Bendel Life

Planes, Planes and more Planes

2012-01-31T11:13:00.000-08:00

Plane 2 of 3 on our 18 hour trip to Canada for Christmas - the girls loved watching the action outside the window.

Here is Sydney being a copycat - whatever David did she copied him.

David tried to get some shut eye while waiting to board our 9 hour flight from Munich to Toronto.

Reading, climbing, and chasing were favorite activites while we waited.

Ashlyn didn't want to miss out on any of the action and then she passed out right before we had to board the plane - great timing.

Sydney loves the big planes that you fly across the ocean with - she had her headphones and with the personal TVs - she was all set.

Here is the tiny 50 passenger plane we flew out of Timmins on. Good bye Canada - we'll miss the people but not thh snow and cold tempereatures.

The super soft clouds to jump on according to Sydney as we were flying above Germany. What you can't see the green grass and plus temperatures that were awaiting us - Hello Germany.

Many Sewing projects

2012-01-09T00:11:00.000-08:00

For christmas this year we were in Canada - so I decided I'd make the kids a couple gifts. Thanks to Pintrest and the internet and the thousand of people who post do it yourself ideas and tutorials on their blogs I spent a good couple months sitting for hours at my sewing machine.

My sister found these cute pencil crayon and noteblock holders here.

Naturally she wanted one for each of her 2 kids.

Next came the Capri Sun purses for my girls, and my 2 neices. These were by far the easiest sewing gifts.

Then came the ribbon tree shirts - there are 4 girls in the family and one boy - so he got his own design.

One day my sister told me that she wanted a diaper clutch - ok no problem. But the problem was she couldn't find a picture with everything that she wanted.

So here is my own deisgn - the outside front view.

inside front view.

Back view complete with zippered pocket - I just realized I don't a have a picture with the wrist strap complete.

Here are my girls guitars. The guitars were the most time comsung gifts - maybe it had to do with the fact that I brought them unfinished to canada. They all were finished before christmas morning - not much before but the kids loved them and that made them worth the long hours of sewing.

Benny and his guitar.

Audrey and her guitar.

Lilia checking out her guitar.

Sydney and Audrey and their guitars.

Sewing projects didn't end when Christmas morning was over. My mom wanted her sofa pillows covered. So here are the results of the pillow covers the fronts were made to match the carpet colors and each pillow had a different colored solid back.

Now I'm done sewing - I told my husband for a month - we'll see how long I make it.

Happy Birthday Sydney!!

2012-01-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Sydney over the years. We love you Birthday Girl!

Happy 4th Birthday!

3rd Birthday.

2 years old.

1st Birthday

Minutes old.

Kindergarten Christmas Party

2011-12-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Sydney's Kindergarten Christmas Party was on the 14th of December - 2 days before we left for Canada.

Here is Sydney waiting for things to start.

More waiting - but in a new seat.

Not quite sure what she's doing here - but it's an interesting pose.

Ashlyn loved the kid sized chairs more then anything else from the Christmas Program.

Sydney's part was to light one of the Advent candles on the Advent Wreath

She lit her candle but didn't want to sing.

Last but not least a partial group shot - Sydney was excited to go to the Christmas Party - she wasn't overly excited to participate - but very proud of her cookies she brought for refereshments after the program.

Ashlyn Dancing to Christmas Music

2011-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Today we had various Christmas Music playing over the course of the day. Both girls had fun dancing and listening to the music. Sydney would ~~dance~~ jump mostly for a couple seconds and then get distracted. Ashlyn on the other hand danced through whole songs. She dressed her self - or at least brought us the things she's got on, like her jacket, her sister's scarf and a santa hat. The clothing adds to the cuteness of the dancer. Enjoy Ashlyn dancing to Dora's Christmas.

Dec. 6, 2011 - Nicholas Day

2011-12-08T04:36:00.000-08:00

In Germany the kids clean and polish their shoes or boots on the evening of the 5th of December. If the kids have been good then they will find their shoes filled from Nicolas on the morning of the 6th. So Monday night Sydney worked very hard at cleaning her boots, in hopes of treats from Nicholas the next morning.

Here is Sydney checking out what Nicholas left in her boots - she couldn't even bring them inside first.

Sydney and Princess Sparkle - this is her new favorite toy - Filly Horses

Sydney showing off her treats that were in her boots.

It's really hard to fit stuff in such small shoes - so Nicholas needed 2 pairs of boots for Ashlyn

Ashlyn playing with her ornament trying to figure out what it does.

Ashlyn found Pluto inside her boots.

When we came home from Kindergarten there were more goodies waiting for the girls - they got delivered to the wrong door - so our neighbor said.

In Kindergarten the kids all had stockings that Nicholas filled for them.

At one point early afternoon the girls both ran to the window and were screaming in excitiment.

I wasn't happy to be seeing this white stuff come down - but it was cute how the 2 stood at the window in amazement. They're going to love Christmas in Canada with all the snow.

Here I am with the girls at the ward's Nicholas Party - we're singing christmas carols in this picture.

Ashlyn wanted to walk around the fire in the middle.

Nicholas finally arrived - Sydney was really excited to see him.

She even talked to him this year - last year she just said thanks and ran away.

Despite the cold wet raining day - it was a good Nicholas day filled with far too much chocolate.

7 Years

2011-12-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary.

We did it 7 years, 2 kids, 5 homes and a million memories.

I Love you David.

Oh, the Things that Entertain Kids

2011-11-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a sick day at our house, meaning that Sydney was home from Kindergarten with a really bad case of diarreha. The plan was to stay inside yesterday and get as many sewing presents finished or started as possible.While they napped in the morning it was easy to sit down and sew without any ~~problems~~ interruptions from the girls. I attempted again in the afternoon to work on another project, but Ashlyn wasn't happy with me. She didn't want to play with her sister or do anything other then try to climb up on my lap while I was sewing. After putting her down for the 5th or 6th time I heard a crash of soemthing falling to the floor. Here is what I saw:

Ashlyn had dumped out enough bottles so she could climb into the cupboard.

Trying to look innocent.

Look where I am.

You can't be mad at me when I smile at you.

Ok, how do I get out of here again.

I think I might need help.

Early Christmas with Oma and Opa

2011-11-11T04:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas came very early this year for my girls. We're spending the holidays in Canada - so we went to visit David's parents the beginning of November and there just happened to be some presents for the girls waiting there. Sydney kept saying "I can't believe it".

Here is Sydney showing off her Doctor kit. Everyone had several doctor checkups over the course of our visit.

Ashlyn posing for the camera - can you see the gift?

How about now?

Ashlyn got a dog backpack, maybe she'll stop taking Sydney's away. It's super soft and once it was on she kept it on for a very long time.

Sydney inspecting the contents of her doctor kit.

The girls walking Max.

Sydney showing off her rose from Oma and Opa's garten.

Ashlyn held her rose the whole way home from the garten.

Oma and the girls.

Princess Afternoon

2011-11-10T05:03:00.000-08:00

One afternoon Ashlyn discovered that under Sydney's bed there was a box with dress up clothes. So here are the results of the girls and the dress up clothes.

Here is what Ashlyn picked out herself - she was in love with the lei.

Sydney in the Ariel outfit and a rondom crown.

Ashlyn in the tutu that's just a tad too big for her.

The box had lots of bags as well - Ashlyn inspected everybag - looking for goodies inside.

Sydney being Snow White.

Ashlyn loves camera - but she walks towards the camera everytime you try to take a picture.

Sydney the blue ballerina.

Kindergarten Latern Festival

2011-11-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

Every fall the kindergarten kids make Laterns and have a Festival to show off the laterns. Last week was the Latern Festival in Sydney's Kindergarten. All the kids and families showed up with the laterns and walked thorugh the forest to the Kindergaten, guided by the light from the laterns. Ate Pumpkin Soup made by the kids, played outside, and sang songs with the laterns.

Here is Sydney on the way to meet up with the rest of Kindergarten .

Ashlyn hanging on to Sydney's latern for her while she plays with friends.

Being silly before the festival starts.

Walking through to forest with the laterns.

Playing at the kindergarten.

Eating Pumpkin Soup made by the kids.

Showing off her latern that she painted in Kindergarten.

Singing at the Latern Festival.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Sydney with her pumpkin - she was very particular about the size and where exactly the face went. She refused to help empty the insides out - but she had no problem helping to eat the seeds.

Here is her pumpkin all light up.

Happy Halloween.

Sydney & Destiny

2011-10-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the girls back in July 2009 saying goodbye. We spent the day at the zoo and then they kissed goodbye til 2011.

Here are the girls 2 years later October 2011. Hugging and dancing around saying goodbye til we meet again on Skype. I love the faces the two made.

Help in the Kitchen

2011-10-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sydney loves to help out in the kitchen - it doesn't matter what it is that is being made she is always wanting to help.

Here is Sydney busy mixing up some cookie dough - wait what's that in the corner of the picture?

Ashlyn doesn't want to get left out on the fun.

She is determined to climb up and stand beside her sister - too bad the stool is too small for both helpers.

Thanksgiving

2011-10-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

Here are our name cards from Thanksgiving. Sydney loved helping me put them together.

3rd of October

2011-10-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from October 3rd - the Reunification Day in Germany, naturally a national holiday. Monday was a super warm day 24 degrees and enough sun to enjoy the warm fall weather.

We watched some friends catch some fish at a Fishery. David's atempts weren't successful.

Sydney wanted in on the action.

The picture portrays just how crazy these 2 kids are when they're together.

After fishing we headed over to a Grill/Camping ground. The kids played ball.

The men sat and made a fire.

The women took care of the children and talked.

After we ate and played enough we headed off to the last place for the day - a Summer Bobbahn with lots of other attractions and animals. The horns on this bull were so long.

Here are Sydney and me heading up to the top of the hill.

We made it - Syd loved it.

David's turn to go with Syd.

Here are some of the Llamas and Camels on the hill.

David and Syd on the way down.

Monkeys that loved to interact with the visitors.

Lazy llamas relaxing in the sun and shade.

Ashlyn was happy to dance for our friends and the stones on the ground were pretty interesting for her.

The fake animal was more fun for Syd then the real ones - they didn't smell bad.

Ashlyn and her friend playing pick up the stones - drop the stones.

Sydney and Destiny busy playing a game on the Donkey.

Bulletin Board Make Over

2011-10-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Before: plain cork board - nothing special.

After: a little blue material and some glue - much more interesting cork board.

My thumb tacks with coordinating buttons to match the cork board.

Ashlyn on The Go.

2011-10-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Ashlyn ~~walking~~ running around outside today. She can't go fast enough for her liking. Enjoy!

Quiet book

2011-09-27T03:04:00.000-07:00

I saw a cute quiet book made all out of paper on the following website:

http://www.sewcraftcreate.com/2011/03/de-stashing-quiet-book-free-template.html

Seeing as it came with templates and everything - I thought I'd make the girls one.

Here is the Cover - I will probably add 3 more holes and then it should hold the pages tighter together.

Match the numbers to the sets of shapes.

Copy the pattern.

Put the letters in the mailbox.

Attach the kites to the strings.

Make an Ice Cream Cone.

Put the Birthday Cake together.

Put the apples on the tree - or pick the apples off the tree.

And finally a game of Tic Tac Toe. Sydney wants to play this page all the time - too bad she doesn't quite understand the concept of the game.

14 Months Old

2011-09-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn is 14 months old today. She's walking when she has to - she'd much rather run with a push toy or crawl seeing as these ways are much faster. She loves attention - too much attention doesn't exist. She loves to play with shoes - if someone takes their house shoes off and leaves them on the floor she'll bring them to you. If she finds her shoes she gets all excited and wants to play with them.

Here are a couple recent picture and then a video of her walking.

Ashlyn eating by herself - or at least trying to.

Ashlyn on her favorite park toy.

Ashlyn walking - don't know how many video attempts it took - but here she is.

Earrings

2011-09-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

Sydney had the bad habit of bitting her fingernails. One day she told me that she wanted earrings, so we made a deal. Once she stopped bitting her fingernails she could get her ears pierced. She has stopped bitting for over 2 weeks, so today Sydney and I went to the mall to get it done.

Here is Sydney on the way to the mall without earrings.

Here is the after picture with earrings. She was so brave and so excited - and this was on the way home - she couldn't wait to go home and show Daddy her earrings.

New Bike

2011-09-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

Sydney has outgrown her tricyle so we were on the look for a new bike - I found a used one couple weeks ago.

Sydney's reaction to the Bike when she saw it.

Sydney testing our the bike heading over to show the neighbors (Andrian, Dominik and Sid - their mom.)

The video is long - but Sydney loved to ride in circles around the sand. She was showing David that she could ride fast and all by herself after 3 days of practising.

Summer holidays

2011-09-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

Sydney had 3 and a half weeks off Kindergarten. We spent as much time outside as possible. We went to several different playgrounds close by, a couple amusement parks, played in the water, and learned how to ride a bike, but that is something for another blog entry.

Sydney, Dominik, and Andrian playing in the huge sand box behind the complex.

Ashlyn wasn't interested in the sand or toys - just the shoes.

The forest is seconds away from our complex - so one day we went to a playground in the forest. 30 minutes each way is a challenge for the kids - but they loved it there.

Here are my kids on the see saw.

Here are the neighbor's boys on the other side.

Sydney and Dominik having fun on the swings.

Balancing act on the see saw.

Sydney loves to climb and climbs just about everything. This was obviously more fun then using the slide properly.

Here are the 3 - Andrian, Dominik, and Sydney. (Ashlyn was busy sleeping.)

There were Mole hills all over - so the kids decided they wanted to explore the Mole hills and see if they could find the Mole - no luck but they loved it.

Another Day - Another Park.

This was the coolest zip line swing we found. 2 kids fit on it - the kids couldn't get enough of it.

Ashlyn loves to rock on these toys - so the park was a hit for her as well.

Sydney loves to spin - she was the only one on because it was going too fast for everyone else. This girl is never dizzy.

Here is the same playground by our complex as the first 2 pictures.

Daddy thinks Ashlyn should ride up the ramp.

Sydney climbing up the ramp.

Ashlyn watching from the little house.

Andrian's trun to climb up.

Dominik's turn.

Ashlyn and Daddy sliding.

The 3 crazy kids.

We also went to Killesberg Park one day and met up with Destiny, Elijah, and their mom.

The 3 kids infront of the flamingos.

Ashlyn and Elijah hanging out at the stroller.

Sydney on the Zip Line.

Everyone taking a snack break.

Destiny, Sydney, and Dominik on the wooden train.

Dominik, Destiny, Andrian, and Sydney watching the goats eat apples.

The summer break was not even 4 weeks longs, but it was packed full of lots of fun for the kids. Luckily for the mom's the 3 older kids are all back in Kindergarten.

Girly girls

2011-09-07T01:41:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn loves purses, she will take mine and empty it for me any chance she gets so David gave her one to play with and this is what happened. She walked around the house carrying her purse.

Ashlyn at 13 months.

Sydney wasn't much different - here is Syd at 9 months with my purse.

Schwaben Park

2011-09-07T00:38:00.000-07:00

Schwaben Park is an amusement park not too far from home. We bought tickets from groupon: 2 adult entrance for the price of one and kids under 4 are free. We had a very long, very warm and fun filled day there - here are only some of the days highlights.

Syd and David on the carousel

Bumper cars.

Syd could have spent the whole day on this slide.

Destiny and Sydney riding away.

The girls and their flying boat.

The bouncing castle.

Ashlyn and the car.

This was the only thing that ashlyn went on the whole day, but she loved it as you can see.

Destiny and Sydney on the train.

Hands in the air and screaming as loud as possible is the only way to enjoy the ride.

Flying to America - is where they said they were going.

Another swinging ride.

The girls and me in a crazy spinning flower.

Syd in her truck on the kiddy carousel.

Syd driving the old timer.

Round 2 - Destiny driving the old timer this time around.

A crazy swing for 2 crazy girls.

Rubber bumper boats.

Off to the races.

Spalsh down with Daddy - Syd is the tiny pink head infront.

Kiddy train ride - the girls said it was too slwo once they got off.

Going on a tractor ride.

Syd and Destiny in tiny boats that going around in a circle.

Pirate Days

2011-08-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

The local shopping mall set up a huge pirate ship for the past couple weeks for the kids to enjoy during the summer holidays. They have 5 different stations set up where you can make the following: a treasure chest, a necklace, a pirate hat, an eye patch , and a pirate sword.

Sydney made all 5 things - here she's trying to show all 5 at the same time.

Ashlyn became Sydney's hat model.

Saturday at Tripsdrill

2011-08-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

A couple Saturdays ago we went to Tripsdrill - an amusemnt park not far from where we live. We had great weather even though rain was predicted. Everyone enjoyed the day.

Sydney and her race car.

When you climbed up high enough the people would come out and talk to you.

This is the only ride Ashlyn went on - it is also the only picture from this ride due to the screaming tht occurred after the ride started moving. Destiny, Sydney, Ashlyn and me on the duck pond.

Jenny and Elijah - he's a couple months younger then Ashlyn and he would only cry when it was time to get off the rides.

Destiny and Sydney by themselves on a ride.

Sydney and Destiny taking a break in the ball pit.

Jenny with the kids on a ride.

Me and Destiny up front on the horses,

Jenny and Elijah in the coach with Sydney who chickened out at the last moment and decided against the horses.

This was my least favorite ride - it spun rather fast - very fast for the 2 little girls.

The rollercoaster was a huge hit -the girls loved it and went on it multiple times.

Here they are sitting watching the theater show.

Here's a picture of the show they watched - something with talking animals.

Ashlyn stole Daddy's hat - it made her just a little happy.

The little ones waiting for the big ones to get off a ride.

Sydney, Destiny and Jenny splashing around.

Entering the Petting Zoo, not too sure about the idea.

After a couple minutes everyone warmed up to the animals, except Ashlyn.

Summer Holiday

2011-08-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

Our summer holiday for this year we spent it at David's Aunt and Uncle's house. There are lots of cousins there for the girls to play with. We had gorgeous weather 30 + degrees every day. Here are some picture highlights from the holiday.

Ashlyn with Sarah and her favorite purse.

Sydney, Vivien, Milena and Sarah pulling the wagon to the beach for the afternoon.

Ashlyn and Alexander - they're one month apart - guess who's older?

The 5 girls watching sleeping beauty before bed.

Sarah and Syd testing the water.

Ashlyn sitting on Vivien in the boat.

Ashlyn and Lukes taking a dip in the tub.

Syd and Milena not getting very far in the boat.

An afternoon at the pool.

Ashlyn decided that she didn't want to sit anymore to eat.

Alexander and Ashlyn busy playing keep away with each other.

Vivien, Syd, Sarah, Milena, and Samuel at the Animal Park in Chemnitz.

The girls enjoying their ice cream after the Animal Park.

Happy Birthday Ashlyn!

2011-07-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Here is Ashlyn showing off the onesie that I made for her. It says: 1 and Ashlyn underneath.

She's got lots of hair - looks like it's gonna be thick and curly like her sister.

Birthday Cupcake tower on Cake.

She is such a poser - is this really mine?

Every girl has to have a purse - even if you've just turned 1.

Checking out her new toys and other gifts from her 1st Birthday.

A Day in the Park

2011-06-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Like the title says here are some photos from a recent trip to the park, which is actually the new playground right outside our apartment building.

Walking to the playground, no stroller today.

Not too sure about these swings.

Where do I hold on?

Okay - with Sydney this is better

What is this stuff?

Sydney and David busy at work

Ashlyn was busy destroying the work.

It was a cool morning - but a fun sand filled adventure.

T-Shirt to Shrug

2011-06-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

So what do you do on a Saturday night at 9:30pm when both kids are asleep and there is nothing on TV? Why not sew something, that's what I did. First, I searched a bit on the internet for some ideas, this is the website I used: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/tshirt_shrug.

Here is the t-shirt I started out with - nothing fancy at all.

Here is the finished product - hard to really get the whole idea in a 2D picture. The only thing that still needs to be done is: I need to buy orange ribbon to tie it up with. I only had cream colored as you can see in the picture.

So here I am modelling the shrug at 10:30pm. I like it - it was really easy, less then an hour. It probably could be done in 30 minutes if you're not interrupted by facebook, skype or kids.

3 and a half

2011-06-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

What has happened to my cute little baby?

I swear only yesterday was she a cute ~~quiet~~ newborn who loved nothing more then to sleep and have eveyone wait on her hand and foot.

Now Sydney is a very independent Kindergartener - she loves to play with and make her sister laugh - she talks non stop. Sleeping is not so high on her priority list anymore - but singing, dancing and moving around as much as possible is top priority at the moment.

It really is incredible how fast they grow up. I love my crazy 3 and a half year old!

Holiday Monday

2011-06-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

What do you do on a rainy Holiday Monday. It's too wet to go out so you got find things to keep people happy and entertained.

So we practised walking a bit, but chasing Sydney was much more fun.

We built a cabin, but it turned out to be an airplane that only flew to Canada.

We took some naps

even though we were sure we wouldn't fall asleep.

We got our feet dirty

then decided it wasn't enough - so we got our hands dirty as well.

Now our dirt is hanging on the wall.

Hope your rainy Monday was just as much fun as ours.

2 dresses, 3 girls.

2011-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2009 I made these dresses for Sydney and Audrey they had a photo session that Christmas. Audrey's dress fit good, but Sydney's was far too big, but looked cute for the pictures.

Here is a picture of Sydney and Ashlyn in the dresses from today, Sydney's I had to make smaller - it was far too wide and Audrey's dress fit Ashlyn perfectly.

Not the best picture of Sydney but I wanted to show the dresses.

First Ponytail

2011-06-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn has the same crazy hair as Syd did as a baby - it looks like Ashlyn will have curls just like Sydney. They look very similar the color of their hair is different, Ashlyn is much lighter then Syd.

Ashlyn 10 months old with her first ponytail.

Ahslyn wasn't very happy with us that we were taking pictures.

Here is Sydney at 10 months old, also with her first ponytail.

10 Months Old

2011-05-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn is 10 months old now. She is currently teething and will have her first tooth hopefully in the next couple of days. She is only happy when she's standing, she pulls herself up everywhere. She has learned how to clap and how to give five, which she loves to do all the time now. Here are some recent pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Ashlyn and Sydney all dressed up.

She loves her feet and lounges whenever she can.

Bath time, she is wilder and soaks everything more then her sister.

New favorite play area - under the kitchen table.

Nap Time Activities

2011-05-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

The other afternoon when Ashlyn was napping I really didn't feel like cleaning or tidying up the house. I went through my favorite crafting blogs and websites. I came across the follwing idea - Fabric Covered Letters from http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/08/fabric-covered-letters.html.

I ended up not using fabric - I simply took scrapbooking paper. Sydney loves it - she spent the first day the letters were up telling everyone what the letters represented.

Tribute to my Dad

2011-05-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

I spent 2 weeks in Canada - My Dad passed away suddenly and unexpected the day I arrived home. I am so greatful that I decided to take the girls over despite the stress of travelling alone - it was so worth all the stress.

My Dad was a simple man who didn't want lots of material things. He loved to fix things himself. A Holiday wasn't a trip to a different city or the beach, but a day in the bush picking berries or fishing at some remote location. He loved gardening and had 2 green thumbs - he even had his own gardening store. He was the best example of hard work. He loved his family, spoiled us when we were younger with a huge slide every winter complete with cinder block steps. I loved to tag along when he had to fix anything - I remember hammering nails in the walls of my bedroom when he fixed up the basement. There are so many other memories that I'll cherish forever, especially the last ones where he was playing with my girls.

I love you Dad, and miss you tons.

Me and my Dad 1981

My sister and me eating with Dad

My Wedding.(2004)

Dad and Sydney (2 months old) 2008

Dad dancing with Sydney at Kerry's Wedding reception 2008.

Dad and Sydney playing in the basement, Christmas 2009.

April Update

2011-05-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

I managed to keep my trip to Timmins a secret from my mom for the past 2 weeks.

I survived 17 hours, 3 flights with the 2 girls by myself. Crazy I know, but the trip was well worth it.

Sydney waiting in Frankfurt to board the next flight.

Ashlyn slept through most waits inbetween flights.

Ashlyn turned 9 months old on the18th of April.

We got pictures of all the grandkids taken for my parents. 5 kids between 2 months and 31/2 years.

I made 2 baby blankets in the evenings when the girls were in bed

Here is Ben's baby Blanket.

And here is Lilia's blanket.

I Love Handy Manny!

2011-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Friday night we were out doing some weekend shopping. While browsing inthe toy section we came across a Handy Manny toy. Sydney loves Handy Manny, we've wanted to get her something from this show for a while but weren't sure what and they tend to be rather expensive. In the clearance section they had a Handy Manny truck that truns into a workbench. It was orignially 90€ and marked down to 20€, this good of a deal we couldn't really pass up. So it's an early Easter gift, even though she has a very expensive Easter gift that she'll get on Wednesday this week, but that'll be another post.

She couldn't wait for the box to be opened

Here is the cell phone where you get the jobs.

Here is Felipe.

Here is Dusty.

Last but not least Squeeze and Rusty.

Very proud of the toy all put together.

Now time to get to work on repairing the engine.

Sydney is too busy with the workbench to look at the camera. Since this toy came home it's all she wants to play with. Sydney loves Handy Manny!

Sick Days

2011-04-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Sydney has been battling various colds and fevers since she started kindergarten in January. Thursday she woke up with a fever of 39.5 C(103 F), which meant another Sick Day. I decided to make the most of being stuck in the house for 2 days and decided I should get the sewing machine out. Sick Day 1 (Thursday) I fixed up a dress for a friend. Today (Sick day 2) I made this pocket book.

I found the idea and tutorial on the following website.

http://hollandcox.com/blog/2010/10/tutorial-mini-pocketbook.html

Here is the outside view of the pocket book.

Inside view of the pocket book.

Here is what it looks like when it's packed with essentials that don't fit in my wallet. Seeing as I am Canadian and live in Germany I have to carry my passport around with me everywhere. I've been looking for something along this line for a while. Plus it's a quick project to sew up.

Weekend Update

2011-03-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

David's brother came to play with his nieces this past weekend. Sydney started counting down the days til he arrived. She was so excited when he came and picked her up from kindergarten. We had a very busy couple days while he was here, we spent lots of time at the playgrounds, went swimming, and Sydney had to teach her Uncle Oliver how to play all of her games.

Only Oliver was allowed to push Sydney.

We don't slide on slides, first you have to jump really high and then you're allowed to slide.

Sydney loved trying to balance on the ropes.

Leaving the playground Sydney had to take Oliver for a horse and carriage ride.

8 months old

2011-03-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Today Ashlyn is 8 months old. She loves to follow her sister throughout the house. She loves to laugh, has learned how to crawl forwards, tries to stand up. She's a lot of fun and makes life very busy and interesting.

Happy Birthday Little Sister!

2011-03-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday! Today is my little sister's birthday - hope you have a great day!

Online Yard Sales

2011-03-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

One of the websites that I check daily is "Stuttgart Yard Sales". I have found these incredible deals there.

An L-shaped sleeper sofa - 95€.

A baby swing - 6€.

The latest pruchase was a play kitchen for the girls - 10€

Bendel Update 2010

2011-03-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

Like they say "better late then never" - this applies to our family newletter for 2010. We had great intentions of writing it over christmas break. Christmas Break, we all ended up with colds and the ambition just wasn't there. Anyways it is finally done. Enjoy!

English Version:
2010

Deutsche Version:
2010

6 Months

2011-01-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

All I can say is where did the time go. Ashlyn is 6 months old today. She is a very happy baby, as long as she has enough attention - she loves to play with her sister, roll over and stand up. Happy half Birthday Ashlyn!

1st day of Kindergarten

2011-01-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone. Sydney can't really be old enough to be going to kindergarten. Monday was her first day - getting ready to go was a battle but once she had her backpack on she was happy and couldn't wait to get there. I was fully expecting tears or a fit when I dropped her off - but she was completely the oppposite. Got her outdoor clothes off - quick tour of the kindergarten and then she decided to paint - so I said goodbye. I was in and out with in 15 minutes - and not a single tear. I picked her up just after 12 - and heard from her teacher that she did cry a little bit - but she cried becuase another kid wanted to comb her hair and that would ruin it. Not the reason I expected - but happy that she loves kindergarten. This morning - no fight getting ready - and super excited to go. Kindergarten is a lot easier on Sydney then I expected.

Our little musician

2010-12-26T02:56:00.000-08:00

Sydney got a magazine with a recorder from Oma and Opa for Christams. She loves music so much - that she's been running around the house "playing" her recorder. I think we might just accidently forget it here.

Season's Greetings

2010-12-23T23:55:00.001-08:00

Christmas wishes to one and all from the little elf

and the medium sized elf.

Bendels wish family and friends a very Mery Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

3 Years Old!

2010-12-16T23:52:00.000-08:00

Here's Sydney just minutes old.

Sydney and her 1st Birthday cake.

Syd trying out the gifts and clothes from her 2nd Birthday.

Princess Sydney on the moring of her 3rd Birthday.

Happy Birthday Sydney - we love you.

6 Years Ago

2010-12-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

I married the man of dreams. We've had so many fun, crazy, and memorable moments. We have two little princesses - who keep us busy.
I love you David, here's to many more years and memories.

4 Months Ago

2010-11-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

4 Months ago today - this little cutie was born. Crazy how fast time goes by. I love this little girl - especially how she lits up when I come into the room. Her smile can melt hearts. I love you Ashlyn!

A New Dress for Sydney

2010-11-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

Sydney needed a new dress - so that we could attend a funeral on the weekend. I took a quick look at the websites for my favorite local kids stores - but nothing black or dark colorwise to be seen. So this morning after getting both girls fed and after I had breakfast I decided to go through my bucket full of material - and I came across a black 3/4 length shirt that I no longer wear - so in less than an hour it has been transformed into the latest dress for Sydney. Nothing fancy but it'll work for the funeral and afterwards I'll probably add a ribbon belt or maybe a flower to it.

Here is a very unhappy girl - she had to try it on at least 5 times before it was done.

I asked her to pose for one last picture and this is the result. What a girl!

Rainy Saturday Afternoon

2010-11-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

What do you do on a rainy Saturday afternoon? Sydney decided she wanted her toe nails painted. So once Ashlyn was asleep, and David busy helping friends move - we painted our toe nails. Syd gave me orders through out the whole toe painting experince. I've never seen her sit so still so long. It's so much fun to have a girly girl - I wonder if Ashlyn will be like Sydney and love clothes and shoes and eveythign else girly or not.

Sewing Projects

2010-11-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn needed a Halloween costume - so here it is - Baby Batgirl. Above is the back view complete with a cape. Below is the front view. She was a hit at the party.

This year we won't be in Canada for Christmas - so it means I need to get everything ready very early for me niece's box. It's a challenge to come up with gift ideas that aren't too big or heavy. Here's one thing I came up with - a blanket.

My niece is going to become a big sister in February so I had to include a little something for her baby brother or sister. Seeing as we don't know if the baby is a boy or girl - I decided every baby needs bibs - so here's the baby's gift.

Halloween

2010-11-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture from the Halloween Party - this was right at the beginning - before Syd had realized that she would get candy for every game she played. Also this is the best picture to see the backside of Syd's costume.

Here's Ashlyn aka Baby Batgirl. Baby Batgirl was very content to watch all the older kids play games - and just before we left she decided to pass out in her stroller.

Sydney got a Dora costume when we were in Canada last year and she told me daily for most of October that she was going to be Dora for Halloween. This is one of the only pictures with the hair on - as soon as we had our backs turned it was off.

Twins?

2010-10-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

I remember hating that my mom dressed my sister and I in the same outfits. There are 22 months between us. The outfits were endless, everything from pjs, dresses, snowsuits, and anything else you can imagine. Our hair was cut the same way, we had matching baby blankets and this matching seemed to go on at least til I was 8 maybe even longer. We were mistaken for twins so I'm told - how I don't know.

Here you see the same hair cuts and matching bathrobes.

Here we are in the same snowpants and the shirts underneath apear to match as well.

I remember swearing that I would never do the same to my kids and look what has happened. Nana sent them matching dresses - this is the result.

There is more of an age gap between them they are 2 1/2 years apart. But I do have to admit they look pretty cute even if they're in matching dresses.

I blame the matching entirely on my mom - so when the girls are older I'll tell them it's all their Nana's fault.

A Rainy Saturday

2010-09-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

What do 3 girls home alone on a rainy Saturday do?
Make cookies - that's Sydney answer this morning.

Here is a picture of the bakers courtesy of Sydney and her photo skills.

So we made and painted stars, moons, and cars sugar cookies.

Sydney decided that she also needed to make a cookie in the shape of her hand.

Here she is showing off her cookies.

While we were busy in the kitchen, Ashlyn spent the entire time asleep in her swing. What a hard life she has.

Can you tell the difference?

2010-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Can you tell which one is Sydney and which one is Ashlyn? I'll reveal the correct answer next Saturday the 7th of August.
Answer: Ashlyn is the top picture and Sydney is the bottom picture.

Ashlyn Jordyn Bendel

2010-07-16T23:56:00.000-07:00

Birthday: 18.07.2010
Time: 4:00 pm
Weight: 7 lbs & 10 ozs
Length: 21 inches

Geburtstag: 18.07.2010
Uhrzeit: 16:00 Uhr
Gewicht: 3460 g
Größe: 53 cm

Cucumber Monster

2010-07-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here in Germany we seem to have a problem with Cucumbers this year. They never seem to make it home in one piece. This one did make it home - but then the monster walked into the kitchen saw the cucumber and stole it right off the counter and took a big bite out of it.

Baby Blanket

2010-06-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I only have 5 weeks or so left I decided that I needed to finish up the Baby's blanket. Sewing with a 2 year old is definetly not easy - seeing as she wants to help. Thursday was a holiday here so I took advantage of David being home and finally got it done.

Jean Skirt

2010-04-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon David and Sydney were busy playing with legos, so I decided that I would go through a box of material and see what I could come up with. So this skirt was the result, they were an old pair of jeans.

Sydney was more then cooperative to try on the skirt as many times as I asked, but getting her to pose in the skirt was another story.

Carrots and Yoghurt

2010-04-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Syd loves to dip food. She ends up eating more dip then anything else. So tonight at dinner she asked for dessert - so David brought raw carrots and some of her favorite yogurt to the table. Being 2 - she decided to dip the carrot in the yoghurt. She ate the whole carrot, dipping it over and over again in yoghurt. It only tastes good when your 2 - David and I didn't like her dessert.

My Little Baker

2010-04-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

Sydney has a new favorite room in the house - the kitchen. She loves to be in there and search for food herself or watch what is being made in this room. Syd saw a muffin mix on the counter that I had been meaning to make - so she decided that she wanted to make papa muffins. She was so excited to help she could hardly stand still. Here she is showing off her muffins before they go into the oven.

She also had to make sure that they tasted okay before anyone else was allowed to eat them.

Syd approves, we're now allowed to eat them as well.

Newsletter 2009

2010-02-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

Our newsletter for 2009 is finally done. Also all the other past editions are here for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

English Newsletters:
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

Deutsche Newsletter:
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

Twinkle, Twinkle LittleStar

2010-01-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Sydney has a new favorite song. Twinkle, twinkle little star. But she has renamed it to Twinkle Star What You Are.
Anyways, take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Sorry that the video is the wrong way.

Long Overdue Update

2010-01-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Yes,I am still alive and well . If anyone has noticed I kind of dropped off the blogging world. The last time I wrote was in October and I did have good intentions of getting more posts up before the year was over. Well as you can see that didn't happen, and for a very good reason.

I'm pregnant! I was very sick at the beginning and simply taking care of Syd became a task all of its own. Then when I started feeling better it was the week before we headed off to Canada. And the last 4 weeks were spent in Canada.

So here's the latest utlrasound picture of our baby. The baby is due on the 13th of July so this picture is the baby at 14 weeks.

Hopefully I can get a couple pictures from last Halloween - New Year put up this week.

My girly girl

2009-10-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sydney is definetly a girly girl. She loves the mirror - when she was little and would cry, if she could see herself in the mirror, the crying would stop. She loves shoes like every other girl, but at 21 months old she dreams about shoes, she said shoes the other night in her sleep. Everyday when she gets dressed, she has to go and check out her outfit in the mirror to approve. She love to shower, but her favorite part is putting lotion on after a shower. Lipgloss is also a new found favorite. She has a purse that she carries around with her toy key, wallet, and cell phone. She is also loving hats. Everytime we go outside - she always reminds us that she needs her hat.

T-shirt dress

2009-10-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here is Syd's newest dress. I was bored one day and went through my box of material and found an old t-shirt and loved the stripes. My old t-shirt looks a thousand times better on Syd - the dress was really easy to sew and with a bit of ribbon it looks really cute.

Wall Tattoos

2009-09-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

I love wall tattoos. I have loved these since I first saw them - my problem is that we have a small apartment and I've had problems finding the perfect one. While at the inlaws last week I finally found one that works for us. It was a task and a half putting it up with all the small pieces. But I'm happy with how it turned out.

Sydney's Summer Adventures

2009-09-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in August we had a Women's Weekend with 20 women from David's family. We spent the weekend in the Harz region of Germany. We rented what once was a farm house - so there was plenty of room and a nice fenced in area for the kids to play in.

The week following the Womens weekend Syd and I spent it at David's parents. We had a couple days of super summer weather - so Syd lived in her little pool in Oma and Opa's garden.

Sydney loves to go to car rides - one of her favourite things to say is 'auto fahren', which means drive car in English. She would always run to the driver's seat and try to get in before anzone else. So on our way back to Stuttgart we took a couple pictures of Syd driving.

David's job

2009-08-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

David finally has a full time job. As of the 17th of this month he's a Research Assisstant at the University of Stuttgart. He's working the department of Hydraulic Engineering.
Here's the link to his profile in the University.

Medicine Soothers

2009-08-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Sydney recently had tonisillitis which meant medicine. We tried everything possible to get her to take her medicine and swallow more then she spit out. What ended up working best was a medicine soother we bought when she was a couple months old to give her colic medicine. This made the 5 days of medicine somewhat managable. Sorry that the picture is fuzzy - but you get the idea of what it looks like.

Sydney & Destiny

2009-08-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

Sydney's little friend Destiny - often called "Desty" is going back to America. Sydney is not happy over this news. Sydney and Destiny have been getting together to play since January of this year. So before Destiny and her mom headed we spent a day at the zoo with the girls. They loved it, they had tons of fun chasing each other and running ahead of everyone else. It was a very sad good-bye when the day was over. Hopefully we can keep in contact over skype. Here are some pictures from their many adventures together.

Syd's Shoes

2009-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

So Syd needed some new slippers and we were having a hard time getting some in her size, so I decided I would try to make her a pair. They turned out to be pretty easy and they don't look too bad. Plus the best thing is Syd loves them, she wasn't happy when I took them off to take the picture.

The word of the week

2009-07-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Syd's newest word is Shower, she gets really excited
when we say the word, just take a look. So needless
to say she showers almost daily here.

Syd's Dress

2009-07-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here is our attempt at a picture of Syd in her dress that I made, she wasn't very cooperative when it came to having a picture taken. But you get the idea of what the dress looks like.

Weekend Sewing

2009-06-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my finished weekend project. I went through some of the matieral that was bought and never started. So I decided to make a skirt for myself friday when Syd took a nap. Then Saturday I decided to make Syd a matching dress and the bottoms to go with it. I am quite impressed with myself seeing as everything was made without patterns.

Sydeny's 18 months old!

2009-06-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here she is a couple days old, my sleeping angel.

6 months old and drooling like crazy, love those big beautiful eyes.

At 1 everything was an adventure to climb upon or to pull down or to take apart.

18 months old today, my camera loving, litle girl, whose not so little anymore.

I Want Attention

2009-06-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

I love this shirt - it's describes Syd's attitude perfectly.

She loves the camera can you tell?

Here's Sydeny's cousin Audrey - she had to have the shirt as well.

Sydney's Tricycle a.k.a. Auto

2009-05-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sydney was so excited when the trike came yesterday that she couldn't even wait for it to be opened. She calls it "auto", this morning she even woke up saying "Papa auto, papa auto"

Here she is helping sort the pieces, very concentrated, it's hard work.

What is this, can I ride it yet?

Had to test it out as soon as it was together. I acutally had been trying to keep her off it for the last 10 minutes of putting it together.

Here she it outside - she loves it. Her legs are too short to peddle the right way, but it doesn't stop her from screaming out with glee the whole way down the sidewalk.
I love where her feet are in the last picture.

My Lounger

2009-05-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Sydney is a girl who has a hard time to sit still, she actually doesn't sit so much as she lounges. These pictures are from her morning snack yesterday, not really sitting, lounging with the feet up.

Passed right out

2009-05-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

This was too cute to not take a picture of. She was so tired yesterday - can't imagine that this is comfrotable.

Sydney and her Toothbrush

2009-04-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here is Syd at 6 months with her toohbrush. She was getting her first tooth and wanted to rub her gums constantly.

Syd is now 16 months old and getting teeth number 13 and 14 - and they hurt.

She doesn't like when we brush her teeth - she has to do it herself becuase she thinks she's a big girl.

Syd wanted to show her Uncle, who's a dentist how good she can brush her teeth. But when you brush your teeth you need to look in the mirror to see what your doing. Not even the camera could distract her from brushing her teeth.

My new bag

2009-04-05T12:17:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to find the perfect bag to put both my usual purse stuff plus Sydney's diaperbag necesscities in. The problem is they are either all way too big or simply I didn't like the material. So being the overly ambitious person I tend to be - I thought I'll just make one myself. First problem - what should it look like - I quickly found the wonderful world of Amy Butler Patterns. Second Problem - Material - that was also quickly solved by a trip the Netherlands Fabric Market. I got great deals on the material - 5€/m for the print and 2€/m for the solid. There were several other problems that came up - seeing as I decided to make the pattern myself, and then installing a magnetic snap. But I am thrilled with the end result.

Leftover Material

2009-04-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

So - I have been keeping old pairs of jeans thinking I could make something with the denim. Sydney now has a jean skirt and teddybear. The bear is a favorite - I had to take it from her bed to get a picture of it.

Too Funny

2009-03-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

So today we got a package - and Sydney couldn't wait to see what was inside of the cardboard box. She helped to open the box and was so excited to see a toy inside that as soon as she saw it she said "Lecker!" For all of those people out there who don't understand German - lecker is the equivilant of Yummy. I thought it hilarious that the toy was yummy.

Head and Shoulders . . .

2009-02-24T03:52:00.001-08:00

Sydney loves Baby Einstein - her favorite one at the moment is Baby DaVinci. She gets super excited everytime the music starts. The video has the song Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes - she tries so hard to copy the actions. It's so cute - see for yourself.

Sorry, we tried to rotate the video but it didn't work. So just tilt your head or the screen.

Diplom Thesis

2009-02-03T05:57:00.003-08:00

Today I finally handed in my thesis. So if nothing goes wrong I will be a real engineer soon. The topic of my thesis is "Hydrologic Precipitation Runoff Simulation in Arid Regions using Remote Sensing Data on the Example of a Catchment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia".

Reliving my childhood

2009-02-03T02:29:00.000-08:00

Sharon, Lois & Bram. If these names don't mean anything to you - it's probably because you didn't grow up in Canada watching the Elephant Show. It was one of my favorite shows as a little girl. The songs I remember still to this day. I loved them so much - that I had to order Sydney her own CD of Sharon, Lois and Bram.

Newsletter 2008

2009-01-06T06:04:00.000-08:00

Our newsletter for 2008 is finally done. Also all the other past editions are here for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

English Newsletters:
2008
2007
2006
2005

Deutsche Newsletter:
2008
2007
2006
2005

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

David, Kelly & Sydney wish you a wonderful Christmas. We hope you have a great time with family and friends and all the best for the New Year.

Saudi Arabia

2008-12-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

During the month of November, I spent 4 weeks in Saudi Arabia doing a field survey as part of my diplom thesis. Most of the time I was out in the desert doing infiltration tests on different soil types. So I saw a lot of the desert in and around the capital Riyadh. During one occasion I was driving in the desert and stopped by a big dune. When you drive over the edge it's like driving into nothing until the front of the car finally drops down and you can see the sand again. It was a wired feeling to drive over the edge without seeing anything.

Sometimes I had to talk to people to get permission to do the field survey on their property. Most of them were very friendly and I had no problems what so ever. In fact it was more of a challenge to get away from them because they would offer you tea or coffee and would invite to over for lunch or dinner. Most often I had no clue what I was eating but, it always tasted good.

I drove a Toyota Hilux 2500 Diesel which was good because I had to carry a lot of water on the bed in order to be able to do my infiltration test. But the best thing was the gas price. 1 liter of diesel cost only 5 cent (Euro). It was fun to buy gas.

November was also the best month to go there. It was between 20 and 30°C the entire time, so not too cold and not too hot.

Fun at Oma & Opa's

2008-11-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

Sydney and I have been at David's parents house for the past week while David is in Saudi Arabia working on his Diplom thesis. Anyways I promised David I would take lots of pictures and videos. Sydney is walking. She started before Halloween with a couple very wobbly steps and now she's much more confident and walking when ever she can.

Sydney has also been enjoying having a full sized bathtub. She loves water to start with but she goes crazy in the tub here. WARNING: naked baby.

She's Walking

2008-10-31T13:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the 30th Syd took 3 steps one after the other for the first time. Up until now she had done one step from one piece of furniture to the other. Now she walks with one of us towards the other person and takes the last steps by herself, and she does this with the biggest grin on her face.

Sydney also celebrated her first Halloween yesterday night in the traditional American way. Lots of candy, people of all ages in costumes and a spook alley. Too bad she is too young to enjoy any of these activities - but she looked really cute in her pink butterfly costume.

Flowers & Shoes

2008-10-20T03:50:00.001-07:00

My husband is the greatest. What does every girl love, flowers and shoes. Well on Friday my husband brought me flowers just cause he saw them on this way home and thought they looked nice - which they do, he got me 7 different colors of roses all mixed with fall colored leaves. Then on Saturday, he actually told me to go and buy shoes - which is a very rare thing, seeing as I have a closet full of shoes. I love him and all the sweet things he does for me.

Sydney's new toy

2008-10-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Who ever said that kids need toys is wrong. All they need is the packaging from the toys. I opened up a package today, and Syd was going crazy dancing and going round and round the box. She circled it for over 45 minutes today. It was just too funny to not take a video. Enjoy

I HATE Traffic Jams!!!

2008-10-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

So on Thursday we left just after 1pm to head off to Jahnsdorf (400kms away,) to go to a cousin's wedding reception. Okay, so 400km, plus traveling with a small baby, that should take what 4 1/2 to 5 hours right. WRONG.
There are so many things I love about Germany, but Traffic jams on the Autobahns here have to be the number 1 thing I hate about Germany. It took us over 7 hours to drive just over 400 km due to countless construction zones and endless traffic jams. We obviously weren't on time but we still did get to enjoy the reception.
The rest of the weekend was spent at my In-laws, so Syd could play with Oma and Opa.
Sunday around 2:30 we started back towards Stuttgart (also just over 400 kms away) The first 2 1/2 hours were fine, very little construction or traffic jams. Then just after 5pm, we saw a km sign and figured we'd easily make it home by 7:30.
Not even 5 minutes later we entered probably the longest traffic jam ever (at least for us), not only were the regular commuters head back to work, but there was also the people coming back from the long weekend. There was one construction zone that we were stuck in it was 8km long and only a single lane, David was so happy driving through this section. The only benefit of driving on the German autobahns is that once you finally get out of the traffic jams, you can drive as fast as you want. So David drove up to 180km/h. He would have driven faster but we only had a small car which didn't go faster. Anyways, we finally made it home at 10pm, almost 8 hours for a 400 km stretch of Highway.