Five Far From Home

physical therapy and doggie haircuts

2012-03-02T13:43:00.002+01:00

March 1st - Rob begins physical therapy. They put this contraption on the end of his bed and it becomes a recumbent bicycle. She wanted Rob to do 10 minutes, but after 10 Rob asked, "Can I keep going?" It just felt so good to be physical again! She aslo had this big rubberband type thing that she tied to the post behind his bed and had him work out his arms. He could definitly feel the weakness, but was happy to be making strides toward GETTING OUT OF BED! This is also a good sign - we think - that the Dr's must think the tumor is shrinking. They wouldn't allow Rob to get his heart rate up at all because of the dangerous location and blockage caused by the tumor.
(below - Rob's after workout cookie that Sarah made. She made about 4 dz. cookies for me to take to the staff, but set a few aside for Daddy)

Rob usually shaves Phantom, so with him unable to I needed to seek out an alternative. After I posted a message on facebook about looking for a groomer - the breeder who sold us Phantom, here in Germany, responded that she would love to help us out. This "before" picture is of Phantom and HIS MOM, Viva!

Phantom, back at home, all shaved and handsome! Sorry about the quality of the photos, it's just been easier to use Noah's little Kodak camera rather than to lug around my big Cannon!

Pictures

2012-02-27T09:41:00.002+01:00

The "chemo tree" during Rob's first round on day 1.

The nameplate outside Rob's door. I blurred out the name of his roommate on purpose.

Sarah's Sunday afternoon visit with her Daddy.

You can read the stories behind these pictures on Rob's CaringBridge site.

Intimal sarcoma of the superior vena cava.

2012-02-18T17:18:00.001+01:00

My absense from this blog since January can be explained by following Rob's Caring Bridge Page. I have been posting daily there on his fight and our journey through Cancer. Our entire lives have come to a screeching halt and everything, including our move back to the states, has been put on hold.
The one drawback to the caring bridge site is not being able to post multiple pictures at good viewing sizes, so I am still going to post on this blog in order to show a few images that we want you to be able to see.

Rob was admitted on Feb. 7th, here are pictures of his hands on Day 4 and Day 7 to show you how extensive the swelling was.

Feb. 14th, the night I came home and went completely insane throwing green crinkly paper around.

Rob's Mom arrived on Friday Feb. 17th, the day we got the biopsy results.

A Saturday Feb. 18th visit with the kids.

Merry Murphys

2011-12-25T08:46:00.000+01:00

Have I ever mentioned that I wish blogger would come up with a way to rotate pictures? No? First you're hearing of it?
ANYWAY... I digress.

Christmas 2011, our last in Germany.

The tree's story: Last year we went and cut down our own Christmas Tree with some of Noah's Boy Scout Troop. We had planned to do the same thing this year, but the day of the excursion it was pouring down icy rain with wind gusts up to 40knots. We settled, instead, on picking a tree off the lot from the Boy Scout sales. We picked in a hurry because of before-mentioned weather. It isn't the fullest of trees, but just like Charlie Brown's tree, once we got all our ornaments on it, it looked lovely. We are down to ONE working string of lights, but refuse to purchase any more as we have to get rid of everything 220v right after the first of the year! So, that's the story beside my horizontally pictured tree. I snapped this picture while waiting for the kids to wake up.

The three sleepy kids in front of the tree with their German-chocolate filled stockings right after they all woke up (about 8:00 AM). Our tradition is to open the ornaments hidden in the stocking (usually with one or two sweet-goodies) on Christmas Eve; on Christmas morning the stockings are "magically" refilled before we officially cut them down. This year they were filled with kinder-eggs, happy hippos, and chocolate santas.

This year the kids were only getting one gift from Dad and Mom (wrapped under the tree). A handful of gifts (indluding the Coldplay concert, some DVD movies, trips, supplies for scouts or dance) had already been distributed throughout the year - PLUS with moving after the New Year it didn't make sense to aquire more stuff to have to pack. So, one gift. and we (parents) downplayed them A LOT. (they're not going to be that big of a deal because of the move and the concert, ect. You get it, right?). So, the kids were unprepared for the fantastic surprise that awaited them under the tree - and we went to great lengths to pull one over on them so they didn't know until they opened the box what they were getting. The BEST story of the whole day is Sarah... and this picture (though it's really dark, sorry) of her face says it all, but I'm going to write out the story anyway - just so she can read it years from now. Like all good pranks this one has a backstory and Sarah's is this: Earlier this year her DS (Nintendo gameboy) broke. It was several years old and due... but it was still sad because Sarah enjoyed having one on long car trips, plane rides, and during other times when there's a lot of waiting around. She was hoping for a NEW 3DS for Christmas, but we are always so down on all things video game related that she was just sure we wouldn't buy her one - especially since we'd finally caved and allowed the Wii in the house. Then something else happened that made her even more sure we would definitely not want her to have her hearts desire. To take on a trip to Holland for a dance competition Sarah had borrowed her brother's DS and all the games. In her hurry to pack up before leaving to come home somehow the games were either lost or stolen and never recovered. 10 DS games lost forever..... so in the days leading up to Christmas Sarah was just sure it was not to be. Little did she know that we had a plan in progress dating back months ago and with my mom and dad's help all THREE kids were getting a new 3D -DS and a new 3DS game for Christmas. We thought it would be usable even when everything else is packed up and while we are moving across the ocean. It would also help during the long days in TLF, the car, the plane, ect.

Christmas morning comes and the kids all get up and see their one present (from us) waiting for them under the tree. We craftily wrapped the boys' boxes in different sizes and filled them to be different weights. Sarah's was the best of all - we took the small game cartridge from her new game out of its packaging and wrapped it in a tiny jewelry box. Sarah was being very gracious, but because we're her parents we could see a little bit of the disappointment in her attitude. We let her open her gift first (because if the boys went first it would have given away the whole surprie, she knows we're not that cruel). Her face was priceless as first confusion and then shock registered, and just as she was beginning to understand Mom pulled a wrapped gift out from behind my back and said, "Oh yeah, you might need this to play that game". You can see the disbelief still on her face even as she opens the box containing her new 3DS. =) It was a really fun Dad/Mom moment!

Then, it was the boys' turn!

They were absolutely not expecting to get new gameboys since they still have older ones (not 3D, though) that function. They're old, but useable and in this house we use things until they die! With the upcoming move and not being sure what they really wanted they didn't know what to expect, but in their wildest dreams it certainly wasn't this! When they got over the shock of the new gaming system they opened the boxes to another surprise - they each had a game in the box, too! Because what fun would a 3DS be without at least one 3DS game to play on it?? Sarah received the Zelda game she really wanted; Noah, Harry Potter Lego (years 5 - 7); and Micah, Super Mario 3D land.

Usually there are no video games allowed on Sunday - but because of the gifts the kids received (Micah also received a Wii game from Sarah and Noah a computer game from Micah) Dad decided to forgo the Sunday rule. The kids got ready for church in a hurry and played until it was time to leave. Church was fantastic and when we came home we spent the day playing games, watching movies, and eating a fantastic feast of roast chicken, homemade mac and cheese, desserts and candies, breads, and drinks. The picture was taken as soon as we got home from church before anyone had a chance to change. You can't see Phantom against Sarah's dark sweater, but he is there!

the Eve

2011-12-24T21:30:00.000+01:00

Sarah had 2 of her closet friends spend the night and when they woke up on Christmas Eve they exchanged presents. I have loved all the kids that Sarah has grown close to during our time in Germany - some have already moved and some we have been very blessed to have here for years and years. The 2 pictured here with Sarah are such a great example because it is one of Sarah's oldest friends, Hannah, whose family and been here for almost 6 years and Alannah, who just moved here within 2 years. The girls were so thoughtful and really put a lot of time and thought into each others gift.

For the past 6 months Noah has been our church's pianist (since our dear Pastor and his piano playing wife moved). It has been challenging for Noah to learn 7 hymns (more if we have communion) every week AND learning to play so an entire congregation can sing along, but Noah has risen to the challenge and done a fantastic job. It has improved his sight-reading as well as his confidence. We're just as thankful for the church's faith in Noah and the opportunity for the experience as the church is grateful to have a pianist. This month was piano FILLED for Noah as he was asked to play at Sarah's dance recital, and he was playing for the Christmas Eve service as well as the Chirstmas Day Service the next day. He picked out a lovely arrangment for the prelude during the Christmas Eve Service that I've included here to share. It is a little loud because people are still visiting, and he gets a little off track since he had to turn his own pages, but I KNOW my Mom will love it. =)

After church we came home and as is our family's Christmas Eve tradition emptied our stockings. The kids were happy with their Hallmark ornaments (they're all snoopy this year) and the treats they found. We snacked, watched a movie, brank egg-nog, and then headed off to bed - excited for the next day.

Valkenburg aan de Geul

2011-12-22T11:24:00.000+01:00

We haven't really frequented too many Christmas Markets during our time here... It always seems that there are too many activities during the week, the weekends are filled with Christmas related activities for church, scouts, dance, ect.... and then there's the weather... But this year we made time for a few and one we'd always heard about but never been to was a Christmas market located in CAVES!! It was a 3 hour drive to the Holland town where the market is located.... and it was so, so, so, so not worth it. The market was awful, the parking was expensive, admission to the markets was expensive, and the shops in the markets were not what you traditionally see at a German Christmas market. The caves were cool, time spent as a family is always fun, and we did find some cute purchases and a good deal on Belgium chocolate; all in all it wasn't a complete waste of a day, but what a horrible not to go out on (this was our last market before we move).

glowing in the dark

2011-12-20T23:30:00.000+01:00

in the car on the way to Frankfurt

WAY back in October there's a post about Noah's birthday - and he received the surprise of his life: Tickets to see his FAVORITE band, COLDPLAY, in concert in Germany for his WHOLE family. The only catch was we had to wait until December 20th, but that meant we made it part of their Christmas present, too. (see how crafty parents can be?)
The concert was AMAZING. It was everything a concert should be and the PERFECT one for our kids to call their first. For Rob and Krissie - it was like coming home. It may not be theological, academic, or all together useful, but THIS, THIS is what we know and it was so exciting to watch the magic of what a concert is come alive through our kids' eyes. Yeah, they're addicted.

queuing up outside the halle we spotted some people in elephant costumes (from Coldplay's "Paradise" music video)

we had standing tickets behind these seats

We got there early because we weren't sure about parking or how far we'd have to walk, but in the end it was fairly easy to find and parking was right next to the building (although not cheap). We got there just in time to queue up outside with all the other standing-room-only ticket holders. After a bit of misdirection due to the language barrier we found where we were supposed to be and staked our claim. We had an excellent vantage point.... except that the two tallest gentlemen attending did have seats RIGHT in front of us, of course, and by the time they showed up it was too late to change our position because everywhere else had been claimed. The family in front of us (mom, dad, and son) were super nice, spoke English, and swiched around their seats so Noah and Sarah could see better. The tall man directly in front of Sarah sat almost the whole show, so all worked out.

right before the show began

It was a looong night for Micah because we had to stand in place for 3 hours to hold our spots - but we passed the time people watching and being silly.
Once the concert started the tired legs and feet were forgotten. It was an amazing show put on by incredibly talented musicians. They played 16 songs and when they wouldn't come back for yet another encore Noah said, "that's really it?" - I think that's the perfect concert - the anticipation is unbearable and even though they play for almost 2 hours it flashes by in mere seconds in your mind.

As we entered the building they gave us all bracelets to wear. They were awkward and seemed to have no purpose, but right before the show began they all blinked... then during the show they would light up and blink in rhythm during different songs, all different colors, and THOUSANDS of them. It was really, very cool! We have a video - which I KNOW isn't very good quality. The volume overwhelmed my daughter's camera, but she wanted to film a little to show the bracelets and just capture some of the excitment to be able to say, I WAS THERE! This is a smippet from their song, "Charlie Brown", which I think ended up collectively being our favorite performance of the evening.

We took this picture during the performance of their song, "Yellow" - which was Micah's favorite song for a long, long time when he was really little - I think because Krissie would sing it to him every night. Also, another little video from their song, "The Scientist" - which is Rob's favorite (mostly because Noah plays it on the paino a lot)

Confetti covering the stadium during the song "Politik"

During the encore Chris Martin played and sang "White Christmas" on his piano and as the rest of the band joined in it turned into the song, "Fix You"

Taken as we were leaving the building heading for our car, the kids exhausted but thrilled beyond words. I asked Micah if it was what he thought it would be like, and he simply said, "Better." Well said, Micah!

Sarah wants me to write all the songs we remember them singing (in no particular order). We think we're missing one.....
Mylo Xyloto

Hurts like Heaven

Yellow

White Christmas/Fix you

Clocks

Viva la Vida

The scientist

God put a smile on your face

Charlie brown

Paradise

Politik

Up in flames

Us against the world

Every teardrop is a waterfall

Major minus

Lost!
Violet Hill

Swallowed in the Sea

We're off to see the Irish Dance Christmas Show...

2011-12-15T20:00:00.000+01:00

Intermediate Dance

This years Irish Dance Christmas show was at a terrific venue in Ramstein - wonderful stage, lots of seating, lighting, and sound system! Mary did a wonderful job choreographing the whole show. She even asked my 2 boys to play piano during the show and they were thrilled to do it. Sarah danced in several dances, including with all the little ones she helps teach on Mondays. Sarah's favorite performance was a piece the 6 Open/Championship level dancers put on to Wizard of Oz music. I am including 2 videos (a part one and 2) of that dance. The second gets cut off because the camera's memory was full, but you're only missing about 30 seconds.

Tin-Man (Leisha), Cowardly Lion (Sarah), Wizard & Scarecrow (Cormac & Cillian), Glenda the Goodwitch (Sophie), and Dorothy (Erika)

the boys pose by the piano after the show

Sarah and Mary

cookies for Cubs

2011-12-13T12:40:00.000+01:00

Micah's Cub Scout Pack is having a holiday cake sale - the only catch is the boys are supposed to take the lead on actually producing said "cakes" - Micah is a WHIZ at cookies, and since we've discovered these candycane-kisses our new favorite cookie is a spin on an old favorite. Micah had a great time in the kitchen and aside from a little help with the appliances he did everything by himself! His cookies were auctioned off and raised $23.00 for the Pack! Good Job, Micah!

Micah's favorite part is putting the kisses into the baked sugar cookies... although he does like rolling the dough in the colored sugar almost as much!

St. Wendel - and Mary did you know -

2011-12-10T13:49:00.000+01:00

With the boys all off in Belgium Sarah and I took the day to travel to the Christmas market in St. Wendel. It was a FABULOUS market and we really enjoyed ourselves. We didn't end up buying a whole lot, but saw lots of really cool things. The weather was mild so we stayed for several hours. The neat thing about this market is that they have a nativity parade and a live nativity performance every evening. The nativity parade was just the camels and the wise-men - it all happened so fast that i wasn't able to grab a picture. The live nativity was crowded, but Sarah managed to sneak up front with the littles that were with us to watch. After the performance I was able to snap a picture of the performers from the live nativity and you'll see the traditional purple hair and facial piercing of Mary, as it should be. =)

Bastogne

2011-12-10T09:30:00.000+01:00

The Boy Scouts travel to Bastogne in December to participate in the annual march commemorating the Battle of the Bulge. This year Rob traveled up with Micah (and our Cub Scout friend, Noah Briggs) while Noah went with his Boy Scout troop. Noah's troop chose an easy 7 km hikem which is what Rob meant to chose - but after not being able to hook up with the Boy Scout troop early Sat. morning and getting turned around along the path Rob and the 2 boys ended up walking almost 12 miles that day!! Micah was pretty tired and had to soak his poor feet when they got home, but he was so happy to have been able to go since he won't get to be a Boy Scout in Germany like his older brother. The camera batteries died on Rob, so he only got a few shots of his Cub Scouts, and another mom who went with the Boy Scouts gave me the shots of Noah with his troop.

Christmas gig

2011-12-02T13:38:00.000+01:00

The Christmas season wouldn't be complete without a Christmas gig or two! The school performed on a small stage for a Christmas party and did a fantastic job. I managed to catch a picture of all the dancers and Sarah with her best dancing buddies.

Weihnachtsmarkt auf Burggelände

2011-11-26T13:21:00.000+01:00

Christmas Market at the Lichtenburg castle 9about 15 minutes from our house). It had a medieval theme and we were there for some of the performances. Though it was very small, there was some cute, unique items and we went with a large group of our friends which makes everything more fun. They had some really yummy pizzas there, too, that I've never seen sold elsewhere.

these dancers performed withe the gentlemen playing instruments - they were rockin' out, too. It was entertaining

the yummy pizza things

Thankful for

2011-11-24T13:10:00.000+01:00

The past few years we have spent Thanksgivings with our friends, the Briggs Family. This year was especially meaningful knowing that next year we will be living an ocean apart from these dear people. Our kids are like an extension of each others family. I didn't get a whole lot of photos because we were busy eating all the delicious food Michelle and I cooked up, the kids were busy playing games and hanging out, and Eric and Rob were happily watching football. Love this family!

when in Rome..... I mean, Milan

2011-11-21T12:55:00.000+01:00

Sarah took LOTS of pictures, we borrowed the camera of a mom who went down there, AND she paid to get the official photographs so that mom could have a blog post even though I wasn't able to go along this time. The first few pictures are getting ready in the hotel room - then goofing around with friends during the competition - Sarah dancing (and Placing first!) - and then sight seeing around Milan (and, of course, eating gelatto)

a GRAND goodbye

2011-11-19T21:27:00.007+01:00

The boys' piano recital at Burg Lichtenburg is probably their last time getting play this beautiful Steinway at the castle. They certainly will miss that piano, Noah most of all.

Here are videos from their performance. Noah's is quite long. get some coffee first. thanks for watching!

make a wish (11:11 on 11/11/11)

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000+01:00

We had 4 boys spend the night on Thursday night - while playing nerf wars outside Friday morning I caught a picture of them at 11:11 AM on 11/11/11.

Sarah had 4 friends (2 sets of sisters) spend the night on Friday night...

.....and at 11:11 PM on 11/11/11 they made wishes and toasted to their wishes with sparking grape juice.... because, well, why not?

and off to a feis

2011-11-05T12:01:00.000+01:00

We took off for Holland this weekend for a feis. We traveled up with the Briggs girls (even Hannah came though she wasn't competing so she could hang out and offer support). Mary wanted Sarah to compete at the Championship level at least once before the big competition later this month in Milan. It was wise advice because Sarah was scared to death to dance her set dance for the first time. She placed high in all her intermediate level dances and last in the championship level, which is what we expected, but the experience was good. She had fun participating in teams and a great time hanging out with her dance friends.

Sarah and her 2-hand partner, Leisha

The 4-hand team: Caitlyn, Sarah, Olivia, and Leisha

Sarah placing first in an Intermediate dance.

Sarah placing 5th (out of 5) in the Championship level

a great shot of the two 4-hand teams on stage. They placed 1st and 2nd.

Time for Trails

2011-11-02T20:15:00.000+01:00

My first blog post since the computer crash stole all our pictures.... starting somewhere.
I have a few events waiting in the wings that need to be posted to update the blog, but, for today, I'm making time for trails.

Every morning Phantom and I run (he ALWAYS runs, sometimes I just walk) on a trail close to our house. It is just under a 7 mile loop out my front door and heads up past the next village. Every morning, in every season, I am in awe of the beauty of this path. Today I made the kids come back out with me in the afternoon light to snap some pictures before all the leaves are gone so that I can remember - so they can know - why saying goodbye to this trail will be one of the hardest things about leaving Germany.

The paved path heads along an old railway line down through a forest.

After about 2 miles the path continues on, but Phantom and I cut to the right through farmer's fields and a trail their tractors have cut through the woods to connect their land. We head up a hill along the fields and our turn-around point is on top of the hill (seen in the picture above) by a big 'ole dead tree. We call it the "dead tree path".

of course I am still having the same silly "unable-to-rotate-photos" problem with blogger... but this is a sign in the woods heading back to the path.

the tractor trail through the forest. Phantom can run without a leash through here and has probably "makred" every single tree along the mile and a half stretch.

Heading back to the bike trail I snapped some pictures of the kids, because they're JUST as gorgeous as the scenery - don't you agree?

heading back to our village we meet up with the bike-path again and this quaint bridge that over looks some fields where I often see fox, deer, quail, cranes, and, yes, cows.

Noah points out some cranes in the field.

Home again - these last 2 photos were taken from our upstairs balcony. The top is looking left and the bottom is looking right. We will forever miss this view....

thanks for coming!

Flag Ceremony Fun

2011-10-20T11:38:00.000+02:00

Our Bear Den was invited to be a part of CE's closing flag ceremony during their training day. The boys did a great job helping to lower the flag, playing the music (that was Micah's job) and forming their own troop. They were awarded a certificate from the company commander. They all look sharp, don't they?

weekend update

2011-10-16T12:09:00.000+02:00

Our weekends are usually filled with some one scouting, dance, church, homeschool, ect. activity or another, but this particular weekend there was a little something for everyone. Friday night Noah left on a weekend camping trip with his Boy Scout Troop, Sarah's Sunday School class had a dinner at their teacher's home, and on Saturday morning Micah's Cub Scout Pack began their popcorn fundraiser.
Dropping Noah off for the campout - with his friends from the Troop

Sarah's dinner at the Smith's home with her whole Sunday School class

Micah with some of his Pack selling popcorn inside the X-change food-court

rated PG-13

2011-10-04T11:26:00.000+02:00

Noah's 13th birthday was a family party - Noah received an UNBELIEVABLE present for his birthday - tickets to see his favorite band, Coldplay, IN CONCERT! The concert isn't until Dec 20th, so we decided to buy tickets for all 5 of us and turn it into a Christmas gift as well. It will be the kids' first concert. They're so excited to go and can not wait until December! Noah also received 2 Tshirts - a Minecraft shirt (his favorite computer game) and a Zelda shirt from his sister (video game).

Operation: Force Cub Scout

2011-10-01T11:59:00.000+02:00

Achievement 7 for the Bears is to visit and talk with Law Enforcement. Since it is also a requirement for several other Cub Scout ranks and achievements our Pack made a whole day of it and even invited scouts from all over our area to come out. The Security Forces officers did a fantastic job presenting a little about what they do, the weapons they work with, the vehicles they drive, and how they do their jobs. The highlight was watching one of the working dogs come out to demonstrate how they work together as a team. Also, a close second was getting to check out the weapons and use the stick to beat-down a padded "suspect". My favorite part of this post is in both pictures of my boys trying out the weapons you can see Rob smiling in the background. Boys.

a sideways dog (it's the only photo I took) and my den with the officers.

Hitscherhoff Fest

2011-09-25T21:49:00.000+02:00

One of our FAVORITE fall festivals takes place on the last weekend in September. It is a lovely farm that sells pumpkins and other wares, but on this last weekend they have vendors come out to sell all sorts of fall goodies and merchandise. The best thing is all the pumpkin recipes they make. We enjoyed pumpkin soup, pumpkin brats, pumpkin bread, chocolate covered pumpkin seeds, and well as flammekuchen (an oven-baked pizza type thing with onions, cheese, and bacon) and corn on the cob. We enjoyed the food for all our friends who have moved and ate some extra for next year when we'll be in the states.

We ate, walked around all the vendors, bought some pumpkins to bake and sweet corn to grill at home, ate, took some pictures, picked some flowers, hung out with Sarah's friends, and at some more....

Cub Scout Achievment

2011-09-16T10:56:00.000+02:00

Bear Den 1, Pack 232 pose with the Boy Scouts of Troop 156 after the flag ceremony

One of the achivements the boys have to complete as Bear Scouts is to learn how to perform and participate in a flag ceremony. Luckily I happen to know a GREAT group of Boy Scouts to help me show these Cubs the way. My Bear Den walked down to the high school on base where Noah's scoutmaster is a teacher. He was able to let us use the high school flag pole and a few scouts from Noah's troop came out to help teach the boys. Afterwards Mr. Mol, the scoutmaster, talked to the boys about being a Cub Scout wayyyyyyyyy back in the day. Mr. Mol started out as a Cub Scout back in WI before there was even a Tiger Scout program - they were called Lion Cubs (this is part of another achievment about respecting the past). I was so impressed with the young men (including Noah) who helped lead the 3rd graders and were willing to give their time (and wear their uniforms in front of their peers) and Thankful to Mr. Mol who was an entertaining speaker to the young boys and helped set up the whole event.

the boys stand with Mr. Mol after he told them some great stories about being a Cub Scout long ago (to them anyway) =)

a Court of Honor

2011-09-13T11:01:00.000+02:00

Noah's Troop had a fall Court of Honor tonight. Noah was only presented with one merit badge this time around, but still wanted to make sure to record the moment since we don't have much time left with Troop 156, and this might be our last court of honor.

Remember

2011-09-11T11:14:00.000+02:00

The morning of September 11th Rob ran in a Memorial 10k on base while Noah's Boy Scout troop waited along the sidelines to hand out water. You can not see Noah behind the other runners, but the picture is Noah handing his Dad some water as Rob ran by. The picture below is Rob accepting 1st place in his age group (30 - 40yrs). He finished 5th over all.

Later that day Sarah's dance school performed during Landstuhls city fest (Stadtfest) - which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, but they did stop all activity and ask for a moment of silence at the time when the plane had hit the first tower.

Sarah and her friends backstage waiting for the performance to begin

Performing

a fine day to be nine

2011-09-09T11:21:00.000+02:00

the Briggs kids (x7), some of the Fry kids (x5), and the Murphy kids (x3) outside the movie Theater waiting to see Kung-Fu Panda 2.

Micah turns 9 on the 9th! His party this year was a family affair... We invited two other families to spend the day with us at the movies, the food court for pizza, and then at our home for dessert, presents, and playtime. Between the 3 families there were 15 kids and Micah had a fantastic day. He got the Ninjago figures he really wanted and a new Nerf shield and sword.

(at the food court waiting for pizza)

Micah wanted a Tre Leche cake for his birthday

He was pretty excited about the Lego guys! After cake and presents the kids all went outside to play Nerf wars until it was time for everyone to go home.

sky on fire

2011-09-04T11:26:00.000+02:00

With autumn coming to stay we've had some great "unstable" weather producing truly spectacular skies. This was taken right outside my front door in early evening - looking up the hill where our walking trail is.WhenI turned around there was a dark sky, rain, and a rainbow. Even though the pictures can not do the "IRL" sky justice you can get the gist from these photos - which I haven't retouched AT ALL.

Weinfest der Mittelmosel

2011-09-03T11:46:00.000+02:00

walking along the Mosel to our "spot" for firework viewing we stuffed all the kids in a phone booth for a photo

Bernkastel throws one of the best wine festivals around. On the first weekend of September, about 30 different local wine booths set up for tastings (mainly Riesling). There are also German food booths (serving wurst, pommes, reibekuchen, cheese pretzels, flammkuchen, knoblauch champignons, etc)! The highlight of the middle Mosel wine festival is always a giant fireworks display that commemorates a huge battle fought in the 13th century. The fireworks are lit from the Burg Landshut castle and from the below Mosel shore. This event is known as the biggest pyrotechnic spectacle on the Mosel.

We had a GREAT day with good friends sitting by the Mosel under the castle waiting for the fireworks. The kids went on some of the rides at the festival and we all ate yummy food. The fireworks were the most amazing disply we've EVER witnessed.

Best Friends

2011-09-02T11:52:00.000+02:00

Hannah and Sarah are trying to spend every available weekend together knowing their time is short. S'mores, inside jokes, and crazy camera mom make for come cute candids..... Love these girls and what they mean to each other....

Mourning

2011-08-29T09:28:00.000+02:00

This poor sad blog sits and sits - waiting to be updated.
I've been unable to bring myself to post the last few weeks of summer.
Computers have not been kind to us lately, and while I suspect a lot of it is user error - it still seems uncommonly severe to lose TWO hard drives within 6 months of each other - the unimaginable results being that we lost years of pictures and other assorted files. We had computer whiz friends try to help us - but things were damaged beyond any salvageable outcome. We had a lot backed up onto discs - and that does comfort me - but lost at least the last 18 months worth of pictures.
   Pictures are my thing. I'm not great at them, but above average, and even though I don't use any editing software to improve them they still tell the story of our lives. I don't print them out and scrapbook them - I blog them. This blog. This creative outlet that tells the story of our family. It's hard to even come to my blog and scroll down the page knowing that all those pictures are gone.
   Every time I try to sit and update the blog I just can't go into the new folder that Rob has created for downloading pictures to and see the vast empty white space. Only a few folders where there used to be 100's. I do have what is on my blog - and those can be downloaded - although not in the same quality as the original - so all is not hopeless... but there's so many I don't include on my blog - and all the photos from my daughter and son's cameras are lost forever. candid shots of my silly kids or landscape shots that didn't make it to the blog.
   So, it may seem trivial, insignificant in the wake of war, weather, illness, and other trials... but there it is.

So, thanks for your patience, oh faithful reader of my blog (so basically - my mom). I'll be back soon.

capturing summer

2011-08-25T16:45:00.008+02:00

With summer coming to a close and more friend PCS'ing we took advantage of an especially warm day to drive this crew up to the Rhine river to the castle Rheinfels to play and epic game of capture the flag. It was an awesome day and a terrific way to spend one of our last days with the May children (Ben and Alexandra are in these pictures)

The boys and the girls

Of course no trip to a castle would be complete without incredible photo opportunities! (have I ever mentioned that I hate blogger's inability to allow you to rotate photos?) The kids spent hours climbing, tunneling, exploring, playing, and pretending but I got them to all hold still and group together for lots of photos, too!

more goodbyes

2011-07-25T16:37:00.000+02:00

The Crandalls have been part of our lives for the past few years here in Germany. We've loved their family dearly. Simon and Noah seem to share the same brain AND they even look alike (except the eye color). Sarah and Leah have recently discovered that they two are completely on the same page when it comes to music, games, movies, snacks, and life! We're so, so sad to see them go.......

We took these pictures on their last day in Germany when the kids came over to hang out for a few hours.

goodbye friends

2011-07-23T16:33:00.000+02:00

This spring/summer was full of goodbyes, including our Pastor and his lovely family. These pictures are from the goodbye dinner for the family that our church put on. Sarah with the three girls that she has babysat their whole lives.

Irish Dance Camp Week

2011-07-15T15:52:00.015+02:00

the kids look on as the beginners show their stuff

One of the highlights of summer is always the Irish Dance camp week for Sarah and all her dancing friends. This year was especially fun since one of Sarah's friends from the Munich school, Amy, came to stay with her for the week. The girls had a great time helping teach as well as learning new steps and improving old ones as well as hanging out with movies, dinners, sleepovers, and shopping. Sarah worked hard while trying to really soak up the fun, too since it's her last camp with these wonderful teachers. At the end of the week there is a party on Friday for all the teachers, dancers, family and friends. The kids show off what they've been working on, the teachers give away prizes and gifts, all the families bring food and we dance the night away. All these pictures are from the Friday night party held in the dealership that Mary's husband owns.

Sarah's group lines up for a dance

Mary presents all her assistants with a thank-you gift

Sarah with her beloved teacher, Mary, and with the other teachers who traveled to the KMC for the camp, Shane and Paula.

Sarah with her friends and the a group of all the dancers that we could find.

Harry Potter 7.2 Movie Release Party

2011-07-13T11:31:00.118+02:00

Love him, hate him, or claim indifference, no doubt you've heard of him. He's this generation's "Star Wars", but because of the controversy he insights and the world wide web / social media, Harry Potter exists on a much grander stage. Yet, at the heart of it all, without the fandom and aside from the scale of its popularity is the REASON Harry didn't go anywhere and probably won't for a long, long time. Seven excellently crafted novels with a story line that spans generations and has woven itself forever into our hearts and minds. When is the last time you've heard of people sleeping outside for a BOOK RELEASE!?!? In my day I did that for Guns N' Roses, but was never excited enough about a book. Everyone has an opinion on the boy who lived and so to those opposed I will just have to say skip this blog post as agree to disagree with me.

The sign on the door greeting the guests as they arrived. (created by Sara G.)

The release of the final movie in the series was anticipated with mixed emotions in our house. As much as we were looking foreword to seeing our favorite characters come to life on screen in some of their most thrilling moments of the series we were also dreading the end, which made us look back. Our family's Harry Potter story doesn't really begin until 2002, about 5 years after the first book was published. Before 2002 there was the controversy, and we heard it - tended to side with people from our church who were against these "horrible" novels without really knowing anything about them or researching for ourselves. The narrow-minded reason being that our kids were still too young to be reading novels anyway, so it didn't really apply to us and was just easier to parrot beliefs than forming our own opinion. Now, BACK to 2002 when Sarah was attending 4th grade on Whiteman AFB and Rob was about to leave on his first deployment to Kuwait. At school most of Sarah's friends were reading the Harry Potter series and highly anticipating the release of the movie based on the 4th book and the release of the 5th book. Still only forming our opinions based off of other pious attitudes we had not allowed Sarah to read the books, but she didn't seem to care at all and really had little to no interest in reading much of anything. One day she came home and with a much smarter argument than I'd have thought possible for a 9-year old explained to me why she wanted to read the 1st Harry Potter book. At this point I realized that I knew NOTHING about the books for myself and began my own inquiries. After sharing all that I'd discovered with Rob we said that we would let Sarah read the 1st book ONLY after Mom had read it first.... about 10 days later I'd read the 4 released novels and was anxiously counting down the days with the rest of the world to the release of the 5th book.....
...... needless though it is to say: the rest, as they put it, is history. Sarah and I were fans for life and got to share in the excitement of midnight book releases for the 6th and 7th books and opening night in the theaters for 4 of the movies. For Sarah it also spurned a love for reading, especially fantasy fiction, that lives on to this day. She devours the written word and has a passion for writing that she will tell you was borne after the first chapter of Philosopher's Stone. As her little brothers grew we got to bring them along for the ride. Noah started reading the books shortly after the 7th book came out and Micah shortly before the 6th movie came out. The boys were allowed to see the first 3 movies before reading the books, but after that had to wait until they'd first read the books - which explains why they're a little younger than Sarah was when they started. We even MADE Rob (who is not a fan of reading) finish all 7 novels before he could see the movies as well and it has been fun for him to share in this excitement and anticipation with us. Thank you JK Rowling. You've gained 5 life-long fans and taught us more than you will ever know.

Along our journey we've met many other family's who share our love and like to "play" with us. 3 of these families came together with us to celebrate (and mourn) the FINAL release of a Harry Potter movie. We got advance tickets one of the first showings in Europe and planned a whole party to go along with it. The parents and kids all made costumes, decorations, and planned games, crafts, activities and WONDERFUL food based on the novels and movies.(Sarah M. made the banners you see in the picture above)

These 2 cut-outs were made by Sarah M. and Libby G. All the kids had their pictures taken in them, but I used Micah and Noah as my examples because they are both dressed up as the characters who belong in the signs.

We played "guess your patronous", potted mandrakes, and made sorting hats. A couple of the other crafts had to be scrapped because of a shipping snafu with Oriental Trading Co. and a few of the games has to be canceled because of the cold, wet weather outside. The kids still had a great time and we ended up watching the first part of the seventh movie all together.

The food in the Three-broomsticks (sign by Leah C.) was AMAZING. We had an official Hogwarts pastry, bangers and mash, Bertie Bott's every-flavoured-beans, rock cakes, chocolate frogs, licorice wands, cockroach cluters, roast turkey (all pictured) and butter beer, gilly water, pumpkin juice, fever fudge, and..... I know I'm missing something..... I'll fill it in when I think of it.

Above - (Gabe, Harry 2nd yr. - Libby, Pansy Parkinson - Ben, Ron Weasley - Alexandra, Hermoine - Micah, Harry 1st year - Simon, Ravenclaw boy - Noah, Sirius Black 3rd year - Leah, Luna Lovegood - Sara, Fleur DelaCour - Baylor, Gilderoy Lockheart - Clara - Hogwarts student)

(Julie, Madame Hooch - Karen, Prof. Trelawney - Krissie, Mrs. Weasley - Bob, Mr. Weasley - Bobbie, Bellatrix LeStrange)
Dressing up was an amazing part of the festivities. I'm so proud of all the kids and moms who made their own costumes! Even though most of the adults were great sports and dressed up I'd have to say my favorite was Bobbie.

FINALLY, it was time to head to the theater to catch the movie. Sarah and her friend, Amy (who is staying with us this week from Munich) have had dance camp all day every day this week and so weren't able to join us for the party, but did get to come to the theater. Sarah is dressed as Susan Bones and Amy is random gryffendor girl. I won't write a review of the movie here (isn't this blog post long enough already?) but it's gooooooooooood. It was made better by the huge group of us gathered, in costume, among a sold-out theater full of other just-as-excited fans. Before and after the movie several people stopped to beg a picture with all the kids in their costumes. It was a once-in-a-lifetime night and we were thrilled to be a part of it! A fantastic way to celebrate such a bittersweet moment.

Gartenschau Gig

2011-07-09T10:09:00.027+02:00

Sarah and her dance school had a gig at the gartenschau in Ktown (which frequent readers of my blog will reconize as "the dinosaur park" -

You can NOT take pictures of the girls when they're competing at a feis, and usually gig conditions do not allow for very good action pictures with my limited skills... however... the open-air stage, slippery stage (so the dancers were dancing a little more carefully = read: slowly), and extremely overcast conditions let me grab quite a few great shots of the kids dancing... yeah!

Sarah and Hannah pose in between dances.

Their teacher, Mary, takes the stage during the encore.

Camp Alpine - Kanderstag, Switzerland

2011-07-08T10:25:00.009+02:00

Noah spent July 3rd - 9th in Kanderstag Switzerland for his Camp Alpine Boy Scout week. I'm hoping to get some better pictures from some of the other adults who went since most of the pictures on Noah's camera did not turn out, or their of strange, random things. Like eyes. Or unrecognizable objects. Which have nothing to do with Scouting. Or Switzerland. Or anything for that matter.... BUT if I ever get a hold of better pictures THIS is the post reserved for them!

all packed up and ready to leave Ramstein

4th of July

2011-07-04T09:11:00.029+02:00

We spent the afternoon with our church family at our friend's, the Browns, house. They have a large backyard and live within walking distance of a lake that you can swim in which is attached to a cool playground for the kids. Jennifer arranged some really fun games for the kids and we had a blast playing, grilling, eating, and hanging out until late that evening. Noah is missing because he left for Switzerland on Sunday morning.

Most of the kids that were there

Rob manning the grill

Gabe had a star wars costume that Micah got to try on... because what storm trooper wouldn't want a little relaxing time on the swing?

Sarah spent the better part of her time at the picnic helping a young mom with 4 very small children (including a newborn) whose husband is deployed. She traded off responsibilities with several of the teens from our church and all the kids had a GREAT time and the Mom was able to sit, socialize, and relax on her holiday.

Micah and Gabe competing in the 3-legged race

Eating a doughnut tied to a string hung from a tree with your hands behind your back game (or how can you fit 42 prepositional phrases in one sentence?)

Krissie posing with the lovely hostess and game organizer, Jenn. We were under her patio canopy (which is orange) and so we look a little strangely colored in this picture!

Crispy

2011-06-28T09:04:00.020+02:00

On a particularly hot day we met our friends at a local outdoor pool to splash around. Micah was feeling remarkably brave (having just learned to jump off the low dive at our usual haunt, the Azur) and decided he would like to go off the middle dive after watching his brother and all their friends do it. Luckily, I happened to have my camera with me - unluckily blogger is still a GIANT pain in the behind and won't post my pictures with an option to rotate. Overcoming fear is a HUGE step in a young man's life however, so you will forgive me the sideways picture so that you can be a part of Micah's big moment in the sun.

(left)Sarah spalshing around with friends.

Munich Feis 2011

2011-06-25T10:44:00.061+02:00

Our fifth

and final Munich Feis.

The Eight-Hand team before dancing.

Sarah's first dances were her team dances. She was in a two-hand, four-hand, AND eight-hand. All the teams she danced in took FIRST.

The four hand team poses after dancing, Sarah and Leisha on stage accepting their trophies for first-place in the two-hand. They had to change into their solo dresses before the results

The eight-hand team on stage accepting their trophies. Even though they're not in their matching team costumes I love this shot of all the girls in their solo dresses ready to start their Intermediate dances.

(Sophie, Sarah, Sarah, Morgan, Olivia, Caitlyn, Hannah, Leisha)

We arrived at the venue 9after a morning of make-up application and wig-adjustment) around 10:30 AM and were there until almost 11 PM. During the day Noah and Micah set up shop at this little table and dancers, siblings, and parents would stop by to play, visit, and snack. The boys watched Sarah dance and were there to clap during results. They never complained, never fought, and pretty much had the time of their lives just chilling out all day. We sat on the balcony and you can see in the top right-hand corner the main stage below with dancers lining up.

Mary Sweeney (Landstuhl)and Shane McAvinchey (Munich) are the two teachers who run the school Sarah dances for and were in charge of this feis.

I'm SO MAD at blogger that I can not, no matter WHAT I do, get this photo to upload upright. This is Sarah in her new solo costume.

Since you're not allowed to take photos during the dancing I took this one right before she started her Intermediate dances. She is also dancing in the Open/Championship level dances for the FIRST TIME ever - a level she has been working towards for 5 years. Most of the kids in her age group she was dancing against have qualified and gone to the WOLRD championships!

Waiting on the floor for the Intermediate results.

Sarah placed really well in all her Intermediate dances. She took a couple of first-paces which places her out of those dances, and even if in second or third she still placed in EVERY dance she was entered in; a fantastic achievement. During her two championship dances she placed third in her heavy-shoe round and fourth in her light-shoe round. This is incredible for a first timer at that level! I have pictures of her on stage during all the different results, but I'm only going to post one of her taking first in the Intermediate slip-jig (or reel? I can't tell and she took first in both those).

again, such a shame blogger is such a retarded tool!

CONGRATULATIONS, Sarah! You are the ROCK STAR!

PreFeis FUN -

2011-06-24T10:38:00.022+02:00

This is a shot of the main building of the hotel we were staying at, as taken from my upper window view from our room in the gastehaus across the street. The gaggle of people you see to the left in the courtyard are dancers practicing their team-dances at 10 PM! Crazy Irish dancers. We LOVE this hotel, though, and it seems this is where most of the K-town dancers and families stay when coming to the feis.

I sneaked over to the impromptu practice session to get a shot of the girls working hard at perfecting their eight-hand.

The boys were happy holding court in our hotel room with Legos and movies.

Friend Dining

2011-06-20T10:32:00.009+02:00

though just a dinner among friends times like these are waning as 2 of these 4 families are moving within the next 2 months. Capturing moments like these before they're gone for good.....

Workshop Sleepover

2011-06-17T10:30:00.007+02:00

The girls had planned this EPIC shopping adventure to Ktown on a Saturday when they were surprisingly all free...... that was until Mary sceduled a workshop at the dance studio... and being a week before their big competition they could NOT say no... they were all sad to give up their shopping plans, but instead scheduled a sleepover Friday night.

Piano Recital - Burg Lichtenburg

2011-06-11T09:50:00.025+02:00

One of our FAVORITE things about our piano studio is the concerts at the castle. The Grand Piano is at the top of a tower in the castle and the acoustics are amazing. My boys, especially Noah, sure does love to have their fingers flying around those keys!! Here are 2 pictures and 2 videos of their performance at the castle. Noah played 2 pieces during the recital, but the one I filmed a few days prior to the concert on our piano at home. The sound isn't as great but I am including that video on this post as well so you can see both his recital pieces - mainly because the other song, Linus and Lucy, Noah learned JUST for me (his mom).

All the kid's that performed

Noah's other recital piece - recorded a few days prior to this post:

Fridays at the Pool

2011-06-10T09:06:00.009+02:00

We're still spending all our Fridays at the pool. The boys are still taking lessons and this session Micah jumped off the diving board for the VERY first time! He was a champ and will be diving (not just jumping) before the end of summer, I am sure. You can see his swim-coach, Angie, in the background - she is so amazing!
The Briggs have lessons the same time as we do, and most Fridays we find a friend or two to bring along and enjoy the pool. The outside pool is open, which means the playground and sand pit are as well. The kids LOVE playing in this sand more than anything and if the weather is decent this is usually where you'll find them when they're not in lessons.

Troop 156's Spring Court of Honor

2011-06-06T09:11:00.013+02:00

Noah and his friend, Kolbie served as the evening's emcees. I didn't want to distract them during the ceremony so I grabbed this shot before anything started. Noah did a great job, although he kept getting quieter....

A pre-ceremony pep-talk for the emcees from their scoutmaster, John Mol

Noah was presented with the 4 merit badges he earned as well as being recognized for achieving the second-class rank since the last court of honor.
The WHOLE troop - a great group of guys!

Pack 232 Crossover Campout

2011-06-04T09:21:00.053+02:00

The annual Crossover Campout weekend for Pack 232 takes place right before school lets out for the year. The boys campout on Friday night and then during a ceremony on Saturday they crossover a bridge where they shed their old rank and are presented with the colors and book for their new rank.

My Wolf den crosses our bridge over to the other side where their parents are waiting to take off the yellow Wolf attire and put on their new Blue Bear colors.

After the ceremony we pose for a den picture with my new BEAR den and all their families. Congratulations boys!

After the ceremony the boys change into some shorts (it was HOT) and spend the afternoon playing games as a Pack and doing activities as a Den. We set up an obstacle course for the boys and they had a great time running the course and competing against each other, boy scouts, parents, and siblings.

After all the sports and games our Den earned their Whittling Chit. It is a requirment for their new Bear rank and allows them to carry a knife during campouts. They have to go through a saftey course and then they practice by trying to carve something out of a bar of soap. Daddy bought Micah his own, brand-new, knife for this occasion and Micah was more excited about this than any other aspect of the campout. In fact, ALL the boys were asking me (starting on Friday night) - when are we going to earn or whittling chit???? over and over!!

Again, blogger is the BANE of my existence with its retarded uploading problem... but all the pictures I took of Micah carving her soap were in portrait, so this is what you get! I had to include it, he was so excited and so great.

my new bear den with all their knives and soap creations.

(top: Nick, Ayden, Luke, Grant, Micah, Dylan; bottom Brandon, Robert, Koby, Brent)

The campout was cut short Saturday night by severe thunderstorms that moved into the area - but not before we enjoyed a grill-out with burgers and hot-dogs and S'mores. Rob had to turn the burgers with a shovel since there was not a spatula to be found. Noah came up as a Boy Scout denner for my den but also enjoyed hanging out with his best bud, Noah, who is a WEBLO II in the pack. I LOVE the picture of their matching marshmallow mouths.

Typical Tuesday = CRAZINESS!

2011-05-26T09:42:00.009+02:00

Our Tuesday's are always crazy with dance and both scout meetings - and today we added an extra trip to our favorite local park with some friend's to celebrate a birthday. Luckily our school has ended this week so this park day was kind of a last-day celebration in addition to the birthday party. After the park we headed back over to base for dance, Micah's very last den meeting of the school year, and Noah's weekly troop meeting.

and a shot of my den enjoying their ice cream at our end-of-year party a little later this same day.

Discouraged by Blogger

2011-05-24T16:01:00.001+02:00

I have several blog posts waiting in the wings to be published.... but blogger did some sort of upgrade or something and ever since then I have been having MAJOR ISSUES getting my photos on the blog. It's hard to get them to upload or add them to my page AND if I have any pictures taken with my camera sideways (or "portrait") the pictures will upload sideways no matter WHAT program I use to rotate them on my computer. UHG! I've written for help, posted on their help forums.... nada. So, it's really discouraging to my OCD personality to do a post that I feel isn't completed because I can not include all the pictures I want. I like to tell our story through photographs and if I can't use ALL that I want then I don't want to use any (the term "brat" might be running through your head right now, I'm not denying it). I really don't want to have to switch my whole blog over to a new service, but this might be what it comes down to. Help? Advice?

The friends who own Tango have recently PCS'd, but due to a timing error with Tango's shots he needs to remain in Germany a little longer and they have already left. We agreed to keep Tango for about a month when his owner will return and take him back to the states to rejoin his family. We love watching him and, after a few days to adjust, Phantom loves having him here too. The boys are patiently waiting for the kids to finish school so they can go outside and play.

recital

2011-05-21T16:13:00.058+02:00

Knowing it was to be her last recital here made Sarah a bit nostalgic for past recitals and friends that have moved. It also made her sad to know the friends she will be leaving behind before the next year's performance. Despite the bitterness it was probably the sweetest recital for Sarah as well. The theme was Disney and Sarah adored all the dances Mrs. Mary put together. The one funny story from the day is how Sarah turned into Tigger. Sarah was going to dance with the Thursday beginner class that she helps teach. They were dancing to "A Jig With Tig" and Sarah was going to be Tigger, but the rental costume she was supposed to wear didn't make it to the recital halle on time. Luckily there was a lady there with a face painting kit - but what to do about the rest of the costume? While we were applying make-up in the bathroom Sarah's teacher runs in with a large orange polo - and I asked, "Mary did you strip a man?" to which she replied, "I did just that" - so with Sharon's mad make-up skills, black leggings, an orange polo, and black and orange electrical tape a Tigger costume was born!

Sarah performed in two dances with her classes. Mary Poppin's "Step in Time" and the Aristocats' "Everybody Wants to be a Cat". You can watch both videos here - even though they're not the best quality (I don't know how to work Sarah's camera properly) you can pick Sarah out and see the wonderful choreography and brilliant dancing. Sarah is pa

rticularly proud of the end of the Step in Time dance.

Bayern Park

2011-05-09T15:50:00.024+02:00

We left Austria early Monday morning and planned to spend the day at "Bayern Park" before heading home. It was just a little bit out of our way and worth the detour. The park was a lot of fun and not very crowded. We rode every ride and then some - enjoyed a yummy lunch and then piled in the car to head home. Our whole trip was uneventful until.... about 2 hours from home we were stuck in a traffic mess where we came to a complete stand-still on the autobahn for almost 90 minutes.

We rode almost every ride twice, and the roller coaster and river rapids rides 3 or 4 times each!

It's never a good sign when you see all the truck-drivers get out and start meandering about in the closed lanes.....
It turned out that we were being shuffled down to one lane because of construction only to switch lanes and be shuffled into one lane on the opposite side because of an accident. It was very slow going and took almost 2 hours to travel 10 km.

you are 16......

2011-05-08T15:12:00.082+02:00

We all woke up on Mother's Day ready for a BIG day! First, off to the feis to watch Sarah compete, then we were going to walk around Salzburg and show the boys all our favorite spots before stopping in at the Dubliner Irish Pub (our annual tradition) for Fish n' Chips.

(Left - a dancer's feet - Sarah gets her all her tape applied for hard day's competition)

Our morning's breakfast was wonderful - even if the kids couldn't cook momma breakfast in bed, at least the coffee was made and she didn't have to make breakfast! We had a lot of fun poking fun of the creepy goose in the background of all our "Mother's Day" shots!

After breakfast we surprised the boys with some brand new Lego's we had bought for them. Sometimes sitting at a feis can be a loooooooooooong day for a litte brother and we wanted to have something to keep them busy. They were so excited and I think they're ready to attend ALL future competitions! (left - the kids in front of the B&B sign before leaving for the feis)

The feis was A LOT of fun, although small. It was running ahead of schedule - almost UNHEARD of. Sarah was sad not to have her new solo dress (it wasn't shipped in time) but looked great in her new wig. She placed well - but it was hard to place out of any of her dances since the feis was so small, but since she placed in EVERY dance she participated in and took three 1st place, three 2nd place, and one 3rd place it was a great boost to her self-confidence and a good insight for her teacher into her ability.

Sarah placing first in her heavy jig and posing with a few of the girls from her school and age group. They are posing on the ground because one of the girls had hurt her ankle during the competition.

Walking around Salzburg was a great time. We saw Mozart's birth house, bought the famous Mozart chocolate, walked through the streets studying all the beautifully ornate building, statues, fountains, and flowerbeds. We stopped in at the Dubliner for Fish n' Chips, then had ice cream on the way back to our car. One of our favorite stops is the Mirabell Schloss grounds, it is a wonderful park and we love posing on the stairs, fountain, ect. that were used in the filming of "The Sound of Music" movie.

Still can't get blogger to upload these pictures correctly! BLECH! - Wanted to include the picture of the boys in front of Mozart's birth house - and eating a piece of Mozart chocolate anyway.... sorry it's sideways.

pictures from the park - recognize an movie scene shots?

Last stop of the day - FOOD!

Salzburg Salt Mines

2011-05-07T10:45:00.030+02:00

(below) a statue of a miner outside the entrance for the tour. We had to wait about 15 minutes and the kids (and Rob) had a good time with funny poses.

We headed down to Sarah's dance competition in Salzburg, Austria on Saturday morning. This year we decided to go as a family and spend some extra time doing a little sight-seeing. The drive was only about 5 hours and we headed straight to the Salt-Mines to take a tour. It was so interesting and we learned a lot. The kids loved traveling through the mines deep, deep underground. Seeing some of the narrow passages caved in, or walking through the low-ceilinged tunnels reminded us of Tolkein's Moira or maybe Rowling's Gringgotts. We have expected to come across a dragon! The best part were the slides we had to go down to get to the lower levels of the mine. They were steep and FAST.

I am still have trouble getting blogger to upload my "portrait" pictures right-side-up, but I want my blog to stay caught up, so I am going to just post them sideways for right now.

We had to wear these shirts and pants over our clothes to go down into the mine. The kids looked like dwarves!

After the salt-mine we headed to our bed and breakfast to get checked in. We had a BEAUTIFUL view of the castle on one side and the mountains on the other, from our TWO balconys. Then we went to seek out sustenance and ended up eating at the St. Augastine Brewery. We were hoping for a tour, but you need to book on-line in advance, so we just tried the beer and had some great food. Then it was time to get our dancer back to her bed!

spring tea

2011-04-30T10:34:00.017+02:00

On Saturday Sarah and I attended a mother/daughter tea hosted by a lovely lady from our church. We ate yummy, yummy food (but I can't get the photo to upload correctly so you'll have to look at it sideways), shared some talents (some girls played piano or read a poem), and visited and chatted. It was a lovely time.

(above) my friend Noele and her daughter, Anne. (below) Sarah and her friend Alannah, who spent the night, look a little sleepy after staying up late on Friday night.

(above) the yummy food (below) all the mommys and daughters

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T11:37:00.019+02:00

Before we left for church on Sunday morning I got a picture of my kids on the front lawn

A picture of the flowers decorating the church

The yummy deviled eggs I made to share at the Easter luncheon following our morning worship service.

I snapped lots of photographs during the lunch since it is our last Easter at TRC - I didn't want to include them all for fear I'd leave someone out, but here is one of the kids with some of their friends

When we got home we realized we never had anyone take a photo of the whole family, but that's okay since Phantom wasn't at church with us anyway. We set the camera on timer and caught this snapshot in our backyard as soon as we got home.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

He is RISEN!!

Passover Seder Meal

2011-04-23T11:48:00.037+02:00

Passover is the oldest and most important of Jewish religious festivals, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and his creation of the Israelite people. The Passover meal is known as the Seder, which means "order," because the meal and service are done in a prescribed sequence. This sequence is presented in the Haggadah (or "telling") which outlines the steps of the meal as well as the readings and songs for the participants.

The term Passover refers to the tenth and final plague God brought upon the Egyptians to persuade Pharaoh to let the people go, the death of all the firstborn of Egypt. In obedience to God’s instructions, those who believed placed the blood of a lamb on the door posts of their homes, so that God would "pass over" those homes. The festival actually celebrates the entire sequence of events that led to the Israelite's’ freedom from slavery. While thoroughly based in those historical events, the celebration encompasses much more as it becomes a vehicle to celebrate the very nature of God and His gracious work in the world. It is in this larger dimension that Jesus adopted the Passover service as a sacramental remembrance of God’s new work of deliverance in the Christ, and allows Christians to celebrate this ancient festival. This year our family celebrated Passover the night before Easter. We had a Seder meal with 5 other families hosted by Bobbie May and her kids. Please click on the links above to see the script we followed and the instructional video by David Brickner.

The Lamb prepared by Michelle

Apple-Walnut Charoset prepared by Krissie

Almond Olive-Oil Tuiles by Krissie

The "Leaven Hunters" performing the Removal of chametz (leaven, pronounced ka-méts)

Our Family was responsible for the Story of Passover (Part VII in the Haggadah) and Micah's part was to read the 4 Questions. Noah played a few hymns on the piano and Sarah read the explanation but I only got pictures of Micah.

The plate with the Karpas (or greens) which represent life that we dip in the salt water. The 10 drops of wine represent Blood, Frogs, Lice, Swarms, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, Death of the First Born. The Eleventh drop is because as innocent people suffered and died long ago because of the oppression of tyrants, so people today still suffer from evil in the world. Our newspapers are filled with accounts of ethnic cleansing and bombings. We cannot celebrate God’s deliverance for ourselves without longing that all God’s children experience freedom from their bondage. So, we will spill another drop from our cups to recall the cost of evil in our world today.

Bitter Herbs (or Horesradish root) is eaten to remind us of the bitterness of the Salvary. The kids all tried some and I manage to get a few good shots of "bitter herb faces". This one is Sarah and Hannah. Below Abby, Alexandra and Micah.

Before we conclude the last part of the ceremony we share a meal. Bobbie had assinged each of the families a part of the meal and we all feasted on traditional "Kosher" (no leaven) dishes. In this picture of Sarah enjoying her salad, sweet potatoes, and chicken soup with matzah balls you can see the Haroseth, bitter herbs, Matzah bread, and wine on the table.

There were A LOT of people at the meal! Too many to fit into one photograph, so I have one of the kids taken before we started and one of the adults taken after the conclusion. Unfortunately Bob is still deployed and Eric had to work, so there are two missing from the adult picture. We are so grateful for Bobbie who put this all together and hosted this in her home!

"Pollen Puppy"

2011-04-23T10:29:00.001+02:00

OR better yet, "why my daughter can't breathe".
We took this of Phantom (who seems to think he is in trouble for some reason) after Rob took him for a run on Sunday morning.. His entire beard is YELLOW from Pollen, and you can even see it caked inside his nose. German radio said this year is the worst year for allergies they've seen in 2 decades.
The late start to spring accompanied by an early bloom of later plants because it has stayed so warm means that EVERYTHING is blooming together right now, which is unusual. This, coupled with the fact that there has been little to NO rain or wind, means that people who suffer from seasonal allergies are completely miserable. The pollen is covering cars, sidewalks, rooftops, and even our windowsills and counter tops when we leave any windows open.

Sarah's birthday

2011-04-19T09:05:00.021+02:00

On the day of Sarah's actual birthday we opted to eat out since Noah still had to be on base for a scout meeting. We ate at the Macaroni Grill and made Sarah wear the hat that her friend gave her for her birthday. She got the smothered chocolate cake and shared with all of us!

Normandy, France

2011-04-17T12:20:00.022+02:00

Every 3 years the Transatlantic Counsil hosts a camporee in Normandy France. Boys from ALL over Europe come as well as girl scouts and venturing crews. They camp, sight-see, and participate in special ceremonies and presentations at American cemetaries with speakers from the French government as well as American and British persons. The boys had a great time visiting sites around Normandy like Pegusus Bridge, Omaha Beach, and the American Cemetary. They learned a lot and were facinated with the history. They also really enjoyed camping, especially Micah who was so excited to be a part of the Boy Scouts for the weekend. I will try to go back and caption all these pictures better when I can sit down with the boys and have them explain to me what I am looking at.

Sweet 16 Sleepover

2011-04-16T12:42:00.055+02:00

When Sarah was 13 years old she asked me if she could get her hair colored red. I said that I wasn't opposed to her coloring her hair, but she should wait until she was a little older - perhaps 16. She did NOT forget. So, with he 16th birthday approaching we began to plan what she wanted to do. The weekend before her birthday the boys would be gone on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts to Normandy, France. What to do with a girlie weekend? A trip? Where to? A Party? As the day grew closer we decided to use the weekend for a very girlie sweet 16 sleepover. On Friday morning Sarah slept in, and then I took her to the spa where she had her first manicure and pedicure. After that we walked down to the Salon where she had her hair cut, colored, and styled. After her day of pampering she had 3 of her closest friends meet her at the Salon and they went walking around downtown K-Town and out to eat at a Mexican resturaunt. Then we came back to our house where the girls spent the next 12 hours in their pj's watching the best of the 80's teen romance movies. They LOVED the classics like "Sixteen Candles", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "Pretty In Pink" among others. The feasted on chocolate and a terrific lunch on Satuday before heading to an Irish Dance gig on Saturday night at the Dubliner Irish Pub where their parents picked them up. The picture on the left is after we came home from dinner on Friday night.

on the town in K-town and at the resturaunt

The lunch Sarah requested for her pj movie day: Spare ribs, home-made macaroni and cheese, cole-slaw, and salad.

Opening presents

The dessert Sarah wanted was berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream, so we stuck a candle in the cobbler and sang to her.

At the gig on Saturday night

Rock Climbing

2011-03-26T11:41:00.027+01:00

My co-den leader's family is PCS'ing. Since she leads 2 dens and both her boys are scouts she had a joint going away party at the rock climbing place at outdoor rec. After rock climbing we had a pizza party with all the boys. It was a great time and a good way for all the boys to hang out before this family PCS's. This took place just a day after Micah had finally stopped running a fever and Noah had also been sick for a couple of days. They were still weak, especially Micah, but rallied because they so wanted to partcipate. Micah did not make it very far up the wall and would like to go back when he is fully well! (Left - a picture of the boys from my den)

Here is Micah(above) and Noah (below) trying to make it up the wall. Noah was able to make it up a bit further than Micah since he'd been rock climbing before, but still not as far as he wanted to.

All the boys from both dens after the climb.

Flu Math

2011-03-24T09:47:00.001+01:00

(or why there are NO pictures of Dad's birthday.....)
1 - number of healthy people in my house
2 - days we accomplished school
3 - number of sick children (out of a possible 3)
4 - doses of Motrin per person per day
5 - average boxes of tissues PER DAY
6 - times up per night with one kid or another or a coughing attack
7 - cups of hot tea being consumed in the average hour
8x - amount of extra work my wonderful husband is doing
9 -times per day we are debilitated by coughing attacks
10(2.5) - average temp at any given time in our house over the past week

The weather has been GORGEOUS this week and we've missed most of it, sick, on couches, under blankets, shivering with fevers. On Thursday we all went outside in our jammies to at least soak up a little bit of warmth. Phantom was SO HAPPY to resume his favorite summer spot - in the shade under the trampoline watching the field behind our house for signs of things to chase.

Baumholder campout

2011-03-20T12:07:00.021+01:00

Noah went on a camp out with his Boy Scout troop for the weekend. The campground was only about 35 minutes away, so they didn't have far to travel. It was a cold, cold weekend, but they made the most of it and had a good time. (the picture Mom snapped of the troop when she dropped Noah off to the caravan)

These are a couple of shots that Noah took during the camp out.

Sun! Yeah!

The camp ground

No campout is complete without FIRE!!

St. Patrick's Day Parade on base

2011-03-19T11:58:00.018+01:00

The annual St. Patrick's Day parade on base was held despite the rain and cooler temps this year. They shortened the parade route, which ended at the Youth Center, and started the carnival there early. Noah was away on a Boy Scout camp out and Micah was one of the only Cub Scouts that came out to represent the scouts on base. He was thrilled to lead the parade with his good friend, Noelle, and holding the banner. Sarah was starting to feel awful on Friday night but wanted SO BADLY to participate in the parade and carnival since it is our last year here. By the end of the parade she was looking pale and weak, but stayed to dance in a couple of dances during the carnival. As soon as we got her home she passed out and slept for 36 hours straight.

You can see Sarah is starting to feel peekid in these pictures - with her bestie, Hannah and Hannah's sister, Leisha and below with the twins Cormac and Cillian enjoying their green goop.

St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-03-17T09:59:00.127+01:00

Our last year spending St. Patrick's Day in the Irish Pubs in and around the KMC.

Sarah's school often dances at several different locations, often with times overlapping. To help the schools split up Sarah's teacher put Sarah in charge of the first gig at the Dubliner Irish Pub in Ramstein. Sarah did a GREAT job lining up the kids and running the show. After this show Sarah went over to Oscar's in Landstuhl with another dancer and Krissie went home to pick up Rob.

The boys are used to hanging out in Pubs on St. Patrick's Day - They bring books, and game boys, and play made-up games using the pool tables. Micah made a leprechaun craft to give to Sarah's teacher, Mary.
The second show at the Dubliner was a GREAT TIME! Almost all the Intermediate/Open dancers came out, Mary was there, and the crowd was excited and enthusiastic.

All the Intermediate and Open dancers with Mary before the performance. Mary giving instructions and working out the set-list.

a short video to capture the dancers and the crowd... it's too dark to take pictures of the dancing, and this vdeo isn't the best, but it's a good glimpse.

Birthday

2011-03-10T11:37:00.005+01:00

Krissie's whole birthday week was busy with lessons, classes, appointments, and various other important goings on, but on Thursday, the day after her birthday, Rob sandwhiched a dinner out in between dance, doctors, school. The food wasn't great, BUT the company was AWESOME! It's also a great opportunity to show off the boys new, snazzy haircuts!

2011-03-05T22:11:00.009+01:00

On Wednesday March 2nd two United States Airmen were killed and 2 others injured during a shooting at the Frankfurt Int'l Airport (about 45 minutes from where we live). March 5th the two killed were taken to Ramstein AB to be flown home for burial. Saturday morning hundreds lined the base roads, from the gate to the flight line, to pay tribute to these heroes as the hearses drove by. It was a very emotional experience as complete silence fell over the crowds and we watched all the military members, many who were security forces, salute the fallen.

Mary stopped the class feis and the whole school as well as other members of the comminty waited for the memorial procession.

Jig

2011-03-05T08:37:00.084+01:00

The annual Class Feis.

A "Feis" is a competition for Irish Dance. Usually different schools travel to a single location and compete on various stages in front of multiple judges. Since most of the students come to Mary's school, Tir na nOg, as first time dancers traveling in the mainland European circuit to compete can be a bit intimidating. To get dancers comfortable, and also give them a hunger for the competition, Mary hosts a feis each year for just the local students of her school. She invites an outside judge, or adjudicator, from Ireland and the students compete against each other, according to their age or level. She runs it just like a feis so that students can really get the feel of a competition in a more comfortable atmosphere - EXCEPT.... you're allowed to take photos and videos DURING the competition (something strictly forbidden at all feisanna not only because of the distraction, but also because different schools will sometimes try to "steal" dancers steps) AND she also has a family and a freestyle competition. THe family competition is just that - families get up and do a little dance with their dancers. The freestyle competition is for Intermediate and Open (the two highest levels) to compete in. They can form teams, they chose the music, the steps/choreography, and the costumes. It is a big hit every year with the dancers - this year Mary put the competition right after the beginners so that more people were encouraged to stay and not leave right after their results. This meant it was Sarah's very first dance of the day. Sarah competed with her best friend, Hannah, and Hannah's 3 sisters. Leisha is also an Intermediate dancer, and the two little ones, while only beginners, got to participate because their big sisters were both performing.

Here is the video from their freestyle dance - which (in my humble opinion) should have placed first, but they walked away content with 3rd.

(above - all the open and intermediate dancers BEFORE they got all sweaty competing. Mary is on the far right, and the young lady not in a dress had a broken toe and couldn't dance)

For this competition Sarah participated in not only Intermediate dances, but some open as well. And, I would just like to add that the 2 girls she mainly danced against were both girls who qualified and are going to World's!! Sarah held her own and even ended up placing ahead of them in her reel! (Left, that blur is Sarah in the air - but I love that I caught Mary's concentration as she watches all her dancers side stage)

Sarah surprised herself my placing FIRST in her Open Reel. I am putting a video of her performance on this blog. I am hoping since only visitors of my blog will be able to see it that I'll be allowed to leave it up so her grandparents and family in the states can see her dance. GO SARAH GO!

Here is the RESULTS picture - look at Sarah's smile - she couldn't believe it!

(Above) this is Sarah's heavy shoe trophy dance - the sound quality is poor and the image is small - sorry, but again I couldn't put it up on youtube for the already mentioned reasons. (Below) Look at Sarah up on toe!

The last competition was the team competition. Sarah's 4-hand took first!

My Wolf Den

2011-03-01T18:07:00.007+01:00

During our Tuesday den meeting we had a special flag ceremony to honor all the boys' achievments as well as pin on the rank for the 3 boys that weren't able to make it to the Blue and Gold. After the awards ceremony we had ice cream sundaes. My co-leader, Michelle, is moving (to HAWAII!!) in a few short weeks, so we wanted to make sure and get a nice den picture before she moves!

Web II Crossover

2011-02-25T17:58:00.012+01:00

One of my favorite things to participate in as a scout mom and den leader is the Weblo II's crossover to Boy Scouts. It's so awesome to watch boys who have put in such hard work take that well earned walk over the bridge to join their new troop waiting for them. Just last year we watched Noah make that transition, and this year he was one of the Boy Scouts waiting on the other side to welcome the new members of his troop. Micah, a Wolf, helped to build the bridge that the boys would walk over. The bridge is "built" of different planks each a symbol of how far the young man has come in his scouting career.

After the boys crossover they take off their bub scout sash, slide, and hat and have them replaced by a new member of their troop. This was great for Noah and meant a lot to him, to be able to also recognize how far he has come in the year that he has been a Boy Scout.

The New members of the troop pose with the fellow scouts. Congratulations Boys!

Valentine's Date

2011-02-19T11:54:00.009+01:00

For Valentines Day this year the Dad's wanted to take the 2 best friends out on a date. It didn't work out the Saturday before Valentines Day because Rob was sick in bed with the flu - and most restaurants are closed in Germany on Mondays (actual Valentine's Day) - so they had to settle for a week late. Rob bought Sarah flowers and the 4 of them went out on a nice double date to a great Chinese restaurant.

Nintendo 3DS

2011-02-19T11:50:00.008+01:00

The same time as the Blue and Gold was going on the BX was also showcasing the new Nintendo 3DS avaiable in May. They had special guest, Charles Martinet, come and sign autographs. Not sure who that is? Neither was I... It is the man who does all the voices for the Super Mario Bros. games... you know "wahoooooo!" and "Mama Mia!"
Sarah and her friends waited in line close to 3 hours to get their pictures taken with him. Noah also got a chance to try out the new 3DS - he said it was pretty awesome.

Blue and Gold

2011-02-19T11:38:00.035+01:00

The Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet is held by our Pack in February every year in honor of the Boy Scout's birthday. It is the time when the boys pin on their currant rank after working this school year to complete the achievements. Usually there is some kind of them and contest between dens, a dinner or lunch, and then a ceremony. This year's theme was "carnival" and all the dens came up with carnival games. The boys spent a few hours playing the games for prizes, eating popcorn, cotton candy, and sandwiches before the ceremony. - (Left) Micah and Grant show off their popcorn during the game time of the carnival.

Our wolf den had 2 booths (since we're technically 2 dens combined). Pictured above is our Milk-Bottle knock down game which won the award for most fun game! To the right you can see the edge of the pool for our other game "Duck Pond" (you had to pick 3 ducks and add the numbers on the bottoms to get your prize number)

This time I made SURE to get a picture of Noah helping!

another cool booth was the airbrush tattoos! Here is a picture of most of the wolf den in front of our game booth (3 of the scouts weren't able to make it) and you can see some of their tattoos in the picture.

Before the ceremony started we gathered the whole Pack together for a group picture. What a fantastic group of kids and Moms!
Here are the pictures from the rank ceremony for the Wolves. The parents pin the rank on with a special pin - upside down - on the boys' uniform. Once the scout has done a good turn then they take the patch and sew it right side up on the uniform and give the pin to their parent.

After all the dens earned their rank Mom had to make some very special presentation to a few of our leaders who are PCS'ing this year

Closing Flag ceremonies performed by the Wolf Den. Micah was the announcer to retire the colors.

life

2011-02-15T12:34:00.000+01:00

Our computer had a bit of a crisis... well, more than that really - it died.
It has had a new hard drive installed and slowly we're getting everything reinstalled and back to normal. The camera software isn't installed yet, so I don't have any new pictures to upload and post, but there really hasn't been too much going on "photo worthy" to post. We've all been keeping extremely busy with our parade of non-stop daily activities. Sarah and I have been off facebook for close to 2 months, and while we thought that would give us MORE time without the ditraction we seem to have less time!I will get the blog updated with the few things we've been up to - but for now I'd like you to watch this trailer... this is Sarah's life. Her teacher can be seen in a shot of this as our many of the dancers and friends she's made at various competitions.

Star Wars Pancakes

2011-01-22T11:32:00.005+01:00

Our good friend's, the Schulte family, sent us these great Star War's pancake molds and we have been waiting for a free Saturday morning to use them....After we came home from the pinewood derby on Saturday, following an extra busy week where we did not have ONE night free, we all crashed on the couches - made breakfast for supper AND watched 2 star wars movies while eating star wars pancakes.

the Pinewood Derby

2011-01-22T11:24:00.029+01:00

This years Pinewood Derby was a family affair! Micah was racing, Krissie was there as a den leader, Noah was there as a Boy Scout volunteer, Sarah was helping run the Wolves den food stall, and Rob was there as Micah's race partner. Micah's car came in 5th in his age group... so close behind the 4th place winner... it was only 1/10 of a seconds difference. Micah's car was a YELLOW LAMBORGHINI

This is Micah and his best friend from the den, Grant. They had a great time goofing off and cheering on their cars. I don't have any good pictures of Noah helping... his green boy scout hat and yellow patrol patch can be seen in this picture behind Grant's head, though. Poor Noah!

Our den was in charge of the lunch station. When Krissie had to do den leader duties Sarah and her friend, Hannah, would help man the station.

Here is a picture of the top 4 Wolf winners with the Cubmaster. - Krissie has the only Wolf den in the pack and there are 12 boys in the den. They're all great kids!

Sarah's Quilt and assorted Toys

2011-01-15T11:16:00.028+01:00

We spent much of the holiday break from school cleaning, organizing, downsizing, and putting back together the whole of the toy room (meaning the Playmobil 3 castles, 3 pirate ship, and various other sets + the 4 huge tubs of legos) When we were done the boys really wanted pictures of how cool all their stuff looked all set up. They had a great time playing in there with all their toys - it was like they were brand new! The boys always ask me to take pictures of their "battles" or "games" when they have them set up - since they worked SO HARD cleaning for days and days I decided to give in. Not only that, but the pictures are even going to make it on the blog!

Sarah also received a surprise in the mail just a few days after the new year: The quilt her Grandma Bruhn has been making to go with her new bedding. Sarah got to preview the quilt when we visited Florida, but it still had a ways to go before being finished... well, with our visit as motivation Grandma buckled down and got the quilt finished and sent off right after January 1st! It is an amazing quilt and very "Sarah"! The colors and patterns are perfect and Sarah is just THRILLED!

2010 turns into 2011

2010-12-31T15:43:00.060+01:00

We brought in the NEW YEAR at the Briggs house, as is our annual tradition. Movies, Games, lots and lots of snack food and wonderful laughs. This year was a little more low-key with Eric deployed and the crazy cold, snowy weather - but it did make for some excellent sledding down the Briggs very steep, icy hill just a short walk away from their house. We had a GREAT time and the kids had SO MUCH fun! We left shortly after midnight and were all asleep by 1:30 AM. (Micah and Noelle head down the icy hill on a sled)

Look at the air they caught over the jump! I'm not posting all the sledding pictures I took - 1) because this would be the 50th post with sledding pictures and 2) that hill was so steep and so fast that most of the time I was closing my eyes and praying as the kids were coming down and not thinking about pictures!!

I did get a few really cute pictures of the kids in the snow.... much safer!

Can you tell from these pictures which 80's classic we watched with the kids tonight? They LOVED it and now know why their parents constantly say silly things like, "wax on - wax off"

Sarah and Hannah hanging out, painting their nails, and listening to music... ahhh, Heaven.

We had fun lighting sparklers and watching the fireworks on the balcony while we waited for midnight. Most of the kids enjoyed the sparklers, although EJ decided he wanted to wait until next year to hold one (when Dad was there), and Noelle was VERY nervous at first. Lily, daredevil, LOVED it and would have kept going all night!

The sparkling grape juice toast right after midnight on the balcony while watching the fireworks!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

fun with friends

2010-12-29T15:27:00.008+01:00

To celebrate vacation we invitted a bunch of friends over to play. The boys had Lego ship building contests and played on the Wii and the girls all stamped and paper-crafter these lovely notebooks.

sNOw more pictures!

2010-12-27T09:27:00.027+01:00

Monday morning we took off to our favorite hill to sled, again. Just how many sledding pictures will you have to endure on my blog? Judging by the way the weather has been I am guessing a fair few more before we are done with this winter!!!!

Phantom sure does wear himself out chasing us up and down the hill 1,000 times!

After sledding we took off to run some errands - like cashing Christmas checks from grandparents. The boys already spent all their money. Noah on a Nerf gun (and extra bullets) and a Hero factory Lego set. Micah bought 2 Hero factory Lego sets. Sarah plans to save her money for clothes.

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T16:22:00.040+01:00

Christmas morning sure is different with OLDER kids in the house! We all slept in until about 8:00AM and then calmly opened presents.... I actually beat the kids up and caught a picture of the tree before I slipped in to make some coffee.

We actually did NOT take 1,000 pictures of the kids opening every single gift this year, or of the entire day afterwards. This "before" picture is one of the only present pictures we ended up taking.

playing new Wii games, board games, Sarah's new Kindle, and new Playmobil toys!

these are the only pictures we got from the rest of the day, too! We made a huge feast and had our friends, the Briggs, over for dinner - we played on the Wii, watched movies, and feasted. They had to leave a little early because Lily wasn't feeling well. We were so happy that during a 4 days pass with his family from his deployment Eric and his family came over to spend the evening with us. We were having too marvelous of a time to take pictures, though!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T17:02:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas 2010

We took this picture because we were all dressed and ready to head out to our candle light Christmas Eve service when we got the news that it has been canceled for tonight. It has been snowing non-stop all day and that is making driving too treacherous for travel. We are not sad to be stuck at home together, in fact it's our favorite crowd! We are sad to miss out on the teaching, carols, and fellowship time with the dear sweet people of Trinity Reformed Church, though.

oh the weather outside is frightful..

2010-12-20T22:04:00.000+01:00

MORE SNOW! We got another 4" of snow today - piano was canceled and Daddy got sent home early! Do the boys look like they are sitting in a sea of white? There is just SO MUCH snow!

looking down our street across the farmer's field to the village.

our puppy just LOVES the snow.

look at all the bread! Four different kinds..... but I may never even get to leave the house to give it out....

Snowed in Sunday

2010-12-19T16:48:00.014+01:00

and the non-stop snow continues! Services and Sunday School were canceled today because of all the snow and dangerous driving. We stayed home, played in the snow, baked a TON of holiday bread, watched some Christmas classics......

My Mom requested a picture of our decorated tree, so I figured I could include them in this post...