Memorial Day Weekend 2016: Alsatian Wine Country

Since Peter had a four day weekend, we decided to spend it one of our favorite places, Alsace.    We love this place for many reasons including that it is where Susannah was born.   We also love the beautiful vineyards set in the valley between the Vosges mountains and the Black Forest.   We love that we can understand and speak the language.   And we love the food and wine.     And since Sarah Avery isn't the best car rider, the location is perfect since it is only a two hour drive from Stuttgart.   Here are the pictures of our visit.   

After we checked into our apartment (where we were upgraded to the bigger place with a balcony for free!! wahoo!)  we headed to the big park in the center of Ribeauville, the beautiful little village where we stayed.

After a while at the park, we headed across the street to this little spot for dinner.   This picture doesn't do it justice, but the view of the vineyards on the hillside was so pretty.

And there was a friendly dog on the terrace which was great because it kept Sarah Avery entertained for a full thirty minutes.  

"Susannah, take a picture with me."
"But I'm coloring right now, Mommy."

"Well okay, but I'm not going to look at the camera."

Peter and I are so happy that SA is finally at the age where she can manage a restaurant and can color nicely for a few minutes and doesn't need a high chair.      

Strawberry rhubarb with homemade meringue for dessert?   Yes. Please.

The girls opted for ice cream.   

Breakfast of fresh pain au chocolat on the balcony.   Can't beat it.

After breakfast, we headed up into the mountains to one of our favorite spots.   La Montagne des Singes, or Monkey Mountain is a refuge for Macaques.   We were so excited to see Sarah Avery feed them.   

Our good friends, the Ryan's spent the weekend in a neighboring village so we met them outside the entrance. 

Taking four kids five and under into a park with wild monkeys is a great idea, right?

Sarah Avery loved it and wanted to feed every single monkey.

This baby monkey was less than a month old.  

Susannah was a little more timid, but she finally fed this one when one of the zoo keepers told us that she was the oldest monkey in the park and a grandmother.   

"She tickled my hand Mommy!"

After the tour, we had lunch and played on the playground.   SA was so excited about the new monkey Susannah picked out for her at the gift shop.  

After naptime at the apartment, we headed out to explore the village and have some ice cream.   Sarah Avery was having more fun than she seems to be in this picture.  

The village was so charming and had such beautiful views of the vineyards.

We took a carriage ride with a horse named Penguin.

It was so relaxing and a great way to see the village.

This picture isn't very clear, but up on the mountain are the remnants of three different castles.

Sarah Avery loved the horse and didn't want to leave him.  

But luckily at dinner she found another unlikely friend, this Buddha statue.   

She was hilarious with this thing.   Whispering to it, giggling with it.   So random and so funny.

 On Sunday morning, we headed to the indoor pool complex in the village.  It had a great kids area and a big slide, even a lazy river.   But this being France, they also had crazy rules.   Which meant in addition to the entrance fee, we also had to buy 4 swim caps and a speedo for Peter.   I told Peter we should have taken a picture of the four of us in our suits and caps and used it for our 2016 Christmas card.  

After our morning at the pool, we packed up and headed home.   We opted to take the scenic route through the Black Forest and took a pit stop at one of our favorite spots from our time in Strasbourg, the Rechtalhutte.   It is a restaurant/hiking refuge with awesome views, baby goats and a fun playground.   

SA was a fan of all of it, especially the pet cat the slept up in the rafters above our table while we had cake and coffee.

She also loved the goats of course. 

It was a great way to end a fun family weekend.  

And now we are home to celebrate Peter's 36th birthday.   We started the morning with "Happy Birthday" and cinnamon rolls.   

More birthday fun to come this afternoon!

Happy Memorial Day to all of you.   And a huge thank you to all of the families who have sacrificed to give us the freedom that we so often take for granted.    On this day, we pause and remember you with sincere gratitude.  

Celebrations

The past couple of weeks have included lots of celebrating.  I turned 35 and Peter's command hosted his good-bye party.    We are slowly tying up loose ends and getting ready to say our good-byes to Stuttgart.   Things are definitely feeling very bitter sweet these days.   

Peter's good-bye party was fun.   Here he is receiving a medal from his boss.

When it was Peter's turn to talk, he thanked his girls.   When he said Sarah Avery's name she started clapping.    

The girls were so excited to celebrate mommy's birthday.   We had some friends over for cake and ice cream and they had their party hats on before the guests even arrived.

American birthday cake from the commissary was enjoyed by all.

It was the perfect relaxed way to celebrate.

Sunday morning the girls gave me an extra birthday gift and slept until 8:30 am.   Too late for church, so I got to go by myself and have brunch afterward with some friends.  

In other news, seasonal allergies are killing all of us.   SA has been waking super early so this is what she does in the car.   Passes out mid-snack.

SA and I have been soaking up as much time and chocolate croissants as we can at our favorite cafe.   We will miss our neighborhood community more than anything else for sure.   Always knowing that we will run into someone we know is so fun and definitely makes it so sad to leave.

The girls are really into matching lately.   I thought they looked so cute this morning when they were both reading in their matching pjs.  

Peacefully playing together......we enjoy these moments.   

SA and I spent another morning at the neighborhood park.    

She is such a silly girl.

And today, Peter kept SA so Susannah and I could go shopping downtown.   We had the best time and she was such a great little shopping partner.   We shared a scoop of ice cream on the way home so we were all smiles.

And those were the highlights of our recent days.    We are getting more and more excited about seeing all of you in a few weeks!   We wish we were there to give Grandmama a birthday hug today.   We love you grandmama!