Catching Up

I love this blog stuff. I love it because it keeps me close to my family. It is so great to be able to show the Frandsen’s in Germany and the Marcoccia’s in NY what we are up to and how much Ellie is growing and changing. I also love it because it has been the catalysis for getting back in touch with some friends.

Earlier this week Ellie and I took a little trip up North to catch up with my friend Robyn. I met Robyn in 1996, she was my roommate at Goldminer’s Daughter in Alta the first winter I spent up there. We got a long right away. I remember the first night there I was so intimidated and was pretty much “hiding out” in my room being the classic introvert that I am. She called me up and convinced me to walk across the hall and meet some of my fellow GMD cohorts. We had so much fun that winter, we both got stuck down the canyon during a major snow storm and stayed at my aunt Laurel’s house until the canyon opened back up and we could hitch a ride from Jim and Elfrieda Shane (owners of the GMD at the time). Robyn had picked up a little frog at the mall and I agreed to sneak it up the canyon in my bag. When the Shane’s came to pick us up they had their friends the McConkey’s with them and a dog. The dog proceeded to sniff and scratch at the bag the whole way up the canyon and Robyn kept taping my leg and grabbing my hand every time he scratched as I tried to keep a conversation with the Shanes’ and McConkeys going so they wouldn’t notice or suspect anything.  The rest is history…

Yesterday we had the pleasure of catching up with the Hamond’s. Angie and Steve both went to High School with me. Steve and I went to grade school together. I have such fond memories of Angie and Steve and our “gang” of friends we were such good kids and had so much fun together. Angie said this on her post as well we didn’t skip a beat, even though it’s been a while it didn’t feel that way. A sign of a good friendship and the strength of the bond we had when we were teenagers. We really enjoyed their company. Their kids are so sweet and cute. Angie’s daughter Brooke is so good with Ellie it was fun to watch them play and Chase is the spitting image of Steve it’s crazy. Their youngest Austin has a great personality and cracked us up a few times.

State Fair

Yesterday we took a trip down to Salt Lake for the Utah State Fair. We had a good time checking out the “Carni” rides, farm animals, and blue ribbon winners. Ellie was funny, we got her on a couple of the small rides like the train and merry-go-round. She seemed excited as we approached the rides but froze as soon as they would start. Then when it all ended she would be back to herself and clap and talk about it. We tried to get her to ride a pony as well but she wouldn’t leave the safety of her Daddy’s arms. She was happy to walk with the pony for a bit though. She was interested in the animals pointing, oohing, and razzing at them. We visited some goats, sheep, cows, and pigs. Awe the fair what an iconic American experience…

OUCH!!!

I smashed my toe today. I was carrying a chair down the hallway so I could use it for a step stool to reach the deep dark places of the closet where I tend to stuff things away. (out of sight out of mind) and as I approached the narrow space the chair legs bumped the couch and knocked it out of my hands and the end of the chair leg fell right smack on my middle toe. I tried to walk it off, and eventually sat down on the floor holding my toes and rocking for a bit then I tried to tuffen up but it wouldn’t stop throbbing so I broke down into tears. I consider myself to have a high pain tolerance but this HURT. I think I cried for a half an hour Whaaaa. Ellie was sleeping through the whole thing and Gary was out for a bike ride. I wasn’t going to call him but it started to swell and the hurt wasn’t going away. So needless to say his ride was cut short and he came home to my rescue. He was good to me got me some ibuprofen and took Ellie to go run some errands ie dinner and treats to cheer up with. Things have calmed down now and I can walk on it and such I think I just smashed it pretty good. Man those little toes are sensitive…

On the lighter side here are some picture of a little hike we took in the Uintas last weekend…

Toe Update

looks worse than it feels…

Castles and Vines along the Rhine

One of our favorite things we did while in Germany was take a little cruise on the Rhine River. Leslie and McKenna joined us for a little float from Rüdesheim to St. Goar. We stopped in St. Goar to tour the Rheinfel’s Castle ruins. The Rheinfels Castle was amazing it was surreal when we stopped to think about the history in the walls and tunnels. As we explored we kept thinking about knights running around in their armor defending the castle walls. There were some deep dark tunnels that were intriguing and intimidating all the same. After our little romp in the castle we headed back to town for a bite to eat at great little bakery where we enjoyed some delicious Black Forest cake. Then we hopped back on the boat for a nice casual ride back up the River and home. We were totally captivated by the views. There seemed to be a castle around every bend in the river. The villages along the way were so charming and looked so inviting. There were vineyards on every hillside offering up gorgeous and romantic views. It was nice to sit back and relax and take in what the Rhine River had to offer with out fighting tour bus crowds for space or walking our tails off. I think Ellie enjoyed some time out of the backpack as well. She seemed to have a good time that day, although both her and McKenna took some long naps on the boat ride back. We have finally figured out how to embed a slide show. So, here are a bunch of pictures of our Day on the Rhine River… Enjoy. We wont get offended if you can’t sit through it all. We were a little photo crazy that day knowing it was our last day in Germany.

BRUGGE

On the 16th (Ellie’s Birthday) we spent the day checking out the wonderful city of Brugge, Belgium. We fell in love with this little city. We were expecting a big bustling city like Brussels but were surprise by its quaint little streets and shops. Now don’t get me wrong Brugge is still a good size city but it had a different feel to it. The first thing we did was head to the clock tower where we heard there were excellent fritts to be had. We filled our bellies and oriented ourselves around the square.

This city had a lot to offer but I think what will always stand out to Gary and I is our visit to the Church of Our Lady.

We approached it in a round about way where we actually benefited from getting lost and came across a woman making lace in a little alley. My sister has a great post about this and a little video clip you don’t want to miss showing the lace ladies skills. her fingers moved so fast I was totally mesmerized. Like my sister I regret not purchasing some of her handy work.

We also came across a cool little path leading to the Church of our Lady that crossed a canal and offered an intimate glimpse of what Brugge has to offer. We were able to sit and enjoy the canal and the cute little cottages for a few minutes before we were overtaken by a tour group.

The big draw to the Church of Our Lady is that it is the home of Madonna and Child the only work of Michaelangelo to leave Italy. She is BEAUTIFUL words can’t realy describe we were humbled to say the least and I felt very privileged to have been able to feast my eyes on the mother and child.

Gary and I were able to take a moment together and explore the Church while Ellie was entertained by her cousins and watched over by Mark and Leslie outside. It is a beautiful building and we were filled with a sense of awe as we looked about and took in it’s history.

There is still more to share with you all about Brugge, but I feel my writing skills are exhausted so I’m taking the lazy route and sending you yet again to my Brugge Flicker Set. Pictures really do more then words sometimes…

One last thing though look what we picked up on our morning grocery trip…

Leslie had informed me that this little treat existed just after they had made the move to Germany, so when I saw it with my own eyes I couldn’t resist I had to get some myself.

Brussels Flower Carpet

We were lucky enough to have our vacation timed just right so that we could see the Flower Carpet in Brussels Belgium. This was an awesome experience the tapestry is made out of 700,000 begonias and all of them are grown in Belgium. It is displayed for only three days and four nights in the Market Square. It is assembled in less than 4 hours. CraZy. Needless to say it was beautiful.

Check out the my Flicker photo set of the event here. Also check out my sister’s take on it here.

We enjoyed everything Brussels had to offer. Including the famous or perhaps infamous Manneken Pis…

The Chocolate…

This particular Chocolatier (Neuhaus) has been making chocolates since 1857. Their claim to fame is that they were the first to start making praline chocolates or filled chocolate, and yes they have pretty much perfected the art of chocolate.

the Waffels…

The waffels or gaffers are like none I have tasted they have this wonderful sugar coating that makes the crust so nice and crisp. Perfection…

The Architecture…

I have a flicker set for Brussels as well here.