Our trip to Garmisch thru pictures. Enjoy.

 We hope you enjoy some of the photos we took on our long weekend in Garmisch.  The army was sponsoring a marriage retreat for 102nd Batallion this weekend and we had the opportunity of attending.  It was a great time to spend with the family.  I've been down there 8 times now and I never get tired of it.  It makes me appriciate God's amazing ablility to create such a specatular world.  This place takes your breath away with it's beauty.

 This two pictures were taken from the balcony of our hotel room.

 We rented a row boat for an hour on Lake Eibsee.  The kids loved it!

 It got a little cold at the end.

 This is the lobby of the hotel.

 Last winter, Hans and I came down by ourselves and skied here.  This is one of the lifts we took.  It looks completely different in the summer time. :)

 Just one of the beautiful gardens in the area.  The people here really take care of their land.

Cutest Kid Contest

Hey everyone.  I just entered Eva and Gabe in a cutest kid contest.  I could use all your votes.  If I win, I get a free photo session with this photographer and a free print.  What you have to do is go onto this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=159118&id=112247258819248#!/pages/Wiesbaden-Germany/Holly-Nichole-Photography/112247258819248 and "like" it.  Then you find the picture of Eva and the picture of Gabe and just type in the word "vote" in the comments.  You can also just look on my profile on Facebook and vote for them.  Thank you all!

Lindsey

A tearful goodbye

 Why do I have to be left behind?  I would much rather be the one leaving.  Being part of the military has is ups and downs.  One of the ups is you tend to make friends faster and feel more connected to the friends you have.  At least in my case.  I have made some really amazing friends here in Germany.  We all seem to cling on to eachother and support and love one another so much.  Two of my very best friends are moving and leaving me behind.  Lisa is to my left and Brandee is to my right in this picture.  Brandee is leaving tomorrow morning.  Her husband is getting out of the military and they will be settling down in Missouri.  I have become extremely close to her.  She has helped me through a great deal in the four or five years we've been friends.  She is one of those people who would do anything for you.  She is a GREAT listener.  She doesn't try and "fix" your issues, she listens and lets you just vent.  She never judges me and seems to love me unconditionally.  She and our other friend Alisha Johnson are always there for me.  We used to be a lot like the three amigos.  I waited every morning for a phone call from Alisha to tell me what we were doing for the day.  Alisha moved away last year but I still try and talk to her on the phone at least once a week.  It should be more though.  When some friends move away, you know you will eventually lose contact with them just because of distance and time.  However, there are just some people you know that just won't happen with.  Alisha, Brandee and Lisa are some of those people.  They are truely friends for life.  I thank my Heavenly Father for putting these women in my life and at such a time in my life when I really needed them most.  I know he had a hand in bringing us together.  I love them all with all my heart.  I will miss you Brandee, but I know this isn't goodbye.  This is just a "see you later". 

 I love her family too.  She's got some of the most amazing children in the whole world.  She and Logan are wonderful parents and have done a great job raising five very polite, beautiful children.  I love you kids!

Lisa's family is moving next month.  Thankfully they are only moving about an hour drive south of here.  They will be in K-town for another year, then headed back to the states.  Lisa, that drive will be made many times in the next year!  I'll be needing my Lisa fix on a regular basis.  You are the salt of the earth and the most amazing person.  You truely are an inspiration to me.  Thank you for your generous heart and warm smile.  I love you so much!  My kids are going to miss you guys so much too.  I will be bribing my kids with visits to see you if they are good. :)

Anyone who has friends like these, are truely blessed and I hope you remember not to take them for granted.  Make sure you give them a hug this week and tell them thank you for their friendship and love.  So, this isn't goodbye, this is "see you later".

Out & About Discovery Group

 This is kind of a random post, but I thought I'd share a little of what's going on in my life.  Last weekend, we took care of four other children while their parents went to London.  We had them from friday til monday night.  Two of those kids are my kids best friends.  This little boy is Evan.  He's four months younger than Gabe.  His older sister Sierra, is Eva's best buddy. 

 I've started teaching piano lessons to two new girls.  They are identical twins.  We are actually doing a trade.  I will teach them for free in exchanges for them to help me out around the house or with the kids.  They are 11 years old.  This is Xoe.  Gabe LOVES her!  Both my kids love these girls like crazy.  Eva follows them around like a lost puppy.  Xoe even got Gabe to take a nap on her while watching TV.  He doesn't even do that for me.

 My friend Christy (Xoe and Xanthe's mom) and I started a new group for relief society.  It's called the Out and About Discovery Group.  The purpose is for women in our ward to learn about the different treasures of Germany.  Over the last few months we've done quite a few things.  We went to an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor swimming pool, a thermalbad, a german restaurant, we toured the cities of Wiesbaden, Mainz, and Eltville.  This month, we started it out with a tour of the castle "Burg Eltz".  I've been there one other time with Bill and Diane Knox when they came to visit me.  Last time I was there, there wasn't any scaffolding, but it's still amazing huh?  We had a good turnout.  It was a beautiful day for touring the grounds too.

 This is the group that came out.  We're actually missing a few people in this picture.  I'm really glad Christy and I started this group.  It keeps us busy and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to get to know sisters that we normally wouldn't.  I think it's really making the women in the ward feel fellowshipped.  It helps to eliminate the feeling of clicks or hard feelings toward one another.  I have really come to love every one of these women in the ward.  They each contribute something special or unique to the group.  It's interesting to see the different dynamics that each different activity has.  We get different ladies coming each time.  It gives all of them an opportunity to get to know one another.  Thank you ladies of the Wiesbaden Military Ward!  You all are wonderful women and are great examples to me!

Let's get this party started!

This little guy is gettin' potty trained (whether he likes it or not!).  I had to take a picture of Gabe in these little boy briefs.  He looks so dang cute!  He went pee in the big pottie this morning.  This isn't the first time he's done it.  There was a week back a couple months ago that he went pee quite a few times and poop once in the toilet.  However, since then, he hasn't shown any interest.  Well, I've decided it's time to do it.  Let's just bite the bullet and get it over with.  I have very selfish reasons for doing this however.  Not that I want to save money on diapers, not that I hate changing them (which I do of course), not that it would just be so much easier, but because....

We are going on a DISNEY CRUISE!  We have decided to celebrate Hans' accomplishment of finishing his MBA by taking a cruise.  Believe it or not, one of the best deals we got was a disney cruise (which is usually the most expensive cruiseline to take).  The reason we feel so strongly that we need to potty train Gabe is because the kids club on ship is for ages 3 and up.  The only way they will take Gabe in the kids club being under three is if he's potty trained, if they have enough available slots, and if they see that he can be a little independant (which he is, let me tell you!!).  The kids club is free of charge and they do amazing activities with the little ones.  It will also give Hans and I time away from them so we can actually have a vacation too. :) (that's the real reason we want them in there) The last cruise we took, Eva loved the club so much that she cried every time we came to pick her up.  Let me tell you, I sure didn't feel the love comin' from her.  It was the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up.  That was with Norwiegen cruiseline.  NCL takes 2 and up, which is the only cruiseline that excepts kids that young.  Disney is supposed to be the best of the best for kids.  I'm so excited to share this experience with my kids.  They are really getting into all the disney movies lately. 

Here's the itinerary of where we're going:
http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=11911&disp=103

We've already been to Barcelona, Rome, and Malta, but we loved them so much, we have no problem going back.  Besides, Rome really required a whole week just to see everything.  We only spend a day there last time.  Who wants to come with us?  We'd love to have another family come play on the cruise with us.

Nature induced mayhem/human induced mayhem

Well, we had quite the storm last night. It made me feel like we were back in Indiana watching a tornado. I even went outside and just enjoyed the rain (which is a first in like a month here) in the middle of lightning and thunder. I loved it! However, it did some damage. Lightning struck our building and burnt a fuse. It also broke one of our windows. This tree is just ouside out appartment. Notice how close it was to this car.

Can you see how the window is only attached by the hindge?

On another note: I, Lindsey Clark Lokodi sewed for the first time since eighth grade. The only other time I've been on a sewing machine was in school. I had to sew an apron. My friend came over the other day and brought everything I needed to make this curtain for my kitchen. She even provided the fabric. She showed me what to do and I DID IT! I can't believe it. My kitchen colors are blue and yellow, so it worked out really well. I was pretty proud of myself. It took forever, but I survived. I'm nowhere near being as domestic as my sisters (and I'm not trying to be because that's just not my thing) but at least I did something productive. :)

Floh Markt in Deutschland!

Here are some of my flea market finds. I've discovered a love of flea markets. You can talk your way down to a cheaper price and I love that! You also find one of a kind things and treasures you just won't find in the states. They have flea markets every saturday and different locations throughout the community. I paid 2 euro for the big one and 1 euro for the other two.

All the vases found in this hutch were found at different flea markets. They were all made in West Germany. I love the uniqueness to them. After adding all these up, I ended up only paying 3 euro for seven vases. Great deal huh?

This is a really cute umbrella holder. Now I just have to find some cute antique umbrellas to go in it. :) I got this for 6 euro.

I love this picture. This is not a copy/print. It's an original. The frame is great. I actually took the painting and hung it without the frame, just straight canvas on the wall. I'm going to use the wood frame for a different picture I have laying around. I paid 10 Euro for this painting, and I thought it was a great deal!

I decided to decorate the guest bedroom in a nautical theme because I loved this boat and I got it for only 5 euro. It's a lot bigger than the picture shows.

This is a ceramic clock that matches perfect in my kitchen. This was 50 cent euro.

Eva got lucky! This is now her bike. I just went and bought training wheels for it. I hope they work. I love the retro look to it. The bell works and everything! I paid 10 euro for it.

Eva's German Kindergarten

Last weekend, while I was off to Poland shopping for pottery, I left Hans with the kids. This is the first time I've ever left the kids and hubby and had a trip with just girls. I left friday night and came back late saturday. Eva had a special event at her german kindergarten (ages 3-5 is considered kindergarten) on that saturday that Hans took the kids to. This is Eva's teacher Alex painting her face.

Gabe had a good time playing soccer with some kids.

These are some of the kids in Eva's class. She is the only American and english speaking child in there. Her teacher doesn't speak English either so it makes for an iteresting experience for me sometimes. I understand most things though. Eva is doing well in school and learning German quickly. Her teacher says she will respond back in German now. She used to hate going, but she never gives me a hard time about it anymore. She's made friends and seems to enjoy herself.

A little of this, a little of that.

Eva finished her first season of T-Ball over the weekend. She was the youngest player and the only girl. I was really proud of her. Most of the time she enjoyed it. She didn't like outfielding that much because there was one boy in particular that would run and get the ball no matter where it was hit. He got to it before anyone else ever had the chance to get the ball. So, Eva threw some pretty big fits when that happened. She hits the ball really well and has a great arm on her though. They had a party at the end of the season with trophies and pizza. We loved our coach too! He was so great with the kids and it was a volunteer position.

Coach Reeves presenting Eva with her trophie.

In other news...Gabe is a wierdo! A couple mornings ago Hans and I looked in the kids room and this is what we found. For some crazy reason, Gabe had somehow gotten under the fitted sheet that night and fallen asleep. This is how we found him, and still sleeping. Eva and Gabe LOVE to sleep together. Gabe does have his own bed, but he always ends up in Eva's bed before falling asleep. I think it's actually really cute. He brings his pillow over and he sleeps at the foot of the bed, while Eva's at the head. There are times when I wonder if they even love each other and then there are these moments when I know they do. They love bedtime. I hear them talking to one another every night. I love those moments.

Do you see the lump? Eva's legs are the pick blob and Gabe is under the fitted sheet.