Mine Tour

For those of you who don't know a friend of mine and myself somehow got nominated to set up field trips for our humble homeschool group here in Germany. During the summer we had set up things for me and others with deployed spouses the stay busy and it really just ended up carrying over. So far we have had only minor glitches... all and all not to bad..
On this day we went to a mine close to us in Idar Oberstien. This area is known world wide for their gem cutting...

Lilly trying to make the hard hat work for her


in the background you can see the ferns that
naturally are growing the cave...very cool


three jokers.....


Hannah with a great background

Daddy is Home

I wish I could post a picture of when daddy finally got home but by the time he actually got off the plane we didn't have the camera ready. He was late and then we got soaked with rain as we waited for him... Bless his heart he got frozen pizza for his coming home dinner.... We were supposed to have Chili's but of course it was packed and I didn't have a back up plan ready... OH WELL at least he got home and was fed right??!!

Tsunami

Well the puppy has defiantly added some spice to out lives.... He fits right in with the mess and relishes making messes of his own...


Thankfully he doesn't mind the the baths that go
making the mess

Back Again.....

Well everyone... life seemed to just take off and hasn't slowed down much. Since Tsunami has gotten here we have had a very full schedule and that was even before Eric got back.

Well all....Tsunami has landed. The kids and I picked up the new puppy July 11 and we are having a ball. Tsunami is such a good puppy as of right now I should say. I think he is still trying figure everything all out. The housebreaking is going much better then I thought it was going to be. He isn't eating as much as I thought he would be I am VERY sure we will get there very quickly. He is living up to his heritage and LOVES water. If there is water he will find it. He drinks with at least one paw in the dish or he will do what I call a drive by dunking. He will walk over and put both feet in the dish, take a quick sip of water and walk off.... with a nice trail of water behind. Makes a much better puddle to lay in if you do this several times LOL.
He is already in puppy training and we are working on all the basics a little everyday. It will be so much fun to watch him grow...

Hannah's Irish pics

This is a bit late but I wanted to show a few pictures of Hannah in her Irish costume. She had just finished her big dance recital. Her group danced to the Lord of the Dance and they represented the color green. I guess all the dance groups at both Ramstein and Vogleweh picked colors to be. There were some very cute costumes... the only ones that could pull off dancing to "Green Acres" in little farmer dance costumes were the six and under crowd.. they were too cute. Hannah did great... plus she had a lot of fun which is all I ask.

Busy Busy Week

Well this week has been a nightmare of schedule juggling. I didn't know I was so very flexible and the kids actually managed to keep up for the most part. Hannah and Leisha had their Irish Dance camp and are doing very well. Leisha got moved up to Hannah's group on Tuesday which was the first change to the schedule. Actually it worked out better for me cause it cut down on my driving time.
I got a call from Noelle's doctor on Wednesday and due to some test results she now has to see a urologist and have an ultrasound done on her bladder. (for those who don't know she has never really been fully potty trained.. or I should say she has always had accidents) So on Thursday Noelle will see a urologist and on Monday she will have a ultrasound done. From there I am not sure what is in store other than a blood test I think and then an appt with her doctor. We are praying that it is nothing major.

Friday will be a very busy day. Hannah and Leisha have camp, Noelle and EJ have swim lessons and then we are picking up our new puppy at the airport. The kids are very exicted for Tsunami to be here. He is a black Newfoundland with white patches... they are called Irish Spotted. I will post pics as soon as we catch our breath.

Barefoot Park

My children were in a form of heaven today... they got to play with no shoes on. They LOVE not wearing shoes. Here in Germany they have parks or paths that you can go walking around with no shoes on. We walked through mud and creeks; Over mulch, rocks and other man made bridges and balance stuff. Unfortunately it was wicked hot and in some areas not much shade to walk, but all in all we had a blast. EJ was a bit hesitate in some areas.. and he didn't like to play Indiana Jones while walking over a long rope bridge. Lilly was in her element and got down and dirty. She even took her shirt off cause brother did when they were playing in the water. The rest of the crew had just as much fun. They stayed a bit ahead of us so there isn't wasn't a lot of photo ops with them...

We can hardly wait to take Daddy with us next time.. the kids have such big plans to spring surprises on him while we walk around. The funny thing is that I am sure that Eric is going to be well prepared for whatever they can dish out....

ej and lilly looking for treasure in the water



river crossing... it actually was kinda slippery

Off we Go....

Well this is my first entry of our new blog.... I thought I would try and see if I can keep it up. I don't usually have a lot of time to sit and try and keep my thoughts going in one direction... but I thought I would give it a shot.

Hannah is off to her first Feis and I am sad that I am not there. I just didn't think the rest of the kids would do good just sitting all day listening to the same song over and over. I am hoping to be able to take her and Leisha to one or two next year.
EJ and Noelle had their first swim lesson today it was a mixed bag.... Noelle did great, EJ was obedient but cried most of the time. It was kinda pitiful watching him blow bubbles in the water while crying. I pray he does much better next time. Lilly is the one that should be in the swim class. I have to watch her like a hawk... she keeps putting her face in the water and trying to kick her legs. Leisha and Abbi and Noah finished their week of day camps and while it was a fun filled week the kids are pooped and need a week to recover. Leisha and Abbi did all kinds of cool things like horseback riding, rock wall climbing, go carts, amusement parks and swimming. Noah did just fun crazy stuff (what ever that is ).