More Vacation Pics

This is the last posting of the pictures from our trip to the states. Tomorrow we head out for a much anticipated trip to Bavaria and Austria, and so I'm forced to make this short(or I'll get no sleep and that makes for a very grouchy travel companion!). So, here's some of my favorite pictures. I have to say thank you to Ben (my brother) for making me a cd before I left (all of the pictures of my side of the family are from him)-so danke Ben!

Tristans first official day in the states. I think he looks a little shell shocked and confused as to where he is.

Big and little Tristan.

Aren't those the cutest penguins you ever did see?!

Watkins Glen, one of my family's favorites!

My parents and a few siblings(plus Aidan, Tristans one cousin on my side of the family) at the glen.

Mom, Emily and I.

Aidan is just the cutest, and boy was he a trooper!

He amazed us all as he climbed up and up what seemed to be hundreds of stairs!

A sweet one from Emily.

These are a few from SeaBreeze-a small amusement park in Rochester. Here are Samantha and Dallen (these cousins are like two peas in a pod) who are just a joy to watch. This day we just enjoyed watching the little ones splash around.

Here's Sydney-looking soo cute in that hat!

More of Dallen and Samantha.

My sister-in-laws Tracy and Kelly with little Tyler and Sydney.

Tristan in a crazy blue hat that came from who know's where.

Burg Trifels

Here's just a few pictures from a little day trip we took to Burg Trifels (a castle not far from here, just a little bit to the south).

Daddy and the little guy.

Burg Trifels is one of a trio of castles that are in a geographic triangle all on top of hill tops. The area is beautiful and reminds me very much of the Adirondacks in NY. How beautiful this area is!

The nearby town nestled in between the hilltops. This area really is picturesque and definitely worth the drive!

This Ones For Robyn

If you know me well you know I'm one thing, and that's picky(I prefer to say I'm particular but most other people say picky). About a year ago when I was receiving all sorts of wonderful baby presents (thank you again to everyone), my sister-in-law Robyn gave me an exer-saucer. Before I could even comment on it, she said something like "I know you don't like bright things, and its not something you would pick out, but...take it. Your baby will like it". It was a good thing she was so adamant, because she was right-I don't like bright things and I never would have bought it. But, one day a couple of months ago I took it out of storage and tried it out(or rather Tristan tried it out), and he loves it! So, thanks a lot Robyn. Here's some pictures of the little man and his saucer.

Lots Of Catching Up!

After almost a week of trying to get a fight home, I finally bit the bullet and bought a commercial flight. So now I'm home and its so nice to not live out of a suitcase anymore, and to just sleep in my own bed. I think Tristan feels the same way as he has taken to sleeping in his crib like never before-its wonderful! I've been putting off blogging for the last week because I know that there is so much to catch up on, and I think the only way I'm going to be able to cover it all is to publish several postings. So...I'll start where we last left off. Just before Tristan and I headed for the states we spent a week in Paris. We were lucky enough to have friends let us stay with them, as we spent lazy days strolling the streets and eating delicious food!

Summer in Paris, ah how nice!

The gardens outside Notre Dame were just beautiful at this time of year.

More of Notre Dame.

The above picture is the Luxembourg Gardens which were especially nice to see, since the last time Paul and I were there they weren't open(this was right after Christmas).

A really lovely fountain at the Luxembourg Garden.

The Louvre.
Me and the little man!

Here I am again with Tristan. I wish he was looking at the camera, but he was distracted by the hip hop music and all of the kids break dancing(there was a crowd of kids having some sort of informal dance-off....think Zoolander but not as good looking), maybe if I get the time I'll download a video.

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Paris, its named for Michel(or Michael) the warrior saint. This fountain is really pretty cool.

This was a cathedral in an area I was newly acquainted with. Its full of cute little shops, bistros and my favorite restaurant supply stores. I found a fantastic store that sells Williams-Sonoma-like things at a fraction of the price!

My wonderful little travel companion (and his favorite little elephant).

Oops sorry my pictures are out of order! Here's the front of that cathedral(2 pictures up).

And lastly another picture of the louvre. Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Stay posted for the next installment of our summer vacation!

Our Busy Month

For the last month Tristan and I have been out and about traveling, and this is why I have neglected to post anything. The first week of our crazy month started as Tristan and I took the train to Paris. Our friends the James' rented an apt. in Paris and were kind enough to let us stay and enjoy their company and hospitality. We had such a nice time as we ate good food(my favorite part of the day was practicing my french at the patisserie in the morning), strolled through the city(literally, I took the stroller and we went everywhere), and did some fun shopping(I was introduced to the greatest kitchen store and one of the most beautiful children's clothing stores). We really did have such a wonderful time, and cant wait to go back with Paul.

After going to Paris, Tristan and I started (the very next morning) trying to get a plane to the states to visit our family. Since Paul was gone on training, we thought this would be a perfect time to visit our loved ones. After four very long days in the Ramstein terminal (we were waiting to get on a military plane with space available for passengers) we finally got on a plane headed home. The plane ride was such an interesting and sobering experience, you see the plane that I ended up coming home on was delivering caskets of soldiers that had been killed in the middle east.

The last three weeks has flown by at lightning speed as I have spent time with my family and friends. I apologize to any of you who I didn't get to see but wanted to. As I said the time just flew by and there just wasn't enough time to see everyone. I'm so grateful for the family that made both time and room for little Tristan and myself. We had so much fun going to the beach, the zoo, Watkins Glen, Seabreeze, and just hanging around and catching up. We really enjoyed ourselves immensely and I'm so grateful that Tristan could meet so many of his family members.

Presently the little guy and I are visiting a good friend in the D.C. area and tonight will be attempting to get on a flight back to Duetchland. As we embark once again on this crazy journey that is flying space available, I ask all of you out there to cross your fingers and say a little prayer that we get on a plane soon. Hopefully it wont take us four days to get back home, and the Polly Domm Family will be together again(since going to the states Paul has finished his work in the States and has arrived back in Germany).

Here's hoping that we get back soon. I'll send some pictures of the past month as soon as I get back.