Dragonfly Journey... a glimpse into my life

Early Bird Contest....HELP

2012-01-05T17:23:00.005+02:00

Each year Girl Scout Councils have a patch design contest for the upcoming year's "Early Bird" patch. This is given to each girl who registers early for the next Girl Scout year. We have recently moved to the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia Council where I am the Leader for both of my daughters Junior troop (4th and 5th grade). The girls in the Council (126 counties) were asked to submit a drawing for the 2013 Early Bird patch for the theme "Active U." The winning design will be the patch given out to girls in our Council!

My daughter Lauren entered the contest and made it into the top 12. The Council has posted the pictures on FB for voting. My daughter drew a variety of things a girl could do to be active. Her drawing and another are SUPER close in the voting process....it is going to be close! My daughter would be so excited and honored if her design wins!

Please help Lauren by casting a vote!
Voting ends Friday at 7:30 ET
Go to FB HERE and click on drawing #7 and then "like" her picture!

Adventures at Erdbeerland.....

2011-06-13T19:53:00.005+03:00

Erdbeerland???.....
AKA as strawberry fields to us English speaking folk!

We headed to the fields to pick some fresh strawberries!

The kids didn't waste any time.....

They were very proud of their picking!
All we had to do was get our berries weighed....
What a deal!!
Over 4 kg (about 9 lbs) for only....
11,25 Euro!!

We will be going back soon!!!

How I got 2 boys to sleep peacefully!

2011-06-05T11:00:00.001+03:00

Now I know what it takes to get Jacque and Ian sound asleep!!!

Here are the steps that I used in case you have little ones that keep going and going and going like I do.

1. Go to Wildpark (see details HERE)
2. Stay there for 4 hours and don't carry the little ones or give any stroller rides what so ever!
3. Feed them Hello Kitty popsicles...sugar them right as you are leaving!
4. Buckle them up.....safety first:)
Popsicle stick in mouth probably not so safe!
5. ENJOY the silence in 3 minutes tops as you drive home
6. Maybe even park for a while and enjoy the silence even more before driving all the way home because you will fail as you try very carefully to remove them from their car seats and carry them into the house without waking them up!!

Here is what my peace and quiet looked like yesterday!

Interesting day at the Wildpark!

2011-06-04T21:37:00.011+03:00

To say I really enjoy living in Germany would probably be an understatement! We will soon be moving back to the states (less than a month to be more precise) and we visited one of the places that the kids love today.

As it turned out, there was also a Native American event today!
*This is quite strange to me since we live in a country where we are supposed to "blend" in with the locals as much as possible. This is the first event we've been to that had anything to do with the country WE are from.*

Not sure what was going on with this outfit!

There were plenty of animal skins to intrigue the kids....

Horse rides surely made their day.....

This colt didn't leave mom's side!

Archery.....big hit too!

Even fetching the arrows was fun...
Why are toys not as fun to fetch????

We were thirsty and needed a rest after all of this excitement!

We walked around the park and fed the animals!
I love that the kids can be "with" the animals rather than through a fence.

We will miss this place!

Different but oh so beautiful!

2011-05-02T10:17:00.000+03:00

We had to make a stop at Basilica De La Sagrada Familia which began construction in 1882.

It is not yet completed but I do know that it will be amazing when it is finished!

The stained glass windows are so bright and vibrant that pictures can not do them justice.

Lauren & Sarah are way out of focus here (sorry) but you can see how the colors from the windows reflect onto the walls really well.

Jacque and Ian were taking a break!
There are lots of plain glass windows (see behind them) that will eventually be stained glass!

Sitges...our home for a week

2011-05-01T12:00:00.000+03:00

We took a stroll into Sitges which was the town we stayed in for the week.

It didn't take long for us to find the parish church by the sea...
A guy was creating a sand castle as we made our way down to the beach.

Exploring La Boqueria

2011-04-30T12:00:00.000+03:00

While walking on La Rambla we found a large public market called
La Boqueria.

It had pretty much anything you needed to cook a FRESH meal!

Spices.....

Meat....they sliced off what you wanted it while it was hanging.

Mushrooms galore!

Vegetables....
Snails anyone??

Maybe an egg or two.....

Seafood galore!!!

Anyone ever had this??

On our way out we came to the fresh cut fruit and smoothie area!

We left with a few of these to eat as we wandered La Rambla again!

La Rambla

2011-04-29T12:00:00.000+03:00

Heading to La Rambla....

La Rambla is an interesting street to say the least! The middle part of the road is pedestrianized and quite busy with performers, artists, flower stalls and many eating areas. Traffic passes on both sides of the pedestrian area so you are truly walking in the median.

The floating man....

Howdy partner....

Creepy baby....

Coal miner....

Paella anyone???

Cat Woman...

Ahoy mate!
The guys had fun with this one!

Was this REALLY necessary??

Pucker up!

Mud people??

Interesting place for sure!

Clever little business.......

2011-04-28T12:00:00.000+03:00

What a clever way to recycle and make a Euro or two!!

This guy was cutting up cans without gloves...gasp... and creating little pieces of art.

I guess they are supposed to be ash trays.......I'd definitely find a better use for it though!

If you look closely you'll see some familiar cans.....
Which ones can you recognize?

Underground Roman Ruins....

2011-04-27T22:50:00.003+03:00

Museu d'Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona is a must see!!

The roman ruins are completely underground and are quite amazing.

Here are a few pictures from the ruins.....

Who is that guy?

2011-04-22T12:00:00.001+03:00

Who is this guy and where is he pointing?

Why it is Christopher Columbus and he is
supposed to be pointing to the New World!

Apparently he is actually pointing towards his supposed home in Genoa.
More info on the monument can be found HERE.

L'Auquarium on the waterfront.....

2011-04-21T12:00:00.001+03:00

We took a stroll down to the waterfront in Barcelona......

Ian kept taking one of his shoes off and holding it.
I panicked every time I saw a bare foot until I realized he was holding it!

L'Auquarium is down by the waterfront.
Lauren is walking through the bamboo to get to the sea life!

These bubbles are magnets for kids!

This whale was interesting.
You entered through the mouth to see a variety of jelly fish....
Fun playing...

We took the kids for ice cream and Popsicles and continued walking on the waterfront...

There is also something else by the waterfront that has to do with America.
Any ideas what it may be??

Adventures in Barcelona......

2011-04-20T12:00:00.000+03:00

**I was a bit bummed that I couldn't take my new camera. It seems that the charger was packed with the movers back in January! I ordered a replacement (almost a month ago) and it did NOT arrive in time so I had to take my little point and click....at least I have pictures!

We drove into Barcelona for our first trip into the city...yes, I said first and that was the last time we drove! It is CRAZY there. We were traveling with 3 cars and we ended up in 3 different parking garages. I call them parking garages loosely because the one I found felt like a small basement that held about 10 cars tops. I also had to leave the key in the car so they could shuffle it around. I did as they said...that's why I have rental insurance right??

We all decided to meet up at the Barcelona Cathedral. So, with GPS in hand we headed to the cathedral. On our way there we walked along an old Roman wall. The funny part is we couldn't find the cathedral and the GPS was saying we "reached our destination." We asked people and they chuckled and pointed which made no sense to us. As it turned out the cathedral was on the opposite side of the wall!!...why didn't they just say that instead of laughing???

Once we walked around the wall we found our destination.....

We found a yummy chocolate store just around the corner.....

Chocolate Easter Egg baskets...

Jacque drooling as everyone was buying their chocolate.....

Spring Break in Spain....

2011-04-17T14:30:00.010+03:00

We just returned from spending a week in Spain for Spring Break. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect! We stayed at THIS house in Sitges which I would highly recommend if you are traveling with a larger group and want to stay outside of Barcelona. It can accommodate up to 16 people...we had 15.

We had an early morning flight so the kids were able to play by the pool.
We had a cookout and just relaxed for sightseeing the next day.

Our stylish rental.....

Ever heard of salt pottery?

2011-04-03T22:10:00.014+03:00

Today, the salt pottery factory and store in Hohr-Grenzhausen was open for business which is special because today was Sunday (stores are usually closed). We headed to the Topferei Girmscheid so we could tour the workshop and see the pottery being created at all phases of development.....I also needed to go to place a special order for our Girl Scout leaders, but shhh more to come on that when it is ready for pick up! Gitta, the owner, was very helpful! At one point she got out her camera and asked if she could take a picture of Ian.

The pottery all starts with some clay and a wheel......

They have been busy creating all kinds of things!
Everything waits here to be hand painted......

First, designs are carved into the clay....
This is something special for garlic...one came home with me!

Then some paint is whipped up....

It was quite interesting to watch them carefully paint the designs on each piece!
By this point the kids were asking if they could make one too......

Then it is time for the kiln!
This is an IMPORTANT ingredient when it comes to salt glaze....

The salt is carefully layered onto each shelf.

Snapped a shot of the kiln as the worker was grabbing another shelf.

Now it was time to browse through the store....

Here is the finished product from earlier.
These are for scraping garlic on the deep ridges instead of pressing.
I added one to my collection of kitchen "stuff."

I came home with......
a couple of flower pots, vase, potato salad dish, garlic scraper dish, and a mug!

tschüss

Animals galore!

2011-03-30T12:00:00.000+03:00

We have Wild Parks and zoos here in Germany. The kids really enjoy the Wild Parks because the majority of animals are free roaming which means you are "with" the animals. Last Saturday the kids and I ventured out to the Freisen Wildpark for an exciting afternoon.

The deer and pigs immediately greeted us....

Then this guy showed up....

He would sneak up and do whatever he had to do to get the bag of food!
Yes, he is hitting Colton with his antlers!
So we tried to escape him but he followed....chased.... us down for quite a while!
We did manage to dodge him so we could walk in peace.
Down the path we walked.....
The kids found a couple of kangaroos with a special surprise!
How CUTE!!

Jacque & Ian had fun throwing rocks into the water....

Hey, what's that?

Pretty soon it felt like we are in a scene friom Jurassic Park!
Seriously, the herds came running across this field and it was loud, fast, and I missed getting a picture of it all because I was making sure we were out of their way!

This guy stopped to check us out!
See the little piglets in the background?

The kids had fun feeding them branches....
Jacque really wanted to feed the deer but was scared they would bite his hand.
He'd drop the pieces of corn before the deer could lick them off.
Finally convinced him to hold his hand out flat.....
Yes, a SUCCESS!!!

This guy was not quite as friendly!

I think we will need to go back:)

Look what we found Mom.......

2011-03-29T12:28:00.002+03:00

My children were supposed to be getting into our vehicle to go to the store.

Instead they were deeply engrossed in this stump....... They found something much more interesting......a roly-poly! It is the little things that are so much fun!

Eggs, eggs, and more eggs!

2011-03-27T19:39:00.007+03:00

The eggs at the Oster Markt last weekend were amazing! There were 79 crafters from all over Europe who showcased many techniques for decorating eggs. I was on a mission to collect more eggs to decorate my dining room tree....mission complete!

Here are the eggs that I purchased! The egg prices ranged from 3 Euro - HUNDRENDS of Euro....gasp! I stuck with the under 15 Euro price range except for one......

All of vendors had special boxes or bags to put the eggs in. Some were fancier and some were recyclable like this one....

pretty on the inside though!

Naturally speckled egg....

With a tree on one side.....

Remember this lady from my original post?? (check it out HERE)
Well she has an incredibly steady hand!
I chose 5 eggs that had not been colored yet, but did have a design on them.
She wrote each of my kids' name on an egg and then colored them.
Each has a poem written on it as well...
Do you see how steady her hand is??
The packaging for each egg for the kids....

I just loved the colors on these...

These eggs were decorated with paper.....
This one had such a cute matching box....

I can't wait to decorate my tree next Spring with my new eggs and the ones I already have!

Dinner with a purpose....

2011-03-26T11:20:00.008+02:00

Last night I enjoyed a "grown up" dinner with 2 friends at Il Capprecio. It is absolutely delicious!!! The 3 of us (and all of our kids....11 to be exact) are going to Spain for a week in a couple of weeks and we decided to plan our daily itinerary over dinner.
My friends convinced me that I should try one of the appetizers that they ordered....uhmm "no thanks" was my reply.

I eventually caved in to the peer pressure and tried escargo for the first time.....

....and it was good once I got past thinking about the slimy snails before they were cooked:)

We accomplished a lot at our dinner planning date.
We have a LOT of places to visit and I am REALLY looking forward to this trip!
We even worked in an evening dinner and Flamenco show just for the adults...
More to come after our trip!

Mission complete for the egg hunt!

2011-03-20T23:02:00.011+02:00

Today was the first day of Spring so it only seemed fitting to go to an Ostereier-markte! What is this??.....an Easter Egg market. Kloster Eberbach am Rhein near Eltville hosts its annual International Rheingau Easter market. The halls of the former Cistercian monastery near Eltville am Rhein, famous as the site of the movie “The Name of the Rose,” will hold more than 75 exhibitors from 10 countries showing off their imagination and techniques for decorating eggs.

I have a tree that I keep up all year in my dining room that I like to decorate each season. I've collected a few eggs for the tree since we've been in Germany but really wanted to purchase enough to finish the tree off since this will be our last market in Germany....at least for a while!

We did have a little trouble finding the market!! It helps to be on the correct side of the river which we were NOT. I did get to try out my German skills when asking for help! Luckily we met a woman who spoke very good English and she explained that we had to take the ferry across to the other side.

...ferry schedule

Driving onto the ferry....

Our ride across the river which felt like we were spinning in circles!

As it turned out, it wasn't quite as easy to find the market once we were on the other side!
It was beautiful once we found our way.
The gate as we were entering the monastery grounds.....

Had a great time...so much in fact that I barely got any pictures on the inside...gasp!!
The artists here have AMAZING talent....
We ate at a DELICIOUS German restaurant that was just up the hill from the market.
I want to go back and take my husband!!!

BINGO

2011-01-04T14:45:00.000+02:00

There was a BINGO game everyday on the ship and I could not resist since the prize was very enticing!! If you were to get BINGO in the first 40 numbers called the prize was 3,000 Euros!!!! That sounded really good to me so I drug my husband up to Club 33 for a game of BINGO.

I was so excited that I called BINGO in like 15 numbers which is IMPOSSIBLE if you understand the rules to the game which apparently were lost in translation as they were explained in like 6 languages! I was embarrassed when I realized that the entire card had to be filled in order to win rather than the row that I had on my card!

So we continued to play....and what do you know?? I called BINGO again! Everyone kind of looked at me like really?? So I did what any good wife would do.....sent my husband up to verify the card was a winner:) Thank goodness it was because I would have never lived that one down!! We won 210 Euro which was super exciting!

Next port Piraeus (Athens).....

2011-01-02T21:58:00.011+02:00

Our next stop was Athens, Greece!

Today we visited the modern day Olympic stadium....
very different than the ancient stadium we visited yesterday!
**If you look closely you'll be able to see the rings just above Colton's head.

.....leading us to the next stop

and up to the Parthenon....

One of the first things that we noticed as we were walking up the trail to the Parthenon were the stray dogs EVERYWHERE (here are just a few)! Now, try to keep 5 animal loving kids away from these dogs was quite the challenge to say the least!!!!

On our way back to the port we drove past a Sunday street market. It was packed, went for MANY blocks, and did I mention packed??

Minor traffic jam!
Is there a problem making a left turn from the right lane while cutting off 2 more cars????...Apparently not for this driver!
Thought this spice shop looked interesting...

Goodbye Athens!

1st stop.....Olympia, Greece

2011-01-02T15:29:00.000+02:00

We sailed for an entire day before arriving at Katakolon, Greece on December 18th. A bus drove us to Olympia for a bit of history....

Entering the ancient Olympic stadium...

Inside the stadium...

Did you know that all of the athletes competing in the games here were naked?....Interesting!

The remains of the Temple of Zeus is located very close to the stadium....

We learned that sticks are very important to 2 year olds:)

After touring the area (a LOT to see), we rode the bus back to a little

Greek restaurant to taste some traditional food, drinks (minus the Coke) and dance!

Lauren and Sarah went down to join the dances...

Lemon trees were everywhere....
The next port was not far away!

12 Days of Christmas on the Splendida

2010-12-31T14:02:00.006+02:00

This year we spent our Christmas holiday aboard the MSC Splendida for the 12 Days of Christmas cruise. We left for Genoa, Italy in the EARLY (2:30 am to be exact) morning hours on December 16th. The drive wasn't too bad until we ran into snow in Switzerland....we were worried this would happen since we have been getting a TON of snow!! Most importantly, we made it to the port in time for our first cruise as a family and we LOVED it!!

Our room (9055) shared with Jacque and Ian....

Colton, Lauren, and Sarah stayed in this room (9045) across the hall.
A bunk bed was pulled down from the ceiling each night so there were enough beds.

One of the pool decks....

Music played everywhere on the ship....

The kids loved the jeweled steps....

Stay tuned for our first port of call!

Smoothy mess = upgraded surprise

2010-12-30T22:44:00.004+02:00

I've been wanting an upgraded camera for a while now, but just couldn't justify purchasing one since I had a perfectly good camera. I finally have a NEED for one thanks to Jacque! I had been taking pictures not too long ago. I sat my camera down in the kitchen while I was making a smoothy (mistake #1). I had just put all of the ingredients away (mistake #2 turning back on 4 yr old) when I hear the blender turn on.....yes, Jacque turned it on without the lid. There was a mess everywhere including all over my camera. I cleaned it up as much as I could and it worked ok for a little while, well until now. It is practically impossible to turn the camera on....grrr!

My husband bought me this last night.......

The Canon 60D!

I LOVE it even though it is more camera that I even know how to use right now! I preordered a book last night that will hopefully help me get the most use out of this camera.

THANK YOU Babe......you are the best!

2010-10-13T10:00:00.000+03:00

September is FULL of festivals in practically every Village.

They are basically mini Oktoberfests that are just a little bit closer than Munich!

I met up with a few friends and we ventured off to a local festival!
First stop was food and entertainment....

We had bratwursts and a few baguettes.
No pictures as we were busy eating!!!

We stopped here.....

All of the girls in the group got a braid.

Here is Lauren & Sarah's...

Then off to the rides!

I love these festivals!!

Soon it will be Weihnachtsmarkt season which I LOVE!!!

Pumpkins & more....

2010-10-11T22:14:00.011+03:00

We went to a pumpkin patch today so the kids could pick out their pumpkins.

We arrived just in time to take a ride up to the family farm.....

There were all kinds of animals to pet.....

...and hold, catch, chase
Ian was so excited when another tractor drove by....
Here are the kids before I set them free in the pumpkin patch....
And they are off...
Does this pumpkin patch look a little strange??

Notice that slope??

Well, It was pretty steep!

I put a pumpkin down to take a picture of Ian
and it began to roll VERY quickly!
Yes, I took my almost 2 year old out with an out of control pumpkin.
No picture of him laying on the ground, but here he is soon after!

Ian found a hole as we were lugging the pumpkins up to the scale
and thought it was a great place to sit!
...and our final stop before heading home

Missoula Children's Theater presents.....

2010-07-24T22:11:00.010+03:00

Beauty Lou and the Country Beast

The play features Beauty Lou and her 6 sisters, her imaginary friend, her dog Fleabite Clyde, farmhands Slim and Dusty, the neighborly Country Folk, and the Barnyard Critters. It was a western adaptation of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.

Sister Bobbie Jo....
Sheep Sarah....
All of the sisters....
...and Critters

The entire cast....

The Missoula Children's Theater visited Baumholder this week. The program was offered free of charge for children in 1st-12th grade. They practiced 4 hours a day for 5 days to prepare for 2 one hour shows today. They did an excellent job, especially in such a short time!

The Missoula Children's Theater began 40 years ago. They are traveling to all 50 states and 17 countries this year.....that is 65,000 children in 1,200 communities!! The girls had a wonderful time and I think got over their stage fright:)

A fun afternoon pick'n blueberries.......

2010-07-23T09:00:00.000+03:00

We made some time for blueberry pick'n while we were still in Florida. We loaded up the kids and drove to the fields off of County Line Rd. The blueberries were delicious! No one could resist eating a few, well maybe more than a few, of the warm berries as we were picking!

We put Ian in the stroller so we could keep track of him

as we were all concentrating so hard on finding the BEST berries.

He found a way to get in on the action though.....

We should have went earlier in the day because it was HOT and HUMID by the time we arrived in the afternoon. Oh well, we still managed to pick a bucket of berries and the kids had a great time!

2010-07-22T09:00:00.001+03:00

My husband can't resist hot boiled peanuts!

We stopped at a roadside stand to get a couple of bags.
Colton and JC placed their orders.....

We just can't get these in Germany!
They were DELICIOUS.

First Hair Cut and Pay it Forward

2010-07-21T09:00:00.000+03:00

Mickey's Barber shop used to be regular stop when we lived in Florida. It has been around for what seems like forever. It is not fancy, but has friendly barbers that give great haircuts! We had to stop by so Ian could get his first haircut at Mickey's.

He did quite well.......well, the lollipop may have helped!

Mickey is such a nice guy that he didn't charge us for Ian's haircut. As we were leaving, a kid came in to get his haircut for his graduation that evening. He asked if they take credit cards. They don't, so the kid was going to leave. Mike, Mickey's son and also a barber, told him he could just bring the money back later and he'd cut his hair now so it was done for graduation. The kid said he would be charged a fee ($1.50) at the ATM machine and he didn't want to pay so he was just going to leave. So, my husband gave the kid the $10 he was going to use to pay for Ian's haircut and said consider it a graduation present. The look on the kid's face was PRICELESS!

The BEST sweet corn around!

2010-07-20T09:00:00.000+03:00

We were in Florida not too long ago and were able to stop by Frazier Farms in Brooksville, our hometown. They have the BEST sweet corn around!!

They also sell glasses of ice cold sweet tea and lemonade....

The kids had a great time picking out out the corn, but it was more fun eating it!!

Eis Cafe

2010-07-19T09:00:00.001+03:00

A glimpse at the menu.....

The kids love to go to the Eis Cafe! We made a pit stop by the local cafe on our way to the fireworks on the 4th.

We have the Minnie Mouse....

The Snowman.....
Cherry Delight....

...and Schoko Spaghetti Eis (my favorite)

Such a YUMMY place to spend a little time!

Sunday Flower Picking

2010-07-18T22:57:00.007+03:00

This is one of the many things I love about living in Germany! Farmers plant fields of beautiful flowers that are open for people to stop and pick. The best part is that they are on the HONOR system. There seems to be one of these fields in most Villages. The one we visited today is near our house which makes it really convenient to have fresh flowers!

They all have a sign posted with the flower prices.
The little yellow arrow is pointing to where you slip your payment into the can.

The kids were ready!
There are knives left out to help cut the flowers.

There were still a few sunflowers left so we went searching for a few to pick!

This Gladiola has a new home today!

My friend CeCe gave me this vase before she moved to Ansbach last year.

.....and it was perfect for these sunflowers!

I'm so glad we stopped today!!
All of our flowers only cost 4,80 Euro.

Happy VERY BELATED 4th of July!

2010-07-17T21:30:00.000+03:00

We usually spend the day at a festival at one of the local bases, but not this year! We spent the day relaxing, went to dinner INSIDE Chilis which is a real treat if you were to ask the kids, and then ventured off to the fireworks display around 10:30 at Baumholder.

It was GREAT!!!! It has been like 95 degrees here lately and there is NO air conditioning so it has been miserable (to say the least). Skipping the daytime festivities was nice for a change....less cranky kiddos (always a plus!).

Fun piggyback rides were going on......

However, it was still impossible to get all of the kids in one picture AND look at the camera AND smile! Really, it was just asking too much! So, here is what we got......

I'm out of here!

....come back Ian!

The fireworks and music were fantastic!

I'd say this was a wonderful 4th of July!!

The video below was filmed by my 8 year old Sarah (has camera around her neck in picture above). There is some commentary and at times she thought it would be fun to have the camera dance to the music....enjoy:)

TP fun!

2010-05-03T22:38:00.007+03:00

Luckily this is not my vehicle, but it could look something like this on the morning of May 1st!!
Hexennacht fun occurs every year on April 30th! In Germany, Walpurgisnacht, the night from April 30 to May 1, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration and await the arrival of Spring. My neighbors warned me on our first Hexennacht to take in everything from outside the house that could be moved. Didn't really get why, but followed their advice and soon figured it out the next day.

On this evening each year it is ok to play pranks in the neighborhood. AKA...hide people's belongings that are mistakenly left outside, toilet paper anything, ring doorbells, and my favorite......toothpaste carefully wrapped in toilet paper and strategically placed so that it can be stepped on.....well you get the idea.

My kids were very excited and looking forward to the mischief! As soon as we got home, Sarah was having a great time moving everything inside. I was glad she volunteered herself so I wasn't questioning the pots and lanterns that were now in our foyer. Last year I forgot to bring in the door mat and it was found on the side of our house and this year the strawberry pot was next to our neighbor's house (oops, she missed that one).

So I did as any good parent does and I sent the kids off with a roll of toilet paper to decorate the neighborhood....and this is completely acceptable behavior on THIS night. Germans are VERY tidy so this is a lot of fun for the kids!!

What are they ever going to do when we move back to the states???

On our last day of Spring Break......

2010-04-24T23:39:00.008+03:00

We visited the Potzberg Wildpark on April 16. The kids really love going and it was a beautiful day. The goats are always a hit and happen to be the first stop along the path. The older kids were in with the goats, but Jacque and Ian just fed them through the fence. Goats are always a little pushy, but today they were exceptionally pushy!! I think they were hungry since we were the first visitors feeding them!!

Next stop were the horses.
The colt was less than 24 hours old!

As we were heading down the path we saw a peacock showing off his feathers. He was doing a little dance and then........ it was like he knew I was going for my camera!

Here he is acting all innocent!

Sarah was VERY prepared to feed more horses and deer....

Ate lunch at here.....beautiful and peaceful up here!
This is the backside of the castle.
Colton's JROTC Ball was also held here.

Our day ended back at the playground over by the goats.

The kids had a great time playing with each other.

Great ending to a wonderful day!

Not an ordinary wall....

2010-04-23T21:51:00.006+03:00

My husband is stationed in Baumholder which happens to be one of Hitler's old training grounds. This is a closeup of one of the buildings that is currently being renovated.

Well, here it is a little closer....

Do you see it now?

I had heard that there was a swastika on one of the buildings, but I have to admit that I was looking for something more like this....

It took a couple of trips around the building and then my husband asking one of the German construction workers where it was located before we found it. I just assumed it would be painted on, but instead it is a little more permanent!

I love surprises!

2010-04-18T01:08:00.005+03:00

My husband left for training almost 4 weeks ago just before our 11th anniversary which was April 8th. This is the 3rd anniversary IN A ROW that he has missed (2 while deployed to Iraq and now Grafenwoehr). I guess it comes with the territory:)

Anyway, he is very thoughtful and wanted to surprise me with a little gift while he was away that he knew I'd been wanting, but probably wouldn't just order myself (and he'd be right). He went to all the trouble of having someone else place the order so I wouldn't see the charges to our bank account or possibly pick it up from the post office before he could get there since I seem to be obsessive about checking the mail!

He is horrible about keeping gifts a secret so he was doing awesome so far because I had no idea. He had a plan to hide it and then send me on a little "treasure hunt" until........the package arrived! So, what does he do???

Gave it to me as soon as he gets home!!!

I love it!

He knew I had been checking out this French handmade rolling pin on Etsy. This was a real surprise because I didn't even think he knew what Etsy was...sorry Babe:)

I love you...you're the best!

Great help in the kitchen......

2010-03-18T22:14:00.000+02:00

If I were to recommend a first attachment for a Kitchenaid mixer it would be to purchase the meat grinder!!! I LOVE mine!! You won't buy prepackaged ground meat again....I'm certain of it.

You'll have ground meat in no time.

Start off by cutting up some better quality beef.....
Turn on the mixer and you're on you're almost there......
End results which ended up in lasagna......

Jacque and Ian will stay in the kitchen for the entire time I am preparing food or cooking.In fact, they bring stools in and love to help out!

Here is Ian (and a tad bit of Jacque) taking a break this weekend......
Ian and Jacque were taking turns "reading" this Thomas the Train book.

Making the best of a snowy day.....

2010-03-15T14:00:00.000+02:00

The kids were supposed to go on their big end of ski school trip to the Black Forrest a week ago. My husband got up at 4 am to get them to the base by 4:45. The snow was so bad that he was barely able to see to drive. He was almost to post when he received the call that the trip was canceled due to the road conditions!! So, he turned around and slowly came back home.

I caught the girls outside making snow angels since they were so bored!

I on the other hand was not so bored as I was slaving away in the kitchen when I looked out the French door to see them making snow angels...they were on their 2nd set in the yard!
Lauren...

Sarah...

Luckily, the trip has been rescheduled for this coming Saturday.....they are ALL really excited!

JROTC Ball

2010-03-14T20:56:00.007+02:00

On Friday evening, Colton attended his first JROTC Ball.
It was held at the Potzberg Castle which is only about 10 minutes from where we live.

The Castle....
At the entrance.....
Dinner was served in the Knight's Hall.....
This castle also has a Wildpark which we visited last summer. Check it out HERE.

What a day!

2010-02-12T23:51:00.013+02:00

Today went something like this:

4:50 - phone call saying there was a 2 hour school delay due to snow...yes!

8:00 - make breakfast

8:30 - phone call saying school is now canceled due to snow

9:00 - Chimney sweeper arrived....he comes 2 times a year (winter and spring) and it is always a surprise...no notice ever! Yes, he wears a traditional chimney sweeper outfit and is covered in soot.

12:30 - I decide today is a good day to make my first batch of homemade spaghetti for dinner tonight. I was in the process of making the dough when.....

1:00 - furniture delivery....YES....we now have some much needed storage for the kitchen AND for the bathroom upstairs. That will be another post. Lets just say there is NO storage in German homes!

1:15 - back to making the spaghetti...

I read that fresh spaghetti is best with a dairy based sauce. So, I had all of the ingredients to make Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoe Sauce which is made with a heavy cream.

Add these ingredients plus a little water....

After I took this picture I realized that I had the dough hook on instead of the flat beater.....
Due to the large amount of counter space in my kitchen (wink), my cooktop doubled as my workspace. The dough is divided into 4 sections and then runs through the pasta roller several times to knead the dough. Then it runs through a few more times on smaller settings to create the thickness desired.

Here is the dough after running through one time....each piece ended up being at LEAST 4 times this size!!!
Now it's time to run the extremely long dough through the spaghetti cutter. Um...I learned that I need to cut the pieces into smaller pieces than I did today!

My kids loved this part!

Here is the finished product on the drying rack......

Basil Italian bread we had with our dinner.....

Colton took this picture of Ian sleeping. Yes, he has a bed, but the floor works fine too:)
Homemade pasta IS different....lighter and less chewy! It is DELICIOUS!! Totally worth the small amount of effort it takes to make. I see more batches of dough in our future!

Sunday drive......

2010-02-01T22:36:00.007+02:00

If you were to visit our house on a typical Sunday morning you'd more than likely see my husband cooking something yummy for breakfast.....that is except for this past Sunday. Instead, we decided to load the kids up and venture out on the snow packed roads for a nice little drive to McDonalds! The kids think it is a special treat to get their favorite Sweet McGriddles (little pancakes) and the oh so popular McToast Schinken Kasse (ham and cheese in something like pita bread??)
Jacque needed a potty break while we were trying to quickly run some errands on post. He has decided that it is fun to check out every bathroom anywhere we stop!! Amazingly, the sun came out as we were waiting outside.....I don't remember when the sun has peaked out from behind the clouds this much!

This little river is on our way home......I think it looks so pretty with the snow!

The kids love to look for wild animals in this area. We see many deer, rams, and boars. They like to ride with the windows down in the summer and see who can spot the most animals. No windows were down today though!

A little further down the road are a few windmills.

Yes, that is the road we are traveling on. See those little markers sticking up on both sides of the road? These are used in place of the reflectors in on the center line of the roads. I've become very used to using these to guide where I'm driving at night....strange when I think about it, but it seems completely normal. Kind of like looking at the km on the speedometer instead of the mph. I thought I'd never be able to completely ignore the mph, but I can say it has somehow happened and I don't even notice it anymore.

...and one last windmill picture
The kids are hoping for a snow day real soon! Maybe tomorrow.....

Sony Touch Reader!

2010-01-18T23:45:00.004+02:00

Are you or your spouse Active Duty Military? Yes....Have you ever wanted to try out a Sony Touch Reader? If so, here is your chance to win one for FREE. Check out the giveaway at Household 6 Diva!

It's time for skiing!

2010-01-16T22:49:00.017+02:00

Today was the first day of ski lessons for the kids. They were all really excited this morning! It is amazing how quickly they can get ready when they want to!! In fact, we didn't even have to wake them up because they were already out of bed and getting ready!! Now, if I can only get them to do this on school days!

Here they are just before loading their gear under the bus.

......and they are off!Colton will be learning the tricks to snowboarding and the girls are learning to ski for 8 weeks. The ski area is located about 40 minutes away. They get to ski from 9:00 to 3:00...long day, but tons of fun! The last week is the BIG ski trip to the Black Forest (awesome opportunity for them)!

It has been really cold around here lately and there has been an enormous amount of snow. It was like we were driving in a winter wonderland today. The trees have been frozen for the past few days and look beautiful.

Here's a close up....

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

2010-01-11T23:09:00.008+02:00

I recently purchased this cookbook and have been very pleased with what I've made so far! The potpie on the cover was delicious and the Ham & Egg Casserole for breakfast on Sunday was great too! However, the King Ranch Chicken Casserole was a huge hit the other night for dinner!!! I didn't take any pictures to share, wish I had, so here is the recipe instead. I seem to have trouble actually measuring anything that I have to cut so I'm going to add what I actually did in GREEN. This really was YUMMY!

What do you need??

1 C onion, diced
(diced up 1 huge Vidalia onion)
1 C green pepper, diced
(diced up a really ginormous pepper)
8 oz pkg sliced mushrooms
(sliced an entire pkg......I really, really like them!)
1/4 C butter
10 3/4 oz cream of mushroom soup
10 3/4 oz cream of chicken soup
10 oz can tomatoes with chilis
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T chili powder
1 T chicken broth
12 (6inch) corn tortillas, torn into quarters...oops, forgot to quarter
3 C cooked chicken, diced, and divided
(just diced an ENTIRE pkg of chicken breasts...way more than 3 C)
16 oz pkg shredded cheddar cheese, divided
(actually used the Mexican mix instead)

How to put it together:

Saute onion, pepper, and mushrooms in butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soups, tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, and broth; heat until bubbly and set aside.

Arrange half the tortilla pieces in a lightly greased 13" x 9" baking dish; top with half the chicken, half the sauce and half the cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees (well...I had to cook at 176 Celsius) for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serves 6.

I also need to THANK my husband for putting up with my love for mushrooms. He despises them, but he puts up with me cooking them! Sarah is with me on the mushroom love so at least it is not all for me:) He nonchalantly picks them out into a huge pile and saves them for me (or Sarah)...what a guy!!! I found a kit the other day for growing your own mushrooms...he put his foot down on that one. I thought it sounded like a fantastic idea!

Almost favorite thing....

2010-01-11T22:23:00.007+02:00

The slide from the 747 was a huge hit with the kids..and the big ones too:)

Just around the corner we saw this....

This submarine was used for almost 30 years.
We've never been inside of a submarine so this was pretty exciting for everyone!

I have to say, it was a little scary to get into though!

We all managed to climb down!

The first thing we saw was the torpedo area.

The numbers match the ones on the outside of the submarine.
Here is torpedo #1.....

This is one of the tightest spots.....

Here is a view from the opposite end that we entered.
You can see the spiral steps that we climbed to the top.

Section of the Berlin Wall......

Jacque & Ian patiently waiting for me to get out of the sub.....

Now that's a slide!

2010-01-08T09:00:00.001+02:00

Once we headed outside the kids were totally looking for this.....

Boeing 747

Here's why....
Yep, you get to slide ALL THE WAY DOWN!

There was an old phone booth that housed the slide blankets.....

Getting ready to slide down.....

...and down they came!

Yes, everyone headed back up to do it all over again!

Here is a glimpse at the next outdoor highlight....

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles......

2010-01-07T19:11:00.015+02:00

Last Saturday we decided to take the kids over to the Technic Museum in Speyer. We have driven past this place several times and it has been on our "we'd like to go there" list. We really were not sure what to expect. As it turns out....this place is HUGE. If you have kids and they like planes, trains, automobiles, or anything else mechanical then this is the place to go!

There are a couple of steam engine trains in the building. The kids were able to walk around the inside of the engine which they loved! We put a 1Euro in the machine outside the train so they could see the wheels turn and listen to how LOUD they are!

There were all kinds of planes in the building.....many more outside too.

Does this not look like the plane from Madagasscar Out of Africa??
The kids sure think so!

There were lots of interesting firetrucks....

A beautiful carosel that also ran for a Euro....

Jacque considered dashing under the ropes to catch a ride....
we had to catch him a couple of times!

Music anyone??

...all of these played too!

Ready for a "Mini" tour??

Some random cars....

Check out that license plate.....
I guess a little US car history!

Completely random yet interesting....

Here is a sneak peak at the one of the kids' favorite....you'll be surprised why!

Dachau Concentration Camp

2010-01-03T22:47:00.000+02:00

We headed towards Munich to visit the Dachau Memorial Site. I have been asked numerous times if we took our children....the answer is yes. I know that some people would disagree with our decision, but we couldn't have them miss out on this learning opportunity. With that said, here is our experience at the Memorial.

The railroad tracks that led to the front gate of Dachau.

They eventually ran right through the gate and into the Camp.

The front gate....

We have read books, watched videos, and talked about the Holocaust and none of them came close to the 4 hours we spent at Dachau. Through these gates is a piece of history that was inhumane, appalling, sad, and just plain difficult to believe ever happened. This was the first Concentration Camp and the one which all others were modeled after.

Work sets you free....on the entrance gate

We rented the little audio tour guide so we could have more explanation in English. What is great about this guide is it not only plays descriptions of given places, but it also has a survivor of the camp talk about each location. The children were very interested in hearing what the survivors had to say about different area in the camp. They said, "we learned more about what happened there from the real people." I recommend renting the audio tour....I'd also get one for everyone!! We made the mistake of only renting one which caused a few disagreements since each of the kids wanted to hold it while it was playing! They are super cheap (3,50 Euro) so spring for a few extras!

The area when you enter the gates was known as Roll-call Square. There were some buildings to the right that we went to next. Ironically, there was a prison inside the camp. The prison was the first building we toured. Lauren is standing in front of one of the "standing cells." The cells were modified to make 4 small connected compartments which were each 12"x12" (I don't remember how high they were). You can see a diagram of how this small cell held 4 people.

Here is a glimpse at the forbidden area....the grass.

Prisoners were shot if they touched the grass.

Sometimes they intentionally entered this zone to put an end to their misery.

One of the watchtowers...

There were 34 prisoner barracks that were built to hold 6,000. By the end of 1934, there were over 30,000 prisoners in these barracks. The barracks were demolished after the liberation. There are numbered stones representing the location of each building.

There are 2 reconstructed barracks that visitors can tour.

The prisoner bath area was in the building that housed most of the artifacts. This area became an additional site for punishing the prisoners. Pole hangings happened in the bath area between 1941 and 1942. Remnants of the hooks can still be seen on the pillars that divide the room.

You can see the floor of the bath under this table that was used for another form of punishment.

The museum is quite large and houses the movie theater. We opted not to watch the video since we had the kids with us (too graphic). One of the things that I didn't realize the extent of was the experimental testing that was conducted on prisoners. These include high pressure testing, cold water survival, and numerous medical procedures/testing. There are pictures and many artifacts on display.....cards the prisoners made, clothing, eating utensils, shaving kits, etc...

We left the museum and walked the grounds. This brought us around to one corner where there was a small bridge. The crematory was located on the other side and was very much hidden away from the prisoner area.

Here is an "illegal" picture of the crematory that was able to be recovered.....

Here it is today....

Have you ever seen the movie "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?"

If so, the crematory is set up just like in the movie.

This was the entrance to the gas chamber.

There are a couple of rooms that led to the crematory...

Our day was coming to an end as we headed back to the Visitor Center. We saw this dedication on the wall just on the other side of the gate.

I can say that we all learned something today.

The kids did have some questions:

"Why did people listen to Hitler?"
"Why didn't they just not listen? "
"Why would people do such mean things?"

Gettin' Down!

2010-01-02T08:00:00.000+02:00

Ian has always loved music. He would move to beat even as an infant. So it only seemed fitting for him to get the Leap Frog musical table for Christmas. He loved it!

Here he is gettin' down to the tunes on Christmas morning.....

**Sorry about the grainy video! This was the quality when it was uploaded to Blogger. It didn't look like this on the original file.

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-01T16:02:00.016+02:00

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve we enjoyed a great family night!

We grazed on spinach artichoke dip and tortilla chips, cheese & crackers, shrimp w/ Old Bay, vegetable & dip, celery w/ PB and cream cheese, olives, fresh cut pineapple, and Little Smokies.

These were really yummy!

How else do little boys eat their olives??

After we ate, everyone sat down and watched Ella Enchanted...no particular reason.

This game provided our entertainment until almost midnight!!
I highly recommend it if you don't already have it.

It was girls against boys.
Who won???...

The GIRLS!

At midnight the church bells were ringing loudly. Then came the firework craziness! And I do mean crazy. In Germany, the only day that fireworks are permitted is Dec 31st. So....the Germans go all out! The streets are filled with people setting off their supply of explosives. It is loud. It is pretty. It is fun. It is dangerous!

The streets are a MESS the next day, but miraculously tidied up by the afternoon!

I don't have any pictures of the fireworks this year. It seems I was busy keeping the kids protected from the craziness as they were enjoying the sights and sounds. I will miss this night when it is our time to move!

My accomplishments for 2009....

2009-12-31T08:00:00.002+02:00

2009 has been a great year!

I decided to sit down today and think about things that I've accomplished this year. It is very possible I left a few things off, after all, I was attempting to actually "think" about the past year while my children thought that seemed like the BEST time to talk to me, ask me questions, etc....

These are in no particular order.......

Survived my Husband's deployment to Iraq....much too long!
Cared for 5 fantastic kiddos!
Started a Blog....yeah!
Met a lot of interesting new friends
Began crocheting....still working on 1st project though!
Landed a teaching position with DOD (Department of Defense)
Expanded my cooking skills
Walked around the Roman baths in Trier
Visited Keukenhoff Gardens
Learned more of the German language
Went Polish pottery shopping with friends in Poland
Had a semi-successful terrace vegetable garden
Toured Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam
Got a speeding ticket on the Autobahn....turns out there is a speed limit in some areas (113 km in a 100 km zone - that's about 8 mph
Visited 7 countries (France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, and Poland)
Went to the first Concentration Camp....Dachau
Designed and created almost 200 New Year's Eve invites for the Battalion party
Bicycled in Volendam
Visited more castles than I could possibly list!
Witnessed each of my children grow another year older with their accomplishments
Amazingly, did not crash when sliding on the ice around a corner with all of the kids.
Cruised the beautiful Rhein River
Donated some boxes of clutter that I really needed to get rid of a long time ago!
Finished some volunteer commitments: OCC (Overseas Committee Chair) for Girl Scouts, Tours and Activities Chair for the BCSC (Baumholder Community Spouses Club), and special activities for my daughters' GS Troop
Continued to volunteer as FRG (Family Readiness Group) Co-Leader
Enjoyed everyday with my family!!!!

I'm looking forward to 2010!!
Happy New Year!
~Jennifer

Fairytale castle....

2009-12-29T08:00:00.004+02:00

*picture borrowed from the Neuschwanstein website

On day 2, we drove to Neuschwanstein which was about 45 minutes from Edelweiss. This castle belonged to King Ludwig II. There is more info on his interesting life on the website link. The drive took us through Austria and then back into Germany. The path to the castle began in the village of Hohenschwangau.

Does this castle look like a familiar place??....possibly the Disney castle??

Here is a zoomed in view from where we parked.

Tour tickets are purchased in Hohenschwangau and then there is about a 30 minute hike up the mountain to where the castle is nestled. Today was a rainy and chilly day so we decided to take the horse and buggy ride up so we didn't get quite so wet.

Here is Sarah being silly at one of the phone booths by the Information center. My Mom started the phone booth frenzy when she had to get a picture inside a phone booth in Trier. So now we take the "phone booth shot" to make everyone happy.

We caught the next buggy and up we went!

We still had a little bit of a hike when our buggy ride ended. Never fear.....there was a little cart making cream cheese balls in case anyone was hungry. They look like big doughnut holes. We gave in and everyone tried one....well maybe 2 because trying 1 made us want another! They were delicious!!!! The lady was frying them on the spot and then sprinkling with powdered sugar when they were ready. We HAD to stop again on the way down the mountain too!

We toured the castle which was amazing on the inside. We were not able to take pictures of the interior, but were able to take pictures out the windows of the rooms we toured.

How would you like this view???

....some random pictures of the castle

This was a wonderful day despite the weather!
Tomorrow we are going somewhere near Munich......

We finally made it to Edelweiss....

2009-12-28T08:00:00.003+02:00

We went to Edelweiss at the beginning of November for a long weekend. This is an Armed Forces lodge located in Garmisch which is in the Bavarian region of Germany....an absolutely beautiful area!! There are also lodges located in Florida (Disney), Korea, Hawaii, and Virginia.

It took us about 6 hours to get there after what seemed like a gazillion bathroom breaks along the way....kids! We arrived just in time to check in and get to our horse and buggy ride through the old part of town. It was quite chilly, but a lot of fun to see the sights in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We shared the ride with a family from England.

He we are after the ride....

The inside of the Lodge was gorgeous.

However, the views outside the front door were amazing!

This Lodge is surrounded by mountains....pictures don't do them justice.

We ate at Market Station most of the time. Here is a peek at part of the dining room. It had excellent food and was reasonable for a family of 7!

Tomorrow we are off to a fairytale castle.......

We almost made it to Valkenburg!

2009-12-27T01:42:00.016+02:00

There are Christmas markets galore in Germany from mid November through mid December. They are a lot of fun to walk around and take in the German culture. We recently, as in 4 days before it was over, heard about a unique market in the Netherlands. It is located in an underground labyrinth of the Velvet Caves which are located under the castle ruins of Valkenburg. The castle dates back to 1050! Each year the market is decorated in a theme and this year's theme was "A Christmas Carol." Check out the castle and market info HERE.

Sound interesting?? We thought so too! In fact, we attempted to make the 2 1/2 hour drive from our house one Sunday morning. Our first snowstorm had started the Friday before and it had been steadily snowing ever since. We were still determined to go until we got onto the Autobahn.

This is the Autobahn!

We totally expected the roads to be treated. I mean it is the Autobahn!!! We drove for about 30 minutes before we decided to turn around and head back home. This market is on the top of our "To Do" list next November!!!

Jacque wanted to help shovel some snow when we got home with his new little snow shovel. I hope he keeps this enthusiasm for child labor....uhm I mean helping out around the house.

Don't they look cute??

The Night Before Christmas

2009-12-24T20:47:00.014+02:00

Tonight seemed like a great time to get back to blogging. It has been on my "To Do" list for a while and never seems to get checked off. Many things have happened over the last few months which makes blogging seem overwhelming so I have a solution that will be posted shortly.

Now, let me get back on topic! My Mom and Step dad were not able to visit us for Christmas this year. So, my Mom found these really cool recordable books at the Hallmark store.

The kids were super excited that they were able to open a present tonight. They loved listening to the stories read by Granny and Papa.

The dedication page....

Jacque's face when he heard his name...

Then came the story.....

Here is Ian without his book. Wonder why??

One kiddo is missing from these pictures...Colton. He opened Ian's for him since he was such a mess, but it didn't take long for him to disappear.

These will make great keepsakes for the kids!
Thanks Granny & Papa

1st stop in Luxembourg....

2009-08-25T00:27:00.000+03:00

*Picture from the American Battle Monuments Commission

A couple weekends ago we took a day trip to Luxembourg which is only about an 1 1/2 drive from our house. We were able to visit a few places on our list, but not all of them, so we'll need to make another trip.

Our first stop today was at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial which was established on December 29, 1944.

This is not the most interesting of places for kids....or so I thought. My kids really surprised me because I didn't hear one moan, groan, or sigh when we told them that we were going to a cemetery for our first stop. They smiled and said ok with enthusiasm! I don't know why I'm surprised by this, but I guess I was expecting them to be disappointed or something. We gave them a little overview and then we were off to explore.

After walking through the gates, the visitor center is on the left. It was quite strange being in an American cemetery in a foreign country.

American flags blowing in the wind is not a common sight here...in fact, we only see them on the base, however, there is a lot of red, yellow, and black blowing in the wind!

The stone chapel is just inside the gates....

Mosaic on the ceiling inside the chapel....

5,076 US soldiers are buried in this cemetery.

Many of them lost their lives in the "Battle of the Bulge."

The city of Luxembourg was the headquarters for General George S Patton's US Third Army.

General Patton is buried here.

There are actually 24 American burial grounds on foreign soil....this was surprising. Presently there are 124,909 soldiers from WWI, WWII, and the Mexican War buried in these cemeteries.

Super slide trio.....

2009-08-19T00:12:00.007+03:00

Our last stop at the park was this fun slide area. I thought is was really smart that the park didn't have to have attendants over here because they use a ticket to get in the gate. Basically, you purchase a card for a certain number of slides and then use that card in the scanner to get through the gate to get on the slide. The scanner tells you how many slides, or turns, you have left. It does seem strange to have so much technology in this little secluded park, but it worked well!

Now for the slides!

There was the wavy slide.....

...and the winner was Sarah!

Look at the cool handles that you use to hold on as you're going down!

Then there was the ever popular tunnel slide!

....and finally the dreaded vertical slide!

It took a lot of nerve to go down this slide. Lauren was the first to go down and she LOVED it!! Sarah attempted to go down a few times and ended up hanging from a pole over the opening (so much safer than just sliding ON the slide) and had to have help getting onto the landing. Colton saved her once and another man the next time.

Here is Colton trying to convince her to go down. Why would she listen to him when he himself wouldn't go down??? Funny how easy it is to encourage someone else, but not yourself!

Sarah did eventually get up enough nerve to go down and
she was actually terrified!

I really wish I had a better close up of her face as she came down!

Colton on the other hand didn't want to admit that he was scared to go down. Instead, he would go up and sit and then eventually act like he was going to be nice and let another kid go ahead of him....how thoughtful right?? Well, he did this too many time to count until he got teased enough from everyone that he finally took the plunge!

We had a great time just sliding and jumping for a couple of hours. The prices were really reasonable so I see more trips in our future!!

Fast, Fun, & Scary!!

2009-08-16T11:34:00.000+03:00

After the trampolines, we went over to the rodelbahn. You sit in a "bob" as it takes you all the way up to the top of Peter Mountain....584 Meters to be exact! Here is a view from the valley as the bobs are heading to the top for the sliding adventure to begin.

The speed for each bob is controlled by a hand brake on both sides. I wasn't too worried when we purchased our tickets.....I mean you only have to be 8 to drive one by yourself! I should have remembered that ride safety in Europe is not exactly what you'd expect. I was standing on the side waiting for everyone to ride by when I see a teenager coming to the end WITHOUT breaking!!! She hit the bob in front of her and was ejected onto the track in front of her as her bob went the opposite direction. Luckily, she jumped off the track before it came back and plowed into her. I now know there are NO seat belts and am beginning to get worried. What do I do?....yell at my kids as they are riding by to make sure they use the break...they are smiling and looking at me like we know.

Here is Lauren on her way up. See that girl wearing all black in the background? That is the one who somehow forgot to break!!

Colton & Sarah...

Then the journey begins back down the mountain through the wooded area. There are 15 turns and I thought we were going to fall over the edge as our bob slid up the side every single time!

It was FAST, FUN, and totally SCARY all at the same time.

See that guy tailgating me?
He rode my bob the entire way down!!!

Our next slide excitement involved 3 very different slides and no bob!

Awesome slide park!

2009-08-15T00:35:00.007+03:00

We went to the AWESOME Sommer Rodelbahn today!! This was actually our second trip, but the first time it started pouring down rain half way there. However, today was a beautiful day with no rain in sight so we packed up the kids and headed to this outdoor park....we WILL be going back!!!!

Here is the one and only building which houses the restaurant with a bier garten outside.

Our first stop was at the much anticipated trampolines! Of course these trampolines had a special hook up so you could jump REALLY high and do lots of flips!!

Check out the air time!

...and Ian had fun watching and chewing on that toy!

The next stop involved a really high slide that required a lift!!!....more to come:)

Super simple Cinnamon Rolls!

2009-08-15T00:11:00.006+03:00

I've had a bottle of Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle that that has been taking up valuable space in my kitchen for a while now. My kids love cinnamon rolls, well we ALL do, and this bottle has a recipe on the side that I've been wanting to try out. Today was the lucky day!

This recipe really could not be any easier! Here it is.....Roll out an 8oz package of crescent rolls and pinch seams together. Brush with butter. Sprinkle with 1/4 C Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle.

Roll up.

...cut into 16 pieces and then bake for 10 minutes. Really....that simple!!

I only made one batch to try it out this morning. Hmmm...they ALL disappeared in about 2 minutes tops! So, I made another batch which was gone just as quickly. They really were delicious and I'll certainly be making more.

I have no pictures of the finished rolls because....well there just wasn't time with all of the devouring! Enjoy.

(Check out my Pampered Chef site if you're interested in trying out this recipe)

Creepy & sweet at the same time!

2009-08-13T17:20:00.007+03:00

Today was the last day of a 4 week long enrichment summer school that was offered on post. This year's theme was Mysteries...they LOVED it! Last year they learned about famous artists and composers. The kids begged to go again this year so......we said YES! It was only 3 hours each morning so it kind of helped us get back into a routine before school begins in a few weeks.

They were discovering the Wonders of the World and of course Egypt was a hot topic. While learning about the pyramids, they discovered the treasures that were kept inside. So, my daughter Sarah created her little box of things she would choose to take with her if she lived during this time period.

Here is what you would find in her pyramid....

By the way, everything fits nicely inside this box....

Our dog Chica....

Our cat Pumpkin....

Some money...

Our cat Spooky....

And finally "My Mom's heart"....

What did my husband have to say about this???
"Well at least I'm safe!"

Yummy dinner...

2009-08-06T22:06:00.006+03:00

I've been trying out some new recipes in the Pampered Chef Season's Best Cookbook S/S 09. This little book is packed with delicious appetizers, main dishes, and desserts...best part is it is only $1!! We really like the Mexican Chicken Lasagna and the Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cakes, but needed to try out some more of the main dishes. They are designed to take about 30 minutes and cost about $2 per serving. This dish is pictured on the cover of the catalog above.

So, tonight I made the Sweet & Sour Pineapple Stir-Fry and it was a HUGE hit! The sauce was so simple to make and kid approved delicious!

Ingredients:

1 lb pork tenderloin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch divided
2 C fresh sugar snap peas
1 medium pineapple (fresh is THE best)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/3 C apricot preserves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium red onion (I used a sweet onion)
cooked rice

...and our dinner before it was devoured!

Check out this giveaway!

2009-08-06T15:20:00.003+03:00

How would you like to win a really awesome shopping bag?? I know I'd like a new bag for my collection. Most shopping bags tend to be a little blah so I was really excited when I saw THIS giveaway over at My Litter! She is giving away the cutest bag with a cupcake pattern and reversible polka dots. Oh, and the best part is that the bag is full of Kashi products.

Check out the goodies!
**picture borrowed from Tiffany's blog**

I have to admit that I really didn't use shopping bags until we moved to Germany.....gasp! I know I'm a little behind the trend to conserve the environment by not using those nasty plastic bags! However, shopping bags are a must have over here because stores don't provide bags!! Yes, you read that correctly...not even at the grocery store. So, you can see how bags are a necessity. I've been collecting shopping bags over the last year so I can actually walk out of a store without trying to balance everything in a big stack AND get it into the trunk without it crashing to the ground. Or better yet, have 4 of my children walking out with a big stack too...and not dropping it. I also don't want to look like an idiot and I am trying to be "greener" so I've come to love reusable shopping bags!

I think stores in the US should consider ending the plastic AND paper bags that are handed out for FREE everyday. How do you think this would go over????

Sweet nap time.....not today!

2009-08-04T18:28:00.009+03:00

Nap time is a time I look forward to each day. Everything is usually peaceful and quiet for a little while. Jacque, my 2 1/2 year old, wakes up in such a sweet and cheerful mood. He really needs this time everyday because he gets grumpy and it becomes very obvious that it IS nap time!

His bedroom is upstairs which seems normal. What isn't normal are the way these German houses are made. EVERY wall and floor is made of cement. Yes, the ceiling of the basement, main floor, and upstairs to the full attic are cement. They build these house to last for many generations. There is no wood framing in the house which makes it difficult to hang things, but that is a different story. Why am I mentioning this little detail?...It also creates a sound barrier!

So, my sweet little boy woke up from his nap today and went into the bathroom upstairs. Seems normal except for the fact that he did a little decorating with my nail polish. I love hot pink toes and he had very carefully watched me paint them yesterday.

As he came downstairs form his nap I could smell polish. In fact, the closer he came the stronger the odor!

This is what he was busy doing!
I'm wondering how long he was working on his little project?

Not a nail was overlooked!
Very detailed.....I guess I could say he colored in most of the lines.

I went to the bathroom to see the rest of his work!

I have to add that he was quit proud of his accomplishments...I was not! The polish was put away where he should not have been able to get into it...of course the stool he carefully brought in gave him that little extra help he needed to grab it.

Lesson learned: NEVER ever let your kids see you do something, no matter how big or small, that you wouldn't want them to use their ever increasing independence to do themselves!

A day at the Wildpark!

2009-08-01T13:00:00.001+03:00

The Potzberg Wildpark is very close to our house and a great place to spend the afternoon! Wildparks are similar to a zoo without the fanciness and a lot less fences...one of the features we like. If you are looking for lions, tigers, or elephants this is not the place to go, but if you are looking for animals that your kids can pet and feed then you have hit the jackpot!

Notice Lauren's arm position?? I guess it seemed like a good idea to scratch her arm, but it sure looks almost like a not so nice gesture to me.

Our first stop was the goat area and playground. I just took pictures and stood with Ian. By the time everyone was finished playing with these animals they had goat "stinky" all over them...GROSS! I can pass on that experience.

These goats even managed to take Lauren down and they wouldn't let her go...so she says! She loved every minute of this stinky stampede!

We played on the playground before taking off to hike the rest of the park. What could be better than spinning in this wooden tube?? Getting this thing going fast enough to spin people all the around!

We did manage to feed and pet LOTS of animals.

Jacque considered getting some eggs....

We were all amazed at how soft the velvet was on these antlers!

The view is absolutely beautiful from the park!
Those faint white poles in the background are windmills.

We ended up back at the playground.
They don't look like they're having a good time at all!!!

Did Colton fall off or get knocked down?...depends on who you ask!

Just a little creepy....

2009-07-30T11:46:00.014+03:00

I posted a while back about a Father's Day cruise we went on back in June. What I didn't post were the creepy pictures that were taken inside the castle that we toured. I'm usually quite skeptical when it comes to shows like Ghost Hunters. However, almost ALL of the pictures we took inside the Burg Reichenstein came out blurry or had some strange squiggly lights darting around in them. We took a lot of pictures this day, 221 to be exact, and the only strange ones were from inside the castle. By the way, this castle was featured on one of the haunted shows...hmmm, maybe they really are on to something.

Take a look at a few pictures for yourself!

We took several of Colton and they were ALL blurry!

Answers to a few questions:
1. Yes, the batteries were fully charged.
2. I was NOT jumping up and down to get this effect.
3. We left our smoke machine at home.
4. The camera's lens is not scratched.

We once took a haunted tour in St. Augustine, Fl where they gave everyone a disposable camera. The idea was to catch something "strange", like fog or streams of light, while we were touring. They also gave everyone a "Ghost Meter" that would start beeping if you were near "something"....I know a little cheesy, but fun at the time! Well, we didn't get anything weird in our pictures...not even from the evening cemetery tour....gasp! St. Augustine was also featured on one of the haunted shows!!

When filming these shows, they should leave their night vision at home and visit these places during the day. They could then walk around without bumping into each other causing a false alarm. There is something about watching them walk around in the green light from the night vision that makes the show seem ridiculous. Someone should also let them in on this little secret....they can speak without whispering! I can confirm we were not even slightly quiet when we got these pictures so sound doesn't seem to be an issue. I may be a believer now....just maybe!

What do you think??

July Group Projects

2009-07-24T00:34:00.010+03:00

Tonight is our monthly stampin' get together, however this month's projects don't require a lot of stamping! I usually try to teach one technique a month....etched glass for July. We'll be using the glass votive holders my husband picked up while he was visiting Fl.

I created some samples using recycled baby food jars and a larger one from the roasted peppers I had used for lunch the other day. They turned out really cute...the etching is much more visible in real life! These would make great table decorations.

Attempted to get a glowing evening shot....

We were also keeping with a outdoor theme so we made some rather pretty BBQ apron invitations. The BBQ stamp is heat embossed in white (difficult to capture in pictures). Yes, I know these are not your typical BBQ colors, but I wanted to use some of SU new In Colors and purple is my favorite....so we have a girlish invite. The inside details can be printed and then attached or simply handwritten.

How about a Tic~Tac~Toe game on the tables?

...or some water bottles?
I think these would be nice as part of a coordinating gift set or for a group.

Ever heard of Muffin Tin Meals???

2009-07-22T22:33:00.006+03:00

I always seem to be in slump when it comes to lunches so I've been trying to make them more interesting and healthier. I don't know why it is so hard for me to get past the old standby....PB&J!

I'm sure the idea of Muffin Tin Meals has been around for a while, but it is new to me. I found this idea quite interesting so have been doing a little research! Check HERE for some Muffin Tin Monday facts. You will find information about themes for the week and they look like fun! This is a creative way to make well balanced meals that look appealing to kids! What could get any better than this?

So, I joined the Muffin Tin Monday Swap to help get me started! Check it out!

Try out this yummy lunch!

2009-07-21T14:33:00.009+03:00

I have now made this delicious lunch 2 times for my family and they LOVE it! They were begging for more after the first time so I knew this was a hit. The best part is that this recipe is on the package of smoked tuna!

I took some pictures as I was making it today. I've mentioned before that we have horrible lighting in our house. Well...this is the ONLY light in the kitchen. We do have a large glass door that leads onto our terrace, but it was too early for it to brighten the kitchen at lunch.

This is the light!

See that cord?? That is so we can pull it down closer to the floor...not sure why??

On to more interesting things....the ingredients!

Empty the Hickory Smoked Tuna into bowl.
I had to make 3 batches for all of us.

Add the cheese...

.....green onions

....roasted red peppers

...add some cream cheese and then mix it all up

Warning....don't take your eyes off the flour tortillas or you may see this!

The culprit....

Spread the mixture onto tortilla. I found it easier to use a medium scooper and drop 4 scoops around the tortilla and then use a spreader to spread it around the entire tortilla.

Add another tortilla to the top and crisp on both sides.

Enjoy!

There was not even a crumb left!

a-MAZE-ing Baths

2009-07-20T15:00:00.001+03:00

We visited the ruins of Imperial Baths in Trier which is about 45 minutes from our house. The construction began in 293 AD and covered four city blocks. It is truly an amazing place!

This is in the main hot room.
There are other hot areas and a large cold bath.

You can see how large the wall actually is compared to my favorite people!

After we checked out the grounds and the hot and cold bath areas we headed underground!

Yes, it was creepy down there!

There would have been much more of this and we would have been walking on the sub floor instead. This is a sample of how they heated the baths.

This will give you an idea how massive this basement was. This is just looking down one of the MANY tunnels. The tunnels are narrow and it is dark and wet down here.

This impression was left on the wall by a pair of compasses.
It took us a while to find it...of course it was obvious once we did!!

It started pouring down rain while we were underground so we were stuck down there for a while. I have to say that this added to the creepiness!
You can see how high the water was that we had to walk through in the next tunnel!

A peek out the door as we were waiting to make our escape!

Jacque wouldn't give up his umbrella!

Trier has much more to offer!

Grits & thank goodness for clean underwear!!

2009-07-18T20:55:00.012+03:00

I don't know where I've gone wrong! The kids help me cook and have measured ingredients a time or two. However, one would think that Lauren has never stepped foot in the kitchen after this morning's dilemma. She asked if she could make a bowl of grits and I of course told her she could. I just reminded her that she needed to add 1/2 C of water.

She looked at me and said, "What kind of cup?...not the kind we drink out of right??"

I just looked at my husband and we both started laughing. Luckily, Lauren laughed with us and didn't quite catch on that we were actually laughing at her. She really laughed at herself when I pulled out the measuring cup....she then grinned with embarrassment:)

It was a dreary day out today as it has been for the last couple of weeks. We decided to take the kids to Sternenland which is an AWESOME indoor place for kids. I'd kind of say it is like Chuck E Cheese on steroids. There are indoor electric go-carts so it doesn't stink like gas and 2 floors of nothing but FUN.

We had been there for a couple hours, which is about all I can take, when I see my husband and Colton heading my way. They had been over in the trampoline area jumping like maniacs. Well....let's just say it was time to go home. This is how my husband had to walk from the very back of this place up to the front! He was doing a front flip when he did this.

All I can say is thank goodness for clean underwear! Everyone got a good laugh!!

Apparently cows are VERY interesting!

2009-07-16T13:17:00.001+03:00

While we were at Clara Maria's we spent a lot of time in the barn and I do mean A LOT of time.....like a couple of hours!! We had made this one last stop before our long drive home so it wasn't like we had anything better to do than feed cows hay!!

Once we are around animals, I know it is going to be a while because my husband loves animals...not that I don't, but I can drag myself away from them in much less time!

We were waiting for our clog demo to start so we went into the barn. Jacque has developed a fear of animals which my husband just can not relate to so he feels the need to get him used to the animals. So....these milk cows were no exception!

See how brave Jacque was as he reached out and touched the cow while hanging on for his life!!

He finally decided to feed the cows...

....well throw hay in their face as quickly as possible!

The extremely long tongues were funny!

...and he finally could just feed them some yummy hay!

All this was going on as the other kids were playing and feeding the cows. They really had a blast in the barn with a bunch of cows. The simple things are so much fun!

That cow could have been eating Sarah's shirt and she wouldn't have flinched!

....not the case with Lauren.

ALL of the kids had fun swinging on this tire swing. Trust me, they had it SWINGING!!

So this is the end of our trip to the Netherlands! We loaded back up in the Suburban, cow slobber and all, and headed back home.

We are still on vacation though so our next stop has something to do with baths!

Gouda cheese

2009-07-15T11:00:00.001+03:00

After our clog making demonstration we moved on to learn how cheese is made. This farm makes Gouda (pronounced "goo-da" by the Dutch) cheese according to Dutch tradition. The cows were a big hit with the kids....and husband, but that is another story. I'm adding some of the pages from a story that Lauren wrote about our Spring Break trip.

First the cows must be milked. They are milked 2 times a day and we were lucky enough to be there at the right time!

Then we learned about all of the ingredients that go into the cheese and how this big round machine or churn works.

It was interesting to learn that the shape of the label determines if the cheese was produced on a farm with non pasteurized milk (this farm) or cheese that is produced in a factory.

Now this was only a sample of the real machine, but right next to us was the REAL kitchen and they were busy making cheese for the shop.

And here is the cheese after it has soaked in a salt bath for 24 hours.

We then walked into the cheese shop/gift shop. There were plenty of samples of cheese.....no pictures because we were too busy chowing down! You have to believe me when I say this cheese is the BEST I've ever had....can't even describe it!

Amazingly, some of this cheese did make it back to our house.....Italian Herb, Farmer's Flame, Garlic, and and course Parmesan. They also send their milk to another farm who also makes cheese, but they add their smoked meat. This stuff is delicious....yes, we brought home one with ham and I actually was able to save it until my husband made it home from Iraq so he could enjoy it too!

Jacque was checking out the cheeses....

Remember the clog tour? Here are a few pictures about the clogs from Lauren's story.

...and those swans??

I knew we had a good time on our trip, but we take for granted the lasting impressions that are left with the kids from the places we visit. These pages were written a few months after our Spring Break trip and before our trip with my husband. The little details that are remembered!

Missing flights!

2009-07-14T01:14:00.004+03:00

Why is my husband so prone to missing his flights?? I can't tell you how many times this has happened. His flight from Florida was scheduled for this morning. He was there early and everything seemed to be going as planned until he remembered a small little detail.....oh yeah he forgot the passports!!! By the way, the airport is about an hour from where my Mom lives!!! He left and made it back 10 minutes after his flight left. Luckily, he got onto another flight and will hopefully make his next connection to Germany...fingers crossed.

Oh, he also had to throw my Mom's car keys onto the carpet as the doors were closing on the tram that was taking him to his terminal. Yep, he almost left WITH her keys.

All this drama....I can't wait to talk to him!! He is conserving his cell phone because he wasn't able to charge the battery the whole time he was in Fl because of that pesky little 22oV plug!

Another true story.....
My husband was visiting us while we were still living in Florida...I think he was in Alaska at the time. Anyway, I was driving him to the airport and we hit horrible bumper to bumper traffic in Tampa. This was not good...the airport was only like 10 minutes away if we could just drive like normal, but not on this day.

There was still hope that he would catch the flight so I literally just dropped him off at the curb and he took off running to check in. We didn't have cell phones back then so I couldn't call to check on him...so I did what any good wife would do!

I went shopping! The kind of shopping that involves groceries....not the kind I really enjoy. The airport is very close to an AFB so I drove over there to shop at the Commissary.

As I was walking out to my car with my buggy full of groceries I see this guy that looks an awful lot like my husband walking towards us. Yep...it was him. Yep, he missed his flight and took a taxi over to the Commissary and waited there WITH his luggage for me out in the parking lot. We got an extra day together so I think this was more of a reward to miss flights...maybe this is where it all started!

I love you Babe *wink*!