For his kids' party, Rowan chose to do an escape room with a couple of friends from school (one ended up having something come up and wasn't able to make it) plus some family friends. They had a great time and managed to escape with five minutes to spare. Rowan chose Chick Fil A for dinner afterwards.
July 27, 2019:
Rowan's actual birthday started out with a donut breakfast. Having a Saturday birthday was so fun since we Daddy was home all day.
Rowan loved this book of cars.
A super soft, snuggly blanket was one of just a few things on Rowan's list this year.
His final gift from us was the most hoped for item on his list.
Grammy & Grampy sent a few small items....
...and a larger item! After our bike ride in Salzburg, Rowan requested a new bike with the ability to change gears.
Thank you, Uncle Randy, Aunt Nicole & Emmett for the Game Stop gift card. Row picked out a second controller for his Xbox so that he and Cruzy can play together.
Thank you so much Grandpa & Deona for the Xbox gift cards! Rowan got to download three new games!
Thank you so much for the check and card, Linda!
Aunt Amanda managed to find his favorite Cubs player, Willson Contreras in lego form! Thank you so much for that and the Xbox gift cards Aunt Amanda, Uncle Nate, Jadey & Jem!
Rowan chose Jason's Deli for lunch.
After lunch, Daddy and the boys went to do the Soar Adventure Tower ropes course. Thank you Aunty Jill and Uncle Jim for the gift card to do this from Christmas. Everyone had a really fabulous time and I was able to grab some pictures of the boys from Soar's website.
We finished Row's special day with a giant cookie cake and singing happy birthday!
Rowan:
We are so thankful for another year of Rowan! Its crazy that you are eleven years old and getting ready to start middle (okay, intermediate) school. You are about 74 pounds and 57 inches tall. Best thing about that is that you are officially tall enough to ride without a booster seat in the car. You are so thoughtful and caring, Rowan. One of my favorite things I've seen in you this year is recognizing that you should have spoken up/acted/stood up for someone and you didn't. The fact that those situations made such impressions on you really speaks to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. You are dependable, trust worthy and you loved to feel needed. You are a quiet leader. You are not afraid to be you and do your own thing. I have seen so much growth in your faith, your academics and your character this year. I am constantly amazed at who God is creating you to be.
Our prayer for you this year is that you grow in patience, sweet Rowan. Patience with others, patience in situations and patience in hearing God in your life.
Even though we spent a big chunk of July on vacation, we managed to make quite a few memories at home too!
Pool:
The kiddos created a hose limbo game. I'm just thankful it didn't end in an ER trip.
I LOVE that toothless smile.
Dance Camp/Workshops:
Sissy has been busy dancing her heart out at Dance Camp.
Meeting Emmett:
A HUGE highlight of July was going to Illinois and meeting our new nephew Emmett born to Randy & Nicole. There's no question that all five of us are in love with this little nugget.
Grandma and all four grandkids.
Coco wasn't sure about holding Emmett at first. In the end though, we could hardly get her to give him up.
We love you, Emmett!!
Family Weekend:
A super fun yearly tradition that we always look forward to is meeting up with the entire Obermayer side of the family for a long weekend.
I have five cousins total on this side but growing up, us four girl cousins were super close and great friends! Its just the best to get our kids together especially because they all love playing together!
All of our kiddos in number order ranging from almost 11 to almost 1.5.
We celebrated my grandma (GeeGee) turning 92 this year! I am so thankful that we all get together for fun and fellowship. Our family is truly a blessing.
Cora Splits:
Coco has been stretching and practicing her splits (both ways) each night before bed for a couple of months and she finally mastered one way! So proud of her perseverance.
On Sunday morning we left our hotel in Salzburg and headed to the airport where we rented a car for the remaining days of our trip. Roger was a pro and handled a new country and new car so easily. As expected, the autobahn was a huge hit for him. We got up to 200 kph (about 125 mph) at some points but Roger really drove responsibly around 100 mph most of the time (ha).
Oberammergau, Germany:
The first stop on our road trip was a place called Oberammergau in Germany. We wanted to hit up a Bavarian town on our drive and this one was perfect for several reasons. First of all, it had an alpine coaster!
The chairlift ride up was half the fun!
The fact that Rowan was on his own lift ahead of us was a smidge unsettling especially because the bars in front of us were not secured. Of course, he did just fine.
The cows had bells around their necks!!
The views were gorgeous on the way up!
Rowan got to ride by himself on the coaster. Coco and I rode together as did Daddy and Cruz.
The ride down was a blast!! Coco and I didn't hit the breaks the entire time until the very end! We were so thankful that the rain held off too- what an answer to prayer! We had perfect warm and sunny weather up until this point but our road trip weather was a bit chillier and slightly rainy. None of our plans were rained out though!
We went into town to explore charming Oberammergau in the rain! It was Sunday so we were disappointed to find several places were closed including the Christmas store where the kids planned to choose their ornaments.
We found delicious food and ate under an awning outside. It was so peaceful.
The food was delicious as well!
The kids offered to take our pictures with my big camera which was so sweet. Each time though, they all wanted to take one so we had a variety to choose from.
The boys had delicious milk from local alpine cows. It was super creamy and left the best mustaches.
Obviously, pretzels were part of their German meal.
Neuschwanstein Castle:
This beautiful castle in Bavaria was built by "Mad" King Ludwig for his own amusement. It is also said to be the castle that inspired Walt Disney to build the Magic Kingdom.
The hike closer to the castle was long and it was rainy so we were content to enjoy the beauty from down on the ground.
Munich, Germany:
We spent the night in an apartment just outside of Munich and spent the next morning exploring the city. This day was also July 8, our 13th wedding anniversary.
We found the famous boar statue outside the Hunting and Fishing Museum.
We almost lost Cruz to a giant fish!
We stopped by Marienplatz, Munich's main square since the 1100's.
There was so much old mixed in with so much new in Munich.
We made a quick cigar stop!
The kids, especially the boys, were SO excited to visit the BMW Welt and Plant.
There were lots of fun cars to see but the best part was the two and a half hour plant tour where we got to witness BMW's being built from start to finish. Even Cora and I enjoyed this tour. Our guide was amazing but one thing that made us chuckle was his use of W and V. In German, the W is pronounced as a V. So Wien is actually pronounced Vien. Well, our guide did this the other way around too. So Elevator was pronounced Elewator or a V8 engine was a Wii8. Anyway, just something I want to remember.
No photos were allowed in the tour but it was such a fun experience!
There is NO WHERE else I would have rather spent our 13th anniversary! Love you so much, babe!
Hallstatt, Austria:
Our final destination was a small mountain town in Austria called Hallstatt. The drive was gorgeous and somehow made even more pretty by the rain and low hanging clouds.
Our aparthotel was sooooo pretty!
The mountain air made these three a little crazy... or something like that.
We had a darling little balcony!
It was still rainy the next morning but Cora (and the rest of us) were determined not to let it stop our fun.
We got to make another funicular ride to the Hallstatt Salt Mines.
These four braved the salt mines! The Hallstatt Salt Mine is believed to be the oldest salt mine with evidence that supposedly dates back to 1500-1200 BC. The tour consisted of a walk deep into the mine, a ride on the slides that miners used, the ability to see salt deep in the mine and a train ride back out.
The kids and Daddy donned their protective jumpsuits.
I wasn't super thrilled about the idea of the tight spaces in the cave so I stayed outside the mine...(this train picture confirmed that I probably made the right choice). I spent the time taking some beautiful pictures from the mountain.
Showing the exit where the little train emerged from the mine.
You can see R, R, C & C across on the bridge.
Gorgeous views overlooking Hallstatt.
We headed down the mountain to spend the afternoon in the village of Hallstatt.
It was so picturesque even with the grey skies.
We rented an electric boat and spent some time exploring the lake.
The boys took turns driving and Roger and I just got to sit back and relax.
Coco got to drive too although I don't think of any us sat back and relaxed with her at the wheel. ;)
Christuskirche
Schaumrollen are basically warm pastries filled with cream. They were so delicious.
The kids preferred ice cream as always! Cruz is our sweet tooth and the child most excited about getting ice cream which is why he's normally the one pictured with dessert.
The kids spent the evening playing at the playground at our complex.
I didn't take any pictures but we went to a cute little Italian restaurant for dinner where we had pizza, pasta and apple strudel. We also learned that the German word for "pepperoni" ISN'T "pfefferoni." We assumed that it meant pepperoni and were surprised when our pizza came topped with hot peppers!
Mauthausen, Austria:
On Wednesday, we began our drive back towards Prague in anticipation of our flight out Thursday morning. We stopped about two hours into the drive at a Nazi Concentration Camp called Mauthausen.
There are really no words to describe this experience. I did not take a lot of pictures but this is the entrance to the camp. The prisoners (thousands and thousands at a time) would gather in this court yard upon their arrival where they were sorted by the SS soldiers.
We read many accounts from survivors of the camp and one thing that really stood out to me was that the prisoners said when they arrived, they couldn't believe the beauty of the country side. What a contrast that was to the prison in which they lived.
It didn't seem right to have smiling faces in photos. Cruz wasn't as upset as he looks. Each of us processed this experience in our own way. Initially, Roger and I weren't sure that it was somewhere we wanted to take the kids but we decided to based on the fact that Rowan is entering middle school and it probably is extremely age appropriate for him and based on the fact that it opened so many doors of conversation regarding standing up for people and what is right, even when it isn't popular.
Such a poignant and moving experience for our little family.
Czesky Krumlov, Czech Republic:
We continued our drive north and made one final stop in the medival town of Czesky Krumlov. This little town sits about 3 hours outside of Prague and it's charming as can be with roots that began in the 1200's
The Vltava River flows through this area of the Czech Republic and the town was built up around it.
We ate a delicious lunch overlooking the river and watching the kayakers float on by. We wished we had more time!
We enjoyed one last Trdelnik before hopping in the car and driving the rest of the way to our apartment near the airport in Prague. We got up the next morning and headed to the airport. Our flight was long but uneventful. When we arrived in Philly, we found our SW flight to Nashville was delayed due to weather. We were tired anyways so instead of hanging around hoping the flight actually got out, we stayed at a nearby Marriott and hopped the 6am flight home the next day.
This trip was AMAZING, the best family time and such a huge blessing. We are beyond thankful that we were able to do this with our family. I hope and pray that these experiences are providing our kiddos with confidence in new situations, comfort in being uncomfortable in new situations and awe and wonder for the big world that God has created. Our ultimate prayer is that God would use these experiences to grow, strengthen and prepare them for the work He has for them to do for His Kingdom.
