Baden Baden and the Black Forest

On Saturday I went with the Cates to see the city of Baden Baden (a city in the Black Forest famous for their 1700 year old Roman baths) and to explore the Black Forest (in German pronounced Schwarzwald).

We stopped to visit a quaint little village in the middle of the forest and hiked half a mile to see a pretty waterfall.

The Black Forest was beautiful! Soo many trees. 

I discovered a new photo program called www.picnik.com that's very similar to PhotoShop, but web-based and much easier to use! I've been having some fun editing my photos with it :)

Whitney ist Schwimmen!

HOT HOT German Summer...

The kids and I started a Summer project...an herb garden. There's no yard here, so the window sill and a couple pots will have to do for our chives, peppermint, sage, rosemary, peas, and thyme. Here are some baked fries we made with our freshly harvested herbs. Delicious!

We all can't get enough of the pool. I'm teaching Whitney how to swim and it's AMAZING to see her progress! She can already jump in herself and swim to me (see video) and it's only been a couple weeks of dedicated effort! She's just like me as a child! First one in, last one out. :)

It's been in the 90s lately so I'm always trying to find an excuse to convince the kids to go outside in our little courtyard outside the front door to "water the plants" or "check on things"...so that I can rain down water balloons from my third floor window! Then I point them to their own stash so they can have their own war. They're always surprised and always love it.

Ke'ala and Brad's Wedding

I'm so so sad I missed my dear friends Ke'ala and Brad's wedding reception in Santa Barbara. They've been together since high school and it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot! I jacked this photo from a mutual friend on facebook and played around with this to create my own interpretation of what I imagine their wedding were like :]

 I wish you both the best, and I know you both know I would have been there if I could! Aloha.

Misc. Cuteness

Summer Fort Building. Stage 1.

.....to be continued.

Worms!

Bonanza Park!

Chores. Pipi Longstocking style. Bumping music and "skating" on rags and sponges.

The kids could do these "funny pictures" for hours. They seriously beg to!