December 29, 2008

Our 12 Days of Christmas...
Part 1

Began on December 19th with the arrival of my aunt and uncle and 3 cousins from Oregon. They left this morning to go back home so technically I guess it's about 10.5 days but I digress. There is much to discuss with regards to our travels and adventures and the all at once amusing and annoying people that share this phenomenal and sometimes too small planet of ours. I will warn you there are lots of pictures.

We started our adventure with picking up the Hokanson family a normally 2.5 hours drive away at Ramstein (which turned into about 3.5 hours) and proceeding to drive another 2 hours to Stuttgart where we had planned to spend the night and catch up with old friends. That and the entire next day were spent driving through horrific rain and ice fog through the mountains and stopping for a brief (4 hours) lunch in Munich. We unfortunately did not arrive in Austria until well after nightfall and were greeted much to our surprise by the owner of the house which we were renting out for two days. Conveniently he had to fly all the way from Florida for some things to do in Austria after we had rented his 800 year old home and we were stuck spending two nights with him. He was very nice at first but a little eccentric and I think we were all a little put off by him being there. There was another little catch too. Several people from his house master's family lived on the bottom floor at night but we were not to worry because they stayed inside their rooms and left really early in the morning. We all began to wonder about this sham of a rental. By the time we left it had begun to get really strange with the owner calling Jim to ask what he had done wrong. Aside from that and the rainy weather, Salzburg was a fantastic city. We got a little peak at the mountains on our last day when the skies started to clear. Of course we checked out the Sound of Music sights and watched the movie to refresh our memories. It was a small city but had such beautiful architecture and so much history. I felt like I should learn more about WWII and what happened there after visiting.

Me and Kelly in Salzburg

Me and Jim in Salzburg

Rhiannon and Her Best Friend Hallie

Scary Creatures in a Parade

All the Women Here are Actually Men

Brad Posing Under the Fortress




My Cousins Tori, McKinnon and Danny

Brad in his Usual State

On our way home from Austria we stopped in Bavaria to see some castles, one of which was Walt Disney's inspiration for Cinderella's castle. They were magnificent to see and take pictures of. Once the clouds clear down there it is so breathtaking to see the mountains. We only got a glimpse but I am sure we'll be back down there again in better weather.

Hohenschwangau

Neuschwanstein

part 2 to follow...

December 11, 2008

Life in Germany

Life in Germany is pretty much the same as our lives would be anywhere. I absolutely love it and am still working hard to learn German. Here are some recent photos of the town surrounding our house on a rare sunny day. Winter is always the same it seems no matter where we are in the world, with the exception of Florida. So to help the time pass until Spring again, we amuse ourselves with observations of the kids. Here are some stories, one of which I thought twice about sharing, but then again they are good for a laugh.




Several weeks ago during Fire Prevention Week at school Rhiannon was very into keeping us safe in case of a fire. One morning while I tried not to hear that the kids were awake and banging around, I heard Rhiannon say to Brad, "Why are you always getting into trouble? You threw all your books into the hallway. Now if there is a fire no one can walk here." I am so glad she is thinking ahead. If it were left in my hands we would all burn up.




Last night the kids were getting undressed for their bath. Rhiannon came running up to me and said, "Mom, Brad just put his hand in my vagina!" I completely lost it and had to bury my laughter in my arms. Of course a more serious talk ensued about when and by whom that would be an appropriate occurrence. Then during the bath she said, "I made brown bubbles in the water." Nice and ladylike.




Last night Rhiannon asked me why Santa doesn't want the kids to see him when he comes into the house with the presents. I told her that was his rule and that he wants everything to be a surprise in the morning and she said, "That's mean."

Rhiannon has also developed an interesting drawing style, kind of reminds me of myself not so many years ago. She draws crazy creatures. Here are just a few...

Mr. Eyeballton

Hamburger Lady

December 4, 2008

For now we just have a few pictures of the first turkey Wishbone Breaking Ceremony between the kids. Brad was not into it at all and preferred to pose for the camera. He initially broke off the longer piece but it was extremely close and after no objections from him, Rhi was declared the winner and thus her wish will now come true.

Brad Updates...
He is 2 years and 5 months old. He can say more words every day and is putting together two word phrases. His latest favorite word is exercise pronounced (eh di die). Good-bye is pronounced (go die) and he calls his pacifier abaco. Oh and I don't know if I mentioned it before but he calls Rhiannon Yay Yo. He is so friendly and says hi to everyone on the street. Roswell, the mean creature that she is has even started sleeping with him. She likes to pretend that he hasn't won her over. He has finally started standing up for himself when she hisses and swats at him too. He yells at her "NO!" Funnny, most kids learn that word really early and Brad has only just begun to say it, and only to the cat. Brad is the only family member who does not need to wake up early for work or school, and he is the only family member who actually wakes up. Rhiannon can sleep through her alarm forever and Jim is also a difficult person to get out of bed. I have to drag my tired self up and bribe and threaten them both but Brad is always there standing in his doorway with a big smile on his face ready to start the day. I don't know where he came from.

Rhiannon Updates...
She got a new haircut last week. It is still halfway down her back but so much easier to brush. She has also been taking how to shower lessons. She has been doing quite well as a "big" girl and it is much easier for me to help wash her hair that way. Her attitude is that of a teenager but she is still so much a little girl. She falls asleep on the school bus ride home and she questions whether I love her as much as Brad. I know that we need more time together just the two of us because I am always with Brad all day. That is definitely one of my New Year resolutions. Jim found an audio recording he made of her about a month before Brad was born. I am working on getting the link up to the site.

Germany Updates...
Still seeing 8 leggers in my house. It's winter, just die already. Hoping to hit up Salzburg and Paris in a few weeks. Separate trips of course. Also hoping that Aunt Kelly and the family can make it out for Christmas. They are coming SPACE A and we all know how that goes. Til next time... Oh yeah, Saint Nikolaus just came to our house tonight. He came to make sure the kids are being good and he had to read the English from his book. Not quite sure how much he understood of what he was saying but I could be wrong. The man in black looks like the grim reaper but is in fact carrying a sack full of candy. I could go many places with that last sentence but I will just leave it alone. They are kids after all.


Rhiannon's Voice

November 24, 2008

Our Babies

Jim is back and we've just been trying to catch up and relax this week so I don't have much that is interesting to gab about. Thanksgiving looms this week. We will have a houseful and I hope to have more that's interesting to post about then. It snowed here for the past three days. I don't mind it so much because it is rained away almost immediately. Maybe I did miss the snow a teensy bit while we were in Florida. For now, here are just a few shots of the kids. I know they will hate me someday for dressing them alike but I swear that right now they both love it!

November 8, 2008

Rhiannon's Kindergarten Class Trick or Treating on Base

Pee Wee's Play Place and Potential Death Trap

So this week it was Rhiannon's turn to maim her face. We spent the day with our friends the Horrocks family who are just joining us from Florida. After a morning of boring the kids at the Geilenkirchen Foggy Fields Bazaar we decided to take them to a place where they could burn off some energy. Pee Wee's is a giant indoor ball pit complete with bouncy castles, inflatable slides, zip lines and climbing ropes and playhouses. Unfortunately it does not have an inflatable floor. There is one particular slide that one can gather just enough momentum on, that it propells you about 5 feet across the rug, heating up the seat of your pants and almost singing the precious little hairs that grace our behinds. Rhiannon's momentum created a sommersault style ending that banged and scraped her face on the carpet creating a combination rug burn and bruise that ripped several eyelashes out. It's graphic I know but it is my attempt to make light of a situation that seems all too common lately; one of my children narrowly escaping a trip to the emergency room. After extensive analysis by myself and Sara and numerous explanations to Rhi that she was indeed going to live albeit with a nice "shiner" for a few days, she was deemed fit to continue jostling her brain on the bouncy equipment. Oh well, at least it happened after the Santa photos were taken.

Rhiannon Sporting her Shiner with a Drawing of Pee Wee's

Rhiannon is very happy to have her friend Hallie back in playing distance. They have been hanging out and exhausting each other all week. I am very happy to have Sara (and the whole family of course) back in playing distance too. It looks like they will be living close to us and I am looking forward to all the things we'll get to do together over the next few years. It has just hit me again that we are living in Germany and we are so lucky to have a few of our Florida friends here to share in the experience!!

Halloween was a little different this year. The Army garrison does something called Trunk or Treat. People can reserve spaces and set up their cars and hand candy out from the trunks. It has evolved to where many trunks and tables become scary graveyards and pumpkin carving displays. Anyway, it is a big circle around the base complete with a haunted house. It seems that the candy nowadays is not what it used to be though. I threw away most of the little tootsie rolls and laffy taffys and was left with a precious few M&M's and Hersey bars. I would have thrown away the lolly pops too but lately Brad is addicted to those. He yells out "Lolly!" when he is upset and laughs like a madman when I give him one. He has also learned how to say candy this week. I keep a few pieces in a little jar on the dining room table for treats after dinner. The other night I was in the office and he brought me the jar to open. He must have climbed up on a chair and then crawled across the table to get it! He is a man of few words but many thoughts and actions.

A Whittled Pumpkin
(It's not very often I get to use the word whittle)

Other than the usual chaos, we are hanging in there day to day anticipating Jim's arrival home next week. We have officially been in Germany longer without him than we have been with him! Luckily for him I know how to keep myself busy with online shopping! Don't forget to send him a Happy 30th! shout out on the 11th. I wish we could spend it together but it is not the Air Force way. He gets to avoid the endless teasing from me about being old, although it doesn't seem to bother him like it did me. Anyway, til next time, one last thought...thank you to all the people who voted for change. It is worth noting the historical events that have taken place in our country and how happy we are about it as this blog is also a book for our kids to look back on and learn about their lives. Right now, they have no idea the magnitude of what has just occurred. Here's to hoping that their futures can be better and brighter than what the world is right now...

October 29, 2008

Oklahoma Adventure!

Our Oklahoma trip came and went without a hitch, except for Nikki and Lee's! Of course that doesn't mean I don't have an interesting story to tell. Let's begin...

SPACE A Travel
S show up early
P pray for a seat (or 3)
A alter your travel plans
C control your emotions
E everything is free

A Adventure!

So we planned on taking a commercial military plane, but instead we got a tanker! Tankers are great flights when you plan for them, like bringing blankets and lots of snacks because they are so cold to fly on. The kids were able to run around and scam free trips to the cockpit from the crew. The seats are comfortable and you can lay on the floor to stretch out if you want. Unfortunately, the tanker flight was too long to allow for our connection in Baltimore. A minor mommy meltdown ensued and thus we were rerouted to OKC that same evening. Whew! Phase 1 of our trip, getting there, complete.

She Always Looks So Happy

We were blessed to meet many new and wonderful people as well as run into some old friends at the wedding. I think there were people from at least 15 states there. Brad was quick to make friends with Lee's sister Kellie. He loved her! And Brad don't like nobody but Mommy. They even shared the same hairstyle. Lee's mom and step dad also had many great things to say about Germany and I hope they get to come visit us someday. I have special thanks for Peg and Kellie for accompanying us to the ER. I'll get to that later. Lee's dad flew in from Panama City and he happened to sit next to our friend Melissa (going on vacation) who is also coming to Germany in the winter. What a small world!

Brad and Kellie

Oklahoma City is not at all what I expected. It is very flat but incredibly built up and spread out. Nikki and Lee have a beautiful house and yard. I know now we will be ok to live there someday because all roads lead to Tinker. Anyway, we managed to squeeze in a little shopping and a visit to old friends from Delaware and on rehearsal day my son decided to steal the thunder. He tripped and banged his head on the coffee table splitting his ear open. We were in and out of the ER with hours to spare (unheard of) and a wound that was nothing a little glue couldn't fix. He made me nervous from then on...

Rhiannon, Cameron, Brad and Maggie
Old Buddies from Delaware

The rehearsal dinner was at a restaurant in Bricktown OKC. It's a great part of the downtown area with shops and restaurants and bars. Rhiannon got a special surprise for her birthday during the dinner; cupcakes with princess rings, some new jewelry and a purse. Brad needed to take a load off from his busy day.

Darcy, Evangeline, Brandon (Nikki's Brother and Family)

John and Geri (Bride's Parents)

Happy Birthday Rhi

Long Day for Brad

The day of the wedding was perfect in every way. It went so fast and of course I want to post a million photos but I chose just a few of the best.

Getting Ready

Lee's Mom and Step Dad

Lee's Dad

We had such a great time on our trip and got to see Jim for 2 days but now we are glad to be home. It is a little colder here than when we left but so many things need to be done (like burn the cell phone bill) before Jim gets home. Unfortunately we are still so tired and a little under the weather ourselves but are hoping to pull through for the Halloween events this weekend and the arrival of our friends the Horrocks' on Monday. One other important note. Brad started saying Good Morning this week and has been imitating much of what we are saying to him. Yay for Brad finally going vocal!

Anyway, we love you Nikki and Lee. Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day. We had a blast and we wish you the happiest life together. Please get stationed with us again soon because we miss you!!