Hello Germany.

Good-bye Iowa.

On the plane. Allie loved the turbulance and window shades...hated being confined to one place for 9 hours straight. Isabelle loved the non-stop movies and special treats...hated the 1:30 am (Iowa time) wake up call when we landed in Stuttgart.


Passing the time with books and games during our lay-over in Atlanta.

Grandpa and Grandma Miller and Uncle Shawn were there to see us off to Germany for another month.

Dramatic Allie and her even more dramatic Aunt Jamie.

We also had a super time staying with Aunt Kriston and Uncle Kevin. Isabelle and Allie had alot of fun playing with their cousins, Konner and Katelyn.

The girls outnumber the boys on my side of the family.

Isabelle, Allie, and I were able to make it to the Solon area for a quick visit. My sisters, Linda and Janet, brother in law, Brian and niece, Jill were also able to come up from Oklahoma for a long weekend. It was great to see everyone.

Isabelle the cat lady. Not surprisingly, Isabelle found herself to be quite happy being outdoors, playing with the animals (namely a very tame wormy cat and "Weiner" the dog) and checking out the farm scene and of course playing with her cousins!

Allie's famous "look". She gives it to everyone...don't take it personally Uncle Brian! :)

Meet Dayton, my newest nephew!

With all of the girls in the family, poor Dayton will certainly be forced to play dress-up (just like his dad).

Grandpa Koss shows Isabelle and Allie the sheep.

Allie practices standing up. She took just a step while we were in Iowa...but wouldn't take another.

Isabelle and her buddy Henry.

4 generations.

Grandpa Miller and Isabelle.

Allie finds Grandma Miller's lap a very comfy place!

Allie helps pack for our trip.

We made it to Iowa...and we made it back to Tuebingen! It is a big accomplishment with two small children in tow. They both did pretty well considering the distance and the jet lag. Although there were a few crying sessions...all and all it was okay. I do think that I suffer amnesia during our flights as I forget how painful it is. Our Iowa trip was full of family time and we got to see a few friends in the process. We mananged to stay on dry ground as we were in the midst of the worst of the flooding in Iowa. We couldn't believe the pictures and also the immense property and crop damage throughout the state. Where there was once corn and soybean fields became lakes and rivers. The water had receded as we were leaving and thank goodness they had some dry weather too. Thank you everyone for your hospitality and company! It was so great to see you all.

Just so you all didn't think we were abducted since I didn't post a weekly blog update...I thought I would let you know that we are still here but leaving tomorrow for Iowa for 2 weeks. I always wonder if traveling so much with the children make us extremely brave...or not very smart...maybe it is a little of both. Since Allie highly disagrees with being contained for a long time...it should be an interesting trip, but I am hopeful to say the least. I have a stash of gummi bears, puzzles and new toys to entice the girls...and of course for bribery. Unfortunately my camera is in a locker in Stuttgart, so no new downloads, but check back soon for updates...

A beautiful hill-side town with ruins in Bavaria.




Noerdlingen has the original city walls from the 14th century. You can go along the entire town by walking along the top of the covered walls. An interesting fact from one of our guidebooks said that the crater (where the city of Noerdlingen lies in), was used by the US astronauts to train for their first moon landing.

The city and country-side was very beautiful with cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses.

The pulpit is from 1499.

This late Gothic church is St Georgskirche.

After taking Dani and Kely to the airport, we visited the medieval town of Noerdlingen. About 15 million years ago a meteorite created the Ries Basin which is a huge crater that is about 25 km in diameter. The city walls follow the rim of the crater.

We felt pretty special that Dani and Kely came to see us with all of the world class cities to visit in Europe. Isabelle and Allie (and their mom and dad too) had a great time!

We also took a Trettboot (paddle boat) ride along the Neckar...Danielle and Kely paddled and steered while I relaxed in the back and enjoyed the company.

They were able to sample some fine southern German cuisine along with tasty beverages to wash it all down.

On Saturday, Danielle, Kely and the fam got to experience a little dancing action with live oompa bands (think polka...accordians...recorders...singing...you name it) at an Swabischer Albverein fest held this weekend. My dad would have loved it! It was pretty entertaining.

Isabelle and her new "cousin" Kely.

This weekend our niece Danielle and her friend Kely came to visit us in Tuebingen! They are both engineering students at Oklahoma University and studying in Clermont-Ferrand, France this summer. We had such a wonderful time and hope that they did too! Isabelle and Allie were very sad to see them go this morning.

Isabelle literally falls asleep standing up after a long day at kindergarten.