More Summer fun

The kids had fun
We took a break on the walk down

Last Thursday we spent the day at Burg Eltz. It was supposed to rain but luckily for us Mother Nature was on our side. It was beautiful. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get there and the drive was full of curvy curves. I was driving or I would have taken pictures but it was REALLY curvy. This castle is built in a valley so to get there you walk down another (800 meter) curvy hill. My legs were sore for days afterwards. We took the tour and had a great lunch there. We cannot wait to take Daddy there when he gets back. My parents leave tomorrow and we are sad to see them go but we have had a really fun time since they have been here. We are lucky that they will be back in November.

Summer time

Sorry it has been a while but we have been so busy. My parents have been here since May 5th and we have been on the go since. My parents have been troopers helping with the school carnival and 5th grade celebration.
School activities and baseball finally got done June 11 so we hit the road. First we took a USO tour to Bastogne forthe Battle of the Bulge. We had the best tour guides and it was way cool seeing the fox holes that the guys from EZ Company (Band of Brothers) lived in for a bit.
Then we took a day trip to the Black Forest where I bought my first Cuckcoo clock. It was rainy and a bit chilly but we walked around the town and had lunch before heading home.
Last Saturday at O'dark thirty in the morning (2 AM) we left on another USO trip to Paris. We visited the Eiffel Tower where my parents and Ronan rode the elevator to the top. Emma Did not want to go so we stayed below watching the cops chase the illegal "vendors," or as Emma kept calling them the vultures, around the square. We also went to Notre Dame but we were not able to go inside because on that Saturday 10 priests were being ordained. Next time hopefully we can go inside.They even had a memorial for Michael Jackson at Notre Dame. We got to see all the sights. It gave us a nice overview of Paris and now we can go back and visit the places we did not get to see. We had a great lunch and dinner there. We arrived back home at 2 AM. I am still not fully rested after being awake for over 25 hours.
My Dad has been playing golf here and was even able to participate in a tournament. He has made lots of friends who keep asking him when he'll be coming back so they can all play golf.
This week we are taking it easy and only going to IKEA. I am not sure what we will be doing in the next couple of weeks before my parents go home but I am sure we won't be sitting in the house for long.

Oh my look who's 11

He's now 11

This picture was taken when we brought Ronan home

Ronan turned 11 on April 28. I don't know where the time has gone. He will be having a party at the pool later this month but we celebrated with a chocolate pudding pie. His favorite.

Baseball Season has begun

Both kids are playing baseball this spring. It should be interesting getting the kids to practice and games on time by myself. Dad is gone for the next 6 months.

Emma is playing on a coach pitch team. This is her first year and so far she is having fun. Ronan is playing kid pitch. This is his second year playing but the last time he played he was four years old. So we'll see how it all goes. He has been playing catcher at practices.

Last weekend opening ceremonies and all games we cancelled because of rain. So the official season begins this weekend.

Wish us luck and I will keep you posted.

Basketball Season

Basketball season has officially ended. The kids had a great time and we had super coaches. Our end of the season party was at the skating rink. Even the coaches (who are really Big kids) skated with the team. Ronan skate was bothering him because his sock had something on it so being the great Mom that I am I gave him my sock so that is why I couldn't skate. Yea right I would've skated any how. :-) Next up is baseball season for both kids. Wish us luck.

So for some funny reason the school had a teacher in service day on a Tuesday. We decided that we would take the kids out of school for that Monday and head down to Garmisch for a long weekend. We woke up on Saturday morning and got out on the road by 9:15. What was supposed to be a 4 1/2 hour drive turned into 9 hours. We drove on some "roads" we were sure were not actual roads. We were convinced that our new GPS had led us astray. We realized later that it was trying to take us around the traffic. There was a lot of snow and I guess everyone decided to take a long weekend and go skiing. We had a great time. We went sledding and swimming. The resort has an outdoor hot tub so we sat in it while the snow was falling. Talk about beautiful. Ronan decided it would be so cool to roll in the snow and then jump back into the hot tub. He takes after his father. :-) We drove around on Monday, did a little sight seeing and we were back at the resort around 3. By the time we left the next morning (around 9) there was at least 1 foot of snow covering our car. We drove home in sometimes whiteout conditions but made it home in less that 5 hours. We learned how to work the GPS so that it would take us straight home with no detours.

BRRRRRRR!!!

It snowed again last night. We got about 2 inches maybe a bit more. The kids wanted to build a snowman but we did not have enough snow in the backyard. So Daddy being the nice guy that he is shoveled our driveway and the neighbors and dumped the snow in the backyard. Poor Emma got "too cold" she said and had to come in. I really need to get theses kids back to Alaska to toughen them up!!

Birthday Celebration

On Friday the 13th was Kelly's 37th b-day. It was a low key day because we were not all feeling very well. But we surprised him with a cake and although he is not always excited about celebrations he humored us an let us sing to him as he blew out his candles. After cake we all bundled together and watched a few Star trek Voyagers and headed off to bed. Like I said pretty low key.

Honor Roll

Ronan got 4 A's and 1 B so he was on the Silver Honor roll again this semester. We couldn't be more proud of him. Of all the complaining he does he still does really well. Yes, he needs a haircut badly!!

Basketball at Baumholder

The basketball game on Saturday was an away game to Baumholder. Baumholder is about 20-25 minutes away from us. We were to meet the team at the bowling alley to carpool up. We were off and running by 8:15 plenty of time to get there and warm up. However, the gym where the game was to be held was not easily found. We circled around for 20 minutes or more. We would ask directions and they would give us directions to another gym. We were 30 minutes late for the game. The other team agreed to wait for our team and then we beat them 21-9. Overall the season has been fun and Ronan's team has only lost 1 game.

My Rockband Family

For Christmas Ronan got Rockband for the Wii. It has a guitar, drums and microphone. Emma is the singer of the family and Ronan loves to play the guitar. Dad gets his groove on by playing the drums. It's a family affair. What do I do you may ask? I take pictures and clap. Notice the concentration of all involved. They are all having a blast and cannot wait to get that extra guitar and Rockband 2. Luckily it is winter time and the windows are closed. Heaven help the neighbors this Spring when we open the windows. :-)

Its snowing!

Looking down our street

Looking accross the street

Well this isn't our first snow of the year but it is the most beautiful. The flakes were huge. I know the pictures do not do it justice. The flakes were at least 2-3 inches wide. It was awesome. I know it will probably melt by tomorrow but for now the kids are enjoying the snow.

Basketball Season

The Cavaliers

Emma enjoying the game.

Ronan racing down court. (Boy he needs a haircut)

Look Ma I can dribble and run at the same time!

Ronan's basketball season has started and we are happy to say the Cavaliers won their first game. Ronan played hard and seemed to have a good time. We have the same coaches that we had for football and they are doing a great job. Ronan hasn't played basketball in a couple of years and he still has alot to learn but thankfully he is a good listener (at least when the coaches talk). He practices twice a week and now with games we will be doing the basketball thing at least 3 times per week. The season ends in February and Ronan is now talking about joining baseball. Lucky for us the same coaches will be there for baseball.

Go Cavaliers!! and #12

December 31, 1992

Let me take you back for a few minutes back to my parents house in Vancouver Washington on December 31, 1992. It snowed that day. I always say it was at least a foot but I have been told it wasn't that much. I had not eaten all day except 4 Ritz crackers. The house was still decorated from Christmas but we added more white lights for the big day. My dad came up to get me it was time. I walked down the stairs to see my closest family and friends waiting for me in the livingroom. Kelly stood there with his best man as my father hesitated and then gave me away. It was one of the best nights of my life. I knew I loved Kelly but did not realize how much it would grow over the years. It has been 16 years now and 2 kids, 2 dogs, 6 moves, and countless cars we are still going strong.
Thanks for letting me reminisce. I hope this finds you enjoying your loved ones. Have a safe and Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas

Emma posing with one of her many presents.

Myles posing with his present from Santa.

Ronan really loves his gift. Rock Band for the Wii.

The before picture.

Christmas has come to our house and my kids were yet again spoiled rotten. Or as my son says "We're not spoiled we just have great grandparents" I would have to agree. Even the dog got presents. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The USO came to town

Kid Rock performing his "All Summer Long" song

Lewis Black making us laugh.

Me with the group of performers. I sat by Lewis Black on purpose. He's my favorite.

Today the USO had a free show so we took the kids out of school and went to the show. Kid Rock, Kelly Pickler and Lewis Black were among the performers. The performers had just arrived from the states and after an 8-9 hour flight and even though they were tired they put on a great show for us. Lewis Black is sooo funny I laughed so hard I cried. I only knew a few of Kid Rock's songs and he sang the ones I knew. What a guy. We had a great time. I even got my picture taken with the group of performers.

All in all a great afternoon. But as they say all good things must come to an end and as I was parked picking up our dinner some "guy" ran into my van and tore off my side mirror. Not only that but he did not stop. I guess I am glad that there was no other damage to the van except the mirror, but it still stinks.

We went to our first Christmas market today in Diedersheim Germany. It was only 45 minutes away and we got there with no problem. However, we got lost going home and it took us over 2 hours. We tried Gluhwein which is a warm and spicy wine. It was okay tasting and it was something we "had" to do. Everyone else was doing it. :-) It was a pretty crowded place for a Sunday. Kelly took the kids up on a ferris wheel to see the sights.

Here is Ronan enjoying the ride. He seemed to have a good time at the market and the ride was the best part.

Emma also enjoyed the ride. The stick she is holding she found on the ground and she would not get rid of it. We had to keep telling her not to poke everyone in the crowd with it. All in all it was a fun family day. Even with the getting lost the kids didn't complain.. MUCH!

Friday we received 2 out of 3 packages from Grandma and Grandpa and my sister in South Carolina. The big box weighed in at 18.1 lbs. I felt sorry for the folks at the post office. Actually it was student volunteers from the high school handing out packages that day. Under our tree is full and I am asked daily if the kids can open up just one present. I can't wait for the 3rd box to arrive. I hope everyone gets what they want for Christmas. I know my kids will not be wanting anything for sometime.

Peace!

Gingerbread Houses

Okay they weren't really gingerbread houses but graham cracker houses. On Thursday myself and 2 other Moms had the "honor" of putting together 20 graham cracker houses. I am not a builder so as you can imagine some did not turn out as we had hoped. If you use too much of the icing cement then it took forever to dry and your house would fall. Gravity stinks. However, if you did not use enough cement the houses would fall. Did I mention gravity stinks? So it took us over 3 hours to put these houses together for Emma's 2nd grade class. We let them dry overnight and the kids got to decorate them on Friday. I mixed up another batch of cement for the kids to use and they turned out to be much better builders that I am. Here is the end result.

All cookied out!!

So I thought I would save some money ($16) and bake cookies as my fee for the spouses lunch. 10 DOZEN cookies is all I had to make. I thought how hard can that be. Well 3 days later I finally finished making my cookies. As you may be able to tell I started out fancy and ended up with M&M cookies. I became the cookie Czar. The freezer was full and my family did not understand why they couldn't have any cookies. Oh well, it is for a good cause but I think I might pay the money next year. I hope nobody askes me to make anymore cookies this year. Happy Baking!