Christmas in Germany part 2

The culminating part of our trip to Germany for Christmas was the baptism of Joseph. When my parents got called on their mission, we realized that they would miss Joseph's baptism. We had always joked and said how much fun it would be if we could baptize Joseph in Germany. Well, the wonderful wish came true! How wonderful it was to have my wonderful parents as part of this special experience. My younger brother, Nate and his wife, Kelsey, were able to make it, too. The assistant missionaries were there as well as some of the mission couples and some investigators. The baptism would have been wonderful in California, too, but it made it so much more special to have my parents and one of my brothers be a part of it.

Christmas morning! We had a wonderful morning, relaxing, yummy breakfast made by my mom, and had the assistant missionaries over. The kids loved opening presents and being with family.

Hannah wanted a German doll for Christmas and my mom got the most precious doll for Hannah and she loved it. She even had her hair done to match her doll.

Mine and James' Christmas present was a trip back to London!!! I was waiting, and waiting for this little side trip. James and I used to live in London after we were first married and hadn't been back since. It was so much fun to walk around this great city we love and visit all the stores we used to shop at, the tube stations we rode on, and our old apartment. The best part was seeing Wicked! I have never seen it and I must say, it was definitely worth the wait. It was fabulous! I could see if over, and over again. The cast was phenomenal and the Elepheba in this cast had the most amazing and powerful vocals. She was fabulous and Glinda played the part perfectly! So much fun! My wonderful parents watched the kids for the two days we were gone. Thank you!!

Covent Garden!! I used to walk up here with Joseph in his stroller almost every day. It is just above where our apartment was.

Our old apartment building on good old St. Martin's Lane! Right in the middle of Leicester Square.

Christmas in Germany part 1

The funnest part about being in Germany during Christmas time are the Weinachsmarts (Christmas Markets), which is what Germany is famous for during Christmas. Fabulous food, christmas atmosphere and booth after booth of fun things to to look at from handmade christmas ornaments and Nutcrackers to hats, scarfs, soaps, you name it. I loved it.

This is at the Hamburg Christmas Market. It was really, really cold!!!

Every Christmas market we went to have the neatest merry-go-rounds. The kids loved it.

There was a huge pyramid in the middle of the Weinachsmart. So beautiful!

Picture with the two assistant missionaries who went with us one day to the market

My dad bought my kids and the missionaries these cute cookies that were being sold all over the markets. Notice Joseph's cookie says "Oma is die beste" which means Grandma is the best

We all loved the yummy food at the Christmas market. They had fresh bratwurts, which James, Joseph and Joshua loved! We also enjoyed homemade berliner's (a fresh jelly-filled donut), crepes and the most amazing pastries. James and I went down one evening on our own just to go find more fun things to eat, and brought the extra pounds home with us. I must say, it was worth it!

Joseph and Josh enjoying their Bratwursts

San Francisco!

The end of November, James and his good friend David planned a surprise weekend trip for me and David's wife, Jessica. They secretly planned the whole thing and woke us up in the morning and said we were going to San Francisco. To tell you the truth, I was a little apprehensive because I am a planner and like to know who is watching the kids, what they will be eating, etc, etc. Anyway, he said it was all covered and I didn't need to worry about it. So, I didn't! The kids were great and had a great time with the babysitter and they all survived.
We drove the 7 hour drive and enjoyed the company. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities and is special to James and I, so it was fun being back there. We just walked around, ate yummy food, including fresh clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, shrimp at the wharf, and of course, Ghiradelli!! I could drink that chocolate and die happy. We had a great time.

James and David enjoying their Calamari. I didn't even want to look at it.

China Town

Joseph turns 8!

I am so behind on posts that it is extremely overwhelming! I will post of our happenings bit by bit until I reach Christmas, which is a big one because it was in Germany!

So, this post is about celebrating Joseph's 8th birthday, which was November 14th. We baptized him in Germany. (Those pics to come!)

Our dear friends, the Howells, took us to their family's boat the night before Joseph's birthday and we ate dinner and slept over. It was great. We opened presents for Joseph in the morning and he was excited to get his presents. The big hits were Star Wars Wii, spicy cheetos (ask me why and I don't know) and an Angels Jersey. Living in California, 10 minutes away from the Anaheim Angels stadium has turned him into a major Angels fan. So fun.

Later that day, we went to Disneyland and loved it! The lines were very minimial, which was great. Joseph kept running around saying, "This is awesome, no lines!! I love this birthday!" The other bonus was he got a $62 gift card to use since we have a season pass. He also loved wearing his Disneyland birthday pin because all the workers would tell him "Happy Birthday"

He wanted Subway sandwiches for his birthday dinner. We picked them up before heading into the park and he kept bragging that he can eat a footlong! I will say, this kid can eat!!