Our Last Visitors

Sorry I haven't written in so long, I feel like whenever we have enough time to sit in relax that the last thing I want to do is type.  So let me catch you all up in the next few posts, starting with when my parents visited last month.

Since our days here are so limited now, it was really great for my mom and dad to have the opportunity to come out here while there's time.  It was a bummer having to work so much while they were here, but the took advantage of the great public transportation system and ended up going to Regensburg and Nuremburg all on their own...not to mention little day trips around our town.  Eric and I were both pretty impressed.  

I took off a few days of work and we went to Weiden for an afternoon then the 4 of us took a weekend trip to Prague.  Even though we had been there before, it was so great.  I don't think I could ever get tired of that city--it's too beautiful and full of interesting things.  We stayed in an apartment like the one we rented with Brent & April, and spent the weekend eating great food, buying souvenirs and just walking through the city.  Even though it was cold out, it was so much nicer than the 100-degree days we experienced there last time. There was an International Chef's Convention happening in the main square one day, which meant delicious treats.  We also returned to the Jewish Cemetery (definitely worth seeing more than once), St. Charles Bridge, the John Lennon Wall, and used the trams to navigate to the open-air markets.  

The rest of their visit was mostly spent in Eschenbach and around our house.  My mom trained the dogs (yay!) to "sit", which has come in very handy for us.  It was nice being at work knowing that the dogs were getting spoiled while we were gone.  Peach and Rambo definitely missed them when they left.  My parents left a couple days early to spend 2 nights in Nuremburg (again, so brave!) so their trip seemed to fly by.  I'm just really glad they could make it out...I have a feeling they'll be back in Europe soon though...or at least sooner than we will be.  

Thanks again Mom & Dad for coming...we appreciated the good food, free dog-sitting, etc etc.  

 

  

 

Tracks

So nice to wake up in the morning, only to discover a puppy wrestling match happening in the living room.  Oh....and muddy paw prints across the rug, onto the couch, on each cushion, and back down to the rug again.

Looks like I'll be doing even more cleaning today before my mom and dad show up.

And it's so hard to be mad at these boys

(See some little muddy tracks above?  Trust me, they are everywhere this morning!!!)

Long Time No Type

Well I haven't written on here forever right?  Not for lack of things to say, but mostly lack of time to sit down and ramble about what we've been so busy doing.  And the answer is: nothing that thrilling.  We're up each week day at 430am, and are in bed by 830 each night.  It's a crazy schedule but it's been working well for us and really is the only way for us both not to be totally useless at work each day.

Speaking of work, it's going great.  I run into a little student here or there (at the grocery store, gas station, etc etc.) and they're always soo cute about it.  Today Eric and I were in Pressath (a town about 15 minutes away) buying some gardening stuff and we saw a little girl of mine who screamed "Mrs. Clark!!!!" and begged for a hug.  Just adorable.  Eric surprised them (and me!) the other week when he showed up in our classroom a few minutes before school got out.  The little girls were head-over-heels in love with him, and everybody seemed so shocked at how big he was--he looks a lot bigger when surrounded by 25 5-year-olds.  They of course thought it was hilarious that his name is "Mr. Clark" and Eric thought it was hilarious when I did a magic trick for all of them (I had promised I would perform one if they all stood quietly in line).  Mostly just embarrassing for me, but oh well.  For those of you present at my Bridal Showers, you'll know which "magic trick" I performed--nothing too mind-blowing.

When we're not at work, we have a good little routine set up as well.  We've been eating healthier than ever, which is great for Eric of course and surprisingly doesn't hurt me either...mostly a lot of fish, veggies, etc.  Weekends are dedicated to a daily gym trip, house-cleaning, and pampering our puppies.  We've been taking them on a nightly 1-mile walk, which they really have been enjoying.  They're doing so so good on their leashes and it's a good chance for the 4 of us to get out, explore our town, and meet neighbors, local Germans, and of course their dogs too!

A couple weekends ago, we had the special treat of being invited to a baptism for our neighbors' little baby girl.  It was held at the Catholic church here in Eschenbach and it was just so lovely.  Little Sophia looked adorable and her parents and godparents (our friends, the Mirandas) were beaming--proof of SSG Miranda's joy in the photo below.  Afterwards was a big party at the Mirandas' house which left us both feeling a little sentimental about missing family.

Other than that, we've just been getting ready for my parents' visit.  Did I mention they are going to be here THIS weekend?  I'm pretty excited about it and they are too of course.  We have some great fun planned--for example, a trip to Prague.  I'm also taking a couple days off of work to give myself a long weekend while they're here, which will be really nice.  I'm glad they can come out now, since we don't know how much longer we'll be calling this country "home".  We are excited for them to meet our puppies too--who will be joining us on our trip to Czech!

As for big updates, we don't have many.  Eric's still probably a few weeks away from knowing any details about the how/when/what of a Medical Discharge...and I'll be updating this as soon as we find out.  He's been going to a few appointments a week (just basic stuff: eyes, ears, etc.) to get that all out of the way, but mostly it's now just a waiting game.  Physically he's doing really well though now.  His injections seem to be second-nature and he's adapted to all of this so much better than I ever would've.  He's shown so much self-control about eating right, exercising a lot, etc.  I'm quite impressed...but not surprised.

So right now here is what looks like our tentative plan: definitely visit WA over Christmas and New Years, then probably will move back home by March.  Crazy right?  Once we're there, here's what we will be doing:  we most likely will be renting my old house (the one I lived in from Elementary School 'til after High School) from my parents (surreal, but convenient for all of us) and the Army will be paying our rent each month while Eric is in school.  He'll be entering the Nursing program at Wenatchee Valley College, and I'll earn my Teaching Degree.  We'll both obviously have to find a job pretty quickly--something part-time at first for sure. And although it's bittersweet to be leaving here, we honestly are really anxious to be back in Washington near our family and friends.  We both feel like that is when our real life will start and we're ready to turn the page.  Germany has been 100% more incredible than we could've hoped, but we both admit to being homebodies who are way more family-oriented than life-abroad allows.  We have been so lucky in what we've been able to do in just 14 months of marriage and we can't wait for all the great times awaiting us back in the States.

(Love our boys' house as much as we do?!)

Hope you all have a lovely week!