50km Bike Ride and a Car Show

A couple Saturdays ago we woke up with an urge to go biking as a family. So we grabbed a map that one of Jason's coworkers gave us, packed a lunch, and hopped on our bikes. The planned route was about 30km; a nice easy distance when you're riding with two little ones along as well. The first part of the route was very familiar as it headed out of the city to one of our favorite sunny day spots - an organic farm that makes fresh ice cream. There was no stopping there today though (despite some pretty tempting requests from a certain little three-year-old) and we cycled onward into some beautiful unknown territory. 

With Atticus as our enthusiastic guide (he checked in about every 15 minutes to let us know that we were going the right way) we cycled onward.

The country roads we explored were filled with refurbished barns topped with thatched roofs...

Gorgeous canals and an interesting lock system....
(Germany really is a beautiful country and this area doesn't even have mountains - once you get into mountainous regions this country is completely breathtaking!)

And intricately detailed homes dating quite a few years back.
(I love the history of the buildings and architecture.)

At around the half way mark, there was a beautiful little green area on the river, with a large brick structure that was surrounded by refurbished art. It was a very unique spot. It even had a piece that looked like a giant R2D2 (we didn't stop long enough for me to grab pictures of the sculptures).

We considered stopping, but with all the good picnic locations already taken we decide to keep our eyes open for a picnic spot a little further down the road.

We finally settled on a bench that overlooked the river right along a large draw bridge. The kids loved watching all the boats sail by and we enjoyed giving our legs a stretch and a rest.

On the other side of the road it looked like there was a city in the distance, but no, it's just industrial areas. It completely slipped my mind to take a photo of the very picturesque riverside.

Once we got going again we realized that the total bike route was going to be more than the 30km we had anticipated but we were enjoying the ride so we weren't too concerned. We passed 35km as we came to the end of the map route which was at this lovely little church with a small home and a cafe.

At this point, cyclists on this planned route typically hop onto a river cruise that takes them back to the city. Not an option for us with the bakfiets (nor something we really cared to do as we still had energy left to use) so we did our best to navigate our way along the riverside.

Thank goodness for phones equipped with GPS or we would have easily gotten lost. We ended up having to travel a great distance from the riverside that we had planned on following all the way back to the city on account of running in to a restricted area. The route took us through a small marshland area. While the paths were a little rough for the bakfiets, the marshland was nice are to cycle through with streams, canals and a small lake to attract our gaze.

After some travel we finally crossed onto a road that we knew and were able to navigate from there. Having run out of drinking water while we were cycling through the marshland we were all really antsy to cool off with some water and a certain little boy was very politely inquiring after some ice cream. We decided to detour at a nearby mall only to discover that there was a large car show going on.

So we grabbed some ice cream and set about exploring the different cars that were on display. There were some gorgeous well-restored vintage cars...

Some very unique imports...

with incredible detailing...

cars set up with hydraulics, some cars that looked like someone had accidentally parked their car in the car show (as they looked like any 'ol car you would see driving down the street), and even some movie recreations...

complete with a flux capacitor.

Of course all these cars were being showcased to the soundtrack of Elvis love ballads sung by an oldies band a little rough around the edges and surrounded by the smell of american hotdogs (served in itty, bitty German bread rolls). It certainly made for an interesting mix.

It was a great, relaxing way to finish off the bike ride. And we were pleasantly surprised when we looked at how many kilometres we had clocked to see it was over 50km (a distance that certainly pushed our previous cycle distances as a family). We enjoyed the riding, the kids enjoyed the views and we all arrived home happy, tired and ready for showers. We are planning to get in one or two more longer bike rides in as a family before the warm summer weather slips through our fingers. Now that we've done a 50km trek, the other routes we have been looking at (30-40km) don't seem so bad. It's all a matter of perspective and now that we know the kids enjoyed the distance (we were a little unsure of how much they would enjoy sitting in the bike for so long, but they did really well) we are anticipating the next trek!

Canada Day

Now, I know Canada day was nearly two months ago but when I saw Atticus proudly sporting his Canada t-shirt (part of a lovely shipment from Great Grandma and Grandpa Hochstein :). I decided it was time to get a couple photos up about the celebration.

Seeing that Canada fell on Sunday this year, we kept things pretty relaxed and had planned a picnic in the park with lots and lots of watermelon (and seed spitting). The rain, however, seemed determined to spoil our plans so it our plans were destined for the indoors. 

So we colored Canadian flags, made pin wheels with the maple leaf on it, tried our best to teach the kids the national anthem (in English and French) and then gave singing it a go. Our success rate for retention of O Canada words was pretty low, but we weren't too concerned about that as both kids were pretty ecstatic about everything anyway. 

Then we sat down for our "picnic" dinner. Naturally, I got picture of everyone with their mouths full. It makes for very flattering pictures, I assure you.

For dessert we served up Nanaimo Bars - easily a Canadian original. However, determined to try a healthier (and vegan) version of the butter-dense dessert we attempted a raw Nanaimo bar recipe and that was not a very wise choice.

It certainly looked great. The crust, made of nuts, shredded coconut, coconut oil and cocoa was delicious. The topping made of cocoa, agave, and coconut butter was divine. The filling made of agave, avocado and fresh mint, however, was awful! Personally, I could not finish my square.

The boys didn't seem to have a problem finishing their helpings, though we still had plenty left over as no one ate a second helping (we still have some in our freezer and I nearly died when Jason offered it to a guest he had over while I was at class one evening - poor guy, probably thought we were tricking him by offering him a Nanaimo Bar and then serving him that.).

In any case, at least we can say we tried the recipe and next time we know better. Treat yourself to the original or find a recipe with reviews! And even if the dessert was a little funky, we enjoyed celebrating Canada's birthday. It is one incredibly beautiful country with some incredibly awesome people living there. Happy Canada Day!

Uh Oh!

We seem to have a knack for little injuries around here, especially when it comes to the oven or a particularly infamous high chair. Jason gave quite the yelp the other day when he was trying to set up the high chair and got his hand caught. He had to wait for me to run across the apartment in a towel to release him from the pinch (quite the visual, I'm sure). And it left quite the mark...

Thankfully, it's only ever little things and it healed really well (thanks to some Dermox ;). Now, we will enjoy being better and staying that way!

Sunscreen

You know we've been having some beautiful, sunny summer weather when the kids think that getting into the sunscreen and putting it on themselves is a quicker ticket to go outside than putting on their shoes. 

Here Atticus is, proud as can be that he put the sunscreen on his face all by himself. Needs a little bit of assistance still I'd say though a good effort!

Family Picnic

To celebrate the oncoming of Summer, Jason's work put on a company picnic for everyone to bring their families to. Despite kids being in the extreme minority, we all still had a lot of fun. There were plenty of games and toys for us to check out. 

Atticus' eyes lit up when he saw this large bead track to play with.

And Milayla was determined to go down the roller slide and kept marching herself right over there at every opportunity she got. She loved it. She's going to be a roller-coaster lover, I can feel it. 

 Milayla was also pretty crazy about this little inflated blue donkey. No idea why, but it got her smiling and laughing every time she got on.

Unfortunately, many of Jason's coworkers had already snuck off for vacation so we weren't able to visit with many of them but did get to meet a few new faces which is always fun. Then we headed home with two tired kiddos. It was a nice afternoon.

Mommy's Shoes

Milayla has been pouring her little heart into learning how to walk without holding on to anything. She would be really good at it except that she insists on trying to wear Mommy's shoes while she does it. The shoes are a little big for her yet. Very cute, none the less :).

4 Years

It's hard to believe it's only been 4 years since Jason and I were married and I mean that in the kindest way possible. So much has happened in a short amount of time and it has been a lovely ride. It certainly has had it's share of stressful moments and bumps in the road, but boy, have we enjoyed it.

The last year of our marriage brought with it a wonderful addition to the family (Milayla) and another move with a little baby. Those experiences though, along with many others, have helped us grow and progress as individuals, as a couple and as a family. We certainly feel blessed to have one another and love discovering all the ways that we help to balance one another off.

this lovely photo was one of our engagement photos by a wonderful photographer named Chelsey (she also did our wedding photography!). Be sure to check out more of her photography here

We are excited to celebrate 4 wonderful years together this week and looking forward to many more celebrations ahead.

Grandma & Grandpa

Over a month has passed since Grandma and Grandpa English came to visit back in June and it does not seem like it has been that long. Having them visit was lovely. We spent plenty of time chatting, playing games, exploring and introducing them to our life in Bremen. There were some very memorable late nights laughing over squabbles in Scategories and even some adventures on the high seas. Needless to say there were certainly memories made. I've blogged about many of the big things already; Atticus' birthday, Fathers Day, Klimahaus, exploring submarines, Milayla's birthday and quilt (I think i'm still missing some...) but really wanted to get some of the little moment pictures up on the blog too. I'm still trying to get through all of my pictures so I may end up adding some more, but here are a few to get things started.

Visiting the Bremen Town Musicians - holding the two front hooves of the donkey is considered good luck! (our very first visit with the Bremen Town Musician is back here)

Outside the main church in Bremen

Off to market! 

They got quite the kick out of the Bakfiets

And were a bit too tiny for their bicycle rentals...

Atticus ate a lot of peas with Grandpa!

And there was plenty of bubble blowing

Milayla got to visit pirates with them - lucky girl ;)

And they were so blown away with the price of coffee makers that they had to take a picture -  that is a 2300,00 Euro price tag 

And, of course, we went swimming so the kids could show off all the swimming skills that they've been learning! They both even went down the BIG waterslide. We were pretty certain that the waterslide had traumatized Atticus, but that night over dinner we asked him what his favorite part of the day was and his answer was an excited "Waterslide!". I guess those were tears of joy and not fear :)

They certainly blessed our home with some extra laughter and love. We are so grateful that they came out to visit us. 

Thank you for all the quality time, the laughter, the love, the thoughtful gifts, the babysitting and a sense of adventure to explore a city in a different language.

Love and miss you guys!

A new sport

Milayla and I had the opportunity to catch one of Atticus' last swimming lessons of the year (he's doing pretty awesome, by the way) and while we were waiting for the boys to get changed after class we went exploring the sport complex. In the process we stumbled upon a sporting game that we had never seen before...

Unicycle Hockey.

While the rules are slightly varied, it is essentially roller hockey with all the players on their own unicycle. I snapped a few photos for everyone to see (and to show Jason and Atticus in the event the game was over by the time they finished getting changed). They aren't the greatest quality as they were taken from behind viewing glass with an iPhone, but you get the idea.

 They must have some wicked balance to play hockey on there. I'm impressed. It was rather fun to watch, for the little bit of time that we were able to watch them. Very unique.

Raw Food - Vegan Alfredo

With summer here, Jason and I love experimenting with raw food recipes to add some variety to our daily meals. This meal was one of our favorites and so quick to put together. We used a vegetable peeler to make zucchini noodles, mixed them with diced tomatoes and rucula then added the sauce from  here (you may want to cut back on the salt just a tad). The dish was filling and very satisfying and we didn't even need to turn on the oven!

This is definitely something we plan on making again!

Dancing

After nearly 4 years of marriage I finally did it - I managed to convince Jason to sign up for Partner Dance Lessons with me. We are both pretty excited about it. (Thankfully, we have some pretty awesome babysitters nearby so that we can arrange a weekly dance lesson.) Eight weeks of dancing ahead!

Snapping a quick photo during a dance break at the studio

Milayla's Birthday Part TWO

Milayla, got a mini-second-go-around at her 1-year birthday when Grandma and Grandpa arrived. Lucky girl! It was pretty impromptu but we all enjoyed part two, especially seeing Milayla receive her very own quilt (you can see more about that back here).

Of course, Atticus was happy to help unwrap presents.

And everyone was happy to sit back and watch those two kids play with the new toys.

A nice, relaxed way to follow up the first celebrations!