We made it...

Cameron and I made to it Germany safe and sound Tuesday afternoon (early Tuesday morning stateside). Our travels were pretty uneventful as all our flights went smoothly. Cameron did have a little meltdown right when we were boarding our plane in Baltimore to head to Ramstein. He was so tired, as this flight was at 11:30pm and our first flight of the day was 6:45am, he starting crying and freaking out saying he didn’t want to go. Poor little guy. He finally calmed down and we boarded then his tears turned into slumber for the next 7 hours of the flight, thank goodness! Once he saw his Daddy at the passenger terminal he was all better. He is such a Daddy’s boy.

Since Tuesday we haven’t been doing a whole lot except cleaning the house. It was (still is, but my body is super sore) very dirty! The house we are in is a very traditional German house, lots of rooms, no closets to speak of, and a VERY tiny kitchen. I nearly cried when I saw it. We did manage to make a trip to IKEA, which is about an hour away. I can’t go anywhere by myself yet as I do not have a German driver’s license. I will take the test soon, but I am putting it off because the driving scares the crap out of me. First of all, the streets are tiny here and people just whiz in and out of them. Second, every intersection seems to be a roundabout. Last, no matter how much I pay attention I cannot get my bearings as to where we are and I have a pretty keen sense of direction.

On August 20^th, the movers will be delivering our stuff. The loaner furniture we have is just as comfortable as concrete so it will be a good day. I have been taking pictures with my cell phone, but it isn’t set correctly so I can’t get the pictures off of it yet. Speaking of cell phones, I got another iPhone so for those of you who have an Apple device send me your number or Apple ID and we can text for free. Also, once we get our household stuff I will be better at updating. We have internet but forgot to bring one of our wireless routers with us. So, we are stuck to plugging into the computer the old fashion way and I am just not very good about getting on with it. Pretty pathetic, huh?! Once we get our household items too we will work on getting a stateside number so everyone can call us. So stay tuned…pictures and more updates to follow. 

Summer Highlights...

At this moment, Cam and I are sitting in the Baltimore airport waiting for our flight to Germany. I can’t believe this day is here. It’s bittersweet. I’m sad that Dougie isn’t here with us and it will be a few years before we get stateside again. But I am anxious to get settled in our new home, explore Europe and establish our new “normal”. I had a great summer though. Here are just some highlights:

• Seeing Dougie graduate from high school and celebrating with tons of family in Rapid City. It is always SO GOOD to see extended family, as I don’t get to see them as much as I like.
• Spending time with my nieces, Lilly and Ella. They are just growing up too fast. Next time I visit I will have a nephew to add to the mix. That will be interesting to see them with a little boy in the house.
• Taking Dougie to college. Even though it was an emotionally tough experience, I am so excited for Dougie.
• Hanging out and re-connecting with my old girlfriends.
• Going to Denver with my friend Margo to see some concerts.

·       This summer has just gone by too fast, but now I have new adventures to be had…

Playing Tourist...

Growing up in the Black Hills I have a real aversion to tourist destinations as I had to deal with out-of-towners and it can be a big pain in the rear. My idea of a vacation spot typically includes some sort of seclusion, which I believe is a result of growing up here. However, it provided me with a job every summer since I was 15 and is the main source of revenue for this area. 

Yesterday the boys, along with my Mom, and I headed out for some tourist/site-seeing fun. We first went to the Cosmos which is supposed to be some magical gravity hot spot in the hills. I'm pretty sure the house that was built at an angle along side a steep hill has nothing to do with it...wink wink. None the less, the awkwardness caused me to have vertigo which then triggered my motion sickness. I kept my cookies down, but I didn't feel well afterwards. 

We then headed into the hills for a scenic drive and a little rock climbing. We went on a wilderness loop and managed not to see ANY wilderness. Must have been too hot. 

This is Cam standing up straight beside the cabin

The Cosmos transformed Cam into Superman

Since we drove right by Mt. Rushmore, I thought I would snap a picture to add to the hundreds of other pictures in my collection. 

See the tourists!

My boys

This was the best part of their day. Climbing and scrapping knees!

This is the Needles Hwy. 

The Black Hills, sadly all the brown patches are dead trees from the infestation of the pine beetle. 

Nature Walk and Paraphernalia...

Yesterday I went with my Mom, brother, and nieces to a new attraction in Rapid City. I love coming back home and visiting new places as you can only visit Mt. Rushmore so many times in one person's lifetime. Although, I have to say the evening lighting ceremony never gets old. Anyway, we went to The Outdoor Campus which is sponsored by the South Dakota Game, Fish, & Parks. Good times were had by all. Especially when Cam decided to scour the bottom of a pond with a stick. I promised my brother if I posted the picture I HAD to tell the story that goes along with it. 

There was a nature walk trail and along this trail is a little pond. Kids being kids wanted to go explore this nasty pond and we let them. There was a dead tree laying out in the pond which Cam walked out onto with a big stick. He proceeded to dredge the bottom of the pond with this stick. Well, he picked up on something. We could see what looked like a plastic tube coming up on his stick and then it would fall off and go back under. Cam was determined to get this thing to shore as he thought it was a rod holder and he could give it to his Papa. It took him nearly 15 minutes but he finally got the thing to shore. He picked it up and showed it to me and it clearly wasn't a rod holder. It was a bong! My brother and I were laughing so hard. I made my brother hold it while I took a picture. I'm sure there are some pissed off teenagers somewhere in Rapid City that are missing their bong. 

Little Miss Lilly and a bunny rabbit puppet

Ella Bella had a blast in this tent

Cam and Ella fishing

King of the Mountain Cam

Cam climbing

Ella can climb just like Cam

My baby boy, Cameron

Little Miss Lilly

Ella Bella

Cam playing with a stick and Ella watching

The Cousin's

Sister's

The infamous scum pond

My brother and the Paraphernalia Cam found at the bottom of the pond

Cam atop a tower

Ella got tired so she had to hitch a ride with Dad. Dad said, "Ella, don't pee!!"

End of the trail at a cold water spring

The Birthday Boy...

Well, today was the big day. Douglas turned 18 and became an official adult. He got a little scared when I said I have no more legal obligation to feed him anymore. In between going to baseball games with his Grandpa we got a little fun in. I just can't believe how fast the last 18 years have gone. For many years Doug and I got a lot of grief because we do everything with our kids. We may have a date night twice a year, in fact the boys have always gone with us on our Anniversary dinner. In addition, we have only gone on one vacation without the kids. My thought was, if I get 80-some good years on this Earth, I only get my kids for 18 of those years. It's a very short time!!! So, we always tried to create memories every chance we got. This is just our way, and I certainly don't think there is anything wrong for those of you who do create more adult time. It was just our preference. I suppose it was one of the perks of having kids so young, Doug and I will have oodles of time to spend together while we still have our drivers licenses. 

I was out early this morning in my PJ's creating this masterpiece. 

Grandma and I spent the evening blowing up all these balloons and snuck them into his room while he was asleep this morning. 

His birthday present, a new car stereo so he can plug in and play his tunes off his phone. My brother and I spent 2 hours taking apart his car to put it in the night before but realize neither one of us knows jack about wiring. LOL 

Birthday dinner

He loves it when we sing to him!

He finally complied to being happy after I kicked him under the table

The birthday party people! It was all fun until Ella became the party pooper...literally!

I love you...

I posted this picture on Facebook from Dougie's graduation. Everyone loved it! Him looking up at us in the crowd and signing "I Love You" seemed to melt all your hearts. As I promised, there is a story pertaining to this picture. I'll never forget the day when he was in fourth grade and he got to that point where he was too big to kiss his mother good-bye for school in front of everyone. It's the day we lose our babies for good! So, I showed him the sign for I Love You and he decided that was okay to do when we said good-bye. And that is what we did everyday when he left my car and entered the school building. It then followed onto the football field. When his team took the field, the first thing he did was find me and sign I Love You. When he flew for the first time last year by himself, I didn't leave until he got through security and he turned around and signed, I Love You. So, last Saturday when he looked up and signed I Love You, it was a natural thing to do. It's been our thing for many years. In fact, I do the very same thing with Cameron. Just because they are boys and don't want that physical attention from Mom anymore doesn't mean they can't be affectionate in their own way. I love it, and wouldn't change a thing!

Homeless...

First, let me explain the process of our military move to Germany. There are three shipments we are allowed. First is household goods (HHG) which is the bulk of the move. This shipment gets put on a ship and makes the long trek across the Atlantic Ocean. Second, is unaccompanied baggage. These are items you don't want to travel with but need to have around, such as extra clothing and handy housewares and are put on a plane to Germany. Last, there is storage which will sit here in the states until we move back and include our washer, dryer, and our extra fridge. 

We had reserved our dates of when the movers were to come. On Monday we were expecting the unaccompanied baggage movers, however the HHG movers came instead. To say I was unprepared is an understatement! I was planning on packing our suitcases Monday after the movers left. I had NOTHING packed. After a little (okay, maybe huge) meltdown I kicked it into gear and went through each room of the house one room at a time grabbing what I needed and then allowing the packers to come in and pack up the room after me. It worked out, but I think I aged 5 years in the process. 

We are currently staying in temporary lodging on Ft. Bragg until we leave North Carolina next Thursday. I still have a full schedule as relatives have come into town for Douglas's graduation this weekend. But, the physical packing and moving our household items are done. 

It's always comfortable when they pack your furniture

My wall of boxes in the kitchen

Living Room

Our dinner among the boxes. Cam is thrilled, right?!

This is Tuesday loading up the crates on the truck