testing out the T R A I L S

Lately, the weekends just seem to go by way too fast. It was a nice weekend around here, just not nearly long enough.

As mentioned in my previous post, we finally took a break from unpacking and cleaning to get out and enjoy the trails in our new village.

Saturday, we went on a four-mile trek. Sunday, we ventured out for two miles. Coleman and Caden rode their bikes both days. Ty joined us on Sunday which was great.

Jim was kind enough to jog & walk with me since I'm still a wanna-be runner who moves slower than anyone in this entire world. Entire world, no joke.

After a two-month break from running with my friend, I was feeling the aches {again}. It was nice to get moving again and especially to take in a little fresh air. As red as my face gets, you would have thought I was sprinting. Aah... the joy of getting back in shape. There's a special bonding that I feel when we work out together and I love it. We just need to do it more.

The little boys loved it, too. Of course, Lady was in heaven. We took periodic breaks, said Morgen and Halo to several grandpa and grandmas and enjoyed the calm and beauty around us.

Here's a little of Mackenbach and the sights in our neighborhood.

A little corner grocery store

There are two bakeries around the corner from us. The first weekend we were here, we took off to do errands. With no breakfast food in the house, we left Ty some Euro to run get something at the Bakery so he wouldn't starve. He said he started talking to the lady in German and she politely said in return, "You can just say it in English." Kind of funny.

There are a lot of Americans in our village being so close to the base. I'm sure she's used to Americans. He said the pasteries were yummy.

A little restaurant just down the street. We'll have to try it out.

Love, love, love the horses. Across from this field is a field with about 15 of them. Beautiful.

We found this little guy in a field of wheat. A couple others were close by.

We take this bridge to leave our village and into the wooded area across the street. The bike trails within our village and going out are endless. You can probably take a different route every day of the year and still have options. We did go on the same trails we mistook for a street just a few months ago. We're learning.

 I also LOVE, love, love the amazing wildflowers here. I think that might be what reminds me most of Alaska. The colors are amazing. Here are a couple. I was running too fast {haha} to get pictures of them all.

Mission Accomplished: two exhausted little guys back home again

Maybe we should have started with a shorter ride and worked up to four miles. They were both pooped!