Well, as many of you now know, Jerry has been off to the desert for a little over 2 months now. He was cured of whatever enchantment he may have had with the idea of deployment within the first few days, I assure you. His glasses fogged over the first time he departed an air conditioned building and he has to walk in the blowing sand back to his room from the showers, creating the "sugar cookie" effect that we've all heard so much about. Anyway, he's doing his job, making us proud and we very much look forward to his return.
The kids and I are hanging in there and I think we've gotten past the hard part. You know, the part where you teach yourself to jump start a car using the Internet, get into a virtual shouting match with your son's teacher and lose both sets of house keys within a 24-hour period. All that's over now and mom's much, much calmer. (I'm sure switching to decaf didn't hurt.)
We're headed to Belgium for Thanksgiving with the Jeters, our old friends from South Dakota and California, who are now stationed at SHAPE. We're looking forward to getting away as long as the weather cooperates. Since I won't have easy access to the Internet on the road, I'm considering pre-planning and printing out instructions for various emergencies that may arise along the way.
December will bring another traveling adventure. The kids and I will be going back to the States for the first time since we left in April of 07. Jerry's been back multiple times, but the kids and I haven't been able to go yet. We're very excited and can't wait to spend time with family and do some clothes shopping. Clothing and shoe styles here are very different, so my goal will be to stock up for the remainder of our assignment.
Our most recent travels took us to the Snow Hall in Amneville, France. We were blessed to go with two other families who are currently "sans husbands" and we had a great time. The snow hall is an indoor, year-round ski/snowboard facility where you can rent all the equipment and enjoy winter sports whenever you want. (See photo above) Caleb tried snowboarding for the first time and Michael got to go sledding while we three moms watched our six boys go crazy in the snow. It was a fun getaway and I think we may have to take Dad next time.
The Christmas markets are just starting to open this weekend with the start of Advent. I can't wait to drag the kids out in the cold for roasted chestnuts, melt-in-your-mouth waffeln and hot gluhwein.
It's snowing again and I think the sidewalk needs some salt, so I'd better hang up and get moving. Enjoy your Thanksgiving and we hope to see you soon!
P.S. Happy Birthday to my dad! He'll be 66 tomorrow.
