Sam and Misty

November 2013

November was a busy month. Not a bad busy, just lots going on. There was a lot packed into this month. One of Sam's contractors owns a farm and does horse rides. She always brings her horses to the 4th of July celebration on post. Sam has gotten to know her well and has been out to her farm a few times, so one Saturday he thought Elly would enjoy going out to ride a horse. It was a little rainy and nasty weather, but we went anyhow. We had to wait until she was done with a class, so we looked around. She has some donkeys (or mules??) and a couple of babies. They were so cute. Elly wanted to get close to them.

Finally it was time for her to get a ride. This look on her face tells the story. She was so tickled to be riding that horse. Sam had to walk her around the corral. Thankfully he had taken his boots along because it was pretty muddy and nasty out there.

We just found out this month that our good friends, Kim and Chris (and their daughter Sydney, who is Elly's best friend) are heading back to the states. Chris got a job, so they were leaving. That is such a hard part of living overseas and around the military. Most everyone we meet is only here for 3-5 years, so we're always saying goodbye to people. It's especially hard to say goodbye to them though because we've gotten to be such good friends and our girls are just like sisters. Kim, I and the girls were together 3-4 times a week, so it's a real loss to me to have them leave.

They had never been to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, so one day we all took a road trip together to check it out. It's one of our favorite places, so they didn't have to twist our arms to get us to go along.

I wonder what they were thinking about....so serious.

Another of Elly's frends, Maddie, was turning 5 at the end of November so we were going to her birthday party. Elly wanted to make a card for Maddie. I am so impressed with her writing skills since she's started pre-school. She loves going to school and I know she enjoys it, but she's really learning alot too. Here is Elly's card to Maddie~

Waiting in line to get their cupcake to decorate.

The birthday girl.

Being Kim's last Christmas in Germany, she wanted to go to a few Christmas markets again. We've been to the Esslingen Christmas market before and loved it, so we took the girls there one day. It was cold, but we had fun.

Getting a ride on a medieval ferris wheel.

This year for Christmas I decided to do 24 days of books with Elly. I bought 24 Christmas books and wrapped them up so she could open one a night until Christmas day. She had a lot of fun things this season. We did the books and I did an advent calendar for her this year for the first time. And she always gets an advent calendar from Oma. She really made out this year.

October 2013

October seemed to go by quickly this year. Sam's Mom was here through most of the month. Elly loves having Oma here. Around the middle of the month I had to go into the hospital for a procedure, so I was recuperating for a week or two. I'm sure that made the month go faster too. Her childhood friend, Heide, came for a visit just in time for both of their birthdays. We went out to dinner with them and then came home for some cake.

Elly loves to help me in the kitchen. I think this is her favorite part when it comes to helping me bake ☺

This year for Halloween, Elly was kind of a mix between a fairy and a butterfly. I'm still not real sure which one she was. I think she said she was a butterfly. Whatever it was...she sure was cute. She wore her costume to school this year and they had a little party. She came home with a bag FULL of candy and that was before we even went trick or treating.

This is how I gave her antennas. I thought it was pretty cute.

London (27 September - 1 October)

About a year ago Sam heard that the Steelers were going to be playing in London and he really wanted to try to make it to that game. London's been on our list of "must see" places as well, so we decided to make it happen. We bought the tickets last January and convinced Aunt Kim and Uncle Keith to come over for it too. It just so happened that Sam's Mom was coming over at the same time.

We decided to all meet in London instead of them coming to Germany first, so we planned to meet at the airport since all of our flights arrived within an hour or two of each other. Sam and I arrived first. We had a restaurant selected as our meeting point, but little did we know that particular restaurant was only accessible once you passed through security. So...none of us could actually get to it. We went to a little Italian restaurant to get something to eat and wait to see if we could meet up with everyone. I started calling Aunt Kim's cell in case she would answer it. We left messages and finally were able to speak and tell them where we were. We still weren't able to reach Sam's Mom. We called and left messages and finally after some time decided we would just have to go and meet up with her at our condo. Everyone had the address in case we didn't meet at the airport. So, we were waiting at the elevator to get on and go down to the train when Sam's Mom showed up out of no where. It was really neat how it worked out and we felt like God was really watching over the situation and brought us all together. It was a nice feeling having all of us together.

We made our way to Woolrich Arsenal where we were renting a condo. It was a very nice place. We all got settled. At least as much as you can get settled with no luggage. My suitcase, with my and Elly's clothes, got lost on the short hop from Stuttgart to London. Not sure how that happens, but Elly and I had nothing. We kept calling the airport to see if it showed up. Eventually someone said it would be there that night, but it never did show up.

The next morning we were getting ready to head out. I wasn't feeling the most put together since I was still missing my luggage and really wanted to be able to put something clean on. Sam finally went to the concierge to see if they had received anything from the airlines and wouldn't you know...it was there. I have no idea why they didn't just bring it to our condo, but I was happy to have it regardless.

From where we were staying we could either get on the train or a boat to take us downtown. To get to the train we had to walk through an area that was a little questionable. It was fine during the day, but we didn't feel real comfortable about coming home late at night and having to pass through that area. So, we decided for the most part to take the boat. It was nice and we were able to enjoy the view along the way. It made several stops so we just chose one to get off at and see where we went from there.

Tower Bridge behind us. It was really a beautiful structure.

Looking across the River Thames to the Tower of London. We would visit this later.

Walking across the Tower bridge.

Once we crossed to the other side of the river we made our way to the Tower of London. We knew we could spend several hours in there. Even so, we certainly didn't see everything.

Elly was intrigued by this old potty.

The guard standing outside of the The Crown Jewels building.

There was an ongoing drama being acted out throughout the day. Actors would just appear out of no where and act out a scene. Then later you would see another scene. It was really fun to watch and Elly so enjoyed it. She especially liked the ladies in their beautiful gowns ☺

The next day we headed out again. We were heading first to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. We weren't exactly sure where it was, so we got off at what we thought was the closest stop and started walking. Along the way we saw some sights of London.

Us with the London Eye behind us (across the river)

Big Ben behind us.

Buckingham Palace.

Having 20/20 hindsight we now know that we should have been all the way up by the palace just in front of the gates because that is where the changing of the guards takes place. This is pretty much all we saw. We saw a group of guards walk in and then later walk out, but that was it. I was pretty disappointed in that and would definitely tell anyone going to make sure they are right up by the gate or don't bother going for the ceremony.

That evening was the Steeler's game. We bought a ticket for Elly, but the game didn't start until 6:00 so she ended up staying home with Oma. It worked out much better that way. She would have been pretty miserable I think. It was a fun evening even if the Steelers didn't win.

The next morning we headed out to Westminster Abbey. This is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles (and more recently Prince William and Katherine) got married. It was rather expensive to go inside so the guys didn't go in, just Oma, Elly and I did. Of course, no pictures were allowed though.