Highlights from our recent camping trip? Castles, a canyon gorge, beautiful views, strenuous hikes, and breathtaking heights! Literally breath-taking! At one point of our trip we crossed over a 1000ft bridge suspended almost 400ft above the freeway! Yeah. I lost my breath there! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Last week we were surprised with a three day weekend so we decided the family campout we always talk about doing, needed to happen.

With that in mind, I was excited that we were finally doing it! I love camping, emphasis on the love, but I had never camped with anyone under the age of three. So that curve-ball combined with the needed haste for planning this last minute trip kinda brought the "mommy monster" out of me. If you're a Mom, chances are you know what I'm talking about. It's probably not like this for everyone, but when I became a Mom the spontaneous care-free "hey let's go on a road-trip tomorrow and camp under the stars!" side of me kinda got it's butt whooped by the "I need to know and plan for EVERYTHING and take care of this tiny human!" side of me. I appreciate the mommy monster's skills in getting things done and remembering crazy random things in time pressed situations, but her desire to feel 100 percent prepared is fruitless! Not to mention stressful. Plus, who likes being around a stressed worry wart and control freak. No one. That's who.

Luckily the farther away we got from home the more the monster melted away, and by the time the Bavarian Alps came into view, I had rid myself of her completely! Something about being in and admiring nature always seems to help put my life in the proper perspective.

On our way to our campsite we stopped at Schloss Neuschwanstein.

That night we camped in Garmisch and at first light we made our way to the Partnach Gorge, and the closest parking happened to be at the Olympic Stadium where they held the winter olympics in 1936.

Look at the awe Alexa had in her eyes as we crawled through the Gorge! So much wonder and curiosity! I love it!

Photos don't do this place justice! It was so cool! I want to go back in the winter to see it when all the water has frozen over and there are icicle waterfalls!

After walking though the Gorge we hiked up the mountain and found this beautiful view.

Our last day we dropped by Burg Ehrenberg. We saw a suspended bridge from the freeway connecting two castles so... how can you not stop!

Alexa got to pull the sword in the stone!

I was really excited to go on this bridge, but I got up there and realized I haven't completely lost my fear of heights! The whole bridge swayed and you could see the cars below you... it was terrifying! Definitely the scariest thing I have done in a very long while if not ever!

Schloss Neuschwanstein, The Partnach Gorge, Ehrenberg, The Highline bridge. All of it was amazing! This was absolutely an awesome trip and a perfect place for our first family campout! I'd do it again and as always, Alexa was a wilderness champ! Get this! She only woke up once in the night while we were camping. Once! She's meshed so well into our lives, sometimes it's hard for me to imagine my life prior to her in it! She seriously brings so much happiness into our lives and I love that we get to share our passions and travels with her. Germany is so beautiful. We are liking it here a lot and I'm grateful that we get to admire some of it's beauty and wonder together as as a family.

So we've been in Germany for what, almost 6 months? And I'm just now finally getting around to hanging up all our photos on the wall. I know embarrassing, but it gets worse. As I started hanging everything in the living room I Realized That I do not have a  single family photo of the three of us.  Ouch. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself, I know things have been busy. We had a baby, moved to the other side of The Globe, and havebeen adjusting to living in a foreign country eversince, etc. Regardless, to say That I'm not a little devastated That I have not made ​​the time to take or print a nice photo of my growing family for six months is an understatement.
So for Mother's Day, my very first Mother's Day, I wanted to take a deliberate family photo. Not just a quick snap shot of us on our travels. I've taken so many pictures of Scott and I together on the tripod, even of Alexa and I, but trying to capture all three US proved to be challenging! Even so, I'm glad we got out there and made ​​the effort to capture our family Because before we know it, another six months will fly by.









PS This is What happens when you try to take your family photos yourself ... smoulders and squishy faces. Ha! But it does make me laugh! :)

I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful country. Even at the end of a long winter, the landscapes are so green and absolutely beautiful. It's hard for me to walk outside without wanting to reach for my camera and I've been itching to photograph someone around my surrounding village since we moved in! So finally a few weeks ago, I got my chance! This is the Jensen family. They are fun, honest, playful, go with the flow, up for trying new things, and lighthearted people. At 8+ months pregnant this woman trekked over 300 very vertical stairs to the top of Notre Dame and walked I don't know how many miles while we explored Paris. A week later we had this photo shoot and few days after that she had her baby girl! (You can check out Piper's newborn photos here.) It doesn't get much more hardcore than that!
I have had so much fun getting to know and photographing the progression of this family! We've only lived abroad a few months but thanks to the Jensen's and many others, Germany already feels very much like home.

I am so proud of Alexa. Our three days in Paris she toughed the cold, frequently graced us with giggles, and seemed as eager to see everything as we were. She is my little traveler. From the moment she was born she's been on the move with us, but she's handled it so well. I love her easy nature and curiosity for life. She is such an angel; I love her so much! While we explored Paris with our friends, I couldn't help but think how lucky and grateful I am that I get to make these kinds of memories with my husband and my daughter. I've always loved seeing new places and experiencing new cultures, but traveling as a mother with my family makes it even more humbling and worth while! I can't think of better company to share and explore the World with.

A few images from our first day in Paris! We got to our hotel in the evening and went straight to Sacre Coeur which is the highest point in Paris. Such a beautiful view! And unlike the Eiffel Tower, entrance was completely free. It was conveniently a 5 minute walk from our hotel, and while it is a bit farther away from the other attractions, I would visit again! While there we took in the breathtaking view of Paris, explored the cathedral, appreciated the work of local artists and ate sugar and nutella filled crepes. As we were walking back to our hotel the carousel lights flickered on with the fading sun and I took this last image before calling it a day. 

I'm in a self portrait group on facebook and this week's challenge is faceless.

Oh Alexa,
Today Dad dropped his water bottle and it bounced right off your nose. You cried and we held and comforted you until the fear and hurt went away. We felt guilty for being clumsy, but you stopped crying and forgave us with snuggles and warm smiles. Thank you for being patient with us. We are new to this parenting thing and as much as we would like to be perfect parents, we make mistakes. Thanks for understanding that. You are a constant reminder that love blossoms when it is filled with patience, forgiveness, and lots of snuggles.
Love you baby girl.