Everything rolled up into one!

 This post is going to be long and probably not in any rightful order, but I'm doing my best to finish before my littlest monkey wakes up from his nap.

I feel like so much has changed this past week. My cousin Jeff Fuller passed away, which I heard about Sunday morning. Though he has been struggling with cancer for about 6 months, it still caught me off guard and I'm feeling pretty depressed about it. It's not only because my cousin is no longer with us, but also for the pain I know his immediate family is feeling. I know what it feels like to lose someone close to you, and I just ache for them. Jeff was an amazing person and I am so blessed and thankful to have him as my cousin.

Though I know it's completely different, it brings me back to those first few months after the passing of my sister Tiffany. I feel peace that Tiffany and Jeff get to see each other now and prepare for us to one day join them. Families are forever and I am so deeply grateful for that knowledge and faith.

Justin and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary last Saturday. Has it really been 6 years?! I can hardly believe it. I don't know why, but I always seem to look back on my life and feel disbelief. Do I really have 3 kids?? Have I really been married 6 years?? I guess I never thought I would be lucky enough to have these things.

Our friends Derek and Miki offered to watch our kids FOR A FULL 24 HOURS as our anniversary gift. When they came and picked up the kids (who got spoiled rotten while they were gone lol) Justin and I were in awe. It was quiet! The tv WAS ACTUALLY TURNED OFF! There was no screaming, no begging for juice or snacks, no one needed a diaper change!
Pretty much unheard of around this house. LOL

 We decided to go shopping first. Justin got some much needed new clothes (it's a struggle every year. The man doesn't want clothes! Someone explain this to me. I don't understand it. lol) I got some new exercise clothes (I no longer have to workout at the gym in my old pregnancy yoga pants!) and I have running shoes!

Then we came home and dropped everything off and went downtown to shop around the Easter Market. We stopped in the candy shop and I embarrassed Justin by keeping my iPhone handy for pictures. I may have lived here almost 4 years, but I'm still a tourist. Plus how could I blog without pictures?? German chocolate is INCREDIBLE. This shop makes all their own chocolate and candies. I'm addicted to their gummy bears and chocolate truffles. Justin and I love their truffle made with pop rocks inside. I will never eat Hershey chocolate again. There is just no comparison.

Yeah, all these pictures are out of order so lets rewind a few days. I made two new ribbon wreaths. One for our friends who watched the monkey's for us, and one just because I love Halloween. They came out cute!

We also had to say goodbye to some good friends. It's part of the army life. We live like gypsies. It's a blessing and a curse. A few days before they flew out, we took the kids to the park to play. They have a 1 year old daughter Addy,  and a 4 year old son Cameron. Our kids love each other and always had such a good time playing.

We joke that Addy and Tristan will one day marry. Who knows, it could happen! And I've promised that if they do, little Addy can wear my wedding dress! I really hope that my future daughter in law has no issues wearing my wedding dress because I insist it must be worn again! (And it's a size 2, so fat chance I'll ever wear it again! No pun intended! LOL)

Tommy commandeered this wagon at the park. I have no idea where it came from. One minute the kids were playing on the slides, the next Tommy was pulling this wagon around the park, all while putting other random kids in it so he had someone to pull around. He somehow convinced this little girl to get in with him on some sort of spur of the moment date. lol


So, back to our anniversary. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, no jacket needed. It was so gorgeous, we walked around and window shopped for 4 hours. It was crowded, but we didn't mind. It was just nice exploring together without any time limit.

We stopped for some gelato, or eis as it's called here. My favorite is hazelnut. Europe really has the best desserts. That's definitely one thing we'll miss when we leave! Gelato here is about 1 billion times more delicious than any gelato you'll find in the states. Who do I have to bribe to get their secret before we leave? Maybe it's the fact that it's organic and made with real fruit and nuts? More than likely.

 I got super lucky and forgot to order my contacts in time, so I had the pleasure of wearing these super flattering glasses! (That was dripping with sarcasm, as you probably caught. lol) Also, the white shirt just loved to poof out and I suspect I looked pregnant. Lucky those pictures were taken with Justin's phone and he's at work so darn! I can't upload those! Haha It was too big. I can't seem to buy the right size. I think it's because of being pregnant and then losing so much weight, I have no idea what size I am anymore! Back in the day I used to buy stuff I never tried on because I knew it would fit. I look forward to that again. Either that or I'll have to continue to wrestle the monkeys into the dressing room with me. Yeah, it's about as fun as it sounds!

Justin looked so good in his new clothes. He hasn't worn shorts since probably high school, and he looked so good in them! I probably told him a million times how good he looked all day. (More compliments= wearing new clothes more often. That's my plan anyway.)

 We found the cutest little toy shop! We've probably seen it a million times before, but never went inside because it looked so tiny from outside. We usually have the kids with us and have a hard time getting a stroller into most German shops because they are so tiny and crowded. So we went in, and I was blown away by how big it actually was. It's nestled into a cute really old building. I think it was originally someone's home (probably at least 100 years ago, everything here is historical.) because the basement looked like it had been a cellar at one time. A lot of it looked homemade. German toys are almost always wooden. They had tons of fairy dolls, books, and poems. I wanted to scoop it all up and send it to my nieces!

 We walked up to the castle and enjoyed the sights from the rose garden. It was beautiful. In the spring and summer, the rose garden is in bloom and it smells amazing. Germany is such a beautiful country. It was quiet and peaceful and I could have laid my head on Justin's shoulder and fallen asleep.

We'll really miss living so close to such a beautiful castle. I never imagined I would live just 20 minutes away from a 1500 year old cathedral. To Europeans, it's totally normal. I don't know how long I would have to live here for me to feel the same!

We had dinner at The Franken Hotel. A lot of restaurants here are part of hotels. This one is definitely one of our favorites. Part of the restaurant is a cave. It was perfect. They gave us our own little nook, I loved it.

         

 We ended the night with a run and Jillian Micheals 30 day shred. Justin and I love working out together and never get a lot of chances to do it. We woke up the next morning and went on another run. It felt good, but my shins aren't agreeing with me. I have terrible shin splints and I don't know how to get them to heal. I've tried everything! I've lost a bit more weight. Almost to my goal!! It's slow going at this point, but I won't complain. I've learned to love exercise and I know I'm healthier and in better shape than I was when I was super tiny.

We were so happy to have the kids back home. It was a wonderful day, but after awhile we just missed them too much. Nothing like some time off to appreciate what you have. If I didn't have them to keep me busy, I have no idea what I would do with my time. I would be lost without them. Plus how could I live without that sweet little face!

I love you so much Justin. You make my life so much brighter. I've never felt so loved and appreciated than I do when I'm with you. I've composed a little list of things that I love about you.

1. You are a hands on Dad and you take care of the kids as much as I do.
2. You wake up with the kids every weekend without complaining.
3. You wake me up with about 10 kisses on my cheek before you leave for PT in the morning.
4. You put up with me. (Not as easy as you might think folks! LOL)
5. Accepting me as I am and never trying to change me.
6. Loving me so much you'll even kiss my feet. (That's true love ya'll!)
7. You gave me a card I made as my anniversary card, watched while I got annoyed, and then gave me my real card. :)
8. Making me laugh no matter the circumstances.
9. Making me feel beautiful, even at 40 weeks pregnant.
10. You continue to buy me flowers and plants even though you know I have a black thumb and they'll be dead within the week. You know I love them while they last.
11. You let me make my own decisions but step in and talk me out of things when I'm a true danger to myself. Haha
12. For religiously reading this blog. I love getting up in the morning and seeing it pulled up on the computer because you read it before work. You are the sweetest.
13. For being proud of me.

Never was there a better person for me. You love me and our children and provide for us. I couldn't ask for anything more! I love you honey!

I know, I'm super mushy. I blame motherhood. I don't think my hormones will ever recover. :)

-Brittney