A small road trip

Our weekend was spent at Ft. Polk, Louisiana visiting my hubby who is training there until mid-May. It is a huge base located in the middle of nowhere, but we had a great time with Trent. Unfortunately, Lesley wasn't able to go due to TAKS testing at school so she stayed behind with my sister Jennifer. We stopped twice in Houston briefly to eat at one of our most fave restaurants Sweet Tomatoes. The boys had fun at the local park, catfish pond, Children's Museum at Lake Charles, and just hanging out with dad.

 Gabe catching up with Trent at our hotel when we first arrived.

The boys at the base catfish pond

Checking out different tanks at Warrior Park on post.

The drive from SA to Ft. Polk is pretty boring, but I'd do it all over again just to hang out with my honey.

Wordless Wednesday........More from Spain

Hello from Spain...

This will be brief, just wanted to say we are having a fabuloso time in Spain. We got here on Monday evening and have immersed ourselves in the culture. Last night we went to the Feria in Jerez and it was one experience I will never forget. I am loving the food, culture, and people here. I'll write more later.


Flamenco dancers in Jerez

Seafood and chicken/pork paella

Sangria

Trent & I at the beach

Time to pick up the pace...

Alrighty..... I am in the process of finishing some travel plans for a short vacation we are taking to Rota, Spain in two weeks. I am so excited ...especially since our hotel is right on the beach. Lesley and I bought new bathing suits yesterday...which as every woman knows can be a dramatic experience, but I'm happy with what I got. Let me tell ya I have been working out very hard, but for the next two weeks I am setting a new short term goal. I want to weigh in at or below 120 lbs by May 11th the day I leave to Spain.;D {Yes, I may have weighed in at 121.6 lbs. today, but my diet can be bad when I'm hanging out with the girls.} I am really going to need to focus on my diet during the next couple of weeks because my appetite tends to really increase around the time I start menstrating. Uugh....like you really want to hear about that stuff!!! Anyways....that's my new goal and hopefully I won't over indulge at tomorrows drunko....I mean bunco get together. LOL

Ahhhh.....I can't wait to be lounging around here in two weeks. Whooo...Hooo

Quick update...

There are so many things to do and not enough hours in the day.Bear with me, but a bulleted post is all you're getting today:
** I was sick with a cold last week.

** Lesley is having midterms this week in school, so she spent most of the weekend studying.She is also planning to have friends stay over this weekend to help celebrate her 15th birthday. I can't believe my baby is going to be 15!!!!

** Trent and I have decided to pull Noah out of school and home school him again. There are so many reasons why....which I hope to express later, but one of the top reasons is that the flexibility homeschooling provides just works best for our family.

** On top of home schooling I am also going back to school. I am literally starting over in a different career field. From a teaching background I am moving into getting a BS degree in Nutrition. Thankfully most of my basic courses will transfer, but I am starting from scratch in the upper level division courses plus I need to take a lot of chemistry courses that I didn't need for teaching. Ranging from general chemistry to organic chemistry to biochemistry. I am excited, but I also know it is going to be tough. Yes, I'll probably whine at times, need lots of support and cheering on! :D I have a great cheerleader Trent for support though so I know I'll be just fine. I'm betting/praying that we'll get stationed in San Antonio next because the program I'm interested in is at Incarnate Word University. It's a small private catholic school.

** Yesterday we went to see the movie Bedtime Stories. We really liked it. Noah wants a guinea pig with big eyes now. LOL That's definitely not happening...those things bark like little dogs.


** Well I'm off to watch the historical inauguration with the familia. I leave you with the last pics of our Germany trip. An interesting fact I learned about Bavaria is that it is 98% Roman Catholic and on Three Kings Day they write on each others door to bless the homes. Okay hubby's calling Joe Biden is getting sworn in.

Ciao & God bless,
Stephanie

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fun at the museum....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our final days in Germany....

Were spent taking care of Gabe. After a visit to a German hospital emergency room he was diagnosed with pink eye in both eyes and a cold. He was really miserable and his eyes had a yucky green discharge that sealed his eyes closed. Our military provider recommended the emergency room visit and the German staff helped us out with forms and with their broken English made us very comfortable. Gabe's doctor was very sweet and pleasant...she even shared the same name as my mom! (Carmen) Here are some pics :


My pink eye child

The hospital
Waiting for the doc...

Our lovely doctor (pic taken by Gabe)

Here's another pic of the Olympic stadium we visited

Walking around town looking for a pharmacy

Another gorgeous pic of the Bavarian Alps

German guys....and drinks

Just a few pics of my German boys:

and the array of drinks we had as the hubby and I spent some alone time at Zuggey's Bar this evening. The Riesling wine tasted fruity and had the aroma of green apples. One of my favorite white wines. Also Trent likes the German beer that smells like piss...he can drink it as much as he wants I just won't kiss him until he has a mint. And yes there is a cappuccino in that pic.....nothing like mixing alcohol and coffee. I could use an Italian espresso shot right about now though.

Ciao,

Stephanie

Partnach Gorge hike by torchlight.....

This evening Lesley and I went on a group tour of Partnach Gorge. Children under eight were not allowed on this tour so Trent stayed behind with Gabe. { Noah didn't want to tag along} They took us to the olympic stadium Hitler built for the 1936 olympics and we got to see the ski jump area.
Then we hiked by foot 1.5 miles uphill. It was a nice evening walk, but I kept slipping and sliding in the snow. I almost busted my bootay, but thankfully a young man walking behind me caught me before I hit the ground. At the top of the hill we each got torches which we carried through the gorge.


The natural ice formations were so cool.



Afterwards, the group stopped by a local German restaurant to eat dessert and drink hot beverages. I accidently left my euro at the lodge and didn't have any money on me to buy anything so we were bummed out. That changed instantly when I met two Air Force wives who generously ordered us drinks and shared their huge dessert with us. I tried Gluhwein for the first time with them. It is red wine boiled and served warm with spices. It tasted really good and warmed me up. They were both really sweet, the conversation was entertaining, and we hiked back to the bus together. They will be here at the lodge until Wednesday so I hope to bump into them again. This little guy was across our table.....poor thing.

Hopefully, Trent and I can carve sometime out tomorrow to visit during the day. Here's a bonus pic of the kids in the hot tub this afternoon.

Germany part deux.....

Before heading off to the commissary this morning to pick up some goodies, we said our goodbyes to the Fernandez familia who were leaving back to their casa in Ramstein. Afterwards, we came back to the lodge ate lunch and then left to the train station for an hour and a half ride to Munich. The train was one of the cleanest and most comfortable I've been on in Europe. It wasn't difficult to figure out either. Below is just a glimpse of our day in Munich....{I forgot to mention it was FREEZING outside today....}

Gabe taking in the view from the train &

. ...a few pics of one of Munich's shopping districts

Walking around town

Plus as an added bonus.....Voila!!! Lesley and I showing off our ice skating skills in the town center. LOL It was so much fun and I know I'll beat Lesley next time.
{ Jenny when we move back to the states we will definitely have to spend one Christmas in New York City and ice skate at Rockefeller Center ;D }

Road trip to Germany.....

We were up at 4 o'clock and out the door by 5:45 AM. I unwisely stayed up chatting on Skype with my sister until 2AM so I was functioning on only 2 hrs. of sleep. Our drive was smooth and when we entered the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy that's where it began to snow. I just love the snow...probably because I never saw it while growing up in Texas. The drive was very scenic and once we entered the Alps the views were especially great like the one below.

We arrived in Garmisch a little after 3 PM and proceeded to check in and get settled. I just love this resort it is so very relaxing. Here is the lobby still decked out with Christmas decorations. We love to sit by the huge fireplace pictured and rock in the rocking chairs provided.
Here are the boys by the enormous lobby Christmas tree
After settling in we got a bite to eat and went searching for Yesenia and her family. They arrived on the 1st but are leaving tomorrow so we only had this evening to hang out. We met at the pool and while the kids swam Trent & I enjoyed some time in the outdoor hot tub. The temp outside was freezing with snow on the ground, but it was so relaxing. Below are some pool pics.

Yazmine & Lesley

Cristian & Noah
and Yesenia & I. She didn't go swimming.

We swam until ten p.m. then went back to our rooms to change. We met up at the bar downstairs and hung out until midnight. I was too tired to try out the German beer they were drinking, but I had fun regardless. Plus David's beer smelled like piss. As always I enjoyed seeing my high school buddy. Well time to turn in......tune in tomorrow.

Arrivederci.....ciao

Let's hit the road Jack....

I never intended for my blog to be a place to vent, but please bear with me. Writing helps me clear my thoughts.

We are heading to Garmisch, Germany for a week of fun in the snow.What a great way to begin the new year. We are anxiously looking forward to getting Swedish massages, sledding, skiing,the resort gym, the food, and relaxing in the pool. The views are absolutely breathtaking there and the fact that we get to hang out with the Fernandez family while we're there is an added bonus. Here's a pic I took when we went earlier this year in March. Isn't it so pretty...this is a view from where we'll be staying at Edelweiss Lodge Resort.


I'll try to post before we leave in a few days.

Venice

A picture summary of Venice.

First we took a boat taxi. Here is Gabe taking in the view from the boat.

Venice was flooded due to lots of rain and it was cold

We walked to St. Mark Square and got a private tour of the church which was stunning!!
One of the many canals
Gabe and his new friends Cameron & Alexis
This was an amazing church

Aren't they cute

Gondolas.....

We didn't ride one this time around, but plan to when we come back in the summer

Some of the gang

We found a Disney Store and just had to spend some dinero there

I only wish the weather had been better. We made the most of our visit, shopped, and ate very well. We will definitely return.