October 8, 2008

Brugges, Belgium

We finally have internet and phone connected in our house. It has definitely taken long enough. So the number I posted last time is working for anyone to call us. So much has happened since I last posted. Our stuff and our car came in early so that was a huge blessing. As soon as we finished unpacking the house, Jim got sent back to Alabama for 6 weeks. I should be used to this by now but I was a little upset at first. Now it has been almost a week and we are falling into place and getting into a routine with school and some mom groups for me and Brad and also trying to finish the house. I have some pictures of it now but it is still a work in progress.

When last I wrote, we were leaving the kids with a sitter to go to Octoberfest. Everything seemed to go well with her. But the next morning I noticed the cat was gone. We asked Rhiannon if the girl opened the door to the house because we couln't imagine how the cat got out. Turns out, she left them there and went home to get biscuits for herself and Rhi. She told Rhi not to light anything on fire and she would be right back. So she left my kids and she lost my cat. I was furious and still am a little miffed when I think about it. So in the future I guess I have to specify that you don't leave the kids alone to my new sitter. Anyway, Jim found the cat at a barn down the street the next day but we couldn't get her before she disappeared again. Luckily the owners of the house helped us out and spoke a little English and we got her back a day or so later when she got hungry and came out of hiding.

Beastly Creature (I think it has a tooth)

Old and New Chairs!

So the new house is great and is turning out to be quite large. We don't have enough furniture to fill it. It takes a bit to clean it and I am having to dust the ceiling corners almost every day for the spiders. Yes it's that bad. I have included a picture of one of the little beasts that has taken up residence in the window (outside). I am told that they are very active in the fall and the spring so bring on that first frost please! Continuing with the house...I finally bought some great fabric that is a soft vinyl to cover my white dining room chair cushions that aren't really white anymore. I love it and I have enough material leftover to spice up the curtains in the dining room. I love the little changes that come with each new house and finding new and creative ways to store things, especially since we don't have closets.

Office

Kitchen

Courtyard

Driveway-The garage is on the side and next to our driveway is a horse pasture

Foyer

Guest Bath

Dining Room

Living Room

Stairs

Guest Room

Brad's Room

Rhiannon's Room

Our Room

Master Bath-I had to drill the brackets for the rod into the ceiling because the tub had no door and no place to hang a curtain. Just call me Handy Dani. It is way bigger than the guest bath so I had to do it.

The day before Jim left we took a road trip to Brugges, Belgium. It is on the coast and a quick 2.5 hour drive. From there you can actually take a ferry to London, but that's a trip for another time. Anyway, we went to a chocolate museum and learned a lot about it. I never knew how much work actually goes into making those delicious little treats. We also got downpoured on the whole time we were there with gale force winds. So we were only able to do the museum and have dinner. It was a memorable last day for sure.

The kids are growing and changing of course. Rhiannon loves school and has told us she doesn't like coming home because she wants to learn. Brad now can say coffee, thank you and yay yo which means Rhi Rhi. He is all boy and continually bangs himself up and throws fits all over the place. I am trying to socialize him and me more for both of our benefits. He loves to throw things down the stairs and a part of me wants to let him because he can go at it for awhile but it gets so loud and I am afraid something will eventually break. He sleeps in his big boy toddler bed now and is doing pretty well I must say. At first he would stand at the doorway and scream but now he just sits there and when he gets tired enough, he goes right into his bed. I got Rhi an alarm clock to help wake her in the morning because she is awful to wake up. Yesterday she got up and shut it off and went back to sleep. Oh well. We also had a little fun with chocolate pudding as you can see. I know it's gross but Rhiannon said something funny that reminded me of when me and my sister were kids eating chocolate pudding. She said, "It looks like poop!" When me and Alyssa were little we would take a bite and say, "Mmm poop." I know, it's nasty. But I guess we all think the same things.

Long Day at School

Pudding Fun

Our landlord Regina took us to the wild animal park in Gangelt today. It has lots of deer, pigs, bears, birds, etc. It was fun for the kids and they got to play in the mud a little bit too.

Interesting Things About Germany So Far...
Lots of spiders
Not many people speak English
All of our bills are in German (feel a little taken advantage of there)
Very green
Very few traffic lights
Lots of wind farms
Recycle EVERYTHING
It rains all the time
Absolutely nothing is open on Sundays
Driving anything bigger than a scooter is impossible and life threatening
Everyone rides bikes everywhere & they disregard other vehicle traffic
Getting gas is expensive and majorly inconvenient
Very relaxed attitudes and close knit communities

So far we are loving it here and are anxious to continue exploring. We miss everyone back home so much and I hope these posts are keeping you connected to us a little bit. Please call our Boston phone number and we'll call everyone too. It's only a 6 hour time difference. It was really hard for me at first not being able to call the people I talk to every day but now I will be barking my way into a new rate policy at Vonage. We love you all and are setting up the guestroom for anyone who can visit. Til next time...

P.S. I don't know what the hell is wrong with my formatting on this post but I have spent 2 hours trying to fix it. You know it's bugging me because I am very particular about my layouts. Anyway, I just felt like I had to mention it, and I will fix it on my mac when Jim gets home. Sorry if the picture captions are confusing.

September 20, 2008

Welcome to Germany!

Ok so here we are in Germany, and have been for about a month now. I know I have been really bad lately with keeping in touch and answering emails and I apologize because we are super busy. Things should start to quiet down this coming week. We have a new baby (BMW) and a house that we can move into Friday. Our other car arrived yesterday and we finally have working cell phones. We are officially licensed to drive in Europe but are still getting lost. GPS is our new best friend, but it's moody and takes us wherever it feels like most of the time. There are about 100 different ways to get from point A to point B but I just want to learn one. There are a million spiders in our front doorway and about a billion on our street. Needless to say, I will be stocking up on raid because I HATE spiders! I get the shivers just writing about it. It's very green here and it always smells like poop. There are farms everywhere and in fact, we are going to live in an old farmhouse. We have already met some wonderful people and they have helped us out to no end, especially because almost nobody in Germany speaks English. We have had some interesting conversations with our hands and hopeless faces. It has been an interesting adjustment and we've mostly just been tired but things are looking better every day. Jim is going to Munich next week for the real Octoberfest and we are both going to one on base tonight. I am so jealous but I'm ready to go for next year. I'm sorry I don't have many pictures yet, just the one of our new baby, the front of our house, and some of the kids playing.


The house is really great. It doesn't look like much from the outside but inside is completely redone. The entire downstairs is modern and has a huge living room, a dining room that is separate so we won't be watching TV and eating anymore, and an office and a kitchen with an enormous pantry off of it and a laundry room. Outside the laundry room is the garage and it opens up to a large large large courtyard complete with cobblestones. The people who live there now are leaving their stone BBQ and hopefully their patio furniture. They have lots of plants outside and it has given me many ideas for what I want to do out there. There is also a barn off the courtyard where we can store some stuff. It is perfect for the kids to play out there. They can't escape and I don't have a lawn to mow! Hopefully less spiders too. Next to our long driveway there is a horse pasture. Rhiannon is crazy about horses. Upstairs is the older part of the house. Part of it was rebuilt after the war. It has four bedrooms, three of which are very big, and we have two full bathrooms. There is also an attic for more storage if we need it. The best part for me is the wine cellar. It was a bunker during the war and now I will make my spirits down there. Hope not to encounter any... Ok so I will post some more pictures once we get moved in and I need to go for now and get ready for my first Octoberfest. It's also my first time using a completely random babysitter so wish me luck! Oh, one more thing. Rhiannon loves school. She wants to do homework every night. It was a good thing to get her in so early. She fits right in without any trouble. She'll be riding the bus from our new house and I am still nervous about that. Talk to you all later. Tschüs (choos) Almost forgot. Our new phone number should be working Friday. It's 617-307-1277.

In Transit Until August 26, 2008

Fenway Park, August 14, 2008

We have been in Massachusetts visiting our family and friends until we leave for Germany. So far the theme of the trip has been "Celebration" as in birthdays both old and new, weddings and lots of new babies. Brad has celebrated his birthday at least 3 times now and he is loving it. We have amassed an enormous collection of new toys and clothes and things that have been relegated to the attic, only to be stuffed in shipping boxes and sent over to Germany where we will entertain ourselves with their contents until our household goods arrive, hopefully no later than October 1. These pictures are of several family parties. It means so much to have finally brought all of the kids together...

Cousins Michael, Stephen, Stacy, Danielle, Amanda & Alyssa

Great Grandkids Mekenzie, Maryna, Gabriella, Rhiannon, Joey, Tanner & Brad

Celebrating Grammy Dulski's 80th Birthday



Lovin the Slip n' Slide


Cousin Dennis and His New Baby Brody


Birthday Cousins Jayden and Brad


Jim's Sister Ianne and her Son Trent

We took in a Red Sox game and of course they won. We had bleacher seats so we couldn't see very well but we enjoyed some Fenway Franks and libations. I tried to negotiate with the foam finger man for a lower price but he wouldn't budge, so we didn't get one. It was a great feeling for me to be on Yawkey Way in the middle of a crowd of fans in my favorite city, to be truly home for a little while. I will miss this place.

My Sister, Dad and Hubs Enjoying the Sox Game

We also spent a gorgeous day in the city, riding the Swan Boats and having lunch at my mom's work. I love the architecture of Boston and tried to take a few pictures to remember how beautiful it now looks after the Big Dig has hidden many of the old roads underground and built parks and flower lined walkways through the streets of the Financial District heading toward Faneuil Hall. The aerial shots are of South Boston where I used to live before I met Jim.

Swan Boat with John Hancock in Background

Rhi at the Make Way for Ducklings Statue

"Southie"

The View Walking Along the New Greenway

The last leg of our trip was up in Castine, Maine. It's about an hour east of Augusta to give you an idea. We went to visit my cousins Jane and Pat who had come to see us in Florida. It is incredibly beautiful up there. I went kayaking for the first time and I didn't flip my boat. I was a little nervous that I would so I didn't even take the camera with me. Brad hated it and Rhiannon fell asleep in the boat. After kayaking we had drinks on the dock and took some pictures of the kids in a ski lift. We mostly sat around the fire pit in their enormous yard, made smores, hiked, and relaxed. We were also fortunate to have lunch with old Iceland friends who are stationed in Maine and got to meet their new baby. After an exhausting two weeks at home, it was the perfect end to our long journey in the US en route to Europe.

Jane and Pat's House

Kids in a Ski Lift

The Kids with Pat Gathering Wood for the Fire

Making Smores


Rhiannon Leading our Hike


Views Atop the Hill

The Family with Cousin Pat


Rhiannon Picking Blueberries

That just about wraps up our time in New England. We fly out tomorrow and are so ready to go. Rhiannon starts school Thursday and we are excited to start looking for a house. We'll post again once we get settled in and hopefully we won't be without internet access for too long. You can still reach us at our hotmail accounts and we will send along our new contact information soon. Thanks to everyone for making our trip home so enjoyable. It will be a long time before we get back up this way...and anyone who wants to come visit us in Germany, we'll be waiting for you!