Germany

Although now that we have been home for a few weeks Pat and I keep saying "were we really just in Germany?".... but YES, we did get to go to Germany JUST the two of us!  My sisters juggled our three children in Memphis for a week as they lived their normal crazy busy schedules with 7 children but had 10 instead :)  THANK YOU Alyson and Stephanie!

Mainz, Germany

Pats parents have good friends who live here and we really enjoyed spending time with them and having a home to get over our jet lag in :)

The city is right on the Rhine, we took a day to drive along the Rhine.  It was amazing how around every turn there was another castle overlooking the river.

Yes folks this is my scared of heights husband in a cable car above the vineyards! 
The first of many times he faced his fear on this trip. 
I think the bad experience the first time we went to the Eiffel tower has made him try to face it head on :)

Pat and I then headed off  (he LOVED the Autobahn :)) to Rothenburg.  We stayed in the above castle.

Pat thought I needed to wear this item from the crime and punishment museum... for quarrelsome women... and I pointed out it said couples too :)

It was a cute little town.  We stayed late one night for the night watchman's tour and enjoyed seeing the city very quiet.

On to Neuschwanstein in the alps.

And YES here he is again, on a HIGH suspension bridge above a rocky waterfall... I was proud of him... lets just say he didn't quite have this smile the whole time and he's not leaning on the railing because he wants to but out of need :)

Then on to Munich and the Hofbrahaus... the first time I have ever ordered my own beer!  I am a wine girl.  I got the radler (half beer half lemonade), it was pretty good, I could see liking it on the beach in the summer... still give me the wine.

We spent a VERY sobering day at Dachau.  It was moving to say the least.  An experience that would be good for everyone to have.  It was awful, sickening, well memorialized... just moving, I can't really explain it.  How do you wrap your mind around the fact that this REALLY happened, that people treated others this way.  What a sinful world we live in.

And one more shot of my husband doing it again... this time he didn't think his legs were actually going to move for him.  This was in a tower in Nurenburg, our last stop before we headed back to fly out of Frankfurt.

Pat and I had an AMAZING trip.  We have not done something like this since our honeymoon 8 years ago.  He earned a trip through work and because of several reasons we wound up just getting the cash and saved it until I was done nursing Joel.  We decided it was our 30th bday trip.  The boys did amazing for my sisters, Praise the Lord, Will actually balled when we had to leave Memphis :)