Bastogne, Belgium

Each year in December the town of Bastogne holds a walk to commemorate the Battle of Bulge.  I have been wanting to go to this since before we even moved here.  I was excited when I found out the Cub Scouts were planning a trip.  The only downside to the trip, was that Mark was TDY the weekend of the walk.  I was nervous about going alone w/the 3 kids.  Mainly because I was not sure how the little ones would do on a 5km walk.  I was told it was not stroller friendly. Regardless, I decided we were going to go.

I can't even describe how amazing this trip was.  People were there from all over the world.  Many were dressed in WWII-era uniforms.  They had the old jeeps and tanks out as well.  It was so amazing to see and be apart of it.

Sadly, Ella, Jackson and I did not get to go on the walk. I forgot their shoes at the house.  We had to get up early that morning, so I just got them up out of bed. I had EVERYTHING else we would need except the shoes. It was a cold day. I don't think it got above 25 degrees that day.  We dropped Ryan off with a friend and the kids and I headed off to find shoes.  Luckily I found a shoe store quickly and was able to get them shoes.

Here are some pictures that I took while we were walking around the town.

I am not sure why this truck is covered with white sheets. I even saw people who had white on over their uniforms.

We had a wonderful time even though we did not get to go on the walk, which was probably for the best.  The kids were freezing after a while.  Poor Ella's hands turned red from the cold.  She did had gloves on, but kept taking them off.

Ryan had a wonderful time with his friends.  I am waiting to get pictures of him from the other mom. When I do I will post them.

I have already started planning for next year.  I think I might even get a sitter for the little two.  I think this something everyone should go to if they get a chance.  I also want to go to Bastogne in the spring or summer. It is such a cute town.

St. Nikolaus Day

On the night of the 5th, the kids set out there boots for St. Nikolaus to visit to see if they had been good or bad all year. If they are bad then Knecht Ruprecht will visit instead! 

So the kids set their boots  out for St. Nikolaus to visit.

St. Nikolaus stopped by and put some candy and a couple of wind up toys in their boots.  He also left them a special book with an elf in it.

All three of the kids were very excited to wake up in the morning and see that they had been visited by St. Nikolaus.  Mark and I both enjoyed sharing this German tradition with the kids!

Ryan was a little confused after he got his stuff out. Over half of his boot was stuffed with paper. I think he thought he had something else in his boot. 

The Christmas Parade

Ryan was part of the Christmas parade with the Cub Scouts on base.  The weather was horrible. It was cold and rainy, but they still had the parade (learning to put up with the weather is part of living here).  It was the smallest parade I have ever seen.  It took less than five minutes but over an hour to get everyone ready for it.  Jackson and Ella had fallen asleep in the van, before the parade started. Luckily I found a parking spot right off the road, so I could watch the parade while they napped. I did manage to get Ella up before the parade started. 

Ryan had a blast, and can't wait for the  next parade. 

The Promotion

Mark was promoted to Captain earlier this month.  He was worked very hard to get where he is, and we are all so proud of him.

He had a small promotion ceremony at his office.  Ryan, Ella and I pinned on his bars.  Jackson was to busy getting into the cake.

I was not able to get a many good pictures.  I let someone else take over my camera. So I did not get any of the shots I would have loved to get.  Here are a few of the good ones.

I love this picture of Jackson and Mark.

Here is the only half-decent shot of him being pinned on.  Once again another example of WHY I should always  behind the lens.

 

Another shot that I really like.

Jackson doing what he does best - EATING!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  We hope you have a wonderful and joyous holiday season.

 

Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the White's.  I know this does not come as a surprise to most of you. We do a lot with the Whites.  We headed down their the day before Thanksgiving, so Jenn and I could get a jump start on cooking.  Mark fried a turkey and we had tons of food and where joined by the Garret's for dinner.  We had tons of the food and a great time.  Thanks Jenn, Ryan, and Katy for letting us invade your home for the holidays.  I would also like to add a very special thanks to Ryan and Mark for taking the kids for the weekend, so Jenn and I could go to Paris!  Thanks guys!!

Jackson with the turkey leg

Nove and the Trip Home

On our last day in Italy we decided to take it easy. The kids had been great on our trip to Venice, and we were headed home early the next day.  We knew the kids wanted to just hang out and play.  So Diane and I saw this a great chance to go the town of Nove.  Nove is a town in Italy where a lot of the pottery for Pottery Barn, Linux, Crate & Barrel, ect is made and exported.  You can actually going into the factories where they make all the stuff and buy it at a fraction of the cost you would get it for in the States.

Diane took me to this great place called Larry's.  He makes all the pottery in his shop by hand and hand paints everything, because of this you can get anything personalized.  So you know I had to order some stuff from Larry's.  Diane so kindly offered to go back and pick it up for me when it was finished.  She even took some pictures of it for me to drool over until we see each other again. All the items I bought reminded me of Italy and I think they are great and useful souvenirs from our trip.

The Pasta bowl. I got five matching smaller bowls to go with it.

The outside of the bowl.

 

The pitcher .

This is a Diane's Olive Oil set.  Mine looks like hers.  She forgot to pick mine up. I think it is just an excuse to go back!

 

The next shop we went to is one of the ones that makes stuff for Tiffany's and Lennox.  To get to the store you have enter through the factor. It was amazing to see  it.  They were packing stuff for export to the States.  More on the factory in a bit. 

The store was amazing and overwhelming.  There was so much to see and take in. It was amazing to pick up a piece of pottery and see it was stamped Tiffany's on the bottom and it cost a fraction of what you would pay at the store.  Of course I found the new dinnerware I want! I did control myself and did not buy it. I do plan on going back and buying it. 

This is the set I want, minus the rooster.

Diane and I were able to walk through the factor as we left.  It was so neat to see the people at work creating the pottery.  They hand paint everything.  No mass production going on at these places.  I also got to use my first hole in the floor potty! JOY......not!

Here are some shots of the factory from the outside. 

 

This entry could not end without some sort of adventure right?  Really, what kind of trip would it have been without something happening!  Diane and I were headed back home after one last stop at another pottery shop.  Alex (Diane's oldest daughter) called to tell us the buses had stopped running due to a transit strike, and she was stuck.  Diane had me call the guys to let them know and make sure Alex could get home. While we were worried about this, we get pulled over by the Carabinieri.  I see these guys standing on the side of the road pulling us over and I get off the phone. They don't look too friendly. They come up to the van and talk to Diane.  She tells them she does not speak Italian and they take all of her paperwork. There are two of them at the window.  The one in the back just looked mean.  After they walk off with Diane's paperwork, I tell her "He is kind of scary" and that is when I notice he has his machine gun pointed at us. He really looked like it would make is day to use it.  They let us and our pottery go with a ticket.  Diane and I had a good laugh over the whole thing.  Just another adventure to add to the ones we have had over the years together and the ones we will have.

There is not really much to tell about the trip home. I just wanted to share pictures of the beautiful landscape. I love Austria and would move there in a heart beat.

The castle from the other side of the tunnel.

A picture of a painting on a bathroom door at a restaurant.