Shared Living Quarters

I am so thankful for a nice roof the military provides for over my head. But... sometimes the frustrations of shared living areas are so annoying.

Right now I am doing laundry. Someone decided to start some system where you mark your washers so people know who is using them and if you leave your clothes down there to long, they will come knock on your door. Which has been helpful because usually when I do my laundry I end up finishing someone else's because they don't come and put there clothes in the dryers. But it was also created because the nasty people that live around us like to leave dog/cat feces in the washers. Isn't that what we all want to wash our clothes with? Tonight when I was doing laundry I opened a washer to find the lovely gift of vomit. And guess what? They didn't put their sticker on it to let us know who it was. I am not exactly sure why we aren't able to clean up after ourselves. But more than that, I am not exactly sure why we are vomiting or putting cat/dog feces in the washers in the first place. Nasty people.

My dishwasher is also being complicated. Luckily I have my own and don't have to share that...haha. It isn't getting the dishes clean anymore. It is very sad, I have really enjoyed having a dishwasher, and that word not meaning "Beth." Today I washed the dishes by hand while Kyle "fixed" the dishwasher, washing by hand reminded me how thankful I am for that appliance in my home. I am know attempting to wash the same dishes for the third time I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will work.

I can't just complain about military housing or shared living, because we really are fortunate to have all be do, and I must say they have given us nicer housing than I expected, plus we get the following:

1. No electricity bills (however, that means that the military turns off the heat when they feel like it and turn it back on when they feel it is cold enough.)

2. No water bills

3. No garbage pick-up bills

4. No rent

5. Free maintenance and up-keep. That means if something breaks, we call and they come and fix it. Also we have this cool thing called "self-help," it is a free store. You can get light bulbs, paint, nuts/bolts, basically anything you could need to help take care of the home.

6. When it comes time to move (which is all to often) they pack all your things and move them for you at no cost. Plus they unpack them too!

Alright, well I guess it is back to the laundry. I really let it pile up and think I will be staying up later than usual to finish/fold it. Luckily I got about a 3 hour nap today.

Back to the Grind

Well, playtime is over and it has been back to work for Kyle and Beth for about two weeks now. This means the alarm is back to going off at 5:30 in the morning...yuck! Luckily we both are really close to work, so we don't have to get up any earlier. I (Beth) am back in Kindergarten at Schweinfurt Elementary School. It has been a crazy start to the year. I have one student who is pretty wild. Any day I am not physically assaulted by him we consider it a good day...in two weeks this has only happened once (a half day). I have a class of 14 boys and 6 girls, by the end of this week I should be up to 8 girls. So many boys makes for a crazy time. But I really do love them all and hope that this year I can make our classroom a safe and stable place for them as their dads get ready to deploy. All but two of my kids have dads getting ready to leave for another year long deployment. Oh yes, I have already gotten a nasty virus and am currently fending off a sore throat, I have to get back into the habit of washing my hand constantly with those little germ carriers. Kyle is back doing whatever it is he does. I am not really sure what they do all day, I know they have PT in the morning and I think the rest of the time he just sits around. He did take a driving class last week, which he wasn't to thrilled about. He is busy studying for the promotion board and just found out he has a slot in pathfinder school so now will be studying for that too. Just in case you didn't know (like me) Pathfinders are paratroops who are dropped into place before a major operation in order to place and operate navigational devices to assist the primary drop of paratroops. It is suppose to be a very difficult school...they have a test every day. He is also working out extra hard hoping to go to Special Forces selection or Ranger school. To sum it up...he is crazy.

Visit to Pottenstien

Yesterday Kyle and I went to a little village called Pottenstien. It is a little over an hour drive from our home. We went to check out the Teufelshohle Cave (Devil's Cave). This cave has been part of legends and folklore around our area for centuries. Inside the cave they have found prehistoric animals including bears, and a mammoth. We really had a good time. We were told that their would be an English tour via a speaker system. I thought it would be one of those things that you put up to your ear and listened to, not to disturb anyone. But when we arrived at out tour, it was all in German, I asked the guide about English and she instructed us that she would play the English version for us after she did the German part and we would just meet them in the next room. So our English tour came on the loud speaker and echoed throughout the cave, it was like..."HELLO...American's are here!" It didn't exactly say that, but it might as well have.
After the cave we got a chance to ride the alpine coaster and the toboggan run. They were so much fun. Kyle and I rode together hoping that the weight of the two of us would make us go faster. It helped alot, we always seemed to be catching up to the people in front of us, at which point we would have to slow down so we didn't run into them. Once you get in your coasterbob you get pulled up to the top of the mountain, then at the top you get to control how fast you go and at any point you can hit your breaks. We used our breaks as little as possible, at times I was sure we were going to go flying off the tracks.I have included a video that shows both the coaster and tobaggan ride down. I have also posted a few pictures from the cave. Enjoy!

My 25th Birthday

Today was my 25th birthday. It is nice to have Kyle home to celebrate it with. He really worked hard to make it a special day for me. After church I got to take a nap...which I love, a Sunday afternoon nap, nothing quite compares to that. He wanted to take me out to the lake for a picnic but due to the weather we had to have the picnic inside. He even put down a quilt with blankets over it so it would feel more like grass.
So tonight, he blew me away with his baking and cooking skills. I must say I was a little leary when I heard him say..."Hmm...I think cake needs butter."
He cooked me a dinner of teriyaki burgers w/ a side of pineapple and cheese {interesting sides, but good none the less.) He also wasn't sure what I would want to drink, so he placed in front of me every drink we had in the refrigerator. I had my choice of cream soda, fresca, chai tea, and a mocha frappacino. He wanted me to drink them all, but there was no way. He then made me my birthday cake and decorated it with marshmellows. He had the kitchen door closed when he was decorating the cake, and I was preparing myself for the worst to come out of the kitchen. There was a lot of noise coming from inside. Apparently I don't give him enough credit because I thought the cake was really cute and he even sang happy birthday to me. Kyle did a great job and I really loved everything he did for me. This was the first time he has ever cooked anything besides macaroni and cheese with brats in it for me, so I am really impressed (I told him he secret was out that he can cook). Thanks for making my birthday special Kyle!
I have included some pictures from our "picnic" for all of you.

1 Tick + 2 raw Ankles + 3 Blisters + 4 sore legs = Hiking 95 km in Austria

We returned from our hiking trip to Austria this past Wednesday. We had a great time and overall really enjoyed ourselves. Austria was beautiful and waking up each morning surronded my the beautiful alps was breath taking. For now I am just going to post one picture from each hiking day. We have a lot to sort through, hopefully soon, I can go through them all and get started with a scarpbook.
Kyle has a about 2 more weeks off then it is back to work for him. I have a dentist appointment both Monday and Tuesday then it is back to work for me on Wednesday. Luckily the school is just across ths street, so we won't be to far away from each other.
I hope the rest of your are enjoying you last few weeks of summer!

95 km. Here we come!

It is official. Kyle and I will be hiking 95 km in Austria starting this Wednesday. The Austria Travel Bureau started this program called "Hiking without luggage." We will be doing a self guided hike for 95 km over a period of 7 days. We will start in Salzburg and travel to villages throughout the alps. Kyle's block leave starts on Monday so we will probably take off Tuesday to drive to Austria.
Also over his leave we are hoping to go on a whitewater and canyoning trip (this will depend on my work schedule). It sounds like fun.
I am sure I will post pictures once we return. We are really excited and super happy that someone else will be transporting out luggage to each stop for the day. That will make things nice and much easier!

Memories around the Table!

I am sitting here anxiously waiting our new dinning room table to be delivered. As I can hardly wait for it to get here, I am sad to see our old table go as it has a lot of memories. Our table is meant for two people. It is very small, however, in our last apartment it hardly even fit. We couldn't even have the little extensions out on both ends without rearranging all the living room furniture. Some of the great memories this table has had part in:
1. My parents helping me move back to TN and picking the table out with me. We pretty much got it because it was the only one that was small enough.
2. Kyle coming home from Iraq deployment number 2.
3. Thanksgiving dinner with 6 people around the table. (Kyle and I plus 4 single soldiers who didn't go home for Thanksgiving)
6. Fondue Nights with our Fort Campbell Friends
7. Moving to Germany
8. Dinners other every night with Lacey to help pass the time while our husbands were deployed. The table saw a lot of tears and laughter these past 14 months.
9. Kyle returning from his deployment to Afghanistan
10. Finally, the table is where Kyle and I gather together everynight and enjoy each others company and food!
While it is just a table, it still represents a lot of things. I look forward to our new table and many more great memories! I will put pictures up for the table once it is here. The benches and seating had to be ordered, so it won't be here for about a month, so I suppose I wait until it is all complete to share.
Finally I ask...Why are German's to cool to have air conditioning? I am dying here!

It's good to be together again!

I must say, it is great having Kyle back home. It feels surprisingly normal already to have him back at home. They say it takes 12-16 months for a marriage to normalize after a deployment. That is a really long time, and after 4 days things are already seemingly normal.
My parents came back to Germany Saturday night from their week in England and then we said goodbye to them around 4 am this morning. (we put them on a shuttle to the airport...haha, at least I hope it was the shuttle we put them on. The driver didn't speak any English, but was more than willing to take the money)
Kyle is working in the mornings, he has about 3 days left of reintegration and I am Captain Beth at Whipcrack Island Games for Bible School. My helpers in VBS are three teenage boys, talk about a crazy time and in 3 hours we see about 150 kids for games.
We are looking forward to his block leave from Aug. 1 - Sept. 1, I think we will be going hiking in Austria. This is the plan, however we haven't completely decided yet. I guess we will see. For right now, are busy in the morning and hanging out and enjoying each other's company in the afternoon.
I am including a picture of my parents here in Schweinfurt next to on of the pigs. There is also a not go great picture of Kyle and myself next to the old city wall here in town. I decided I would post it just to prove he really is home. I will have to get other pictures from my parents. They took a lot more of us downtown.

Back Home

Kyle is finally back home after a long 15 months. We are enjoying our time together. Kyle has 7 half days starting tomorrow for reintergration. It is so great to have him back safe and sound.
I really don't have any pictures. Just one of the guys entering the gym. Between the cheering, and 30 second cermony I guess I didn't take time to take any pictures. I was running on no sleep at 4 in the morning when he arrived. I still haven't gotten more than 2 hours of sleep. I guess I will sleep well tonight.

Kyle is on his way HOME!

I just got the phone call I have been waiting for. Kyle is finally on his way home!!!They are expecting him to arrive between 1 and 3am. I can hardly wait. The emotions are so overwhelming, it will be so great to be back in his arms!

Disappointment

Kyle isn't coming home today apparently. I am not sure why, there is a group of guys headed home that should be landing soon, but Kyle is not on the flight. It is pretty disappointing. I have been really anxious all day waiting to hear he was on his way. I guess I never got my phone call because he wasn't on the flight. I got an email a while ago confirming that there are no C Troop Soldiers on this airplane. So now I really have no idea when he is coming. I know it will be soon, it is just hard to wait!

Popcorn and a Movie!

Hopefully this is the last time for a while that I enjoy popcorn and a movie alone.
It is hard for me to believe that in about one day I will be a married woman again. Not that I haven't been married, maybe I will just feel a little more married. Kyle and I have spent more time apart in our 3 years of marriage than we actually have together. He has been deployed for 2 years and 3 months of our marriage.
Tomorrow Kyle should be returning, hopefully. Nothing is ever really certain until he is in the air...but hopefully in a few hours he will be on his final stretch home. I can't possibly explain all of the different emotions that I experience during this time. But mainly I am just plain EXCITED!!!
On a different and sad note, please continue to pray for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. As you may have heard on the news 9 soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. Please keep their families in your prayers. These are guys from Kyle's Brigade and they should have been headed back home within the next couple weeks. I can't imagine being in their families shoes right now, all I can do is pray from them to have the strength to get through this.

The End is Near!

I just finished taking my parents to the airport for their trip to England. I was suppose to be joining them and am dissappointed I was unable to go with them, but VERY excited for the reason I was unable to go with them.
KYLE IS COMING HOME! Kyle should be leaving Afghanistan soon and on his way home. I don't know exactly when he will be coming in, but I know it is this week. I can hardly wait!
My parents arrived on Tuesday. On Wednesday we took a 3.5 hour drive to Wolfsburg to visit Julia's (their exchange students) family. On Thursday we went to the AutoStadt and took a tour of the VW factory. We then drove home Thursday evening. Yesterday we drove to Wuerzburg and I took them to the Residenz and we enjoyed lunch downtown. IN the evening we enjoyed a dinner with my two best friends here Lacey and Fran. This morning at 5:30am we headed to the Frankfurt Airport. It was my first time driving there and we got there very smoothly, I was very nervous. On the way home I got stuck in a STAU (traffic jam) for quite some time. I thought about just pulling over and taking a nap. Now that I am finally home, I will nap this morning (it is to late to go to church now, I would be very late) and then after the nap go grocery shopping. I have had a great time with my parents and am sorry I don't get to spend more time with them, but the excitement of Kyle returning helped make it easier not to go with them. They will return on Saturday and head back to the States on Monday morning. But for now, I just wait for my phone call telling me Kyle is on his way home!