The Coolest Uncle

My Uncle Dave flew across the world to visit us in Berlin. It was such a special experience. He's a great example of planning and chasing your dreams rather than just talking the talk. 

We felt so lucky to spend some time with him. 

Logan, who is not a fan of his stroller was sooo calm the whole time Dave was there. He went right in his stroller every time, no fuss. Ha! He also waited outside Dave's door each morning for him to wake up. He still occasionally chants, "Dave, Dave, Dave" around the house.

We spent our time around my favorite parts of the city. This currywurst stop at the Brandenburg Gate was one of the most impactful parts of the week for me. 

I can't count how many times I've brought family and friends to this specific part of Berlin. Yet, this time was different. 

We didn't just walk through the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We stopped and talked about our thoughts and what we were feeling after going through the Holocaust Museum. 

We took the whole day at a pace that allowed us to really be where our feet were, not looking ahead to our next agenda point. I even told Dave, as we were eating our currywurst, that I had never felt that calm while sightseeing before. I'm usually so eager to show off everything Berlin has to offer at a fast pace. I decided this approach was a lot better.

Berlin is a biking city. I might argue there are as many bikes as cars! Biking has always been on my bucket list and Dave made it happen. We found some bikes (e-bikes, hallelujah because I'm 11 weeks pregnant and tired) and had a blast exploring the Bellevue Palace, Victory Column, and Tiergarten.

These will forever be my favorite Berlin trees. They bloom pink and white flowers in May. I love them!!

We even found some rhododendron in full bloom which was also on my bucket list for 2025!!

Dave's trip aligned perfectly with Justin's schedule. We were seriously so lucky because the playoff schedule is very unpredictable. Justin was able to be home the whole time and we caught the last Alba game in the Uber Arena of the season. 

We wore Justin's Euro League jerseys & could feel the energy as soon as we walked inside.

We enter through the back player's entrance and happened to be in the tunnel at the same time Justin's team was heading to the court. We watched their pre-warm up ritual with all of the players yelling & hyping each other up. It was quite the experience to kick off the night. 

Logan spent the night with his besties, collecting and distributing the fans over and over again.

Forever sooooo proud of Justin for doing what he does. Most days I still can't believe we live in Berlin and play professional basketball. I say "we" because it's definitely a family effort. <3

Thank you for coming, Dave!! & for helping remind me to slow down & be where my feet are. We love you!!!!

The Hills Are Alive!!

We had been looking forward to Jourdon & Jacquelyn's visit for nearly a year! Can't believe it happened and we got to show them Berlin. The weather was perfect & everything had greened up, ready to show off for summer. 

Between California & Berlin, we only get a few days together each year so this week was such a treat. We love J&J!!!

We have a pretty set routine of what we see with visitors, but it was fun to try a few new places this time. 

In the middle of their visit, we said bye to our Keetch family. <3 I served with Angie in Relief Society for the past 18 months. I would do anything for her. It was a sad goodbye. We love them and their girls so much. Hopefully we'll get to spend some time with them while they're in UT this summer. 

Logan warmed right up to Jourdon and still walks around the apartment occasionally saying, "Jo Jo". 

Logan and I were lucky enough to be invited to leg two of their European trip. We took our first train ride to Austria!

It was beautiful & surreal to be in that part of the world, Salzburg specifically. They filmed the Sound of Music here! We spent the evening walking around and seeing the main parts of that city.

We woke up the next day and took the prettiest drive to Hallstatt. I wish Justin could've snapped his fingers and been with us. The drive reminded me SO much of Switzerland. Beautiful green mountains, cows, lakes, it was amazing. 

Hallstatt itself is the cutest town tucked into the mountains surrounded by a huge lake.

We hopped on the ferry & got to see everything from the water. It was pretty amazing.

A cemetery above the city on the church grounds. 

Had a rainy drive back to our place & finished off the night in the best way possible... Pizza delivery yummmm. Haha it was steaming when our delivery guy pulled it out of the box. SO good. 

The last thing we did in Salzburg was our Sound of Music bike tour. It was pretty amazing. We stopped at more than 15 locations from the movie & even biked along to the soundtrack. Such a cool ride! & so grateful to Jourdon for pulling Logan the whole way. They both helped me so much to keep him calm and happy. I think Miss Rachel was permanently queued up on all of our phones. :')

We had beautiful weather & I started to tear up at one point I was so happy & couldn't believe I was actually biking through Austria with the alps surrounding me.

Such a memorable trip. <3 We parted ways, Jourdon & Jacquelyn to Switzerland and Logan and I back to Justin in Berlin. 

Alba's Fan in the Uber Arena

Justin's game was SO fun. It was home in the Uber arena and felt second nature pulling into our parking spot and holding Logan's hand while we walked inside. 

Logan does so well at the late night games now and he thrives in that loud environment. Tonight, he spent the first 20 minutes of the game exchanging the "clapping fans" with Norman, Birgit, and the other 4 people on the row in front of him. He was so happy to be there. 

When Alba would score a basket or Justin would have a steal, the crowd would start clapping and Logan would gently set down both of his fans & join in on the wild clapping. It was so funny to watch. He did this the whole game. 

We got to go with our friends, the Farnsworths. We love our ward family! 

Justin had another great game with lots of crazy, high-energy plays. I'm so glad we've been consistent at going to his games, supporting our #34.