...and Celebrating!

We are not exactly consistent at celebrating our anniversaries. Partially due to Scott's being gone or deployed in the past years, and partially due to our inability to choose a reliable babysitter (because we never live in one place long enough to get to know someone perfectly well for the position.) Hence, we never plan our outings, we just wait for Mary Poppins to fall out of the sky, I guess. Or we take the whole gang and go to a family friendly restaurant where messes, noises, and tantrums are acceptable behaviors.

But, I think, I'm growing out of this sort of entertainment. I want to eat good food and discuss the details of our summer vacation without soda spills and potty brakes. And without babies crawling on tables trying to eat my anniversary flower bouquet, as shown in this picture:

Thanks to (again) my friend Amy, her daughter Kira, and my Nadia we had our babysitter problem solved this year.

Gasthaus Fraundorfer was our choice of restaurant. It's a beautiful Bavarian style restaurant on Ludwigstrasse in Partenkirchen.

There was live accordeon music inside, waitresses in dirndls, bavarian beer in tall glasses, and cute German boys dancing Bavarian folk dance. Except for beer, we got a good taste of Bavarian culture as well as generous helpings of true German dishes like spaetzle and rouladen. I highly recommend to visit this place!

13 Years and Counting...

I am scared to think of where I'd be now if Scott decided not to serve his mission for the Church. Because I know for sure, that had he not find my family and teach us, none of us would have made much sense out of this life. Not only Scott gave me himself and his love for me and for our children, he gave me hope, faith, and truth that are my everyday salvation and joy.

In my first years of belonging to Church in Russia (I was between 16 and 21 yrs of age), there were many doubts that made me stumble a lot on the way to my testimony. Many times the Mormon belief just did not make sense. But, curiously, it ALWAYS felt right. And now, that I've gotten so many real miracles happen in my life, so many testimonies form into an intricate tapestry of my faith, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that this is God's marvelous work and a wonder.

The biggest fruit of my faith is my family. And I just cannot talk about our wedding anniversary without giving God credit for bringing Scott and me together. At times rough and bumpy, I can still honestly call our marriage happy.

The only problem with happiness is fear of loosing it. But I choose faith over fear. Faith in our love will keep us together through thin and thick, through rich and poor, through sickness and health until our love is perfected and refined so it can last for eternity.

  lds bountiful temple

Visiting Viktoriya

Viktoriya is a nurse and has a floating schedule with rare weekends off. This one was a lucky weekend that both she was off work and Scott was in town, so he could watch the babies while Nadia, David and I drove to Wasserburg (50 km east from Munich) to see my girlfriend Vika (short for Viktoriya). Traveling without babies felt nice. No need to constantly be on a look out, no fussy moods, no slaving in the kitchen, no worries for neighbors' sanity when we are in the middle of a tantrum or a teaching moment. And I love my hubby eversomuch that he let me enjoy our little girls' night out on the eve and on the morning of our 13th Wedding Anniversary! It was a greatly-appreciated sacrifice on his part. I love to be at home with my posterity and make homemade bread and scrub the kitchen floors, but (who am I kidding?) I am not a superwoman, and I NEED an occasional time out. Period.  

My older kids are so awesome and easy-going that I took them with me.

We went to the humangous and totally cool park in Oberreith with all-you-can-imagine stuff to play and ride for the kids.  

The petting Zoo in the park

Did you notice what that duck was snacking on? A real frog! Now, you don't see that every day. Take a look again.

The next picture is from the series "What Does Not Belong Here?" Of course, candles and McDonald's don't go together. Unless you are in Germany. In the States, it would be a law suit waiting to happen. Notice also fresh flowers. Only in Europe!

With kiddos on board you really need not make hard choices about where to eat. McDonald's is always the right answer. I don't know how many years it's been since I ate in McDonald's but it was in McDonald's (in Helsinki)that Scott and I had our first meal as huband and wife exactly 13 years ago. It would be nice to have Scottie there with us.

We had some semechki (sunflower seeds) that we bought at the Russian Store in Wasserburg, and it was funny to watch our German and American sons and daughters clicking sunflower seeds in a totally Russian way.

On the way home, I had to turn around, stop, and take a picture of this wonder-tree. Is it real? Looks like it is!

Nadia's 10th Birthday

Onion Babies

There was no more apples left, so babies have dug out a box with onions and potatoes and decided to give it a try. They must've been really hungry or deprived of vitamin C, because they took a bite of every potato and onion there was. Without cringing. And rather with pleasure.

Which gives me an idea to put grocery shopping on hold and instead, save up some money for our Bavarian Dirndls and Lederhosen. Because, really, it's rediculous how much we spend on groceries, and we keep running out of food anyway.

I suppose, babies can last on onions just a bit longer.