Surprise Sleepover

What Logan did while his mom and dad were birthing him a brother:

Leia got out bowls and goldfish so they could have a snack picnic together. There were lots of giggles involved.

Then Kate dressed Logan up in snow gear so we could pretend we were going to play in the snow.


We watched a Dinosaur Train episode about becoming a big brother. And one about a volcano.

Then we had cupcakes to celebrate brother's birth. Yay!!!

At some point Logan fell asleep. After serenading everyone with some fabulous songs and speeches.

Breakfast was full of silliness and lots of eggs and fruit. Everyone was happy with that plan.

Thanks Housden's for letting our family be a part of this special event in your lives. And welcome baby Neil!!

Another Salon Adventure

After last week's unexpected meltdown over not being included in getting a haircut I decided to take Leia in and let her have a turn. She was an excellent customer and had a great time. Now she has cute hair for her 3-year photos this weekend.
Loving the shampoo!
Sitting up tall with a huge proud grin plastered on her face.

Yup she's adorable.

She even helped clean up. Look at all that hair!
A big thank you to Rebecca and Janette at Marina Park Salon. They are the best.

Kate's Haircut Adventure

This haircut was only an adventure because it was built up with lots of conversation and countdowns to the last day of screaming tears while Kate's hair was brushed. This morning we started off, with tears, doing one last pig tails with braids. After a rousing hour of tap and ballet and the addition of Kate's friend Hadley we were off to the salon. Kate was soooo excited and kept talking about how her adult friend Rebecca was going to cut her hair. I assumed it would be the water-in-a-spray-bottle wetting and then a quick cut. Instead she got the full shampoo (which she enjoyed), a splendid chat and hair cut, followed by a quick braid for fun. We piled on coats and said goodbye's on our way out the door for ice cream. This is where Leia shocked us all and refused to go and burst into tears saying "I want a haircut too!" She was so forlorn that although I am still capable of cutting her hair (Kate's is a thick mass stylists will love for years) I promised to make her an appointment. She made me promise to ask for Janette (another friend who works at the salon) and I agreed.


Then we headed off for ice cream and did a surprise (to all of us) visit to Scott's office to show off the new haircut. That's a good day.

The Bradleys Go to Europe- Week 2: Germany

While in Germany we got to stay with 2 amazing host families. I have known the ladies of each household for 15 years but this was my first chance to meet their families. In Munich we stayed with Claudia and Alex. Their home is way out in the country but worth the drive. We only had one full day in Munich and we spent it at Oktoberfest, without kids. Alex was a domestic machine and cared for 6 children all day. He stunned me by taking them all out to dinner, bathing them all, and doing 3 loads of MY laundry. What a life saver.

(Kate and Anna in the top pic, Leia and Lena in the bottom pic.)
While Alex slaved away we went off to play (along with Claudia). We sent Scott and Ben off to find their own fun in the Oktoberfest tents and we met up with my sister Michelle and some other great ladies to participate in her Bachelorette party. She had a basket full of goodies that she had to sell and then the money earned was used to buy beer at the end of the evening. .

She earned plenty of beer money.

The next morning we headed out to Dresden with the intent of catching a football game. Tickets were tricky to get so we ended up exploring the city and none of us were disappointed. Plus we found a beer garden with a play structure for the girls so everyone was happy.
The next morning we headed to Berlin for the anticipated historical part of our trip. The history is very heavy which made for a depressing but interesting visit. We hit the top sites:

Checkpoint Charlie and the museum.
The Bradenburg Gate.

The longest remaining portion of the wall.
A giant pretzel.
And a relatively new Holocaust Memorial. "The stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason." This is one description we found of it and the most accurate.
We spent the following day at Sachsenhausen, the original concentration camp that the others were based on. It was also used as a training facility for soldiers.

Now off to Dresden to stay with our other excellent host family and to meet up with my sister, parents, and aunt and uncle. A much happier part of the trip. We stopped at the host family's house first. Julia (the mom) was our exchange student when she was 16 and I was 12. It was great to see her again and meet her children and husband. She insisted with leave the girls with her while we met up with my family for the Beck's brewery tour. That was a great idea and date number 3 for us!

After 2 hours of touring we were taken to a private lounge and given an hour to drink as much Beck's beer as we could. Now that's a tour.
The concludes the Germany portion of our tour. Next stop: Denmark and the wedding!