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!

It's My Birthday!

 In January, Grammy came to visit...

 The boys love it when Grammy comes...so do Mom and Dad :-)