Stuttgart

 I've gotten so bad at blogging lately.  I'm sure you notice that most of my posts are about a month later than they actually happened.  My goal is to always post a trip before we head out on a new one.  So since we are nearing the end of our time here, I thought I better hurry and try to catch up on some of our latest excursions. 

Tom had a three day JMP conference in Stuttgart in May.  Since he was going to be in meetings all day, I decided to tag along and visit our fabulous friends the Trappuzzanos who are also here in Germany.  Andy and Tom started at Bosch on the same day back in 2010.  We lived in the same apartment complex while in Michigan and they were the only other people in the program with a child.  Nikki and I soon became good friends. We used to go walking and go to playgroups together.  Then they headed down south for their 2nd and 3rd rotations.  We were all so excited when we found out we would be in Germany together for our fourth rotations.  But sadly, although we are in the same country, we actually live about 5 hours apart.  But Nikki and I have stayed in close contact while we are here, texting, emailing, and talking on the phone about all the new experiences we've been having.  We've given each other advice on places to shop, where to go visit, etc.  It's been a lot of fun.  So we were very excited when we finally got a chance to actually go spend time with them.  Nikki invited the kids and I to stay at their apartment while the guys had their conference.  We spent three days playing, siteseeing, and chatting.  It was so fun.  Ainsley and Sam were so excited to have a friend to play with again.  When Tom and Andy finished their conference, we all headed downtown to have some much-missed Mexican food.  It wasn't quite authentic Mexican (we were served coleslaw with all of our entrees) but it was pretty good.  Then we got some gelatto and said our goodbyes.  Luckily we only had to wait three days before we saw them again in Salzburg.  More details about that to come! 

Stuttgart

Wilhelmina Zoo

Sam and Ainsley loved playing with all of Brady's awesome toys.  This bike was the all-time favorite

The boys had a bath together and made a huge mess!  There was water everywhere, but they had a blast!

Sam's first time on a "baby swing" since we left the States

This spinning toy was awesome, the kids loved playing in it

Brady, Nikki, and I saying goodbye