January 3, 2009

Christmas

So we took a few days off from traveling and spent Christmas at home. Unfortunately not every package made it in time but that's life here in Europe. So all of you should be getting Christmas cards in January. Brad was still more fascinated with the paper and Rhi loved all her new princess gear. We now have a new camera and have been taking pictures of everything with it. We enjoyed a nice relaxing day and took a walk around our village. The real excitement began a day later when we hopped a train and went to Paris.

Pictures taken in our backyard and in the fields between the villages.

Paris was freezing! It was also so beautiful and it reminded me a lot of New York with all the traffic, expensive everything, cafes on every corner, and just plain dirty streets. The subway is considerably easier to navigate in Paris and the architecture is more like that of New Orleans. I loved it there and hope to go back in the summer.



We took a train from Geilenkirchen and it was only a three hour ride. Our hotel was quite interesting when we discovered there was no shower curtain and apparently Parisians are not bothered by this as most of the hotels are this way. (Maybe that's why they smell, because they don't shower much because they don't have time to shop vac the water off the bathroom floor every day.) We also had inches to spare on either side of the bed for the kids to sleep on the floor. We had to sneak them in because we would have had to get two rooms. Our hotel window looked down on a blue neon lit sex shop and we discovered a whole street near the Moulin Rouge with one after another of those. The hotel elevator was a joke if I can describe it correctly. It was triangular in shape and said 3 persons max would fit. Well maybe 3 small children would have fit in there. Kelly and I got in with some bags and we were pressed up against the walls all twisted up laughing about the elevator. Poor handicapped people would be better off trying to navigate the stairs in that place. The stairs were another story. We were on the fourth floor and the stairs go up in a kind of spiral. They sloped downward from the wall to the middle column (if that makes sense) and they were uneven. Bradley took forever to get up or down them because they were so unpredictable. Somehow I think in the states that this hotel would have been deemed in violation of building codes for the elevator and the stairs. And this was a 3 star Best Western! The Europeans only operate on a 4 star basis. At least it was clean and close to the train. I guess the standards here are lower and once we get passed being spoiled Americans, we have a really good time.

So the first night in Paris we went to see the Moulin Rouge. It is far too expensive to take in a show but Tori was able to get into their gift shop at least. The next day of course we went to the Eiffel Tower which looks a lot smaller from the ground than it does when you are in the glass elevator going up the legs with nothing between you and the ground but a few thousand tons of twisted metal. It is not a kid friendly attraction unless you go without a stroller and don't mind smashing into small spaces with lots of people. Jim was gracious enough to take our screaming and freezing kids to a cafe while the rest of us braved the elements for a beautiful view of Paris. It was worth it but my god all those stinking people... I think we spent more time waiting in lines than we did in the tower itself.

Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower

The River Seine

We also saw the Louvre which is enormous and nearly got mauled to death trying to see the Mona Lisa, the Notre Dame cathedral which is also enormous and gorgeous inside, the Arc de Triomphe and Pere Lachaise Cemetery. For those of you who know me well you know that I would never go to Paris and skip seeing Jim Morrison's grave. I have to say it was a bit depressing to see how such a larger than life person with so much to offer the world had been reduced to a such a small plot of land squished in as almost an afterthought next to at least four other graves and surrounded by a fence to ward off the vandals. That being said, the rest of the cemetery is amazing! I think Jim took the best pictures in there. It is so old and so filled with family mausoleums many of which have fallen into serious disrepair. They are stuffed in next to each other often times it seems with no rhyme or reason. It looks like it started off orderly and then people were just stuck wherever they would fit. I want to learn more about this cemetery because it was such an amazing and peaceful place. Next time we are in France it would be nice to check out Versailles, or maybe a certain film festival... Yeah right.

Pere Lachaise

Notre Dame Cathedral

We had to try escargot. Yummy!

The Louvre

At last the train ride home. We were all so exhausted that we started to get silly. Brad has taken to screaming lately for his own amusement mostly but to our fellow train passengers it was not funny. A man and his wife who were seated behind us felt it necessary to comment to Jim that he should tell his wife to keep his son quiet. It did not go over well and luckily we were within 15 minutes of our station and were able to depart without an international incident. The story is actually much funnier now than it was then because I really did think this man would attack us. You can't force a two year old to be quiet, especially one who is a week past his bed time and has been to three countries in as much time. They obviously didn't have kids and I always laugh at these people who are so quick to lose their patience with other people's kids in public places. Guess what? We have to take him home with us, they don't. You know what I say to those miserable and cranky childless folks? Get over it. If you don't like the noise, walk away. If you can't walk away suck it up for a little while. We have to deal with them forever! And most of the time we love every minute of it. It's only when they misbehave that we bring them out in public to share them with the rest of the world.

The End

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...