Something For the New House...

Picked this up from the BX and we're happy we'll be able to hang it up in a couple of weeks!

The boys got some new weapons for slaying dragons...

We Got the House!!

SO EXCITED!!! We live about 100 yards away from a deer farm...the boys and I can go and feed them. It will be the closest thing to "country living" they've ever experienced. 5bdrm, 2.5bath, 3 levels...move in- 16 April :-)

Ryan and I checked out a local Preschool called Childrens' Learning Academy (CLA) today...Ryan wanted to stay and kept asking why he has to wait until next week to start...too cute.  Here's their website: 

Childrens' Learning Academy

France, monkeys, a castle and pastries!

Our friends, The Horton's mentioned that there is monkey farm called La Montagne des Singes over the border in France in a town called Kintzheim....about 2 hours away so we decided to caravan down there and spend the day checking out the area. First and foremost: FRANCE IS GORGEOUS!! It may seem funny to say but where Germany has houses that resemble gingerbread, France has houses that resemble gumdrops. There is a definite difference in style and color. Gabe and I immediately fell in love.

The Monkey Farm was pretty cool. They hand you a handful of popcorn and explain how to hold out your hand and let the monkey take the piece from you. The kids thought it was pretty cool that the monkeys were so close and not in cages. They were everywhere. I found it kind of funny that some monkeys weren't interested in the popcorn...guess they'd had their fill already...lol!

The above photo is of Ryan doing his best monkey impression! Below is a photo of Dylan eating "French" fries...he got a kick out of that :-)

After seeing the monkeys we decided to check out a nearby castle. Alsace Castle or Château de Kintzheim...I believe it's called....honestly there were 5 different signs in 5 different languages so I'm not exactly sure. It was massive and all the way at the top a large hill/mountain. I kept reminding Gabe to watch the road and not to look over the edge. It was a crazy windy drive up to the top. We decided not to do the tour because the kids were already getting tired but we'll definitely be back to check out the whole thing. Will probably have to make a whole day of it?

As we were leaving we stopped at a coffee stand and the lady asked me if I'd like an espresso? Why yes, I would and two of those lovely pastries...Merci!

 Here is a picture of the town as we drove through it...

And lastly...if you think there aren't enough reminders that you are no longer in "Kansas" just make a visit to the nearest facility...and no, that is not a shower, ladies!...a seatless latrine! Or as my friend Brooke calls it "A squatty potty"...lol!

Possible House...

So, it turns out that the ladies I met at the park really pulled through. The lady who is currently living in the house emailed me last night and even sent us some photos. She offered to show us the house so Ryan and I drove out there this morning. It's in the village of Oberstaufenbach. It's a little bit of a drive (15 minutes to base) through a few villages, around many windy roads, out near farm land and rolling hills. BEAUTIFUL!! The scenery was like something out of a movie...German countryside. When we got to the house, Michelle (the current tenant) met me at the door, introduced herself and hugged me. I can't even tell you how cool it was to receive such a warm welcome...she is one of the sweetest women I've ever met and so helpful. She showed me the house, explained a few quirks, explained the layout of the neighborhood, gave Ryan a snack and then had me call the Realtor. Needless to say...I LOVE the house and made an appointment to meet with the Realtor on Monday morning. I pray we get it. It would be perfect for our family. The kids would have a ton of freedom out there. The house is on a cul-de-sac and is made up of mostly American families with lots of kids :-) Here are a couple of pics...

(Oh, and it's 5 bdrm, 3 bath!)

Scooters...Loads of fun for $29.95

After I dropped off Gabe at work and Dylan at school, Ryan and I headed to the gym. With a little luck and an airman I found the South gym....the only gym that has an area for parents with children. I walked into to what Gabe referred to as "The Broom Closet", handed Ryan the iPhone so he could watch "Sponge Bob" and got a nice run in. I forgot that the military no longer has a towel service so I had to wipe the sweat with a paper towel but lesson learned and I'll remember to bring one next time.

For lunch Ryan and I hit the KMCC and had a hot dog at Frank's Franks. I didn't know there was such thing as a taco dog or a pizza dog but I do now. We went with a standard dog (mine with kraut of course). We went to the BX and purchased 2 Razor Scooters, some Legos and met a nice monkey...

Then we decided to take a drive out to Specbach...in hopes of finding a random American walking around full of information on the neighborhood and a "who's moving out" update. We didn't see anybody but I did find the village (with help from my GPS) and our way home so that was good. Ryan fell asleep before we got to the park so we took an hour long nap in the car....like 2 cats in the sun....it was great. When we woke up we hit the park for about 45 minutes where I happened to meet 2 ladies who did have some info on a house that was coming available. They took my info...we'll see.

We picked up Dylan from school, went back to the house, set up the scooters and went outside to enjoy the great weather.

 And I think I should just add that this may be the best $6 bottle of wine I've ever had...

Dylan's 1st Day of School

Dylan started school today at Ramstein Elementary. It's K-2nd and has over 900 students. We met his teacher, Mrs. Washington this morning  and immediately liked her. She is a bubbly, energetic and sweet lady from Georgia. Dylan was a little quiet at first but we heard it wasn't long before he opened up and got right into the groove of things. They told us that there is no real attendance policy and that if you want to take your child on vacation all you have to do is email the teacher the dates and then have them write in a journal about their experience, take some pictures and talk about it to the class when they return....they call it "Social Studies"! I love it! He will also have "Host Nation" class (German), Spanish, music and physical education each week.

Ramstein Elementary School

Lichtenberg Castle

Tuesday was our last day together before Dylan started school so we decided to take the kids to a castle that we heard was close by. It is in the town of Kusel, Germany. It's about a 15-minute drive from where we are staying so it was an easy/fun trip. The castle sits at the top of a hill and once you're up there you have a spectacular view of the surrounding villages. There is a restaurant there that serves great food, beer (there seems to be a theme) and basil ice cream. We opted for the beer and food...we'll have to try the ice cream next time. Oh, and no, the boys did not drink the beer in the picture.

Lichtenberg Castle Restaurant
The pictures say it all:

Drivers' Test

OK, so I procrastinated! What can I say? So, I spent Sunday evening cramming for the German drivers' exam that I was scheduled to take Monday morning. MANY people fail it (Gabe did...as he took it the day after he arrived and was still jet-lagged). My studying paid off...I passed! 95/100. My advise: Study...know the signs and memorize the "right-of-way" diagrams.

With a license to drive I was free to explore on my own and hope that I didn't get lost!

A Day at the Park

On Saturday we drove around to a few of the surrounding villages. It seems as though many Germans live very close to each other and spend their time outside at local parks, walkways, bike trails and sitting outside at their nearby restaurant patio with a beer. In the village of Meisenbach there is a park called "Seewoog" which means pond. It's a nice little park with a small trail, a pond and a little cabin that sells beer and food. It was great to get out and enjoy the weather and let the boys and the dog run.

Oh, and I have to mention....we had lunch at an Italian restaurant called Taormina in Landstuhl. WOW! Dylan and Gabe got the fish soup and it was full of awesome seafood and Ryan and I got the pizza...gave NY pizza a run for it's money! I would highly recommend it :-)

Hit the Ground Running

So after a crazy night at the BWI Airport (thank you again, Laura for all of your help) we managed to take off at around 2:30am. The flight was 6 hours long. Dylan spent a majority of it on a blanket on the floor (not exactly safe or sanitary), Ryan had two seats to stretch out in and I sat upright...managing about 2 hours of sleep.

We landed, then proceeded through customs and finally saw Gabe through the window. I collected our 6 bags, 2 carry-ons, 2 pillow pets, 2 blankets, 2 carseats and the dog and we were on our way!

Gabe had a friend, Steve Horton, who he worked with at Randolph AFB there to help us because there was no way we were going to fit all of our stuff into the 1996 BMW wagon. BTW, this wasn't exactly the BMW I envisioned in my dreams but hey, it's a great second vehicle and it runs:-)

We drove out the gate into Ramstein Village where our TLA (temporary house) was located. I have to admit I was a little shocked at just how narrow the streets were. I had heard they were narrow but this was crazy. Going through town I noticed there were flower beds in the middle of the street. You have to wait behind them when cars come and go around them.


Once we were settled into the house we could relax a little but not for long. We had a few errands to run and by this point we were starving. Gabe took us to the KMCC and we ate at the German restaurant, Hof Brau Haus. It was really good. The portions were HUGE! We ordered 2 plates and we all shared them. Of course Gabe and I ordered a beer :-) That was a great way to finish the day....we all slept 12 hours that night!