Hello, 2012!

I want to thank Facebook for keeping me from blogging. I've been warned by Dev that I am to keep it up. On my last post we had experienced our first Oktoberfest and I was about to turn 40. Now, we've just finished up another holiday season and have rung in the New Year. Dev is here for another seven days, we've been to the Czech Republic, sent off a few college applications for Drake, Shane is still in a Master's Degree Program, I'm still working at the bank, we have a group of friends we love, Shane's a little grayer, Dev's a little lighter, Drake thinks he's 21 and please no laughing at our Charlie Brown tree. It was slim pickin's this year.  I'll be back more often, I hope!

Oktoberfest!

I didn't really go to Oktoberfest. That would mean I went to Munich. I stayed local and joined my friends for the Volksfest and it was awesome! The swaying, the beer, the half chicken, the heat, the beer, the singing, the dancing. It was a good time. I couldn't help but miss Shane and am already counting down to next year. Loved it. Here's some pics:

In a few days Drake will be turning 18! You know what that means? He can get  tattoo without parental permission. Sigh. I'm so nervous he's going to come with some permanent ink. Will he follow in his sister's shoes? The real problem with his birthday? Its mine too and I'm going to be hitting the 40s. I don't want to turn 40!!

My September Project 12! I missed August because when I ordered my pictures I forgot to order August! I will do my August layout when I do Octobers. I'm sad that its just a few more months until the final layout BUT I think they will do it all again so I'm not stopping =)

 And for TallyScrapper's Survivor layout...Steve Jobs inspired. If it weren't for his inventions I would never be a runner. I was trying to remember the last time I bought a CD and it must've been 2005. I love being able to buy one song off an album and not the entire album. I love my MacBook Pro. I love being able to travel with my IPad to keep in touch, Facebook. play a little Yahtzee and read whatever book I've downloaded.

And I, finally, finished a Tim Holtz box. I bought these from TallyScrapper months ago. Next will be a Christmas box. I love them.

Back from Toscana

And it was an amazing trip. We met my brother, sister in law, aunt, uncle, sister in law's aunt and uncle and two other couples at the farm. The farm is a 100 year old Italian home, with million dollar views. It was amazing. I didn't realize but Tuscany is more a region and a very big region. A region full of Chianti, great pizza, vineyards, rich history and leather. We took all of it in.

Our first day we went to Volterra. Yes. The same Volterra that takes place in the Twilight books. We took this photo in the dei Priori square. The town is surrounded by a wall so you can't drive through and holds ancient ruins from 15 BC.

Second stop was the town San Giaggimono. I'm sure I just butchered the name. This town is known for its towers, which were built as status symbols by the wealthy and for protection, at one time the town had over 70 towers.

On our third day-we rested at the farm. It was so nice to take a nap during the day, swim in the pool and lay out in the sun. I even got sunburned and loved it. Our days of warm weather are dwindling here in Germany. I was ready to soak it all in!

We took a trip into Firenze aka Florence. My main reason for wanting to go was to find the pizzeria that Jersey Shore worked at during Season 4. We found it, we got pizza, we posed for pictures. We also found a market and I want to go back just for the shopping! The leather was amazing. The prices were bargains. The city actually smelled of leather. It was awesome. I cannot wait to go back. I saw a few leather jackets that have my name on them.

Hot Air Balloons!

I have always wanted to see and ride some hot air balloons! Every year, in our area of Germany, they have a Firework Festival. Its a competition to see which country wins the title of best fireworks-judged by Disney. This year was Greece, China and the U.S. We went to China night. I really wanted to go because I read that they would have hot air balloons. They were magical! They are also expensive to ride in soooo we didn't do that but I know what I want for my birthday this year. The fireworks were the best I'd seen. Choreographed to music. Spectacular!

This week I start bowling with the German liga(league). I'm pretty excited. My bowling ball has been drilled and I've started throwing fingertips. I liked it. I thought I was going to struggle but its perfect. Now to practice because I may have to compete with the German women's team. Sigh.

And sorry for the lack of blogging! I quit my job at Aafes to start a new job at a bank. I love it so far. I'm full time this month and I'll be ready for part time hours in September. It is such a relaxing environment and I love the ladies I work with, and my boss is pretty great too.

Dev went back to college this week. I can't believe its been one year since we dropped her off. We've almost been here for a year! Crazy.

Fall was starting but a heat wave has come in. 90 degree temps this week and Germany doesn't have air conditioning. Sigh. It's hot!

Last but certainly not least...Project 12 for July! That's right. I have made it 7 months. Pretty dang proud of myself and I love looking at my album. PS-love the American Crafts glitter paper. It rocks.

Women's World Cup Soccer

Tomorrow marks the day that I've worn the same shirt, without washing, for six days and it shows! I can only cover up beer and brot stains with so many buttons. I feel like I'm living a dream by attending these games and the bonus is that we've gone with friends. Tomorrow we make the drive to Frankfurt for a little sight seeing and soccer.
Unfortunately, Shane won't be with Drake & I. After Wednesday's game we drove straight to Ramstein AFB to drop Dev off to catch a MAC flight. Two days later Shane went up there to join Dev so she could be bumped to a Category III. She was at a IV. IV's hadn't caught a flight at Ramstein in over three weeks. She couldn't sit there for weeks. They are third on the list and would've already left if almost every flight either cancelled or the plane broke. So tomorrow morning there are 7 flights to the east coast. If just half break, they should be good. What happens with Shane? He fly's over and then turns around and tries to get back on another MAC flight. Pretty miserable but there's nothing he wouldn't do for his kids happiness.

While they've been gone I got my scrap on. This layout is based on the challenge from Glitz! To use a background stamp. Unfortunately, I don't have any of their stamps but some Rollerdoodles. So I stamped some butterflies with the Number Rollerdoodle. I love how their sticker sheets have little alphas with preset sayings or titles. I wanted to showcase them in a different way so I clipped them. I love the look. I had been hoarding this paper. I love it. Love the color and the polka dots. Check out their blog. =)

A Great Week!

Shane is home from his third deployment to Iraq and he flew in on Independence Day! I think it was his easiest deployment. Not being gone for a year, staying in a place with access to a pool, a more relaxed schedule. He came home looking healthy and tan. We joke with him that he got a spray on. It's always nice to say hello again and feel like your family is whole again. There's always that nagging piece missing while they are away. Things you wish they were there for. Etc. We celebrated the 4th at the base here in Germany. We got together with friends from Shane's work. It was awesome to celebrate with a bunch of Americans.
Yesterday we headed off to Augsburg Germany, Shane's birthplace, to watch Sweden play Australia. If the US had beaten Sweden we would've watched the US play Sweden but it wasn't meant to be and thank goodness because the game against Brazil was an exciting one. We were in a mad dash to get home to watch the game and knew we were going to miss it so we opted to stop at an Italian restaurant to catch the game. They were so accommodating for us. Seating us right under the TV and putting up with our cheers for the team and jeers at the ref. Watching the world cup has been our family, Janet and Ron and Brandi and Gregg. As soon as the game was over we called Drake to purchase us tickets to the USA V. France game. We got 'em. On Wednesday we'll be making the four hour trip north  to cheer on USA in the quarter finals. Awesome sauce.
On Saturday we headed to Shane's work for the annual pig roast. It was so much fun. No. Drake is not on his toes. He is getting taller or Shane is shrinking. I love my family.  Have you ever made cupcakes in ice cream cones? I will only make them this way from now on. So much easier to eat!
On Thursday Dev will be heading back to the states. I have enjoyed her being here. It went by too fast. She doesn't start school until August BUT she wants to hang with her friends some. We're gonna miss her but that is our life now. We are in the countdown for Drake to head out next summer. They grew up so fast.

Last but not least is my June layout for Project 12. This is the farthest I have gotten and I am committed to this yearly assignment. I am so thankful for those who run it. For this Project 12 I focused on our trip to Rome. I mentioned the rest of the month in journaling. I will never forget that trip.