Why is it that some women can spend an afternoon swimming in clorine water, or dirty lake water, or even in and out of the shower and come out looking like a million buckaroos...
No, silly...thats not me! Its the most "family friendly" google image I could find of a woman getting out of the water...all the rest are itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikinis and boobs. Yup...so instead you get the hair fling.
Anywho...I have not nor will I ever come out of the pool looking like anything other than a drowned rat.
Its true. So, instead we took underwater photos...mostly because I love the bubbles from being underwater...
Bella is a SWIMMER! She loves the water and with water wings on takes off across the pool and wants nothing to do with me helping her out.
She doesn't really go under the water yet so this was the best shot of her that I could get...her little doggy paddle legs going 100 miles per hour...
Eric is a little afraid of the water...it took a lot of coaxing to get him to stick his head under the water...but then he tried it over and over again...by the end of the month he stayed with us he was actually swimming!
Yours truly...well, lets just say its not a pretty sight, but I have to embrace the "drowned rat" persona and forget about the "hair flip" diva when it comes to swimming...and I like swimming way too much to not do it just because of the drowned rat persona...
And then there is John...who we took multiple video of too...but for today we'll just show a couple of the underwater photos...
Whoops...lets try that again...the bubbles masked his face completely...
Much better...
Rock on with your bad self, amore mio.
All this was compliments of the Hotel Merloni in El Grande Uniti, Italy.
There is a reason why Switzerland is considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world. While on vacation we drove through Switzerland to get back to Germany. The scenery was amazing...we simply could not get enough of it.
You may not be fully impressed with the photography. I'm ok with that. I've had my moment of acceptance that photography taken from a moving vehicle is not always going to capture the full "essence" of what you want, but that just makes these photos even MORE amazing to know you are getting really shoddy photos and yet still the view is breathtaking.
Like this mountain. In the middle was a giant glacier. I wish you could see it better, but you'll just have to take my word for it.
Oh wait...no you don't...
And once you got to the other side you could see the full extent of that glacier and the "change" it had caused on that mountainside. It reminded me of a trip many years back when I went with my sister Sarah and my dad into an actual glacier high up on a Swiss Mountian...googling it...be back soon...
Dang...couldn't find it, but I remember it had this rickity bridge you walked over to get into the ice cave and then it was just this pristine almost neon blue color...absolutely amazing.
And here we have one of many "natural bridges" we drove through, under, over and around...
And after getting below this little tunnel look what was on the other side!
And if that wasn't enough waterfall you should know that you can see one about every 100 feet or so as you drive through the alps...
The Swiss, like the Germans are very very careful about the beautification of their space, homes..even the freeway coming into their towns...
Which from further away look more like this...
The color of this water made my teeth chatter. Glacier runoff...there is no color quite like it in the crayola pack...
We rounded a corner and saw this amazing lake. I just love the lone sailboat...
And last, but not least...a glimpse of what we drove on...check out these hairpin turns. Did I mention John gets carsick? muwahahahahaha....
And, just for a laugh...at least it was funny to a recently returned soldier from Afghanistan...we drove through this town and aren't they nice...a parking lot specifically for the Taliban. :)
Yes...now that its August I thought I'd better write about the 4th of July this year. I figure we can always use a reminder of America's Independence Day. Right?
So, our family...we spent the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of July in Garmisch, Germany at the Edelweiss Resort and Lodge. Its a beautiful hotel set next to the Army base and they had a bunch of great special events planned for that weekend. They all kinds of kid-friendly activities that Eric and Bella could hardly wait to see...
The day started with the Eric and Bella having the chance to try the bungee trampolines...
Then we went to the shooting range...where I actually scored 3 out of 4 shots. (the SAME as my expert shooter husband! Woot!)
Eric had a blast on this giant bouncy slide...it reminded me of our family reunion...only no water or swimsuits...or broken bones. :)
Meanwhile, John and I looked on and just enjoyed watching the kids play play play....
And then the evening rolled around and we went to the "Traditional Bavarian show" that was playing in the conference center. It was really cool.
Just a sampling of videos of traditional Bavarian activities...I'm glad I don't consider these blase' yet!
We started it off with the traditional German Long Horns. They are so beautiful sounding. I was surprised at the tone of these horns...I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this!
Then they had two couples that did a traditional Bavarian dance. I love the guy's part in this. The girls just pony and twirl...boring. And yes, the boys are wearing half sock things...apparently that is traditional wear.
Then, of course, its not traditional Bavarian without the cow bell music. (sorry if the sarcasm was too much.) I found this lady quite talented, but she was extremely obsessed with the placement of her bells. I cut out the footage where she moves them 1/2 centimeter to the right and left over and over again...but I guess if you have to play the cow bells you gotta do what you gotta do to make it work for you...
Last, but not least...and my FAVORITE part of the show was the yodeling guy. I loved this. Love. Love. Love. I want to learn to yodel.
When the show was over it was time for the fireworks. You may not know this about me, but I LOVE fireworks. Its my favorite part of any 4th of July. I nearly divorced my husband over missing the fireworks one year not so long ago... In fact, let me just share you this side story...I think you can appreciate it like I do now. July 4, 2008 and we were in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. I was pregnant with Bella and we were living in the guest housing and sleeping on the most uncomfortable beds ever made on the 3rd floor (with no elevator) of basically what would be considered barracks housing.
I wanted to see the fireworks. John did not. He promised me we'd be able to see them from the common room window. So we cooked some dinner and then started to play Phase 10. It was the worst game of Phase 10 ever. John repeatedly killed me...and soon he was on Phase 8 and I was on Phase 2 when I caught him trying to LET ME WIN a hand. John can say he had a near death experience that night.
Anywho...I'm about to call it quits and stomp out of the room headed straigh for legal and divorce paperwork when the fireworks start...and it was the WORST fireworks show I ever had. Watched from miles away...I could see tiny bursts of red and white in the sky and that was about it.
Lets just say that every day of our marriage since has been better than that day...and yes, I can laugh about it now...a little.
So, back to our magnificent fireworks...here they are in all their glory!
And dear little Bella...she tried so hard to watch the show...how one manages to sleep during fireworks is beyond me...I love this little clip.
So, another 4th of July here and gone. This one was spent with family that I love. I truly am thankful for the beautiful country I call "home."
Zugspitz! The highest peak in Germany. Part of the chain of mountains called the Alps. Heard of them? ha ha
We decided to visit the top of the world in Germany during our vacation this summer. I didn't really stop and think very well about what we were doing...I mean...I didn't think about where we were going...what I'm trying to say is that I ended up in the snow...
...in flipflops.
Aiya.
But, I managed to slip and slide my way around and really it wasn't THAT cold up there and it wasn't like we were going to hike around the peak or anything like that...
We ended up taking the funicular up the mountain....
With breathtaking views of the actual peak...
...the Eibsee (Eib lake)
...the Alps...
...the adorable children...
...and the LARSONS...
We took the train back down...
And then remember that Eibsee we saw up on top? We decided to dip our toesies in it...it was a beautiful day, after all...
Marshmallows toasting...the smell of woodsmoke...pesky mosquitos biting at your ankles...and the residual sounds of "Stuball" ringing in your ears. Does that scream camping or WHAT?
Its been way too long since I last camped. I think it was nearly FOUR years ago...in 2007. We just got busy with life...moving...having a baby...moving...and now here we are in a foreign country and its time to go CAMPING.
So, while John's parents were here with Eric we decided to start off easy with a campfire. Mostly because it was on and off rainy weather...but also because we had this great outdoor fire pit thats never been used and it was time to break it in.
The local Army Commissary hooked us up with some delicious marshamallows and graham crackers. I even bought good old Hershey's chocolate instead of splurging on some fancy European chocolate...
And then we roasted...
And we sang some great campfire songs compliments of Bop...I even pulled out Grandpa Johnnie's campfire songbook from family reunions past and sang some oldies...Peter Paul and Mary and Girl's camp specialities and, of course, the Johnson family favorites...
And Eric loved eating smores...He couldn't get enough of the sticky goodness putting his stick in the fire to stir up the coals...Thats the REAL reason an 11 year old loves campfire.
And Bella ate her first smore...
I think she liked it...especially since she has a marshmallow addiction like her dad.
The face of true happiness...covered in marshmallow. Mmmmmm....yummy...
Having a two year old means being graphic. Yup...graphic in what we call body parts...graphic in how we describe things...graphic in how we talk about body functions...
So...big news here...
Bella is potty trained. WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO! Did I yell that loud enough for you all to hear? Yes, she has an occassional accident, but they are few and far between. She's motivated by her sticker chart and an extra treat of M&Ms when it comes to doing #2...
That being said,
**sorry...we had to take a short break for me to cheer on some "poops." Which, just to prove my point are being called by the two year old after a long inspection "little wormy poops." Way to much information, right? Yeah...welcome to my life right now.*
ANYWHO...I didn't get on here to talk about potty stuff. I mostly wanted to relate the funniest convesation from this morning.
I got out of the shower and was getting dressed. John was in the room getting ready to head into work. Bella walks in and says, "Hey mom, those are your boobs. Daddy likes those boobs."
Trying REALLY hard not to laugh out loud while John muffled his giggles in the background...I merely replied with an, "Oh yeah?"
She continued, "Yeah...you have boobs and dad has pecs. You like dad's pecs. Right mom?"
At this point John and I couldn't contain the laughter. "Yep, Bella. I like dad's pecs."
