The Tour de Cute

Look at that face! I found this outfit for Tristan yesterday and couldn't wait to see him in it! He is so unbelievably cute! He's been quite the active boy the past few weeks. He's so curious about EVERYTHING. He must touch and taste everything he comes in contact with. He also loves babbling and saying "mama" and "dada". His favorite thing is most definitely playing with Tommy. I find them playing in Tommy's room all the time. And to think, soon there will be another boy to help destroy Tommy's room!

Yesterday we had an ultrasound and my doctor (who is awesome and I love!!) said right away "it's a boy!" I've found a few reasons to be happy about this.

1. I would make an excellent queen, because I can make plenty of heirs.

2. I'll always have someone around to help me open stubborn jars in the kitchen.

3. Moving will be a cinch.

4. I'll have plenty of men in the house to protect me. :)

5. The boys will never be lonely or left without anyone to wrestle/rough house with.

6. All I need to entertain my kids is a yard with dirt.

7. I'll never have to buy makeup/hair stuff, etc. for my kids.

8. No one will ever steal my clothes to wear.

9. There's a lot less mood swings at my house.

10. I'll never have to tell my kids to stay away from boys because they're only trouble.

11. Everyone knows boys always love their mommy's best. :) (Sorry Justin. haha)

Plus, look how cute our boys are!

BFF!

(Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen!)

Tommy and his friend Cameron are inseparable. If they're not together, they're asking about each other. It's so cute. They've recently discovered the joy of wrestling, much to our dismay. They grab the other in a hug and then wrestle each other to the floor. I'll have to get a video of it so you can all see it. Tommy sometimes calls me Cameron by accident, that's how much time these two spend together. lol!

The weather here has been amaaaazing! We froze to death while you Arizonans flaunted your flip flops and shorts. But the tables have turned! You will all be sweating and we'll be enjoying the lovely 75 degree breeze! :P (But, I'll be honest, I still wish we were in AZ!)

Pajama Day!

The kids and I decided to stay in our pajamas today. (Which happens more often than I like to admit.) Tommy thought it was funny when I gave him a bath and then put him in pajamas, he thought he was going back to bed. haha

So we played piano together, read some books, made banana pudding, and snacked in bed. When Justin got home from work, he got in his pajamas to join us. I don't think we've ever felt so lazy... and I love it! Here are some pictures from the day. The boys are just too cute!

Lets hear it for the boys!

Tommy, trying to be serious.

Sweet Tristan, standing by himself!

Bonjour!

Justin and I spent our 5 year anniversary in France! We originally planned for Paris, but decided to go to a city closer to us, to cut down on time and cost. We're waiting to go to Paris for when we have a whole week to spend there and less of a tight budget. Traveling in Europe is really expensive! (But worth it!)

So we went to Strasbourg. It's a city that is right on the border of Germany, but couldn't be more different than Germany. It was funny, right when we crossed the border I suddenly felt different. The buildings look similar, but they have romantic little details that you don't see in Germany much.

(Our first picture of France!)

I always notice tiny details about things, like in France a lot of people put porcelain dolls in their window. In Germany they like to put stick on flowers all over the windows. It's really cute. I think Americans should decorate their windows more.

We crossed into France on Friday. We got to our hotel early enough to settle in and then go out to explore some. I'm sad to say we didn't get many pictures on our first day. I was so excited I forgot all about bringing our camera. But we did get pictures of our first dinner. Justin kept asking me "well, what do you want to eat?" and I would say "Something French! .... What do they eat??" lol

The answer: LOTS of bread, cheese, vegetables and pastries. So our first night we had bread with melty goat cheese, herbs, and honey with a mystery white sauce. I don't know what it was, but it was good! I know that combination definitely doesn't sound good, but it was. I was surprised. Justin ordered fries (they call them chips, like the English do. lol) Poor Justin is lactose intolerant and couldn't eat a lot of the French food because there's always cheese on it.

I was really impressed with Justin's French. After a day there a lot of his French came back to him and he was a pro. I might add, it's weird hearing your husband of 5 years speak another language you can't understand. He started speaking and I wanted to ask "who are you?!?" lol He hasn't used his French in so long I forgot how much he knew. It was nice having him be able to communicate with everyone. Europeans really appreciate visitors who speak their language.

We stayed at Le Grande Hotel. It was actually really nice! They had huge pictures of Marilyn Monroe everywhere. lol I didn't get any pictures of our room, but it was tiny. But it had everything we needed and we weren't there very much anyway. They had a breakfast buffet every morning. I had to laugh at their "scrambled eggs". It was more like slightly cooked runny eggs. The French like their eggs "rare". Note to self: French food in France, excellent. American food in France, BAD.

(The breakfast room.)

The second day we got up early. We made our way to the Place de la Cathedrale. Justin got us a bit lost on the tram, and we ended up on the wrong side of Strasbourg. lol But we made it. It's one of the most important monuments dating from the Middle Ages. It's 466 ft. spire was completed in 1439. We actually had to wait around for an hour and a half for the presentation of the Astronomical Clock to start. The clock was inside of the cathedral, and it was breathtaking. It is HUGE. They showed a video of it's history, etc. and then the clock actually moved at noon. It was built by a mathematician and is still a mystery to this day. It shows the position of the planets to keep the time. It's all hand crafted and probably took over a 50 years to build at the time. We didn't get to see everything it could do, because the clock only moves at certain times per day. We saw the 12 apostles move around the clock, each stopping for a split second to be blessed by Jesus as they pass.

(Justin, navigating our way to the cathedral... unsuccessfully.)

(Waiting for the tram.)

(Unbelievably tall! It was the highest point in France for a long time. We felt like tiny ants in comparison.)

(Stained glass windows literally everywhere inside.)

(The organ, it started playing spontaneously and scared us to death. It was creepy sounding, very Phantom of the Opera.)

(The Astronomical Clock.)

(The Angel of Death.)

After the cathedral, we stopped for lunch. We just grabbed street food (which is what most French do, restaurants don't even open until later at night.) We got pizza, and it was so good! I even liked the tomatoes, which anyone who knows me will think that's a miracle. I haven't liked tomatoes EVER. The French know their Italian food!

Justin and I got a caricature of us, but it looks NOTHING like us. So I'm not even going to bother posting it. After lunch, we took a boat tour of the city on the river Ill. It was really cool. We learned the city has a pretty dark past. Lets just say I wouldn't have wanted to live here in the 1800s! One of the houses was known for being the house criminals had their last meal in before being beheaded, and they had another building that was a prison, but is now a butchery. Go figure. lol Then they had a famous bridge known for being the bridge they drowned unfaithful women from. Creepy! But they did have some pleasant things, like a huge tree musicians used to sit in and play their instruments to practice. And they have a huge theater where Mozart gave many concerts.

(My cute Justin.)

(The bridge they would drown unfaithful women from.)

After the boat tour, we were pretty beat. We walked so much. Being pregnant, I can't walk all day like I used to. So we spent the end of our second day in our hotel watching french tvand eating pastries we picked up on our way home. I have to add, I felt very unfashionable here. It's no myth that France has the best fashion. All the women look like models, I'm not even kidding. I ended up wearing Justin's big jacket because I didn't bring one warm enough. (It's spring, dangit! I don't want to dress for winter anymore!) I felt very out of place. And if you're going to buy clothes in France, you better be rich. I don't think I saw anything under 100 euro. (which is about 120 US dollars. Ouch.)

On our 3rd day, we mostly just walked around to look at shops. We stocked up on French soda (which is actually really, really good) and more pastries (we're both going to be fat at this rate. lol) and headed back home. It's only a 3.5 hour drive. Not bad to visit another country. It was so much fun, but we're happy to be home. We had a babysitter for the boys and I missed them SO much. I can't wait until they're older so we can take them on long trips with us.

(A band performing downtown, they sounded really cool!)

Definitely going to visit France again before we leave Germany. If you can visit any country in Europe, I definitely recommend France. It is just breathtakingly beautiful.

(Our boat tour, passing through Petit France.)

5 years of love letters.

Justin and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary in a week. I can't believe it's been 5 years! It's hard to believe all the changes we've had since then. If anyone would have told me what my life would be like now, I wouldn't have believed them. We've lived in so many different places, experienced so many new things, met wonderful people, and had two beautiful kids {with one on the way!} and we live in GERMANY.

When I was in high school I thought about what my married life would be like, but I didn't really understand what all of it meant. I couldn't really grasp what it would be like to be married, have bills, kids, adult obligations, etc. I don't think my teenage brain could get past high school. After high school would just never happen, I thought it would last forever. Or I at least thought after high school there would be college and my life would stay the same.

Marrying Justin was a dream. Before him I never had a serious boyfriend and had only kissed one or two other boys. {Don't be jealous Justin, you were the best!} I used to tell my mom that I would never find the one for me, and I would cry. She always told me that I would meet him, and that he would be perfect for me. I can honestly say I didn't believe it. But she was right! {See Tommy, Mommies always know best!}

When I was a freshmen in high school, Justin really caught my eye. He lived down the street from me, and sometimes we would walk to school at the same time. I remember seeing his gleaming blond hair shining in the sun with his button up Hawaiian shirt {that I promptly threw out shortly after we were married-- awful thing!} and I remember walking faster hoping to catch up to him so he would notice me.

We met "officially" when I was a sophmore. We were both taking dance in school and we were performing in a dance concert for the school. My friend knew him and introduced us to each other {he doesn't remember this... there's a man for you!} and he said hi to me and I wanted to faint with glee. Shortly after that, I accidentally met his brother Jason. {Hi Jason!!} Jason and I actually became very good friends, but I didn't see Justin much. He had two jobs and he was never home when I would visit Jason.

When I was a senior, I was talking with Jason and asked him about Justin. I knew he was on a mission in France and Jason said I should write to him. I didn't think I would, but wrote down his mission address anyway. I was embarrassed because I didn't think Justin would remember me. My mom said I should write him, because what could it hurt? So I did.

2 weeks later, I had forgotten my letter to him {thinking he probably wouldn't write back} when my mom brought this letter to me. I was at my dad's office doing paperwork for him on a Saturday. I hope you can read the letter, it is really cute!

After reading the letter, oh, a million times, I wrote back. After that I would check the mailbox daily, waiting for his replies. Our mailbox was kind of far from our house, we lived in the middle of Queen Creek, population 5 at the time {Justin still makes fun of this fun little fact, and calls it "Little Mexico" since there was a strip of mexican stores by my house.} So I would run there, and then walk back really slow because I had already ripped open his letter and started reading.

When he got back from his mission, he asked me to my prom. It was our first real date, though we met up a few times and I helped him shop for clothes and met some of his friends. It really was a dream come true. I had been asked to the prom before I knew he was back from his mission, but I said no. I wasn't sure why I said no, because I knew I wanted to go. I was so shy, it was ridiculous. I couldn't speak right around him, couldn't be myself for a really long time. He was patient.

I wrote him this letter a few days before our wedding.

We knew we wanted kids shortly after we were married. About a year after we were married, we were expecting Tommy. After we found out, Justin lost his job. He went from job to job for months, nothing was working out. We thought about the army, and decided to go for it. It was the hardest decision we've ever made. We knew Justin would miss Tommy's birth. Those 9 weeks seemed like 9 years.

And just like before, I checked my mailbox everyday hoping for his letters.

Isn't he sweet? I'm lucky.

I love you Justin. Happy Anniversary! I love our love story. ♥

Peanut butter smiles.

I think I was a sunflower in another life. I love the sun SO MUCH. Living in Germany for the winter is really hard for me, and sometimes I get really down when I haven't seen the sun for a few days. Afterall, I'm an Arizona girl. :)

The past 2 weeks have been wonderful. The sun has been shining (it's still cold, but I'll take what I can get!) everyday and it is just beautiful. There's nothing I love more (besides my kids, and Justin, and maybe chocolate) more than I love the sun on my skin.

So I went to the park the other day because I couldn't resist the sunshine. It's been months since it's been nice enough to take the kids to the park, so Tommy and Tristan were both excited. I put Tristan in his stroller for a walk and he was kicking his legs the whole way. The boys live to be outside. I can't wait for them to get a bit older so we can go camping. (I hate camping, but I'll make the sacrifice. lol)

I apologize these pictures aren't the best, they were taken with Justin's iPhone. lol

I have to brag, the parks here on the military post are awesome. They are SO nice. I would have died and gone to heaven to have the stuff here when I was a kid! And they are usually made from recycled materials like tires. The stairway up to this huge slide are all tires, it's pretty cool.

My favorite little naughty boy. :)

Tommy is so cuddly in his sweater!

Tristan looks so serious. By this time he was tired.

So he took a nap. :)

Tommy wanted to share his sandwich. When he sits next to me he puts his arm around me, I love my little gentleman!

Nothing like a peanut butter smile.

I had to bribe Tommy with a promise of chocolate ice cream to get him to leave the park. Don't worry, I delivered on that promise. And I resisted the urge to have some! See what the sun does for me? Amazing!

♥

Brittney