Happy Updates

Since we know we only have a little while left here, it's been a lot easier to make some plans.  So we bought plane tickets for our last adventure.  Where, you might ask?

To Kos Island in Southern Greece!!!!!  Omigosh we are both super excited!  We will be there for 3 nights and 4 days, on a small island close to Turkey.  Although it's not going to be hot this time of year, it's still significantly warmer than it's been in Eschenbach lately, and since it's not top-tourist time, we've found good deals on everything we'll want to see/do.  We're both super excited for all that Greek food too!  So yup, we leave on the 18th and couldn't be happier about it!

Eric's job is pretty much nonexistent now.  The 2 replacements for him are there already and he's practically considered a civilian at work.  We took his newest soldier, and his wife & daughter, to Nurnburg with us last weekend which was a lot of fun.  It's hard making new friends when we know we are leaving soon, but we still had a great time together.  I gave my 2-week notice at work on Monday, which was bittersweet.  I seriously love those little guys and it's going to be sad leaving them.  The school had a parade a week ago for Fasching (German Mardi Gras), and our class made costumes to dress likes the Elves & the Shoemaker.  They were so dang cute!  Eric came as a volunteer during the parade--and the kids love him--so he pretty much just ended up having to hold hands with 5-year-olds all afternoon.  So cute!  I think on my last day we will have Eric bring in some cupcakes for all of them.

One of the main reasons we're excited to be home is that we know we won't be missing out so many more BIG things.  We couldn't go to Brett (Eric's best friend) & Kayla's wedding this last summer, and that was really a bummer.  Speaking of weddings...my dear friend Char just got engaged to her boyfriend Jordan--one of Eric's best friends--and they're planning their wedding soon.  They were both in our wedding and so it will be so special to be home for theirs too.  And BY FAR the MOST exciting update is that Eric's brother Chris and his wife Jaime are expecting a baby this summer!  We set our alarm for 130am so we could wake up and call them right after their appointment yesterday.  And we found out they are having a little boy.  Eric could not be more excited--he's been counting on having a little nephew for quite some time.  Congrats Chris & Jaime, we are so happy for you!  And we are so anxious to become an aunt & uncle!

Yesterday, as some of you may know, was Eric's 24th birthday!  His 2nd birthday in Germany!  We had a good night: great food at his favorite restaurant, Tortugas, and a few gifts from me!  Today we might go on a day trip somewhere, but it just depends on the weather and our motivation.  We both kind of have a cold right now so we might just spend the day here.  

Whew, ok, is that all the updates?!  I hope so.  I'm sure lots of photos will be coming soon from our trip, but until then...

Remember Me?

Welcome Back!  I haven't written in way too long!  At first it was for lack of anything interesting to talk about, and then life became so hectic that I didn't have time to give updates.  So let me try now...

January went by without much of a hitch.  We were still just waiting for Eric's paperwork to come back, still both working a lot, etc etc.  

Eric started feeling sick in about early February, and sadly had to spend another 7-days in the German hospital.  He lost a lot of weight, was covered in spots, was too weak to walk anywhere further than across a room, couldn't eat...he was miserable to say the least.  It was another really frustrating experience at that hospital, especially when we showed up at the emergency room and had to wait an hour before an English-speaking person arrived.  It made us all the more ready to be back in the States where we belong.  It wasn't until after he got out of the hospital, and met with an American doctor, that we found out he had had Scarlet Fever!  This of course drastically affected his Diabetes, and then everything snowballed into him being very ill.  He is healthier than ever now, and gained back a lot of the weight he lost.  I bought him Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Body-building for Valentine's Day (a day we celebrated in the hospital lobby) and he's been using it to work out twice day.  I've been so impressed at how quickly he's bounced back.  He has a better grip on his blood-sugar too, even though he eats a grotesque amount of food every day, haha.

After all that craziness was over, we were more than ready to get out of Germany and get back to the "real world".  Eric's paperwork came back this past Monday and we were thrilled.  The decision made by the board in DC far exceeded our expectations.  Eric's being medically retired from the Army, and this only means good things for us and our future.  We don't have our exact date we leave yet, but it shouldn't be further than a month out.  We were ecstatic to get, and share, the news...and let the countdown begin!

MLK Day

Just a quick anecdote from a day in Kindergarten...this is copied/pasted from an email I sent my mom.  Enjoy!

Since we had Monday off for MLK Jr Day, Mrs. Dailo (the teacher I work with) had a bunch of art projects created for the kids to work on in honor of the holiday. She started with sitting them all on the carpet and telling them the 2-minute version of MLK's life and why he's famous.  She told them about how good and peaceful he was, how he stood up for what was right and wanted people treated equally.  But then this happens...

(Keep in mind that she was trying to remind the kids that this was a TRUE story of a REAL man)

Mrs Dailo:  There was this man--who didn't like what MLK liked and didn't want people to be equal--and he came to where MLK was....and he had a gun.

The Kids: Gasps and screams!!--One kid literally threw his hands over his face.

Mrs Dailo: And he shot Martin Luther King Junior!

The Kids: NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHHH MYYYGOSHHHH!!!!!  More screams...one little boy jumps to his feet!

Mrs Dailo: And Martin Luther King Jr died.

The Kids: NOOO!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Screaming, gasping, they all exchanged horrified looks!  HES DEAD?!!! NOO!!!! Two girls fall over completely.

So then Mrs Dailo tells them that that is why we honor him, because he died for something good.  And meanwhile their whole world has been rocked, they all look totally heartbroken.  So she's asking them what happens after he dies---like what good thing happens after his death.  And one little boy raises his hand and says..

"Then 3 days later he rose from the dead!!!"

Hahhaha, it was soooo cute!  Mrs Dailo and I were trying not to laugh, she was all "No, MLK was not resurrected".  It was just too great.  Then the rest of the day I kept overhearing conversations they were having about MLK Jr during their activities.

"Mrs Clark...isnt it so sad that somebody shot him and he died?"

A little girl: "I really wish MLK Jr was still alive, don't you?"  

Me: "Yah, me too"

It was just really cool to be there the first time 24 little 5-year-olds ever heard about such a famous person...who honestly something I wish I could have such an emotional reaction about.  

A Year Abroad

Today is the 1-year mark from our arrival in Germany.  Seems so long ago, but has gone by so fast.  I remember that long bus-ride from the airport through the snow--both of us too exhausted to comprehend where we were.  We lived in a hotel for over a month, trudging back and forth from the grocery store to stock our mini-fridge.  Life wasn't too glamorous at first.  But my-oh-my has that changed.

How weird that we didn't know we wouldn't be here as long as originally planned.  Moving into this house, we realized that we were going to spend the majority of our marriage living in Europe--which seemed both exhilarating and scary.  And now we are months, or even weeks, from leaving here...for what quite possibly could be forever.

What a difference a year makes.

Happy New Year!

Just a few quick shots of us celebrating Sylvester (what "us Germans" call New Year's Eve).

We decided to go out dancing in Weiden to celebrate 2011, but had no idea what a big holiday 12/31 is here in Germany.  So big in fact, that EVERYTHING is closed (everything including McDonalds, gas-stations, you name it!).  We literally had to grab dinner at the train station before calling a cab to literally the only open bar in town.  There were hundreds of people there by midnight, but when the clock struck 12, Eric and I were the only ones counting down.  Seriously so anticlimactic.  I guess the tradition around here is a lot more like 4th of July--parties at home with lots and loottttss of fireworks and a lot less fancy celebrations.  We had a lot of fun, and danced for hours, but it was definitely the strangest New Years we had ever experienced.  One fun thing was waking up with plenty of time to call home and wish all a "Happy New Year!" just in time!

Also our Resolutions are slightly less inspiring than we had hoped:
Mine--Continue with my 5 days/week gym trip (I've been at it for months already...is that cheating?)
Eric--Check blood glucose consistently before meals

....Man do we sound boring this year!

Merry Christmas!!

We had a really wonderful Christmas this year...although a little surreal since we were way over here.  But we made the best of it!

Eric graciously woke up at 6am with me so we could Skype with my family on their Christmas Eve while opening presents.  It was unconventional but actually really fun to "be" there with everyone.  After an hour of that, we went back to sleep on the couch--with both pups--until about 9am.  We opened our presents from each other--which went quickly but was fun!  (Eric got me a leopard-print pea-coat and some boots and I got him a vest and a pull-up bar.)  From there, our morning was full of cooking and baking until the early afternoon.  I baked my Grandma's Corn Souffle and my Kentucky Derby Pie, and Eric cooked up some bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeños...which by the way were delicious!  My friend's husband picked us up at about 1pm, since the roads were sooo terrible and it was snowing like crazy, for festivities at their house.  It was us, them & their 2 little girls, and another coworker friend of mine who's husband is in Afghanistan this year.  We played lots of games, ate loottttssss of food, and had a really fun time.  Their daughters are 3 and 5, so we brought them a bag full of gifts and they went totally crazy!  We ended up staying there until 9pm...so pretty much all day.  It was just really good to do something "Christmasey"  instead of sitting in our house all day.  I was so flattered that their shared their home with us and a great time was had by all.

We were back in time for making calls back home before settling in for a movie and another night with the dogs.

A very Merry Christmas.

More Christmas Festivities

I know, I know, I haven't updated this at all lately...but honestly there hasn't been too much to say.  But I'll start with some photos of us enjoying the holiday season here.

The Christmas Party for Eric's work was actually really fun.  It was held at this place called MegaPlay, which was pretty much a glorified ChuckECheese's (since there were about 75 children), but we had delicious catered food, Gluhwein, and great conversation with his coworkers and their families.

We've received a couple Christmas presents in the mail!  Just FYI, we aren't sending any out to family this year-just plan on bringing gifts home when we move back-but it's been nice to place a couple packages under the tree.  I even got a couple cute little gifts from kids I teach which was so fun!  Below is Peach sporting his new holiday sweater that my brother Brent sent him (he sent one for Rambo too).  They say "Merry Woof Woof"...totally hilarious!

We've been cooking a lot better-and more regularly.  I found some delicious lowcarb recipes that Eric really loves too!

We've put up some more holiday decor around the house.  It really has helped us feel in the Christmasy-mood...even if it does look slightly pathetic.

We took the train down to Nuremburg for their famous ChristmasMarkt...and wow was it beautiful.  There were dozens upon dozens of booths selling anything from eggnog to ornaments.  It was such a fun experience.

Other than that, it's just been nice to have some time off of work.  I had this whole week, plus next week off, and Eric just worked a couple hours Monday through Wednesday of this week and next...so he's pretty much off too.  We've spent a lot of time at the gym, and with the puppies, and enjoying getting extra sleep!

We've been invited to my coworkers house tomorrow for Christmas dinner, along with a few other people I work with, so that should be fun.  It will be nice to do something for the Holiday even though we are far from family.  I'm baking a corn souffle and my special Kentucky Derby pie, and Eric has even decided to make an appetizer!  Very impressive!   So today and tomorrow should be full of baking, but really nice.  I'm also baking a couple loaves of my mom's "Gift of the Magi Bread" to give as gifts to some of our neighbors.

So all-in-all, not our typical Christmas weekend, but it should be a good one.  It's still slightly surreal that it's actually Christmas and we are actually across the globe from our families...but this was the best choice for us this year.  I'm sure we'll have a celebration when we come back to the states that will feel pretty Christmasy...but being together here in Bavaria for the holidays isn't the worst place to be.

Hope you all are having a Merry Christmas Eve.  I know we are.

Festive Weekend

Considering the snow, we actually ended up doing quite a bit this weekend.  Friday night was my work's Christmas party on post.  It was held at a hotel, and there was a big German dinner, a bar, and lots of music and dancing.  We sat with a few of the younger people I work with and stayed late into the night.  It was a lot of fun...we enjoyed the dancing and good company!

Saturday we were pretty exhausted from staying up late, so we mostly just spent time at the gym, picking up groceries, and watching movies at home.  Our living room is so cozy at night with our Christmas lights on, and all the snow outside, that we don't feel guilty staying in.

Sunday, after some loads of laundry and a trip to the gym, we decided to hit up one of the famous Christmas Markets here in Germany.  The one I really want to see is in Nuremberg, but that seemed like a little too far to go so late in the day, so instead we drove to see the one in Weiden.  Theirs started in the 1600s, making it the 2nd oldest in Bavaria.  It's small, but really cute!  We brought Peach & Rambo too, and they loved getting attention.  Although we were only there for an hour, we ate some good food and bought a wooden Santa at a  little booth.  I definitely want to go back to another one soon...it's just hard to stay there for longer than an hour since its been in the 10s-20s outside!

Yup, another great weekend!  But now it's back to work...although we do have a 2-hour late start this morning since a lot of the roads are still closed.  Two more weeks until Christmas vacation!!

Snow Days

Like I said in the previous post, we've had a LOT of snow here lately.  Coming from Washington, we're used to it, but we missed the majority of winter in Germany last year so it's been crazy how quickly our surroundings have changed.  The dogs absolutely love it...our car, not so much...and we even fashioned them little vests out of baby clothes!  Eric and I have both had a few late-start days at work, and some early releases too.  Our car actually got stuck  on Monday morning right outside of the school, so Eric ended up spending the day in Kindergarten with me...which the kids loved!  Luckily we stocked up on groceries last night because it snowed about 7" and now the WHOLE post is shut down for the day.  So, we're at home with the puppies which is actually pretty fun.  We've been playing Christmas music like crazy, and put up our tiny tree and single-string of lights last weekend.  We are definitely in the Holiday spirit over here!

Enjoy the photos of our small Christmas-decor and the fun we've been having in the snow!  Some of the last photos are of us during an impromptu sledding session in our backyard...we used an air-mattress and had so much fun, so did the pups!

 

Hope the weather is treating you all well too!

España (& 1000 Photos)

Well we got back from Malaga, Spain a couple days ago and wow do we miss it already.  It was seriously the perfect change from the snowy weather here and just the break we needed from the daily grind.  Not only was it 70degrees, but our hotel was about 30 meters from the Mediterranean Sea...just perfect!

Our trip started in the late afternoon on Wednesday; we dropped off the dogs at our pet-sitter and then headed down to Memmingen, Germany for a stay at a little B&B since our flight was early Thursday morning.  Luckily the weather stayed manageable for our trip (it has since snowed at least 15" since then) and we arrived at just as it had gotten dark.  Our hotel was actually really quaint--with an incredible cathedral nearby--and made us wish we had gotten into town earlier to explore.  By 7am, after a hearty breakfast, we were headed to the airport and off on our journey.  The flight was only a few hours and it was so exciting to see the change from snowy fields to the blue sea and sandy beaches...as you can see below.

We practically ran out of the airport, found our bus, and were beside ourselves waiting for our stop.  Once we got off, we used our GPS (from our car, haha) to calculate which way to walk and found our way to our hotel.  We were laughing, yelling, and just completely thrilled with the sunshine and incredible scenery.  Even the smells were exciting!  Our hotel, which like I said was no more than a block from the beach, was just perfect and had a panoramic view of both the mountains and the sea.  Seriously to die for!

(Above: View from our hotel roof...isn't it great!?!)

After unloading our stuff, and changing out of our warm clothes, we grabbed a quick bite and headed to the water.  We probably walked along the beach for a good hour or more, collecting seashells, walking into the waves, and taking lots of photos.  I think our bodies were both in shock at how great the weather felt. 

We worked up another appetite and headed into the main part of Malaga for an early dinner.  We asked for directions to a restaurant called El Pimpi, a tapas bar that Eric had been recommended, and took our time walking there.  The food was different, but good, and it definitely wasn't the worst place for Thanksgiving dinner...although unconventional!

(Above: Us in front of Alcazaba.  Below: The entrance to El Pimpi, inside it was super dark and full of wine barrels--really unique.)

After dinner, we walked through town, going in and out of a few souvenir shops, then stopped by a grocery store to pick up a few snacks before we headed back for bed.  It was probably only 8 or 9pm but we were exhausted already and wanted to be well rested for Friday (our last full day!).

Friday started with a delicious breakfast across the street from our hotel.  It was this little hole-in-the-wall cafe that we spotted the night before, and was full of locals, good coffee, and great food.  It was a little cooler that day, so we skipped the beach to head back into town for more shopping and sight-seeing.  Along the way we stopped inside of a Bullfighting-Ring for some impromptu photos.  It was actually really cool to see.

We grabbed a drink once we first got into the town center, had a seafood-filled lunch, then bought some really great souvenirs.  We ended up with a lot of Spanish postcards and prints (including a large bullfighting poster), a small mosaic mirror, a blue & white ceramic plate, a shirt for Eric, and a couple other things.  There was definitely a lot more that I wanted, but since we were just allowed ONE item each on the plane, we knew our space was very limited.

The weather began to turn a little bit, although it was still warm, so we headed back to our hotel for a nap and some delicious chocolate-covered fruits & nuts that we bought from the market.  We headed back out for some more strolling around town, then again later that night for a late dinner and wine.  Spain's schedule is soo different from that of Germany.  Here, the stores close at about 3 or 4 pm and restaurants are done by 10pm.  In Spain, most places didn't even open until about 8pm and most bars weren't allowing people in until 1am!  We felt so old that we couldn't stay up that late, but still enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

We called a cab to the airport early Saturday morning, and were on the drive home by about 1pm.  It was a quick trip, but just perfect.  We loved hearing Spanish (German is starting to get on our nerves), enjoying new food, and miss that humid air.  Sadly, we did NOT get our passports stamped!!  We've been to 3 foreign countries now, and have nothing to prove it...we were quite disappointed.  We did make it back in time to play in the fresh snow that night and Sunday with Peach and Rambo, who we honestly were missing a little on our trip.  Yup, great weekend and we are soo glad we made the spontaneous journey south!