Strawberry Picking

The other day some of the moms in the ward put together a strawberry picking day, and we decided to join them, so we all went to this organic farm and found the strawberry patch. When we got out of  the car the little breeze that there was carried the sweet smell of strawberries. Yum!

 Once they had weighed our bucket we were set free in the big field to fill it.

The straw inspired a straw fight

We picked for about an hour until our bowel was heaping full, and we all had hands covered in pink and red juice, and ate many on the way home.

A Way Out

I testify that God lives and loves and listens to us. I know that God loves me and watches over me.

Last night Sarah and I packed the kids in the car, excited to go to our first square dance in Germany! We had an address, directions, phones, cameras, ready to have fun!
The directions were great! We found where we were supposed to be and oh, look! There was parking right under the building! So we followed a car and squeezed down through the narrow little German parking garage tunnel and first thing we saw was them sliding a card through a card slot, and the big gate slid up, and down right behind them, and to the left there was parkenhaus so we drove down a windy S tunnel and got to a bar, like at most parking garages, and Sarah tried to get a ticket and it told her that the parking garage was closed... German parking tunnels are barely big enough for one car to go down. Like a foot on each side. And we sat there for a minute like, are we in big trouble? How are we gonna get out? And we were silently saying prayers as Sarah slowly backing out, and as we got to the split this old German couple drove down behind us to the private gate and looked at us like "what are they doing?" And we watched as they approached the gate, eyeing the exit, waiting to attempt turning around, and these metal bars start lowering from the ceiling. Our hope of using that as an escape route dropping with them.
And in my head I'm saying one long prayer asking our Father in Heaven to please get us out.
The car that had just came in went through the gate, and the gate remained open, and the light to the side was green, and we backed up and inched toward the gate waiting for an alarm to go off, and it felt like it took like 5 minutes to just under that gate, we were so scared we would be in huge trouble and the gate would come down on the car, but we drove through, and looked for an ausfahrt (car exit) sign, but all we could see were parking garage tunnels headed down, so we choose one, hoping and praying that we could find an exit.
We drove for a little and can across a German couple standing next to their car staring at us, no expression, just staring, not even moving as we smiled and waved accept to follow us with their eyes.
Just past them we saw a tunnel leading up with an ausfahrt sign! Whoot!... There was another gate. We sat there for a second, and looked back at the couple still staring, only having moved their heads since we turned the corner.
Sarah got out of the car and talked to them. Neither of them spoke any English, but they understood we just wanted out, so the guy walked us out with his special card, and we thanked him and said a prayer of thanks for God allowing us to make it through that parking garage, and leading those kind people to help us out.

We parked on the side of the road and walked to the square dance venue. There was this old elevator, but we decided to take the stairs. We only arrived a little late, and everyone was super nice! They were all older probably over 35, and they loved the kids. Especially the baby.
I joined in the dancing and we all met new people, and during a break they said something about the visitors from Utah, so we smiled and waved when we realized they were talking about us. :P
And the next break they gave me a little dangle for my badge! :D yay!
It was lots of fun. I also realized how much I'm gonna miss dancing with my own group over the summer!

Around 9:45 the kids were ready to go home, so we got them packed up and we were thinking not to risk the elevator, especially since this door had a sign posted next to it that had people inside a red crossed out circle with some German words.
As we were leaving one of the guys was like oh, just let me help you into the elevator. So he went down and sent it up to us, and helped us squish into the tiny old German elevator, and we pressed the button and the doors closed and we went down... And down. After a little Sarah and I wondered if we were gonna be in the parking garage when the doors opened, but when we stopped the doors didn't open, so I pushed the open door button, and it flashed red at me and the lights turned off. We were stuck in a dark creepy German elevator at 10:00 at night in downtown Wiesbaden, and we hadn't told anyone in Germany where we were going. Both Sarah and I tried prying open the door, but all we could see was black wherever we were we were not at the lobby. The kids started freaking out, I started franticly pressing buttons, and Sarah pulled out her phone found out that there was no service, and tried the call button, but all that happened was a high pitched buzz that just added to the confusion. And I, in my moment of panic, realized that I had not documented this trip with pictures yet, so I pulled out my phone and took one. :P

After that we all said a prayer together, and that calmed us down, and the peace helped greatly!
Sarah tried the call button again and held it down, and after a while it dialed and rang, and this lady's voice answered speaking German, and we answered in English and soon a guy speaking English answered and asked us if we had pressed the open door button, and we were like duh! And he kept asking us if it was working, and we pressed buttons and pressed buttons and said silent prayers, and then the lights can back on, and the door started to open, and we were like "it worked!" And the guy was like "OK, bye"
When we looked out we saw dark concrete tunnels with metal doors and signs with red words in German, and from behind the doors came noises like machinery. I cautiously stepped out and looked around, and around a little corner to the right, at the end of a tunnel was a little green sign that said ausfahrt (auto exit). Sarah stayed with the kids and watched me as I went down the creepy tunnel to see if it really was an exit. I know angels were with me protecting me because I felt at peace, there was no panic until after. When I reached the door I opened it and it was dark, and it terrified me, so I immediately ran back to the elevator and Sarah closed the door right behind me and we pressed the button for the floor we wanted and it went up, and the doors opened to the lobby, and I don't think I've ever felt so relieved, happy and blessed to see daylight!
The guy who helped us with the elevator was outside with a cop motorcycle and jacket and looked thoroughly confused as we walked out.
I know that God was watching over us. And is always there for us. And will always be there ready to protect, guide and save His children when we ask and listen.
We are all God's beloved children, and always will be! He is all powerful and all things are made possible through God!
(See Matthew 19: 26)

Erbach

On Saturday we looked at all of the festivals and decided to go to the Erdbeerefest. So we got the kids ready, got in the car, put in the address we were pretty sure was the right one into the phone, and drove off.

And drove

And drove

And drove

And admired the landscape

And after about an hour and a half arrived at this cute little town

And we couldn't find the festival, but we kept passing all these cool looking buildings, so we got out and got some ice cream from a little ice cream shop and asked about the Erdbeerefest and found out that we were in the wrong place. But the whole town was cool german buildings, and we could see cool spires, so headed off to check those out. 

There was a bridge 

And then a wall before we could see them 

And then we really saw the cool old town!

   

It's a very sweet little old german town. Everyone was very friendly, and we were pretty much the only tourists there.

There was this pretty blue house that was built in the 1500s and the lady that lives there greeted us as we walked past, and there's a father and son that run a cool little wicker shop.

Talmage made a new friend

And we explored for the next three hours. :)

As we were leaving this is one of the last buildings we saw. I thought it was two buildings at first, but from what I understand, the Erdbach Palace was first built in the 1300s and was added onto for like 400 years after that, and thats why the tower is so old, while the front looks like it could be from the 1800s. 

Lunch Mush

Today for lunch we a bunch of left overs with just a little left, so Ella and I stuck 'em all in a pot and warmed it up, and it turned out really yummy! We are some on chips, and made some into sandwiches on toast.

Produce

Germans really value their farm land, and their produce testifies to that. There are produce stands everywhere selling fresh fruit and vegetables and when you buy a container of strawberries they're all good! They're usually all ripe and hardly any are bad, and you can find some really cool looking berries.

Sarah found this one. It looks like a cluster of hearts.

Jet Lag

So I was doing pretty well with jet lag. I didn't have trouble sleeping at night, and I didn't have too much trouble staying up till 7:30-8:00 for the first two days. Then on day three after dinner I went up to my room I think to change, but I don't remember, :P and woke up in a dark room. I thought Kaleb or Sarah (my aunt and uncle) must have come in and shut the blinds (they have really effective blinds!) But I looked at my phone and it said 11:00 so I looked at the window and I could see the deep red of the sunset over the houses and I thought "so much for a quick change."
I haven't had jet lag since. :)

Jello Vat

The other day we went to a big toy store to see if we could find pink Nerf darts, and ended up looking around most of the store, and Sarah found this glitter bath stuff that smelled really good! And the whole package was in German, but we couldn't find translations for the words we didn't know that made sense. But we knew it was sparkly, and we knew it was for a bath, and we were really curious, so we got it.

Then today for really warm so we got the pool out, filled it with water, and put the nice smelling packets of sparkle in like the instructions said, and stirred it in, and a few minutes later we had pink sparkly goo the consistency of runny jello salad.

Festival of Roses

Today we went to a festival of roses in an old German town.

The whole town is hundred year old houses and shops lining beautiful cobblestone roads.

We were waking down the cool (NOT the temperature cool) cobblestone streets between the cool houses looking at booths and stuff and after we ate lunch Rachel fell asleep while I was holding her so Sarah (my aunt) took the backpack, and we started to find our way to the castle, but the sun was getting in Rachel's eyes, so I put the blanket up over my shoulder so she could be shaded. (Oh! I should say, Germans LOVE babies!)

So I was waking around with Rachel (2 months old) and Ella (6 years old) a little ahead of Sarah and the other younger two, and I hadn't even thought of it, but it looked like I was nursing her. (Nursing in public is totally acceptable in Germany) but this German guy and his wife stop Ella and me and say "oh! Suß!" and "Klein!" and the husband starts saying something about the baby nursing. And it occurred to me that it did look like I was nursing her!  It was clear that nobody minded, and he was probably saying something like how clever to keep baby cool while she was eating or something, but I'm sure my face just went bright red!

And now I'm laughing really hard.

The end.

 At the edge of the town is the Burg Eltville castle. We spent more than half the time there. It was beautiful! The castle looks like a patchwork from different eras. 

This is the balcony overlooking the gardens.

This is what the balcony looks like from the big garden below.

Here's a view of part of the little garden from the bridge entering the courtyard. 

This is the view of the wall from inside the courtyard. 

There was a stone that had 1724 carved into it and the castle looked as though it had been well cared for, added onto and repaired since then.

When we walked down to the big garden the girls wanted to sit and rest, and Talmage didn't, so I took him to look around the gardens while the others rested for a little. 

Rocks! They're fun to play with, and of course, throw at the flowers.

All of the garden walkways were lined with these little bushes.

This is the door to the little garden. it goes under the bridge you cross to enter the castle.

This is the door from the other side.

In the little garden there was a little fish pond with one little fish in it, and Talmage loved that little fish!

After we were done exploring the gardens we all went out to the gardens and dock along the river.

On our way back through the town and back to the car there was a carousel, and Addie wanted to ride on it so bad she decided to give up getting ice cream so she could ride. She loved it!

Unfortunately she regretted her decision when Ella got ice cream instead of a carousel ride. 

Talmage also got excited about riding on the carousel... until he realized he had to give the ticket back.