New Years in Germany 2009!

Happy New Year 2009! We are in Germany- where dangerous fireworks are NOT illegal! It was so cold that the humidity was crystalizing, looking like snow. P.S. We paid $6 E for all of this:

There were fireworks all around us in the air that people were lighting in their front yards. The video is dark, but you can see a little of what we went through.

Downtown Munster

We toured downtown Munster today, and learned a bunch about the catholic church. There are a ton of churches in Europe and those are the historical attractions.
This church was made in 1108 (ish):

Each catholic church has "baptismal". There is a "dove of peace" on the top of the lid. Inside is "holy water" and this is where they perform baptisms.

This church is black on the top because of the polution over the years. There are 3 cages on top of the steeple. They used to put people who made fun of the catholic church up there to die, for everyone to see. Obviously, they don't do that anymore. The stain glass window and ceiling is really pretty inside.

This is a grand cathedral. It was bombed in WWII so it has been restored. It is ginormous. This stain glass window was my favorite. McCord liked the astronomical clock that was made in 1520. It has a hand for the sun, moon, earth, and stars (jupiter, mars, venus). It was the most accurate time clock made for that time. To think that this clock was made 30 yrs after Columbus landed in America.

Tradition: Guys that turn 30 years old and have not married yet, have to wear a funny costume and sweep stairs (covered in debris that their friends scatter on them) of the city hall until he gets 30 kisses from 30 different girls. We had the privilege of seeing this tradition.

BRATWURST! This is the famous bratwurst man. The brats were amazing and we paid 1.70 E for each one. They were fantastic and we all ordered in german only to find out that he spoke English the whole time.

I thought it was interesting that the Germans bundled their babies up in little mummy bag lookin' things, and then put them in the stroller. So there were a lot of mummy-bag babies.

Willcomen si Duchland! Welcome to Germany!

Goodbye Utah. We love the USA! But we are so excited for our new adventure.

This is us boarding our small plane. Only 9 passengers were on board. Air France took us right into Munster:

We have arrived safely! Lisa's ears even popped nice and no problems.

When we got to Germany, Marijke (we are staying in her house) took us to Burger King. Inside we see a drunk young german who probably just turned 21 (or whatever the legal drinking age is) because he was dressed in nothing but his underwear with a Burger King crown on. He and his friends were totally wasted and continued to laugh histerically at every little thing! Lol. It was so funny. "Welcome to Germany," McCord says.

"Paris holds the key to your heart" - Anastasia

We had a 5 hour layover in Paris, France before getting to Germany. We didn't get to leave and see some sites for fear of missing our flight to Munster. We did have a lot of fun in the airport though:

They sold HUGE suckers. McCord was thrilled with those for a little bit. While Sarah and I had fun sampling all the makeup and trying to figure out what all the food was that was being sold.

This is duck..."parts":

Who, in their right mind, would pay such a price for such a product...and then eat it?

And they wear a lot of perfume in Europe (because the average person showers once a week):

Paris was fun and we hope to go visit again to see some more sites.

How to save money this Christmas:

Moving to Germany!

We are now officially moved out of our "cinder block apt". We were nervous with Lisa recovering and not able to lift boxes that McCord would have to do all the work by himself. We sent a text out to a few USU 1st ward members and the next morning had about 30 people come to help us move, including our chinese friend "Lu". We are so sad to leave you guys but thank you so much for everything. See you all in July, when we return home from Munster.

Here are some pictures of where we will be living:

APPENDICITIS!

Lisa couldn't sleep one night because of "cramps". After a trip to the doctor, he sent her to get an ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed APPENDICITIS. She then went into surgery within 30 mins.
Before: (appendix the size of a golf ball)

After:

The surgery went well and we were blessed with great care of nurses and a great surgeon, etc. She was out of the hospital 22 hours after the surgery (thanksgiving day) and is doing fine now. We thank everyone for all the prayers!

D and Brit are ENGAGED!

Yes! They are ENGAGED! March 7, 2009 We will have a new sister!
We are so happy for you two!

Their colors will be chocolate and mint green. Going to be married in
the Logan Temple.

Coolest places we've been...so far:

20 cool places we've been...so far:
(some have pictures, and some are just great memories)

1- Gaby's Pizza in Queens, NY
2- Zorbing in Pidgeon Forge, TN.


3- Christmas parade in Dallas, TX.

4- The Sacred Grove & Palmyra, NY.

5- Philidelphia, Pennsylvania

6- Skiing in Park City.

7- Top of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

8- the Walk of Fame with Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones.

9- Magic show in Vegas.

10- Mount Rushmore

11- The Price is Right live show

12- The White House

13- Washington D.C.

14- Phantom of the Opera

15- Cruise in San Diego

16- Niagara Falls in the fall.

17- Ground Zero on September 11th

18- Statue of Liberty on the 4th of July (2007)

19- Temple Square (SLC, Ut) for christmas lights.

20-Thanksgiving with the french, american, english, and italian all around the same table.



Lt to Rt: McCord, Antonello, Celine, Lisa

Hero Clix

McCord loves playing Hero clix. This is a strategy game using superhero figures. Lisa nicknamed it "Superhero chess". In the picture is Cord, Nate, and Jaden playing. Last year, this game took us to LA, where Lisa (the only girl attending the competition) won and got 34th place in the nation (last picture).

2nd Year Family Picture

 

Our second year of marriage has been fantastic! We have been so blessed and have had many memorable experiences. These photos are after 2.5 wonderful years of marriage.

Top 10 things we've learned in our first yr of marriage:

Top 10 things we've learned in 3 years of marriage:
1) Communication. ALWAYS communicate with each other about everything. Say "I understand", Say "I'm sorry", Say "I forgive you", etc.
2) Rely on the each other and the Lord in hard times.
3) Travel the world together. (If you want to travel, you'll find the money)
4) 1 hour a day: spend 1 hr a day for time to yourself. whatever you like to do (read, nintendo, scrapbooking, blogging, exercise, meditation, etc.)
1 day a week: date night at least once a week. 1 week a year: at least one week for a family vacation.
5) Make goals together (financial, spiritual, small, big...)
6) Don't be hermits. Serve and share with others. Show the world you union and personalities. (Invite people to dinner, movie night, game night...)
7) Revelation comes to you and your spouse for your family, not from family or friends.
8) "Keep it happenin". Keep the love alive! Don't let it fade!
9) Don't put liquid dish soap in the dishwasher, your whole kitchen will flood meters high with bubbles. Don't put a glass casserole dish on the hot stove top - It will explode. Laugh when "disasters" come your way.
10) Be superheroes! Follow your FIRST impression ALWAYS. Open your door to everyone. Don't be afraid of who you are and what you believe. you'd be surprised at how many great people you can meet and touch.

IRON MAN - Halloween 2008

Iron Man and his assistant Pepper Pots to the rescue!

My favorite part of my outfit was the clipboard holding a classic Pepper Pots quote:

Yes, McCord's costume was completely homemade! Everything is cardboard. For the signiture glowing chest piece we used a blue glow bracelet. It was awesome!