Day trip to Trier

         Last Saturday we spent the day in Trier. One of the great things about living in Germany is that we are surrounded by really cool cities, all within a short drive away from us. Trier is the oldest City in Germany, founded in 30 BC. Our first stop was the Porta Nigra, which is a gate entrance that was once connected to a wall which surrounded the city (several miles of the wall still exists today). The gate was actually constructed by the Romans and we were able to tour one of the four entrances (only Porta Nigra remains standing), it gave us a great view of the city. The girls thought it was really cool and liked to run up the spiral staircase. Next was lunch at a cute little cafe, that had a view of the market square and a neat old fountain.



        Our next stop was the High Cathedral of St. Peter; an extraordinary church and the oldest cathedral in the country! The design is immaculate and looks more like a grand castle than a cathedral and that might be because it once was. Emperor Constantine the Great later turned it into the largest Christian church of its time. We only got to tour part of the cathedral, but I would have loved to be able to roam the entire thing; though, I am sure it wouldn't take long to be helplessly lost. Maddy then insisted we checkout the adjoining cathedral; it was much more modern and less impressive, but then again it would be hard to compete with the St. Peter.

         From the St. Peter we headed over to the museum of archaeology (Rheinisches Landesmuseum) and on the we way found a fun little park for the kiddos to play. I think I was feeling tired by the time we hit the museum and had little patience. My sweet husband was listening to the audio, enjoy the museum and history. I think I might have been like one of the kids, wondering when we were going to be done. Of course no museum visit is complete without someone getting mad and wanting to climb an exhibit....and no, it wasn't me.

        Once the girls and I dragged their dad out of the museum, we went to go see the Roman Imperial Baths. In it's day, it was considered to be the grandest bath and most impressive in the world. People went to the baths for hygiene, social, relaxation, business and sports. Often they were co-ed and clothes were optional. Under the baths are 6 boiler rooms that were used to heat the water. I'm wondering if I can fit a mini version of the baths in my backyard??? Think I know what I want for Christmas!

       We stopped at a yummy bakery on our way home to grab some pastries and coffee, then picked up a postcard (collecting one for each place we visit). We then tried to drive by the amphitheatre, but it was too dark to see anything. The cool thing about the amphitheatre though is that they still do gladiator reenactments. We might have to visit again when there is a show on, might be fun to see.

    Overall the trip was a great success, the kids did great. Trier is such a cute little city, with lots of history. I think we learned a lot and made good memories. Things I think we did better with this trip is good walking shoes, lots of snacks, kid friendly restaurants and a break to play at the park. Now we slide into our next adventure!!

When in Rome....

           

Alan and I wanted to kick off our first expedition with a bang...so off to Rome we go! We left on a Friday afternoon for Memmingen Germany, from there we would fly out Saturday morning, ....destination Rome! Some friends had recommended airbnb, which is a site where people can rent out their space; it could be a room in their house or an apartment. We stayed with a lovely German family, they had two young children that were just dolls. We arrived much later then planned, but they still had dinner waiting for us and great conversation. We left just after breakfast and arrived at the airport with 40 minutes to check-in and get to our gate. We arrived just in time to board, so really it worked out perfect, never fun sitting in an airport with young kids.

            By the time we arrived at our apartment in Rome we were enervated from the plane, public transportation and walking around trying to find where
we were staying. Alan and I started to have our doubts about how the trip was going to go. We decided to go ahead and dive in with sightseeing; first stop the Pantheon! The ancient Roman architecture of the temple was beautiful! I could have spent hours in there....or rather just a few minutes, thanks to the very small bladder of a three year old. Finding a restroom in Rome is not easy, especially a free one. After finally tracking down a police officer to point us in the right direction, we ran inside and down the very scary stairs to find a bathroom that was less than pleasant.  I was getting ready to hold Aria over the toilet, right as she wet her pants. By the time she was all cleaned up and we got back to the temple, it was closed for Mass.

Next, we headed over to the Trevi fountain. On our way we found some pretty neat churches and monuments. Maddy says her favorite part was the churches. She loved looking at all the pictures and trying to guess the story behind them. I am always impressed with the depth of her mind, she can always see the deeper meaning and emotions of things.  The fountain was under construction, wish we could have seen it when it was completed, but still pretty cool. Feeling rather tired from the walking, we decided to stop and get some gelato on our way to the Spanish steps. The girls had a blast on the steps, especially Eloise. She loved the attention all the other travelers gave her. She would run across the steps and stop and wave at the people she liked. There were two Asian woman who Eloise just loved and she put on quite the show for them and of course they wanted to take lots of pictures of the little blonde. Then Eloise found a balloon, she would go and hand it to people and act like she was going to leave and then she would run back and get the balloon. This game went of for quite a while. The steps were packed of tourists, which also meant people trying to sell you things. A man kept handing me roses and saying "they free for you" after saying no a million times he broke us down and the girls and I took them, after all the were free, right? Well they might have been free for us girls, but he wanted Alan to pay lol, they were so tricky. I soon realized that you can't even give the sellers eye contact, but I felt awful about that. I kept thinking that these are people, and they're just trying to make a living (even if it is illegal), but everyone treats them so poorly. Anyway, That could be a whole blog on its own.

We read in Rick Steves' travel guide about a great place to eat dinner. After quite some time and a few blocks later, we located the restaurant. We started down the steep steps, when the host looks up and says they're closed. I asked her what time the closed, being that it was only 6:30pm, she then recanted and said they were full. Hmmm we totally got turned away because we had kids and they were even being quiet at the time. We decided to eat outside at the restaurant next door and watch the host welcome many couples after us. The place we ended up eating at turned out to be a much better spot for us anyway and the kids enjoyed sitting outside with the blankets the restaurant provided.  We quickly learned that; though the idea of those fancy restaurants sounded nice, they weren't for us. We loved those small mom and pop restaurants. At those restaurants, they loved on our kids and offered them free treats. A place where a spilled drink(s) isn't the apocalypse, is a much more enjoyable meal, despite how many stars it has.

Sunday we spent the day at the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill. Wow, so amazing to see so much history in one place! When I read books that are placed in the Roman time period, I have always used my imagination and what I have seen in movies to set up the scene. When I saw it in person, it was all so much grander than I dreamed and I felt so small in comparison to it all. To think of all the tragedy, lives lost and the Christians that were slaughtered for their faith in such a cruel manner, gave it all an unearthly (for a lack of a better word) feel. Being at the coliseum felt surreal! At times I kept thinking this wasn't authentic
and that these were just great replicas, because there is no way I am really seeing this in person. After the Coliseum, we of course needed to treat ourselves to more gelato and "roam" Rome. We found a few more churches to take a peek at and monuments to take pictures of. Found a great little pasta place to eat at and headed back to our apartment for the night.




We saved Vatican City for last...and mainly because it was one of the few places open on Mondays. Today was the day of tears! I think we were all tired and Eloise was officially done. We first did the Vatican museum, Eloise was very fussy so we backtracked and push our way through shoulder to shoulder traffic to get to the courtyard. We let the girls run around for some time and sat and ate lunch. That alone was enough t

o wear me down. Chasing Eloise around is a full time job and quite a social one at that. She finds the need to stop and say high to everyone around her. She likes to ask complete strangers to hold her and seems to know they'll want to take her picture. We finally make it back into the Vatican museum which leads into the Sistine Chapel. As soon as we enter the very packed Sistine sanctuary Eloise decides it's time to scream as loud as possible. I frantically try to calm her as I get 101 glaring eyes and multiple shushes. I rush out trying my best to calm her down and find that there is no exit anywhere close and my cry baby is equally unwanted in the multiple rooms to follow. I am walking in my best fast mom on a mission pace to get out of this heavy traffic building. With each room that I am forced to leave without so much a glimpse of the beautiful art that took artist like Raphael a decade to paint one room, my heart drops. I then rush into what I'm hoping is my escape and there is a very, very, long hallway and then I got shushed again!.....I wanted to turn to that guard and say "why thank you, why didn't I think of shushing my 14 month old baby and of course she would simply obey. Or maybe I am purposely allowing her to cry so that I can run out of this amazing building and see nothing." No, instead I broke down and bawled. I don't cry much, but when it rains, it pours. Try to calm myself in a corner and convince Eloise to nurse, two guards come all big in tough acting like my baby and I might defacing the wall. I final get out of the building and immediately Eloise stops screaming. Then I break down and cry some more as I realized I missed the painting of The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo, I have wanted to see that painting so bad since college. I wasn't upset with Eloise, she's baby and I know why she was crying. What upset me so much, besides missing the chapel, was how rude people were being to my baby. We were surrounded by pictures of Christ and pictures depicting His love for children, I would hope that people would have been moved by Christ's love and could have offered me some grace and understanding. Anyway, we survived...kind of lol.

Next we went to the St. Peter's Basilica and WOW, breath taking! I have never in my life been in such a magnificent church or building for that matter. It was so moving and powerful! So much detail in every space, telling the beautiful story of Christ and His disciples. The Statue of Pieta, by Michelangelo was amazing and I found myself tears again.  I think just walking into the Church, I could feel my soul stirring.  There was a service going on, but I think we missed the Pope.








Before I write this next part, I want to take a moment to say how wonderful Ariana is and that this next part doesn't define her. Ariana is kind, she is great at sharing, quick to give a smile and always full of giggles. She is full of passion and emotions! When she is tired, hungry and just worn out, her passions and emotions can look similar to that of the hulks. With that said, we have the details of the trip home......Tuesday morning Alan and I were up by 3:30am and the kids by 4am. We rushed out the door without breakfast, running to catch our first bus, then from our first bus we had to run to catch our second bus. As soon as we reach our bus, the one that takes us to the airport, Maddy has to go potty. Alan rushes off with her in search of a restroom. While they are gone the bus comes, I quietly start planning how I'm going to stall. Well that is easy enough, because Ariana refuses to get out of the stroller and on to the bus. Alan gets back just in time, with no luck finding a bathroom. So once on the bus, he took her again to go outside just around the corner and
we end up waiting forever on the bus with crappy kiddos. We get to the airport with hardly any time to spare and the boarding pass line is impossibly long. We finally made it through and got to the check-in line and Ariana absolutely refuses to go through. Alan took her out of the stroller and she took off screaming and running across all the lines. Guards were chasing her down and once they picked her up you would think she was being tortured. I grab her and get her through all while she is kicking and screaming and I have Eloise strapped to me, so none of this is easy. Alan gets us checked in and we run to get in line to board the plane. Alan went to run and grab food with Maddy. While in line, with Eloise still strapped to me, Ariana has an all out melt down and keeps trying to run off. By this time I am all out sweating and have apologized to just about everyone around. Alan makes it back in time to head outside for yet another bus to drive us out to the plane. With no surprise Ariana yet again refuses to get off the stroller to get on the plane. The plane ride itself wasn't so bad, just busy with Eloise wanting to wiggle, wiggle. Just as we go down to land the pilot pulls us back up into the air, too much fog to land. He takes us 90 miles away and drops us off at a different airport. Once off the plane, both the girls have a huge melt down over the stroller. I can feel the eyes of everyone on us and we are so tired, with no energy to deal with the fits properly. Before we know it, everyone was on mad rush to the buses that are to take us back to our original airport (90 miles away). It was like we were on the titanic and but instead of women and children first, it was every man for themselves. While we're waiting for the bus, Alan takes Maddy potty and he bought more food and drinks, so that will help make the ride bearable. The bus comes while he is gone and it was mad rush to get on to save a seat. Ariana decides it's a good idea to lay in front of the cargo storage on the bus and scream while people literally trampled her. I kept trying to get her up, but it felt impossible. I somehow get all our stuff on the bus and drag Ariana on the bus. She throws herself on the ground kicking and screaming, while people just walk over her and I can't get to her. Finally get to her, but all the seats are taken but one, I sit and hold her while she screams and kicks and by the time Alan gets on, there is no room on the bus. Alan runs ahead to secure our seats on the next bus and of course Ariana refuses to come and starts running the other way. We finally all get loaded on the bus! In the end the bus ride ended up going pretty smoothly, Maddy slept and Ariana had fun sitting with dad. The drive home felt awesome and I realized we really are a family that should just drive everywhere, flying just isn't worth it.

You may read the crazy parts of your trip and think wow, so not worth it, but I reassure you that it was so worth it. Overall, we had an awesome time and saw some really cool stuff. The two big kids were great for the majority of the trip and Eloise just had that one moment at the Sistine Chapel. This was are first big Europe trip as a family. We have a lot to learn and I feel like with each trip it will get easier. This last Saturday we went to Trier Germany (50 min drive from where we live) and it went really smooth, but that's for another blog. The trip was great, there was tough times and there was fun times....in the end we will never forget it...all I can say for this trip is "When in Rome" :)

I am 16 going on...28!

What I hoped to be a busy week of traveling, turned into a busy week of paperwork and finalizing all the many little details and some not so little. One thing I can say is that moving overseas is not for the fainthearted. I feel like my patience and sanity have been put to the test and I am proud to say I have passed....at least up to the point, hallelujah, thank you Jesus, Amen! Oh and Alan bought a car, a 99' Audi A4 wagon, in great condition. This is great for me, because now I am no longer stranded at home while he's at work.

Halloween was spooktastic! We were so close to skipping it, so glad we didn't! In general, Germany doesn't make a big deal over Halloween, so everyone in the area goes on base for the BIG celebration. We started out going house to house expecting the traditional trick or treat routine, but nothing was normal about it. Every house that was handing out candy had a little station (and some not so little) outside their home, most of them were fully decorated and some not only had treats for the kids, but also a treat for the parents. Then there was multiple haunted houses set up in garages. We went through a few of them, some were friendly and some not so much. Eloise had a run in with a not so friendly and very scary werewolf, who got in her face and really scared her:(  We then headed to the park for

a bit of trunk or treat, which was a huge row or cars, each with their own little theme and some had little walk through exhibits. The line was over one hour wait so we decided to check the inside out. They had a huge projector set up at the baseball fields playing Charlie Brown's Halloween. Then the football stadium had more candy booths, free popcorn, hot dogs and drinks. They also set up a bunch of carnival games for the kids to play. The kids had a blast! Alan and I both agree.....best Halloween ever!

The highlight of the weekend was heading over to Laudenbach/Heidelberg on Saturday to see Alan's family; Simone, Markus and sweet Luan! It was my first time meeting them, though Simone and I talk daily via facebook, so I feel like we were already close friends/family. On Saturday they fed us a yummy lunch and we sat around chatting for a bit. We then headed into Heidelberg and played at an awesome fairy tale park. It had different story tales, folk tales and Grimm brothers.themes set up around the park. The girls enjoyed the train, bumper cars and bounce houses the most.  Then back at the house Markus cooked a great German dinner for us; Bratwurst, potatoes and red cabbage. Just so happens they have an extra apartment that has been converted into an office and made for the perfect overnight stay for us. The next day we had tasty treats, fresh from the bakery and then we were off to Heidelberg again to tour the castle. The castle was beautiful, with amazing views of the city and beautiful architect.                                                                                                                        
I would have loved to see it in all its splendor, though it is still pretty fantastic! If you have't caught on yet, we love castles, as we should, with three of our very own princesses. The two girls looked quite fancy in their princess dresses and were the star of the show. There were a lot of people there from all over the world and it seemed like most of them wanted to take a picture with my fair skinned, blondes in their dresses.   We went back to Laudenbach for another great meal! Simone cooked us homemade Schnitzel, pommes frites (french fries) and salad. No meal is complete without chocolate and of course it happened to be kinder-eggs:) We said our farewells and I already can't wait to go back!   Luan (2 years old) says he is now a big brother of Eloise; so needless to say, we love our German family!!!!  Think the Christmas market in Heidelberg is a good excuse to head back in a few weeks.

I can legally drive in Germany....not that I would ever drive illegally *cough *cough. I have a drivers license as of today! I feel like a 16 year old girl, taking the drivers test for the first time.  I won't mention how many times I failed the street signs portion and that I wanted to run out crying. For petes sake, how many similar signs can one country have and it doesn't help that they are all in German. I did pass all the other portions with flying colors and get to check one more thing off my to-do list.

For those who have been curious, Alan has official started working. Because of the sensitivity of what he is doing and for security purposes, I won't ever be sharing much about his job. What I will say is that the men that he is working with have been very welcoming and he is excited to dive in!

We have the keys to our house, even though we don't move in until the 17th. Unaccompanied baggage gets here tomorrow! For those of you that aren't military, that is all of our belongs that we deemed we can't live without, but have been living without for two months. Exciting times!!!

We think we might have found a church family, so huge praise! They were so sweet to let us crash their home group last week for dinner and a video lesson on The Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller. Really neat military families with young children, they go to a small church in one of the near by villages. Feel like God is answering our prayers left and right, we feel so blessed and comforted by His presence in our lives.

We miss you all in the states! I long for good friends and long talks, while sipping/devouring coffee.

Sending our love from Germany,
xoxo

WE HAVE A HOUSE!!! As I'm typing, Alan is off completing the contract on our new home. We went practical when it came to choosing our new home. In the end we had to narrow our choice down from four houses that we liked and it was a really hard decision. We decided that the house in Kollweiler was the best choice for us.

It is 10 minutes from base, big backyard and extra room for visitors (hint, hint;))! We are waiting for the new kitchen to be completed, so we won't be able to move in until November 5th, . The baggage we sent early is already here in Germany, so it won't take long to get delivered. We should get the rest of our stuff mid December and until then Base will provide temporary furniture for us. I am already arranging our furniture in my mind, excited to get settled in!

Last Saturday we were feeling really burnt out from house hunting and though the kids had been such troopers, they needed a break.  We went and had lunch at a cute place called Schloss hotel, a little secret in the mountain. They had some of the best water we have ever tasted, no seriously, so good! After lunch we went up to Burg Nanstein, a castle in ruins. We had a great time exploring and try to imagine what it looked like in its prime.

The girls had fun running around the castle playing pretend. The girls and I hiked down trail from the castle to a park that was at the bottom and Alan meet us there with the car. It was a much needed break from the vigorous house hunting and the girls finally got to see a castle.


Sunday we tried out a church call Frontline. I don't think I realized how stressed I was until during worship, I could feel it melting away. It just goes to show how deep our need for Christ and fellowship goes. The church was pack, people were stand along the walls and doors were open with people outside listening in. We got there just in time, at first they told me that childcare was full, right when a gal came up and said she had room for one more baby. Feel like I God was reserving a spot for Eloise, He knew we needed the rest. The couple we sat by during church just came from Manhattan KS, felt like it was a sign, that this church is home for us;)

We needed to stay in town today to complete the housing contract, so we decided to stay local and play at the dinosaur park in K-town.  Oh my word, the girls had a great time! It had a really tall tower that had slides coming down from all sides. The girls were everywhere, running around, exploring the park.

Fingers crossed, but hoping to finish a few housing details up in the morning and then we can leave the area and start seeing more of Germany. Thinking Eltz Castle and then possibly Trier Germany. So cool to live in Europe, the possibilities are endless!

Check out more photos from our fun day Here

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!.....So I was casually checking out at the commissary when I all of a sudden a restriction box popped up when I scanned my coffee, asking me to wait for the cashier to assist. Say what? I have a ration card for coffee! I may not always drink responsibly and I have been known to drink and drive (frequently) but it is a necessity! I know I can go off base to buy coffee (expensive), but that's not the point.  Hopefully I will stay under the allotted 21-lbs per month.....Okay, so it's not that bad and I'm done venting!

We are on information overload! Alan has had in-processing meetings everyday. They also had a spouse meeting that was supposed to be informative and give the DL on Germany. I walked away from that meeting feeling more overwhelmed then ever. I was told the way I great people and eat can be considered rude. Before getting here, I learned a few phrases that I thought would be important for interacting and building relationships with locals. One phrase was "Wie geht es dir" which means "how are you," well apparently it can be considered rude to ask that to someone you hardly know. Also, table manners are quiet different, as well as restaurant norms. Did you know that refills aren't free, neither is water? It is not encouraged to bring children out to dinner with you, but don't worry you can bring your dog lol.  I'm not saying all of this to complain or to say I don't like it, it's just an adjustment. I think it is important to respect the different social norms, there is good reason behind each tradition. For example, you are to place both wrists on the table while eating, even if you are not using one. Back in the day, setting your hand on your lap was a sign of mistrust and you could be concealing a weapon. The reason for waitresses not coming to your table frequently to ask if you need anything, is not because she's a bad waitress, rather she doesn't want to interrupt your conversation. You are to hand the tip to your waitress verses just setting it on the table, that way you can personally say thank you. The reason you don't ask how you are doing is because in the US it usually is an empty question and you really don't want to know the answer. In Germany, when you ask how you are doing, it should be because you genuinely care and want to hear in detail how their day is and you wouldn't ask a stranger that. I also think small talk isn't as popular here. Every custom has something different it is known for, there is a good reason for this and I find that it is because in general, the Germans value tradition and relationships above all.


We have had little time to explore and only just got a van yesterday. Saturday we did drive into Queidersbach to look at a house and check out the village. We got there early afternoon, which is not the best time, most places to eat were closed between 1-5pm. We got a little lost walking around trying to find a place to eat, only to walk 2 miles to find that everything was closed that we could see. Not sure if that is normal or just the bakery and restaurant we wanted. We did find a nice little trail into the forest and found some goats for the girls to pet. After that, we drove to Landstuhl to eat at a cute cafe and bakery. The ladies that worked there were lovely. Now that we understand a little better about eating out, we know why the table next to us stared at us and the waitress never brought us refills or the check:-P. Lunch was delicious, but the cakes and pastries from the bakery were absolutely scrumptious!

We have looked at several houses and many of them had amazing views of rolling hills and the forest. One house had a winter garden, it was great, but the house was very dated and if the piles of dead bugs in the windows weren't a turn off, the dead mouse was. Though, I would not mind having the landlord, he was so sweet! Our favorite house at this point is a cabin style home, called the 'organic house', though I am pretty sure it is not organic:-P  I really like that house, it has so much character, but it is a little bit of a drive to base and older so higher utilities. There is another one that we are highly considering and Alan's favorite, that is newer and really close to base. It is a little more then we want to pay, but I think we would save on gas and utilities. We have one more house to look at tomorrow and then I think we are going to make a decision. I really want a house soon, we are getting tired of TLF, literally, because Eloise isn't sleeping well and Maddy is a drifter from room to room.  Holy Smokes house hunting is stressful, especially when half your landlords don't speak the same language as you. We spend every free moment surfing websites and every other moment visiting houses. The on going debate here is cuteness over practicality....We will see which one wins over the other!

Overall, the girls are doing great, I can watch them growing closer together everyday with the way they play and talk to each other. Today they were coloring a pumpkin and they kept saying how beautiful each others were and how proud dad was going to be of them. There are moments when you can tell being in a small space gets to them and I know its time to go to the park. Alan is tired and is working really hard to make sure he gets everything done that he needs to. There are so many details he needs to take care of. As for me, I think my biggest stress is the housing situation, I'm worried about finding the right one and not getting stuck in one that's going to eat our money. I also really just want a house so that we can start exploring Germany outside of base more and start our life here.

Prayer requests for our little family are: that we find a house that is a good fit for us and in a nice village. Pray that the girls get back on a good sleep schedule and that they are able to meet some friends soon. Pray that we can get back into school and incorporating learning from this great opportunity we have being surrounded by history. Pray that Alan is able to prioritize and get done everything that he needs to, with minimal stress, quickly and efficiently as possible. I also want prayer that we find a great church family and friends that will be a positive influence on us. 

We miss you all and send our love!

Guten Tag or Guten Morgen depending where you live:)

Guten Morgen blog world! Onto my 6th cup of coffee, in my defense the cups are small;-) My blog page thinks my German is better then it is. Somehow the language on my page switched to German, guess that's one way to pick up the language. I just hope I push save (Speichern?) and not delete.

        We not only survived the flight here, but the kids enjoyed it, at least for the short time they were awake. We arrived at the airport at about 10:30 pm Tuesday the 14th. Things started out with a mad rush and didn't end until we sat in our seats on the plane. After unloading our stuff from the car Bea LaBonte sat with the girls and I or more like she held down the fort while I chased Eloise around. Not sure what we would have done without Bea, she was our guide through the airport and helped juggle the girls, pets and ridiculous amount of stuff.  After checking in we went down to USO to hangout until our flight. Unfortunately, pets aren't aloud in USO, Alan and the girls waited out side. The two big girls thought it was the greatest thing in the world, since the USO is heavily stocked with all sorts of complementary goodies. I think the guy working the counter got to know the girls pretty well or at least the top of their heads and their little fingers. I tried to put Eloise down in the family room, but her happy gibbering was not so welcomed by the mom of a sleeping toddler : / Time flew and before we knew it, it was 1:30 am and we had to get the pets to their destination. It was then that I realized we were missing two carry-on bags. So Alan did the mad rush with the dogs and I went back to the check-in counter. After much debating, computer searching and walky-talky chatter, they insisted that I must have checked them on the plane by the number of bags we had..... Well, that's fine and dandy, but all of the girls stuff was in those two bags (diapers, panties, etc.). I was told to run down to USO (with the kids, by myself, down one floor and on the other side of the airport from our gate, minutes before boarding) and grab some necessities for the girls before they closed, which they didn't have....AND then I lost Alan (we have no phones mind you)! Girls were riding in the cart and got in a big fight, I try to console Aria, when I realize Maddy and the cart are going full speed down the steep hallway. I understand that I probably looked crazy holding a screaming child and a baby, chasing a racing cart down the the hall with a child whooping with joy. The people watching weren't a big help either, as they stood there watching and pointing out the chaos instead of helping;-P At last Alan, my hero shows up to save the day! Somehow, we all made the plane just as they made the final call for families to board.  I have never seen such a packed plane...ever! We were 20,000lb over weight!  The airline decided to unload luggage and leave half of it behind and we are talking about a plane FULL of men and woman deploying who now won't have anyone of their belongs until next Monday/Tuesday (20th/21st). After taking off half the luggage, they decided to call off all of the families who I'm guessing were just hopping on for leisure travel. I feel awful for those families and the one next to me.......but it happened to be the family in our row, so we had two empty seats in our row to stretch out on. Maddy and Eloise slept almost the entire time and Ariana woke up as happy as can be with two hours to go.  Alan was amazing, I slept almost the whole time, laying across three seats. Every once in awhile I would peak my eyes open to see Alan helping coo the baby to sleep, taking someone potty or changing diapers and putting them back to bed. Somehow, I missed breakfast, but no worries, Alan made sure everyone had food. In my defense I did offer him my spot, but he refused it until the end:-P

      After arriving and collecting our baggage, surprise, our two carry-on bags aren't there and either is Alan's bag with all his uniforms. So it turns out that in our mad rush to unload, we left the two carry-on bags and the highchair in the floor storage of the rental car, whoops! Again, Bea comes to the rescue and is going to send them to us. Now to wait until next week to get Alan's stuff. Two guys that Alan works with came and picked us up, brought us to our temporary lodging facilities (TLF). They also took Alan shopping to grab the necessities.  Just to help make us feel at home our TLF is located on Kansas street and parallel to Virginia drive:-) 

        While Alan was out running errands, the girls were having a blast in their new rooms until.....Maddy locked herself in her room!  Had to call the office to send someone to get her. Maddy is so good at making the best out of every situation! Well locked in her room she made cards to send to her cousin Amariah. 

   Alan was gone all the next day at in-processing (without his required uniform on :/). The kids and I just spent the day relaxing. Is it weird that I somewhat enjoyed the jet-lag? The girls pretty much slept all day or calmly sat around either curled up in bed or the couch.  The girls have been just so positive and excited about the new changes. I love watching how well they play together, they really are best friends! The girls and I walked to the park and then to the commissary. We got some of the best Italian bread I have ever had! It was exciting to cook a meal with cooking instructions all in German:-)  To my amazement, it turned out at least eatable.

   Looks like Ariana is still trying to get over jet-lag, 11:30am here and she is still out like a log.  Today's goal is to find a cheap family vehicle. House hunting can't happen until late next week. As it turns out, we have to wait to get a list of places we can rent from and ones that are blacklisted.

 Keep us in your prayers as we look for a car today! 

Alright, so here goes nothing, my first blog!

Farewell Ohio and hello....Baltimore?! We've packed up all our stuff, with a majority of it who knows where, I can only hope not sinking in the bottom of the ocean. We loaded up/jammed everything we could possibly fit into a rental van and headed off to Baltimore. Eww on a side note, Alan and I might have been converted into van lovers. Anyway, back on track. We arrived last night to the house of one of the most hospitable woman that I have ever met, mommy LaBonte, my SIL's MIL. Two homemade dinner options awaited us, new Frozen memory book, tattoos and coloring books to entertain the girlies. Oh and to top it all, she gave Alan and I the master bedroom. Starting to think, the little thank you gift I got her might not be enough to let her know how thankful I am. Hmmm, now to come up with a new gift idea;-/ 

Today is Columbus day and the weather is dreary, what I consider a perfect day to stay in jammies, drink coffee and snuggle on the couch with a good book all day...Not what I did today or ever really; I'll tuck that away and put that on my bucket list for when I'm an empty nester 43783276 years from now. 

Click below for more photos of our trip 
Our Trip to the B&O Railroad Museum

Today, Alan and I took the girls to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad museum.  We had a great time! Ariana and Eloise's favorite part was the kid zone with legos and toy trains. Maddy's favorite part was the scavenger hunt. She was given a card and had to find the stamping stations hidden all over the museum.  






Overall, great day! Now to get everything organized for our flight tomorrow night. We are going to the airport tonight just to double check that we are good to go, especially when it comes to the pets.