Wild Ride...

So on Thursday I called Ramstein Air Base (about three hours away from us) to see if they had any military flights heading to California in the next week. They told me they had one leaving at 3 a.m. Saturday morning. Soooooo, I started packing. We left Friday afternoon and got a room on the base. Woke the kids up at 2 a.m. and went to the terminal in hope that we would get on this stand by flight. Well, we did! It was a pretty crazy experience. We flew on a cargo plane where there were 6 other passengers besides ourselves. We brought our sleeping bags and once we reached cruising altitude, made ourselves cozy beds on the floor. It was so awesome. The kids could run around on the plane, lay on our beds to take naps, play with the other kids on the flight. Some people even had air mattresses. I'm telling you...this is the only way to travel. So we stopped for about 2 hours in New Jersey to refuel, then headed to Riverside to March Air Reserve Base (only an hour from my parents) where my Dad picked us up and headed home. From the time we left our house on Friday to drive to Ramstein to the time when we arrived in Riverside was about 32 hours. Needless to say I was BADLY sleep deprived by the time we got here....but we got here. We've just been having a good time with family for the past few days and are looking forward to my sisters and their kids arriving this weekend. I have some cool pics from the plane, but no cable to connect the camera to the computer. So those will have to come later. Anyways, we're back in America and LOVING the warmth. Pics to come....

Happy Valentines Day in Amsterdam!

Most definently our best Valentines day....by far. We got a babysitter for the whole day yesterday for our kids and our friends Jim and Danielle's kids, loaded up the bikes on the bike racks, and headed 2 1/2 hours away to Holland to spend the day in Amsterdam. It was so nice to take a day trip like this WITHOUT the kids. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and home to the Anne Frank House, the Van Gough museum, the Rembrandt museum, amazing canals and bridges everywhere, and of course Marijuana and the Red light district. We avoided the last two on the list, but really enjoyed having our bikes with us and getting to cruise all around the city all day. We definently plan to go back.
MAtt putting our bikes back together. He had to take our two bikes apart and fit them in the trunk, then put Jim and Danielle's bikes on the bike rack. He's so handy.

Me in front of one of the many canals/bridges in Amsterdam. I guess amsterdam is below sea level like New Orleans and has a similar levy system.

Another canal.

Matt and I in the center of the town. The buildings here were so cool.

Matt and I in front of the amsterdam sign.

Obeying traffic laws of course.

Matt and I on our bikes riding through the city.

Matt in front of the Anne Frank House

One Love.

No....I didn't go inside! Just had to get a picture in front of it.

So when we were riding our bikes back to the car at the end of our day we wound up right smack in the middle of the Red Light District. Not an intended sight that we wanted to see....but see it we did! We rode through and I yelled back at MAtt to not look in the windows. It was pretty funny. So anyways, I had to get a picture! See all the red lights? I guess that means they're open for business.

Another awesome shot of the city.

The NERVE of some people....

So I've had some little boys from our neighborhood ding-dong ditching us for weeks. During nap time, dinner time, when I'm going to the bathroom. Seriously the worst possible times. And not just once a day either.....over and over and over again. At first I was really mad. Then I thought, okay okay I did that too when I was kid. Not quite as OFTEN, but whatever.
So today they started around 4:00 ringing the doorbell, and came back repeatedly. Finally Matt got creative and went up the bathroom window (right above our front door) and dumped a HUGE bucket of really cold water on their heads. It's freezing outside, so we thought that would be the end of it. Oh no. It provoked them. They kept coming back and they kept on getting more and more wet. We were actually having a lot of fun watching them run up to our door, then squeal and run away. Well all of a sudden, they were all gone. Hmm, must be dinner time for them?
Then another ringing of the doorbell, Matt went to answer the door and it was the kid's Mom! I thought to myself "hmmm, she must be SO mad at her kids and is here to apologize for their behavior for the last few weeks". But no. She chewed Matt out for getting her kids WET! Seriously?
She tells us, "It's really cold out and I thinking getting them wet is too harsh a punishment".
Me: "Umm, we figured we could get REALLY mad about the fact they've been bothering us for weeks, or we could have some fun with them. We chose to have fun."

Seriously Lady? We're smiling at you. We're not furious. Your kids are REALLY annoying and keep waking my baby up from his nap. You have the freakin NERVE to be angry at me for getting them wet? We should have soaked her right then and there.....

Presents for Matt

So yesterday after I got home from the Gym I filled up the bathtub with warm water and bubbles and put Chase in there to play while I took a shower (I LOVE having a seperate shower and tub). So I showered, brushed my teeth, then pulled him out of the tub and turned the knob to let it drain. End of Story (I thought).
So then last night I asked Matt if he would go upstairs and give Hallie a bath while I wrote a letter for him that he needed (long story about the letter). So he goes upstairs then yells at me from the top of the stairs
Matt: "Is this supposed to be some kind of a JOKE!"

me: What are you talking about?

Matt: You sending me up here to put Hallie in this tub....are you trying to be funny or something?

me: I have no idea what you're talking about.

Matt: There is a HUGE turd in the bathtub.

me: (busting out laughing....and thinking that I thought the bathroom smelled bad when I went in there a few minutes ago) Chase must have pooped in the bath and I couldn't see it because of the bubbles. Sorry Matt! Could you clean it up though?

Matt: I'm giving her a shower.

I don't know why Matt would think that I would think it was funny to leave poop in the tub for him to find...I'm just not that kind of a girl. :)

Dear Future Housekeeper,

I promise I will be the best person you EVER work for! I will feed you lunch, buy you Christmas and birthday presents, invite you to blast your favorite music while you clean, tell you to feel free to bring your kids over with you if you need to, pay you well. I promise you'll be happy here, because I promise I will also be your best friend. You will make me so happy....so I will want to make you happy. You see housekeeper, I live in Germany and my WHOLE house is tiled. So once a week, I have to sweep and mop the whole place...even the stairs. Germany also seems to be the dustiest place ever created. I don't dust you see, so my house is REALLY dusty. But I bet you don't mind dusting, do you? If you were to fold and put away my laundry too, and let my husband think I did it, I'd slip you a little extra money every time you came. Someday you'll come find me and I'll be able to afford to pay you, until then I'll just keep dreaming of you.

Yours Truely,

Sara Horrocks

Why I always look forward to Thursday.....

I love thursday sooooo much. Every Thursday my friends Danielle, Sarah, and I gather up our little bebes and head down to Sittard. Sittard is this super cute town in the Netherlands (about 20 mins away) With tons of great shopping (ah hem...H&M) and a cute outdoor market on Thursdays. At the market they sell Fabric, Clothes, Fish, Cheese, Meat, Flowers, Fruit, etc. So you can walk all around and look at all the yummies everyone is selling. So our ritual is...meet at my house at 9:00 (I am always the late one, so everyone arriving at MY house motivates me to be ready), head to sittard and try to get a good parking spot (parking here is crazy), then head to our favorite little cafe called "Bagels and Beans". We order delicious bagels with yummy cream cheeses, Danielle gets her coffee that smells oh so good, and Sarah and I enjoy our hot chocolate (except for today, I got water...trying to cut back on the sugar ya know). So we sit, chat, eat, try to make our kids behave, then head out to go shopping. I love Thursdays. Here are a few pics I took today....

Chase at bagels and beans refusing to have his picture taken. Love this little monster.

The crew....waiting for our food.

The stroller brigade. I know I know, I really need to get Chase a stroller that isn't pink. But they're REALLY expensive here. Maybe when I go home in March.

This is just a random shot of my ridiculously handsome little man. His big brown eyes with his gorgeous, long eye lashes just make me melt.

So anyways....come visit us!! I'll take you with me to Sittard Thursdays!

Happy Birthday to My Matt

Dear Matt,
In honor of your 29th birthday, I decided to make a list of 29 reasons why I love you. I'm sure there is a lot more than 29 reasons, but you'll have to wait till next year to find out the 30th!
1. You are really handy, you fix everything, can assemble anyting, always hang our pictures perfectly straight, build me shelves where I need shelves, etc.
2. I love you because I know you won't be mad when you get home from work today and I have to tell you that I burnt your birthday cake. Sorry.
3. You are smokin hot.
4. You're the coziest...even if it does sometimes make me claustrophobic. I love to cuddle with you.
5. You're the best Dad. You're always self evaluating about what you could do better. The kids adore you. I'm so glad that you have always wanted to be involved in the parenting, not just sit by and watch me do it.
6. You are a genuenly good person. I've never met a soul that has a beef with you. You're just so kind, funny, and laid back, it would be impossible not to like you.
7. Even when I'm really fat and just had a baby, you still tell me how good I look. I know you're lying, but it still means a lot to me that you try.
8. You make good choices, except for the occassional illegal download. :) You have really high standards.
9. You will watch chick flicks with me.
10. You don't let me push you around. I have a tendency to do that, but you would never let me get away with it. I need you to keep me in check.
11. You always remember to kiss me good bye in the morning, even when I'm really grouchy because you're being too loud and I'm trying to sleep.
12. You are always up for an adventure, whether it's a bike ride or parasailing. Moving to Germany or living in a tent in Hawaii, you're always up for it. You're so fun.
13. You love hot chocolate and cozy clothes as much as I do.
14. You cry when you hear "Proud to be an American". hehe. Just kidding. It was just the hot air in the car blowing his eyes that made his eyes water. :)
15. You take Hallie to school in the mornings so I can sleep in. We have a great understanding that I just NEED more sleep than you do.
16. You make cleaning the house way more fun. I hate doing it by myself. YOu always blast the jack johnson and make it a fun (well, more fun than usual) thing to do.
17. You look really hot in blue jeans, flip flops, and a t-shirt.
18. You don't mind going shopping with me. You seem like you don't mind doing anything with me as long as we're together and that makes me really happy.
19. You're really patient, and see the funny side of things when sometimes I don't.
20. You make me a better wife and mom. Even when I'm not being the best wife OR mom, you tell me that I am. I love you.
21. You are so stinkin smart. I will never understand how in 2 years of training and 3 years of college together, I have never seen you study. Not really. And you always pull out with amazing scores. It baffles me.
22. You always encourage family time, whether it's a walk to the horse pasture or a bike ride, you want us to fun things as a family. That shows in all the pictures I'm always putting up on this blog.
23. You don't care much about material things. We have old cars, and are pretty good at making do. You never complain (until you have to replace a transmission or something). You're happier having no debt than you ever would be with a really nice car. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're really reposible with money.
24. Your beautiful brown-green eyes.
25. The way you look in your uniform.
26. How you laugh with me, and hold me when I'm crying.
27. How happy you make me.
28. How I can't wait for 3:30 to roll around every day so I can hug you and kiss you.
29. How you never complain about picking up tampons for me at the store. :)

Happy birthday Matt! I really do love you so much, and I'm really sorry that your birthday cake tastes like crap.

Cologne (Köln)

We took a fun day trip to Cologne, Germany with our friends Matt and Sarah and their darling little girl Hayden. I know, leave it to us to find friends with the same name as us. At least their little girl's name isn't Hallie. :) Anyways, Sarah is German and lived in Cologne for a few years so it was great to have a little directional help while we were there. We went and saw the Dome in cologne, I will cut and paste a little history on this AWESOME building at the bottom of this post for those of you who are interested. After we went through the dome, we went shopping. ahhhh, how I've missed shopping. I got a ridiculously cute new skirt and an even cuter purse. Hallie was pretty naughty all day, but we tried not to let it get us down. :)

Picture of one of the MANY stained glass windows inside the dome. So beautiful

This is the dome. It is gothic architecture....really creepy and cool looking.

This is Matt, Sarah, Matt, and the kids heading into the dome.

This cross was the first cross of it's size ever made. Most churches that have crosses of this size can be traced back to using this one as inspiration.

Matt and Matt climbed to the top of the dome (us Moms couldn't make it with the kids and strollers). Matt got some cool pictures of the city while he was up there. It was the biggest building in the world up until the 19th century.

A cool city shot from the top of the Dome. This is the Rhine River below.

Another good shot.

This guy had little dancing puppets that Hallie loved watching dance. It was pretty fun to see.

Of course there's the guy with the Lama in the middle of the street. Why wouldn't you bring your lama shopping with you?

Some interesting German art. I have nothing more to say.

Matt being a turd.

Chase was so good all day. He is just the sweetest, happiest, little guy ever.

So all in all, it was a really great day! Here is the history end of things about the dome for those interested:


The Dome of Cologne, which was built in the period from 1248 until 1880, is known as a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. In its whole period of construction the original architect’s drawings had never been changed.Up until its completion in the 19th century, the cathedral was the biggest building in the world. The draft of the western façade broke all conventions: as the biggest church façade of the world it was supposed to have a surface of 7,000 m² flanked by two powerful towers with a height of 156 metres each.The reliquary for the relics of the three holy kings, which is the biggest reliquary of the Occident, is said to be an outstanding artistic work of the Middle Ages. The Ottonian Gero cross on top of the rood altar inside of the Dome is the first big cross of the western Occident: all triumphal crosses of medieval churches can be traced back to it. The dome has two big winged altar-pieces: the “Klarenaltar”, an altar from the 14th century with 36 paintings and 25 sculptures, as well as the altar of the city patrons created by Stephan Lochner, the master of Cologne.The dome’s architecture mostly corresponds to plans from the Middle Ages. Some construction parts were made in a neo-Gothic style. Due to its size and the quality of the work the Dome became a crystallisation point of this kind of architecture. In 1996, it was included in the list of the UNESCO world cultural heritage.