The 4th of July!

 Gabe being crazy in his chicken suit.  Just havin' some fun at home with the kids.

 Can you tell how small that dance suit is?  She loves to dance, even though she kind of looks like Elaine on Seinfeld when she's dancing. :)

 Here are some pictures of our 4th of July celebration here on base.  The kids love getting their face painted.

 Eva was a fairy and Gabe was, of course, Batman.

 Loving the pony rides.

This guy was such an amazing look-a-like.  It was almost creepy how good he was.  We had a great time on the 4th.  Well, the actual celebration was on Friday the 1st.  So, we got to enjoy the celebrations on Friday, then had the whole weekend to play as a family.  Hans had Monday and Tuesday off work.  We went to a BBQ on the 4th and had a great time.  Today we spent the whole day at the swimming pool.  Overall, it was a wonderful weekend.

Our trip to Hungary and Romania

Here is the link to our pictures from Budapest and Timisoara.  We have lots of captions with the pics, so enjoy.  We hope you like them.  We had a great time!
https://picasaweb.google.com/roberrabbit/BudapestHungaryAndTimisoaraRomania?authkey=Gv1sRgCIyOz-65ltm-_AE&feat=directlink

Lindsey

Berg Eppstein

 Over the Memorial Day weekend, the kids and Hans and I went to a castle about 30 minutes from our home.  I've been there many times before, but it's always nice to revisit and let the kids explore.  We had a great day on Saturday.  We even picked up some really delicious cherries from a local vendor on the side of the road.  They were almost all gone by the time we got back.

 Having fun in front of one of the doors of the castle.

 These roses smelled soooo good!

Canary Island pictures

Here's the link to our pictures from the Canary Islands.  I put them on a Picasa Web album.  Let me know if this works or not.

https://picasaweb.google.com/roberrabbit/CanaryIslands?authkey=Gv1sRgCJjrya6VrpfvTQ&feat=directlink

Lindsey

Alert: We have a code Pink!

Easter

We had a great time on Easter weekend. Saturday, we traveled down to Landstuhle to visit the Terhune family. We had the men go up to the castle on the hill and hide some eggs. Then we took the kids up about 1/2 hour later and let them run loose. We had so many eggs! It was the perfect place to have an easter egg hunt, in the courtyard of a castle.

If you look closer, you will see some of the eggs the men "hid" on this fountain.

Eva sure got some loot. I think she went a little crazy.

These two kids are Eva and Gabe's best buddies. Evan and Sierra Terhune. We were so sad when they had to move an hour away last year. At least they didn't move all the way back to the states.

We also had a few other families come join us. These were just some of the kids.

The courtyard of the castle.

The Terhune family. Lisa is expecting her fifth child any day now. Her due date is May 3rd.

On another note, at the beginning of the year, our Relief Society gave us the challenge to read the entire book of mormon by Easter Sunday. I'm proud to say, Hans and I finished! Hans decided he wanted to do the challenge with me. It was a great experience for us. We have never done that as a couple before. I think we're going to start on the D&C now.

It was a busy Easter Sunday for me. I am the ward choir director, so I had to direct a song we've been working on. I was also asked to sing a solo during Sacrament meeting as well. So, I chose to sing "Come Unto Him". I love that song. It's just a soft, but powerful piece. The only thing I didn't expect was that the entire stake presidency was there because they released our bishop and put in a new one. And of course, I also think there were more people in Sacrament meeting then I've ever seen there before. Then, I also had to give the Relief Society lesson. I got to teach on the conference talk given by Pres. Uchdorf called "Waiting on the Road to Damascus". If you haven't had a chance to listen to that talk yet, I would strongly encourage you to. It was such a beautiful message.

I felt very close to the spirit on Sunday and I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I had that day to talk of Christ. On the drive to church, Eva asked me to tell her the story of Easter. Explaining the true meaning of easter in simple terms to a four year old makes you really ponder on the simple fact that Christ really does live again and we have the opportunity to see him as well as the people we love after this life. How grateful I am for that chance to put my arms around my Savior and thank him personally for his ultimate sacrifice on my behalf.

Lindsey
P.S. We are leaving tomorrow for the Canary Islands, so Adrianne, I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday and if you have your baby while I'm gone, good luck and I'll pray for you and your baby's good health!

Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands (Holland)

 I'd like to say this was the best trip ever, but I'd be lying.  We had decided to try and do this in one day.  Normally, it's a four hour drive from Wiesbaden to the Keukenhof.  However, we weren't very bright.  We decided to go on the day they were having the flower parade, which is the largest parade in the world.  I know...stupid huh?  We thought it would be cool to see the parade.  Well, never again!  We left the house at 6am.  It took us six hours just to get there and seven and a half hours to get home.  So, our little day trip turned into a really long day.  However, we had a nice time being together as a family.

 I really wish I would have gotten a ton more pictures because this place was truly amazing.  I didn't take more pictures though because I felt unsafe.  It was so crowded that I worried so much about the kids.  The second I would take my eyes off the kids, I would panic trying to find them again.  I have never been anywhere so crowded in my life.  So, pictures took a back road to my kids safety. :)

 The dog in this picture is a friend's.  I like to think of her as half ours.  We get to keep her every time this family goes out of town.  This is the best behaved dog ever.  Normally, I'm not a small dog lover.  However, coco is just so sweet.  My kids love her!

We didn't get to see the parade because it was so crowded that we were standing too far back.  I think by a certain point, we all got hungry and tired anyway.  The drive home was nice (even though it was seven and a half hours) just to have quiet time with the hubby.  The kids fell asleep and we were able to have adult conversation.  There's something to be said about being stuck in traffic forever.  It was a very beautiful place and I'm glad we did it.  We have been to Holland five times now, but never made it to the gardens until now.  If we ever do it again, it will definitely not be on the same day as the parade and we won't do it as a day trip.  Lessons learned from the Lokodi family.  :)

Gabe, Gabe, Gabe

This kid is so dang cute sometimes.  He sure knows how to melt a girl's heart.  The other day, we were standing in line to get some food and a woman behind us kept commenting on how cute Gabe was.  When her heard her, he looked straight at her and gave her the "lady killer" look.  I think she just about died laughing.  That kid knows how to throw on some charm.  :)

On another note, Gabe is really into all things boy.  He loves making guns.  For his birthday, we bought him a bat cave that you have to assemble yourself.  Well, he never uses it for that.  He just takes the pieces and creates all different kinds of guns.  I don't know how he has figured this out, but it never ceases to amazing at the different guns he comes up with.  Maybe I should be worried, but I can't help but be in awe instead.  Enjoy the samplings.

Love affair

I love what the host says at the end of her singing.  "Sometimes you can add all the dancers, laser, light shows, and special technics you want, but if you've got a voice like that, all you need is a piano".  I find this woman's voice mesmerizing.  I love that low register of hers.  It's husky and pure sexy!  I would love to see her in concert.

Vacation time!!

About every few months, I start getting the itch again to travel.  I'm just going to blame that deep, dark passion on being in Europe (although, I think I came out of the womb with the feeling of wanting to see the world).  The trick is, slowly start gnawing on your husband until you've planted it in his brain that he needs a vacation and that it's his idea. :)  Then, you make all the plans.  That's how I show control. hee hee hee.

Well, it's worked!  We just booked our trip to...THE CANARY ISLANDS!!  Okay, I hope you all don't feel like I'm bragging, because we really do this on a very cheap budget.  In fact, I take pride in how cheaply we can go see/do things.  It's turned into a sort of talent for me.  We have a family here in our ward that we've made friends with.  Our kids LOVE each other.  They play very well and they are all learning German because their kids go to German schools as well.  This family is very laid back and just fun to be around.  So, we all decided it would be fun to go together.  That way, it would actually be cheaper for us all.  We have rented a villa to share and split the cost in half.  Here's the link to the villa we'll be staying in: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p800967?cid=E_hrownerinquiry_DB_O_20110307_propID_link_LPROP_1

There's also a really cheap discount airline here in Europe called Ryanair.  The prices are amazing and we've used them many times before.  It's a little annoying flying with them simply because it's like herding cattle just getting onto the plane (there's no assigned seating) and Europeans generally don't stand in a line in a polite way.  However, it's totally worth the cheap airfare.

So far, our round trip tickets for our entire family came to a grand total of 320 Euro which is about $440, and that's with all our tickets and baggage check in.  Not too shabby huh?  The villa is only 600 euro for the entire week, and after dividing it between the two families, we only have to pay 300 euro which is $414.  Not to mention all the money we will save by being able to cook our meals at the villa.  It has a fully stocked kitchen, so we won't have to eat out unless we want to spend the money.  I'm super excited.  We don't even have to rent a car because we can just walk into town and the beach.  The public buses are really great down there too from what I've heard.

We will be heading to the island of Fuerteventura.  I'm pretty excited, if you can't tell.  I am in a huge need to just do nothing for a while.  We'll will be there at the end of April, for one week.  Hooray!  Until then, I'll be dreaming of nice, white sandy beaches and warm weather...

Happy 3rd Birthday Gabe!

 As Gabe was making this pose, he said "Batman to the rescue!"  He's a huge Batman fan.

 Gabe and Eva have been playing basketball with the local military base.  It's been fun watching them.  Gabe is weirdly good with a ball.  He is the youngest on the team, but he has some serious skills.  Eva's not too bad either.  She make three baskets that night.

Gabe at 7 weeks old.

On the road to teenagehood

Here are some of the conversations I've had with Eva lately:

Mom: Eva, please pick up all the stuffed animals you dumped all over the floor.
Eva: You have to help me mom.
Mom: No, you threw them all over yourself, you pick them up yourself.  I'll help you move the bins back to the toy room once you pick them up.
(About twenty minutes later and not one animal is picked up yet)
Eva: mom, I'm not picking up one single toy until you come and help me now!
Mom: Eva, you have two choices: 1. pick them up now and then go play or 2. go to your room and sit in time out, then still have to pick up the animals by yourself after you sit in your room.
Eva: Fine, I'll go to my room.
(she eventually picked them up after spending about twenty minutes in her room not seeming to care one single bit)

Another conversation with Eva:
Mom: Eva, it's too early to be awake.  Please go play quietly in your room and don't wake Gabe up.
Eva: No
Mom: Eva, you can either go back to bed and sleep, or quietly play in your room.  You chose.
Eva: Fine! (with a foot stomp)
(then she proceeds to pass her bedroom and head to the living room)
Mom: Eva, where do you think you're going?
Eva: To play in the living room.
Mom: That was not one of your choices.
Eva: So...
Mom: Get to your room now!
Eva: (eye roll and a sigh) Fine.

One more conversation with my wonderful daughter:
Eva started talking back to me about something.  She was arguing "her case".  She just kept arguing and arguing.
Mom: Eva if you don't stop talking back to me, I'll flick you in the mouth.
Eva: No you won't.  I'll flick myself in the mouth.
(Then of course, Eva starts to flick herself over and over in the mouth)
What do you do after that?  (besides trying not to show her that you're laughing)

It sure is a good thing she's cute, otherwise she'd be lucky to still be alive.

One of those nights

I can't sleep.  My brain just won't shut off.  I don't feel like myself.  In fact, I haven't felt like myself in a while.  I'm in a funk.  Every time I think of all the responsibilities I have (which really aren't that many), I just shut down and stop doing anything and everything.  Then the list of tasks just gets longer and harder and I want to kick myself for shutting down.  I am the Family Readiness Group Leader for my husband's unit.  This is the most frustrating thing ever.  I want to just quit but for some reason, I feel I need to keep doing it for fear it might reflect poorly on Hans.  Of course, he says it won't, but I keep worrying about it.  After the big christmas party I was in charge of putting together, I had a nice break from even thinking about the FRG.  However, it's come time to face it again.  There will be meetings, fundraisers, events, and more meetings coming up in the near future.  I suppose if I didn't have two young children and a life, I could handle it.  Another problem is having to deal with the military.  Don't get me wrong, I love being a wife of a soldier and I appreciate the military very much.  However, I don't always appreciate all the people in the military.  You get all kinds of people to deal with.  It actually makes me appreciate my husband for being sane.  I think this has proven to be the hardest task for me...dealing with certain people through my volunteer position.  Yeah, that's right, it's a volunteer position but yet it's so stressful I feel like poking my eyes out every time I think about dealing with it.  There's my reason one for not being able to sleep these days.

On top of the stresses of FRG, I'm trying to lose weight.  This has always seemed to be a losing battle with me.  I'll be good for awhile, I might even lose up to thirty pounds, but I always gain it back.  I exercise all the time, I just don't watch what I eat.  I don't like the feeling of having to deprive myself of good food.  I live to over indulge I suppose.  I eat too much.  That's my problem.  Portion control.  You would think that since I can identify my problem, I'd be able to fix it.  Well, I can't seem to master my will power.  I have done really well for the last two weeks.  In fact, I lost 12 pounds within those two weeks.  But, I've hit a plateau and I just want to make sure not to give up.  Whenever there is stress in my life, I tend to find food as a comfort.  This FRG stuff is proven to be a real test for me not to give into my habit of grabbing for food during stress.  I would like to devote all my energy into regaining a healthy lifestyle, but with everything else going on, it's hard to focus just on that.  I can't seem to find a balance in life.

When two of my dearest friends moved away from here, it was really difficult.  Things still haven't been the same.  I need someone I can call every day in the morning just to say hello.  Even if we weren't hanging out that day, I would still talk to both of them on the phone at least once a day.  They felt and still feel like sisters to me.  They are there for me no matter what.  I really wish they were here right about now to encourage me or at least be the sound of reason when I go through these torrents of  self-pitty.

Well, I suppose tomorrow is another day.  I did find out some great news today.  My brother Jess and his wife will be coming out in October.  Yeah!  That should be fun.  Ok, enough of my drama.  I hope you all have a better week than me.

Lindsey

Out of the mouth of Babes

Hans asked Gabe to say the family prayer tonight.  This is what Gabe said in his prayer:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for batman smells, Robin laid an egg, Bat mobile lost its wheel, and Joker got away.  Amen."

So, Hans asked him to say another besides just that.  This is how his next prayer went:

"Heavenly Father, thank you that we could watch Batman and Robin again and again and again.  Amen"

I guess it was my mistake in finding the old school Batman videos at the library the other day.  We've been letting Eva and Gabe watch the episodes and I have to admit, it's been kind of a nice weekend because they have left us alone for the most part.  We did take advantage of the nice weather on Saturday, but after we came back inside, that's all they wanted to do.  Who am I to stop a love affair? :)

Happy New Year

 I'm a little slow at getting my Christmas post up.  It's been one of those lazy couple of weeks where you just can't seem to find the energy to do anything, including post on the blog.  Not to mention my hubby got my season six of Grey's Anatomy so that was pretty much all I did for the week after Christmas. :)  Anyway, you are probably wondering why Eva is in a swimming suit on Christmas morning.  I am wondering that myself.  She's a weird one sometimes.  We didn't want the kids to come out and see the tree until we were all ready.  So, while I was getting dressed, Eva decided she wanted to have a "swimming party".  She LOVES wearing her suit.  Maybe it makes her feel like it's summer.  :)  I should give it a try sometime.  These winters last too long.

Gabe decided to wear the top of his halloween costume, which is of Peter Pan.  He left the bottoms off of course, but at least he has underwear on.   Those two kids are a really odd pair.

Christmas was really nice.  We went over to my cousin Renee's house for Christmas Eve dinner as well as lunch on Christmas day.  After that, we headed down to my friend Lisa's house for Christmas dinner and to have a family sleepover.  It was nice to be around close friends.  Christmas is hard when you're clear across an ocean from your family, but when you have friends that feel as close as family, it helps.

New Years Eve was also a nice night.  We headed to our friend's house the Thorne's.  There were a few other families there.  I love games, so it's always nice when you get together with friends for games.  They had a really cool dance game on their Xbox connect (I'm not sure if that's what it's called.  It's the one without a remote.  It just picks up your movements with a sensor).  I didn't realize I was such a good dancer. :)

New Years day was very quite and relaxing.  We hung out at home all day and in the evening headed over to another friend's house the Davies' to play games again.  All and all, it was a wonderful couple of weeks.  Nice and relaxing.  It's always good to get back to normal though.  Hans started back to full days of work today, Eva will be going back to German Kindergarten tomorrow, and Gabe will have preschool in the morning.  I'm kind of relieved to get back to some kind of routine.

I have decided to set a few goals for this year.  One of them is to be more spiritual.  I have decided to take the challenge of reading the Book of Mormon from front to back by Easter.  I think that will be a nice way to jump start some spirituality in my life.  Wish me luck!

Lindsey

The end is near!

 Well, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm so grateful this week is finally over.  Here are a few pictures of the happenings this week.  I had my very first piano/vocal recital at my home with my six students.  I haven't wanted to take more students on because of time constraints, but I love the six I have.  They are all so wonderful.  The girl in the green dress is actually a voice student of mine.  They all did a wonderful job on their pieces and I was proud of each of them.

 On Friday, Hans' unit had their company party.  I was in charge, so needless to say, I'm so relieved it's over. It was a lot of work.  We started planning at the end of October.  For a while, that was all I could think about.  Too much stress!  I guess the stress paid off though because it was a great party.  Everything went really well and we had a great attendance.  I arranged for the Col. and a few others to sing a few Christmas songs.

 Today church was canceled due to snow.  I've lived here for six years and this is the first time this has happened.  It's been snowing all day.  Hans and I decided to bundle up the kids and take them out.  We all had a wonderful time.  I felt like a little kid again.  I haven't played in the snow for quite some time.  The kids loved it!

Hans and the kids busy making a snowman.  Eva said they named it "frosty".  How original huh?  :)

Ho! Ho! Ho!

 At our annual Ward Christmas party, Santa Claus came to visit.  My kids are past the stage where Santa scares them.  They are right at that fun age where Santa is amazing!  They love the whole idea of Santa and the elves at the North Pole.  

This is Eva telling Santa her LONG list of things she'd like for Christmas.  Gabe is easy...he just wants Batman.

Well, I've tried to really embrace the Christmas season this year and I have to say, I have fallen short.  I still don't like this holiday.  Of course I love the idea of Christmas (Christ's birth and celebration of his life) but I really struggle with the stress that accompanies the holiday.  People tell me they don't do tons of gifts or they really try and scale back to really "focus" on the "true" meaning of Christmas.  That's a bunch of crap!  What they mean is, they will say that and do the opposite.  There's too much pressure involved in getting people the perfect gift.  Not to mention trying to get a gift for someone that says all they want is cash. ;)  It makes you feel selfish for wanting a gift when they say not to get them one.  I guess I look at it this way:  I don't usually go out and buy myself things that I really want throughout the year, so I look at Christmas as being the time to get things that you want, not need.  I'm not talking about going overboard, but it should be okay to get a few things you want.  Does this make any sense or does it just sound like I'm selfish?

Not only is there pressure in gift giving, but this time of year is insanely busy.  I can't really focus on the meaning of Christmas when I'm too busy to hear myself think.  This should be a time of giving and service, and I'm too busy I can't really give the service that I would like to.  When does the stress end?  I haven't even had time to start shopping for the kids and hubby.  At least we mailed off all the gifts to the states in November.  If I would have waited until December, it still wouldn't be done.  Okay, that's enough ranting and raving on my part.  I just want December to be over!!!

Lindsey

Just call me Jail Bird

Well, mom officially has two children who have been arrested.  Lucky me huh?  What a horrible, horrible month I've had.  Yesterday the military police (MP's) were doing random searches on cars.  They pulled me over and checked my tires, car, and license to make sure everything was in compliance.  Well, my European drivers license was expired.  I knew it was but someone told me it was still good up until a year after the expiration date.  I don't know why I was stupid enough to believe that person, but I trusted them that they knew what they were talking about since they are in the military and have some authority of sorts.  Anyway, the officer asked if I knew it was expired and I said yes, but it should still be good up until a year after the date.  It's been expired since March (ok, I know I should have just gotten it renewed, I was busy and just forgot to get it done and thought I still had time).  He then proceeded to make me wait, with my son in the car, while he called the station.
On a side note, a couple months ago I was involved in a little fender bender.  When the MP arrived at the accident, I told him my license was expired and I asked if it was still good for up to a year after the date of expiration.  He told me yes, and that I was still fine.  I didn't get in trouble at all for it.  Anyway, back to yesterday.  The MP came back to the car and asked me to step out of my vehicle.  He then proceeded to tell me I was under arrest and since I had my son with me, he wasn't going to put me in handcuffs.  He did however, say they called another cop car to come that had a car seat in the back.  We had to wait for it to show up so Gabe and I could be arrested and taken to the station.

I tried to explain to him my situation...that I really did think it was still good for a year after and that an MP a few months ago told me it was still good, he threatened me that if I didn't calm down, he was going to call child protective services and they would come get my son, then they would handcuff me and put me in the back of the car.  Mind you, I wasn't yelling at him at all, I was just simply expressing my frustration and why I thought this was wrong.  What he should have done was given me to the end of the day to get my temporary license and come into the station as soon as I got it.  Instead, the cop car showed up, the MP took all my possessions, including my purse, phone, and everything out of my pockets, then took me into the station.  At this point, I'm so fuming, he's lucky I didn't punch him in the face.

After waiting for a few hours, I had to write a report and he asked me some questions.  Then, he wouldn't let me just walk out on my own, he called my husband's company commander to come personally escort me out.  When she showed up, they counseled her to take me straight over and get my temporary license, which of course we did.  At this point, I was so extremely mortified I didn't know what to say.  I'm the unit's Family Readiness Group Leader, so this is looking really bad for me.  She had to take me to get my license, and since it took so long at the station, she then had to drive me to go pick up my daughter from German kindergarten, then take me to go get my car.  Keep in mind that my husband was getting on a plane to head to Kosovo at the exact same time I was getting arrested.  However, even if he was around, they still wouldn't have released me to his custody, they still would have called the commander.

Anyway, then this morning, I was driving up to the commissary on base, following all the road rules, and this same exact MP started following me.  He didn't turn on his lights, he just followed me clear until I stopped and got out of my car.  He then came over and said he wanted to talk to me.  I told him I wasn't breaking any laws and I didn't know why he was following me.  He said he wanted to see my new license.  This made me really irate.  It took every ounce of self control to not yell at this man.  I did say I thought this was way out of line and extremely insulting.  As if being arrested yesterday wasn't enough, you then question whether I actually did it.  You put me in possession of my husband's commander and instructed her to take me directly over to get one.  This was just enough.  I asked him where I could file a complaint.  He told me I could fill out a comment card, and I told him I had already done that yesterday, but apparently that wasn't enough.  I showed him my license and walked off.  After I was done shopping at the commissary, I came back to my car and he had given me a ticket.  The ticket was because apparently my license plates were switched.  The front one needed to be on the back and the back needed to be on the front.  I didn't even know there was a difference between the two.  Now he was harassing me.  He was just picking on me.  If he was going to give me a ticket for that, he should have done so yesterday when he was checking out my car.

I went directly to the station and asked to speak to his commander.  Of course, he wasn't in but they said they  would get me someone to speak to.  They sent out a guy who was only a few ranks above the MP, who was also an MP.  These guys stick together.  This guy had no authority.  I expressed my concerned to him and of course he completely stuck up for this guy.  Now, to this particular man's defense, the MP was following the book and I understand that.  I also understand I was in the wrong for not getting it renewed right on time.  But it just seemed a little over the top to me.  I have a valid stateside driver's license and under the circumstances of being misinformed by an MP a few months ago, he should have given me till the end of the day to get it done.  I asked this man to please check to see who the officer was that attended my accident because I was almost 100% positive it was this same exact MP and the guy said he was sure it wasn't but he would go and check for me.  When he came back, sure enough, it was the same exact MP that came to my accident who told me my license was still good up to a year after the expiration date and who didn't give me a ticket for it, as was the same guy who arrested me yesterday!!  And you know what's going to happen?...NOTHING.  MP's stick up for other MP's.  If I would have been properly informed by him at the time of my accident, this wouldn't have happened.

If I was a drinker, I would be drinking something very stiff right now.  Normally I could just shake this off, but this was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me.  This has been the most stressful month of my life.  Can I just stay in my house and never leave?

Lindsey

He's 30!

 Well, he made it to 30 and he looks just like he did when he was 20...hot! :)  Hans loves German cakes so this is one I got from a local store.  It's a cherry and chocolate cake.  It was heaven!

 On another note, this week was an Out and About Discovery Group outing (it's a group my friend Christy and I started back at the beginning of summer).  We decided to brave the cold and head to Mainz for their annual christmas market.  It was freezing, but fun.  There was a ton of food and lots of fun shopping to be had by all.  Here's the gang that decided to come.

Just one of the vendors at the market.