Hammertime

Celebrating Christmas in Rota this year with some of our best friends was so special. For months we have talked and planned this trip after finding out that Noa would be stationed there. We went back and forth with ideas and things to do together. Most of all we just wanted to be with them, but the fact that we were able to experience other things just added to the pot.

Noa's work schedule was amazing while we were there. Being that he is an ER doc he only worked two 24 hour shifts during our time. It was nice for him to be there with us on our adventures.

Julie is super mom! She has those two sweet girls in perfect sync and handles them like a charm. Ruby and Mila are so much fun to be around. Ruby's "scowl" is too cute and the many "okays?" that she gives melts my heart. Mila is a super happy baby, who isn't a fan of sleeping, but does that cutest "Mila Monster" noises that make us all laugh.

Thanks to the amazing Maria (their nanny) the four adults were able to get some date nights and in this instance a date day to enjoy. Noa and Julie took us to the Sevilla Betis game and then for a tapas experience after. The game was a fun way to get into the Spanish football mood. 

                                                

The boys doing what they loved...watching football together.

Having some Noa and Jackson time.

                                  

Julie and the girls.

                                            

         Jason and Mila are buds. Whenever Jason would walk into the room, Mila would light up with a huge smile.

                                            

                                            
                                 

The kids loved Gunner and Sadie. Anytime they would jump up for some lap loves the kids were there with open arms.

                                              

Grace being little mama to Mila.

                                  

Spiderwick

So years ago Jackson was given a movie by Carol that he watched one afternoon. It didn't sit well with him and has had issues with it ever since. We have talked about it and tried to work him through the movie many times...kinda an on going counseling session.

Well, Carol felt horrible about it. She really shouldn't at all because it was nothing that she did intentionally or could of even fathomed anything would come of it.

She did the most amazing thing for Jackson that we will treasure for years to come. She bought the hardback "Spiderwick" book and worked through it page by page writing funny notes about the "scary" parts, bringing color into the pictures with funny faces and even putting little trinkets in the pages for surprises along the way. The coolest thing was in the book when there was a special looking glass and she sent a present to be opened at that special moment we read in the book. The gift she sent was a kaleidoscope that she had given her dad years ago for a gift. Jackson absolutely loved it! My mom was here and read it to him one day while he was home sick and she videoed him opening it.

This book has been great for us to sit and read together as a family. I love that both the kids like to read it and really enjoy the story from a different point of view other than viewing it.

Happy Birthday Jason!

We celebrated Jason's birthday with a family day being that it fell on a Sunday. Each year it gets more and more special having our back to back birthday boys to celebrate with.

Jackson couldn't wait to give Jason his birthday present. At Jackson's school they have a holiday store where the students can buy presents for siblings and parents for Christmas. It is a great way for them to pick something special out without having mom or dad taking them. Jackson picked a beer mug (yes, that is how you know we live in "beer land" when your child picks out a stein for you...) that lights up all different colors when liquid is poured in it. He was so proud to give it to him! It really is a neat gift and Jason's loves to use it.

           

                       We headed to the St. Wendel Christmas market after church. It is a market we have always talked about, but never made it when it happens a few weeks in the month. It was fantastic with animals, fire shows and different vendor booths compared to the other markets.

                       

What is a Christmas market without a brot and brotchen?     

                                             

This vendor had these crazy shoes painted with funny faces and added hair. Pretty crazy!

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The weihnachtspyramid

                                              

        Jason enjoying a market favorite...potatoes with applesauce. Definitely not healthy, but oh so yummy!

                                              

AJ's 9th Birthday

How can it be? Our baby boy has turned 9 years old! I love the joy that he has as he counts down the days to his birthday. He is the joy of our lives and to watch him grow up has been so much fun.

Jackson is always (and always has) been a singing boy. When he is eating, brushing teeth, doing homework, playing games, or just about anything else he is singing. This boy has rhythm! He loves to make up his own dance moves, as well as make rap beats to go along with it. 

Most of all he loves to read! He reads books for enjoyment...not just because he has to. I love seeing him really get into a book and talk about all the details. Being that he loves school it truly helps to foster his love for reading and learning. 

Lately he really loves rocks and geodes. Jackson is a rock collector of all kinds. No matter where we are he finds a unique rock to add to his collection. He received some geodes and gold diggers kit for his birthday that he has been consumed with. He loves to crack them open to see what kind of surprises are inside.

For his birthday he invited two friends over for a night of fun. We went to the bowling alley after school and then came home to pizza, a movie and video games. 

 Jackson with his friends (since first grade) Luke and Jacob.

 The boys had fun playing the Wii and Anki drive up in the loft.

 We set up the futon and beds so the boys could "camp out" for the night up there. They stayed up until 9:45 playing games and then I heard them up at 6:10...playing games. Boys will be boys!

(By the way, this is a very special treat. Playing games that late (and often) is not a regular thing for him).

 Our elf, Micah, always brings Jackson a gift on his birthday. This year he got a DS game that works in concentration and memorization. 

 Of course Jackson had to eat off of the special plate!

 Jackson has been wanting a kindle fire for quite some time. We were so excited to give him one for his birthday. 

Making this boy feel special on his birthday makes our hearts so full. He brings so much happiness and laughter into our lives! We love you so much, AJ! 

First Snow of 2014

Mark it on the calendar...December 3rd is the first snowfall of 2014!

After having a no snow last winter we were excited to see a blanket of 4 inches of snow when we woke up.  When my alarm went off I jumped out of bed with excitement to see it. Although after telling Jason that he has to shovel the driveway and sidewalk...that changed it just a little. But the truth is Jason loves to shovel. It's a productive workout for him....just not before his first cup of coffee.

(The law in in Germany that all sidewalks have to be free of snow and ice between the hours of 7 am and 10 pm. If someone happens to slip on your driveway then you can get fined and in a lot of trouble.)

                            

Love the tree with the snow on it!

                            

The roads were horrendous on the way to work! The commander should of called a 2 hour school delay for them to get the road cleared and safe. 

From our village it usually takes about 15 minutes to get to base. Well, it took us over 1.5 hours because of the road conditions! Not good for a coffee filled bladder if you know what I mean. There were cars on the side of the road, hit head on with a pole, buses on the side of the road and many cars sliding because they couldn't get up the hill. 

Needless to say...it was a mess!

                           

On a happier note the kids were so excited to get home from school and play in the snow. Jason had a huge snowball fight with them all around the house. Made my heart so full to see them play like that!

                                        

Grace and our neighbors built a snowman. Thanks to Chris and Shannon we were able to use our snowman decorations this year. The kids really thought that was funny.

                                       

Innsbruck

On our only day of no skiing we took the 30 minute drive to Innsbruck to the Christmas markets. It was a beautiful sunny day in the city!

 

We tried a new food that is traditional in Austria, the Kiachln.  It is basically a fried doughnut with different fillings such as cream sauce, nutella or sauerkraut. We went the sauerkraut route and loved  

it!

This is looking up into a tall glass Christmas tree that has over 90,000 Swarovski crystals inside. When the sunlight hit it it looked like a rainbow in all directions. The one star in the middle weights over 7.5 kilograms.

As with most European cities there is a lot of street artists. The kids really liked this one.

Innsbruck was a beautiful city full of people and lots to see and do. We will definitely make a trip back here in the future.