August 9th, 2016
On the morning of July 16th, E woke up EARLY! He took the train with his Daddy to meet Momo and Popo at the airport…a special trip he asked to take. He was sooooo excited to see his grandparents that he could hardly fall asleep the night before! Popo’s gentle mannerisms with E often remind me of an old movie called, The Horse Whisperer. I think of Popo as the Grandchild Whisperer. E loves and admires him deeply. He picked out a tie to wear when he greeted his Popo and Momo at the airport…it was a special occasion!
Momo and Popo lived life with us for a little over two weeks. The boys were spoiled having their grandparents around to love on them and shower them with attention, gifts, sugar and fun outings. A little boy’s dream come true! Half way through their visit, Mein Mann (my Man) took a few days off for a boat trip on the Rhine followed by a long weekend in England. Those trips need posts of their own being that we are camera happy people!
Here are some highlights from our time together here in Germany…
We took Momo and Popo to church our first Sunday together. They met a couple with whom they had friends in common with back home! Afterwards, we ate lunch in Kaiserslautern. The portions were HUGE! Momo and Popo shared meals from that point forward!
A festival celebrating the Arts was going on downtown. The boys were mesmerized by a one-man show that involved a telephone booth, audience participation and funny mishaps. It was a silent show and surprisingly entertaining!
To help fight Jetlag and get us all out in the fresh air, we took Momo and Popo on the Nature Path. I loved watching Popo play with the boys. He played a song for them on the forest xylophone, walked the wooden balance beam and even conquered the ropes course!
Momo brought along her delicious Cinnamon Roll recipe. The boys were delighted to pitch in when she made them for all of us! She is an awesome cook!
Momo and Popo’s friend, Jon, came for a quick visit. He was studying in Berlin this past semester. He arrived by bus on Monday evening and left Tuesday night. We enjoyed hearing the adventures of this young man who is definitely making the most of his opportunity to study abroad. It was fun to add the Nanstein Castle to his long list of sites he has taken in during his European travels. Though S and I had been to these castle ruins a couple of times before, it was E’s first time. We tried the audio tour which had both an adult and child version. Listening added a whole new depth to the experience.
All the men (big and little) walked to the train station to see Jon off on Tuesday evening.
Momo and S pitted the cherries we had picked off of our cherry tree. S found his own method of smashing several cherries at a time and it worked! Momo then treated us all to a scrumptious, cherry dump cake. Yum!
Meanwhile, E and Popo played together on the floor…cars, cards and trains! S joined in the fun after he was done with the cherries!
We purchased an inflatable, swimming pool for the boys to play when we got back from London. Popo helped clean out the swing-set slide so the boys could use it in the water. He couldn’t resist playing in it too!
On July 25th, E lost his third tooth! Thankfully, the Tooth Fairy found his tooth case tucked under his pillow here in Germany and left him a Euro.
Popo walked to the Bakery one morning and brought back a bag full of the raisin rolls Momo became a fan of!
During our second week together, Momo pulled out her chocolate chip cookie recipe. Her little helpers ate as many chocolate chips as they could while she did most of the baking. Chocolate chip cookies made for a great snack after a cool dip in the pool. The boys sat on the porch, eating their cookies, as content as they could be. The cookies disappeared pretty quickly!
We took several walks during Momo and Popo’s visit. Momo had knee surgery this past March and amazed us all with the mileage she put on her repaired knee. She should be the poster child for the doctor who performed her surgery! One afternoon, we walked with Momo and Popo up to the Labyrinth. S, Popo and I ventured to the middle.
On our walk back, E picked daisies for me…my favorite. I love that the boys pick me flowers!
Afterwards, we went out to a strawberry farm to pick up some strawberry wine we had ordered over the phone. We enjoyed meeting the owner, Rebecca, and learning about the workings of her family’s farm. She took us out to the pasture to let the boys feed and pet their sheep.
Before we knew it, we were taking our last stroll through the village with Momo and Popo. We showed them the old Catholic Church and the grounds surrounding it.
The following morning, we hugged goodbye and they headed home. Mein Mann rode to the airport with them to make sure his parents made their flight. Afterwards, he took the train to work. When I walked through their room that morning to change out the sheets for the next guest, I suddenly felt their absence.
Thank you for flying across the ocean to see us Momo and Popo! You left us with many sweet memories. Whenever the sun hits the rainbow maker you gave us, we think of you!
