Making Our Own Fun

During the month or so that we had nothing but what fit in our suitcases, we did a lot of things to keep us all entertained.

We would go to the park rain or shine, or play in the dirt.

We built forts,

and blew bubbles.

This tough box became one of their favorite things to play with.

Kaelyn loved to push William around on it.

We played with boxes and glues everything onto paper and boxes that I could scrounge up.

The tough box is what Kaelyn fell and cut her eye open on.

We even got really crazy and had suitcase races. 

It started out with me pulling Kaelyn, then William wanted in on it and we finally convinced Nick to come and help me race the kids around the house.

A World of Parks

Parks are very big on every military installation, they like to create places for people to gather, to get exercise and be outside.

In Germany, parks are even bigger, we have probably a dozen parks within walking distance, and even more just a quick ride down the road.

Especially while we were in the hotel, we went to the park every day, sometimes two or three times a day.

Right down the road was a little fountain as well, so we would usually stop on our way home and the kids would play till they were soaking wet.

William always found a way to make friends, no matter who they are or how old they are, William loves playing with other kids.

We always had lots of fun, and always had people stop to watch the kids playing in the fountain.

We still play at the park a lot, although not so much now that we have all of our toys and the weather is getting a little chilly on most days.

I am so glad to have all of these great places to play, for William and Kaelyn to explore, grow and learn so close to home.

The Start of Our Next Adventure

A few days before we were scheduled to leave, we headed down to Tennessee to take some things to my sister Cathy's that we didn't want to risk losing or getting ruined while being transported. I was so excited for our first road trip in our new van, William was pretty excited too.

A bonus is we got to make a little detour to see my childhood friend Kristi and her new baby. It was a pretty eventful trip. On the way from Cathy's to meet Kristi, we started getting a warning about tire pressure. Figuring like most cars, it meant in the next day or two, fill up on air so I drove right on past the exit. Well, only a minute or two down the road (while in the left lane, going 85) we started hearing a very strange noise. I hurried across all the lanes only to find that our back tire had just about exploded. Nick started taking the tire off while I worked on getting the spare out, as the kids screamed in the back. We finally got it back into commission and headed towards the closest tire place. Once we finally found it, they discovered the one of the front tires had a very large nail in it, so instead of replacing just the two back tires, we got four all new tires.

We made it home safely, with just enough time for me to head to young women's one last time. Just a couple of days later we enjoyed our last Kentucky sun rise as we pulled ourselves out of bed with only a few hours of sleep and hurriedly prepared to make our way to the airport.

The kids had a blast playing in the terminal as always, climbing over the chairs and sorting through the treats we brought.

We made the last few calls, and got on our first flight to Charlotte. We had over two hours there, so we got lunch and searched for the USO where they had a large play room for the kids, movies, food and just about anything you could want. It was a nice break from the noise and craziness of the rest of the airport, and it made me so glad they offer that for service members.

We got onto the last flight, headed to Frankfurt a whopping eight and half hours. A little Melatonin for everyone and it was actually a pretty good flight. William slept through most of it, Kaelyn slept on and off. Sleeping anywhere but on her stomach is hard so that is always a fight but we made it without too much trouble.

It was 7 am when we arrived, so we headed back to our sponsors house, dropping the kids and me off while Nick went to do everything he needed to do. William was so tired he started nodding off so we cuddled together and took a nap on their couch while Kaelyn was sleeping upstairs. We got into our hotel the afternoon, a German hotel that in some ways, was very different. Whoever decorated had a very strange image. The chairs, couches and benches were leather and cow hide. The rooms all had beautiful chandeliers in them, but were surround by a sphere of purple fabric, almost hiding the chandeliers entirely. 

And just in case you couldn't read English, they made sure that everyone would know where the bathrooms are.

The staff was wonderful and we did have a very nice stay. When we arrived they had an oversized pack n' play all set up with extra padding and blankets for a bed for William. The room was furnished with two twin beds, so Nick and I shared one while William slept in the other.

After the second day we decided that having Kaelyn sleep in the bathroom so we could close the door and not bother her was the best option, so we started leaving her bed in there.The third day they came to clean our room, and just asked them for some towels saying my daughter was in the bathroom and they went on their way. The next day Kaelyn awake and when one of the men went into the bathroom to get the garbage he called the other in. After a moment of them conversing in German, one man poked his head out and asked hesitantly if we still needed the pack n' play. I told him that we do, that my daughter sleeps in there. The looks in their faces was priceless, "You crazy Americans!"

Kaelyn's 12 Month Pictures

My best friend Kim has an amazing wooded backyard that looks like a fairy world, the moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to do pictures back there.

She was so excited to help me do Kaelyn's 12 month pictures.

These are just a few of my favorites, I am going to be doing some work on them and may end up with new favorites.

Here is a sneak peak though  :)

Pearls are Kaelyn's birthstone, so I knew right away this was something I wanted to do.

And of course, childrens' portraits would not be complete without some sort of food involved!

Kaelyn's First Trip to the Zoo

 While Nick was processing to leave Fort Knox, then on vacation we were always looking for fun things to do to get the kids out of our empty house. 

So, we headed up to the zoo, Kaelyn's first time. She was more than happy to be our navigational expert.

Her face was the most entertainment, she was fascinated with all of the animals, especially the giraffes.

We took William into the petting zoo this time, and although he was a little intimated by them, he did pet a couple of the goats, then helped me take lots of pictures of them.

Before we left we stopped to eat our lunch and play in the rolling ball, Kaelyn ended up soaked by the time we were ready to go.

Girls Camp

This year was my first year at girls camp as a leader and I loved it. It was stressful but so much fun. We have a very bad thunder storm, every ward but ours had at least one tent go down. We spent an entire day cleaning up the mess, drying the bedding and still ended up spending the night at the local ward building which turned out to be a smart move because that night there was a large hail storm. 

We had the usual activities, hikes, swimming and even archery. I had never shot a bow before, but I got the award for most improved archer!

Getting Settled

 Well we made it to Germany Safe and sound, spent the first four days in a hotel. it was very nice, quite small for two children but it was wonderful. They had it decorated so strangely however, the lobby which had a lounge and everything in it has gorgeous chandeliers but they has taken a purple accordion tube and put it around them.  the couches were leather as well as the whole hide, fur and everything. it reminded me of the end of Sleeping Beauty when the godmothers are fighting about the color of the dress. A very chic fairy and a western fairy battling it out. 

 Friday we got into our house, which is really an apartment. we were lucky and did get into the bigger of the three bedrooms. It is so wonderful being on post, from our house we can walk to probably a dozen parks within five minutes. we walked to the PX ( department store)  and the commissary ( grocery store)  which is about a 3-4 mile walk in total. it was such a beautiful cool morning, walking through the German countryside. when you stand at the top of the hill whet the commissary is you can see all of downtown Wiesbaden.

 Frankenstein's  castle it's only about an hour away, maybe less, Paris is about the hours, it is amazing to have so many things do close by. we went out yesterday and got bikes and a Taylor for the kids so now we can get around a little easier, hopefully be able to see a little more while we wait for our car to get here.

 We got our Internet set up yesterday so we can email and Skype. Tuesday we will have or home phone set up so we can talk to people on the phone. We can't text people in the states though.

 the Germans all ADORE Kaelyn, they think she is the cutest thing ever, she gets gawked at everyone we go out. the base is set up so that it is like three little bases crammed into the city anywhere they could fit them so we are comply immersed into the economy. being around the Germans, and staying in a German hotel, we have all started picking up on some new German words and phrases. the style here is very different as well. Everything,  at least in the city,  is all very fitted and almost business casual. jeans are a rarity, no one wears flip flip flops or tennis shoes. colored skinny jeans and skirts are what the women wear, slacks or khakis with dress shoes are what the men wear. our first day there I had intended to run to the park with the kids then get a little workout in while they play so I just wrote my workout clothes to breakfast, well boy did I get starred  at!  Needless to say I learned my lesson and the next morning my hair and makeup was all done, I had a nicer top on and heels. This sure has been s learning experience just in the week that we have been here.