Barfusspark (Barefoot Park)

We went to the Barfusspark in the Black Forest on Friday. This is our second bare foot park that we have been to since being in Germany and the kids think it is great fun, especially Jordan. You walk through mud, wood chips, rocks, crushed glass, over logs, and through water. I had Beckett on my back, so I didn't take too many pictures. Most are of Jordan because he is my most adventurous when it comes to walking through mud. Ava and Brady enjoyed the playground near the end, though.

Childhood Friends

We had the joy of spending time with our Wiesbaden friends last week. Here are our pictures from the week.

This is first picture cracks me up (for a number of reasons).... my kids personalities really shine through. Ava is making a MAD face because she is clearly upset about missing her turn on the zip-line. Jordan is trying out some 7 year old humor. And look closely at Brady... my loyal and sweet 3 year old. His best friend, Annabelle is wearing a "Be My Friend" shirt and Brady is holding her hand while they wait for the zip-line. Honestly, I didn't notice this until I went to pick out pictures for this post. Seriously, it's love, the best-friend kind of love, no fighting between them, just innocent 3 year old sweetness, without any drama.


Brady giving Beckett a ride in the John Deere, while Austin gives out the driving instructions. Or maybe Austin was watching over Beckett, he loved to play with him.

Beckett trying to help out baby Spencer. A bigger baby helping a tiny baby!

My friend, Jill's super 10 year old. He pushed Beckett around in this tricycle for quite a while.

The AFTER Pictures

What do you think???? I think he looks amazing and that the dentist worked her magic for him!

The BEFORE Picture

So Beckett took a digger at the pool on our last day in Italy, chipping both of his front teeth. His right tooth is far worse than the left, so tomorrow morning we are having it fixed. I was fortunate to find a babysitter with a one day notice (he was examined by the dentist today) who is willing to come here at the crack of dawn. Charlie is in Wiesbaden for the week for a class, so unfortunately I will be flying solo for this adventure. I think I jinxed myself when Ava was put to sleep for her tooth being pulled a few weeks ago. I stated that I was D-O-N-E with watching my kids be put under general anesthesia for a while, Beckett was out to prove me wrong. He's done it before, so there shouldn't be any surprises. A little prayer for us tomorrow would be greatly appreciated!

Italy: Part 3, Roma!

We took a 3 hour drive down to Rome for 3 days to see the sights. I have to say that Rome is great for the historical sights and Vatican City, but aside from that... ummm, I would rather be in Paris. It was dirty, run-down, over-priced and personally, I just wasn't that excited about it. I have no desire to ever visit Rome, again. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to check it off of my bucket list, but I don't think I will ever go back. The Colosseum was interesting, not as large as I expected, and lots of fun to watch the gladiators outside the colosseum pose for pictures with tourists. We did not partake, they swindle and pickpockets are everywhere, so we kept a close hold on the children and our wallets!
I was blown away by the Sistine Chapel. Michelango's paintings of the Creation and the Last Judgment were pretty jaw-droppingly beautiful. The chapel itself, was nowhere near the size I had imagined, it is pretty small compared to what I had built up in my head. Very few windows, but who needs windows when you can picture Michelangelo spending 4 years painting the inside. Then, unfortunately... we made a big mistake. We followed the crowd when we left the Sistine Chapel (the last major sight at the Vatican Museum) and somehow it spit us back outside to an EXIT. This was not supposed to happen, we were supposed to leave the Sistine Chapel and enter directly into St. Peter's. OOPS! We walked back around to St. Peter's entrance and the line was way too long to stand there in 90 degree weather and wait when we only had a couple of hours to catch our bus back to the hotel. St. Peter's square will have to do!

In front of the Colosseum.

A view of St. Peter's and the square as we were entering.

Don't tell... but Charlie didn't know that we couldn't take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel, so here is one that he took before a guard told him No.

Part of Ancient Roman ruins that didn't have a whole lot of visitors, but it was my favorite spot.

Italy: Part 2, Cinque Terre

This was my favorite place! The Cinque Terre is a remote area on the Italian Riviera that is almost traffic-free, no museums, and lots of delicious food. There are 5 villages that are connected by train or trail and each villages sits on a ravine that dumps into the sea, except for the village in the middle. We trained between 3 of them because it would have been a difficult hike for the little ones and then we hiked between the other 2.

Italy: Part 1, The Beach

We just got home from our vacation in Italy and it was a fantastic 9 days together as a family. Italy is beautiful, the weather is warm, and we were 10 minutes from the beach. We spent 4 days at just lounging at the beach, 1 day in Cinque Terre, 3 days in Rome, and some smaller sights in between. We had so much fun that we stayed an extra day and night. Most of our vacation was spent in a cabin we rented from the Army at Camp Darby. Camp Darby is a small Army Post near Pisa, Italy and they have a fantastic campground and location!

Enjoy the pictures!