Bonding with My Baby Sister--Part 2: Austria & Germany

Click here to see Part 1 about our Paris adventures!

After 4 days of sight-seeing in Paris with my youngest sister and my parents, we all flew to Munich, Germany and then caught a train to Salzburg, Austria, where we spent the next 4 days and 5 nights. My mom had spent a bit of time in Salzburg 33 years ago as a missionary, and I am a huge Sound of Music nerd, so it was so fun to finally visit!!

We had some rain the first couple of days in Austria and Germany, but that didn't stop my sister or me from making some priceless memories. Take a look at this precious gem:

Day 5: Travel Day & German lunch in Munich

Eating an authentic German lunch in one of the top Biergartens in Munich was a perfect way to ease a day of traveling. It looked pretty bland, but I couldn't believe how much I loved my plate of warm sauerkraut and sausages!

Day 6: Sound of Music Tour

My Childhood dream of dancing around the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" gazebo from the Sound of Music finally came true!

Mondsee is a beautiful town in the lakes region just 30 minutes East of Salzburg. This is where the wedding scene was filmed.

I promise. We were having fun. Maybe just a little wet!

The back of the house from the movie.

Day 6 Evening: Mozart Concert Dinner

After a lovely 3 hour-nap, we got all pretty and attended a dinner concert at the St. Paul Stiftskeller, founded in 803 AD. That's what I call old.

It was a three-course meal, with a 15 to 30 minute Mozart performance before each course. Such good opera!

Performance #1: Selections from Don Giovanni

#2: Selections from The Marriage of Figaro

#3: Selections from The Magic Flute

Day 7: The Salt Mine Berchtesgaden

Another rainy day meant we needed to stay indoors. Or underground. We chose the later.

Not every day do you get to wear mining suits and pretend like you're unbreakable.

This is such an awkward picture but oh the fun!! As we toured the salt mine, we had to go down a couple of slides, just as the miners did in the old days. Always feels good to be a kid again!

We are cute and we know it.

Every church looks nearly the same, but I promise they aren't!

I can't get enough of her!!

Day 8: Neushwanstein Castle

I was probably the only child who, when watching Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang as a child, always dreamed of going to the castle that the car flew over. Now I can say I have!

The salads in Europe were amazing. Especially this one!

Day 9: Mirabell Gardens

More great scenes from The Sound of Music!

You know what's also great about traveling with your sister? You can borrow her clothes.

Sometimes, heel taps are just too difficult while wearing a skirt!

Old city of Salzburg

The Mozart Bridge

This picture above is one of my favorites. It just shows how much love we have for each other. She let me do her hair just for fun. She never held anything from me, including waking me up for a 3 AM sister-chat session two days after we arrived in Europe. Gotta love jet-lag.

Yes, being in Europe was incredible. Eye-opening and gorgeous. But so was being with this pretty little lady. She's going to do amazing things. Good luck in college!!

Hoping for a Rainbow

I'm really not sure if I ever thought this day would come. The day that I made it past 13 weeks pregnant without losing the baby. #miracle. I know I am not out of the woods yet, and honestly, when are we really? I am just trying to live every day with gratitude for the life inside of me, living with hope for the future. Part of me wanted to wait until next week, when I was past 14 weeks and officially in the 2nd trimester, but I couldn't wait any longer. I've been getting a little thick in the middle, which is getting more difficult to hide, and I feel like I haven't been able to be completely honest with friends when they would ask, "how are you doing?" All I wanted to talk about was how nauseous I was or how nervous I felt. So now, the news is out, whether or not you already suspected something was up. Seriously though, the 1st trimester is not for the faint of heart! There were many instances when I thought I would lose the baby, but dee

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...or so I thought. And you did too. Happy April Fools Day! I had been having baby dreams and feeling nauseous on and off during spring break, and I knew I would test immediately when I returned home from our road trip. The test was barely visible and I didn't believe it, so I said nothing to Marshall. That night I had a dream where the next pregnancy test I took was a solid double line. Well, two days after the first test, I got my obvious positive. I was so excited. Not knowing if it would be a good pregnancy or not, I tested again two days later and the line was darker, so I felt confident. The past two pregnancies I miscarried at approximately 6 or 7 weeks both times, so I was pretty nervous about this one. What if it happened again? Would I be strong enough? Knowing that I needed extra strength and prayers, I asked roughly 40 of our family and closest friends to fast and pray with us on Easter Sunday. That Sunday I was on the top of the world. I felt so strong an

The Power of a Slice of Bacon

Nothing to do with a Army PT test, but this was at the "Beat Beethoven 5K" on the 13th of April I have always been a big supporter of setting personal goals and making a plan to follow through with them, especially when it comes to athletics and performance. But I also know that these goals really are a personal endeavor, and no one can make another accomplish the goal. The motivation and effort has to come from the individual setting the goal. But I may be wrong. A slice of bacon might have the power to help a person accomplish a certain goal. Let me explain. Ever since my husband entered the Army, just shy of 2 years ago, he has been saying he was going to get a perfect score of 300 on his PT test. I believed in him, and kept waiting for him to come home from his PT tests with that perfect score. But he seemed to always come shy of the elusive 300, by just a couple of points. How could I help him achieve his 300 I knew he could do? As hard as I tr

Tender Mercies

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