2014: Year in Review

We failed to send out a Christmas card this year... so here are our highlights from 2014!

1. House Guests: In March my parents came to visit, which was a nice break from my day-to-day alone with Santiago. We were able to see Prague with them (for the second time) and explore the local area.  Mostly, they just gave their grandson a lot of love and attention for the whole week.

2.  End of deployment:  It felt like the whole first quarter of the year was a wind down of the deployment. April couldn't arrive soon enough!  From Hyrum's end, the weather started warming up a bit, and their base endured an explosion from suicide bombers which lead to a lot of injuries and one fatality.  It made us grateful for the blessings we'd received during the deployment, and even more anxious for the soldiers to come home.  On my end, I'd pretty much accomplished most of my 'deployment goals', most significantly losing all my baby weight (it was a lot!  and I almost want to include it as a main highlight of the year because of the amount of broccoli I endured...)  I was excited to be done with our terrible Skype connection once and for all.

3.  Homecoming: Hyrum would classify this as one of the happiest days of his life.  Not only was he home from Afghanistan, but he was meeting his son for the first time.  There was so much excitement and anxiety in the minutes before the troops marched in, but it was well worth the wait.  Tiago mostly cooperated as he tried to figure out who this new guy was, and only melted down during our first family picture.  But he still looked adorable in his little army outfit.  The readjustment period following the homecoming had its challenges but nothing that a little time can't fix.

4. Greece & the World Cup:  After the deployment Hyrum had plenty of vacation days, plus paternity leave that he'd never used, so we were able to take a nice relaxing family vacation to Greece.  White sand, pink sand, feta cheese and fresh tomatoes, sunsets on the water, and very little on our itinerary.. it was great and very relaxing!  Hyrum followed up that vacation with a whirl-wind trip to Brazil for the World Cup, which would also probably account for some of the happiest days of his life, something he's looked forward to for over 25 years.  He traveled to 4 different cities with some Colombian friends watching as much soccer as possible, and eating at several churrasquerias.  (He even made it onto the news a few times.) Colombia did well, and even after he returned back to Germany we continued to cheer on both Colombia and USA.

5.  Sleep: A significant event for me this year was when Tiago started sleeping through the night.  I never had the chance to split feedings with another adult, since Hyrum was far, far away, so getting 8 consecutive hours of sleep was magical.  Maybe this seems extra wonderful to me right now because I'm foreseeing a lot of sleepless nights in my future.

6.  Travel: We had so many opportunities this year to visit new places, in addition to Greece and Brazil.  One of my favorites was the Netherlands, with the Keukenhof tulip gardens in full bloom and beautiful weather to see all the windmills.  We also saw London, Berlin, Poland, and other parts of Germany.  I took a trip to Scotland with some friends to run in a half-marathon, which turned into half of a half for me.

7.  Tiago: In general, we had fun watching Tiago hit several milestones this year.  First, he got hair, which has made a huge difference in his appearance.  He finally had his baby blessing once Hyrum returned from deployment, he got teeth, learned to crawl, then walk, and in general has become a lot more fun and is as cute as ever.  

8.  Local living: If it's possible to get burned out on travel, I think I'm close.  One thing we've enjoyed about this year is sticking close to home and enjoying some of what's offered locally.  In the spring there were beautiful yellow fields popping up all over the place, and we spent many hours at pools and playgrounds.  In December we've enjoyed local Christmas markets and seeing new towns.

9.  Utah: We spent 3 weeks visiting family in November, and we're lucky enough that our parents live only 30 minutes apart.  My sister got married, we shopped, ate, and celebrated Thanksgiving.  It was Hyrum's first trip to Utah to see family since Christmas of 2011, so being able to see everyone was a treat for him.  Most of our nieces and nephews have grown so much they look like different people.

10. Twins: And probably our most life-changing highlight of the year was finding out I was pregnant... then finding out they were twins.. then finding out we'll have two girls at the beginning of 2015.  I'm counting down the days because I'm excited to meet them, and I'm excited to not be pregnant anymore!  We've been busy gathering things like a double stroller, two more car seats, a second crib, and of course lots of cute baby girl clothes.  Their presence alone in 2015 will definitely make it a year to remember... or maybe the sleep deprivation will make it a year we forget.

Utah: Part II

The Sunday that we got back from Vernal we were able to visit a lot of people... and eat a lot of delicious food.  Right after church we had some amazing pork tenderloin that my mom cooked.  After that we visited Hyrum's family and his mom had made ajiaco (Hyrum's favorite Colombian soup.)  And at dinner time we visited the Jones family and had Cincinnati Chili.  They were baptized while we were living in the Kirtland Ward, and have recently relocated to Utah.  It's nice that they're close enough to visit now!

I like this picture for two reasons.  First, Matt owns multiple 3-piece suits and wears them regularly, along with fancy shoes, argyle socks and expensive watches and cuffflinks.  And second, speaking of cuff links, he ordered a bunch of large stones online that he can use to make flashy cuff links.  He had multiple tools out to examine the stones, including an eye piece and measuring tape.  I'm pretty sure he's meant to be doing this in a workshop next door to a cobbler and butcher, about 300 years ago.  

No story here, but they're the next chronological pictures on my camera.  Tiago had so much fun taking baths; he got a few new bath toys from Sariah and my mom.  

I don't have pictures from Monday.  We drove down to Lehi in the morning so Tiago could play with his cousins.  I'd say he had fun playing with them, but he had equal amounts of fun just being able to play with their toys.  He loves exploring new places and new toys... the stuff at our house always seems to be boring.  Ella spent a long time trying to figure out the deal with the babies that are inside of me... and when she'd be able to see them.

After Lehi we stopped in Orem so Hyrum could see Doug's office space and the massive production that goes on there.  Then we went to Jdawgs, of course.  Hyrum hasn't been back to Provo/Orem since 2011, so he was very  nostalgic as we passed UVU (his old school) and the plasma center where he used to work.  Driving down University Parkway he reminisced about how many times he drove down that road getting between home and school.

Our last stop was in Provo to visit Hyrum's friend Claudio.  We always joke that before Hyrum and I got married, Claudio was his other soul mate.  They did everything together back when they were running around Provo as bachelors.  Then they both got married... and had kids.  It's crazy how time flies.

As we drove out of Provo we were able to see construction on the Provo City Center temple.

That night we went to Red Robbin with my parents.  Great choice!  That place never disappoints.  Tiago got spoiled with attention while we waited for a table, then got spoiled with a milkshake once we were seated.  Luckily he likes french fries, so he was pretty entertained while we ate.  

Tuesday was another packed day.  I spent a while with my mom re-learning how to drive a stick-shift.  I had a manual car for a summer back in college... but it's been a few years.  I wasn't good.  But I wasn't horrible.  Then we went shopping.... which we did a lot of during our 3 weeks in Utah.  In the past I've had to do all my maternity clothes shopping online, and just cross my fingers that things would fit.  (There are a couple of stores 'near' where we live in Germany that sell maternity, like H&M, but the selection is so limited.)  I was in heaven being able to actually try on clothes before buying... Gap, Ross, Target, etc.  I finally had to draw a line and recognize that I don't need any more clothes.  But the babies do!  So I bought new clothes for them. :)  It worked out well that there was a soccer tournament going on throughout that week that Hyrum wanted to watch.  He always offered to stay home with Tiago and watch his games, while my mom and I shopped.  It's easier to run in and out of stores without a baby.  My mom and dad did plenty of baby duty, too, while Hyrum and I went out.  

Around lunch time we met Hyrum's parents at the park and they got to play with Tiago for a while before we all went out to eat at a cute little diner.  Really, Tiago never suffered for attention once during the entire trip.  One spoiled kid!

That night I met up with my college friends/roommates to eat and catch up.  We apparently spent so much time talking that we didn't take a single picture, but I love hanging out with them whenever I visit Utah.  I'm glad they all still live there.  

Wednesdays are the day my parents and Matt go to my Grandma Hatch's house for lunch, so we tagged along.  As usual, there was a bowl of salad for everyone, blue cheese dressing, more olives than anyone could possibly eat, a ton of meat, and lots of dessert.  Yum.  On the way home I decided one of the nice things about eating at her house is she doesn't let us do dishes.  She says it gives her something to do with the afternoon, and there's no point insisting otherwise.  So we literally just eat, chat, and run.  She gets around a lot for someone who is 93!  [After the eating and chatting, and before the running, she loaded us up with a plastic bag full of her costco goodies: nuts, chocolates, gummy candies, etc.)

That afternoon I chopped all my hair off.  For the previous several months I'd been itching to cut it short, because it was driving me crazy.  It took forever to dry, and ever since having Tiago there is a big section in back that is curly, making it more difficult to wear my hair down without a lot of effort.  I kept putting it off until we got to Utah, so I finally just searched Google for a nearby salon that would cut my hair and send it in for wig donations.  I brought in a few pictures of ideas I had, but more than anything I just told the lady I did not want a bob.  I've had that haircut before, and it requires SO much maintenance to get everything in the right spot.  I wanted something I could wear messy.  

Less than an hour later and I walked out with exactly what I wanted.  

While I'm on the topic of hair, I've discovered the importance of hair products.  I didn't used to use anything.  Now I use plenty!  And it makes all the difference.  Volumizer, hair wax, and dry shampoo.  My hair still looks decent three days after doing it, which means a lot less washing and drying.  I might never go long again... (yeah right.)

Moving on with our Wednesday, I got home and Hyrum and I left on a secret date night; he had no clue where we were going.  First we went to Cafe Rio, because it's delicious.  We ate so much I don't know how we even walked out of there.  Then I gave him the address of our next location, and he drove right by it even though I was pointing it out.  (He thought I was taking him to Mcdonalds.)  We were able to spend the night at the Sheraton in SLC while my parents babysat Tiago.  It was a great chance to get away together, since it certainly doesn't happen in Germany.  I don't even think our baby missed us...  And instead of us getting up to rock the jet-lagged baby at 4 am, it was my dad!  

I woke up sick the next day, and rested all day trying to recover before another date night we had planned.  I wanted to go on a double date with Matt and his girlfriend Kayla, so we planned to all go to the Pizza Pie Cafe in Bountiful.  (Fun trivia: Hyrum and I went on our first date there, except in Provo.  We hadn't been back since.)  Tiago was once again abandoned by his parents as we went off to eat ourselves to death.  

Kayla didn't realize I was taking a picture... so we laughed about how much it looks like they don't like each other in this photo.

 Much better!

Someone mentioned how full you get by eating the whole pizza and crust, so Hyrum tried a new technique-- he only ate the top half of his pizza, allowing him to eat more.  (It's a buffet.)  The normal pizza flavors were good, but the dessert pizzas were amazing!  They had peach and oreo, which were highlights.

We all felt like this by the end.  So we went home and played scum, which is a card game.  Hyrum preferred to call it 'skunk', so whoever was in the 'losing' chair got a lot of jokes made at their expense.  It's kind of a strange experience to double date with my siblings (especially as an old married person, in their eyes), but I think everyone had a good time.

And this was probably a different night, but the sunset was beautiful so we took some pictures from my parents back porch.  

And I'm sure this was a different day, too, but is a good representation of how many people spend their time while at my parents house.  It seems like every night someone was headed down to the hot tub, usually having a party without me.  (One of the downsides of pregnancy...)  I stuck my legs in a few times, but it's just not the same.  

German Christmas Markets [Christkindlesmarkt/Weihnachtsmarkt]

For the last few weekends we've been trying to take advantage of all the Christmas Markets taking place around us.  They typically run between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the large ones open daily or on weekends, and the small ones open one or two nights only.  While they're all a little different, you always find people selling things, like Christmas decorations, handcrafts, and delicious food.  Also, it's popular to drink Gluhwein (mulled wine); there's a non-alcoholic version called Kinderpunsch that we always get... and it's delicious.  Particularly when it's really cold outside, and the drink warms you up.  You can collect the mugs that the drinks are served in.  

Our first December here we only spent 1 weekend in Germany, so we were only able to see Nuremberg's Christmas market.  It's a large one that is quite famous, but it was very crowded and cold.  I'd say we had better luck this year.  

Our first stop was Schloss Guteneck, only 45 minutes away.  It's in the middle of nowhere, in the forest with a castle backdrop.  Much more charming than a large city!  We got there early enough there weren't many people so we could wander around easily.  Many of the people were dressed up in medieval clothing, and they had many attractions to see like archery, welding, and various animals.  We tried dampfnudels, which are sweet rolls with a really sweet cream sauce poured over the top.  These ones were filled with plum jelly.  Sounds odd, but tastes great.  I think we'd both vote this our favorite Christmas market, since it was so isolated and we felt transported in time.    

 On the way home we stopped in at Vilseck's market, which was held in the Dagstein castle.  It was only open for two nights, and while it was kind of charming that our town had a Christmas market, it was also very small and crowded.  It drew in people from the town as well as the surrounding military community.  We walked around, drank some kinderpunsch, and left.  At that point Tiago was done with the cold, and done with his stroller.

Our town's Nightwatchman, and Saint Nicholas.

The next weekend we saw the Romantic Christmas market held in Regensburg's castle Thurn and Taxi.  Apparently this castle is bigger than Buckingham Palace, although we didn't go inside.  They had stands set up in the castle's courtyard and around the perimeter.  If we had been the only ones there, I'm sure it would have been much more enjoyable, but it was SO crowded.  We tried another food for the first time, langosch.  It looks like pizza; it's like fried dough with cream, cheese, and bacon on top.  It's hard to go wrong with that combination.  This market felt a big more upscale, with pretty expensive things being sold.  We didn't buy anything that wasn't edible.  

On our walk back to the car we took several wrong turns and ended up at the main Christmas market right in the center of Regensburg.  Here's the famous Dom.  

We debated which other markets we wanted to see, and decided we didn't want to drive too far, since I'm uncomfortable on long trips and we were getting sick of crowds anyway.  I heard of a town called Dinkelsbuhl, which is south of Rothenburg along the Romantic Road.  They had a small Christmas market going on so we drove just under two hours to get there.  What a cute town!  I would have visited even if they didn't have anything special going on.  It has the same charm as Rothenburg, but the town was practically empty!  And the streets were wide.  Every time I've been to Rothenburg everything feels so busy and crowded.  Dinkelsbuhl was the roomier version.  

First we saw the market, and drank plenty of hot liquid since it was freezing outside.  It wasn't too big, and was held in a courtyard area.  Then we spent about an hour just wandering around the town, and we had it all to ourselves.  I bet in the summer it gets more crowded, and maybe the market is busier in the evening, but I was thrilled.  We ended our trip by warming up at the bakery, which was surprisingly cheaper food than even our bakery in Vilseck.  The stars were just aligning right for us.  

Now our Christmas market adventures are over.  Next Christmas I'm sure we'll dig our mug collection out of boxes and try to recreate some of the delicious food, since I think that's the highlight of most of our travels.