Burg Eltz is a medieval castle sitting in the hills above the Mosselle River about an hour away from us here in Wiesbaden.   It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The Rübenach and Rodendorf families' homes in the castle are open to the public, while the Kempenich branch of the family uses the other third of the castle. It is one of the only castles on this rive that has never been destroy...

Today we took the boys to a nature park near Wiesbaden. They enjoyed walking through the forest, feeding the deer, and playing on the playground. We also got our first gelato of the season! Yum!!

A few friends and I took a girls' trip to the Netherlands this weekend. It was a fun and interesting experience, to say the least. The best part was where we stayed. A friend's parents graciously opened their doors and welcomed us for the night. We spent the evening drinking delicious wine and eating traditional Dutch food. They were wonderful hosts and made me miss my own parents more than I already do. In the morning, after breakfast where I becam...

**Warning - if you are easily disgusted by bodily functions, you may want to skip this entry.Ohhhh, where to begin on this trip.   This was a last minute, quickly thrown together trip for my spring break. I never really felt a strong desire to go to Amsterdam, but it was close, an easy drive, and Ben wanted to go to the Heineken Experience. I found a neat hotel in Leiden with a pool and kiddie play area, so I booked it and invited my neighbors and their two b...

I have many fond memories of growing up, but my favorite always seem to revolve around traditions and special activities we did year after year. Some of those include trekking through the "woods" to find the perfect Christmas tree, decorating it with music playing while having punch and cookies, Memorial day picnics, and hunting Easter eggs in the house or the back yard when it was warm enough. It's been hard to recreate those traditions with my boys due to...