Can't Tell We're Big Fans...

We're sad Germany lost. But at least three good things came out of it:

1. We had a great time taking off work and going to the games at Döner Bistro.

2. We met some really cool people and will see more of them soon.

3. We got this nice family photo.

Germany's Newest & Biggest Fan

Konrad in the back --- Ja Wol !

Couch Surfin' Complete!

Back in February we were searching for a new couch (blogpost: Couch Surfin'). And we finally bought our top pick. Whoo Hoo!
It's from Bo Concept, they have a store in Tysons Center II in Virginia (talk about a swanky-danky place), we went in last Saturday to give it a test drive. We instantly fell in love with it and bought it. Unfortunately, we have to wait until mid-August for it to be shipped (from Denmark). It's also a sofa bed, so now we have a place for visitors sleep.
We got ours in the dark brown nu fabric, which gives it a vintage look.

Now, I want is this Eames chair:

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (1917-2010)

It certainly is a sad day for West Virginians, Senator Byrd passed away yesterday. I have always been a big fan of him, as he did so much for our state and beyond. The National Park wouldn't be what it is here in Harpers Ferry... our county wouldn't be what it is now if it weren't for him. I will really miss him and am afraid that no one will ever be able to be the kind of dedicated man/politician he was.

Here is a picture of him with a friend of mine, Martha Ann, she was one of his secretaries and friend in Washington. I rode the train with her and she knew me growing up. I was so happy to find a wonderful picture of the both of them.

Photograph from the NY Daily News

The Washington Post did a nice video slide show of his career. You can view it here.

Go Deutschland!

Last week we went to Doner Bistro in Leesburg, Va to watch the Germany vs. Ghana game. It was a lot of  fun, they had a big flat screen outside in their beer garten. Konrad slept through the whole first half and by the second half he was keeping cool holding Papi's back up beers, it was 91 degrees out.

You'll have to excuse the orange light, we were all sitting under big orange umbrellas.

Here I am with some curry wurst mmmmm...

Konrad kept cool with Papi's beer. 

Tomorrow we are going back to watch the Germany vs. England game... we'll be there by 8:30 am to get a good seat! Go Deutschland ! ! !

Bearing Gifts from the East

My brother Matt, his wife Phuong Anh (PA), their daughter (my niece) Harper, PA's parents, Quy and Tin, and Mr. Nuat (the translator) are visiting us from Vietnam for two weeks. So far it's been a whirlwind of fun and local sites -- mostly shopping. Yesterday we toured Frederick, MD. It was cute, as I was able to lead the tour with Matthew's birthplace... they were so impressed. Yeah, I stumbled upon that one. It was cute because I had no idea they'd be so fascinated with that part.

Here they are in front of our parents old apartment on Church Street. (geez I hope this was the right building...) From left to right: Quy, PA, Matt, Harper and Tin.

My challenge has been getting Harper to not be afraid of me. She has had little to no exposure to pale blue-eyed redheaded Westerners I guess.  I'm always up for challenges, and will master playing the Harp by the end of this week.

Here's a few more pics:

First cousins and the best cousins. 

Here is Tin with Konrad. We call him Magic Tin because Konrad took to him immediately. 

All Tin does is hold out his arms and Konrad goes running to him. (this picture was from day one)

Note the same Konrad scowl on Harp and Matt.... 

What I have found fascinating is that Harper is as serious as Konrad was at that age and still is now. 

It's a characteristic that definitely ties them together as being related.

Konrad happy playing with the Harp.

More to come!!

Sunny Beachy Days

Last weekend our friends the Gautiers invited us to join them at their beach house rental in Duck, NC. We had a stupendous quick little vacation at the Outer Banks (yes, that'd be OBX). Everyday we spent at our salt water pool and the beach. I can't remember the last time I was able to sit and soak up the salt and sun. Konrad loved loved the water and did a stellar job kicking and floating. Here are a few pictures from our trip...

Prost!

Margaritaville.

I like this photo, looks like I should of worn my hat!

And here are our lovely hosts, the Gautiers.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of K and I.

Creative Bento Boxes

I have fond memories of seeing children's bento boxes while in Japan, but I had never seen one's like these, they are so creative. I'm also thinking that the Mommy that made the ones posted below sure does have a lot of time on her hands.

Regardless... now wouldn't it be fun to open up your lunch and see these happy meals!? I've provided links to each one in case you wanted to see the ingredients. If you are interested in finding bento boxes and supplies, I happened upon this site. They list several outlets of where to order bento boxes and related stuff. It's overwhelming what's out there!

Pirate Monkey Sandwich Bento

Brown Bear Bento

Balsamic Chicken Bento

King Musubi Bento

Cutting in Style

I am convinced that every woman should have an Opinel knife. I found these knives in a cutlery store in Germany and honestly, it was the best purchase I made over there on our last trip. They're made in France, which is okay I guess~  (yeah, I'm still holding a grudge against France).

I was so excited about them that I went back and picked up a few extra to give as gifts. It's been real handy to pull this stylish knife out and cut up Konrad's avocado or apple when we're out and about. I was able to track down a site that carries them here in the states, you can find them HERE. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are about the same price that I paid for them over in Germany.

Camping PA Style

I've been home with a cold, I think I'm on the mend today though. It really stinks to be sick when it's so pretty outside. Now I have some time to make a post.
A weekend or so ago we all went camping up in Gettysburg, PA. It was nice, we'll go back for another weekend over the summer. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

There is nothing better than being in the bus.

Here we all are at Artillery Ridge Campground! Whoo hoo!

We were surrounded by Boy Scouts. Who, by the way, saved our tent when it blew away in a big wind. We came back to the campground to find that it was tied off to our fire pit. What good boys.... doin' their duty.

Konrad and Brendan had fun at the playground.

One of the reasons why I picked this campground is because they had horses. Konrad just loved them.

One of the other highlights from our trip was discovering the local Whoopie Dip. I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of it...next time!