Happy Birthday, Nicolo Picolo!

I need to better about blogging, because otherwise, I don't record the things that happen in my life... except in the form of pictures. I always take a ton of pictures... of everything. All the same, it would be nice to have more written accounts of things in my life. I should be better with a journal too, and record my personal emotions that I don't wish to share with the cyber-world.
With that, this past weekend was Nicholas's 7th Birthday! We threw him a grand party with a dinosaur theme including an archeological dig (Patrick and I dug holes by the beach and filled them with plaster fossils and plastic dinosaurs) and kits, games, and a GIANT volcano cake. The cake was built with a round cake and a bunt cake together, was complete with dirt-colored frosting, sugar strip lava, and was surrounded by candy grass, a licorice river, plastic dinosaurs, powder sugar & sprinkle ash, and gummy eggs (I added later) in frosting & cornflake nests. Yea. I MADE that cake - BOOYAH! Haha... I felt mighty creative after I was finished and even found little trees and boulders from the boy's toy boxes to place around the cake, on the candy grass. Don't you wish you could have had this cake at YOUR 7th birthday party? It's okay if you also wish you could have this cake at your 27th birthday party... Perhaps, you will.

In other news, during the birthday weekend one of the old nanny's for the family, Melissa Sunday, came to visit with her husband, Brandon. Can I just say, what an amazing couple!? They are so great to each other and both beautiful and kind-hearted people. I had such a positive feeling around them, and I loved having them around for a little while. One cool thing was that Luise was here before her mission, while Melissa was here as a nanny, and so they were friends already. I just fit into the puzzle perfectly and it was nice to click so easily with someone.

After a visit on Saturday night, and church on Sunday, we all met again for a trip with the family to Dracenfals Castle! It's above Konigswinter just a bit, so not too far from where we are in Bonn... near the aquarium I took the boys to before if you'd like some reference point for any reason. We rode the tram down to Konigswinter and then walked up through the city a bit before getting to the base of the mountain-side where the oldest cog-train in Europe stands to take one up the mountain to the castle and manor. We rode all the way to the top (where the castle is) and then walked down, stopping at the manor, reptile house, and selected look-out points. It was fabulous! It was beautiful out and made me SO excited for Fall season to start! The view was BEAUTIFUL from the top -SO magnificent - where you could see all the way to Koln and the cathedral! I could just imagine how it will be during the Fall... GLORIOUS! Luise and I plan to venture to the top again when the leaves begin to change color, and I could not be more excited.






*muah*

Song of the Day: Oh, how I wish I could suggest an entire ALBUM for one to listen to! Oh, wait... It's my blog. I can do just that! Haha... Sara Bareilles's new album, Kaleidoscope Heart, came out yesterday and I got it right away by the means possible here in Germany, and fell in love with it instantly. The entire thing is so different from her last album, and yet in comparison to the former record, I still love each track on this album- just like the last one. I can't really choose a song to put on here, but here's one to check out - thoguh you SHOULD listen to the entire thing! Really. Here's a favorite performed LIVE, Uncharted. My favorite line - "Compare, where you are to where you want to be, and you'll get nowhere." Enjoy!!!



Sidenote: This is in regards to someone else's blog... but I liked the thought I had after reading it.

"As I go through life, I realize how many of the "un-cool" and "cool" lines fade and redraw themselves, only to fade again... and it's never of lasting consequence. You're always a dork to someone. You're always really cool to someone else. What matters, is what you think of yourself." - Linze