Bailey's Special Day!

What a thoroughly enjoyable day we had today preparing for Bailey's piano recital at the castle. Definitely one of those days that you just love being the parent of a special girl. The anticipation had built throughout the weeks as she continued to practice and the search was on for the perfect dress. The day of the recital was spent making Bailey feel extra special. She took a long bubble bath, put her hair in rollers, got a facial, painted her fingernails and finally the biggie: she got to wear a little bit of make-up! We are so proud of Bailey and the hard work that she put in to getting this piano piece ready for the festival. She got an excellent rating which resulted in the invitation to perform at the castle recital. She is very talented and we can only hope that her passion for music will continue throughout her life. The following photos are from the day as we prepared and then arrived at the castle followed by the grand finally, her great performance!

Girl's Weekend

What a great weekend! My friend Laurel and her two sweet girls came all the way from Belgium to visit us. Laurel and I are scrapbooking buddies and met when we lived in Texas. Through the last 4 years we have kept in contact through email. The girls got along so well and had a great time together. We gave them a true German Christmas experience by taking them to the Deidesheim Christmas market. But first, we had to take them to see a German castle ruin because after all, that is the Frandsen's favorite part about Germany. At the market we tasted all the German Christmas goodies such as lebkuchen (gingerbread), phalz brats, roasted chestnuts, schneeball (? don't ask because I can't tell you), Ramfleck (a version of flammkuchen which is german style pizza), and our favorite apfelringmus (apple rings dipped and fried in batter . . . I know, but they were SO good), and of course kinderpunch (hot drink like wassil that is THE german christmas beverage, the adult version is gluhwein and can really make you warm and fuzzy and dizzy on the inside). The girls enjoyed baking cookies in an old fashioned cabin with an antique oven and riding the carnival rides. On the drive back to the house we saw 3 castles "on fire" meaning the ruin walls were lit up in the dark. The castles lit up at night are just the most spectacular thing! The next morning we went to the Kaiserslautern Christmas market to enjoy more german traditions like damfnudeln (a hot roll dipped in warm vanilla sauce), kinderpunch and more carnival rides. Laurel spoiled us by bringing a Belgium gift bag full of goodies. We can't wait to try them all, the girls loved the waffles. The box of chocolates pictured above are so beautiful that I almost can't bear to eat them . . . I didn't suffer long, right after the girls went to bed Mark and I sat and admired them and shared a few. 'Tis the season for . . . lots of chocolate, friends, Christmas markets and hot Kinderpunch. Laurel and girls, thanks for a great weekend and come back soon! Next time we will look forward to seeing Lee also!

Grandpa and Grandma's visit

I really didn't think it would happen . . . my father took a major step and flew in a plane all the way to Germany to visit us. I'm really proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and coming! This was a challenge for him and he came through with flying colors. I hope he knows how much I appreciate his effort. I have missed my parents a lot since we moved to Germany and having them in my home for a week helped me to feel reconnected to them. Of course the best part is to see my children re-establish their relationship with their grandparents. I think one of my parents favorite things in life was becoming a grandparent, you can just see it in their faces! We gave them the full german experience, schnitzel, castles, a variety of german beer, brats, gluhwein (traditional hot Christmas drink), Christmas markets, autobahn, car ferry across the Rhein, apfel strudel . . . it goes on and on. We visited both small and large Christmas markets. Dad came to Heidelburg with us and was really impressed with the castle. Then mom and I spent a couple of days, just the girls, to do more. We loved spending one night at my sweet German neighbors home where we shared pumpkin pie with them. It was their first taste our our traditional Thanksgiving treat and they really liked it. It will be some time before we meet again but we have good memories of our german adventures to keep us company until then! Thanks Dad and Mom!

Summer Vacation

We were able to have Mark's parents visit us this summer for 2 weeks. We had a great time showing them the area, tasting the German food and beverages and spending time together renewing our relationships. My favorite part was watching Dad giggle like a little boy at Christmas every time he saw something that was new and exciting. To watch his reaction during our road trips were the best. So fun to host and provide such a great experience to those you love. We hope they return very soon!