Next port Piraeus (Athens).....

Our next stop was Athens, Greece!

Today we visited the modern day Olympic stadium....
very different than the ancient stadium we visited yesterday!
**If you look closely you'll be able to see the rings just above Colton's head.

.....leading us to the next stop

and up to the Parthenon....

One of the first things that we noticed as we were walking up the trail to the Parthenon were the stray dogs EVERYWHERE (here are just a few)! Now, try to keep 5 animal loving kids away from these dogs was quite the challenge to say the least!!!!

On our way back to the port we drove past a Sunday street market. It was packed, went for MANY blocks, and did I mention packed??

Minor traffic jam!
Is there a problem making a left turn from the right lane while cutting off 2 more cars????...Apparently not for this driver!
Thought this spice shop looked interesting...

Goodbye Athens!

1st stop.....Olympia, Greece

We sailed for an entire day before arriving at Katakolon, Greece on December 18th. A bus drove us to Olympia for a bit of history....

Entering the ancient Olympic stadium...

Inside the stadium...

Did you know that all of the athletes competing in the games here were naked?....Interesting!

The remains of the Temple of Zeus is located very close to the stadium....

We learned that sticks are very important to 2 year olds:)

After touring the area (a LOT to see), we rode the bus back to a little

Greek restaurant to taste some traditional food, drinks (minus the Coke) and dance!

Lauren and Sarah went down to join the dances...

Lemon trees were everywhere....
The next port was not far away!

12 Days of Christmas on the Splendida

This year we spent our Christmas holiday aboard the MSC Splendida for the 12 Days of Christmas cruise. We left for Genoa, Italy in the EARLY (2:30 am to be exact) morning hours on December 16th. The drive wasn't too bad until we ran into snow in Switzerland....we were worried this would happen since we have been getting a TON of snow!! Most importantly, we made it to the port in time for our first cruise as a family and we LOVED it!!

Our room (9055) shared with Jacque and Ian....

Colton, Lauren, and Sarah stayed in this room (9045) across the hall.
A bunk bed was pulled down from the ceiling each night so there were enough beds.

One of the pool decks....

Music played everywhere on the ship....

The kids loved the jeweled steps....

Stay tuned for our first port of call!

Smoothy mess = upgraded surprise

I've been wanting an upgraded camera for a while now, but just couldn't justify purchasing one since I had a perfectly good camera. I finally have a NEED for one thanks to Jacque! I had been taking pictures not too long ago. I sat my camera down in the kitchen while I was making a smoothy (mistake #1). I had just put all of the ingredients away (mistake #2 turning back on 4 yr old) when I hear the blender turn on.....yes, Jacque turned it on without the lid. There was a mess everywhere including all over my camera. I cleaned it up as much as I could and it worked ok for a little while, well until now. It is practically impossible to turn the camera on....grrr!

My husband bought me this last night.......

The Canon 60D!

I LOVE it even though it is more camera that I even know how to use right now! I preordered a book last night that will hopefully help me get the most use out of this camera.

THANK YOU Babe......you are the best!

September is FULL of festivals in practically every Village.

They are basically mini Oktoberfests that are just a little bit closer than Munich!

I met up with a few friends and we ventured off to a local festival!
First stop was food and entertainment....

We had bratwursts and a few baguettes.
No pictures as we were busy eating!!!

We stopped here.....

All of the girls in the group got a braid.

Here is Lauren & Sarah's...

Then off to the rides!

I love these festivals!!

Soon it will be Weihnachtsmarkt season which I LOVE!!!

Pumpkins & more....

We went to a pumpkin patch today so the kids could pick out their pumpkins.

We arrived just in time to take a ride up to the family farm.....

There were all kinds of animals to pet.....

...and hold, catch, chase
Ian was so excited when another tractor drove by....
Here are the kids before I set them free in the pumpkin patch....
And they are off...
Does this pumpkin patch look a little strange??

Notice that slope??

Well, It was pretty steep!

I put a pumpkin down to take a picture of Ian
and it began to roll VERY quickly!
Yes, I took my almost 2 year old out with an out of control pumpkin.
No picture of him laying on the ground, but here he is soon after!

Ian found a hole as we were lugging the pumpkins up to the scale
and thought it was a great place to sit!
...and our final stop before heading home