John's BFF

This evening after feeding Parker dinner (or trying to persuade her to eat....anything...Parker 1, Mom 0) I took her upstairs for her bath.  We left John downstairs unpacking about 10 army bags that showed up today in our unaccompanied baggage. 

To understand the humor in this you need to have an accurate picture in your mind of our house.  We have NONE of our furniture, just a few "loaner" pieces to get us by.  We did get our unaccompanied baggage today, but all that included was a pack-n-play, a high-chair, stroller, linens, clothes, and ALL of John's army gear.  So, needless to say, we have no photos or ANY personal touches in our house. 

OK back to the story,  I come downstairs to finish dinner and as I'm getting something out of the refrigerator I look up and this is what I see.

Where he had this, I don't know, but it cracked me up that he was carrying a picture of his BFF  in his army gear....AND that he promptly put it on the fridge.  Yes, I teased him about it :).

Wahalla

Last weekend, John, Parker, Rachel, baby Allison and I all went to Regensburg (about 30 minutes away) to see a national monument named Wahalla.  For a lack of better description, it was like a replica of the Parthenon.  The  monument was built on top of a mountain overlooking the Danube in the 1840's, the views were outstanding!  Inside the structure was a huge hall of over 100 marble busts of famous people.  It was really a neat place!

We have Internet!!!!

Yay!  I feel like a real person again!  I can't believe it has taken SO long to get internet at our house....now if we could just get a phone....

I don't even know where to begin...  I guess I'll start at the beginning.

As of today, Monday, March 28, we have been in Germany 4 weeks and we absolutely love it!  I have never been more sure of a decision.  The scenery is beautiful, the air is clean, the people are nice, and there is SO much to see and do!  Our friends from Texas, Rachel and Justin have been SUCH a huge help since we got here!  I don't know what I would have done without her.  She has toted Parker and I all around Bavaria! 

Last I wrote, we were still living in the hotel with no transportation and no house.  Well, since then we have gotten both, no my car has not yet arrived, but John was able to pick up a "beater" to get him to and from work!  He's not thrilled with it's horsepower, or lack thereof, but it will do it's job for the next few years, and the best part is it's paid for!

Next, we got our house!  It's much nicer than I was expecting and we have a GREAT view!  It's so calming and peaceful, we really live in the country :).  We live in the small town of Beratzhausen, which is about 15k from the base.  The house has three floors, the basement is finished, but just with concrete floors and ceilings, great storage and possibly, John's man cave!  The main floor has a half bath, kitchen and dining/den.  The upstairs has four bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  The bedrooms are small, but they will do :).  So, no excuses, we have plenty of room for visitors!  The first picture is of the back of our house (yes, it is a duplex), from this angle we are on the right.  The second pic is of the front of the house and the last two are the view from the front.

   As for Parker, she has adjusted well to our new house and seems to be having an all around good time :). 

And last but not least, Parker had her first mug....of apple juice that is :)

We made it!

Check out "Baby" riding with daddy :)

After 22 hours of travel (car, plane, bus)  we finally arrived at our new home, well, temporary home :).  The trip went pretty well, for the most part, Parker did well.  We had a few issues in the Frankfurt airport, but all in all it went fine.  Taking the car seat on the plane was a great plan.  Parker was strapped in and secure in a familiar place and slept for a large part of the overnight flight.

When we arrived it was cold and dark, so we weren't able to see much of the base.  John had to handle some housekeeping duties, so Parker and I were dropped off at the Sunrise Inn.  Our room consist of one large (20x12) room with a double bed, dresser, closet, desk, couch, and coffee table and a separate bathroom with a shower, but no tub.  The tub is greatly missed, Parker and I have had some interesting showers :)!

The first night was miserable.  We all had to share the double bed and Parker was tired, but didn't think it was time to sleep.  John spent most of the night on the floor and we fought in the bed.  We all finally fell asleep about 2am here (6pm in GA).  We began day two at the office of the Inn (it was closed when we arrived Monday night) to request a baby bed, which arrived promptly.

We spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday running around post taking care of  John's in-processing stuff.  To say the post is small would be an over-statement, it's tiny!  We have walked almost everywhere, dragging Parker in her car seat wheel thing (Denney, we are SO greatfull to have it!).

We found out today that we are getting our house next Tuesday.  It's supposed to be a nice house with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.  It's in a town about 10 km from the base.  The last family to live in it was a Lt. Col, so I think we lucked out.....we'll see :)!

On Tuesday night we went to eat at a nice German restaurant with our sponsor, Brandon.  John had venison, I had trout, and Parker had some sort of german noodles.  We all enjoyed our first "real" German meal.

None of our stuff has arrived yet.  We are expecting the unaccompanied baggage any day.  As for the household goods  and the car, all we know is that they are "in transit".  The house that we are getting already has "loaner" furniture in it, so we should be fine until our stuff gets here.

Let the adventure continue...