Family Wedding Fun

A couple of months ago the Mr's brother married one very lovely lady. We had some serious wedding fun. The bride and groom haven't shared wedding pictures online, so I'm not going to be doing that for them. Also, the vast majority of pictures on our camera were ruined: blurry, grainy, and with a surprising number of fingers across them.

Nevertheless, here are some fun peeks into our lovely day together.

Before the wedding, the kids and I were goofing around in our way-too-small hotel bed. I love these pictures. I hope this is what they remember: their silly mommy being silly with them.

First up was the actual wedding ceremony. PJ was so excited about it that he crashed out and slept through it all.

Jelly Bean was not impressed, so we had to leave the ceremony room. I missed the chance to tear up at the sweetness of two good people swearing fidelity to each other.

As soon as the ceremony was over, PJ woke up and resumed his role as The Boss.

It was juice. 

Jelly Bean remained the explorer. Here she had located jewelry that was worth more than our home.

Dangerous sense of taste.

While the adults were drinking juice (and champagne), the kids convinced Oma to ride the glass elevator with them. Many, many times. So many times that even Opa got into the fun.

But is it ever enough?

Outside, we took pictures, chased birds, and Jelly Bean tried to dart off in each and every direction. Then we moved to the restaurant for a wonderful, wonderful meal.

PJ focused on goofing around.  

Jelly Bean focused on food. 

It was a lovely wedding with good people. Granny also got to join the fun but sadly all the pictures with her aren't share-able based on what is technically called "shit" quality. She took a picture or two of me -- and I looked FABULOUS - but they didn't turn out either. 

You'll have to just do with a picture of these three.

That is one handsome hubby.

What a hard life, eh?


xo

February Wedding Fun

Friends got married in February and the Steinbach clan got to celebrate in a couple of ways:

1. The Mr., Tilly, and I got all dressed up. Hotties.





2. I learned my efforts in Shaping Up 2014 are paying off. I even went shopping for this stuff.

3. PJ had his first sleep over with Oma and Opa ever. It went really well. Sorry no picture because he was too happy to sit or stand still long enough. So, here's another adorable one instead.

4. We all got to show up our dance moves. 

Pretty sure Tilly's got the best ones.

I'm not sure how the happy couple feels about their wedding pictures being shared on my blog, so just know that they put on a great party with awesome food and fun music and the couple was beautiful.


XO

...and bonus picture of my hottie hubby

Flowers and Fruit: 4 Years

Today the Mr. and I have been married for four years. Dude. Time flies. Four years ago we were in the US getting ready for our marriage ceremony at my Nana and Papa's house.

First we got married, then we kissed a lot, took a hell of a lot of pictures, and then we partied.

One of many, many kisses.

Want to see more pictures? Check them out here.

I almost named this blog Dancing Queen and Mr. Man...

...which wouldn't have been fair 'cause he can move.

One week later we celebrated in Germany. Back then, in 2009, we thought we knew what it was like to be busy and tired.

We are excited but also already tired. Who has two weddings in one week on different continents?!

Then in 2011 when our family expanded, we all learned what it the word 'tired' actually means. And I learned about good facial creams, but that's another story.

I call this picture "Bewildered I".

 

Some of us look cuter with 'tired' then others.

 

And in 2012, with us both working full-time and putting our first house together, we got a taste of 'busy'. I would post a picture of us busy but I was too busy to actually take one.

I'm supposing with the arrival of our little jelly bean in October, we only know the half of both 'tired' and 'busy'. I'm also thinking we may be a little nuts. We'll see. But either way, four years into this shared adventure of marriage with the Mr. (and nine of us being together), I know this is still My Good Life.

And how many people get to write that?


xo

Happily Married: Three Years!

The special days continue: the Steinbach clan is now three years old!

The Mr. is a big Quentin Tarantino fan and we both enjoyed the movie Inglourious Basterds.
So in honor of the infamous scene where the Americans out themselves by ordering three beers - don't know the scene? Check it out here if you want to cheat, but really you should watch the movie - we showed off our respective culture's "three":

Only thing is: the Mr. didn't get the reference at first...although my sister, brother-in-law, and I were all laughing about it. For a while. Like, minutes.

After more than ten takes to get a decent picture of us with our "three"s, he finally got the joke. And then he laughed,

and laughed,

and laughed.

Boy am I glad I married this one. Here's to the laughter sticking around.

xo

Two Years – Still Hitched

Two years ago the Mr. and I got hitched. We spent the night before our wedding together in a hotel suite in Ohio – we had already spent five weeks apart while I worked in the US and he was still in Germany – and we woke up together nervous, excited, and what-ever-that-feeling-is-right-before-you-get-married-and-are-totally-thrilled-about-it.

And then suddenly we were up, looking good, married, danced-out, and falling back into our hotel bed. I have a hundred excellent (and very few not-so-excellent) memories of our American wedding day but looking back I can’t believe how quickly it was all over.

The past two years have been similar: man, have they flown by, blessing us with far more smiles than raised eyebrows or tears and I cannot believe how quickly they’ve gone by.

Here’s to many, many more years, Mr. I love ya.

xo

It's Not You, It's Me. Really.

In September 2008 the Mr. surprised me with a marriage proposal on a special mountain in northern Italy. His proposal was private, romantic, and included a simple ring with a slender white gold band caressing a small square setting that carefully hugs a small, perfect diamond. I loved it from the moment I saw it and I loved it even more when he told me it has once belonged to his grandmother. I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect ring for my long, thin ring finger.

Months later, when the Mr. was choosing our wedding bands, he chose them specifically to match my ring. He carefully sorted through numerous styles that looked identical to me to ensure that he could happily wear his ring, his first ring ever, and that I could continue to wear my engagement ring each and every day, nestled above my wedding bands in typical American fashion.

And I have. When I’m nervous or stuck in traffic or bored in another too-long meeting, I tend to play with my rings, twirling them around and around my finger. Sometimes, even almost two years later, I look down at them with surprise, realizing with joy for the millionth time that I’m a married woman.

So, imagine my surprise when two nights ago I tried to remove both rings and was unable to do so. They were stuck. When I finally got my rings off, my finger actually started pulsating with blood. Since then I have been able to slip my slightly larger wedding band back on but I haven’t been able to get my engagement ring past the second knuckle. Instead it rests lonely but still beautiful on our bathroom counter. I assume that’s where it will stay until our little guy arrives.

Sorry, beloved ring, I know people say this all the time but this time it’s true. It really isn’t you. It really is me. Me and my little worm.

xo

The Mr. is Gonna Be Famous

At S&K's wedding this past weekend, friends of the bride and groom put on a fan-tab-u-lous dance routine.  The Mr. danced in the Gents routine and with those moves I bet he's gonna be famous.

For strange technical reasons that I'm not willing to research through to fix, I've had to load the three videos in different mediums. A little confusing, but I hope that you enjoy the more than impressive dancing!

The Ladies:

 

The Gents

This gents dancing video is on Facebook. Let me know if there are any problems watching it!

The Bridal Pair

xo

Yes, You Were Right

Dear Esteemed Female Family Members Who Did So Much for Our Wedding*,

You were right. I enjoy gardening and sometimes new furniture makes me giggle with glee. Proof in pictures below!

The super pretty balcony boxes. 

The pretty potted plants. We also have tomatoes and strawberries, but they weren't feeling the camera.

Our new, all grown up dining room chairs that the Mr. put together all alone while I was in London. 

Bless him!

XO

*you know who you are ;)

The New Zealand Highlight

The longer we are back in Germany, the clearer it becomes to me that the number one highlight from our trip was Milford Sound. The Mr. and I took an overnight cruise on the Sound. I'm allowing Wikipedia to detail out what Milford Sound is; I'll stick with the pictures.

On the way there we passed some of the remaining snow and ice from the winter before. Remember it was fall, summer was just ending, so you can imagine how much snow is there each winter.

If you look carefully in the bottom right, you'll see the Mr's green jacket, giving you a sense of the size dimensions.

The boat we spent the night on. It was my first night on a boat and I was spoiled rotten.

When we started our trip it was raining hard and very cloudy. We were disappointed at first until an employee of the boat pointed out the hundred waterfalls, which are only visible when its raining. It is rare that visitors get to see so many waterfalls - it was raining just the right amount without being too misty.

A few hours later, ignoring the hard rain that had just stopped and the choppy water, we joined a few Aussies for some kayaking. I ended up rather sea sick but the Mr. held through until the very end.

The Mr. at the very end. Very, very wet and very, very happy.

As the day continued and the rain stayed away, the clouds began to clear and we could see more and more of the Milford Sound's walls.

Following dinner and as the sun sank, the wonder of the night colors began. We were rather lucky that in the sea was calm enough to enjoy the dancing colors.

When night had fallen, we were joined by a little seal who played with the rubber stairs of the boat. Even the boat employees were entranced. And then we headed to bed.

The following morning the weather was even nicer to us as the clouds hung around the Milford's mountains. The tops of the lower mountains started to pop out of the clouds, creating some even nicer views.

After lunch a true rarity occurred, the clouds parted enough so that even the top of a higher mountain and little tick of sun were visible. 

And then, right at the very end, and only for a collection of seconds, the tops of the largest mountains suddenly revealed themselves as group, the clouds thinned themselves out, and the sun peaked through, right as we were posing for that last picture.

xo

Sense of Humor Required

Before the Mr. and I really understood that the Kiwis have a very limited sense of distance or time estimation, we took an “easy, short” hike on the Rob Roy track about "thirty minutes" outside of Wanaka. From the literature available in Wanaka and the information posted for the hike itself, the hike was billed as a 2-2.5 hour hike for beginners with stunning views of the Rob Roy Glacier. One small part of that information was correct: the stunning views of the Rob Roy Glacier.

The drive out to the track was beautiful, passing through and by deer, sheep, and cow farms, and took at least one hour to drive, including a few excellent opportunities to ford the road.

Natural wonder

Deer Farms*

Cow farms and ford in the road

The track was beautiful and most of it was well formed, including the sections that you needed your hands and feet and a really good sense of humor. It started with a swinging bridge

and followed through with startling beauty.

Tree roots as the track

River that ran beside the track

Glacier and waterfall from afar

Glacier and waterfall from not so afar

We didn’t make it to the end – who knows how long the Kiwi “2-2.5 hours” would have ended up. But in the end, like everything else, the effort was worth it and we ended the trip with a smile and an extra, natural surprise.

We're-almost-there kiss

Rainbow wishing us farewell

We were both sore for a few days and that was our last hike.

xo

*Did you know that over 50% of the venison that is served in Germany is raised in New Zealand? Yummy.