One week and counting!

Next week at this time, we'll be in Atlanta, preparing for our overnight flight to Germany!! I know that this next week will fly by!

We have spent the last week in Georgia, living in a log cabin. No internet, no cell service. It was a great time! The first few nights we had a large cabin with a loft for the kids to sleep in. It was great until we heard some wildlife creature in the wall- we narrowed it down to a mouse or bat with it's squeaking. Luckily we only had one night left at that cabin, so the kids slept on the 2 leather couches downstairs. The night before brought a HUGE thunderstorm, so for a good 3 hours we had all four of us packed onto a double bed. Made for little sleep and bad backs once we got up the next morning. There were several herds of deer on the property and Chris caught a glimpse of feral (wild) pigs. We switched cabins and ended up with a smaller one, with bunk beds for the kids.



We were able to spend 1 day in Atlanta, visiting the Atlanta Aquarium and Olympic Park downtown. We were able to finish the day with a fun supper with a Japanese chef preparing the meal in front of us....plus some sushi!


We saw the Airborne students jumping out of planes and saw a Blackhawk land, among other things. Got to take the kids to the National Infantry Museum for lunch (which was DELICIOUS!!!) and the toured the museum. The highlight of that may have been watching the kids shoot at targets in an indoor shooting range (all electronic). We had dinner with one of Chris' buddies and his wife- our first taste of Indian food! It was a great first taste! Mmmm....curry!

We got the last of the briefings and paperwork done, with an exception to our No-fee passports, which we'll do in Germany.

Chris graduated from the Career Course Friday morning and after signing out, we were on the road and back in South Dakota the next day. 20 hour drive, plus stops for gas, food, and hotel. Had Legos for Tristan, season 1 of NCIS for Isabelle ,and season 1 of Lie to Me to keep us occupied! We were well prepared! :) Going to spend this last week packing, tying up loose ends, getting together with friends and saying our goodbyes to everyone!

We have all kinds of things planned for traveling in Europe and can't wait for the next chapter of our lives!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....

In about two weeks we'll be on our way to Germany!!! It's is such an exciting/anxious/stressful/amazing/wonderful time for us! Pretty much everything is in order for us to go- just a couple of last minute things to finish up, but can't do that until we are in Georgia.

It is finally hitting me that it's happening. The Army has skewed my expectations of things. I try not to allow myself to get excited about things until they are REALLY happening. I am finally at the point of excitement- I mean, our vehicle and household goods are en route and we know the unit Chris will be going to, so it's getting real.

We have a whole year together! This is great for us, as it hasn't happened in about 6-7 years. Separations never get any easier, but that is what our life has consisted of. I hope we don't drive each other bonkers in that time! LOL I like to joke that our marriage works so well because by the time we get sick of each other, it's time for him to leave. Although being a military family has it's struggles, I think it makes us appreciate each other and TIME so much more. We make the most of it- and I know we will be able to experience Germany and all it has to offer leaving lifelong memories for us and the kids. I mean, how many people have the opportunity to live in another country?

Once we get to Germany, we'll start house hunting. The housing for us is being remodeled, so we will likely move off post and live off the economy. The kids will go to a DoDs (Department of Defense) school even if we are off post. They will be learning German in school, so hopefully they can teach me some more! :) We've been learning German from Rosetta Stone, so I know some basic phrases and words. I can take language classes on the base to learn more if I want- SIGN ME UP!!

The kids and I are headed to Georgia this weekend for a week! Looking forward to warmer weather and spending time together! Chris will be graduating from the Career Course and then we will be driving back to SD in his truck and get the last minute packing and such done and we'll be jet setting across the world!

Only a month to go...

and we will be boots on the ground....in GERMANY!!! LOL Well, maybe Chris will be in boots. I will likely be in slippers. Or at least something comfy for the 12 hour plane trip over the ocean.

The whole No-fee passport debacle has finally blown over...yes we need it, but not to fly overseas. They are like a visa, so that we can stay more than 90 days in the country without being deported. Maybe we are an exception as many people have told me we need the no-fees before we fly. Who knows....all I care is that we get to go all together! I really didn't want to make the trip by myself with the 2 kids. Just have to remember the benedryl to knock them out! And something stronger for me! :)

The car should be there about a week after we get in...but who knows about our household goods. Luckily we can borrow the essentials from the loan closet until our things get in. First we need to find a place to live! The on post housing appears to be quite lacking in the space department! (No surprise there!!!) And as of right now, they are renovating the quarters for Chris' rank...so even if we wanted to live on post, it's not available. Hopefully we can find something quick that fits our needs!

Not much left to do now! The kids and I will be heading to Georgia in a couple of weeks for Chris' graduation and then doing some last minute things in order to move. Have to apply for the passports and then attend a briefing in order to go overseas. Once that is done, we'll get our plane tickets and make our way to South Dakota to get the last of our things packed up and say our goodbyes! Trying to plan a going away party to see everyone before we go.

One step closer!

This past weekend, my mom, Tristan, and I traveled to the St. Louis area to ship my car. What was supposed to be an overnight trip turned into a 5 day trip. Thanks to an impending ice storm, we decided to leave on Friday, instead of Sunday to beat it. Started Friday and it was a uneventful trip...well, until we reached our hotel.

I figured you can't go wrong going to a Holiday Inn Express, right? Yeah.....no. We got checked in and went to the room, to find no curtains on the windows and no bedding on the beds. We drug all of our stuff back downstairs to tell the front desk and go to Room #2....this one had curtains and bedding, plus a ladder and all kinds of cleaning supplies and a handyman to-do list. So we drug all of our stuff back downstairs and checked out and drove to the next exit and found another Holiday Inn Express. Luckily they had a great lady working at the front desk, so got a discount off the military discount for the night's stay, plus they kept the pool open late for Tristan to go swimming. So, it made up for the first hotel. Tristan was very excited to see curtains on the windows, cause "he likes his privacy."

Left the next morning to get to St. Louis. Lots of rain and wind, but we made it there in one piece! Just hung around the hotel on Saturday and left sightseeing til Sunday.



A BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

We ended up going to the Arch and the City Museum. Not many people at either place, which was nice. Took the tram to the top of the Arch and got to see out the top. Tristan was scared out of his mind. He was afraid that the Arch would fall or that the tram would get stuck and we couldn't get out. After the complaining and being scared, we got off and he thought it really wasn't that bad! LOL



THIS WAS AFTER WE WENT TO THE TOP



VIEWS FROM THE TOP

We then went to the City Museum...definitely unlike any other place I've been. A series of caves, tunnels, slides, stairs, and paths for kids and adults to roam around. There were several spots that I couldn't fit into, and you never knew where the path would lead, so it limited Tristan in where he could go. The last thing I needed was for him to wonder off in some huge museum! The St. Louis circus school also had a show there, so got to see some teenagers and kids performing circus acts...juggling, unicycles, and on bikes. There was this tiny little 5 year old doing tricks too. It was pretty impressive.

Finally on Monday morning, I was able to get my car turned in. I was pretty nervous about getting it turned in, but I was worried for nothing, as it went so smooth. We have gotten so much misinformation about this move and it is quite frustrating. After driving for 9 hours the last thing I wanted was to get there and be told that I didn't have the right paperwork or we weren't authorized to ship from that particular port. Fort Benning told me one thing and after contacting the St. Louis VPC, I find that I was given the wrong information. With any luck, by the time we get to Germany, the car will be waiting for us! I suppose we will find out just how fast it can go on the Autobahn! :)

All day Monday, we were trying to keep up to date on the weather. We had Grandma calling us telling how bad it was and where the accidents were. Missouri was windy, but by the time we hit Iowa there were cars in the ditch left and right. I think we counted 40 cars/SUVs/semis in the ditch in less than 30 miles. It was wild. Many of them were flipped on their roof or on their side and they seemed to be in groups. By the time we got into Omaha, it was windy and snowy and the roads in Iowa and SD were really bad, so we ended up staying the night in Omaha. We finally got home yesterday, and it is so good to be home!

Now our latest issue is the No-fee passports- do we get them, don't we get them. Can we travel to Germany without them or do we have to wait til they are ready? No one can really tell us the right answer. It is another thing that has to be done on post. So, it will have to get done once we get to Fort Benning next month for Chris' graduation.

Some exciting news came over the weekend, when we found out that some of our good friends will also be stationed in Germany. So now I have someone else going through the process as well and we are able to help each other out with things. It will be so fun being able to do things with another great Army family!

And so it begins...

So we (meaning Chris and I) thought it would be a good idea to start writing about our adventures as an Army family.

Since we will be heading to Germany in about 6 weeks, we figure we will have plenty to write about! It's has been a hectic few months with separations, vacations, holidays, school, moving, and trying to figure out how exactly to get everything in order to move. Throw in a few rumors about deployments and more moving and it makes it so much more eventful!!

As of now, we are heading to Baumholder, Germany, located in the western part of the county. Only 30 miles from the borders of France and Luxemburg! We are all in the process of learning German so that we can speak a little by the time we get there. If all goes as planned, we should be there for 3 years! We have many places on the list to visit so we will be busy traveling every chance we get! London, Paris, Rome, Prague, Rothenburg, Normandy, are at the top of my list so far. Isabelle is looking forward to Paris and Europa Park and Tristan wants to go the Legoland amusement park.

There are so many things to do in order to move to a different country....we are learning this the hard way. I wish the were a Dummies Guide to Moving Overseas! After all the hassles, I may be qualified to write it! There is so much more than getting a passport! Medical screenings, getting household goods across the ocean, and getting a vehicle to a port are a few more of the necessary things that need to be done! After this next week...I can cross all of those off my list!

We figure this will be the best way to keep everyone updated on our lives! I have a feeling that there will be plenty to write about and pictures to share....