Merry Christmas!!

Christmas has never been as fun as watching your own kids delve in and try to open all presents at once, at the same time trying to play with each new toy! We are truly blessed to have two wonderful children. I admit I was pulling my hair out dealing with them the closer we came to Christmas this year. Threats of calling Santa didn't seem to phase them the same as in years past. Roll actually asked for the number so he could talk to him as well! Rock follows his big brothers lead so this can create some interesting evenings in our house.

We shared the day with some close friends and new ones as well. It was truly enjoyable. The only damper was not having family near. The time difference creates a bit of a problem when trying to share your children's joy with grandmas and grandpas.

To those whom we have shared past Christmas's with, you were missed! Another pit fall to being in the military environment is that although we have many wonderful friends, once their tour is up, they move on. We miss each of you and keep you in our thoughts and prayers!

(J bought me an iPod!! He has already regretted that as I tend to get one tracked and he feels a bit left out. Although he wouldn't admit it, I think he is enjoying it as much as I and we may purchase one for him next!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Busy Week

Monday night was the last night for the winter league bowling. We tied for 6th out of 11 teams. After I hurt my ankle I had some terrible games that certainly didn't help. For the most part it was quite fun and we will miss our friends whom were our bowling partners.

Tuesday night Roll's school was invited to "open" a window at the old Rathaus (old court house). The whole school turned out and sang together. It was quite nice although at the end St. Nikolaus was there to hand out gifts and candy. This wasn't organized and it quickly turned into a mob. Roll was exhausted already so the fact that he was too small to fight the crowd and they ran out by the time he reached St. Nikolaus just made his night. Fortunately our friend was with whom the boys adore and she was able to cajole him out of his bad mood.

Wednesday night and Thursday I was visiting a good friend who is in the hospital.







Friday night was the Holiday Ball for the Vilseck, Hohenfels, and Grafenwoehr Training Area. J nor I have ever attended a ball and I thought it would give us a good chance to put our dancing lessons to use. The sappy side of me loved the idea of my guy taking me to a dance as I never had that in high school. We were all decked out for the night and really enjoyed ourselves. The best part was that many did not recognize me and thought J was stepping out on me. I had received cool welcomes until they realized it was me. J says they don't expect teachers to clean up so well:)









Saturday found us running around doing things we can't during the week. Spending time with the kids and cutting down our Christmas tree. Roll helped J cutting it down but Rock was a bit afraid of the saw. We couldn't decorate as we had dinner plans with friends who flew out this morning. After dinner we met up with other friends to celebrate her completion of her Master's
degree.



Today we woke early and headed to Vilseck for some much needed Christmas shopping! The boys did get to meet up with Santa and ensure that thier orders were heard. It was quite cute to see them intently conversing with Santa rather than screaming in fear.
Then upon our return the family crashed. When everyone was up and about we spent the rest of the day decorating the Christmas tree. Now the boys are in bed and I will soon follow. Tomorrow will be equally crazy as I am pretty sure Rock has "pink-eye". I will be glad to be on holiday so that I can rest. There is just too much to keep up with on my blog!

Weekend Wonder - Historic Christmas Market by Naaburg

Today the boys, J, and myself drove up to the old historic town of Naaburg. We heard through friends that there was a Medieval Festival this weekend. We had also seen advertisements for it throughout Weiden. They evidently have this yearly but we haven't been before so we thought it would a great idea to go today. When we arrived in Naaburg we immediately saw what appeared to be a Christmas market. After about five minutes we realized this couldn't possibly be what they were advertising as it was just a bunch of street vendors much like you would see at a Farmer's market. Sure enough after asking we found that we turned right off the autobahn but had we turned left, we would eventually have left Naaburg and came across the castle turn where the festival takes place in Guteneck.

Upon arrival we were worried that we had a made a poor choice and were thankful we were dressed warmly. This was due to the fact that the streets were lined with cars about 3/4+ mile from the festival and people were walking. We also passed a Shuttle Bus stop. Luckily we were able to park closer but still had a jaunt before arriving at the fest.

This was an impressive event. People were dressed in medieval attire and the entire area was transformed to create a middle age time period, knights, ladies, and all. By the time we arrived it was quite dark and fog had set in adding to the atmosphere. There were torches everywhere to light our way and such a crowd of people. The festival sports a menagerie of entertainment to include: flame throwers, jousting, trade work examples, theatre, mintrals, stilt walkers, dancers, etc. We were able to enjoy a man using glass balls that he rolled around his body and juggled. There were booths selling trade goods, alcohol, clothing, and food. Though some of the food was more comfort food for modern times, they did have several from the past as well. I myself enjoyed a fresh baked flat bread with garlic, tomato, and cheese. It was quite tasty! Of course we had hot cider as well. Unfornately for J they were sold out of Gluwein when we arrived so he enjoyed a beer instead.

They had a medievial camp showing how they may have lived at the time, an area for the animals, and other areas we did not get to see due to the large crowds. We did enjoy our time though muddy and cold as it was. We may attempt to go again next weekend but earlier in hopes of avoiding so many people or without the boys as the crush of people can be frightening to them.

The story behind this Festival is quite interesting. If you would like to read about it, check out the following link: http://www.historischer-romantischer-weihnachtsmarkt.de/en_index.php

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells...

Roll learned long ago and has now taught Rock the infamous "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" with great assistance from Daddy of course. Now rather than hearing their sweet voices singing Rock-n-Roll or more appropriately for this time of year, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, we hear "Batman Smells". The only endearing quality is their pure enjoyment and heart felt laughter. Can you ask for bigger smiles?

King Size Bed

Recently J and I finally bought a new bed. The old bed came with J and had seen better days. We finally decided on a King size bed rather than the Cal King. Our local exchange doesn't carry Cal King and it sounded like a head ache. Not to mention that the Day After Thanksgiving Sales were incredible for savings. We were getting a great deal! Many warned us that a King size bed is just too much for German housing but I was determined that for our peace of marriage, I wanted my own space for sleeping and J agreed. Of course we didn't really think it would be terribly difficult to get it up the stairs....

If our past neighbors are reading this, they completely understand what an undertaking that could be. Needless to say it was good that the children were not around. After much effort we managed to get the bed wedged tight in our winding staircase. Finally decided it would fit better the other way and had to shove it back down, turn it around, and start over. We finally got it up there and I am still thankful that the box springs come as two sections. After getting it settled on the box springs I just wanted to jump in an sleep! What a way to break a sweat!

I have found one fault with the bed now that we have had is almost a week. I don't want to get up! I have actually knocked my alarm off the side table in order to stay in bed a bit longer. Now this isn't unusual for a weekend, but normally I jump up during the week. Especially since J is off and I don't have to worry about the kids. I have the opportunity to go in early and get some extra things done for school. On the first night J commented that I "had my own zip code". This is nice as I like to take up real estate when sleeping and although he wouldn't admit it, so does J! Anyone who knows German housing understands that with a King size bed, we really don't have much room for much else although that is the next plan. There is a wonderful wood worker who custom makes furniture. We have already shared some ideas with him and maybe next year we can begin:)

It is funny how something as simple as a new bed can make me giggly. I find I can't wait to get home just to go to bed!