The Schmidts

This is a catch up post. All the random fun we had in the spring. For a month before school let out Sam, Levi and Ellora got to play together each Friday while Deniene and I, swapping off, could have an hour or two to do whatever we needed or wanted to do. The kids and the moms loved it -- win, win!  Late night airport pick up. Our good friends, Natalie, Hallie and Cardon Van Komen. Being here in Germany, all are intimately aware that no one has family here so we rely on each other like family. It is like this at most military bases but even more so when you live overseas.  In nursery, Sam had a few sad times, usually when Dad had just left for a trip. One of his teachers, Sister Bean, took the opportunity to take him and other kids on a walk. One of these walks was to the bathroom to style their hair in a Mohawk. Sam thoroughly enjoyed it and we have since styled his hair more often. I'll be honest, Sam's hair had not been done maybe 10 times. :) Thank you Sister Bean ...

Out of the blue Grandpa Jess decided he wouldn't wait until the Rome Temple was done to come, he was going to come now! We were so excited. We were on the cruise right before and so didn't do a whole lot of planning ahead of time, but our quick planning turned out to be a pretty fun adventure anyway. We first took him to Holland for the Tulip Festival. The tulip festival is unique to this time of year, and awesome! On the way there we stopped at one of our favorite overlooks of the Mosel River valley.  Our first day in Amsterdam we walked through the rain in search of a tour. We found a boat tour and were in aw at how many people ride their bikes, rain and all.  We didn't come totally prepared, so Sam ended up with sweat pants on his head and Justin's jacket as a blanket.  The boat tour was scenic, dry and warm. We really enjoyed Amsterdam.  Grandpa kept us smiling/laughing a lot. You always know where you stand with him. He doesn't h...