Greg and Nicole Jensen

Getting stir crazy

2012-01-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

On Thursday we awoke to cold and darkness. The power had gone out. Heavy winds and heavy snow-laden trees are a bad combination in WA. Some 70,000 people were without power in the Puget Sound area. We knew that we might have to wait our turn for restored power service, but we felt pretty prepared.

All our electronics were fully charged. I had purchased D batteries for our gas fireplace (I learned for the last power outage, that we don't have a pilot light, but a battery operated starter.) Greg went to the Grocery store the night before and we had enough clean underwear for a few days.

The weather outside was NASTY. The foot of snow had turned into a slush encased in an ice crust. Our street had not been plowed, but Greg manged to get out for work on our good car. Freezing rain fell from the sky most of the day. Our cars were covered in about 2 inches of ice, and there were icicles everywhere. It looked beautiful, but was no fun to be out in. So, we stayed inside.

Needless to say we got a little stir crazy, but we managed to stay nice for the most part, with only some fighting. We got creative in our interactions. We made jewelry, worked on my dollhouse, read from the book The Hobbit, played card games, and hide and seek.

On Wednesday, when Greg got home from work, we ventured out for dinner. We were met with only darkened restaurants and stores. Lights were on in Lowes, and we were one of the last people to get propane for our camp stove. We returned home and prepared a meager meal in the dark.

The next day, I was glad to have a camp stove running in the garage. We had a warm breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Lunch was noodles and we even made no bake cookies in the afternoon. Burritos were on the menu for dinner, since we had some tortillas and cheese that I buried in the back yard after our fridge had warmed up.

We met our neighbors across the street. I overheard her mentioning that they there were cold in their house. I brought over some D batteries for her fireplace. I also, learned that her husband had left for Afgahnistan a month ago. We invited their kids over for a play date. It was nice to have a different dynamic with friends. The kids had a great time.

Snow-magedon

2012-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

....also, known as Snow-pacalyspe hit Washington last Sunday. The snow fall was relatively light on Sunday morning, but enough to cancel church. I was happy for the day home and felt we could relax in our comfy house. On Monday, we experienced some snowfall, but it wasn't enough keep us in doors. We packed up the car and drove up to Federal Way to visit cousins. I am glad we did, because the rest of the week we were stuck indoors. School and work were canceled and on Thursday the power went off.

The operating rooms were closed on Wednesday so Greg actually stayed home, which has never happened in any winter in MD or Germany, where snowfall is more frequent. We have many stories of Greg driving to work as a resident alone on the freeway, while the rest of the state is shut down. With work canceled, we enjoyed having a snow day as a family. These pictures are from Wednesday. We spent the morning sledding and making snowballs. Also,Greg had short work days on Thursday and Friday and took the good car, so we stayed home to play it safe.

Santa's little helpers

2011-12-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

The kids were pretty excited to help out with wrapping this year. Sadie has gotten pretty good at it and I trust her to wrap a gift for a friend, one of my friends. She doesn't well with picking out nice paper and coordinating bow. Taylor wanted to get in the action and found a "present" for Greg out of his own toy box. He approached Greg and said, "I am going to wrap this (showing him the gift) so you don't know what it is. He did a pretty good job and the gift stayed wrapped under the tree until Christmas morning, when Greg pretended to be surprised.

Sadie led Taylor into my bedroom, to wrap a surprise for me. I came into the room to see what my gift could be. This is what I found.

Just, what I always wanted!

Pumpkin patch

2011-12-19T08:34:00.003-08:00

I love the annual visit to the pumpkin patch. This is one thing that we did not do in Germany. There was a pumpkin farm in our area made for Americans that gave tours, but we never made it there. Here there is a farm just down the road. I got to go with Taylor. We wasn't in the best mood, but I think both had fun. I know that I did.
Taylor perked up when we saw the kittens and at the hay maze. Of course, picking out a pumpkin was really fun. We enjoyed out time with his buddies in his class, and got to know his teacher Ms. Linsey, since we carpooled together. We had a great time.

Summer fun

2011-12-19T08:15:00.004-08:00

Some of the things we did this summer

We are back

2011-12-17T15:08:00.003-08:00

I have really meant to keep up on the blog. Since the move however, my routine has changed and I don't find myself on the computer as much as I used to be. Which is a good thing overall, but is the reason why I have not documented our lives lately.

It is time to play catch-up
1. Some culture shock:

We all had to adjust. Some things we had forgotten about the states. Poor Taylor never experienced some of the differences and it was funny to see what things were NEW to him.

Greg and I had to adjust our driving. The first drive on the freeway in DC seemed like a snail's pace. Luckily, we haven't got any tickets yet. Also, I find myself still yielding to any driver on the right, and have to remind myself yellow lines separate me from oncoming traffic.

Upon arriving at the airport in DC, I realized that no one was staring at us. I felt a load of stress lift off of my shoulders, when I saw lots of kids running around the airport. My kids were not the center of attention anymore.

Poor Taylor had to relearn how to flush a toilet and to open door knobs that turn.

Micah noticed the fire hydrants. They look like "dogs wearing a fire hat." I had to agree.

Customer service is now a priority in restaurants and stores. "Would you like a cart?" "Can I help you find anything?" and "Would you like another diet coke?" are phrases we didn't hear often in the last three years.

There is too much variety of food over here. Capitalism thrives in the fast food industry and is also apparent in the snack section of the grocery store. Wow....how many different types of Oreos are there? This isn't good for the waistline, but since we are giving up bakeries and bratwurst, we will probably break even.

The streets are safer. There is more space between pedestrians and cars. The streets are a full two lanes, with ample space for parallel parking. Plus, there is a large paved sidewalk flanked by grassy strips. Cars drive slower too. I feel like my kids can play in the front yard without risking their lives. We can take family bike rides without dodging speeding cars. Overall, we play outside more.

I can sit in my car while it is running without any dirty looks.

My house is easier to keep clean. Well, we do have a new house which helps, but we don't have all the tile floors (and no white tile in the bathroom, thank you!) Carpet hides dirt. The walls are easier to wipe clean. The windows don't get as dirty (There was a lot of burning of wood and coal in our old German neighborhood.) Germans like to see dirt, so they can clean it up. I prefer to ignore it.

2. Things we miss

I didn't miss anything for the first two months. With all of the traveling, jet leg and family time, we didn't have time to be sad. When school started and our routine started back up, I realized what we would miss.

Friends. Of course our friends are on the top of our things-we-miss-list. Micah shed a lot of tears in the evening when is was time for bed. Both kids dreaded the first weeks of school, until they settled into a new friend routine. Both Taylor and I were sad without our weekly play dates with Lilly and Payton. So sad.

When we sat down to plan Greg's leave for the remaining year of Greg's military service, we realized that we would have to get more creative with our vacation time. Gone are the cheap trips to another country. No more quick drives to France. We will be swapping exotic vacation for family recreational time. It is an okay trade-off, but doesn't sound as cool. Also, we will need to spend some of that time, doing things like, house repairs and yard work.

The beautiful scenery. Washington state is beautiful, but we seriously lived in a fairy tale, with rolling hills and ancient architecture. Our drive to school, was like a post card, especially in the winter. The snow capped steeples dotted the horizon and little villages were nestled into the valleys.

With Christmas time here, we also miss the Christmas celebration in Europe. The Christmas markets are beautiful and festive. Last year, we had a white Christmas with record snow falls. It was really a magical holiday season. It also seems like the Christmas is less materialistic in Germany.

3. Things we are grateful for:

Convenience
School is 5 minutes away. Church is 7 minutes away. A dozen grocery stores are just down the road. Convenience has given us more time in the day. With the new schedule, I have almost 2 more hours with the kids every day. The kids get home from school at 3pm and on the first day of school I had dinner ready at 4pm? When Greg got home from work and we continued with our evening routine, we realized that wow we have more time!

Babysitters

We had great babysitters in Germany, but they lived 30 minute drive away. Date night started at 4pm, with me making the drive with the kids to pick up the babysitter. Greg usually met up with us at the house at 5pm. We usually tried to come home at 9pm. After paying the sitter, I still had a hour round trip to get her home. I also didn't feel comfortable driving the sitter home through the beautiful scenery at night. The poorly-lit, narrow back roads were treacherous, especially in the winter.

Last weekend, our babysitter drove herself to our house. She lived 5 minutes away and had her license. (You cant drive in Germany until 18 years old and the Americans are required to have a US license first. So even college aged babysitters couldn't drive.) It was nice to come home from our date, and stay home.

Half now, half later

2011-08-24T08:21:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, Taylor tried to convince me to play with him. We are still in an empty house and the kids need a lot of entertainment. Having spent a lot of time with the kids already, I was a reluctant. He offered me a kiss to persuade me to play "sea monsters" with him. His argument was so cute, I leaned in for my little kiss.

"One kiss now, and the other one for after you play with me."

Who can argue with that?

One of those discussions

2011-07-24T01:10:00.003-07:00

While driving in the car the other day:

"Mom what is S-E-X?" Sadie asked spelling the last word.

"Well," I answered, "Where did you see that word?"

"It is on your driving license and there is an F after it." I hadn't realized that Sadie was fumbling through my purse.

"Oh," giving an internal sigh of relief. "That means I am a female, another name for girl. When someone asks your SEX, they are asking if you are a boy or a girl."

"That is not what they say on the BUS."

The last week

2011-07-21T00:01:00.003-07:00

If I had a week of vacation in Europe, I probably would spend it differently than I did this our last week in Germany. But, after a relaxing week and 5 more days to go, I have no regrets.

We have enjoyed late nights and late mornings. Greg doesn't have work and the kids have started leaving us alone in the morning. We sleep at least 8 hours each night, which is something new for our young family. We have seen plenty of movies. We are in walking distance of the video rental store, and have a movie theater nearby. Greg has exercised everyday. He runs to the gym and works out. I have tried to walk everywhere I can, to get my exercising in for the day. We have walked to either the pool or the park every day. We have played card games and board games in our hotel room and baked cookies and brownies.

With the extra time, we considered taking a trip to the black forest, or maybe Belgium, but, we can't bring ourselves to do it. Strange? Probably, but, I think this time has been pretty memorable.

More Pictures

2011-07-14T01:26:00.004-07:00

The last few weeks

2011-07-13T06:57:00.005-07:00

We are down to the last two weeks of our stay in Germany. Since returning from our trip to Northern Germany and the Baltic, our lives have been in a whirlwind. Now that we have internet access in our hotel room, I can play catch-up on blogging.

We had a fabulous trip with Fran and Perry. The best part was being with family and having the extra help pairs of hands. We took a cruise on the Baltic and visited Stockholm, Estonia, St Petersburg, and Copenhagen. After eight days of floating on the Baltic, we came home having learned about the history of all the countries from their own perspectives. Our tour guides were overall very informative, we opted to take the excursions provided by the cruise. Greg chose to stay back on the boat with the kids for two of the tours, which gave me a chance to hang out with Perry and Fran without having to worry about the kids.

In Lubeck, Taylor, Sadie and I had a day to ourselves, while the others took a day trip to Berlin. We found these cute beach baskets that were the size for the kids. Sadie is always ready for a photo shoot.

Greg and the kids disembarked for a tour in St Petersburg. We spent an entire day site seeing, with a break for lunch and shopping. We had headphones with a connection to our English speaking guide. This picture is of the summer residence of Emperor Peter, who founded St Petersburg, lots of fountains and lots of gold. Sadie tucked her head into the picture the last minute.

Tallinn was my favorite port. There was a fabulous market with handicrafts from the area. It was nice to get souvenirs that were unique and characteristic for the country.

We came home the day before our household goods were picked up. It was nice to have a week or relaxation before the moving stress started.

Our last trip

2011-06-25T00:33:00.003-07:00

We are finally on our last trip of our European stay. It is sad, but also very exciting, because it is our biggest trip yet. We have ten days of traveling fun, with Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. It includes traveling by train, car and boat to a total of 5 countries.

Our first stay is in Northern Germany, where we are now. We met Grandma and Grandpa at the Hamburg airport. It started as a five hour drive from our home, but turned into a 8.5 hour drive. By the time we reached G and G, we were all fried. Since our van is in the repair shop, we took our little Toyota, which made the trip extra "cozy." At the airport half of us stayed in the car, the other half transferred to the train and we met up in Lubeck, where we are spending three days.

After my mission 15 years ago, my parents came to spend some time in Germany and to pick me up. We traveled to my Dad's former mission, the North Germany mission and spent some time in Lubeck, where my Dad was a missionary 5o years ago. Since I had been here before, I knew what I wanted to see again.

The morning started out rough. The streets were packed! The roads were crowded and the skies opened up and let loose with rain. We quickly found refuge in a Marzipan shop, which had a small museum upstairs. We bought some yummy treats and watched a video on how Marzipan is made. We also went to the local puppet theater, which has a museum full of puppets from all countries and from all ages. The kids found some souvenirs, which is always the highlight for them.

We found a restaurant for lunch, called Jensen Bofhus. Of course, we had to give our patronage! We dined in the European style, taking our time, so that the skies could clear. The food, was more American than not. We had yummy steaks and a salad bar! The customer service was polite, kid friendly and reminded me of home. There was a play area adjacent to our table, the kids had their own crayons and coloring books. We stayed until we were all refreshed and the sun came out again.

Afterwards, we meandered back to the Puppet Theater for the 3pm show. That probably was the highlight of the day. Although the play was in German the kids enjoyed the funny antics of the cute characters. I was amazed at the skill of only two puppeteers. Taylor got scared, but I think he laughed more than he covered his eyes.

We ended the day with a boat trip around Lubeck. The river Trave surrounds the city and creates a moat. We had a great view of the sky line and river houses. It was a pleasant relaxing ride after long day on the go.

Today I am staying in Lubeck with the Taylor and Sadie, while Greg, his parents and Micah take a trip to Berlin.

Father and Sons outing

2011-06-09T00:11:00.002-07:00

Second to the last trip

2011-05-29T12:33:00.002-07:00

Can you guess where we went last weekend? Our original plans were to see some tulips, but apparently they bloomed and died early this year. Other things that we saw included, the Vincent Van Gogh museum. Micah was surprised and impressed to actually see "original paintings?" from the artist himself. I think my kids would recognize any of his paintings after the experience.

We also floated by Anne Franks house on the many canals of its capital city. We took a trip to the home town of Corrie Ten Boom and saw her house (the author of the Hiding Place). We tried the beach, again, but were blown off by the fierce winds (we are not having luck with our beach trips out here) and landed in a park that was dangerous by American standards, but fun for all, including Mom and Dad. Many of the rides were self-propelled, or parent propelled. We all got our exercise. Taylor informed some friendly locals that he "doesn't speak Spanish, you know." I got laughed at by some other kids, when I tried to speak to them in German. I guess German isn't as close to their native tongue as I thought. I should have learned the phrase "don't cut in line, kiddo!" before coming to this country. (Well, actually that would be great in any language.)

Any guesses?

The birthday party that wasn't

2011-05-29T00:06:00.005-07:00

When I imagined being a parent, I expected to love party planning. It turns out that I stress out about having people over and planning fun games for a pack of children. Fortunately, Greg and Micah planned Micah's 9th birthday party, with several fun games that young boys would enjoy. Micah and I made the invitations and got them sent out. Everything was set up with little work and little stress.
The one problem we didn't anticipate was that it memorial day weekend and we live in Europe, where most American take off to Italy, France or the Netherlands when school and work are out. Fast forwarding to the end of this story, everyone chose to travel. No one came, even those who said they could.
It turned out to be one of those hard life lessons. Greg and I quickly discussed plans A/B/C, to redeem the day. We debated calling "back-up" friends, gathering German kids from the neighborhood, and making a trip to the store for a new DS game for a distraction. We decided to keep it low key and it turned into a family party with all the party games and treat bags to ourselves! Micah got to beat-up the pinata all by himself, bombard his parents with water balloons and there was plenty of treats for all! We played a couple of more party games, had a family movie night, ate cake for dinner and ended the day at the park.
Micah did go to bed with still a sting of sadness. We chatted for a bit to help relieve some of the disappointment. I assured him that he would feel better in the morning. Also, that his friends would rather have spent their weekend with him, than in Paris or Rome. We are going to line-up a few play dates before we leave and will probably deliver some of the treat bags.
Of course, I feel pretty guilty about dropping the ball. With hindsight, I realize I could have been more aggressive in pursuing hard "yeses." Part of the problem was I don't know the parents of most of the kids we invited and had no phone numbers and or any contact information. We invited kids from School and no one from church, where most of my friends are. I need to get myself out there more and get to know the parents of Micah's school friends. Ugghhh.....

Pinewood Derby

2011-05-12T00:51:00.000-07:00

Ibiza revisited

2011-05-11T01:07:00.001-07:00

Evolution of a meat eater

2011-04-15T08:20:00.002-07:00

It started with chicken nuggets. Next, breaded pork (schnitzel) became appealing. Last night, we moved into the realm of non-breaded meat......pork chops.

This is a monumental day for the Jensen family........

Ibiza so far.....

2011-04-14T00:25:00.003-07:00

It is a bad sign to be blogging about a trip while you are still on it.

Either you need to vent, or you are sick in the hotel.....well in this case it is both.

So, our trip started out nicely. We had plenty of time to prepare for our flight, which left at 6pm. We left the house clean. Had plenty of in flight activities to entertain ourselves and the kids. Things went smoothly. The luggage passed the weight inspection, the kids we civil and even happy when we landed in Spain.

At first we had trouble finding a Taxi that would drive a family, not enough seat belts. Right before we climbed into two different Taxis, Greg managed to talk a nice lady Taxi driver into driving us to our apartment, in one car. Upon arriving we were treated with hospitality and kindness, free drinks and towels to clean our hands and faces......wow never had that before.

The room was great, very clean and well maintained. We got the kids to bed, put up our feet and breathed out in relief. The hard part was over. Now we can enjoy our trip. Before going to bed I took a drink of the water from the tap. Yuck.....bad....very bad....... It tasted like Sodium Bicarbonate and left your skin tasting like salt after washing your hands......First thing on the agenda.....find some bottled water.

After breakfast (which was very tasty) the next morning, we decided to check out the beach, only 50 m from our place. Hmmmm.... a bit disappointing. The beach was piled up with mountains of seaweed and fronds from the palm trees. There were bulldozers displacing the piles, so when I say mountains......you can imagine what I mean.......We let the kids play for a bit until,Greg started to feel sick, so he took the kids back the apartment, while I went on a journey, on foot to find water......We would try the beach later, or find another one.

We had passed about 5 Supermercados on our little morning walk, so I returned and traced our path. After an hour of walking, I still hadn't found a mercado that was opened. In fact, all of the stores were boarded up, store owners working outside to prepare their shops for the summer season, which starts next week. I knew the locals have to eat, so I kept walking, determined to bring back water....and a diet coke.....In the end, I passed about 10 closed stores, until I found one that was open.

Also, on my walk, I passed the water park, which was our go-to-plan, if the weather was bad. Closed too.....until may, when the season starts. Maybe that is why our tickets were so cheap.....ya, probably.

After re-hydrating, Greg was feeling better so, we checked out the pools. One of the reasons why we chose this Hotel, was for the pools, its two kiddy pools. The pool water was about as salty as the tap water, but only colder. The kids ran around the pool chasing each other with a squirt gun. Maybe the water would warm up later in the day.

We ended the day with a movie, dinner in our apartment and a plan for the next morning. We would rent a car, hit the famous "hippy market," see some caves and the old town.

Our plan for the morning changed when Greg and I woke up with upset bellies. It was a little tricky to be sick at the same time, but at least we are two grown adults, who can manage themselves. Our long night was compounded, but the very loud crowd gathered outside our window. The mob was chanting and banging, garbage can lids, and marching up and down the street. I didn't fall sleep until 4am, when the crowd had dispersed.

The next morning, Greg was the hero of the day, when he took our the kids to breakfast and let me sleep for a couple more hours. He wasn't feel good either, but pushed through his weakness and nausea. He even took the kids to a souvenir shop and go them something to do in the hotel while we recovered.

The afternoon passed with more movies, and naps for mom and dad. Upon waking, the sun was high in the sky, we would try the pool again. This time we had success. The kids and Greg braved the icy waters. I laid in the sun, with a diet coke in hand. This is what we came to do.

The trip is now on an upswing. It is a day three and we are back to normal. The kids are now begging to go swimming. Greg is going to check out rental cars. So......maybe we will venture out of our hotel and actually see the island.

Time to clear the air

2011-03-27T11:54:00.004-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a fiery blog about a certain comment, made by my daughter's teacher. From the mouth of my daughter, her teacher commented on my age. If you read that blog, certainly you'll remember. Well, on Friday, the situation was finally resolved. I confronted her.

According, to Ms X, she NEVER made that comment and would NEVER make such a comment. Of course, I believe her. We swapped "aging" issues and laughed a bit about the situation. I apologized for thinking she was capable of the comment and for stressing her out. (I had emailed to set up a time for a "chat" about an "incident" in class. That freaked her out a bit.)

But.....

The question remains where did this come from? My Daughter gave me a couple of names, but I have decided to put the issue to bed.

The things I learned from this situation?
Kids don't make good star witnesses.
I should address such issues before three months pass.
It is easy to make the testimony of a child into a witch hunt.
Using the internet to vent my feelings, takes gossiping to a whole new level.

So, I will do better next time......

The honesty of little girls

2011-03-25T01:39:00.002-07:00

Good thing we have daughters.....otherwise how would we know truth?

Sadie has been concerned about the appearance of moles on her face. Recently we started calling them "beauty marks." I pointed out to her, that I have several and I find them quite attractive. Also, there are people who paint them on their face on purpose, because they are so cute.

During church on Sunday, Sadie drew a picture of me. To further underscore our recent discussions on moles, I instructed Sadie to "include my beauty marks" on the portrait. She did. Then she continued to make tiny dots all over my two dimensional nose. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"You have tons of black dots all over your nose. I need to make those too. Ohh....and I forgot the hairs on your arms....."

I guess the lesson was learned. Maybe I need a reminder or two though......

Any suggestions on a pleasant way to rename "blackheads?"

2011-03-09T23:36:00.003-08:00

The kids have been saying the funniest things lately. I am writing them down to read on those hard, not-so-cute days. Some of the comments I posted on facebook, so you might recognize them.

Taylor: "Mom can I play Micah's DS?"
Me: "No Taylor, you have played enough video games today."
Taylor: "But, Why mom?"
Me: "It is time to play in the toy room."
Taylor (as his face brightens): "Okay, mom I can do that. I will play the DS in the toy room."

Micah I had a conversation about his teacher getting mad.
Micah: "Oh she NEVER yells. She just has one of those quiet, gentle voices that make you feel guilty."

Sadie and I talking about her Kindergarten teacher
Sadie: "All that Ms. B does all day is micromanage us. Then we go outside for recess and micromanage each other."
I don't think I knew what micromanaging meant at 6.......

Taylor; "Why do we call the bathroom 'bathroom,' there is no bath in there? I am going to call it the potty room."

While cleaning her play kitchen, Sadie stacked the pots and pans in the toy sink and sighed, "the dishes are piling up, mom..... but I am going to put them off until morning." Ahh...the burdens of make-believe.

Things we will miss

2011-01-21T03:56:00.005-08:00

1. Rolladen
The cool rolling shutters that all German windows are equipped with. The are mounted on the outside and can be closed from the inside. A room can become truly dark and it perfect for napping babies, or parents. Actually, the windows are pretty neat here too. The can be "tipped" to open partway for "lufting" or airing out a house. They also swing open so they can be cleaned from the inside, not that we did that much.

2.The bathtubs
Okay, it sounds pretty silly and I don't know what they are made of, but the bathtubs here are really easy to clean. Before moving here, we lived in too many houses with bathtubs made of fiberglass. If you have such tubs, you know that they are nearly impossible to clean unless you use hot vinegar (a tip from the queen of clean). I think the tubs are caste iron, with porcelain on top.....

3. The speed limit, or lack of it
When you hear about the Autobahn, you envision a race track cutting through the country. There are speed limits on the Autobahn (freeway), 130 kph (80 mph) through the city. Once you clear the city limits, the limit is lifted. The flow of traffic drives at about 90 miles per hour and there are those who drive much faster. You have to be careful though, because speed limits can creep up on you when you cross a bridge, or with road work etc, as we discovered a few times. I am sure when we get back to the states, we will get more tickets as we get used to the standard 65 mph.

4. The bakeries
I did have to stop eating at the Bakery regularly, because of my expanding waistline. I will miss the "now and then"trip to the bakery. I once tried to find a German bakery in the states, drove 2 hours to get there only to discover that it had changed into a Mexican bakery. Here there is one on every corner.

But I think Panera bread will suffice......

5. The Church Bells
We will miss hearing the church bells ringing, every morning, afternoon and evening. They are especially nice on Christmas day and Sundays.

6. Traveling
Our goal for traveling here was to visit every country surrounding Germany. There are 9 of them. After this summer, when we make a stop in Denmark, we will achieve our goal. We also managed to see London, parts of Italy and Spain. Greg made it to Romania, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. Traveling in the states will be a bit different, but I think we will enjoy it just the same. I haven't been to Canada yet. Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast is always nice and I think the kids would love to visit Grandma and Grandpa more frequently.

7. Tile floors
I had a love-hate relationship with our all tile floors. We had no carpet in the entire house. The floor definitely cleaned easy, but they had to be done more frequently. I will be glad to have plush carpet to welcome my cold toes in the morning, but on those days when the kids drop an entire carton of milk, or throw up on the way to the potty.....I will be very sad.

8. The language practice
It has been great to have the chance to brush up on my language skills. The opportunity waits outside our front door. I can go the store and buy German music, books, DVDs. I have loved working on my life long hobby.

In the states, I will have to go back to chasing down people who have German accents in the Grocery store, at the gym, library, or where else they pop up.

9. Kinder eggs

Did you know that the Kinder "surprise" eggs are banned in the U.S? You can't bring them over the border and they enforce it. They ask at the post office and at customs. I have heard people who brought them home for family friends and had them "seized" at the border. How strange.....oh well......

We will miss the rest of the chocolate too. We really have become chocolate snobs here.

10. Lack of materialism

We don't have commercials over here, on the military channals. It is harder to get certain products too. Capitalism is not live and well......this is good and bad. We have been shielded from a lot, but have missed the convenience of going to Target, Joanns, Michaels and even Walmart to find what we need. I will welcome the convenience, but do I really need more stuff?

It will be nice to drive to a store with parking too.....I miss large and abundant parking spaces.

So, you probably have figured out that we are moving this summer. We will be going to back to Tacoma Washing for our last year in the military. We hope to settle somewhere in the North West. Wish us luck!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-29T07:09:00.003-08:00

This year we decided to go with the nontraditional and take a trip over the Thanksgiving break. It is a great time to travel, because Thanksgiving is not a European holiday. Also, since is is normal freezing cold, no one wants to hang out outside. We decided to take a trip to Disneyland.

We got a great deal at one of the Disneyland hotels. It included tickets for 4 days, a three night stay, breakfast every morning, and parking at the park. Upon arriving we were pleased with our arrangements. The hotel was actually a single wide trailer with a full kitchen, two bedrooms and two baths. We quickly unpacked and headed to the park for our first day. It was cold, but the kids did not complain. In fact, there was NO COMPLAINING the entire trip, even with the cold and early mornings.

I didn't think we would have the energy for 4 days of Disneyland fun, but I was proven wrong. The lines were non-existent, so we ran up to every ride. Micah proved to be a thrill seeker. Sadie was moderately brave and Taylor liked only the buzz light year ride. We mistakenly took him on some scarier rides (Peter Pan, some rocket ship ride and the Haunted Mansion BIG MISTAKE! I didn't remember it being that scary). He quickly learned that if is got dark, or moved, it wasn't for him. Before we got on any ride, he asked, "is it scary?" Greg and I took turns on the buzz light year with Taylor, while we took the other kids on rides more suited to their tastes.

All in all, it think this trip was my favorite trip since coming to Europe. It was truly magically. The park was decorated for Christmas. Christmas music played constantly. Fake snow fell (bubble foam) on the fake streets, although real snow fell too. It was a pleasant way to start the holiday season.

Bern Kastel Kues

2010-12-28T22:07:00.003-08:00

A very large Advent Calender.

Notice the very thin house in the background. Yes, it is real. I think it is a bar.

The reason why we left.

Christmas markets are a German tradition. Starting around Thanksgiving time, ever town opens up their main market to holiday vendors. We chose to go to Bern Kastel, known as the "Pearl on the Mosel." Although the market is small, the half-timbers houses and narrow streets create a quaint shopping experience.

Although the weather was freezing, we managed to meander for nearly three hours, before Sadie's cold toes ended the fun.

The fun included: Flamkuchen, crepes, Brats. The kids picked out their presents for the family. We bought smokers, ornaments, fun scarves and jewelery. Grandpa found some cool slippers (well actually the were HOT) that you heat-up in the microwave. The vendor warmed them up for us, so that we used them in the car on Sadie's poor frozen toes.

We came home for yummy soup, hot cocoa and the warm fire. Once the kids were in bed, we played card games and enjoyed the holiday treats that we were supposed to give to neighbors.....

Playing catch-up

2010-12-28T21:57:00.003-08:00

Our last entry was on Halloween. We have had two holidays since then, with all the excitement that goes with them. This is a picture of Sadie's holiday program, the first one was canceled due to the weather, so the music teacher invited us for a private program in music class. It was a small group of parents and Sadie's class performed quite well, complete with real Christmas songs.

Micah got to watch to, since he had to go to the doctor and we discovered that he had pink-eye and a sinus infection. It was the perfect way to start the Christmas season. Good job! Sadie!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-04T04:25:00.004-07:00

The Ukraine

2010-10-08T11:20:00.003-07:00

Greg had an opportunity to spend two weeks in the Ukraine on an assignment with the Army. He worked with the state department on a Humanitarian mission. They donated multi-million dollars worth of medical equipment to various hospitals in the Ukraine. Greg's responsibility was to train the local doctors on how to use the anesthesia machines. They visited a total of 5 hospital during that time period.

Greg learned 6 Russian words, enjoyed lots of Borsch and brought home fun souvenirs for me and the kids. He favorite part of the trip was getting to know the anesthesiologists. He also enjoyed seeing how the hospitals operate differently from ours in the states.

2010-09-15T23:29:00.001-07:00

Look what Micah discovered on the way to the bus today! I love mushroom season.

Fist Day of School

2010-09-06T23:02:00.003-07:00

My favorite part of the day is walking to the school bus. On the first day of school for Micah, the weather was perfect for our morning stroll. It is always fun to chat, and to look for snails and slugs. Sadie spotted this enormous snail, next to his slug cousin.
Micah was excited and ran ahead of the pack.

Waiting for the bus. This is a city bus stop and the kids ride a tourist type bus, with a German bus driver, no little yellow school buses over here. The bus stop is on a main drag through town, which heads to the freeway. Cars zoom by on the way to work and there is no law to stop for school buses. Three American kids were hit by cars at a bus stop last year! I have a huge problem with that. An American kid was hit and killed two years ago. So, I am constantly pulling kids (mine and others) away from the edge of the sidewalk. Micah is old enough to walk to and from the bus stop, but I will never allow it, because of the danger.

Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now.....

This morning was Sadie's first day of school. At Landstuhl elementary, the Kindergartners start a week later, so the teachers can visit all of the kids in their homes. It was nice to meet the teacher early, but it was sure a long week.

Sadie was so excited to ride the bus. I think so that she could sit next to her big brother. Micah was less thrilled. I was a little nervous for her to get to her class on her own, but we put Micah in charge of helping her. I almost hopped into the car to meet her at school, in fact.....I could still make it if I left right now.....

Of course the weather put a damper on things. It was pouring most of the morning and we didn't get the greatest pictures, but of course, the kids were excited to get to use their umbrellas.

So, Taylor and I are all on our own. It is time to get into toddler mode and get playdates and park trips lined up. But I think today we will make a trip to Ikea.....since Taylor is now three and nearly potty trained!!! Yippeee.....!

last trip of the summer.....

2010-08-29T11:18:00.006-07:00

Can you guess where we went? We drove five hours north to den Haag, Holland. We visited a very touristy, very beautiful area with everything dutch you could want: Windmills, cheese, wood shoes, dutch pancakes. The weather was beautiful and it wasn't too crowded.
There are five working windmills imported to this area.

Outside of the wood shoe museum.

Near the beach. It was very windy and did you know when the clouds are moving in the sky and you look up at tall buildings, they look like they are falling on your head? That is what we are doing in this picture.....kind-of creepy.
Seeking refuge at the lighthouse. I really wanted to walk to the lighthouse, along the beach. We attempted it a couple of times, but it was sooooo windy and storm clouds were brewing. Finally, we made it, but only after getting sandblasted from the wind blowing on the beach. We decided to walk home through the town, instead. We came home with salty hair, and sand coating our faces. I am still washing sand out of the kids hair.......
At the beach.....we thought we might swim, until we got a good dose of the wind. We went and bought some kites instead. It was a great plan B.
The storm clouds threatened us the whole trip, but they certainly didn't ruin the trip.

Paris

2010-08-15T11:53:00.003-07:00

On top of the Eiffel tower.....

It rained off and on, but I think it added to the romance of the trip. Unfortunately, it did add to the poofiness of my hair....

Since we left the kids at home, there are a lot of pictures of just Greg and I.......

After two years of living in Germany, we hadn't made it to our neighboring country to visit Paris. Both Greg and I had a road block in our minds with the visit. It was probably the language, maybe the reputation of rude French people. We decided that we should visit the city on our own, to face our fears, without the stress of kids.

Greg arranged for a babysitter and we left Friday morning on a fast train, headed west. It took only two hours to arrive and we had most of the day on Friday and all of the day on Saturday.

We saw the Notre Dame, walked to the Louvre and decided not to go (I wasn't up for battling the crowds). We found a great restaurant and ended the evening with a trip up the Eiffel tower. The next day, we slept in until 9am.......yes.....but got out before most of the tourists. We walked the Champs Elysees. We ended the day at the MontMartre, the artists hill.

The funnest part of the trip was having my hubby to myself, sleeping in, enjoying a relaxing pace, eating good food and looking for souveniers for the kids.

Parenting blunders

2010-08-15T11:23:00.002-07:00

Micah has been in Karate for a couple of months now. He is making great progress and enjoying the time in his class. Unfortunately, he tried his new moves on his sister a couple of times. After the second time, I told him I was going to tell his instructor, who would probably lecture him in front of the whole class.....you know the typical parenting threat.....

Little did I know, it sunk in, into his subconscious that is.......

While we where gone over the weekend, we got a wake-up phone call from Micah, who needed to tell us about a nightmare that he had. In his dream, he instructor kicked him out of his karate class, for yes....hitting his sister.....

If helps any, Micah.....we are saving up money for your therapy later on.

Also, Taylor has been confused by some of our parenting. He is an artist like any 3 year old can be. He draws on the floor, the rug, two couches, the wall, himself. I have had to hide the markers in the house. We have taught him over and over to only, "write on paper."

The other day, I had a creative bug and bought some window markers and did a German lesson using the window as a black board. I also, let the kids draw on the window. After, Taylor looked up at the window with a confused look on his face, pointed to the window and said, "momma, you don't draw on the window, you draw on paper....."

Ahhhh....I guess you are right Taylor.....

Couldn't resist......

2010-07-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

.......any longer......

2010-07-06T11:45:00.004-07:00

I have had a few bad experiences on flights and couple of decent experiences. Yesterday we had a good experience flying. Not because everything ran smoothly. It didn't, but because my faith in people was restored. I wish I could somehow say thanks to the many strangers who were in our path yesterday who helped us get home in one piece, physically and emotionally.

Since Greg was asked to extend his stay in Italy, and he was on call, we were on our own getting home. Nothing went wrong, but the trip was full of inconvenient little things, that started to wear on us. It started with a train ride, taxi ride, continued with a long wait in the wrong line and quickly cutting into the correct line. The airport was hot, crowded, with no chairs to sit in. The bathroom was to flight of stairs with no elevator. We had to visit the potty twice. We had to take a bus to the plane and then climb a flight of stairs to the plane. We were the last to get on the plane and couldn't sit next to each other. Managing 3 kids, four suitcases, all of our boarding passes and IDs, trying to juggle snacks, drinks, and my bag of tricks, nearly pushed me over the line of insanity if it were not for:

The Italian woman who helped my kids get off the train and carried our luggage down the stairs. the American tourist, while in the wrong line with us, helped us "merge" into the correct one. The Italian woman, who watched my kids, while I went to change Taylor's diaper. She even shared gummy candies with them! The two Italian men who lifted our luggage into the bus. The Boston man who carried our luggage onto the plane. The two American families, who offered to sit with and watch over Micah and Sadie on the plane. The Gentleman who gave up his seat so that I could sit next to Taylor during the flight. As we came down the stairs from the plane, I saw the same Boston man waiting for us. We were the last to deplane and I was struggling with the luggage. Again, he carried my suitcases.

There were no dirty looks, groans of complaint, or rolling of eyes. People were polite, helpful, even though they themselves were tired and hot. Hurray for niceness......We couldn't find our car, and got onto the wrong freeway while driving home, but I didn't care, because my heart was touched my the goodness of others......

The diet coke and doughnut probably helped too.......and napping children....

Carnival

2010-07-03T11:07:00.003-07:00

After the 4th of July Carnival on post, the kids posed for a picture. Taylor has been answering only to "robot,"....."bad robot."

Urgent Care

2010-07-01T11:22:00.002-07:00

We had a near fatal accident with our DVD player, involving a cup of lemonade. Taylor dumped it while watching Dora.....I know....I should have paid more attention. As soon as I noticed, I stood up and frantically dumped the remnants out of the player and started wiping it down. Micah took notice of my efforts and declared, "perform CPR, we are going to lose it, CPR, and then go to a C-section."

The DVD player is now in critical condition. We will see how it dries out over night.

italy trip cont.

2010-07-01T07:56:00.002-07:00

So, we are halfway through our stay here and still have no pictures of the area. We have laid low, like I expected: gone to the pool, library, bowling. There are no kid's movies playing until next week, bummer.

One of the favorite things the kids have done is run on the track. Greg and I have set a goal to exercise daily. The kids have too. The main motivation? The "race track." One the first day, Micah ran a mile, Sadie 3/4 of a mile and Taylor 1 and 1/4 of a mile. Ummmm....it sounds wrong to let your 2 year old run that much, but he was having a ball. After every lap, we soaked the kids with water to keep them cool and Taylor kept on running, he looked like a miniature Forest Gump. With each round, I tried to stop him, because the chaffing has to be bad for a kid in diapers...... Micah wants to run a mile every day......buddy....out of all the members in the family, you are the one who gets the most exercise with all the jumping and running you do. Silly kid.....

We were just about to go see the city center, for the first time, but Greg got called in to help out with a case. I am debating on what I am going to do. Go to the park? Shop at the BX or take on the streets of Italy by myself with three kids......I might wimp out on that one. Kids are watching Ninja Turtles.....not the best way to spend time in Italy....oh well....

Back in Italy

2010-06-27T11:05:00.003-07:00

So, our summer plans keep changing. Greg was asked to cover for a nurse anesthetist in Vicenza Italy. I jumped on the idea and we made it happen. The kids and I have a 10 day stint and Greg will be here for 14 days. I think we will enjoy our stay.

The trip here was a little stressful though. Greg flew down separately, which meant I had a plane ride alone with the kids. The airport was hot and the flight was late in the evening. Although the kids were on edge, we avoided any huge melts downs. I have decided that dressing your two year old in a T-shirt which says, "Mr Messy," isn't that cute when he is running around the airport screaming, "LET'S GET ON THE PLANE NOW!" He looked like a child out of control.....which he was. Thank goodness for portable DVD players, which saved the day and mom's nerves.

We are not going to sight-see much, because Greg will be on call the entire time and needs to be close by. But I am enjoying being away from my daily routine. I don't have to make dinner. Our apartment is cleaned daily, I don't have to drive 20 minutes to get anywhere. Laundry is also minimal. We are going to swim at the pool, go bowling, watch whatever movies are playing on post. There is also a library, the BX, and a couple of parks. If I have the nerve, I will take the kids to Venice, for a quick day trip.

I also plan on finding some Italian pottery.....

We have internet access in our room, so if anyone needs to get a hold of us, email, facebook or skype.

Pictures of Italy

2010-06-21T11:51:00.003-07:00

Cinque Terra are a group of 5 small villages along the coast of Italy. They are linked together by hiking trails and a train. We visited one of the villages, a fishing village and enjoyed the view and some Italian ice Cream.
We took a coach around Florence. It was a great way to quickly see the city. We went back to the parts of the city that interested us, including the Cathedral.
In Cinque Terra.......
Cooling off on the marble steps of the cathedral....marble is soft and cool.....
Leaning tower in the distance.....

Italy trip

2010-06-21T11:14:00.004-07:00

Taking a break in while ascending the Alpine pass. We stopped to take pictures and to give our brakes a break. The air was cool and fresh and we enjoyed the many waterfalls tumbling down the mountainside.

It is time for blogger catch-up. So much has happened of the last couple of weeks, which needs to be documented. We have had been lucky enough to have both sets of Grandparents visit in the last month. Since we had two extra pairs of hands, we decided to do some sight seeing while they were here.

We started the trip with a drive to Switzerland. I had made a reservation at a pension, without knowing too much information about it. After a long drive winding through the foothills of the Alps, we landed in the Simmental valley. We later learned that the Pension we were staying in was a historical home built over a century ago. The house had been restored, along with several other homes in the valley and made up a historical parade of homes. Bikers and hikers visit the villages in this valley to admire the large Chalet style architecture.

Upon arriving Sadie commented, "it smells like cows!" she then asked "Mom, what is that noise?"

"Crickets, Sadie."

Welcome to the country. Other country touches included: the sound of cowbells in the distance, Alpine butter (that one was a surprise to me,) and herds of cows, which seemed to balance themselves nicely on the mountainside (they looked like they could roll down at any moment.)

After our short stay in Switzerland we arrived in Italy. We went from cold to hot. This was our first day at the beach. The kids loved it and played hard. We had to limit our time there, because the sun beat us up.

Highlights of Italy included: playing in the pool every evening, to cool off from a day sight seeing, visiting Grandma and Grandpa in there room to play cards after the kids went to bed, the tower of Pisa, Florence and Sinque Terra. I will include pictures in the next blog.

Micah's baptism

2010-06-06T11:32:00.003-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Jensen flew into town for Micah's baptism and today was the day. It was fast and testimony meeting too. While sitting and listening the other speakers, Micah stood up and sat down many times, trying to decide if he wanted to bare his testimony. You could see the indeciveness in his face.....he was scared. Finally, he over came his fear and on the way to the pulpit, he whispered to me, "mom, what should I say...?"

Say what comes into your heart......

After speaking he walked down the stairs and whispered "yes.....I did it..." under his breath. He was very proud of himself.

While getting dressed for the baptism, Micah spoke with Greg about his excitement. He came out in his baptism clothes doing karate moves....."I am so excited, dad....I have been waiting for this day my whole life. It is like how I feel when I am playing the Super Mario Brothers on the Wii."

Some random pictures

2010-06-02T13:25:00.002-07:00

The father and son camp out at some castle ruins in near Bitburg.

Micah's 8th birthday party with the family.

2010-05-28T06:08:00.001-07:00

The other day Taylor noticed that most people around us don't speak the same language we do. While ordering dinner at the McDonald's drive through, Taylor remarked, "mom, you speak Spanish."

Later that day he called down from the stairs, "I know how to say 'green' in Spanish,..... 'grau'."

Almost buddy, almost......

the no good, very bad day

2010-04-30T22:39:00.003-07:00

When I was a kid, I vowed that I would never leave my kids somewhere, waiting for me to pick them up. I have memories waiting with my softball coach after the rest of the team was gone, waiting outside of the school while the janitor cleaned up inside....you get the picture.

Well, I broke that promise...again...yesterday.

I like the blame it on the distance we live from the school.

Micah has swim lessons at 3:30. School gets out at 3pm. I was there nice and early waiting in front the school. I waited and waited, until 3:15. It looked like he forgot and got on the bus again. The bus picks up the kid on the other side of the school. I called the school to ask they put me on hold, while I drove around the school a couple of times. I started to get nervous that I couldn't beat him home. So I took off home.

While on the freeway, Sadie had to pee. It always happens on the freeway. We pulled over and did a drive by potty break, one of the perks of living in Germany.

Then the phone rang. It was Micah's teacher. Micah remembered that he was supposed to wait for me, right as the bus was leaving. He de-boarded and made it the front office only after I had left. We missed each other.

Great.....I headed back to the freeway to exit and turn around. The next exit was closed due to an accident and the next one was backed up with cars turning around. At this point, we were closer to France than Micah's school! I didn't get back to school until 4pm. LAME!

Micah's teacher had to wait with him. He deserves a great gift for teacher appreciation week next week.

When it was bed time Micah did say, "Although I wouldn't choose to stay after school, I did have a fun time." I guess Mr Goodier shared his peanuts and let Micah play Poptropica on the computer.

We did miss swim lessons though.....

Things we learned from our last trip

2010-04-30T12:13:00.003-07:00

Taylor was so excited for his first train ride. That is his "excited face." He has the best expressions. I wish I caught more of them.

1. We regained confidence in taking the trains. Ever since we boarded a train with the children three years ago and it was headed to a soccer game in Kaiserslautern, I have feared public transportation. This time around we were reminded that public transportation really is a safe way to travel, most of the time.

2. Croissants in France are really better than the ones here in Germany, even though we are only a half of an hour from the boarder. That 30 minutes makes a difference.

3. Spain food isn't really that good.

4. French food tastes even better after eating Spain food for two weeks. I am still day dreaming about the pasta we bought on the train. I have named it "train pasta." It was the best pasta I have ever eaten and the best 20 Euro I have ever spent.

5. Spanish and French woman seem to dress better and take better care of their appearance than those in this country. Is that snobby to say? I realized that I have "let myself go" a bit while being in Germany. I felt a bit frumpy across the border in my typical mommy attire. Maybe it is just because they are French and the reputation that comes with it? I saw several woman wearing borderline tacking attire (hot pink tights with a mini-skirt and plaid shoes for example) and when they opened their mouths and French came out......I found myself thinking, "oh they are French, it works."

6. I think that I might have learned the wrong language. I can't stop thinking about that pasta. I don't even know how to say pasta in French or any of the numbers after 1-3.....

On the Road

2010-04-21T10:53:00.002-07:00

Off the cost of Costa Brava. We took a little boat ride. The best part was the underwater view, through glass bottom of the boat. Pretty neat.
This morning we sat in our hotel room trying to decide what to do. We had checked the internet in the morning only to discover that our third scheduled flight through Ryan air had been canceled (it was scheduled to leave tomorrow.) We also learned there wasn't any flights out of Girona until Monday. Since the trains were running again, we decided to leave Girona and try to get home on our own.

We checked out of our hotel and got a ticket to the farthest city the Spain railway would take us, just over the French boarder. The train was packed with people who had the same idea. There was only enough room to stand. Gradually, the aisles cleared and we could eventually sit down. Once in France we scheduled the rest of our trip, which put us out another 500 Euro. We checked into our hotel and took a deep breathe.

Greg checked the internet to see what was going on with Ryan air. At 12 noon today about the time we boarded our train, they decided to let the flights run tomorrow. The ones they had already canceled.

So, did we make the wrong decision....? Well, financially maybe, but we are all safe and relatively happy. Our trip home will be more than double in length, but we will get home about the same time as we would have on the flight.

Overall, this lovely extension of our trip has cost us double what we planned. Oh...well....like I said....we are all safe.

Trying to get home

2010-04-18T12:26:00.005-07:00

Seeing Europe one park at a time. That is the Mediterranean in the background.

It was a little chilly when we visited the beach. But for two former Washingtonians....we felt at home. The beach was empty, which was also nice. The kids had a great time, digging, looking for shells and jumping in the water.

A lunch break at the park. Sadie is wearing her new Flamenco dress, which I referred to as a "dress-up," or "her Halloween costume." She corrected me by saying, "oh no Mom, I plan on wearing my new dress to church."

Mid-way through our vacation we started catching wind of volcano ash, or at least overheard conversations about it. While at the train station buying tickets for Barcelona, Greg overheard a group of Germans trying to get home. I noticed a British couple complaining about their canceled flights. It was Thursday and our flight back home was to leave on Sunday.....surely things would clear out by then?

Nope..

Ryan air has been agressive at canceling flights ahead of time, which I am grateful for. It would have been horrible to be stuck at the airport, especially since Ryan air airports are in the middle of nowhere. We even had a couple of days notice that we needed to find a place to stay and a way home. We re-booked another flight for Tuesday, hoping things would clear up. Our Hotel has been very flexible and the let us stay in the same room for an extra two days, so we didn't have to move. They even did our laundry for us!

But....we just found out, that Ryan air would not be flying out until Thursday. So plan C.

We are hoping to take a train to Paris. From there, we will need to take a taxi to the main train station. At which point we will board a quick train to Saarbruecken, transfer to a train to Homburg and then board a bus to Bechhofen.

We would leave Monday night at 10pm and arrive home Tuesday evening.

We are going to try for a sleeper train to make the overnight train ride more pleasant.

Also......I won't have to worry about how much our luggage weighs. I think that I will go and buy some Spanish pottery. hmmmm....should I go with the red serving bowls, or the flower patterned pitcher?

Costa Brava

2010-04-14T11:57:00.003-07:00

We got out pretty early this morning and headed to the train station. There we rented a car for two days so that we could drive along the coast. Public transportation is limited there. Our first stop along the way was the birth town of Salvador Dali. We made it there in time for lunch. We ate, played in the park and walked around the theater that he designed.

We were anxious to hit the coast so we moved on without going into the Dali museum. We decided to see the one in Barcelona. The next stop the Monasterio de Sant Pere de Rodes. This was the high light of our day. The drive and walk up the mountain were breathtaking. We enjoyed the added exercise and the fresh sea air. It wasn't crowded so the kids could run and play without bothering anyone. We practically had the place to ourselves.

While we walked around the Monastery grounds, Sadie asked "where did the punks (monks?) sleep?"

We never found those "punks" beds!

Espana

2010-04-13T11:24:00.004-07:00

In front of our hotel

We are finally in Spain. We have been counting down the days for the last three months, since we booked our flights. Our trip started yesterday and so far we are really enjoying our trip. The kids are already asleep, after being in bed for only a few minutes. Now that is success!

Highlights from today:

1. Discovering that our hotel is in the old Jewish Quarter and the base of a Cathedral.
2. Realizing that the Cathedral and two other churches' bells gong all throughout the night.
3. Walking along the old fortified city wall.
4. Buying Churros for the kids and finding out they all like them!
5. Picking out our favorite produce at the weekly market. There were all kinds of fruits, veggies and spices, including: cilantro, peppers, avocados....all locally grown.
6. Finding two different play grounds where the kids blew off some of their energy.
7. Meandering through the narrow streets, ducking below low archways and stubbing our toes on the cobblestones.
8. Eating yummy ice cream on a chilly day.
9. Embracing the local culture by indulging in an afternoon siesta.
10. Skipping rocks on a small stream we discovered in the park.

Overall the day was very relaxing. We enjoyed getting to know the city and Greg enjoyed using his Spanish. We are looking forward to tomorrow.

Keeping us cute

2010-04-06T11:46:00.002-07:00

We received a surprise package in the mail yesterday from Hong Kong. The Kids were so excited to discover new clothes from China! All wanted to wear them immediately and put them aside for the next day. We got a couple of shots of Taylor and Sadie. I talked Micah out of wearing his to school, I worried he would ruin them at recess, but we are planning on Sunday! I will get a picture with all three of them then.

Sadie's friend Addy has a similar dress. Sadie had admired it in the past and wanted one of her own. She was so surprised that Doris and Scott "got one for her, without her even telling them!" "How did they know!" She and Addy had a matching play date.

Taylor got quite the attention in his red dragon duds. He is a Kung Fu Jedi master.

Happy Easter

2010-04-06T11:18:00.006-07:00

The Easter preparations were put off until the last minute this year. The week before was so busy, that I hadn't had a chance to shop until Saturday. By then all the German stores were closed. My schedule was so tight, that I didn't have the time to run to the commissary. So we were left to the mercies of the Hospital gift shop. Most of the candy was sold out. I found a stash of Peeps and Sour patch Bunnies. There were plenty of books. I grabbed each kid a book and some crayons and called it good.

We enjoyed a pleasant Easter this year. The weather was a little chilly, but we were simply happy it didn't snow. Greg took the kids out for a hunt for hard boiled eggs. No one really wanted to eat any, but the kids sure enjoyed hiding them over and over and taking turns finding.

Taylor was hopeful that he would discover something yummy on the inside of each egg. He spent several long minutes delicately peeling an egg, only to reveal yet another hidden cooked egg white. He then threw that egg down and reached for another. He was sure intent, and diligent and messy!

Taylor got a sip of Egg dye. I tried to keep him from it, but he was convinced that I was holding back on him. Later he snuck into the kitchen and helped himself. With a confused look on his face he approached me in the living room and told me "I drinked the soda."

After opening his Easter basket Micah said "I understand that there wasn't anything cool at the store. It is okay mom." However, his attitude changed once he finished the first few chapters of "How to Train a Dragon," which I slipped into his Easter loot. Easter changed from "nothing cool," to the "best ever." He now wants entire series. I understand there are 7 books total?

the birds and the bees

2010-03-28T11:05:00.003-07:00

We have some interesting conversations in the car. Sadie had some questions for me the other day.

"Mom why do you kiss Dad so much? You know that you can get germs that way. That is gross.....eeeeewww"

Trying to think quickly I answered, "Well....yes. You can get germs, but Daddy and I love each other, so it doesn't bother us. Some day you will love a man enough to not care either. When you are older, a lot older, like when you are 20."

Micah from the back added, "Well....actually mom, it is more like 15 or maybe 13....ya..that's right. That is when you start liking boys or girls....."

Inside my mind, I gave a silent scream.

Spring Time

2010-03-22T12:01:00.002-07:00

Taylor is in the background collecting the nuts.

The nut pile.

We have a Hazelnut tree in our front yard. I knew about, but the kids discovered it today. Now that the snow is gone, the nuts from last fall are exposed and are still in piles ready for eating. Sadie taught Taylor how to use a rock to crack them open and they both collected a large pile and got busy crushing them. They did pretty good at it and after little while they had a cup full of nuts. Of course, they didn't eat them, but brought them to me as a gift.

While they were busy, I had the front door open, so I could keep an eye on them. The piano is near the door, so I decided to teach Micah a piano lesson, while they were distracted. I thought to myself, this is one of those successful mommy moments. Two kids playing outside, one inside expanding his talents. I even thought, "take a look at this German neighbors," as a couple walked in front of my house, "I have things under control," I thought........

Then Taylor accidently smashed Sadie's fingers with his rock. She started screaming. So did he. While I was comforting two unhappy children, Micah bolted for the toy room.

Moment over.....

oh well.....

One of those small rewards

2010-03-17T08:18:00.002-07:00

Last night before bed, Micah put his arm around me and said, "mom, you are the best mom, well the only mom, I have ever had."

He continued, "But I wouldn't want anyone else."

Bring your kids to work day

2010-03-17T03:30:00.003-07:00

Our children have never been able to participate in bring your kids to work day, because of the appropriateness of having children attending an epidural placement, assisting in a surgery, or administering narcotics. Well....there are exceptions to every rule.

Last night I received a phone call at 8:30pm. My pregnant friend whose husband is deployed timed her contractions at 5 minutes apart. It was my job to be with her while she labored and it was time to go. There was only one problem: Greg was on call last night. We determined that the chances of him getting called-in (he takes call at home now), were small, so I left the children in his care to help my friend.

We were wrong. After 2 hours of walking around the hospital, Greg called to inform us that was coming it. A ruptured appendix arrived in the ER, and a laboring woman (not my friend) needed an epidural. Okay......"we can do this," we determined. Greg and the kids were now on their way.

I took the kids, while Greg ran to help the woman in pain. Although, the kids were torn from there warm beds, groggy and grumpy, they managed the disruption of the night well. Upon arriving to the hospital, Micah did inform us, that he didn't mean to be "rude, but coming to the hospital was not part of his schedule." However, once the kids saw the snacks in the waiting room, they perked up. We popped in a movie for Sadie. Micah was content to play poptropica on the call room computer. Taylor did complain constantly about wanting to go home, but was overall pretty content.

When Greg was done with the procedure, he still needed to stay in the hospital until the appendectomy was completed. The kids accompanied him in the call room, while he finished his notes. My friend and I walked around the hospital for two more hours.

The late night ended after four hours of walking and sad mother-to-be who wasn't going to meet her little one that night. We were tired, it was now 2am, but the Jensen family reunion in the labor and delivery went well.

I just feel bad for my friend, who still has to labor and deliver her little one, without her husband.

Fasching 2010

2010-03-14T08:25:00.001-07:00

Sadie headed to her costume party for Preschool. Her princess outfit is underneath her snowsuit. I am hoping that we don't have look for Easter eggs in the snow this year.

The Table Continued

2010-03-14T08:04:00.002-07:00

It took me so long to get this up, because I wanted a clean the house first. The kids cleaned up, Sadie put on the place mats and candles. I quickly took a picture.

A new kitchen table

2010-03-09T00:45:00.002-08:00

Am I so lame as to blog about a kitchen table? I guess so.

Ahh...the furniture dilema. We quickly discovered that furniture shopping is tricky here. We found out that we needed certain items, because of the lack of kitchen and bathroom storage. Bathrooms here don't have ANY cabinets. Just a sink, potty, tub and shower. The kitchens are similar. There is no place for storing dishes.

The next problem is that I don't like the furniture here. The modern style dominates the stores. Some of it is beautiful, but very expensive. Plus, it doesn't match what we already have.

Shopping at the BX is an option, but again, I don't like it much. Maybe I am too picky? Much of what is there is overstuffed and cheaply made. You can order anything form the military catalogue, but it takes 6 months to get here and you really only have a little tiny thumb nail picture to judge your major purchase.

Then there is the Belgian furniture. It is beautiful and expensive. Apparently, you can go there and special order your pieces. I haven't tried that out yet.......sounds like a bad habit to get into and I think it is probably a bit too "country" for my taste.

Then there is the one store that caters to Americans "European Country Living." The buys travel around Europe and find unique pieces from different countries. It is overpriced, but beautiful. They do have sales now and then. I am always keeping my eye out for their clearance items. I bought our china cabinet and buffet there for 40 percent off. The table I have looked at for the past year finally went on sale, (40 percent off too.)

Our guests now can join us at the kitchen table for meals, instead or sitting on the couch, or standing. The table arrived yesterday and we are already enjoying it. The coolest thing is that it expands to seat 12 (I don't even know if we have 12 friends!) The top of the the table slides open to expose the leaf. It is already attached and folds out of the table. You don't need to lift the legs and it can be expanded by one person.

Even cooler is that it is a little bit taller than our last table. I can comfortably cross my legs and still fit them underneath. Yes, that matter to me.

We are keeping our old chairs, but have ordered a matching bench that can seat 3-4 people and fits under the table when not in use. I have no desire to own 12 chairs, so we will buy only 6 chairs when we get back to the states. Nice chairs are hard to find! I don't feel like spending hundreds of Euro on chairs that look like they came off of the Star ship enterprise, since the modern style is very popular here.

yup....that is my lame blog about furniture.......

I will take a picture of it later.

Chimneys

2010-03-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

It was a chilly morning and our neighbors had fires burning in their fireplaces. Taylor is very observant and pointed out the smoke from one of the chimneys.

"Volcano!" He said.

On the way to the bus

2010-03-01T23:09:00.003-08:00

One of my favorite times of the day is walking with the kids to the bus. It gives us a chance to connect, to talk about the happenings of the day. The topic of discussion for today was future careers. Micah has known what he wants to be for a long time, a paleontologist. Sadie declared that she wants to be a mom. I asked what else she might want to do. "Mommies can do lots of things.," I informed her. I suggested a doctor, "like daddy." She came up with teacher.

"But really, mom, I want to do what you what you do."

"What is that?", I asked.

"Clean up, put the babies to bed and drink coke."

Culture Shock

2010-02-23T07:17:00.002-08:00

Believe it we are still experiencing culture shock. When we first arrived here in Germany it was worse and has gradually gotten better, but every now and then, something unusual jumps out at me.

My German neighbor commented on my bare feet the other day, while I was standing in the entry way. She said that walking around with cold feet is bad for your....."uh"....she pointed to her stomach. I filled in the word, "uterus?" She nodded her head. I had heard a similar wives tale about sitting on cold concrete, but never knew cold toes could also be a cause of uterine problems. I told her not to worry, that I was done with mine.

2010-02-16T11:04:00.003-08:00

After Christmas our TV broke. We have only had it for a year. It was still under warranty, which was good, but the only TV repairman in Germany (for this brand of TV) is 200 km away (120 miles). Two weeks ago, the driver for the repair service picked up the TV. We learned that they only come out to our area once a week, on tuesday....okay.....

Today was Tuesday. We hoped to get our TV back. I called the repairman, he said he didn't know when he could get it out to us. (The weather has been bad, and his father sick.....okay) I decided to pick it up myself.

We left the house at 10am. Stopped by the library to pick out books on CD. By 11:30 am, we were on the road. After missing the exit several times and stopping at a McDonalds for lunch, we arrived at Wedeman's TV repair service at 2pm. After loading the TV into the car, the kids were getting fried so we ran around the car several times, changed the CD we were listening to. I tanked up with some Diet Coke.

We were on the road again at 2:30pm. The GPS told us we would be home at 4:30. We had swim lessons at 5:30pm. We would pass swim lessons on the way home, but had to go all the way home to pick up our suits and then back track the 30 minute drive.

Then the gas light went off. The GPS found a German gas station of the path, which added another 3o minutes to our drive, 10 Euro (all I had) and only 5 litres of gas (I couldn't use our gas card at this station). I hoped it was enough to get home, it wasn't.

The gas light went off again in Kaiserslautern. Now it was 4:45pm. We couldn't make it home, in time to make it back to the pool with suits. Plus if I tried we would drive our car empty.

So, I stopped on base and bought a swim suit for Micah. Stayed for Micah's swim lesson, without driving home. Then we filled up with gas.

We got home at 7pm to a house with jammies from this morning on the living room floor and dinner dishes from last night still in the sink.

All this so we can watch the winter Olympics.

Was it worth it?

2010-02-12T22:47:00.003-08:00

I have set a little goal for myself: read or listen to all of Jane Austen's novels and then watch the movie or mini-series. Netlibrary.com has been my source for the audiobooks and I have already listened to "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma." We just finished watching the BBC versions of both. iTunes had those miniseries available for purchase. Next on my list, "Sense and Sensibilty." I am downloading the book today. BBC also made a TV version, but I will have to order that one from amazon.

So far, Greg has not opposed this goal of mine. We watched all 6 hours of Pride and Prejudice together and he even appeared to be enjoying himself . He even asked me to put the show "on pause" while he grabbed a snack.

However, listening to all books might take it's toll. If I pull out my empire waist dresses, speak in a British accent and complain about my "nerves," I might need to put the goal on hold for a while and watch some man flicks.

Micah has an opinion about the whole thing. While listening to "Emma" in the car he declared,"these books you listen to, have NO POINT! Let's try to figure out the point of them. Are aliens landing? Nooooooooo!"

I explained that he has to listen really hard to understand. There is not much action, but there is certainly a lot going on. Maybe some day he will get it. Sadie watched the last bit of Emma with me yesterday and she appeared to enjoy it. yuppp.....I will have a chick flick buddy some day.

My boys

2010-02-10T22:43:00.003-08:00

How did I end up with two boys who like to talk? Greg attributes it to my genes. I guess we have talkers in my family. Well, both our little guys have great verbal skills. (Sadie on the other hand, struggles verbally and prefers physical communication..figure that one out?) Lately, the boys have been competing for talk time.

Yesterday, I dropped off Sadie and preschool and started the 20 minute drive to Micah's school. Taylor sat in his car seat and Micah right behind me in the back. So.....Micah talked nonstop about his latest adventures on Poptropica (a semi-educational computer game on the internet.) He almost without breathing. I added the obligatory "ohh....nice....really?"

With his hand raised and his finger pointed, Taylor interrupted now and then, "I have an idea?" After repeating the question several times we gave him the floor for his "idea." He just sat there and smiled. Micah continued talking. Taylor kept interrupting. Micah ended the conversation yelling, "I never get to talk!"

Plan C

2010-02-09T02:13:00.003-08:00

Last week was a snow week. It was also my birthday week. It is not too often that they coincide together. But, this year I was reminded that my birthday is in the winter.

The original plan was to drive across the border to France. Greg had the day off and had arranged for a babysitter. I had heard about a pottery factory that I wanted to visit, so we decided to make a day of it. I looked forward to the day weeks in advance and thought that the weather would certainly change before the big day.

It didn't. We canceled the babysitter and decided to stay locally. We would go to the BX and then out for lunch.

I was happy to hear the rain on the roof the night before and it rained all night. However, it takes more than one night to wash away a weeks worth of accumulated snow. A foot of snow turned into a foot of slush and we were stuck inside.

So, plan C. Walk the German grocery store for ingredients for my birthday cake. Download "Pride and Prejudice" from iTunes and start my sewing project my friend sent me in the mail. Not a bad third plan. Greg took care of the kids, picking them up from the bus and school when the time came. I had uninterrupted hobby time. It made for a nice day.

Sleding

2010-02-04T04:35:00.003-08:00

Our German Neighbors told us about the perfect sledding hill. They were right it was perfect. It is a ten minute walk from our house. The hill is big enough for mom and dad to enjoy and small enough for the kids.

The big wipe out.

Sweet Taylor

2010-01-31T07:18:00.002-08:00

On the way home from our walk today, a neighbors dog greeted us by putting his paws up on the fence. He was a sweet puppy and had a sad look on his face. Taylor turned to me and said, "he misses his mommy."

I wasn't sure he understood what he was saying so I asked, "Do you ever miss your mommy?" He got a pensive look on his face and thought for a moment, then he responded, "I miss my daddy."

Piano

2010-01-30T11:52:00.003-08:00

So, I decided to teach my kids piano rather than finding a teacher. Mainly, because I don't want to add another thing to the schedule that will take us out of the house. Plus, it is hard to find piano teachers here. It has been nice to save the money too.....

but....it hasn't been that easy. At first Micah fought against it. He wasn't too interested in starting in the first place (although he wants to learn guitar.) Also, it doesn't help that he is a perfectionist, who likes to give up when something doesn't come easy. Over the last year, he has complained a lot, given up many times, and openly rebelled when it came to practicing. Rather than relying on my teaching experience, I resorted to bad parenting techniques.....like threatening him with "getting a German teacher," if he didn't start practicing.

After a year we have made some headway. We are finally finished with the primer book. He practices on his own now, without me nagging him. Also, he commented to Greg that he favorite song, "is a real treat to play."

I have been waiting for the interest to spark and I am hoping it has. We are now waiting for level one books to come in the mail.

Crazy Winter Weather

2010-01-30T11:24:00.006-08:00

We have had snow almost constantly since the beginning of December, (oh except for the week of Christmas when it rained.) The sun has remained hidden most of the time too. Let's just say, the weather is getting to me. I have counted the appearance of the sun 3 times this month. On two of those occasions, I noticed that I was feeling particularly good that day. Then I made the connection between my mood and the arrival of the sun on the horizon. Today was one of those days.

Although we have received about 8 inches of new snow in Bechhofen over the last couple of days, the sun did come out today. The kids and I played outside and enjoyed the ultraviolet rays for the few minutes when they broke from behind the clouds.

2010-01-22T23:08:00.002-08:00

I recently discovered that I am one of those annoying people who like to receive gifts better than to give them. I started to suspect something while Christmas shopping and I kept wandering over to the furniture section of the BX. The shoes were looking appealing as well as the clothing.....I resisted purchasing, because I realize that buying your own presents and putting them under the tree is kind-of tacky. However, I did make a mental note of all the things that I wanted to purchase after the holidays.

So, it is after the holidays and my birthday is coming up. So, I am again looking around at all the things I "want." No birthday list for me, I prefer buying my own gifts.....how lame is that.

So, what should it be this year.....a new camera, a set of polish pottery, or a new kitchen table.....

decisions, decisions......

You know life must be good if this is the only thing that preoccupies my thoughts....

Cheese

2010-01-20T03:59:00.003-08:00

Sadie: "There are three kinds of cheeses. Chucky cheese, cheese and cheese."

Me: "What is the difference between cheese and cheese?" I ask.

Sadie: "One kind you eat. The other you say, when someone takes your picture. "

But it is Sunday.....

2010-01-19T04:23:00.003-08:00

Taylor has come up with a new excuse to show his disagreeance to any proposal that doesn't suit him. It is time for bed. "But is it Sunday...." Let's go pick up Micah. "No, it is Sunday." What does Sunday mean to Taylor? We are not allowed to do something, or participate in a certain activity. Hmm.....I wonder where he got that idea?

It looks like we need to rethink our approach to teaching about the Sabbath.

Silly Taylor

2010-01-15T22:45:00.002-08:00

My two year old is a back seat driver. While stopped at a stop sign, he yelled from his carseat, "go, go, go mamma." When it was finally clear and I turned, he added a "thanks." As I accelerated, he encouraged, "faster, go faster."

Happy Birthday

2010-01-13T10:15:00.002-08:00

Sadie came home from preschool the other day and declared, "I know how to sing Happy Birthday in German."

I answered, "sing it for me,"

"Heppy Birtsday too you. "Heppy Birtsday too you."

Sounds about right.

2010-01-13T02:53:00.003-08:00

Taylor the little helper, thought it would be a good idea to suck up a sock in the vacuum. Yes, he is wearing man-tights.

Taylor makes us all laugh. Just now he expressed himself so well....I have to write it down before I forget.

Mom: "Taylor, we need to go get Sadie."

Tay: "It's snowing out there."

Mom: "But it is time to get her."

Tay: "It is cold and wet." With his hands clasped and pulled up to his chest, "brrrrrrrrr, it is cold, momma."

Mom: "Sadie will be sad, if we don't pick her up."

Tay: "No, momma, I go home......Pleeeeeeeease?"

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-09T06:50:00.003-08:00

I have spent the last few weeks linking about what I want to accomplish this year. The task is daunting to me. I have such a huge list, that it is nearly impossible to take on. It seems that the same things appear year after year: lose 10 pounds, read my scriptures daily, keep a cleaner house. You know the wish list we all seem to share.

This year I want it to be different.

I have noticed that my life seems to be center around STUFF. I buy it, clean it, vacuum around it, organize it, wash it, fold it, sort through it and throw it out. If I take a survey of how I spend my time during the day, it usually has to do with THINGS. Even in relationship to the kids. I make their lunches, clean out their back packs, clean up after them, set out their clothes for them, fix their broken toys, and try to keep track of them, the toys, I mean.

This week, I called to get the dryer fixed, sent endless emails to the company that made our now broken TV, spent hours trying to get reimbursed for my son's glasses, took down our Christmas stuff, organized it and put it away.

I took a step back from my busy-ness and took a deep breath and said to myself, "what is this all about?" This is not not how I want to spend my time.

So.....the goal for this year: increase my time being with, doing things for, and interacting with others. Ideally, I want to do an act of service for a friend daily. There are plenty of people who could use a helping hand here. With the amount of deployed spouses. Starting this year, I will have 8 friends whose husbands are down range.

My kids could also benefit from quality time too. I would like to be able to spend an hour of quality time with each kid daily. I haven't decided if that is too much, or too little. I think I can achieve it though. I only have 3 kids and I do have time alone with each during day. Sadie has preschool in the morning and I have Taylor to myself. When she gets home, Tay goes down for a nap and she and I have time. Micah gets home at 4pm. With him it is a little trickier, since he has homework. Doing homework together, isn't that much fun for anyone. But I think it is a worthy goal.

Maybe my time will be better spent on people rather than on things.....

Also, I want to lose 10 pounds.....by exercising 3 times a week, not eating after 7pm and getting all my fruits and vegetable servings in a day.

and......work on my sewing skills......and learn to play the organ........

okay.....I had to throw in that loose weight goal.

2009-12-31T22:59:00.006-08:00

Once a year our sleepy little town wakes up and celebrates. This is a big deal for a country which has quiet hours (6am to 6pm on weekdays and Saturdays, all day on Sunday). Our village is pretty relaxed, but we have friends who have had issues for letting their kids play outside on Sundays, throwing away glass in the recycle bin on Saturdays (hours for recycling are 7am-5pm workdays) and warming up their car too early in the morning.

All those rules go out the window on New Year's Eve. Last year it caught us off guard, this year it didn't. Micah and Sadie woke up and watched for a few minutes. Fortunately, Taylor stayed asleep.

These fireworks are going off in our neighborhood. We had such a view on all sides of our home. Crazy how this stuff is legal. The house are made out of brick, unlike our houses of wood in the states. Less of a fire hazard, I guess. Maybe one year we will participate. For now, watching from the window is just as fun.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T22:49:00.003-08:00

Two days before Christmas the weather was cold and snowy. It warmed up and the snow was washed away. No white Christmas for us this year.

Uncle Todd and Aunt Jen sent us these great Hawaiian duds. It was warm enough to wear them (in the house). And jumping around playing the Wii helped too.

Waiting for Dad to build a fire and turn on Christmas music. The kids look really tired. Why are you up so early?

Christmas was for me very relaxing. My favorite part was enjoying a clean house. Greg took the kids out on Christmas eve and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. I could really relax. Sounds silly doesn't it?

Some funny things

2009-12-22T07:48:00.002-08:00

The other day, Micah was in trouble for fighting with Sadie. He and I discussed what punishment would be best for his naughty behavior. I suggested no TV for a day. He offered a counter suggestion, "how about I watch shows, but don't enjoy them?" Good try buddy.

Taylor has really enjoyed the Christmas lawn ornaments. There are plenty of lighted reindeer, who grace the yards, of our German neighbors. One dark morning as we walked to the bus, he pointed to deer who appeared to be drinking from a frozen pond. "Look mom, a giraffe, he's eating."

First day of Winter Break

2009-12-21T12:06:00.005-08:00

This is one of the reasons why all the candy is gone from the advent calender four days before Christmas.

Making candy houses with the kids.

Taylor mostly ate. More candy went into his belly than on any house we built.

Sadie worked on a church.

A lovely Visit from Scott and Doris

2009-12-20T12:16:00.002-08:00

At the Heidelberg castle.

Scott and Doris made a trip to England for a friends wedding. They popped over to Germany for a long weekend. We got to show them a bit of our turf, catch up with Scott and get to know Doris. We had a fabulous time! The kids loved meeting their Aunt and Uncle. Micah is ready to learn Chinese and Sadie has decided that we are going to move to Hong Kong. I think we can manage a visit in the future.

We visited Heidelberg, Trier, and Cochem. We enjoyed lots of yummy food. I tried my first Flammkuchen with Scott, (I know it is a bit late in coming), brats and even Italien Ice Cream. Unfortunately, the Christmas markets were not open yet, and many castles had closed the weekend before for the winter. We managed to see the Heidelberg castle and the relatively new castle that overlooks Cochem. Although the Christmas Market in Trier was not officially open, many venders had set up schop. We also popped over to Karl Marx birth house, which I hadn't seen yet on our two other visits to Trier.

My favorite part, of course, was the nice visit from family.

The glasses saga

2009-12-17T21:19:00.002-08:00

We discovered Micah needed glasses when he was five. One eye was severely near sighted (so bad that you could call it far sighted), and the other eye saw perfectly. An inherited disorder, but correctable, Micah started patching his good eye, so that his bad eye would "learn" how to see better. We were told that he had until he was 8 years old to teach this eye to work better, at which point, the eye would permantly remain at that prescription.

In the summer we learned that he eye was done adjusting. The eye doctor informed us that Micah's eyes were no longer malleable. He would still need a very strong prescription in his left eye. This was sad news for Micah. He would forever have a one horrible eye (can't even be corrected to 20/20) and one good eye. At least he had a good one, I guess. Although, he would forever have problems with depth perception (there goes his professional sports career), and probably would never be able to enjoy a 3-D movie.....

Yesterday, we got more bad news. For the last few years we have been ordering our eye glasses off of the internet. Until now, I have be very pleased with the quality and service of the website. Last week, however, Micah failed an eye exam at school, WITH his glasses. He good eye registered at 20/200 and his bad eye 20/70. Yikes! I brought his glasses to the clinic and we discovered that Micah has been wearing the wrong prescription for the last month and a half! The prescpription was so incorrect, that it appears that the glasses were made for an entirely different kid.

Micah has been blind for the last six weeks, and another kid is walking into walls somewhere in the world.

I feel guilty, of course, how else does a mom respond. Today we are going to order a new pair from the eye glass store on post.

Life continues

2009-12-11T02:12:00.003-08:00

When I was a new mom, all illnesses stressed me out. I kept kids home, with the slightest cough, and avoided all contact with others who looked sick too. I worried that my kids were dying with the slightest fever. You could call me a germ-o-phob. Over the years, however, I have learned that life goes on, after illnesses.

We have experienced the usually boughts of the stomach flu, which at first sent me over the edge. I have taken care of three kids with the anual flu, being sick with a fever myself. Bed bugs....done that. We all survived. This week I am happy to announce that we made it through an infestation of head lice....and yes.....we lived.

I am hoping those little guys didn't.

Apparently, 25% of the student body at Landstuhl elementary experienced a similar infestation.

On sunday, Micah was scratching his head during church. With his head on my lap, I casually sifted through his hair. That is when I saw something scurry across his scalp. I caught it with my bare hands, put it on a hymn book and scooted it over to Greg. Later, he told me that he looked my way, and saw me red-faced and wide-eyed. His eyes got wide too. "Let the fun begin," he said. "We are leaving," I responded. I packed up the kids and went home to start the laundry.

Three movies and four bottles of medicated shampoo later, the spa night at the Jensen's ended.

Although, it took three days to catch up on the laundry and a few days to get over the intial scare of the discovery. At first, I thought I might need therapy, but now....

Bring it on.......we can do a anything........

but do I we really have to?

odds and ends

2009-12-01T00:10:00.004-08:00

Taylor has been really funny lately. When we arrived at our hotel in Strasbourg, he kicked off his shoes, crouched down, flexed his muscles and declared it " wrestle time."

Also, yesterday he notifed me that he needed a diaper change. At the top of the stairs he yelled down, "who is stinky?" With his hand raised he answered his own question, "me!"

Sadie also had a doctor appoitment yesterday. They tested her eyes. Taylor did the test with her, repeating every letter. She passed the test by the way. No glasses for her! We were worried that she had bad vision, because of our family history. She has the best vision in the family.

I need to catch up on blogging from the last week. We had a lovely visit from Doris and Scott (my brother and sister in law,) and a funy trip to Strasbourgh France (also known as the capital of Christmas.)

More things to come.

St Martin's Day

2009-11-15T11:06:00.003-08:00

It is that time of the year again. Time to parade around Bechhofen with lanterns and to eat brats infront of a bonfire. It was cute to see Sadie take pride in the special celebration for her and her school. The kindergarteners had songs and poems prepared, but Sadie didn't want to participate. I didn't push it since she dropped to the ground and ducked around the pulpit, when it was her turn at the church program.

The happy family: our three kids, and Mr happy pumpkin man. Micah is sporting his new pair of shades.

The lantern Sadie made at school. She was so proud of it.

A random Taylor story: Taylor is pretty disgusted with his runny nose. All day he has been complaining about how messy it is. Before I figured out what was going on he screamed, "get it off!" I asked him, "what is it?" "I don't know!" he answered.

On the way to buy crystal

2009-11-09T10:25:00.006-08:00

We had heard that crystal was cheaper outside of Prague, so we prepared ahead of time, buy finding an address for a shop in a city north of Prague. We entered the address into our GPS system and began the trip. We left Prague confident that we would find crystal at half the price with little effort. We should have worried.

The roads were old. We drove through small villages and we weren't too surprised when the GPS told us to turn onto a small country road. It started out paved. An older couple walking their dog looked at us concerned when we drove by. I am still wondering, why didn't they stop us?

Gradually, the paved road became a one lane dirt road, with ditches on both sides. Finally, it dumped us onto a mud filled field. By this time it was too late. We couldn't turn around. The only way out was driving forward.

Fortunately, my friend Nikki has skills, farming skills. She grew up on a farm and knew how to drive in the mud. She even has a perfect record of driving through mud without getting the car stuck. I sat in the passenger seat with my eyes closed and my fingers crossed, saying my prayers. Nikki maintained her perfect record, although the car skidded and slid, the wheels spinning.

We made it out, barely. The crystal did end up being about 50 percent cheaper than in the city, but double the effort. After the initial embarrassment wore off and we had a good chuckle over the experience, it was totally worth the drive. Although, next time, I will take the freeway, which the GPS somehow overlooked.

This is where we switched drivers. The road was straight ahead, parallel to the line of trees.

Kafka

2009-11-09T00:03:00.003-08:00

The Astronomical clock in the Old Town.

I had forgotten that the Kafka had lived in Prague, but it was a pleasant surpise to discover one of the houses he lived in. This house is located on the Golden Street, just outside of the castle.

The street is the "busiest street in Prague." We were lucky to arrive early enough to beat the crowds. There are cute little shops located in the houses, where once black smith shops were located.

We left the city with a couple determined to come back and and bring our families. There definitely is more to see, the Jewish Quarter for one thing. We left in the afternoon and headed to a spa town to check out some crystal shops.

Trip to Prague

2009-11-08T23:46:00.003-08:00

Last week, my friend Nikki and I left our kids in our husbands' care to take a girls trip to Prague. We left early but arrived late, due to too much chatting, eating M and M's, drinking diet coke and Dr Pepper. It took us a while to realize that our GPS was malfuntioning.....we took back roads, instead of Autobahn. We arrived in time for dinner and to walk around the Old Town.

The next morning we awoke early and headed up to the castle. We crossed the famous Charles bridge. This is a view of the castle from the bridge.

This Cathedral is located on the castle grounds. It is the oldest standing gothic church in Europe. It is the most impressive church I have seen in Europe yet.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T23:58:00.002-07:00

On wednesday evening we particpated in our ward's Halloween Party. We had a great time and got plenty of candy. Tonight we are headed up the Landstuhl Housing area, for some more Halloween fun.

Greg's mom sent these toddler scrubs for Micah years ago. All of our kids have been a doctor at least once. Taylor makes a cute one.

All I needed was a hat to complete the witch outfit.

Take it all away

2009-10-28T07:16:00.001-07:00

Getting rid of garbage can be tricky here in Germany. It is required by law to recycle. Some Americans don't do well with sorting garbage and end up taking things to the dumpsters on base. We haven't done that yet, okay...well our fake Christmas tree ended up there somehow......and we did hide a toilet seat in the German trash....shhhhh...don't tell.

However, there is one good thing about the German garbage system: bulk garbage day. Once a year, you can put anything out in front of your house and it will get taken away, old cabinets, electronics, old clothes....etc. Yesterday was such a day. We got rid of a few things that have been piling up in our basement.

The funniest part about bulk garbage day are the white vans with Polish plates. Before the local garbage pick up takes the trash away, Polish junk collectors drive around looking for great finds and take them away, to be fixed up and sold over the boarder. It was fun to see how long our stuff lasted. One van pulled up to our house, when the driver saw the bike we just put out. He waited while we unloaded our basement. He left pretty pleased (he scored a couple of old bikes and strollers). We were pretty happy too. One person's junk is truely another's treasure.

Playing Army Guy

2009-10-21T08:22:00.010-07:00

For the last two weeks I've been in Hohenfels, Germany doing Field Training with the 212th Combat Support Hospital (CSH). This is the same idea as the old M.A.S.H. (Mobile Army Support Hospital), but bigger. We practice setting up the hospital and running through pretend mass casualty scenarios and take care of real patients as needed.

Succinctly, I'm on a really big campout.

I'll admit that the theme song of M.A.S.H kept popping in my head every time I walked around the CSH and saw helicopters flying around.

These are the Male Officer Barracks that I stayed in. It was re-named "The Plague Barracks" due to the Type A Influenza virus that swept through... as if the orchestral snoring of 20 grown men with borderline sleep apnea wasn't enough.

These are the ICU and ER tents

And my favorite, of course, the Operating Room with two beds. This is where I spent my time.

These two locations are noteworthy.

First, the Male Latrine. Notice the fantastic tile accentuating multiple shower heads reminiscent of WWII Germany. If you look closely, you'll see accent colors on the floors and corners. I'm not sure exactly what color they are, so I'll just call them the color.... petri dish.

Secondly, the internet cafe. This is the exact room where I'm sitting right now. No frills needed to attract soldiers eager to email... or blog... whatever your fancy.

Oh, yes. It snowed.

The first photo is from the 212th CSH hospital tents looking down to the barracks.

The second photo is of me smiling.

Why not.

BYE BYE BINKY

2009-10-09T04:12:00.002-07:00

My first two kids made it through their infancy without a binky addiction, not my third. He slept so well with his little soother, we didn't take it away. Now he is over 2 years old and still loves those things. We just put him in his bed, hand him a blanky and his pacy. Usually he wave good night and lays down to go to sleep without a peep. Well.....it is time to move on.

And I am a flake....a weakling.

I cut the tip off of one of his binkies the other day. He noticed immediately and declared "yucky binky, broken binky, fix it now!" throwing his pacifier back to me. On the way to bed I handed it to him again and explained that it was time for him to be a big boy. Unfortunately, I failed to noticed another binky in his bed. He sure noticed it. Okay......attempt failed. Next time I need to search the house to find all the binkies.

Now we are down one binky and only have one that "works." I just put him down for his nap and could not find his binky. I put him to bed with the "broken" one and again he said, "fix it now!" I explained the other binky was lost. I suggested he try sucking on his blankie.

Well, he is now in his bed moaning...."binky, binky, binky," and I am currently looking for that silly thing.

I am so weak.

Attention to Detail

2009-10-04T10:01:00.002-07:00

This is Greg. I am unwillingly bound by my occupation to pay attention to minute details. Here's a great example: Yesterday I was watching the kids while Nic had some errands to attend to. I was in the kitchen and noticed Taylor by the front door intermittently glancing at me while testing the door handle. With ease, I figured that he had intentions of trying to get outside. Next, Micah was looking for paper to make a snowflake, and it was a simple task for me to remember where I had noticed paper lying around that he could use. Sadie was third, and she was looking for a toy that she had misplaced. Searching through my databanks of "Lost Toys", I was able to point her in the right direction. Then, I noticed a draft in the house. Easy. A window must be open. Shortly thereafter, I heard the huffing and puffing of a 2 year old boy coming b ack through the open front door (oh... not a window). Hmmm... Taylor clearly had negotiated his way outside. I brought him back inside and locked the door and told him that Daddy needs to be outside with him while he plays in the front yard. Later that day we took a trip to the park. After we had gone out the door, to the street, down the sidewalk, to the top of the very steep stairs, I noticed Taylor's little blue bike sitting there... aimed to be ridden down the stairs... hmmmm.... that little piece of minutia was a little disconcerting...

The rest of Salzburg

2009-09-29T11:20:00.004-07:00

Micah and Sadie holding their salt rocks at the salt mine outside of Salzburg.
They provided clothes for the tourists to wear. I guess it was wet and dirty down there.
At the Eagle's nest in Berchtesgaten, a fabulous view!

Two funny Taylor stories

2009-09-25T00:31:00.003-07:00

While driving to Austria, the Alps seemed to suddenly pop up on the horizon. Taylor recognized their beauty pointed to the mountains and shouted "RAINBOWS!"

Today I have been trying to organize the toy room. The toys are taking over our house and needed to been thinned out. Taylor has been playing by my side the entire time. I dumped out a box of Micah's star wars and batman figurines and accessories. Taylor thought they were pretty cool. "Super Duper machine!" "Super Duper ship!" "Super Duper Guys!"

Salzburg Day 1

2009-09-21T11:47:00.010-07:00

Last week Greg took some leave and we pulled Micah from school. We drove 6 hours to Austria and spent 4 days in and around Salzburg. It was our second time there, but this time we were more thorough with our visit.

The trip was a success! The kids were fabulous. The hotel great! The weather perfect and we had enough time to see things at a nice pace. We visited the eagle's nest, the fortress, the abbey from the Sound of Music, a palace with cool trick fountains, a salt mine and the Altstadt in the city center. I think this was the first trip our kids loved (other than Legoland.) Micah declared that he "never wanted to go home."
Taylor got stuck in one of the fountains. An Archbishop of Salzburg built a series of trick fountains along a garden path. He would sit back and spray his guest with water and laugh at them while they got wet. He had fun getting wet too. It didn't take long to figure out were to stand to not get wet.

Taking a break for lunch.

On the self-guided tour. Our kids never have done well with tours until this time. They had their own audio device and seemed to learned from the information provided. Even Taylor played along for a while.

A view of the city.

Climbing up to the Abbey and the fortress that look down on Salzburg.

Dirndl

2009-09-20T09:46:00.004-07:00

On the way to Salzburg, we stopped in Munich. Since my mission, I have always wanted a dirndl.

Sadie shares my love of all things German. Well....at least she likes new clothes.

Greg never wanted a dirndl.

Happy Birthday Sadie!

2009-09-18T23:43:00.004-07:00

Sadie turned 5 on tuesday and we celebrated her birthday the saturday before. The party turned out great. Sadie and I planned it really well. Usually we wing- it at parties. I used her party as a way to get her to preschool. Everyday when she came home, we planned another game or craft. I was really proud of this party. I think everyone had a good time. The girls made princess crowns out of beads, pipe cleaners and head bands. They turned out great and the girls were so proud of them. Plus, the craft took about an hour to complete. We also played princess bingo and had a treasure hunt for the party favors.

Sadie's new BFF. Sophie moved here about two months ago and they hit if off imediately at Church. Her dad is an anesthesiologist and works with Greg.

Some cute things about Sadie:

1. She loves the dog next door! The neighbors hired her to play with him and take him potty, while there were gone for the day. She was so proud of her job!

2. She is a great big sister and has a big heart. She likes to play with Taylor and has taught him to comb barbie's hair and have tea parties.

3. She wants to be just like her mommy. She waits to see what I am wearing and then finds a similar outfit from her closet.

4. She is a shoe girl! I find her trying on my heals and boots regularly. She doesn't know it yet, but Grandma Leonard sent Sadie her very own pair of black dress boots! They are coming in the mail.

5. She likes to organize things, just like her daddy. Her special things all have a special place on her dresser.

6. She loves to wrestle. She didn't learn that from me.

7. Sadie is great at setting the table. She makes everything match and loves to pull out the pretty dishes and linens.

8. She is a great helper and loves to clean up and do laundry. Some jobs she can do by herself are: clean windows, vacuum, organize the dishes, take out the garbages.

9. She adores her big brother. She constantly wants his attention and she knows how to get it. (we are working on "asking for Micah's attention," rather than bugging him until he "gives it" to her.)

10. We are very greatful to have Sadie in our family!

Some are athletes at heart

2009-09-11T12:03:00.006-07:00

Tonight was Micah's first soccer game ever, and I (Greg) got to take him to it . He had a blast! He jumped and danced all over the field while other kids ran after the soccer ball with a killer instinct and a desire to win. Micah was clearly immune from that. He spent his time getting the best view of the game, excited when it was going our way, and rooting his teammates on when it wasn't. If other players got in his way, or the ball was a little too close, he would enthusiastically take a circuitous route around the gaggle of soccer kids to again obtain the best view of the exciting events. He wasn't quite a cheerleader... no... more like a a sports commentator in a red soccer jersey: excited to be close to the action, able to talk about the events for hours, and attracted to the camera for some upclose footage of himself. Some are athletes at heart, and others, well, just aren't.

Greg and Nicole Jensen

Getting stir crazy

Snow-magedon

Santa's little helpers

Pumpkin patch

Summer fun

We are back

Half now, half later

One of those discussions

The last week

More Pictures

The last few weeks

Our last trip

Father and Sons outing

Second to the last trip

The birthday party that wasn't

Pinewood Derby

Ibiza revisited

Evolution of a meat eater

Ibiza so far.....

Time to clear the air

The honesty of little girls

While cleaning her play kitchen, Sadie stacked the pots and pans in the toy sink and sighed, "the dishes are piling up, mom..... but I am going to put them off until morning." Ahh...the burdens of make-believe.

As I informed the kids what our plan was for the day (going to the dentist), Taylor perked up, "is that where we feed the animals?" Sorry Taylor, it is not.....

Things we will miss

Thanksgiving

Bern Kastel Kues

Playing catch-up

Happy Halloween

The Ukraine

Fist Day of School

last trip of the summer.....

Paris

Parenting blunders

Couldn't resist......

Carnival

Urgent Care

italy trip cont.

Back in Italy

Pictures of Italy

Italy trip

Micah's baptism

Some random pictures

the no good, very bad day

Things we learned from our last trip

On the Road

Trying to get home

Costa Brava

Espana

Keeping us cute

Happy Easter

the birds and the bees

Spring Time

One of those small rewards

Bring your kids to work day

Fasching 2010

The Table Continued

A new kitchen table

Chimneys

On the way to the bus

Culture Shock

My boys

Plan C

Sleding

Sweet Taylor

Piano

Crazy Winter Weather

Cheese

But it is Sunday.....

Silly Taylor

Happy Birthday

New Years Resolutions

Christmas 2009

Some funny things

First day of Winter Break

A lovely Visit from Scott and Doris

The glasses saga

Life continues

odds and ends

St Martin's Day