Happy Easter!!

The time has gone by so fast since Mom and Dad (and Bea) arrived!! It seems like they just got here and it is time for them to go home already!! Three and a half weeks is just not enough. We could not have survived without them. Henry is going to be heartbroken when they leave Tuesday morning, now I just have to convince him that it won't be 6 months before he sees them again!!

We have continued to stay busy. On Thursday we stuck close to home and took a boat ride on the Neckar River through Heidelberg. The weather was amazing, again, and the views were wonderful. Henry kept pretending he was a pirate (the fun kind) and Bea managed to sleep through the entire ride. After the boat ride, Dad took Henry home while Mom, Bea and I stayed downtown Heidelberg to shop.

John had the day off work on Friday, so we headed down to the Black Forest. Our destination was a small town in the hills called Triberg. Triberg is best known for its cuckoo clocks and is also home to Germany's largest waterfall. John and I had never been, so we were not sure what to expect. As you can see by the pictures below, the Black Forest is spectacular. We visited the waterfall, the cuckoo clock museum, the world's largest cuckoo clock, had a wonderful outdoor lunch, played in a park, hiked, and drove in the mountains. Thanks Mom and Dad for an amazing day!!

On Saturday we were all pretty exhausted from our travels the day before, so we stuck close to home. Mom and I prepared for Easter while John and my Dad visited a local restaurant and beer garden. Later in the day, Henry and John went to park and came home with the most amazing tulips for me from a "pick your own" tulip farm. Papa and Nana also made their famous bunny cake for Henry and Bea and later we had a small egg hunt for Henry and, of course, Easter Bunny visited with a few new toys and clothes for Henry and Bea, thank you Easter Bunny!

After church on Sunday, we joined our friends Nick and Molly at their place for lunch. The children had an Easter egg hunt, played in the garden, and managed to find a bottle of baby powder to make "snow"!?!? Thanks Nick and Molly for a wonderful day.

Enjoy the pictures below.

Schwetzingen, Strasbourg, and Heidelberg

The weather here in Germany has continued to be wonderful, so we are making the most of it. After church on Sunday, we drove to Schwetzingen, a quaint town about 10 minutes from Heidelberg. Like Heidelberg, Schwetzingen is home to a spectacular castle. This castle was used as a "summer home" for royalty. In addition to the many detailed buildings and structures on the property, there were acres and acres of gardens. The daffodils were in full bloom as were all of the flowering trees. We must have walked for two hours and still did not see the entire property. In addition to the sites, there was a darling outdoor cafe and, as usual, Henry found an ice cream stand along the way.

On Monday John and I drove Bea to the American Consulant in Frankfurt to help her with her passport and citizenship. We made the appointment right after she was born and Tuesday was the soonest we could get in. I was amazed at how busy the consulant was. There were hundreds and hundreds of people applying for citizenship and trying to get passports to travel to the U.S. After two hours of going from window to window, we were successful and are anxiously waiting for Bea's passport to arrive.

On Tuesday we drove to Strasbourg, France. We have visited Strasbourg before, so we knew it was worth the drive. The city is just across the border of France and because it has been both French and German, it is the best of both countries. In addition to sight seeing, we took a boat ride on the Rhine River around the city and had a wonderful lunch outside.

On Thursday we finally toured the Heidelberg Castle. John and I have walked past it a several times and I drive by it 4 times a day taking Henry to and from school, but have not been inside yet!! As you can see by the photos below, it is well preserved and sits high on a hill, so the views are spectacular. It was a steep hike up to the entrance, but we managed.

We have made the most of the rest of the week, I will blog more later - it is difficult to keep up, we have been too busy.

Happy Easter.

A Busy Week

This has been a busy week for the Archers. The weather has been absolutely wonderful in Germany (finally). The sun has been out everyday since we returned home from the hospital and the temps have been in the upper 60's and low 70's. Bea is doing great. She is growing so fast, I cannot believe she is almost two weeks old already!! Henry loves his sister, but is even happier about Papa and Nana being here. Everyday when he goes to school he asks them if they will be here when he gets home. He started spring break this week, so he will have the next two weeks off to be with them.

Here is a recap of our week....

Last weekend there was a cute little carnival just a couple of blocks from our house. Although it was small, it was the perfect size for someone Henry's age. My Dad and John took Henry once and then John and I took Henry back for more fun. Henry and John had fun on the bumper cars and also found some yummy treats along the way.

John had to return to work on Monday, so we stayed close to home. My Mom, Bea and I went shopping downtown Heidelberg while my Dad hung out with Henry. As I mentioned above, the weather could not have been nicer, so we did a lot of walking and outdoor exploring.

On Tuesday my Mom, Bea and I went downtown Mannheim for more shopping. John met us for lunch at a local restaurant and later that day he was able to squeeze in 9 holes of golf. Mom, Dad, Henry, Bea and I took the tram downtown Heidelberg later that evening for pizza. Another day full of walking and fun. Later that evening we had a nice visit from another JD family.

On Wednesday I had my HCSC (Heidelberg Community Spouse's Club) monthly luncheon. This is an event I always look forward to and wanted my Mom to join me, so the three of us (we took Bea) went for an afternoon of entertainment, shopping and fun. Several different vendors come to the luncheons and sell merchandise such as jewelry, purses, pottery, linens and various other items. We had a great time, and Bea was the star of the show.

On Thursday I wanted to show my Mom Germany's "American Style" mall (yes, more shopping), so we spent the day browsing around a mall in a neighboring town. My Mom loves all of the shoe stores here - it seems every other store is a shoe store. Later that day I had an appointment with my doctor, so my Mom and Bea tagged along. Dr. Lieder was happy to see Bea doing so well and my Mom was interested to see the differences between office visits in Germany compared to those in the States. Our good friend Molly and her daughter Lucy came to visit later that night.

Finally, on Friday we set off for Trier. Trier is the oldest city in Germany and also is home the Trier Cathedral which houses the Holy Tunic, the robe Jesus was wearing when he died. Trier is also an old stomping ground for my Dad. When he was in the Air Force nearly 45 years ago, he was stationed in Spangdahlem, Germany, a small town 30 minutes from Trier - he and his friends visited Trier to "sight see" once in a while. Later that day we drove to Spangdahlem. Although he did not recognize much of the town, we enjoyed the visit and the drive was spectacular.

On Saturday we took Henry to the Heidelberg Zoo. We enjoyed the sunshine, walking, visiting the animals and the beautiful flowers in bloom.

Below are many pictures from our week.

I will blog more in a couple of days. Thanks for all of your well wishes, we will be home for a visit soon.

Welcome Baby Beatrice!!

As most of you know by now, John, Henry, and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl to our family on Tuesday morning. After months of anticipation and excitement, Beatrice Farrey Archer arrived at 8:42 AM. Weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 21 inches long, she is certainly a beautiful little girl.

The German birth experience was certainly different from what I experienced when I had Henry - an interesting and somewhat amusing story to tell. I am very happy to home with my family and grateful my parents were here to help.

Henry has welcomed Beatrice with open arms. He was anxious to share his dinosaurs and other toys with her upon her arrival. Beatrice arrived bearing gifts for him as well. Somehow, between eating and sleeping she found time to shop for a few new toy animals for her big brother. We were thrilled that Henry has shown no signs of jealousy so far and is very loving with his new sister.

Nana bought Henry a new "Big Brother" tee shirt to wear to school the day Beatrice was born. Below are a few pictures from his day at school and pictures of Beatrice, of course. Enjoy.

Thanks for all of you emails, phone calls and well wishes. We are a very lucky family.

Papa and Nana are here!!!

Yesterday my Mom and Dad arrived safely in Frankfurt. We are so excited to have them here. After a day of rest yesterday, we are getting ready for a fun weekend. Here are a few pictures from the airport. Thanks for all of your well wishes.

School Days

Last week Henry's preschool celebrated their two year anniversary with a party! Parents were invited to join the celebration which consisted of cake, punch and plenty of singing and dancing. I think we sang "Happy Birthday" in six different languages to include every child's native language. Here are a few pictures from the party.

At home we had a very quite weekend. The weather was rainy and John was out of town working, so Henry and I stayed close to home. We would like to wish Uncle Luke a very Happy Birthday this week.

Rothenburg

The weather here is finally starting to warm up, so last Saturday we ventured out to Rothenburg, Germany with friends. It is a small, midevil town only about an hour and a half away from Heidelberg, so it made for a perfect day trip. The town of Rothenburg is featured in several movies, the most popular probably being Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Pinocchio. It is also home to Kathy Wolfhart, a very popular designer of traditional German Christmas decorations. Her flagship store is located in Rothenburg. Henry enjoyed all of the sites and displays the store had to offer and I think we will definitely need another Christmas tree to accommodate the beautiful ornaments we found.

Below are a few pictures from the day, this town is definitely on our "to do" list when my parents arrive.