss me tomorrow, I am going to be at school.”  Britta was probably thinking, “ahh…a break...I can play with whatever I want, however I want for a few hours!!!”  Elle kept asking me tonight if the school had my cell phone number in case she needed anything!

I am sure I will not sleep the best tonight, almost as though it is my first day of school.  I pray she stays safe and has a fun time with her new friends:)!!

Good Night……

Jumping...jumping...jumping...

Posing for the camera:)

And yet, another pose...Britta wondering what she is doing:)

More jumping...Britta CRACKING up:)

The girls first German haircuts!!!

Good evening family and friends.  Today, we had our typical “Monday errands” though due to our traveling I had to keep reminding myself that today was already Tuesday!  We were able to complete all of our errands by using the stores along our town’s Hauptstrasse (a.k.a. main street) and our stroller.  One of our errands included haircuts for BOTH girls!  Yes, Elle had her first German haircut and Britta had her FIRST haircut ever:)!!  Elle sat very well; Elle loves getting her hair cut/styled:).  Britta on the other hand would only get her hair cut while sitting on my lap.  After haircuts, we walked to a nearby shoe store.  I had seen this store numerous times while driving by and was pleasantly surprised with how large the store was and how many great quality and fashionable shoes they had inside.  We still had to get Elle “indoor shoes” and “gymnastic” shoes for her Kindergarten.  The indoor shoes look like fancy slippers with soles and the gymnastic shoes look like colorful ballet shoes.  Tonight, while I was putting Elle to bed she wanted to know when she would be using all of her different shoes at school!!  And yes, Britta got some very “European-looking” shoes today as well; though tonight, Britta would not even try them on for Matt and said, “no like” and threw them across the floor:)!! 

Tomorrow, we must complete a little more “school shopping” (at H&M:) and then Elle should be ready for school and Britta ready for her German Musikgarten class.  All three of us ladies have been enjoying some “back to school” shopping though Matt does have some requests for us to purchase for him tomorrow too!

I have mixed feeling about Elle starting Kindergarten Thursday; though I am ready to get into more of a routine and know it will be good for Elle, I am sad that summer is almost officially over.  The girls and I have had so much fun together this summer while living in Germany; I feel like together, we have learned how to get around, where to shop, what items buy and not to buy, etc.  Though, I must remind myself that Elle is only attending Kindergarten M-TH 9-12:15.  Britta and I will just be dropping her off and we will be picking her up again.  We will still be able to get in lots of “girl time!!”

Good night…..

Weekend Recap: Bavaria Germany and Austria

Good Evening.  We safely returned home from our 4-day trip to Bavaria Germany and Austria (Bavaria is Germany's second most populous state with almost 12.5 million inhabitants).  As I write this posting, it is hard for me to think of words that adequately describe the beauty we saw during this trip; I know it sounds cliche but words truly cannot describe it.  I am 31-years old and I had never before seen views with such magnificent color.  It was A.MAZ.ING:)!!

FRIDAY: We drove to Munich.

SATURDAY AM: Matt visited Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site.  Since Matt and I did not think it was appropriate to take the girls to the Memorial, the girls and I enjoyed swimming and relaxing in our hotel.

SATURDAY PM: We drove to Salzberg, Austria.

SUNDAY AM: We drove to Obersalzberg, Austria and visited “Eagle’s Nest.” 

SUNDAY PM: We drove to Fussen, Germany

MONDAY AM: We visited the Neuschwanstein Castle

MONDAY PM: We drove back home

We enjoyed dinner at one of the most world-famous Oktoberfest locations; it was Oktoberfest in August:)!!  Actually, this is only a few weeks early since Oktoberfest runs from September 17^th – October 3^rd.  Until moving here, I always thought Oktoberfest was in October and not because it ends on the first Sunday in October:)!!

The girls enjoyed their favorite German foods...Bockwursts & Pommes with lots of ketchup:)!!  Side Note: It is very common for ketchup to cost extra, even at fast food restaurants.

Wooden Kegs....

HUGE and delicious pretzels...a food that is now one of our favs:)

The girls kicking and splashing at the hotel pool

The girls doing a little relaxing poolside:)

The girls LOVE riding elevators...or as Elle says, "Ele-gator."  I do not correct her because it is just too cute!!

A beautiful view of Salzberg as we enter the city

Elle thought this castle looked just like Papa Donavon's sand castle!!

Homes that are literally built into the moutain

Mozart's birth house

EXTREME temperature change...on Saturday, the HIGH was 9 degrees Celsius (49 degrees Fahrenheit).  The girls got to try out their new rain coats!!  Side Note: A requirement at Elle's new school is that she has a rain coat, rain boots AND rain pants with her every day).

While walking back to our hotel, we tried to capture this beautiful view of Salzberg but our camera was giving us some problems...

Britta and Elle doing some reading in the hotel lobby before leaving for Fussen--LOL

Elle enjoying Big Nana's treat!!

And Britta too of course;)

A picture I took while riding in the car...

A picture of Elle playing in the leaves while we were waiting for our bus to take us up to Eagle's Nest...this is BEFORE she got stung by TWO bees...poor little sweetie...  Side Note: Since living in Germany I HATE bees!!  The majority of homes do not have window screens, so it is very common for me to kill at last 3 bees per day in our home.  It seems like there are SO MANY bees here!!  Matt has already been stung...I know that my time is coming:)!  Our Pediatrician said to apply a cut-up onion to the bee sting; I guess I am going to need to begin to travel with onions in my backpack:)!

Britta playing too and thankfully did not get stung...

The Kehlsteinhaus (in English “Eagle’s Nest”) was intended as a 50^th birthday gift to Hitler.  It was to serve as a retreat for him and a place for him to entertain dignitaries.

Neuschwanstein Castle.  The Castle has been in several movies, but most importantly (at least to our family) was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle:)!!  We stood on a bridge to get this photo; photos were not permitted inside the Castle.

Britta having a meltdown re: wanting OUT of her backpack...as you can see, she got her way:).  Matt thought we needed to "capture" ALL family moments!!

A view from the Castle.  Elle was SO CUTE during the entire Castle tour...she kept looking for Bell, the Beast and the red rose.  We told her that they were on a vacation of their own:)

It was a fun and memorable trip...next Tripp Family “adventure” is to Italy for 7-days the end of September.  I must start planning it tomorrow:)!!

I hope you all had relaxing weekends.  Congrats to my sister for officially accepting her first job post-college; I am so proud of you and wish I could give you a big hug & kiss!!

Sleep dreams.......

Two HUGE worries crossed off my check list:)!!!!

What a fantastic day!  Today almost went so smooth, it makes me a tad uneasy due to this being such a rarity:)-LOL.  Tonight, I am able to cross two HUGE worries off my checklist…Elle’s school and the girls’ Pediatrician.

This morning, the girls and I visited another all-German Kindergarten (again, the equivalent to an American preschool).  Elle and I both LOVED it. Her room will include 16 other peers and she will have two teachers.  In her class, there are 3 little girls who speak English.  So, even though the entire instruction and all of the teaching staff will speak German, at least Elle can communicate some in English as well.  There is no curriculum, like we are familiar to in the States, instead the school focuses on creativity and socialization.  The school was very clean, well organized, and full of color.  It had a sense of warmth and positive excitement.  The school was very large and even had a gymnasium for Elle to participate in a gym class every Monday.   On Tuesdays, Elle will participate in making a healthy breakfast for all of the children in the entire Kindergarten (60 other children outside of her classroom).  On Wednesday, she is supposed to bring a toy from home to share with the class.  And on Thursdays, her class will often take a walk through a local forest and go nature exploring.  Elle will attend Kindergarten M-TH 8:30-12:30PM.  It was such a relief leaving the school and feeling so good about Elle’s future Kindergarten experience.  When we were ready to leave, Elle said, “but Mom, I was just getting ready to play dress up!”  I thought this was a great sign; Elle should be happy to return next Thursday, September 1^st.

Then, we visited our new German Pediatrician to have Elle’s Kindergarten Physical Exam completed.  The Physician, Dr. Monica Biscof, could not have been more pleasant and thorough.  She was very interested in both of the girls’ medical histories and asked a lot of questions so she could provide quality care for them in the future.  Though, we discovered that Elle did indeed have an outer ear infection.  Elle had been complaining about her ear feeling “full of water” but the pain never affected her demeanor, sleep, etc. so I had not had it looked at.  Dr. Biscof has a private practice and does not have any assistants.  She is available M-Friday 8-6PM and I can call her on the weekends, but it does not mean she will always be able to see the sick child on the weekend but could offer support and direction (i.e. should we go to Urgent Care, etc.).  Her office is located in her home, thus her availability is very flexible.  I felt very good about this overall experience this was a true blessing and such a relief to me to have this crossed off my “worry list!”

After the Doctor, I had located a ballet dress shop downtown Mannheim.  We went into the city to get Elle’s new ballet shoes, leotards, etc.  While there, Elle yelled, “Mom come here!”  A stuffed teddy bear, in one of the dressing rooms, had fallen on top of her (hence the silly looking picture at the beginning of the Post).  The funniest thing was that Britta was trying to get it off of her; we were all laughing!  After purchasing Elle’s new ballet attire, we went and met Matt and Subway for lunch.  The ballet dress shop was located relatively close to his office.  Elle was very excited to tell him all about our morning:)!

Then, after nap we had intended to purchase a used playhouse from a USA Military family who was headed back to the States.  Unfortunately, due to all of the red tape we were not able to enter the base due to not having our Passports with us.  It was a strange feeling driving around the base; many of the gates were guarded with Military personnel holding large semi-automatic rifles.  While driving around, I saw that many of the USA Military buildings were surrounded by tall steel gates and electric barbed wire.  Needless to say, security is VERY high on the base and thus, even with our USA Drivers License we were not able to enter the base long enough to pick up a used playhouse for our backyard.  Interesting…

Tonight, I have been packing and printing various vouchers and information for our trip tomorrow.  Tomorrow, we are leaving for Munich.  We will spend the night in Munich and then move onto Salzburg, Austria.  On Sunday, we will head back to Germany and stay in Fussen, Germany.  On Monday, we will return back home.  It should be a very enjoyable and educational trip.

Also tonight, the girls received a package from Big Papa and Big Nana!!  The girls were BOTH very excited to receive some good ole’ Kellogg Rice Krispies!  Thank you!  The girls also received another package this week from Papa Donavon and Nana Becky and some new CDs from Aunt TC.  Thank you!!  The girls LOVE getting packages from family!  We will keep looking for the packages sent by Hannah, Garrison and Marshall and Elle’s friend Adrie:)!!

Do not worry, Britta's hand was clean...just not her arm from playing in the dirt outside:)--LOL

Have a great weekend!  I will Blog again Monday night, once we return from our trip.  I once again will have lots of stories and pictures to share with all of you!

Love and prayers…    

Just another day at the beach:).....

The girls and I enjoyed another gorgeous summer day at the "See.”  The girls absolutely love it there (and so does Mommy:)!  Hopefully, we can get in one more swim there before the weather starts to get cooler again!

Tonight for dinner I made homemade spaghetti sauce using a German recipe.  By the looks of it, I think Britta liked it (actually, I think she just liked playing in it) but I am not sure about anyone else…I did not see anyone taking any seconds—LOL.  Needless to say, I did not save the leftovers:).

If you have a Facebook account, check out Britta and Elle’s professional photos courtesy of Heidelberg Photography. It is interesting, I see the girls everyday but when I viewed the photos, I thought they both looked so beautiful and grown up.  I am finding that time really does move even faster since becoming a mother.

Tomorrow, we have an interview at another all-German Kindergarten.  At this school, I know one mother and her daughter is Elle’s age.   Then, we have Elle’s Kindergarten Physical with our new German Pediatrician.  It is going to be a busy morning; we must be out of the house by 7:45AM and usually, the girls do not even wake up until 8:45AM!!

Good Night my dear family and friends…

FINALLY...a HOT one!!

Good Evening family and friends.  Well, we finally got some HOT summer weather today…finally!  I'm not good with math, conversions, or anything closely related. But, after today, I do know that 35 degrees Celsius is really hot!

This morning, Elle and I visited her new all-German Kindergarten…but tonight, I have a sick feeling in my stomach.  I KNOW that the German Kindergartens have a remarkable reputation, I am not questioning this, but I just feel like Elle would enjoy being at a bilingual school.  Elle loves talking to people and playing with other children and this is going to be such a challenge for her in an all-German school.  I know that she will quickly learn the language, but we will not be speaking German inside our home—at least not in conversation form.  I already have an email out to the Director of the Metropolitan International School (MIS).  Matt and I toured this school in March, but due to so many people speaking so highly of the all-German Kindergartens we decided against enrolling Elle at MIS.  MIS also have a very, very respectable reputation but it costs more and there is some driving involved for me (15-20 minutes one way), but I feel that the benefits outweigh these two factors.  I think a combination of German and English curriculum will be in Elle’s best interest.  BUT, if we cannot get her into MIS this school year, I am confident that we will make the all-German Kindergarten work.  I just have to go with what my stomach is telling me tonight…that nervous, queasy feeling so I think I need to look into the MIS option.

Then after nap, the girls and I visited the beautiful Schwetzingen Castle and Gardens for the girls’ professional photo session.  Unfortunately, due to it being SO HOT outside, Britta was a little on the crabby side and did not really want to get her pictures taken.  Though, my friend Marisa emailed me tonight and said that she got some good pictures.  Hopefully, I will have some to share with you all tomorrow evening, though, Marisa and her family are headed back to the States on Thursday so she may not have them ready to be viewed by the time she leaves.  I really hope she was able to capture some timeless pictures of the girls in this historical location.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, not my camera:)

Tomorrow, the girls and I are headed back to the “See."  It is suppose to be 87 degrees tomorrow, so still nice and warm…perfect weather for swimming!!  Then, I better start packing for our 4 day Bavarian trip this weekend!!

Good Night…

A BEAUTIFUL day at the beach.......

Good Evening.  The girls and I had a BLAST today at a nearby lake (a.k.a. a “See” in Germany) today!  We had heard about this lake during our house-hunting trip in March and finally, the weather allowed the girls and I to check it out!  The girls loved playing in the sand, with the rocks and getting in the water.  The weather was absolutely beautiful (92 degrees); I just made sure that I kept applying sunscreen on the girls, especially Britta:).  Elle probably had more fun in the water than Britta; Britta was very intent on working away on her sand projects!!!  We packed a picnic and were there for 3.5 hours.  Needless to say, the girls fell asleep for their nap as soon as their heads hit the pillows!  We plan to definitely go back to the lake this week, since the warm weather is suppose to stay throughout this week!

The water was VERY clear...and not too cold

The lake was PACKED with people...

Britta exploring...

Britta hard at work!!

Elle loved running into the water and splashing!

Tomorrow, Kim is coming over to watch Britta so that Elle and I can spend the morning at her new school.  Though I am sure Britta would enjoy being with us too, I wanted to make sure that I can solely focus on Elle.  Though Elle says she is excited, I am sure she is nervous too entering a new school, in a new country, where they will not speak English.  I am optimistic that we will have a fun morning, getting to know her school, teacher and peers.

Then, tomorrow evening, the girls are getting their pictures taken at the Schwetzingen Castle.  I have had the privilege of meeting a lovely woman, through MOPS, who owns Heidelberg Photography.  I wanted to get some 18-month old pictures of Britta and some of the girls together, since the Castle gardens are filled with beautiful flowers!  It will be hot photo shoot, but hopefully the girls will have fun too running around the garden.

Good night…sweet dreams…