31 Dec -- A-10 Simulator Fun

Today we all met together for a 'flight' in daddy's A-10. Good times.

All aboard!

Smile!


The new family mobile.

I can see my house from here!


We are trying to give the tuk-tuks of Thailand a run for their money.

Charlie on squirter control. At one point he asked, "What should we shoot next?" What have I done...

Fun things to watch for in the videos:

1. Jane saying "all done" when the jet rolls too much.

2. Anna about to fall over like a fainting goat.

3. Charlie giving our line from the car, "Almost there!"

4. Jane covering her eyes after we roll 360 degrees.

30 Dec -- Part Mermaid?

Charlie to this day hates to have his hair washed. He swears even just the water hurts his eyes. So bathtime wasn't always the most playful before Jane came along. I've never seen a kid take to the water quite like she has. It's so fun to watch her splash and dump water on her head and try to blow bubbles in the water. We just have to be careful she doesn't try to swim down the drain.

Jane gets a few minutes to herself before giving up the tub to her brother

We're still working on not drinking the water

This is her favorite hang out position. It scared us the first few times she did it, but she loves it.

28 Dec -- Nobody Wants to Play with a Charlie in the Box

As you can see from the pictures below, boxes still appear to be the best toy our kids could receive.

Sustenance for the thing in the box.
That is an artist's rendition of the thing in the box...aka, Jane.

Sure, there is room for two.

Like all great empires, they fall.

27 Dec -- Targets and Walmarts and Linens and Things, oh my!

So there's not a lot that I miss about America. I know we won't be overseas forever and that it'll always be there, waiting for us. But this season I miss the shopping. Here we have the military BX (department store-ish attempt). They try really hard, but it's just not the same as a Target or Kohls or Old Navy.

We also are lucky to have the internet for shopping now. When I lived here as a kid all we had was the JC Penney Catalog to shop from. Needless to say most kids showed up at school here wearing the same outfit as at least 3 or 4 other kids due to the lack of options (you military brats know what I'm talkin' about!).

But what I wouldn't give to walk into a Target right now. I have to admit when I got home this past summer from Korea and walked into a Target, I was overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of choices. I mean, how many types of blue shirts can one store sell?! And everything from toothpaste selections to wallets, you have so many options that it made me want to run back to the safety of the BX/PX limited choices.

But during the holiday season, I feel like I'm missing that sense of wonder and excess. Take towels, for instance. I need some new towels for our upcoming guests that I anticipate to be rolling in any day now...any day...just waiting... We drove up to the Ramstein (big big air base here in Germany) mall yesterday (gasp! how grand!) and I was positive I'd find what I needed there. I found only one brand that carried the black towels I was looking for, but the hand towels were out of stock. There were no grey towels to be found, though. I'm pretty sure if I went to Linens and Things that they'd have not only black and grey towels, but black and grey towels of varying quality so I could go cheap for my guests or luxurious for Dan and I (uhhh, I mean, strike that, reverse it.)

I know I can jump on the ol' computer and order up a set of towels from Target's website ($29.99 with free shipping), but you miss that instant gratification. That thrill of the "buy". That feeling when you come home and take the purchase out of it's bag and run your hands over it with a sense of satisfaction. There's something to be said for getting that "yellow slip" in your mailbox telling you that you have a package to pick up, but you can only order so many things before your husband puts a freeze on your credit card.

25 Dec -- Merry Christmas!

We ended Christmas Eve with Charlie reading the book that his current favorite movie is based on, "The Polar Express". He was super excited that such a thing even existed.

We awoke to all kinds of gifts from Santa and the biggest hit was a train for under our tree (although, it may be hard to convince Charlie to pack it away until next Christmas). We ate a yummy breakfast and spent the morning playing with our gifts and trying to keep Jane from breaking our new train.

Hope your Christmas celebrations are as much fun as ours were!

21 Dec -- A "Slip" Up

I have to confess to something that I never thought I'd do. A week or so ago, I had to run some errands at the BX and I packed up the kids after naptime and drove over to the store and started checking off of my shopping list. I got about halfway through the BX when I thought I felt something stuck to the bottom of my shoe. I looked down and realized that I was wearing my slippers! Needless to say I was fairly horrified (it's a wonder I remembered to take the curlers out of my hair before I left home). I double checked to make sure I did in fact remember to take my robe off and then I made a break for the exit. The errands could wait until I was in a clearer frame of mind.

20 Dec -- Snow Day in Dudeldorf

It snowed for the entire day today and it was wonderful. About 4 inches accumulated.

Jane had to adjust her wave with her mittens on.

Look what I saw falling from the sky!

Just in time for Christmas!

Just in case there wasn't enough snow falling...

...I helped out.

Jane didn't like to eat the snow,

but she did want to help me eat some.

Now time for snow angels.

Good times.

19 Dec -- Paris: Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur

On our last day, we got an early start and headed over to Notre Dame and then the Sacre Coeur.

Charlie struttin' his stuff.

I was feeding Charlie like he was a pigeon. Charlie loves the "Pigeon" book series (and so would you if you read them). Despite seeing a ton of pigeons in Paris, Charlie said, "Those are not pigeons; only birds."

At the bottom of the Sacre Coeur.

Fortunately, we found a ramp for the return to the bottom.

The view from the top was awesome.

Charlie loved the funicular (or an inclined railway) that saved us from having to climb the 225 steps with a stroller.

18 Dec -- Paris: Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower

On the second day we walked to the Champs Elysees and then up to the Arc de Triomph where we had lunch. After that we walked to the Eiffel Tower and then took the bus back to the hotel for some R&R (Bear and the Big Blue House). After some rest, we walked back to the Champs Elysees to check out the Christmas Market and enjoy some good eats.

Charlie and Jane in a trance back in the room.
Near the Arc de Triomph.

Charlie took this picture.

Some delicous eats for dinner! Crepes with bananas and Nutella and waffles with powdered sugar.

Jane likes it.

Jane loved the train.

Everything looked so nice with the lights and the snow.