Merry Christmas from the VanAsperen girls!

Marie and Nick made it to Germany safe and sound! Brian and I picked up Marie and Nick yesterday from the Amsterdam airport. Being with them really made Christmas wonderful! On our way back to Bonn, we made a side trip to Asperen, Netherlands. Our expectations were pretty low, but the city was incredibly cute and only about 10 minutes off the beaten path...

The town is about one street which is made all of brick. At the end of the street, there is a huge cathedral and a few homes. We spent about 45 minutes walking around the town and pretending that we knew everyone that lived there or that we are in some way related. All of the shops and restaurants were closed, but we did get a good feel of the town and were definitely surprised by the community.

We made it back to Bonn around 4pm. We put the turkey in and started getting everything ready for Christmas dinner. Marie and Nick were pretty tired from the flight, but were able to stay awake to enjoy the holiday! After days and hours of waiting, I was finally able to open my gifts. ;) It was a tough day of waiting, but in the end, worth the wait... We had a great Christmas dinner and wonderful night!

Today we are heading over to Cologne to see the sights and of course the cathedral. Everything is closed today for Christmas so we're hoping that we're able to find a good German restaurant tonight so Marie and Nick can have some yummy German food.

Just because Brian is so excited about his mustache, but refuses to take a good picture, I'm posting this one...maybe it will encourage him to shave... (probably not) Any encouragement will be greatly appreciated!

We all missed everyone back at home so much, but are excited about our travels over the next few weeks!