A Very Thankful Week!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone! This year, it was just Regan and I in our little pre-furnished apartment. It was really weird to be away from family. My family drives to Vermont for Thanksgiving every year and it was really hard for me to be away from them. It ended up being a pretty good Thanksgiving anyway, though! There was a lot of food to make, so Regan and I made the pumpkin pie the night before.

It was fun to make it together! We don't cook together very often because I usually monopolize the kitchen haha.

Thanksgiving morning, Regan went to play football with some guys from church and I stayed home to cook! I was kind of nervous about doing the turkey since I'd never really done anything like it before, but it turned out to be pretty easy! The hardest part was putting the seasoning under the skin. It was gross. We also had green bean casserole (my personal favorite), mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry salad, and some rolls that Regan picked up from the bakery down the street! Quite the feast!

Check out that spread! Not bad, right?

We even got all dressed up to eat, just like we do at home!

Regan carved the turkey with a bread knife, because that's all we had haha. He did a really good job, though!

Here I am enjoying the feast!

Regan being a caveman! Meat off the bone!

The day after Thanksgiving, we did not go shopping at 4 AM. Black Friday doesn't exist in Germany. Some of Regan's co-worker-types were going to Cologne to visit the Christmas markets, so we decided to go, too! Pretty much every major village and city in Germany has a Christmas market, and I'd heard that Cologne's (they have 4) are some of the best! Plus, Cologne is supposed to be a cool place to hang out.

We visited all 4 of the Christmas markets. The first one was in front of the chocolate museum, and it was tiny tiny. I did pick up a pair of fur ear muffs there, though. My ears were so cold I couldn't take it! Plus they were cute. Then we bought a 5 Euro ticket for a train that went to all 3 of the other markets. Much better than walking! The 2nd market seemed to be in the middle of a major shopping area.

I don't know what this building is, but it had a giant ice cream cone on it! How cool is that? haha

These bread men are popping up all over the place! I'm assuming they're a Christmas related thing. They're yummy, that's for sure. When we got off the train at the 2nd market, there was a bakery selling them for only 1 Euro!

Regan and I at the 2nd Christmas markets in Cologne!

When the train stopped for the 3rd Christmas market, I got out and was shocked to see the Dom just ahead on the road! I was completly blown away by the size of it and the way it just popped up out of nowhere! I couldn't stop staring at it!

We all decided to go tour the Dom! The inside was just as amazing as the outside. I definitely felt something in there - kind of like the reaction I have to a really beautiful song. It was amazing.

When the sun started to set, it hit the Dom and just lit it up! So beautiful!

The Christmas market was right next to the Dom! I actually got some Christmas gifts at this market!

The 4th Christmas market was also my favorite! It was dark by this point so the whole place was lit up with Christmas lights! We also got some hot chocolate there that was absolutely amazing! From what I've been told, pretty much every Christmas market has their own 'mug' or something that you can buy a drink in and either return for money or keep as a souvenir. We ended up with 2 mugs from our day in Cologne!

this is the Christmas market train we rode! It was so cold out, I was very very grateful for the ride!

The next day, Saturday the 28th, we went to the temple! This was our first time doing a German session and wearing the headphones. It was... different, that's for sure. Outside of the temple there was this cute little nativity set up!

Today we're moving into our new house (FINALLY!!) and I don't think we'll have internet for a few days. I'm just so excited to get my stuff back, I don't even care. Our next big adventure: CHRISTMAS!!! YAY!!!!!

Celebrating Our First Anniversary!

So back on November 1st, Regan and I celebrated our first year of married life!! It's hard to believe that it's already been an entire year (plus 2 weeks at this point, haha)! Time is flying.

For our anniversary, we decided to go to Bavaria to travel the Romantic Road! We only had 3 days to do it, so we just hit a couple of highlights. That's ok, though, because now we have an excuse to go back! Bavaria was amazing!! It is definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Now for some pictures!

The first night of the trip was spent at this amazing little hotel in the city of Rothenburg! The hotel was something like 600 years old and had a very rustic feel because of it.

A famous treat in Rothenburg is schneeballen! They're made by rolling strips of pastry into a ball and frying it. Then they're dipped in chocolate, covered in powdered sugar, etc. We got two hazelnut and one strawberry flavored! They were really good.

At night, Rothenburg had an English guided tour through the city by the Night Watchman! I had such an amazing time on this tour. It was so fun!! It was probably the best guided tour I've ever been on. I even talked Regan into buying his DVD haha!

The next day was spent in the village of Hohenschwangau, just down the hill from Neuschwanstein castle! We spent most of the day walking around the hills and taking 100,000 pictures of Neuschwanstein haha. That night we ate dinner at our hotel's restaurant and Regan ordered the local special. I can't remember what it was called...but it should have been called "MAN FOOD" haha!

There it is! Neuschwanstein Castle!! I think this building is what I wanted to see in Germany the most, and I got it out of the way only a little over a month after being here haha! It's a stunning building, is it not? Breathtaking! As you can see, it's getting some work done toward the right there...but still...it's amazing. We took a tour on our last day there. I have to admit that I expected a little more from the interior, considering how amazing the exterior is. But, and I did not know this, the castle was never finished! So the tour is only about 30 min long.

Here we are on our anniversary in front of a fairytale castle! How romantic *sigh* ps. the sun was so bright that morning so don't mind our mean looking squints!

So that's the trip in a nut shell! Our next major adventure will be our trip back to the states for Christmas! I cannot wait! Christmas is the best and my whole family will be home and I'm just about to explode with excitement!!!!

In other news:

- We were finally able to sign the rental contract for our house! It's official: we move in on December 1! I'm so sick of being in these pre-furnished places...I WANT MY STUFF!! Particularly, my sewing machine and craft stuff! I miss it so much!

- Regan and I got callings in the new ward today! Drum role please: We're going to be Nursery leaders! YAAAAAAAAAY!! haha! This is my third stint in the nursery already, but this is Regan's very first primary calling! Primary seems to be my lot in life, but at least I like kids, right? haha! I'm actually excited about it. I think we're going to have a lot of fun. Plus, now we get snacks! I told Regan that it's only hard to be in the primary on fast sunday because you have to watch the kids eat during snack time haha.

- Regan's sister, Amanda, got married yesterday and we were able to attend...via Skype haha! They had a lap top in the front row and we got to watch the whole thing! Technology is pretty amazing, huh? I'm able to talk to my family a couple of times a week with Skype, and Regan talks to his almost every day! I think if it weren't for Skype, we'd both be a lot more homesick than we are.

Well, I think that's all I've got for this update!