Happy New Year!

Last night we had Bryce over for a sleepover and he mentioned fireworks. We can't set them off on base so decided we would go to the castle and see what was happening there. So at 11:30 we set out and sure enough we were not dissapointed! From the castle you can see the city of Landstuhl as well as other villages in the distance. We forgot our camera, but let's just say the people here know how to ring in the new year! There were fireworks going off all around us! The town was all it up, the castle was all lit up! Someone had big fireworks about 30 feet away from us! Then others started setting off smaller ones. Bottle rockets were flying, some hitting the castle right above where some people were standing at the top of the steps! It was crazy, but fun! The boys were in awe and seemed to have a good time. We watched them for a good thirty minutes when we thought things might be dying down, but they weren't. As we were walking back to the van it seemed that everyone must have gotten their second wind. As we drove around the Melkerei we watched people run out in the road and light something then run. The streets were littered with trash from it all! A firetruck came flying by us sirens blaring. Luckily it was raining a little. It was a good time! The boys were all out cold by the time we got back home, but we managed to get them all in the house and in beds. We slept until about 9 this morning although I think I could use a bit more. Zach and I got stuck on some old movie so stayed up watching it.

I am excited for this year although sad times will come as we have to say goodbye to friends in several months, but new adventures lie ahead! I am finally graduating....well as long as my paperwork gets processed correctly and in time. Zach tests for another stripe and hopefully he will get to take another class or two. I hope everyone has a great year and that we will get to see some family and friends we have missed seeing in the last three years!

It's Pinewood Derby time again.

Since Ryan is in scouts now we have two pinewood derby cars to make. We have a few boys whose dads are deployed so we figured why not make three! So here are some pictures I took as the boys began their cars. They picked their design, Zach cut the wood then handed them over for the boys to sand. Ryan is making a bumble bee. Tyler is making a hot dog and Bryce is maing the car on the box. He said it was easier then having to think up a design. After we figure out paint and all I will take more pictures of the finished cars!

Christmas Pictures!

 

So I am very slow on getting this done, but I have a very good excuse! I got 7 new books for Christmas! On Christmas day Zach asked why I wasn't reading any new books and I told him he knows how I get so if I start reading then nothing gets done. He said it was no biggie I needed to read and enjoy it so I did! And for three days nothing got done! I"did read 4 books though! When I finished the 4th Zach asked "So do we get you back now?"

We didn't take a lot of pictures this year. I realized we have a lot less of Ryan, but he was opening so fast I am not sure I could tell you all he got still. And I am sure in his mad dash to open he opened things that weren't his. It happens every year! Usually it's Cody's stuff so he never knows the difference. For those that don't know our boys DO NOT wake up early on Christmas. I am not kidding either. Every year we finally go get them up! This year Tyler set his alarm for 6am! As soon as Ryan heard Tyler say presents he was up, but Cody would rather have slept. He really prefers to wake up on his own. So he had a slower start and really didn't care about presents at first. We managed to get him through it all, but he was so slow Ryan and Tyler had all their presents opened, taken out of packaging and were playing!

I always make home made cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning so we did that and had a nice day hanging out in jammies, playing, listening to new CD's, trying out new video games, and me reading! Oh and we didn't do a big Christmas dinner this year, we had crab legs, salmon, and shrimp. It'll never be the same since we left Alaska, but we were missing it so much we treated ourselves! And it was a lot less work for me! Can't beat that!

The cleanup!

I know I am weird, but just about every year I take pictures of the before and after of the cleaning process. This year I had cleaned a lot before remembering to take the pictures. At one point Ryan, Tyler and Cody were completely surrounded by wrapping paper, and new things! When they started opening the star wars guys and I realized how many small pieces came with them I knew it was time to start clearing! So the end product was 5 recycle bags plus some boxes that were too big to fit! I really filled the recylce bags too and mashed as much as I could into each! The living room never really got cleaned up until Saturday when I just couldn't take it anymore.

Now we are in the process of moving around bedrooms since I sold Cody's bed with the slide. We have given up the battle for him to sleep in it. He likes the bottom bunk of Ryan's bed so we bought Ryan a new bed and he will move into Cody's room. I also bought Tyler a new bed since we never planned to take his bunk bed with us. It's just to close to the ceiling for him! I don't blame him one bit! we have it up for sale, but have plenty of time so aren't worried. We are already starting to prepare to move even though we have no idea where we are headed. For those that know me well know I LOVE to get rid of things and moving is the best time! I know it drives Zach insane, but he was the one that mentioned we might as well start early so we have the summer to enjoy our last bit of time here! And Christmas is the best time to downsize on toys since the boys got so much new stuff! They don't mind me clearing some out, but in a few months they will so I have to take my chance now! Okay so I really got off the subject of Christmas clean up! Guess I need to blog more!

Finally a girl!

We have tossed around getting a puppy for a while, but being overseas had put it off. Ryan has really struggled this past year and we finally decided after a very big breakdown with him that it was time to get a puppy. He was so upset and said he just wanted a friend that doesn't move away which he has been saying for a few years now. So Zach and I started researching what dogs are good with kids and what we thought would work best for our family. As much as we like golden retrievers, the size is just not ideal. We finally decided a beagle fit the description rather well so started looking for them in the paper. There were 5 listed and all were sold. The day after Christmas Zach was at work with nothing to do so him and another guy started looking up dogs and found an add for beagle puppies that were born December 21st. I emailed the owners and today we went to see the puppies. We decided on the one pictured above! It was a bit of a drive since they live about 3 hours away, but we were very impressed with the family and the mother dog. They really did their homework when it came to breading their dog. The mom is an american bred beagle and the dad is a german bred beagle. The end of February our little girl puppy will be old enough to bring home. It's nice having some time to prepare. The owners are going to email us pictures as she grows since we aren't close enough to go visit. We are still in limbo over the name, but as soon as we pick one they asked us to email so they could start using it with her. Right now the boys like Lucy or Cheyenne. Any votes???

Christmas Break Entertainment!

Monday the kids and I needed to get Christmas goodies made for friends so spent the morning making a mess, having fun and ending up with some pretty tasty treats! I didn't take a picture of the cookies, just the mice and chocolate covered pretzels. Tyler dipped them himself and Cody was in charge of sprinkles! He went a little crazy on some! It was fun and the mess took a while to clean up, but it was worth it. I wish the we made more mice, but this was a last minute let's see if we can figure it out from a party treat Ryan had at school! I think they turned out cute!

Cody has an ear infection!

This is a first for us! The boys have not been on an antibiotic (unless you count Tyler's eye drops after his surgery) up to this point. Cody has been miserable since Thursday night, well actually I will back up to Tuesday. The boys were running around and Cody had socks on so when he went from carpet to tile he ate it....big time! he was very upset and kept holding his left foots saying it hurt. He wouldn't walk on it, instead he crawled everywhere. We decided to let him sleep on it and see if anything had changed Wednesday. He didn't sleep well and was limping when he got up. He just laid around so I figured I had better have his foot checked. Tyler broke his at 2 1/2 jumping off the couch so you never know! I got an appointment and the doctor seemed irritated I even brought him in. Cody would not say where it hurt and the doctor was asking questions that yes a typical 4 year old might be able to answer, but not one with lmiited expressive language. So the doctor pretty much passed it off and was sending us on our way. Then he saw Cody try to walk and decided to get x-rays. He said he would call back with the x-ray results and in the mean time give Cody motrin (air force candy as we like to call it!) Of course the doctor never called back so Thursday morning I called and no one would give me any info.

Thurdsday after Cody went to sleep he started running a fever. I gave him motrin, but he still slept restessly which means I didn't sleep. Friday he was miserable and still running fevers. He was all congested and just wanted to be held. I remember the doctor asking me Wednesday if he had been running a fever and I said no. Kind of an odd thing to ask when the child is limping. So now I was beginning to wonder what the connection could be. I started rotating Tylenol and Motrin, but after 2 hours the meds would wear off and Cody would be miserable again. Sunday I had to go to church since I was teaching so left Zach and the boys home. Cody was pretty happy when I got home so we thought he was good to go. He said his ear hurt but he had been laying on it so we figured that was why it hurt. Then we got night 4of no sleep! By this point I am grouchy, Zach is grouchy and Cody is miserable! I called today to see what the doctor thought and they had an appoinment so I took it. I got a much better doctor this time and he checked his ears and said yep he has a nasty infection in his left ear, the one he had been saying hurt! So I felt bad I let him suffer so many days.

Now he is on some amoxicillan and feeling much better! I really hope to get sleep tonight as well! I don't think I can do this 30 minute nap stuff for another night in row! And I am glad he won't be miserable on Christmas. We have worked pretty hard to get him excited although he wants nothing to do with Santa!