Friday, July 24, 2009

Stand in the place where you live

The other day I left Griffin on the floor playing with his toys and walked to the other room for less than 1 minute. When I returned to the front room this is what I found:

Surprise, surprise, my child prodigy is pulling himself up to a stand already. I had some of his extra toys on that shelf and apparently he found them more interesting than the ones I'd left on the floor for him. I don't mean to brag or anything, but this kid is a genius.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The temple and a castle

The first weekend here in Germany we spent mostly just acquainting ourselves with the downtown Frankfurt area. We are staying in an extended-stay hotel in Frankfurt, which essentially means that we feel a little less like we are living out of a suitcase, and a little more like we are living in an apartment...an apartment, mind you, where someone makes your bed and does your dishes for you. I really shouldn't get used to this.

Just a three-minute walk away is an old opera house and the financial district of Frankfurt. Like the nincompoops we are, we forgot to take the camera with us on our big walk around the area, so I can't show you the cool statues or the neat architecture yet, but I promise that I'll post some pictures of the neighborhood soon.

However, this weekend we went to the Frankfurt LDS temple and then to an old castle and thankfully we remembered the cameras.

Outside the castle walls


We weren't sure exactly where we were supposed to go, but once we turned down this street we realized we were headed in the right direction...you'll note the jubilant look on my face

No mattter how hard I knocked, they wouldn't let me in the back door. But I think I should get points for inadvertently matching my shirt to the exact color of the door.


Landon and Griffin walking around the castle grounds. The gounds were breath-taking. Lots of winding foot paths and orchards and a huge pond. We could have spent hours and hours just wandering the extensive property, but unfortunately a rain storm rolled in shortly after we took this picture.


Flowers with castle windows in the background



This is a cathedral we found along the way, cool, huh?


Anyone have to potty? This was the funniest thing of the day. Inside the castle walls they had a modern art exhibit. To me it seemed slightly incongruous to have a bunch of modern art next to this ancient-looking castle, but I suppose it just made the modern art stand out all the more.
Landon and Griffin at the Frankfurt LDS Temple. We got some good video on the temple grounds, but this was the best still shot of the temple.

Monday, July 13, 2009

At last...

For those of you who are sour that I haven't posted lately, allow me to defend myself. Over the past two weeks I've attempted to post at least three times only to be frustrated by reluctant internet connections. Now that I am safely in Germany and reunited with my computer (and I suppose I should mention reunited with my husband) and a reliable internet connection, I can blog to my heart's content. In this case my heart's content is three posts, mostly in pictures. Enjoy!

These are pictures from our last few days in Greece. We went to Glyfada, the beach district of Athens and stayed at a hotel across the street from the beach.
Griffin and I at sunset on the beach. Check out the giant fishing pole behind us, I swear that thing was 12 feet long.

Rachael and Griffin playing in the waves. You can just see Noel's head behind that giant wave. Somehow, Noel avoided being in most of the pictures this day.


This was our last evening in Greece. One of the things we loved about walking along this beach was that you could see some islands off in the distance. Additionally, it's too bad that all of the people I know who collect rocks have stopped collecting them (Anna, I'm looking in your direction), because there were some really cool rocks on this beach.

Outshining the moonlight


Landon left on Monday. That night Noel and Rachael went to see Swan Lake while I watched Griffin. We had planned that Tuesday night the girls would watch Griffin while Landon and I went to the ballet, but in Landon's absence, Rachael accompanied me to the ballet while Noel took care of Griffin (Thanks, Noel you are too kind!).


First of all, we watched the ST. PETERSBURG BALLET!! (arguably the best ballet company in the entire world). They performed Swan Lake (perhaps my favorite ballet) written by Tchaikovsky (historically, the premier ballet composer). We watched from the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (an ancient Greek outdoor amphitheater) under a full moon. Truthfully, this was one of the coolest experiences of my life.


I could try to descibe the grace, complexity, presicion, and artisrty of the evening, but I'd be sure to fall woefully short of the mark. Just take my word for it: AMAZING!!! If you ever have the chance to attend this ballet, or this ballet company, or an outdoor production in an ancient theater at a full moon, I recommend that you do so.

Alive at Sunrise...surprise!

My family is notorious for being irritable and crotchety before 8 a.m. (My father, of course, is the notable exception. Sadly, his AM cheeriness only makes us grumpier) So when Landon suggested that we venture on a sunrise hike to the outlook point across from the Acropolis, I was more than a little hesitant. But as these pictures chronicle, we did get up for sunrise, we did hike the 3 kilometers, and we were cheerful for most of the trip. (Except for when a stray dog charged at Noel and Rachael and they ran to hide behind the baby). Truthfully,
this was one of our favorite moments of the entire weekend. Check it out:








Sweet digs at Delphi

For our Happy Fourth of July weekend, Landon, Noel, Rachael, Griffin, and I headed to Delphi. Delphi is about 2.5 hours from Athens by car and about 3.5 hours by bus. For those of you who are looking for Greece travel tips (Sade and Emily, I nod knowingly in your direction), Delphi is totally worth the drive...but only if you rent a car and stay in Arahova which is ten minutes outside of Delphi.

We stayed in a ski resort hotel/spa, and since this is the off season for skiing we got a great deal on the room, an awesome view of the mountains, and top notch service because we were nearly the only ones there. It was 100% worth the ten minute drive to Delphi.

The hotel we stayed at was my favorite Greek hotel by far! It's a swanky family-owned resort. At breakfast the hotel manager kept bringing out tray after tray of pastries, breads, fruits, eggs, cheeses, meats, and more pastries. Happy Fourth of July, let's eat like Americans!

The ruins at Delphi were incredible, the museum was breathtaking, and (though he did get a little hot and sweaty) the Griffin was happy. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Typically I'm not a fan of shots from behind, but I really liked this one of Landon and I walking around the ruins at Delphi.

The sisters at Delphi. We're overlooking an amphitheater, I don't remember the name of this one, because there were lots of them. And check out that view! From where we were standing you could see all the way out to the Mediterranean Sea...unfortunately, not in this picture. Please note that in every single picture, Rachael is looking like a movie star and Noel and I look like tourists.

This was my favorite thing at the Delphi Museum: a sphinx, two of which used to stand atop 25 foot columns at the entrance to the Treasury at Delphi.

I don't know what I was saying when this photo was taken, but apparently I had to say it with attituide.