Die Emma war hier

All in all it was a WONDERFUL visit. Family, friends, and shopping!!!

Of course, it was all too short, too. Family, friends, and shopping :(

It was a strange, and nice feeling being with her in a place that I know and love so well. Not that she could really comprehend such a concept, but having her in LA, going to places I also love going was a really great feeling for me.

I was able to see a few of you over the holidays, but a bunch of you were sick or away over Thanksgiving. It was awesome to catch up with the ones I could, and if I missed you, well, I really MISS you, still. *sniff sniff*

Emma did fabulous, and had a bit of a difficult time adjusting back to Frankfurt time, but missed her brother & sister and was THRILLED to be back in Papi's arms!

"Emma was here".

Disneyland!

Hey Everyone,

I'm still catching you up on our US visit, then I'll catch you up on all things Frankfurt 2012.

We were lucky enough to get to go to Disneyland with my Brother, his wife, and my niece while we were out in LA. Sam's neighbors (Husband & Wife) both work for Disney and scored us some free passes so we could enjoy the sun Disney style.

THANK GOD, too. Because I was getting so desperate to take her to someplace like this, I was ALMOST going to take her to Disneyland in Paris - PUKE!!! Who wants their first trip to Disneyland to be in French. Peeeeee Ewwwww! That's French for, "No Thank You".

I thought that because we went on "Black Friday" that Disneyland would be relatively uncrowded...big mistake, HUGE, big. Lines were 50 minutes deep - for the kiddie ones, too! :(

Let's ride the tram.....wheeeeeee!

Nobody forget we parked in Eyore, or was it Mickey, oh hell.

At first she patiently waited for the rides.

Later, she was like a wild, rabid dog trying to bend through the bars.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

You gotta love "It's a small world".

Seriously, you gotta.

If you don't you're like a Communist or something.

Seriously.

Loves these pics.

M-I-C, See you real soon!

K-E-Y, WHY? Because we love you.

M-O-U-S-E

Zooperific!

I love the Zoo! Always have.

I still remember going to the LA Zoo and getting small animals made out of plastic from a vending machine that MADE it while you waited! It was the coolest thing. Does anyone else remember that machine??

So, of course another stop in our What to Do in Phoenix search was the Phoenix Zoo, which was actually voted one of the Top 5 Zoo's for Kids in the Nation! I would say it definitely lived up to that title.

Note to self: MORE globe, LESS asphalt.

mkthanks.

Look Ma, MONKEYS!

So Emma decided to pick her own outfit that day and WOULD NOT change for anything. I saw my Dad kinda sit back and watch me when I was ineffectively coaxing her out of her chosen ensemble. He was enjoying every minute of this whole "Parenthood" thing. And in the end, he said, "I think she looks beautiful".

Um, okay. I think you can give fashion advice when you learn there are other shirts besides Tommy Bahama shirts out there.

Giraffes!!

Hungry Giraffes!!

Sidenote: the woman here in the picture heard me speaking some German to Emma and we later learned her daughter lives in a town not far from us. We had a nice conversation, and it was actually nice to find a use for my German outside of Germany.

We had a great time, and made some great memories with my Dad! Another spot that comes highly recommended by the Spoerhase Five - although it was only two of us, and I'm not technically a "Spoerhase". Does that make it any less of a recommendation?? :)

Kids Museum

The Phoenix Kids Museum was great! I had read about things to do with Kids before we left, and that was top of the list - now I see why.

There were so many things to look at, play with, and listen to there that we could've spent all day there! Of course the Emma was a hot, crying mess when I had to CARRY her out of there.

This will definitely be on the list of things to do the next time we're there...or you're there!

You can read more about it here, but it comes highly recommended by the Spoerhase Five.

She was fascinated by these little air pocket thingies (technical name??)

They had a 3 story high "climbing tree" made out of all recycled parts.

You could actually get into this suspended flying tub, super cool!

Ahhh, happiness.

Ain't she purdy??

Drive thru Car Wash

(on tricycles).

I was kinda sad my legs were sooo long. -that's the only time I can say that! :)

16 hours, from door to door

That's right.

16 hours from door to door. Frankfurt to Phoenix, AZ - where my Dad is living

Emma did great! She didn't sleep too much, but when we were getting off the plane I had so many people (I never even saw sitting near us!) come up to me and say how delightful she was.

Delightful? My Emma? Whythankyouverymuch!

One thing is for sure, this kid loves to fly...looks like we're in for an expensive few years. :)

We may be coming from the cold of Frankfurt.

But we come prepared for sun.

Of course Opa (Grandpa) Randy was thrilled to death with her.

She can do no wrong by him -

she starts a fire, he says, "look how evenly that fire's burning!"

So we enjoyed our first few days being lazy and going on carousel's and riding elephants.

I mean, what else does Phoenix have to offer??!

I'm not dead...I just feel like it

Sorry for the lack of posts for the past few months. There's a slew of explanations but I will try to post about most of them, and keep my whining minimal. :P