Historical Burgenfest Manderscheid

Just down the road from our house is the Manderscheid Castle Ruins.  Once a year they hold a festival there that reconstructs life in the middle ages or a Renaissance Festival.  Is there a better place to have one than on the very ground that held events like this thousands of years ago. 

In the main area there were booths with food and entertainment.

In the castle ruins is where they set up merchant booths.

Some of the entertainment included jugglers and singers.

And of course the joust.

52 Dental Squadron Picnic

All the way back to the beginning of July the 52nd Dental Squadron hosted a picnic for all the service members and their families. 

In the Air Force there is a tradition of "Hail and Farewell".  This is an opportunity for command to welcome in the newcomers to the unit and also to say goodbye to those moving on.  It has been our experience (on large bases) that this is more of an announcement or FYI situation.  Not on Spangdahlem though.  Nope here you are introduced by your sponsor and then you get to say a few words.  Usually this takes the form of where your last duty station was, where you will be working, and your family.  Well, between both our sponsor, Jake Atwood (who we have known for 10 years), and Doug our family was not introduced like the others.  So in my typical mild way, I speak up introducing myself and the boys with the closing remark that we are the family that Doug is "so proud of".  Needless to say I made an impression.  Not only on co-workers but also commanders.  I am still being referred to as the wife that introduced herself. 

   

There were lots of activities to participate in but my favorite was seeing the boys suit up in Sumo wrestling gear meant for adults and try to take each other down.  I may have to invest in a set.

Dan trying to get the gloves on

Nate can't see without his glasses with his wig/head gear falling down

Trip to Trier

Train Station in Spiecher

  Our first sightseeing trip in Germany was to Trier.  Trier is the oldest city in Germany known by locals as the city started 1,013 years before Rome.  It has so much history.  We took a train to Trier to teach us how to use the train. It was a great experience and nice not to have to worry about wrong turns, getting off on the wrong traffic circle exit, or where to park.

Train Tracks at Spiecher Station

The scenery is so green.  But you pay for the greenness with rain and boy did it rain the morning of our adventure.

Dom (Catholic Cathedral) 

 Have you ever been someplace and asked yourself if you are really there.  I stood outside the Dom in tears, amazed that I was actually standing outside something so amazing.  Dreams do come true.

Street in Trier

You can see all different building periods in Trier.  I love how they all come together in an eclectic mix that says it is comfortable with their past while continuing onto the future.

Basilica 

The Basilica dates back to Roman times when Trier was the capital of Western Rome.

Wall inside the Basilica 

On the walls you could see the marks put into the brick so that marble could be attached.

Ceiling inside the Basilica

The building is three stories high and the roof is amazing.  

After walking around in the rain we enjoyed a huge German lunch.  The overall favorite was the tomato soup which I was quickly told that I needed to find a recipe so I can make it.

There was so much more to see but we figured that this was a must stop for all our friends and family when they come to visit that we will be able to see much, much more on future visits. 

Pumpkin Family Home Evening

Yesterday our family was invited by the Rosborough's for Family Home Evening.  We enjoyed dinner together and then had a lesson about being a Christian.  Now pumpkins and being a Christian may not seem like they go together but leave it to Mormons to use anything as an object lesson.

So here is the lesson:

A lady recently being baptized was asked by a co-worker what it was like to be a Christian. She replied, "It's like being a pumpkin:
God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off that you may have gotten from the other pumpkins.
Then he cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff.
He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.
Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

1. Take a pumpkin. "You aren't a pumpkin, but all of us are something like one. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off that you may have gotten from the other pumpkins." Talk about how a pumpkin is like us: it has an outside and an inside. The outside is what people see. The inside is like our soul or our heart. A pumpkin left to itself will soon rot and die. We will die some day too." 

2. Carve out eyes and a small "o" shaped mouth.  As you make the holes and pull out the pieces of rind, ask people what they see inside (yucky stuff). "This is what we look like to others and what we are like when are hearts are not changed. The hearts of men are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live (Ecclesiastes 9:3). How can we get rid of this icky stuff?" 

3. "God is the only one who can change our heart. But in order for God to change our heart we must become open to him." Carve an opening in the top of the pumpkin big enough to put your hand through. You might want to quote Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 

4. Put in your hand and pull out the insides. "God scoops out all the yucky stuff inside of us. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, impurity, and greed." Talk about the cross and how Jesus was willing to become messy for us, so that we might be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:25b-27). 

5. "But if we leave a pumpkin with just the insides taken out, then it's just hollow. We need to have a light inside that will truly make us alive! Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' Add a light to the inside of the pumpkin. "When Jesus lives inside of you, you can glow! You will want to be kind and honest. You will want to please God, to help others, and to tell other people about your Friend and Lord." 

6. At this point you might want to carve the mouth into a smile! "God carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Holmes Family Reunion

Spring break found us headed to Show Low, Arizona for the Holmes Family Reunion.  Bryant and Stephanie spearheaded this get together with amazing results.  

They found a huge house to rent for a week, then coordinated activities and meals. 

 We played games, went to the park, read books, ate lots of good food, went 4 wheeling, shot guns, went on bike rides, and hung out.  It was nice to get away for a while. 

Sea World with Papa and Taty

On their trip to move Kate to Houston, Papa and Kate stopped for a day in San Antonio.  After weighing our options for entertainment we headed out to Sea World.  Shamu was visited.  We saw the Azul show that had many technical difficulties.  Matt, Doug, Kate, and I went on one of the water rides.  But by far the best part of the day was riding the Steel Eel.  

Doug and Matt had already been on the ride before on a previous visit and decided to sit it out.  (Should have tipped me off.)  Nate took a good look at the ride and decided that it wasn't for him.  So it was up to the fantastic four of Dan, Kate, Papa, and I to concur the roller coaster.  With no wait in line, none of us had enough time to change our minds.  On the ride we go and I start playing tour guide pointing out Downtown San Antonio and Wilford Hall on the Air Force Base that you can see as you ascend the roller coaster.  The last thing I hear is Kate telling Dan that it would all be over in one minute.  For the next 60 seconds all I could think is "Don't cry!!!  It will freak Dan out!!!  AHHHHHHH!!!!"  After the longest minute of my life we got off the ride and I thought for sure that my knees were going to buckle, crumpling me on the platform so I could sit a sob quietly.  (Needless to say I'm not big on roller coasters.)  My only happy thought was the smile that was stretched from ear to ear on Dan's face.

 Kate and Matt thought that they needed to imitate the flamingos.  

We had a great time with Papa and Kate.

Track Day

Doug has been doing track days now for a little while.  Most of the time he just loads up his bike into the bed of his truck and off he goes, but Dan is taking after his dad as far as being a little bike crazy.  Since Doug can't ride his bike and ride herd on the kids at the same time I go out to the track with him about twice a year. 

While Doug is on the track we keep ourselves entertained with lunch, card games, books, and talking to the others at the track.

Doug of course is trying to lower his lap time.

I am trying to keep the boys from injuring one another.

But the best part is seeing this smile on my guys faces.

Westcreek Picnic

Currently we live in a community called Westcreek.  It has a very active Homeowners Association that holds a yearly picnic for the community.  This is the first year that we have attended.  Nate was off on his first scout camp out, so it was Matt, Dan and I that went to the picnic.  Doug decided that staying home and mowing the yard would be more fun.  The boys and I first visited with the county fire department.  Matt and Dan were able to sit in the brand new fire truck. 

There were also a lot of games for the kids to play. For the younger children they had a bouncy house, pony rides, and mini train rides.  The older kids could enjoy the mobile video game station or the giant hamster ball. 

Dan took his turn in the plastic hamster ball.

But the favorite game among the older kids was where they were able to get Velcro bean bags out of giant noses and throw them at each other to see if they could get the bean bags to stick.  My boys were all over that one.

Deployed Family Activity

One of the reasons we decided to stay in San Antonio during Doug's deployment was the great support that the Air Force has for deployed families.  While he has been gone we have received calls from commanders, holiday baskets from his unit, dinner with other deployed families from the base, and a great family night out.  These are just a few of the activities and outreaches available to families of deployed members. 

The last event we got to participate in before Doug got home was a "Jump It Out" night at Pump It Up. 

The Willford Hall Auxiliary (non-profit support group) sponsored the event and great fun was had by all.



Alamo, Riverwalk, and Downtown

Cool Aunt Jen had three goals for her trip to San Antonio.  The first was to hear someone say "Ya'll", the second was to see the Alamo, and the third was to have a gentleman in a white Stetson tip his hat.  We had failed on all three goals until Monday.  Monday was suppose to be a sunny, 65 degree day.  The reality was once again a cloudy, cold day but there was no stopping us.  We headed down to the Alamo.

CA Jen and the boys going into the Alamo where we were able to listen to a presentation about the Alamo and the battle that took place.

After visiting the Alamo, we walked around downtown and headed to the Riverwalk.  We decided to have lunch on the patio of an Italian restaurant where we were invited to eat by a lady that said "Ya'll" to us.  They had the outdoor heater cranked up and blankets for us to put over us to stay warm while we ate overlooking the river.

After lunch we walked around the government buildings and visited the Cathedral of San Fernando were the remains of the Heroes of the Alamo are said to lie.  I was very impressed with my boys as we entered the Cathedral.  They were reverent and reflective.  It was nice to see that they can behave appropriately when needed.

The only disappiontment of the outing was that there wasn't a Stetson to be seen.  Maybe next time.

A Sunday Drive

After church on Sunday, we decided to go a neighborhood tour since Cool Aunt Jen wanted to see the different areas of San Antonio.  The San Antonio Cultural Division has these neat self guided tours of three different neighborhoods.  We decided to take the Westside Neighborhood tour which looked really interesting because the bulk of it was murals that were painted on the side of buildings.  So even with overcast skies and cooler tempatures, we set out on our adventure.

The first mural depicted San Antonians that had made a contribution to music.

The second mural was a salute to the San Antonians that served in the Vietnam War.

As we visited these murals CA Jen and I would jump out of the car to get a closer look at the murals and take some pictures.  It was after getting back into the car after looking at this mural that we found the car would not start.  After a few tries with little results, we said a prayer and hoped for the best.  Again, the car would not start so with CA Jen's cell phone in had (yes, I had forgotten mine in my church bag) we called a tow truck and Bro. Cole, one of our dear home teachers.  Since we were not in one of the nicest neighborhoods in San Antonio, I was anxious to get my family home.  We were blessed with a very nice tow truck driver who recommended getting my battery looked at once the car had been towed.  Bro. Cole provided us a ride home and all was right with the world.  The lesson I learned was before you head out on an adventure make sure your battery is up to the experience too.