Pfruender Christmas 2010

One of the first Christmas parties we had when we were in the States was the Pfruender family Christmas party.  This was the second year that we did fondue for the meal.  It was quite yummy, but we again had way too much food!  Perhaps we'll get it right next time.  :)

After dinner, we opened gifts.  Widget, Katie and Kyle's newest dog, joined us for the party.  I was a little nervous about having a dog there, but Widget is much calmer than Pixel ever was!  It was fun to have Widget there.  He even got some gifts!

Here's some pictures of the fun we had!

This is Kyle in the hat I made him and Widget in his new Christmas coat. 

Here is Widget in his new personalized coat!  He liked it for a while, but then he realized he had something weird on his back and started rubbing up against the couch to get it off until Katie finally took it off him.

I get very excited about sheep and was quite excited when I saw the sheep knitting bag from Katie.  When I get excited, I stick out my tongue.  And there was yarn inside the bag!

Brian and I got Katie a backpack for Christmas and her birthday coming up in March.  She's hoping to use it for travels in this next year.

Mom always gets clothes for all of us.  My sweater fit Katie this year, so Katie ended up with 2 sweaters and Mom and I went shopping for a different one for me.  Here's some pictures of what Dad and Brian got.

Mom really wanted her own camera this year, so we all went in together to get her a camera.  Brian had to teach her how to use it the next week.  She was pretty excited because it was red, her favorite color.

Mom and Dad are coming to visit us in Germany in June, so Katie and I got Dad a passport wallet for when he comes.

Katie thought it would be pretty funny to put wrapping paper in Widget's collar.  He didn't think it was so funny.

Brian and I got a good amount of bike accessories this year since we use our bikes a lot here in Germany.  We got some more grocery bags, Brian got a larger bag for the top of his rack, we both got new helmets, and Brian got ski goggles for those days he chooses to bike in the snow or rain.  We've used it all already in the 2 weeks we've been back in Germany!

Brian needs something to do in the evenings, so Katie got him some Mythbusters seasons to watch.  We're almost done with 2 discs already!

I'm hoping we can do a lot of traveling this year, so Katie got me a travel book for Munich and the Bavarian Alps.  Hopefully this means I'll have many  more pictures to post here!

This was my mom's first purchase ever on Amazon.  I had to help her with it over the phone.  :)  She wasn't really sure what she was ordering, but it was just computer speakers for Kyle.

The last present was probably the biggest surprise of the evening.  My dad didn't have a lot of things on his Christmas list this year, so we decided to get him a flat screen TV to surprise him!  We all went in on it together and brought it out last and quite surprised him!  

We had a wonderful time celebrating with the Pfruenders.  Stay tuned for some pictures of our celebrations with the Ponsteins!

Fun with Kids

While we were home at Christmas, we got to spend a bit of time with our nieces and one of our nephews.  Our newest nephew, Xavier, was born the day we flew back to the States in Florida to Brian's sister, Jill, and her husband, Vic.  We have yet to meet Xavier, but are looking forward to the day that we will!

In Michigan, we have 4 nieces and 1 nephew.  Erika is almost 5, Ashleigh is 4, Aleah is 3, Trent is almost 2, and Karissa is almost 1.  It was so much fun to see how they've grown in the 5 months that we were gone!  We spent several Christmas parties with the kids and went to each family's house before we left. 

At the Feenstra family Christmas party on New Year's Day, we went to Brian's Uncle Tom's pole barn to celebrate with the whole family.  Eventually they got the Wii out and it was so much fun to watch the kids bowl!  The movie above is a short clip of them bowling.  I wasn't feeling the greatest at this party, but I still got quick the kick out of watching the kids bowl.  I can't wait to see what they can do next time we are home!

Umbrellas

A true story about umbrellas before posts about our Christmas vacation to the States.

Once upon a time, Brian and Beth moved to Germany with five suitcases.  The night before leaving, Beth decided to take some things out of her carry-on suitcase and move them into the checked baggage.  One of these items was a black travel umbrella. 

Upon arrival in Germany, Brian and Beth unpacked all their suitcases and stored them in a closet.  It rained a lot in Germany, so Brian and Beth needed umbrellas.  Fortunately, there was one umbrella in the apartment where they were living.  Unfortunately, it was only one umbrella and not two.

Beth soon remembered that they had taken a black travel umbrella along in their suitcases.  Unfortunately, it was no where to be found.  Beth checked all the closets, all the suitcases, and even called her parents to see if it had been left in their living room where the rearranging had been done.  None of these places proved to be the place where the black travel umbrella was hidden.

Almost five months went by without sight of the black travel umbrella.  Brian and Beth bought a new big umbrella in Germany, but still missed having the black travel umbrella that fit easily into a backpack or purse.  Eddie Bauer was having a sale, so Beth decided to replace the black travel umbrella with a new black travel umbrella.  Unfortunately, the new black travel umbrella was sent to the United States and Brian and Beth would not see it until Christmas.

The time came for Brian and Beth to pack for their 2 1/2 week trip to the United States for Christmas.  The big suitcases were pulled back out of the closet and objects to be packed were placed on the bed for ease in packing.  Since utilizing all space was a must, Brian opened up every pocket in every suitcase to make sure that they were all filled to the brim. 

In the process of preparing the suitcases for packing, the black travel umbrella was found!  It had made it to Germany!  It was in the smallest pocket of the biggest suitcase!  Brian and Beth were very happy!

Now Brian and Beth have a family of 4 umbrellas - the green umbrella that was in Germany originally, the brown umbrella that was purchased to replace the lost black travel umbrella, the new black travel umbrella that was bought to replace the lost black travel umbrella, and the original black travel umbrella.  Despite having more umbrellas than really necessary, Brian and Beth are pleased to have 4 umbrellas because they can now provide umbrellas for their guests in the coming year.

The End

Deutschland

Just thought I'd quick update that we are back in Deutschland after being in the States for 2 1/2 weeks for the holidays.  We made it back safely with all our luggage and now are trying to get over jetlag and back into a normal schedule.  I will update the blog with some pictures of our time at home once I get through all the pictures.  Check back soon!