The Sommas Visit Germany!!

Last Tuesday, my family arrived in Germany all the way from Kansas! I was sooo excited to see them; it had been almost 8 months! I took a crap ton of pictures (488 to be exact-- don't worry, I won't post near that amount!) & it was overall so much fun! They definitely brought the Kansas heat with them... Sunday it hit 104 degrees F. Nothing short of miserable when you're in a country that doesn't believe in air conditioning. We still tried to make the best of it with super cranky, overly hot babies though.

We were able to walk around & visit castles & cathedrals in Ansbach, Rothenburg, and Nuremburg. We also visited Illesheim & showed my family where Nathan works & everyone got a chance to climb up in the Apache helicopters.

Ellie doesn't take binkies... my mom thought she'd be able to get her to-- wrong!!

Loving being in Grandma's arms =)

The little man loving being the center of attention!

ahahaha--- you don't even wanna know how long it took to get a decent picture of the two of them!

Still goofy & in love after 25 years =) That's saying a lot these days!

Oh John.... 

Having an additional 5 people in the house to laugh at him & play was basically the best thing that has happened in his 16 months of life lol.

So sweet-- Uncle Adam is a softy deep down!

David's "GQ" look ;)

 Rachel was kind enough to be my model so I could practice more with my macro lens! I have a gorgeous sister!!!

NOT fake =) No eyelash curling either! 

A hairdresser that we used to go to used to tell us we had tarantula leg lashes... kinda gross but I get her point!

 And my mom modeled her wedding ring set for me too =)

And I had fun outside after a nice rain!

I absolutely love seeing him laugh hysterically!

My mom wanted to bathe Ellie since she LOVES baths (John screamed bloody murder every bath for the first 17 weeks of his life...)

This little girl loves her Grandma!

Can anyone say sleeping beauty?!

One of his favorite snacks

 John just may be a chef one day with how much he loves the kitchen...

 It was so considerate of him to help me clean out my cabinets & drawers =P

Such a busy body!

His "I want to do something I know is a no-no" face

He actually really loves this cereal-- I always have to share my bowl with him!

 ***Aunt Rachel is the ONLY person who can get Ellie to take a binky! I was super impressed***

Walking around Ansbach...

Can't believe what a handsome young man my baby brother is!

STUNNING organ pipes--- I was dying for a super awesome telephoto zoom lens....

I have no idea??

Photobomb!

Ellie's general attitude about the outing 

 Colmburg Castle grounds (they've turned the castle into a hotel/restaurant)

Obviously, not a fan of her schedule being disrupted!

***The next several pictures, Nathan took because I was nursing Ellie***

I gave up on trying to get a good face from everyone lol

My little doll got a lot of lovin from her Aunt Rachel!

***ROTHENBURG***

artsy fartsy....

***NUREMBURG***

LOVE stained glass.... once again, I was dying for an amazingly awesome telephoto lens (its now on my wish list via Amazon lol)

 ^^Those two pictures do not do justice to how incredibly steep the hill was! We were all dripping with sweat by the time we reached the top. It was also a nice 95 degrees F outside^^

***The next pictures are inside the castle! (It was so cool to finally be able to go into one!)***

Such awesome artwork on the walls!

Not sure who this belonged to (everything was in German) but its kept behind a lot of thick glass....

 ***ILLESHEIM***

Nathan enjoyed answering questions with his wealth of knowledge ;)

Ellie was a little underwhelmed with the Apaches

So many things to remove before flight--- glad I'm not the one responsible for remembering everything!

Dinner at ENZO'S! Basically the best Italian food ever! We're so lucky to be friends with Enzo & Carmela! 

Aaaand those are all the pictures I'll bore you with =) Give yourself a pat on the back if you made it this far!