All about Greg (or a little about him anyway)

(For all pictures in this post, please click for bigger for better detail.)

Greg got back home from the training on Wednesday morning. We still won't see him for another few weeks, but it's good to know he's home.

Here are some pictures he sent us of the stuff they were doing.

(He's the one with the big black leg holsters on each side.)

Road marching, which is one of Greg's least favorite ways to work out.
(Greg is the one in front on the left with the knee socks.)

This was taken right after he and the three other commanders of the battalion stepped out of a armored HMMWV ("humvee") roll-over simulator. I think the red nose is from sunburn, not from the simulator.)

This has been a great trip so far for us here in the states, and next week we'll be spending time with one of my aunt's down the shore. I probably won't post again until we're back in Germany, so have a great August, everyone! (And happy birthday to Sarcy and Joy who both have birthdays this month.)

Sweet corn and salt potatoes. There's nothing like it. In Germany, there is no sweet corn, and I was looking forward to it so much when I decided to go back home.

The other day, I stopped at the end of the road and bought three dozen ears of corn that the farmer had just picked. I actually took them out of his wagon before he even got the chance to unload them onto his roadside stand.

At the end of dinner, Joel and Joy decided to have a contest of who could eat the corn the fastest.

Joel won, and Joy ended up throwing up into the garbage. It was a little wasteful, but pretty funny.

Today, I went shopping with Hannah, Grace and Joy. There are so many things that are either only available here in the states, or just so much less expensive. Greg and I composed a list before I came here, and I've accomplished a lot of it so far.

Ever since I was little, I always planned that if I had a little girl, I would pierce her ears when she was a baby. Now I've got a little girl.
She cried a lot, and a little old lady told me that I was a Bad Mommy, but Lavella doesn't semm effected by it at all now, and I think she looks so pretty and cute, just like I'd imagined.

It was kind of sickening to have to hold her head and listen to her screaming, but she'll never remember it, and she's too young to try to pull them out or anything, so I felt like now was the perfect time. Also, little children heal so quickly. Her ears aren't even red, and this was taken just a few hours after the piercing.

Playdate

About a week before we flew back to NY, we had one of my favorite kinds of playdates. It's the kind that combines good pizza with quality spinning time.

My friend Rachel is also a fellow knit blogger. We don't live too far from each other, so we try to get together from time to time for knitting and spinning. We also happen to have some little people who match up pretty well age-wise.

A good time was had by all.

And then, just because I'm sure that I didn't post enough Lavella pictures yesterday, I leave you with this one:

(Jillian couldn't resist the swimming goggles when she found them on my living room floor!)

Small fries

Lavella is getting so big! I just realized that I haven't taken pictures in a while, so here's a little shoot that I did today. (Click for the gallery if you wish.)

(As you can see, the boys were less than pleased to pose in the bottom row there.)

I'm still quite sick, but my mom is taking good care of me. I hope to feel better soon so that I can actually enjoy this trip!

Sick and home, but not homesick

Hello everyone. Perhaps some of you have been wondering where we've been. I didn't want to put this out on the internet before, but Greg left three weeks ago for some training, so the kids and I were all alone (not really a thing to tell to the general public). I decided that I'd had enough and needed to come home, so I caught a space-a flight in a C17 cargo jet back to the States on Sunday. My friend Jillian, another Captain's wife came with us, and was a tremendous help. I couldn't have done this trip without her. It took us 4 days of waiting at the Air Force base to finally get a flight that could seat us, but it's worth it just to be home. My mom and Jonathan came to pick us up at McGuire in NJ, and I felt like I would cry with relief when I saw their car drive up. It was a long trip.

No more details right now -- I have a head cold and fever, but it's just good to be here. All I wanted was my mom. I have things that I need to do, a list of stuff to buy etc. before going back in a few weeks, but for right now I think I'll just hibernate for a little while.

I'll try to post pictures of the kids etc. soon, but for now I just need to lie down. It's good to be home.

Berlin

(This post contains large photo collages. If you wish to see all of these pictures and more, click on the collage and it will take you to that particular photo set. I created 5 sets for this trip, according to subject.)

Honestly, when we decided to go to Berlin for a few days, I had no idea what to expect. I knew a tiny bit about the historic aspects of the city, but nothing more. Hannah had been there though, earlier this year, and based on her recommendation and those of a few other friends, we booked four nights in a hostel called Odyssee, and set off.

As it turned out, the city was fascinating. We stood next to the Berlin Wall and started to understand it for the first time.

Strangely ugly and beautiful all at once. The painting of the walls began years before the two sides of Berlin were reunited in an expression of individual protest from the West (the free side, and the only side that was also free to touch it).

We bought some books about it, and have been learning more about it. (You can also read about it at Wikipedia here..)

The boys had a great time at the zoo. In the top left corner, you can see how Lavella was able to stay warm, even on that cold and rainy day (can you spot her?)


We also visited a huge museum, and spent a whole day there.


We also spent some time at Unter den Linden, saw the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche (the roof was bombed out, but the church still stands, with modern portions built up on either side).

In this collage, you can also peek into the hostel we stayed at. Does anyone know the signifigance of the orange/purple/yellow mural in the bottom two rows below? It was painted across one wall of our room, and depicted some important Berlin landmarks (the Fernsehturm TV tower, for one) along with a woman in a purple hat. We couldn't figure out what it was supposed to mean.


And of course, there was the food. We ate at some hole-in-the-wall places and did a bit of fine dining as well. Quite honestly, the "finest" of the dining I found a bit pretencious, but at another restaurant just a step lower, we had some of the best Italian food we've ever had in our lives. Seriously.

In the top left corner, you can see Andrew enjoying a Kombucha Tea. This was the first time I'd found it for sale anywhere, and it's very tasty. I wish that I knew someone who would share a Kombucha mushroom with me, because I'd love to be able to make it at home.

In the bottom row, you can see the chocolate shop we visited, Melanie (on the corner of Goethestrasse and Knesebeckstrasse, in case you ever want to stop by). Some of the truffle flavors we purchased included lavendar, thyme, rosemary, and curry. I'm pretty sure it was some of the best chocolate I've ever had in my life. The actual address of this place is Goethestrasse 4, Charlottenburg.

Alltogether we had a wonderful trip, and I'd love to go back sometime.

The German Mall

Yesterday, I went to a German mall for the first time. Greg stayed home with the boys, so it was just Lavella and I with my friend Jillian.

(This is on top of the parking garage)

Jillian is American, so between the English conversation and the familiar surroundings, I almost felt like I was back in the States again.

There were, however, some differences. Like this produce store tucked into a corner.

There was also a fresh pasta and cheese counter. You just don't see that back home, where malls are the land of the ultra-processed with nary a fresh thing to be found.

Jillian and I couldn't help giggling about these transparent boxer-briefs in the men's section of one of the department stores.

(I claim no responsibility for ending up there.)

We visited my favorite store, H&M, and Jillian bought Lavella some dresses that were just too cute to pass up. Of course we had to dress her in one of them right away (she's my tiny baby-doll).

I also made a few purchases. I've been wanting a hat with a bill for a while, to keep out the sun while playing outside with the boys. The trouble is, I look terrible in hats. At H&M, I finally found one that suited me.

I've also been wanting some wide, fabric headbands for a long time, and keep telling myself that I'll just sew some up. I've got fabric, I've got elastic, how hard can it be to just sit down and make them? Apparently, too hard for me.

I adore this one, and don't regret the purchase. In fact, I think that I need about 20 more.

Of course, there was a souvenir yarn purchase. What's a trip to the mall without some new sock yarn?

I know the colors are insane (my question is, what nation does this represent?!), but I couldn't put it down once I'd picked it up, so it just had to come home with me.

There was also a huge pink hat for Lavella, but I didn't take any pictures of it, so instead I leave you with a photo of another (similar) hat in yellow that we got the other day, along with the boys at the playground, sending their trucks and cars down the slide.

Only in Germany....

So I thought I'd include a few random snapshots of things you'd probably not see in the US...


Keg mounted to the back of a motorcycle....


Public cigarette dispenser (older picture of Faith)....


Driving on the autobahn (oh yeah!). This was always one of my life's goals. I found out that, although our four cylinder Jetta says it can go 140 mph, it actually governors out at 125. But, as I've experienced, it's not very safe driving much over 120 anyway. 100 is a good, average cruising speed, and any slower than 80, you're causing more of a hazard for everybody else.

Krauterfest

Today we went to a Krauterfest (herb festival), celebrating garden life. Click on the collage for more details about our adventure.



Lavella is exactly 2 months old.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads!

Elijah's birthday weekend

Here's the photo set from Elijah's birthday. Click on the mural above to look through all the pics and read descriptions, if you'd like. (The children are referred to with their "public bloggable" names of Sparky, Max and Daisy, since that photo account also hosts pics for my fiber blog. If you leave a comment on any of the pictures on that site, please do not use their real names. Thanks!)