Happy Birthday Micah

Micah reading one of his clues for his present treasure hunt.

My attempt at making a "Bob" cake from Monsters vs Aliens.

Singing "Happy Birthday."

On saturday Micah turned 7. We celebrated his birthday, first, as a family and then later with friends. In the morning we a birthday treasure hunt (something we did at my house as a kid). Greg hid the presents and then wrote clues for Micah to find them. Of course, Micah was very excited and always gives the desired response. Later, his friends joined us for cake and ice cream. They also took turns hitting the pinata and took off for the movie "Monsters vs Aliens."

We are so happy to have Micah in our family and birthdays are great to show that appreciation! Thank you Micah for being a great big brother to your little sister and brother. You are a good example and always want to do the right thing. You are also very funny and keep us laughing.

We love you buddy!

Shopping woes

When your husband suggests that you go shopping to get some new "duds," it is time to go. I really hate clothes shopping and always put it off until I have thread bare clothes that don't fit well and are out of date. Let's just say that I to that point now. My favorite jeans are threatening to rip a hole in one of the knee. All my favorite tees are faded and I look like a raggamuffin most of the time. So....I just spent about an hour searching the internet for some summer things. I scanned, Gap, NY&CO, Old Navy, J Crew, Express.....nothing seems to suit me. I need a personal shopper. Does anyone have any suggestions?

AFN television

We finally broke down and bought an american receiver for the Armed Forces Network. On monday we got the receiver hooked up and have been enjoying TV in english all week. I have watched Dr Phil and Oprah for the first time in at least a year (it comes on at 8pm, nice). There is one children's channel, which has some decent shows during the day. Some of the shows include: Dora, Diego, Super Why, some PBS stuff, a few disney channal shows etc. Unfortunately, the shows after 3pm are weird and I don't particularly love them, with a TV rating of Y7. You might know the type.

Another complaint are the commercials. On the grown-up channals the commercials are geared to addressing problems that military people face while over seas. I find them patronizing and annoying. I don't feel like they apply to me, or any of the people I know. Also, I don't need a constant reminder that we are in the military, while I am trying to relax. Some of the commercials address: suicide prevention, drinking and driving, shaking baby syndrome, driving too fast on the Autobahn, sexual harrassment etc.

Yesterday Micah came bouding up the stairs he was very anxious and said," mom I need to tell you something really urgent. I was watching one of your shows and a commercial came saying you need to watch your kids better. It was very serious mom. You better do it. It was true."

It looks like I am not the only one who is being indoctrinated.

Picture of Southern Germany

Eating pretzels at Neuschwanstein.

In front of Mozarts house in Salzburg.

At the very top of the Zugspitze. You can see the Italian, Austrian, German, and Swiss Alps

Neuschwanstein from below.

In Heidelberg. Sadie hugging her dollie grandma and grandpa bought her.

Waiting for the ride to the Heidelberg castle.

In Heidelberg. Notice the castle on the hill.

At Neuschwanstein castle. A scenic view on the to the Castle.


Micah and Sadie hugging the wall. Notice the Castle in the background.

At the Zugspitze. There was still snow, but is was above freezing.

I finally have a chance to document our trip to southern Germany. These pictures are in no particular order, but include most of our stops along our excursion.

My friend Dorris asked me if I would attend the Parents association meeting for the kindergarten. She is the president and I wanted to support her, so I decided to go and have a free german lesson. Little did I know that they were filling positions for the next year. Not that many were in attendance and well...let's just say that they wrangled me into being the treasurer. How did that happen? I do know how to say no in German....NEIN! I explained that I didn't feel comfortable with the language barrier. But they proceeded to discuss the position for about 30 minutes and whether or not I could do it. I really just wanted to go home. I finally reluctantly accepted, partly to move on with the meeting, and because it was getting pretty ridiculous.
I just wanted to say.....don't you need a piano player for something.
So, I am not comfortable with the position, but at least it will push me into learning more vocab.

Gummi Bears

While carrying Sadie on my back the other day, she mentioned that I am "soft and squishy like a gummi bear." Hmm....great. She is right, although I think that gummi bears might be a bit more firm than I am. Let's just say that all the German bread and cheese is catching up to me. Which brings me to the lastest dilema, exercise.

I used to belong to a gym with childcare. Unfortunately, that is no longer an option here. There is a gym, that offers babysitting, but it is 40 minutes away. I have contemplated a treadmill and have had my step ready to go in the livingroom for the last couple of weeks, and have declared every evening that I am going to go on a jog as soon as the kids go to sleep. Well....it hasn't happened. Until yesterday, I had a dream that I couldn't run, because my legs were stuck. It was so frustrating that I was determined to hit the pavement. So, as of today, I have ran two days in a row, eventhough yesterday was sunday, and today Greg worked. (I woke up before he left..5:30 yikes.)

My new goal is to run 3 days a week, eat all of fruits and veggies and stop eating by 7pm. Do you think I can do it? Maybe this gummi bear will get a little more toned.

Grandma and Grandpa Jensen

It is time to get caught up with the blogging. Greg's parents were in town and we traveled quite a bit. We had a great a time, catching up with family, seeing southern Germany, and most of all relaxing. We are grateful for Greg's parents, who were a great help with the kids. They even kept up with the vacuuming, which I realized only after they left, when crumbs starting sticking to my feet again.



Some of the things we did included: a tour of the hospital in Landstuhl, a treck up to Burg Nanstein, a shopping spree to Cora, a taste of a Doener, a couple of brats, lots of Italian ice cream, a trip to Heidelberg, a tour of Neuschwanstein castle, Garmisch, the Zugspitze, Dachau, the Eagle's nest, and Salzburg. The countries included Germany, France and Austria. We fizzled out before making it to Belguim. We achieved more than we would have if we had attempted it alone, thanks to the extra help with the kids. We truly had a great time.

I will post some pictures as soon as I have patience for our slow internet.