Sam and Misty: October update

In my continued attempt to catch up on this blog I am giving a brief overview of October. I get so bogged down because life is so busy and then when I do have the time to sit down to update the blog I have so many pictures to choose from. I really should just be more picky and post the real highlights, but since this ends up being a sort of journal of our lives I end up adding more than I probably need. Anyhow, here is what was going on in our lives in October.

We figured if Elly was going to be going on bike rides with Daddy (and even for her tricycle) she needed to have the proper gear to keep her safe. So, we picked out a helmet and pads at the PX. In the end they haven't gotten much use, but as you can see they were great additions to her stash of dress up clothes. Sometimes I really have no words..... :)

Over Veteran's day we decided to drive to Nürnberg (or Nuremberg to us Americans) to check it out. There are so many places to see in Germany (not to mention all of Europe) that we like it when we can check one off of our list.

Nuremberg held great significance during the Nazi Germany era as it was chosen by the Nazi Party to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions - the Nuremberg Rallies. It was at the 1935 rally where Hitler passed the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws, which revoked German citizenship for all Jews.

Also, after the war, German officials involved in the Holocaust and other war crimes were brought before an international tribunal in the Nuremberg Trials. So, there is a lot of history to be seen. Unfortunately, we didn't end up having much time in Nuremberg. We should have spent the night, but we didn't so we just saw all that we could in the time we had. Nuremberg is also known for their Bratwurst and Lebkuchen. Sam had read about this restaurant, Zum Guldenen Stern, which claims to be the oldest Bratwurst restaurant in the world. It has been in business since 1419, so of course we decided to have lunch there. Honesty, it wasn't my favorite food. The brats just tasted like breakfast sausage and it came with a side of German potato salad, but it was a cute little restaurant and the brats were cooked over an open flame. It all seemed very "old world" and unique.

Since we were short on time, it was quite chilly and Elly wouldn't be able to get much ground covered with her short little legs, we decided to get a bicycle tour. It was a great way to see around the city and have some of the history explained to us. I wish I would have taken a picture of us in our bicycle, but you'll just have to use your imagination. We three were all snuggled in the back seat under a blanket and our guide peddled away (with the help of a battery back up). It was a nice experience. However, due to being in the bicycle I wasn't able to get any great photos around town. Here are just a few snapshots on the tour.

One weekend we decided to check out Tripsdrill, which is a local amusement park. Sam had been to it a number of times when he worked at SAS, but Elly and I had never been. It was a fun day. True to German style, Elly was allowed to ride these cars completely on her own. I was a little nervous since I couldn't see her the entire time, but she did fine and had a great time.

Sam wanted to ride on the roller coaster. It was made completely of wood and rattled something terrible. I had no desire to get on that thing. Roller coasters are not for me.

Sam is in the very front seat having a great time.

Our first snow fall came in October this year. Back in Alaska that is nothing unusual, but here it was a little bit early. Elly had a lot of fun playing in it.

The snow all melted off by Halloween. In the past I have been together enough to order Elly a costume online. The PX gets some in, but every other American child is picking from the same ones. This year it kind of sneaked up on me and I ran out of time, so I bought her costume at the PX. She ended up being a Ballerina Kitty (I have no idea what those two things have in common, but that's what we had to choose from).