On the road again!
This time it's the German traveling road show!
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| Kayla was loving all the cuddles on the trip... she thinks she's a little baby sometimes! |
Ansbach
First stop was Ansbach (for Connor's football game).
Before the game started we went to check out the town center.
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| A picture-perfect, charming, German village! |
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| I love Germany in the Fall! |
Ansbach vs Vicenza #59
Ansbach is 4-0 and we are 3-1. We knew this was going to be a tough game.
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| We were soooo happy that we had these sleeping bags in the car! It was cold, windy, and rainy!!! |
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| Final score 28-12 Ansbach |
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These guys should be proud of themselves... they fought hard and never gave up even when the odds were not in their favor.
Ansbach scored 2 touchdowns in the first quarter and their 3rd one at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. For the rest of the 2nd quarter and the last 2 quarters they never scored another point and we scored 2 touchdowns. They may have won the game but we won the last 3 quarter. These are some tough boys! |
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| Go Cougars!! |
Next Stop: Mannheim
After the game we all drove a couple hours to our old stomping grounds.... Mannheim!
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| We stayed with our good friends, Amalia and Ingo, and got to get reacquainted with their beautiful, sweet children! Whitney and the oldest boy, Simon, were in nursery together for 2 years. |
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| This is some game that all the German kids are playing at school. You'll have to ask Aiden to explain it to you! |
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| Delicious Hungarian Goulash for dinner with excellent company!! |
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| Ingo entertaining all the kids! lol... poor guy was trying to teach this game in English and German to a bunch of tired kids! He did a great job! |
Huttenfeld
Huttenfeld is where my kids spent almost 4 years of their early childhood. When we got here Whitney was a baby. She could barely talk! When we left she was turning 5 and getting her ears pierced! Aiden wasn't even in kindergarten yet when we moved here and then left before 3rd grade. Connor finished 1st grade here and then left before 5th grade. These are significant times in the life of a child. Overall, I think they were very fortunate to spend these years in Germany.
Aiden said it best when he described our time in Germany as "The good ol' days!"
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| Home sweet home |
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| Our last day in Huttenfeld in 2012 |
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| We couldn't come to Huttenfeld without seeing our dear friends, neighbors, landlords, and adopted grandparents to our kids - Karin and Wolfgang. It was so great to see them! Kayla went right up to Wolfgang and began covering his hands in kisses! It's been 4 years since she's seen him and she still remembered him. For those of you who know Kayla, know that this is a big deal! |
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| Our last day with Karin and Wolfgang in 2012 |
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| Then our wonderful friends heard we were in town and stopped by to see us! Whitney's best friend Lizzy and her sister Anna. And of course, my dear friend Stephanie! |
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| It didn't take long before it seemed like we never left! |
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| Lizzy and Anna having lunch with Whitney in 2011 |
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Our old door step
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| The same door step in 2009 |
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| "Our" Soccer field which we used like our own backyard |
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| Our soccer field in 2009 |
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| Hemsbach Lake where we spent just about every weekend in the summers |
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| Hemsbach Lake in 2009 |
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| I'm glad to see that Connor still remembers how to use that thing! |
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| Unfortunately the gates were closed for the winter. |
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| Summer 2009 |
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| Huttenfeld Castle |
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| Daddy's concert at the Huttenfeld Castle in 2012 |
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| Our favorite pizza joint right on the corner from our house! |
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| Eating gelato in 2011 |
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| Whitney's German Kindergarten (preschool) where she went for 2 years. |
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| First day of kindergarten 2011 |
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| The playground where she played in the dirt! lol! |
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| Whitney's entire school (including Ms. Pia!) walking her home for her birthday in 2012! She looks really confused!! |
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| And then, of course, the Burgerhaus park where the kids would do their obstacle courses! |
We were so excited to see everyone at our Ward Family!!
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| Last Sunday in Mannheim in 2012 |
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| Whitney's friend Jasira |
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| Whitney and Jasira and her little sister Brianna in 2010 |
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| Oma Lorz! So sad we missed seeing Hans! |
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| The Lorz in 2010 |
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| We were sooooo lucky to be there for one of their after-church potlucks! SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!!! |
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| These two just love cute, little girls.... that know how to use a knife! |
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| Jeremy can still crack them all up! He was whipping out the German as if we never left! |
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| Elvira |
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| Manuella and the newest member of the Ward Family |
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| The Kempermans |
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| Of course... Oma Broo. Seriously the sweetest lady I've ever met. She comes to church every Sunday with a box of full-sized German chocolate bars and gives each kid their own bar. It drives all the parents crazy but the kids just love her! |
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| Whitney's chocolate from Oma Broo |
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| Our "Easter Tree" outside of the church building |
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| Easter 2009 |
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| Easter 2010 |
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| Easter 2011 |
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| Easter 2012 |
Benjamin Franklin Village (BFV)
Our next stop was the base where we worked and played nearly every day for almost 4 years. When we left in 2012 the entire base shut down. The housing portion is now being used to house refugees. Normally it's not possible to enter the base but there was some kind of a marathon going on when we were there and they had portions of it open. IT WAS SO WEIRD!!!
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| Inside the old Post Office |
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| This used to be Winger's! |
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| The Sports Arena |
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| The old Movie Theater with signs saying "Closed Until Further Notice" |
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| They still had the flyer up from the last month of movies that were shown here in 2011! |
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| In front of the movie theater for Halloween 2010 |
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| Not really sure what this was about....? |
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| There was some kind of an old car show going on |
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| They had some kind of a museum open that showcased the history of Americans in Mannheim |
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| The runners from the marathon passing by on the track |
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| Same track in 2012 |
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| They had a band set up to play as the runners passed by |
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| The roads were overgrown with bushes and weeds but we could still recognize it all |
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| Same spot from 2011 |
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| The field between the fitness center and the library that we played on so much! It was sad to see it this way... |
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| This is how we remembered it |
Plantanenhof
Our first home in Germany until we found our house in Huttenfeld. We stayed here for 3 months.
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| We also stayed here for about a week before moving back to the US in 2012 |
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| The park we went to almost every day |
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| 2009 |
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| 2009 |
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| They all 3 would sit inside this circle and tell me to take a picture at least twice a day! |
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| Now they can barely fit in it! |
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| 2009 |
Heidelberg International School (HIS)
We couldn't leave without seeing HIS where Connor and Aiden went to school for 1st and 3rd grades
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| Reminiscing looking at their old playground |
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| 2011 |
This was an amazing and emotional trip for all of us. The memories of Germany and of our kid's younger days are so sweet and I treasure them so much! It made me so happy to hear all the good memories that the kids have of our time in Germany too. I wouldn't trade the experiences we had in Germany during this time for anything in the world!
