Tucker!!!

In January we welcomed a new addition to the family!! Born in November, this little ball of fur is a joy to have around!! We definitely fell in love with him and his antics.

We wondered how Bella would react to having him around. She has taken on the roll of big sister. She cleans him, shares her space with him and at times I would swear I have seen her roll her eyes at him. They are fun to watch as they learn to deal with each other.

WOW....

I can't believe my last post was in October! Sad!! Life was so busy throughout the holiday season and then well, I guess I just forgot about my blogging adventure. So much has happened and so much travelin' was done in the past few months!!! My M-I-L visited. We had such a good time although all the traveling was so tiring!

Here are some pics! The highlights of our holiday travels.

Oktoberfest

I now it's been a while since I posted last....my bad!!!  Life kinda gets in the way!! I wanted to share our adventure to the "real" Oktoberfest with ya! So we decide to take the train. It's ends up being a 2 & a half hour ride & it was so packed our whole group - 4 guys, 3 girls, & 2 children + a stroller- had to stand the entire ride & we just so happened to be crowded by the bathroom so that was really nice - NOT. We should have known from this that our day was not going to go as planned. haha & boy do we have stories to tell about the train ride, from a stinky guy and about 15 people crammed into a space meant for 5 or so to the many people who decided they should squeeze through our group to get to the bathroom. & believe me they have no idea what personal space is either.



After that painful ride there we were so happy to finally arrive in Munich! We started our 15 min walk from the train station & it felt like we were in New York, so many cars & people trying to cross roads to get where they were going! Finally we start seeing people dressed in their lederhosen and dirndls so w know we are close. The crowds were overwhelming! We find a tent & we went in to find a bathroom and a seat.

As you can see, finding a seat in the tents for our group was impossible! So off we go, & by this time the guys just wanted a beer and we all wanted food!!! And then we find out you have to be seated somewhere to get served beer so the hunt was on!! After looking for a seat for what seemed like forever we found 2 tables near each other that would hold our group & although we had to b separated we were just happy to sit.

 

And probably the best time we had was when we met ^this^ guy and his friends from Australia. They were so fun! They traveled all this way just for Oktoberfest. After a couple of hours of just sitting we decided to leave our table which we knew we would never see again :o(  to go check out other things. This is when it all went to hell.  ^this^ girl gets lost in the crowd and has no phone and no one can find her. It was terrible! Although we tried to look for her it seemed impossible and it was, we never saw her the rest of the day or night. [she ended up catching a train  & made it back safe-thank goodness] but the guys we were with didn't really know her and they [including my husband] wanted to do something fun so we went off to try to enjoy the rest of the day.

                                        Me & the hubs!!! Love making memories with him!

                                           I love this guy [^Corey^] he is so much fun!!

I was upset I missed my opportunity to get a pic on the Ferris wheel Corey made my whole night by capturing this shot from the top of a roller coaster him and the guys went on!!! Beautiful don't you think!!

Overall the rides and well everything was over priced, we had to elbow our way through the crowds, and the lines for the bathrooms were never ending. Although we did make some good memories there I would never want to suffer through that again!

Gazuntite

I have spent the last 4 days being a nurse, entertainer, cook, and maid as the husband has been home on quarters after oral surgery. I am so beyond thrilled to say he is feeling much better today!!! Now we get to enjoy the weekend before he goes back to work Monday!

We had planned to hit up Oktoberfest this weekend [b/c it's def something we have to see] but we heard that it is better to not go on the weekends b/c the crowds are over 250,000 people! I couldn't imagine being around that many people let alone that many drunk people. So we decided to wait till next weekend since it is Columbus Day they chances of him being off the Friday before are very good. Crossed fingers here!!! I am excited to get to experience the real Oktoberfest even though I am not a beer drinker! So i think we will just spend this weekend with friends, maybe a dinner date, and some driving around!

I learned an interesting fact today that i thought I would share.....  Many Americans will say gazuntite instead of bless you when someone sneezes thinking it means the same thing. But, it actually is the German word meaning health. Many centuries ago in Germany they were stricken by the bubonic plague. So people started saying gazuntite after a person sneezed because they were wishing health upon themselves b/c it meant they were probably going to get the plaque.

It's been a while!!

Since the hubs has been home I feel like it's been a roller coaster of up & downs with this unit, his schedule, and this crazy life of ours!!! The current world situation has not made things any easier for us either. Always concerned that he may be deployed at any moment if things don't start to calm down!! I was so looking forward to the holiday season so we will have some time together but now that time is threatened by the attacks on all the U.S. Embassy's and every other crazy thing popping off around the world. Everyday that he goes to work or every evening when his phone rings I find myself anxious to hear if there is an news about a possible deployment?!?!? The weekends are such a relief for me!

I am happy to report it is officially the season of Fall, which is one I have never really experienced being from Texas!!! The temperatures are high 50's or low 60's during the day & in the high 30's at night! The leaves are starting to change and it feels so great!! I think this may be my favorite season [besides the fact that it's football season.... Go, Cowboys....  :o/ ]!!

On a positive note however, tomorrow we are going to get our passports!!! I am so excited to get them in  & to begin traveling outside of Germany!! [even though there are still SOOOO many places in Germany we have not explored yet] I just hope that everything goes as planned with his schedule and the Karen's will be here to travel with us in December!!!

Cross your fingers for us that all goes as planned!!!! I will be crossing mine!!! :o)

Peace Out Friends!!

This unit clearly ran by men?!?!? AHHHHH

Just sharing with you my frustrations from the last week!! VENTING!!!

The hubs finally returned from deployment [at 1 a.m.]  on Thurs. the 6th. As he as being released, command instructed them to report for duty at noon the same day to leave for Field training but insisted they would be home for dinner that evening. At around 2pm, I get a call saying they decided to stay overnight in the field. And command gave all the guys 20 minutes to go pack overnight gear. [seeing as we live 20 minutes away from post, that wasn't happening] So my hubs said he would tough it out! [Which he has no problem doing, but I was highly irritated]. After class that evening I came home to a lonely house, a lil sad, again!!! But I was so tired from the prior 2 nights of excitement I almost did not care. This was the 1st night in a long time that I was asleep by 11. After just few short hours of sleep, I was awoken at 2 a.m. by an constant nagging buzzing.... yep, my phone. I groggily answer [ & if you know me, u know how much I love my uninterrupted sleep!!] & it's my husbands [annoying @ 2 am] cheerful voice saying I could come pick him up [now] b/c they were done!! All I could say was "are you fucking serious?!?!?!?" So I got dressed and angrily started my 20 min drive to post. As I am turning a corner in the town of Vilseck radio blaring [to stay awake] I pass a Polizei [German police] & then  see them whip around and turn on their screaming red lights & I hurriedly pull to the side of the road. So.... officially I have been stopped by the German police!!! Thank goodness I wasn't speeding [like normal] probably b/c I was so tired. They asked me why I am out so late & my response was "the stupid Army decided to release my husband in the middle of the damn night", they responded back with "ooohhh, well, have a good night." Right?!?!? So I finally get there & get the husband & his gear all loaded up & then wouldn't you know it he's trying to introduce me to soldiers.... OhHellNO!!! I was not havin' any of that, I couldn't even remember if I brushed my hair!! Well, needless to say when we got home around 2:45, I had gotten a 2nd wind, so there I was 3am cooking supper for the hubs. Not Ideal!!! My sleep schedule is all kinds of messed up!!

I learned 2 things from this.... 1) This unit does not have their shit together at all!! & 2) WE NEED A 2ND CAR!!!

But, the hubs has officially been home for 3 full days now. They ended up getting Fri off, probably as an apology for the unit being so fucking stupid!!!! We were able to get some stuff done, he got to eat all of his requested meals, & we even went out with some friends!!! Back to the world of smoke breath, biting nails, putting stuff where it doesn't belong & leaving messes EVERYWHERE for me to clean up! Ahhhhh, life as an Army Wife.

& back to the field he goes in 2 days..... it never ends!!

The Day Has Come!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, the day is here!!! In a little over 2 hours I get to see my husband again!!!!!!!!!!! There is nothing better than a homecoming!! I think us Army Wives are lucky in that we get to experience the butterflies [like we probably all had in the beginning of our relationships] every time they come home from being gone for a long time. It's the greatest feelin and far out weighs the feelings of sorrow from when they leave!!!

The hardest part about today is the waiting. I have been up all day, cleaned everything left to clean, laundered everything I own, finished all my school work [including the most artistic drawing of the bloods passage through the heart and lungs]. LOL The cooler ready to b packed for the guys, by request of my husband!!! & after all that I still have hours left to kill. I told myself I would not start to get ready until 10 pm!! Its been sooooo hard. Let me tell ya, if these Gemans believed in stores being open past 7 I would so b shopping to kill some time!!! Well, it's officially 10:03 pm, his arrival is scheduled for midnight, so time to start getting ready!!!!!!!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o)