First day of school!!

Funny story about this shirt....

Just out of bed and already ready to go....his hair is cut now

The hunchback of Fort Riley Elementary

Gotta throw in the diva pose

It looks like he's dancing like MJ

Trying to put shoes on

All ready to go

Had to put the hoodie on....it was raining outside

Still looking really tired

BYE!!!

The kids had their first day of school this past Monday. Kevin started the 6th grade at Fort Riley Middle School, and Haylie started the 4th grade at Fort Riley Elementary. So far they both really seem to enjoy it. The first day, as you can tell, was quite gloomy. I had an umbrella all ready for them to use but when I went to check to see if it opened alright the handle separated from the umbrella part. No go there! They were the only ones without umbrellas at the bus stop. Thankfully it wasn't raining that hard. It was only a half day for them so they were home by about noon. That evening we had a dip that I made, for dinner, and then we all watched Hannah Montana the movie. It was actually really good. There is a fun dance number in it so me and the kids tried to learn it after the movie. We had a lot of fun! So, the funny story about the shirt in the first picture....Cory sent Haylie up to her room to get a belt as her pants we falling down. She had been up there for quite awhile so I went to check on her. Instead of grabbing a belt, she was up there stuffing her shirt! Needless to say that shirt is now a "weekend-only-not-leaving-the-house" shirt. It's hillarious looking back on the incident but at the time I wasn't very happy. Now I wish I could have taken a picture before she took whatever it was she was using out of her shirt.

My first few days back

Just off the plane

I missed you, Haylie!

I missed you, Kevin!! I don't think I'm bending down to hug you!!

I missed you, Hunnybear!!

Dinner my first night home...I am EXHAUSTED!!!

At lunch the next day

I missed these guys so much!!

Sunday picnic

I love you, Dork!

I'm so glad to be home!! I got back on the 12th of August. Cory and the kids were waiting for me at the airport. I got big hugs from all of them! After I checked in with the Warrior Transition Battalion we went to Old Chicago for dinner. I had their chicken salad....just as good as I remembered. I was exhausted by the time we got home. I spent the next two days in processing with the WTB. I found out that Cory can work out with me in the mornings and we will still be back before the kids have to be up for school! Cory and the kids met me for lunch the next day (Thursday). I was glad we got to do that as the kids start school on Monday. I get the weekends off which is really nice. I started tackling the house. In one day Cory and I only got through our bathroom and closet. I spent Saturday night and most of Sunday doing laundry. It was overtaking the downstairs hallway!! We did manage to go on a picnic Sunday afternoon. It started out being nice but then Haylie wouldn't stop complaining about the flies and other bugs that one is to expect at a picnic. So, we ended the picnic a bit early and went back home where I continued to do laundry. We were going to watch the Hannah Montana movie but Kevin's room was a pigsty and Haylie was just being extra annoying so we decided to watch it some other day instead. Talk about procrastination, we didn't get the kids' school supplies until Sunday night....they started school this morning. That's really about it for my time here so far. I got some great shots of the kids' first day of school. I'll post those a bit later.

Lunch with Ina!!!

I'm imitating the statue behind me.

Showing off my new shirt

Ina's lunch

Becky's lunch...the filling tasted like salmon with ricotta cheese.

I went with a delicious Jagerschnitzel.

Ina and I in the park

Ina and I in the park

Waiting for our ice cream

Ina got the traditional Spaghetti Ice

Becky got the Waldfrucht Spaghetti Ice

I got the Chocolate Crepe

I had lunch today with my good friend, Ina! She drove all the way from Mainz to see me. I haven't seen her since she came to the states for a visit back in late 2004 or early 2005! It was great catching up. I'm so glad I got to see her before I have to leave Landstuhl. We had lunch at Taormina, a nice Italian place, and then we walked around the park for a bit taking some pictures. Finally, we stopped for some ice cream and a crepe for me. It was all very delicious!! Hopefully I can get stationed here soon and we can hang out more. I wish I would have gotten a hold of her sooner! I had a wonderful time!

Trier

The view from a lookout on the way to Trier

The Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra

Entrance to Saint Gangolf church

Saint Gangolf tower

It's easy to miss but there is a man etched into the stone.

Cathedral of Trier

Me at the Cathedral of Trier

Very comfortable

Organ pipes inside the cathedral

Taken from the back of the cathedral looking towards the entrance

There is a gold cross and the Star of David inside this piece of art.

Memorial at the back of the cathedral

The square outside the cathedral

Another part of the cathedral

The Basilica of Constantine

Me at the cathedral

Just messing around

My doner kebap at the end of the day. Mmmm Mmmmm good!!

My trip to Trier was wonderful. We were supposed to go to Heidelberg but there was a festival going on there and they would have had to hurry us through everything. Here is a little bit about Trier and some of the sights I saw:

Trier is a city in Germany on the banks of theMoselle River. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC. Trier lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of ruddy sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the German border with Luxembourg and within the important Mosel wine-growing region. According to the Gesta Treverorum (a collection of histories, legends, wars, records of the Archbishops of Trier, writings of the Popes, and other records that were collected by the monks of the St. Matthias Abbey in Trier), the city was founded by Trebeta, anAssyrian prince, centuries before ancient Rome. The Roman Empire subdued the Treveri in the 1st century BC and established Augusta Treverorum in 30 BC.

The first sight we saw was the Porta Nigra, or the Black Gate. It is a large Roman city gate. The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 180 and 200 AD. Next, we saw Saint Gangolf Church. I couldn't find anything on that. After that we saw the Cathedral of Saint Peter. It is the oldest cathedral in Germany. The last sight we saw was The Basilica of Constantine or Aula Palatina at Trier. It is a Roman palace basilica that was built by emperor Constantine in the beginning of the 4th century AD.

We also got a little shopping in. I got two cute tops, a pair of pants and a silver necklace. Lunch was really nice. I had the pork rump roast with potatoes. It was delicious! I felt a little rushed during the trip. We only had 2 and a half hours to tour around. There is a ton to see there and we all could have used a couple more hours. Overall, it was a wonderful day and I'm really glad I got to see the oldest city in Germany.