Grill Master

Chris misses his grill. Like, REALLY misses his grill. So to cheer him up I bought one of those disposable grills ad some steaks. I know, I know. I'm awesome.

 Since Daddy was going to be grilling, Austin decided to grill too!

In his underwear and rain boots.

 There it is.

It makes me nervous.

 My grilling men.

When Chris got his mandatory grilling beer, Austin ran inside and got his sippy cup with milk.

Cutest thing. Ever.

 Cook steaks, cook!

Please? Cook?

And then my Webster impatience reared it's ugly head and we had to finish the steaks in my skillet.

It was talking FOREVER. And mama was getting hungry. 

True story.

Parkeisenbahn

Last weekend brought beautiful weather, and with beautiful weather comes trips to the park. We decided to venture out to the biggest park in Dresden, the Groβer Garten.  It. was. HUGE. We have gone to the zoo there (which is part of the park area), but had never seen the whole thing. And the best way to do that is of course, by a mini train. When we were looking to move to Dresden, Chris pointed out the Parkeisenbahn in Groβer Garten and we decided that it was something we had to do. And so, we did it. Finally. And Austin loved every minute of it. And since Nonny and Auntie Katy are visiting next week, I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be enjoying it once more before we move back to the U.S.

 A mother's futile attempt at a photo of her 3 year old in front of the sign.

The main station.

 Austin got one of those stop and go thingys that the train people use.

I don't know a lot about trains.

The whole operation is run by kids. It was so cute!

 Austin waiting patiently.

Right behind him is the VW Gläserne Factory.

That's another field trip for the Taylors.

 Wait! He hears something!

 It's an Austin sized train coming around the bend!

 Stop train, stop!

 This is so cool.

 Fabulous little cars that children can fall out of if you're not careful.

 Ready to roll.

 No really. We're ready for the train to start rolling.

 Here we go!

 I couldn't get enough of the kids running the whole show. They were in each of the little stations with old fashioned telephones and train schedules. What a cool experience!

 Yay!

The garden area is beautiful, they have a lake for canoeing, fountains, and fancy statues scattered all around. I can't wait to do some more exploring.

 One of the train sheds.

Awww. It's over.

And now Austin knows what he wants to do when he gets older.

Princess Puffy Butt

The hardest thing about living in Germany this year hasn't been the language barrier, or using public transportation. Not even the lack of ice cubes and air conditioning. It's been being apart from our dog Malise. We decided to leave her in the US with Chris' parents (who we are pretty sure have irreversibly spoiled her while we've been away). While we know she is more than safe and sound with her Grandparents, we miss her terribly. You never realize how much your pet is a MAJOR part of your everyday life until you are separated from them. And now that we are getting closer to our return to the good old U.S. of A, I am getting more and more excited to be with her again. Come mid July, she will definitely be reaping the benefits of our guilt ridden consciousnesses via trips to Wendy's for French fries and PetSmart for lots of rawhide bones and squeaky pink pigs.

 Her fuzzy feet smell like Fritos. I wuv them.

See what I said about being spoiled by the Grandparents?

 Beautiful girl.

 Getting a drink of water while hiking (in her orange vest because it was hunting season in WV).

Anything for treats.

An EXTRA special thank you to Chris' sister Katy for taking these amazing pictures of Malise for us.

Turkish Delight

One of the big things I'm going to miss about East Germany is all of the Turkish food. Yep. You read that right. Turkish food. There are a lot of Turkish immigrants here, and with them came their awesome food. My favorites being their durums and doners. They are the perfect "fast food". Yesterday I met with two friends at one of the more popular Turkish places in Dresden for lunch- and decided to take a few photos with my point and shoot camera so I would always remember it. "It" being the food of course.

Ta da!

They have a REALLY extensive menu. It's pretty intimidating.

And delicious.

Deliciously intimidating?

Yummy, yummy...

in my tummy.

 My friend had some Turkish tea and baklava.

I was so stuffed from lunch that I'll have to make a trip back just for desert some other time.

Sunny Days and Birthdays

Last week one of Austin's friends had a birthday party which I am pretty sure we will never experience the likes of again. We met in the old part of Dresden for a horse and carriage ride around historic downtown and stopped for some ice cream sundaes at a fancy dessert shop. Then we went to one of our favorite restaurants/ biergartens for some dinner (which Chris was able to join us for).  It was a beautiful day and Austin had a blast with his little friends. Even the birthday boy (who had broken his arm the week before) seemed to be enjoying himself. For me, it was one of those days when I realized how much I really have loved living in this city. Even if they don't have a Chik-Fil-A or ice cubes.

 There are street performers all over the place during the warmer weather. This guy was making bubbles big enough to carry off a toddler!

 Trying to get a group of little kids to pose for a picture is not easy.

 The horses were much more agreeable.

 Let's try again...

Nope. Not going to happen.

 Austin was fascinated by the horses pulling us along.

 Beautiful scenery.

 The driver and the horses were very patient, considering they had a whole bunch of kids eating cupcakes and talking during the ride.

 Please, make yourself comfortable.

Only my child.

 Running off the cupcakes.

 Water fountains are my favorite thing in Europe. They are everywhere, and honest to goodness on a hot day, standing next to one with an ice cream cone in hand almost makes up for the no air conditioning thing.

 Ice cream sundaes.

Austin is in the zone.

 Another great thing in Dresden, they have dog drinking bowls everywhere. 

I LOVE* when Austin plays in them.

*this is sarcasm

 Bubble blowing is where it's at.

Fountain fishing is pretty cool too.

No, he didn't catch anything.

Unless he contracted some type of bacteria that we don't know about yet.

Mama Mia

A very HAPPY (and belated) MOTHER'S DAY to all of you mommies out there. It's the toughest job I've ever had. And I love it. Poo, sleepless nights, and screaming tantrums excluded.

And a special shout out to my own Mom. Who made me who I am today.
Literally and figuratively. Anyone who can raise a child to love her as much as
I love my mom has done an AMAZING job. And I even recently forgave her
for not letting me go to Travis' birthday party in the 6th grade.

Thank you for raising me with a mother's love and a best friend's sense of fun.

And to my second mom (my Mother- In- Law- we're not THAT kind of family). Whoever wrote that movie Monster-In-Law clearly never had one as kind and loving as you. Thanks for treating me like your own!

(P.S. We need to get a picture of the two of us together)