Exploring...

This past weekend we ventured out to see some of the surrounding area.  We started the morning off at a little farm where we found some fresh milk, cheeses & other delectable items!  I did not remember to bring my camera, so we will do better next time.  Some new friends took us, so that made it a little extra special!


After the farm, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, we headed to do a drive-by tour of Wittlich & then on to Trier.  Trier is the oldest German city...I told the girls we knocked out a big visit on our first official weekend.  Of course it was rainy & cold (and not much of a tour since we didn't know a thing about it!), but we persevered to find some warm, fresh pretzels & currywurst.  Yum.  What's not to love?  Today, I booked a train trip for the girls & I to go on next week (so sorry Daddy!), so I will educate myself before anyone comes for a visit!  :)

  

A little dreary, but we had umbrellas!

Picture of what Mommy calls the Happy Potato Restaurant...

the Kales took Mommy & Daddy here when we came back in April!

Yummy. 

I think our potato loving Grandma Lene will find it satisfactory!

(p.s. Grandma, apparently you come by loving potatoes through your German heritage.  They are into every form you can imagine!)

The umbrellas are out...

A little pretzel loving...

This is where we got our bratwurst & currywurst.

Take me away currywurst.

Okay, I'm getting hungry now!

There was also a band playing, so we sat in the drizzly rain to listen & eat our meat.

See, I leave the USA & I blog.  Crazy stuff!  Hope you enjoy & I can't wait to see where our next adventure takes us!

It's Official

The big day came last week...Brad officially became a commander!  The best part is that the Air Force sent us to Germany for command.  Oh, and not just anywhere in Germany--Spangdahlem!  It is gorgeous here, very rural & there are vineyards everywhere you look.  We feel so blessed to be here.

Back to the Change of Command.  The girls were looking forward to 'Daddy's Party' because cake would be involved.  Well, they had another surprise too...

  

SPARKY!  

Good old Sparky was part of the festivities.

One girl liked him...

One, not so much...  :)

The serious part of the day...

from L to R:

Colonel Calisti, Lt Col Bill Kale, & Brad

This picture didn't turn out to great, but here Brad is taking the guidon.

He is officially taking command.

What a surreal moment it was.

I'm so proud of him, but a little in shock that we're really at this point!

Just think, we were little ol' lieutenants when we met!  :)

We are excited to be here, and excited to be a part of this squadron & base.  I know Brad will do a great job...he always takes care of his people & will work hard for his bosses.  One thing I know about him, he doesn't do anything half way.

I can't wait to meet all the spouses & families.  We have a busy 2 years ahead of us, and I'm looking forward to all the adventures.  And baking.  It's going to fly by, so we want to make the most of it!

Wish our families could have been here for the special day, but it's a long way to go for a 15 minute ceremony!  Come & visit us if you can...it is amazing here!

Germany!

We're in Germany!


The trip was great...the girls BOTH slept.  Abby is like me & she pretty much never sleeps while she travels.  Well, after they fed us some dinner & turned out the lights (oh, and after 2!!! bathroom trips) they both snuggled in & fell asleep by each other.  Too cute!  The girls & Mommy were wedged into 3 middle seats, and thankfully, we had kind people on both of the aisle seats.  The girls woke up with about an hour to go--they never even made it through one movie.  Amazing!


We arrived & went outside to meet our shuttle. We were chilly!  How exciting!  After leaving the high temps, and no electricity back in NoVA, we were happy to feel the nice 50/60-degree temperature here.  No complaints!

Here is a look @ what we found the first day...

 It's our friendly, neighborhood gelati man!  :)  Abby was even willing to pay for it with her very own Euro.

I finally got around to updating the look of the blog too.  I now remember why I haven't done it in such a long time!  It takes me forever & I have to relearn how to do it each time.  :)


Enjoy & I'll be back with the next installment soon...

Our first glimpse...

Well, Daddy & I took our first trip to Germany!  It was amazing.  So beautiful...it just made me want to run away there right now.  Unfortunately, we don't have orders yet, so who knows when we'll actually be leaving.  


The funniest part about the whole trip was that I took 2 pictures.  TWO.  Is that not the craziest thing?


So, without further ado, here they are...

When we arrived in Germany, we took a shuttle from Frankfurt to Spangdahlem.

I should tell you that I don't sleep when I'm traveling.

It is a curse.  Curse I tell you.

Anyway...

The shuttle driver saw me awake & got all excited.  

He said to grab the camera because there was some beautiful scenery coming up.

HAHAHA.

He also drove like Mario Andretti, and there were curves and hills involved.

THIS, is the picture I got.  

And then I gave up--I was way too tired to photograph anything from a moving vehicle!

Okay, part of the week involved a themed dinner.

Seriously.

I am not joking.

I will be 39 in less than 2 weeks, and I did not find this amusing.
Bringing a costume from the states to Germany?  Really?
Party pooper, I am.

Not that you can tell it from the picture...I look surprisingly happy.

Too happy, you might say.

Anyway, any guesses as to who we are?
We were the most colorful, but my favorite duo was Penny & Inspector Gadget.  They were awesome.  And she was 7 months prego, so props to her!

It was a good week.  We had some Daddy/Mommy time, which was very needed.  It also gave us some time to chat about Brad's upcoming job...it is going to be a big undertaking, so we came up with a game plan of sorts.  We caught up with some old friends, made some new ones, and saw the place we will soon call home (well, for the next 2 years anyway!).  


I better get in gear...I know everyone will be wanting updates on our big move & all the excitement. 


Until next time,
Momma J

our little swimmers

Last year, 

if you would have told me that I would be sitting at swim team practice 2 days a week,

 I would have laughed & LAUGHED!

Not that I didn't believe my girly could do it...

nope, I knew that Abby could swim.  

And that Beks wouldn't be far behind.

We just had to get past the fear.

Oh, and Coach Mary, words can definitely not describe how much we love her! 

Here is Abby getting some coaching...all smiles!  :)

And the littlest one...see those fancy strokes?!  

And a smile!

Today was a big day for Beks...

face in the water.  

Over & over!

Learning what to do when she gets water up her nose.

"It's like a sponge, Mommy.  You squeeze it.  

Oh, and you can blow it out too."

That's it from swim land...
Bloggy love, Momma J

old school

Well, I bought what I thought would be a fun Living Social Deal...

a 4-pack of tickets & skate rentals at

Skate-N-Fun Zone.

Abby has been taking ice skating lessons, so I assumed this would be a fun time.

Beks has been ice skating as well, and has done great.

Hmmm...are you getting the drift that it didn't go quite like Mommy had hoped?  :)

Abby is all cute with her *wheels*

Daddy was the only one who tore up the rink...he is our resident skater.

Being a CO boy, he grew up ice skating & literally skates circles around the rest of us.

They had a play park here.  Thank goodness!

It was much more popular with our girls than the roller skating was.

I didn't get a picture of it, but Beks would let us push her around the rink while she held on to the skater helper we rented.

I'm all laced up & ready to go.

Tell me,

why was it so much harder than I remember?

Why did I fear running some poor kid over...I sure don't remember it being so hard to stop.

Mommy & Daddy had fun, but Abby says she will, "NEVER go roller skating again.  EVER."

Here is the photo Daddy took...he mocked my roller skating skills a bit, but I was happy with the day!

No injuries for me, and I also didn't take out anyone.  Woohoo.

p.s. Mom, you'll have to answer the question about whether or not I EVER had any roller skating skills.   In my memory I did, but you know how that goes...

Bloggy love, Momma J

aren't i handsome?

Don't you think Indy dog is handsome?

Daddy wants to rip the heart bandana off of him.

Really?

At this point, being dressed up in girly things 

is sort of his hobby.

Well, maybe not HIS hobby, 

but there are a couple of girlies around here 

who smiled extra big when they saw this special Valentine's surprise

Indy's girlfriend, Ms. Jen, spoils him!

Groomed & handsome.

Let's see how long it takes him to roll around in something stinky!  :)

we have news...

I'm not a fan of writing blog posts without pictures, so I'll see what I can come up with for this one!

The big news is that we found out where our next Air Force adventure will take us...

Spangdahlem AB, Germany!!!

After mentally preparing ourselves for the possibility of being separated for a year, we received the great news that we'll be headed to Germany sometime this summer!  As for Abby, she had a huge breakdown (could have had something to do with the fact her father told her if we moved to WY she could have a horse...speculating here!), but I think she's calmed down now.  :)  I just keep showing her pictures of snow in Germany & told her she could see Cinderella's castle.  Fun times.

That's all for today!  So, make your plans to visit before the end of summer...oh, and we'd love to have you visit Germany too!

Off to bed,
Momma J

p.s. Here are some random pictures...our little kitchen helpers making hamburgers.  They like theirs extra smashed.  :)