How can she possibly be in the double digits?

Oct 2012

Josephine is 10 years old. That is double digits. How in the world, do I have a daughter in the double digits?

This was was an extremely busy week, so Joey opened presents the night before her actual birthday. She also had cake. Her choice? A cream-cheese-pumpkin roll. Good choice, my dear.

On her actual birthday, Erick and I pulled her out of school for lunch. She selected Asian food at the Tea Garden. Here she is with Erick at lunch.

A few fun facts about Joey at age ten:

• She loves art. She used her birthday money from Grandma B to buy art supplies.
• She is in 4th grade.
• She is involved in Student Council at the elementary school. 
• She is not afraid to try new things - spelling bee, school play, etc.
• Joey takes piano lessons.
• She was thrilled to finally get her own military ID card.
• Joey has learned to cook a few family dinners.
• She is a social butterfly.
• She has a few cute freckles on her nose.
• She doesn't like to dress up. She's t-shirt and jeans type of girl.
• Joey loves to be outside.

I love having Josephine in our family. She brings so much fun and sunshine into our home. She is a fantastic big sister to the other kids. I just love her!

A few days after her birthday, Joey invited a few friends over to celebrate.

Again, Joey requested pumpkin roll. But this time we made two.

A year in photos 2012: Week 43

Friday 19 October

Since David is the only child at home with me on weekdays, he is frequently the subject of my photos. Thanks for sticking by me buddy.

Saturday 20 October

I attended a crafting event at church today. I can't remember all the details, but we used a product that removes paint... it also melts plastic apparently. We didn't realize this until it had eaten through a plastic cup and spilled onto the floor. Luckily, nothing was damaged besides this unfortunate cup.

Saturday 20 October

Tonight I went out to dinner with a group of ladies to say goodbye to Sarah. She's moving back to Utah. Sarah is the one giving the thumbs up. Tonight she used only change to pay for her meal. That's the waitress accepting her payment. It was hilarious, but very practical. Nobody wants to take all those Euro coins back to the states with them. Good thinking Sarah.

I sure miss that girl. She is a burst of energy and motivation. She is an instructor at the gym, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, a real estate agent, and many more things. But most importantly she is my friend. Good luck Sarah. I hope I see you around soon.

Sunday 21 October 

On the way home from church, Erick pulled over into the trees so I could take some pictures. I was in love with the dew drops on this web.

Sunday 21 October

I love Germany in the fall. The fog usually burns off by mid-day, but today some mist was still trapped in the trees. 

Monday 22 October

Tonight for family night, we had the kids watch a video about honesty and integrity. We then had everyone list the lessons they learned on the white board.

Tuesday 23 October

I'm still riding into post every Tuesday. I love it. I hope the weather stays mild so I can keep it up for a while. These paths do not get shoveled in the winter, so once the snow hits, I'm sure I'll be out of commission. Until then, I'm loving the colorful leaves and cool breezes.

Wednesday 24 October

Mary Anne, Dusty, and their cute kids came to hang out tonight. I sure love this family. They make me smile.

Thursday 25 October

Today Josephine turned 10. Erick and I checked her out of school and took her to lunch to celebrate. She chose to eat at the Tea Garden, a Chinese restaurant not far from her school. 

Joey is such a fun, cute girl. I'm so happy to have her in my life.

A year in photos 2012: Week 42

Saturday 13 October

Today Chanda and I took a drive into the Czech Republic and spent the day at a spa located in this beautiful hotel. 

I came here once before with my friends Sarah, Pam, and Deanna. We went in the middle of the deployment to decompress from the stress. Click here to read all about it.

This time Chanda and I came to relax from the stress of our post-deployment lives. Believe it or not, getting back into the day-to-day life after the deployment is much harder than I believed it would be. I am so blessed to have such close friends who help me through the hard times.

I had a wonderful time. It's amazing how freeing it is to know that someone is going through the same challenges. We talked, we encouraged, and we relaxed. It was a great day. Thanks Chanda!

Monday 15 October

Earlier this week Joey was trying to force the front door open by bumping her rear end against the center of the door. Our German doors are not like American doors. When the front door is unlocked, this method works (though it is not recommended). This time it didn't work. The door was locked. Instead of the door popping open, it cracked.

Today a glass repairman came and duct-taped the glass to keep it from falling apart. He ordered new glass for the door. It's going to take a few weeks to get here. Until then, I feel like I'm living in the ghetto. On a positive note, the kids have changed their tactics for opening the door. They stay away from the glass now. Lesson learned, I guess. 

A year in photos 2012: Week 41

Friday 5 October

On our way to Paris for the long weekend, we stopped at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial. I'm so glad we did.

Saturday 6 October

View of the Eiffel Tower at night. In the rain.

Sunday 7 October

Napoleon's tomb.

Thursday 11 October

I went on a bike ride today. I had to stop and photograph this glass-like water.

Les Invalides/Au revoir Paris!

From the Louvre, we headed off to Les Invalides to show the kids the Army museum and Napoleon's tomb:

They loved the cannons:

I'm not sure how best to describe this photo... TJ has been a bit obsessed with camouflage. He wanted me to take a picture to show how good he was at camouflaging in with the cannon. No one can see him. Right?

In front of the Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum). Don't I have a cute family?

TJ loved this museum just as much as he loved the Louvre. He loved looking at all the armor  swords, guns, uniforms... It was a good day!

After the Army Museum, we headed over to Napoleon's tomb. This is looking at the dome ceiling from the inside:

This is the dome from the outside:

Napoleon's tomb was made out of red porphyry (a type of stone) from Russia. It is placed on a granite base and 'circled by a crown of laurels and inscriptions, reminders of the great victories of the Empire.' (see www.invalides.org):

This Dome church was around long before Napoleon was placed here, but it went through extensive changes to house the tomb:

This is a statue of the Emperor holding and wearing imperial emblems. The floor says Napoleon II King of Rome:

It was fun to see something different on this trip. I'm glad we went:

We ended our day by finding a cute little cafe and eating outside:

The best part of the evening? Eating dinner with a view of the Eiffel Tower. It was sort of a dream come true for me. Very touristy? Yes. But so romantic and nostalgic at the same time. It was a perfect way to end our quick weekend trip:

I'm pretty sure we won't be going back to Paris again during our European experience. It makes me a bit sad, but I'm so glad that this trip ended on such a perfect note. I'll always remember this perfect evening with my cute family. Au revoir Paris!

Free day at the Louvre!

The weather was better on our second day in Paris. As we waited for the bus, the kids pointed out this happy and sad light fixture:

We headed over to the Louvre first. To our amazement and delight, it was free! What a nice surprise. 

We spent most of our time in the Egyptian area:

TJ doesn't love sight-seeing as much as the rest of us. He tells us all the time that he would rather be at home. But today we discovered something that he loves. Believe it or not, TJ likes museums.

He was in heaven at the Louvre. He asked all sorts of questions and showed us cool things. He especially love looking at the Hieroglyphics that were everywhere:

Now it's time to cue the eighties music... "Walk like an Egyptian...." uh-oh! Now it's stuck in my head... "all the cops in the doughnut shop say way oh way oh way-ay-ay-ay way oh.... Walk like an Egyptian...."

I had forgotten (since last time I was here) that many parts of the Louvre still display it's palatial history. Look at this ceiling:

Erick thinks we should try to get some crown molding like this for our future dream home. What do you think?

The Apollo Gallery:

Joey showing off some crown jewels:

Always my favorite though I can't tell you why, Winged Victory:

We took the kids to see the Mona Lisa. I think the kids were a little disappointed after all the hype, but I hope they'll remember it. There were many signs forbidding photographs in Mona Lisa's room. I believe I was the only person to heed the signs.

Time to move on. But before exiting, we had to get a photo from within the glass pyramid:

Erick and TJ took David and the stroller up the elevator which was a circle platform that rose up in the middle of the spiral staircase. Hi TJ!

We had a wonderful morning in the Louvre: