So we have been busy experiencing Germany and seeing and doing some new fun things (like the Kuckucksmark - this town's version of a local craft fair & festival) and some more everyday things (like getting our haircuts!). We continue to stretch and grow and Renata and I are learning lots of new vocabulary (and sometimes even Glen adds a new German word to his already huge dictionary!) As you can see in one of the pics, at the Kuckucksmark they had pony rides and Renata really enjoyed it! She sees a lot of animals here. Almost every day when we take our walk with the Grimme's dog (his name is Boss), we see ducks and chickens. The ducks love it when we bring them our stale bread to eat. Also, Renata & I both got great bicycle helmets at the Kuckucksmark from vendors selling their used wares (sort of their version of a garage sale). I got mine (lovely purple - take note Lana!) for 2 Euros and we got Renata's for 2.50 Euros! Now we just need the bicycles! We're hoping to find nice used ones when we get settled in Mainz and there are so many places around here to ride! Well, I survived my first German haircut (its really difficult when you can't tell them what you want, ya know) and we also all survived my first time driving the Passat! It was kind of cool and surreal at the same time to drive a car in a foreign country, especially after I hadn't driven for like 2 months! Anyhow, hope you'all enjoy the pictures here. We got a little behind so there is a mix here from the past few weeks of some cute and interesting moments. We'd love to hear from you via the comments and let us know you visited us!

This past Friday we visited Andreas, Heike and Max in Fulda. They actually live in a smaller village outside of Fulda called Dipperz and Fulda is a smaller city approximately the size of Albany. They took us to lunch at a "Very Italian" Restaurant and then we visited the Dom - you'll see the pictures here. It is their Roman Catholic Cathedral and it was built between 1704 - 1712. It was not destroyed so what you see in the pics is original! As you can see, Renata thought she would check out the confessional (and there were something like 6 different ones to choose from!) Later Max and Renata enjoyed feeding some lambs that live down the street from them and later we all played on the speilplatz (playground). It was a fun time and Renata & Max enjoyed playing together! Thanks to Heike, Andreas & Max for a fun and relaxing day!

P.S. - We also saw a "smart car" parked and we took the opportunity to take a picture of it for Natasha. So Natasha, here is the car we talked about on the phone. It gets really good gas milage and usually is used as a commuter car. It seats 2 people and its quite small (cute, huh?)!

Hi everyone! Big news we found a nice apartment in a suburb of Mainz! On Monday we signed the lease and put down our security deposit. The landlord is an older couple getting ready to retire. She is a health aide and he drives a trolley car in the city of Mainz. We can walk to the Rhine and the University is only 10 Minutes away by car or bus. It is 85 square Meters(Yards) big and we can put a sandbox in the back for Renata. They also said we can use their grill. The apartment search was a big learning experience for us. We actually ended up placing an ad advertising us in the paper ( Teacher with wife and child seek...) We even saw one apartment that was above a former Baptist Church. A family lived in the church part.