A Snails Life.....

Some one said to me recently that I could blog about ANYTHING I laughed and said nah I am sure there was something out there that I couldn't blog about....
I pretty much have been in HIGH SPEED GO GO GO Mode since hitting this post...the truth is even when my body didn't have the OOMPH to GO GO GO my mind was making up for it...I truly believe a mind is a horrible thing to waste....
So after doing high speed now for 10 months I just got back from a 5 day conference it was for a phenomenal group called AWAG Americans Working Around the Globe we had jam packed 5 classes a day, networking lunches, there were speakers and themed dinners...so sometimes we didn't eat until close to 9PM by the time we made it through the buffet lines, then back to our rooms to fall into bed to catch a few hours a sleep before we had to be up, fed and back into the classroom by 8:30AM to do it all over again...I learned alot there from the speakers, I learned about resiliency, bereavement, children's education as well as mine, FRG, spouses clubs, Volunteerism, leadership roles within the Army and Military communities, savings & investments, deployments, about services offered to military members, BOG, board meetings, how to save on meat...but one of the best things that I learned is that to prevent burn out in volunteers they need to feel appreciated, only say yes to things they feel passionate about, only put in as much time as they can, not to over commit, to use your talents, skills but know your weaknesses, keep your priorities in mind...yourself and your family...
You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of others....so breath, relax, enjoy a hobby, read a book, take nap, go for a walk...hence we get to why this is titled A Snails Life...
The girls found a snail about a month ago I figured this snail would be a goner with in a day or two however a month later and the snail is still kicking lol ok maybe slithering...which got me to thinking about the fast pace I have been going...I don't rush around I just sort of bounce from place to place...high speed doing this and that for this person or that person along the way some thing always comes up which I just add to my to do list...
So Snaily comes out of his shell, he is tiny, moves slowly but still manages to make it all the way to where ever it is that it is trying to get to...

it might take the snail awhile at the slower pace but he still manages to get there...so maybe going a little slower in life won't kill me or anyone else...maybe the snails success can be learned from...slow and steady still gets it done...

Snaily traveled all the way around the bucket rim to get to the drop of water the girls had fun cheering snaily on...go Snaily, you can do it, good job Snaily as I listen to my girls seriously cheering a snail on while it slithers it's way around the lid I remember sitting in class hearing the instructor saying that cheering, praising and acknowledging our volunteers keeps them happy and motivated....preventing burnout.....
So if my girls can cheer a snail on and it makes it to it's goal line......imagine what some praise can do for a volunteer, a friend, a family member or a new spouse..lol I know I always end up saying something about new spouses...it's my mantra say HELLO to your new neighbor or the new wife at the commissary you could really be the one person to make living where ever you live more welcoming...be a spark of inspiration, of friendliness and of volunteerism.....

Edelweiss Lodge & Resort another Army perk for living in Germany

When we first got here I heard the words "marriage retreat" and thought pish posh we don't need to go on a marriage retreat there is nothing wrong with our marriage....however as always my opinions on some things change with time so we decided to take the girls and go on a marriage retreat...

Living in Germany is wonderful there are so many opportunities that are available to families being Posted here. 1 travel travel travel I don't think I could possibly say it enough ...being posted in Germany is amazing due to it's centralized location to every where...you are in driving distance to pretty much any country that you might be interested in visiting or a quick flight if you aren't into road trips. 

So being stationed here in Germany our marriage retreats are at Edelweiss Lodge & Resort in Germany..

 Now let me tell you a little about the location it is on the Germany/Austria border in the Alps it has majestic views and adventures galore....

YES you seriously can brag that you hiked the Alps or went to the Alps to all those family & friends who are vicariously living through your adventures over here but even more awesome is you yourself or if you are blessed with children are having a once in a lifetime experience years from now when we no longer live here my girls will be able to say I have lived in Europe, I have been to x,x & x countries and I have hiked the Alps :D to me the sacrifices we make are worth the amazing adventures that we are having over here...

    Now as for the marriage retreat part we had a huge group class it was more like a mixer with couples and group table projects it was a lot of fun...I will say it was lot more fun then I thought it would be..I was thinking it would be more like being preached to, or therapy like or having all our marital details picked over and scrutinized lol but it wasn't any of those things in fact we watched Mark Grungor 's laugh your way to a better marriage seminar it was funny ...The retreat was wonderful and I could ramble on for hours with every little detail about our stay there and I will toss some key highlights ups on the bottom about the lodge...a little plug for things we loved or could of passed on lol
We ended our marriage retreat part of our stay by joining together with some friends and renewing our vows at the resort with the Alps as a back ground....a wonderful way to end out the retreat...

This is a photo of some of the family when we first arrived looking a little rugged from the long drive to the lodge...listening to the kids say " Are we there yet?" lol

We however chose to stay an additional day since we had made plans to go on another adventure...which I will detail in another blog :D

REASONS TO SIGN UP FOR A RETREAT:
FREE ROOM
FREE VACATION ONLY MEALS YOU PAY FOR IS YOUR LUNCH
PLAN IT RIGHT YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS LOL
MAKE NEW FRIENDS
SPEND SOME QUIET QUALITY TIME WITH YOUR SPOUSE
FREE CHILD CARE
CHANCE TO SEE A NEW PLACE

LODGE & RESORT POSITIVES
ROOMS ARE NICE
VIEW IS AMAZING
THE JAZZ BRUNCH ON SUNDAY AT PULLMANS IS AMAZING AND WORTH THE MONEY
THE BUFFET RESTAURANT THERE MAKES KIDS HAPPY SINCE THEY HAVE A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING
INDOOR SWIMMING POOL ADULTS N CHILDREN
HUGE HOT TUB OUTSIDE IS AMAZING
STARBUCKS BY THE POOL LOL
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING A GARMISCH TSHIRT OR HOODIE BUY THEM ACROSS THE ROAS AT THE PX THEY ARE SOOO MUCH CHEAPER

3rd Battalion Winter Ball Quick Strike Storck Barracks Illesheim Germany

Never far are the memories we share with our friends...The ball was very nice I so would of enjoyed myself more if my tail bone wasn't killing me thanks to falling down the stairs 2 weeks prior to the ball I  broke my tail bone ...so long periods of sitting on hard chairs was wreaking havoc on my tail bone...ouchie however it was a wonderful night and I had a great time..beautiful local, everyone dressed up, good food, great laughs and wonderful memories to be shared..

The boys looked all Snazzy dressed up absolutely dashing gents and for the most part they were on their best behavior...

The table settings were impressive however the napkins were so big that they sort of got in the way no one really knew what to do with it when you took it out of the wine glass...one of the guys sat on his to squish it so it would lay flat on the table...inventive ...lol

My friends looked beautiful all dressed up I am glad they had a good night they all deserved it...Laura C, Ashlie P and Kelly B..the prettiest friends a girl could have..

Kelly B at some point her husband disappeared it was funny because the guys were circling Johns dish of food cause he hadn't come to eat it yet...the guys are vultures never leave your food unattended lol
I love her smile

The Army might claim them as my husbands battle buddies but in reality they are just as much my battle buddies..I will forever love each and everyone of these guys...thank you boys for always having my back as well as Pachenkos

There is nothing better then ending the night in the arms of a man who loves you with his whole being...not a day goes by that I don't thank God for blessing me with a wonderful husband, healthy & happy daughters and amazing friends... At times being a soldier keeps us physically apart but when you have trust, love, faith no distance can take that away...

A Sad Fairwell............

I wasn't sure if I was going to blog about this or not but I think to not blog about it would be to deny it happened to deny Blazers impact on his family, his friends, his Co, his neighbors and his community. It was not an average day on our Post...
When Command put the word out that Sgt Blazer had died in an accident while hiking on a marriage retreat  like every one else I had instant disbelief. He was young, healthy, friendly and cute no way I just talked to him the other morning we joked about it being too cold, too early to be out with dogs joking about dog poop and our dogs that was our last conversation...but I will forever be grateful that I have that memory of him laughing and busting jokes...
The first time since the accident that I saw his wife Denise was 2 days after the accident I brought dinner over to her ..
never in my life have I stood at the commissary praying to make the right dinner decision what do you make someone for dinner who just lost their husband in such a tragedy..I stood there wondering if I make this will it upset her, does she hate this food, what does she like, will this remind her of her husband in some way the last thing I wanted to do is hurt or upset her.
I made a pot of beef stew I'll admit I high fived myself when I later heard she actually ate it and loved it..later I did a shift on the care team and what I learned in my few hours there with her was that she actually made me feel better how so you might wonder well one she told many stories of life with her husband, she laughed, joked and just made things easy.
One of my biggest things was the holidays coming up the truth is after the death of a loved one life does go on with Thanksgiving fast approaching I had guilt over the idea of her being hurt by people celebrating around her it was a wasted thought..she talked about the previous holidays and how much fun they had.
Command had a memorial service here on Post at the battalions hanger it was rough I saw many of our friends struggling to hold back tears, the video photos were wonderful but roll call crushed me as we walked up front to pay our respects I left my double interlocking heart earring on top of the dozens of name tags left by the soldiers..to me the one sole earring I have will be a constant reminder of their love and to live each day to the fullest, to savor moments with my husband, my girls and my friends..
Denise was able to get Blazer back to the states during the week of Thanksgiving which I know was a relief to her and the rest of his family now he is home in his final resting place.
Thanksgiving came we had a huge group about 30 people most of them guys from Blazers Co I will tell you this never in my life have I been so impressed it was a great holiday and the guys who knew Blazer shared some stories..
Christmas is right around the corner I still have the nagging guilt that celebrating will bother her but I know Denise would say thanks for the thoughts but knock it off and celebrate Christmas like you are meant too..
I am proud to call her my friend she truly has been an inspiration to me and to many of our friends. She has a strength that astounds me and I pray if I ever were in her shoes to be half as strong as her.
What I hope people take away from this is what Denise said to me right before I walked out the door..Live life, don't put things off, Love, tell people you love them, Laugh, have fun, hug.. you never know what could happen the next minute or right around the next corner...
So I say to you I love you..pass it on to the people you love....

A Saturday at our post ....a night in with family & friends...

I have never been the type of person who has to go..go..go all the time I am perfectly content staying at home spending time with my family or having friends over for dinner and some laughs. Don't get me wrong we love to go out and explore but sometimes it's nice to just have a quiet stay at home weekend. The perfect example this weekend was sort of a blend of out n about and quiet night in. After finding out our good friends the BeSexys have never gone to any of the German stores I felt obligated to introduce them to the uber awesome Kauflands the produce is wonderful, the meat department well stocked, the cashiers are nice and well it's German so they have all the German food staples so it's the place to go to try new foods..So of course we loaded up the van at lunch time and made a doner run an amazing Turkish delight..We took our twins along for the ride and as you can see they LOVED the Doner :D

After eating savory Doners from the best Doner stand in Germany which is located in Bad Windsheim we
then went to Kauflands. Kauflands is like a walmart groceries and everything else it is just wunderbar we picked up the fixings for a good Jaeger Schnitzel dinner, Giant tangerine size mushrooms to make the Jaeger sauce, fresh pork which we tenderize, bread and fry to make the Schnitzel and of course my husband Pachenkos favorite Red sauerkraut which also has apple in it...the store is just awesome if you haven't gone definitely check it out..

not too surprising I forgot to get a photo of it all done and assembled ...everyone just dug in too fast maybe next time lol
One of the biggest things I try to get out there to people following my blog is that there is a lot to do here be it walking around quaint little towns, visiting concentrations camps, little German shops or having some friends over to share a meal and some good times with. None of those things have to cost a bundle of money in fact some are free, some cheap and some not that costly at all. I am already planning our next little friendly get together we might actually get to the point where we break out the board games as opposed to sitting, talking and laughing for 4 hours ..
Now to plan on what we are cooking...

A walk through History ..Dachau Concentration Camp

Sometimes I can just be walking down our posts cobble stone main street and I am just amazed that my family has been given this amazing opportunity.  We are surrounded by so much history and wonderful places to visit either as a couple or as a family. One of the places we chose to visit was Dachau Concentration Camp when you walk through the entrance you are just taken back by the sight. Amazingly some of the buildings are still standing and are used as a living museum where you get a glimpse of history. 

This is a model of Dachau Camp it was interesting to see what it looked like when the buildings were still standing. Strolling through the main building which houses the museum you see everything from where the prisoners were brought when they first arrived giving the Nazis there names and information, you see what their uniforms looked like, their food bowls and where they bathed. There are hanging wall displays with the history of Dachau a time line from start to finish.

Walking through Dachau you start to think about what life was like back then for the prisoners, for the Nazis as well as just regular people who lived in the community outside of Dachau. I wasn't bothered too much by the barracks where the prisoners slept pretty much was like a bunk house or Army barracks.

I thought the bathroom area was primitive a little disgusting but still that didn't bother me much either...

I think personally when I really started to be bothered by the place was when we walked to the disinfection chamber

After the Disinfection chamber they would then bring the prisoners to the waiting room

After the waiting room they were ushered into a room that they were told was a shower in reality it was the Gas Chamber

After leaving the gas chamber the prisoners bodies were then taken over to the Krematorium

The last thing that I found disturbing while walking the grounds of the concentration camp was something hidden off the beaten path it was over grown and if you didn't take the time to read the plaque you would completely over look it.

The prisoners were lined up against the wall and shot repeatedly you can see the bullet holes in the wall.

Dachau Concentration Camp offers walking tours for a fee but you can walk through Dachau and the buildings reading the signs and history for free. My personal advice as a parent not really a place for small children with the big open spaces they will have the desire to run. My thoughts are out of respect for people who have lost family or who themselves were prisoners of a concentration camp only bring older children who understand it is a somber place. I would definitely suggest visiting Dachau it is an enlightening educating experience one that I will always remember.

There is more to Germany then Beer..Get off the stool & go for a stroll

One of the things I hate hearing from people stationed in Germany is there is nothing to do but go to pubs and drink well that is not entirely true. Germany is full of history, culture and good food so be adventurous get off the stool and go for a stroll.  One of the first places we ventured to was Rothenburg ob der Tauber here is a little history lesson for you  the name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" means, in German "Red fortress above the Tauber". This is so because the town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber river. As to the name "Rothenburg", some say it comes from the German words Rot (Red) and Burg (burg, medieval fortified town), referring to the red color of the roofs of the houses which overlook the river. The name may also refer to the process of retting ("rotten" in German) flax for linen production. Now my husband Pachenko was excited because it's old and surrounded by a wall (that you can walk on) from the wall you can look out over the town.

As you can see in this Photo the roofs are red and it is an impressive sight 

This photo shows  the walk way as you can see it is narrow in spots ...so watch your step

Once you are done walking the wall you can stroll through the cobble stone streets enjoying the little shops along the way I highly suggest a visit to the Teddy Bear shop which is exactly what it sounds like little teddy bears, medium teddy bears and huge teddy bears, teddy bear clothes, teddy bear ornaments there is something there for all your teddy bear needs...
http://www.teddyland.de/gesch_e.php
Another favorite place we stumbled across was  Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop yes I said it a store all about Christmas it was like walking into the North Pole ornaments, advents, villages, stockings, table runners and incense holders yes I was in heaven I highly suggest that you stop in and stroll through the shop it's like 3 stories so make sure you go upstairs the shop also house coo coo clocks like I said this shop is wonderful...maybe not the best place for little children lol
http://www.wohlfahrt.com/
   I know it's a little scary to go into a shop or cafe you might be scared of not being able to understand the sales people or server from my experience the touristy areas have lots of English speaking employees and we have never had a hard time purchasing items or ordering food. When in doubt when ordering food go with Schnitzel, spatzle or mashed potatoes and a cola you can't go wrong Jaeger Schnitzel is delicious too it's schnitzel covered in a amazing mushroom gravy :D it's so good we have learned to make this at home..

As most of you know I am adventurous so it makes life a little less scary for me I just charge in and blaze my own trail I love new experience, going to new places and meeting new people. I think it's important to make good friends and to be open to new things ....I think it will make families experiences in Germany more pleasant

My highspeed Week this PCS is happening now hooah here I come Germany

Well amazingly my command sponsorship is finished...and just in the nic of time..Go Army lol
The cliff notes version is Pachenko sent an email to ICE on Sunday June 13th & I sent one to Army Family Services about the fact that no one could tell us what was going on with our CS.
  See my husband went to his chain of command and told them on June 1st "my wife got a letter our lease is not going to be renewed she has to be out on the 30th of June" yep gonna be homeless with 7 kids...
Anyways the email went out Sunday well first thing Monday morning we are emailed our CS approval, family orders and an email showing the break down of where are cs was since we turned it in ..it's an awesome time line that I am sharing with my friends so they can actually see the CS process step by step..
So off to housing my husband went on Tuesday the supervisor wasn't there so he went back Wednesday signed for housing, hit transportation and family travel..with in 2 hours my HHG move was set up and scheduled for the 24th & 25th of June and the movers came the next day to do a walk through of our house yikes what a mess..I was starting to think Cs wouldn't happen in time so we had been shoving stuff into boxes, totes & bags just in case I had to move everything into storage at the last minute but thank you to my husbands new Command in Germany for getting this done for me..it is such a relief..
the only kink in this whole thing is I will be here without furniture for 4 days and then we leave on the 30th to drive to Washington Ft Lewis to drop our car off at the Port to ship our POV..
So this means I supervise the movers, then camp out in an empty house for 4 days, then make a 9 hour road trip with 5 kids, spend a night in a hotel, drop off car at port,  spend another night in hotel, hop first plane to Frankfurt 10 hour flight with 5 kids and we have NEVER flown EVER land at Frankfurt Germany then hop another plane to Nuremberg...then hop a ride to our new home at Illesheim just in time to celebrate the 4th of July with Pachenko...
So all  this happened so fast definitely HIGH SPEED..So now I am sitting here doing some more down sizing the movers came yesterday to do a walk through and I told him what was definitely not going with us.
  After finishing the upstairs we went down stairs to the family room he took one look at all the kids my 7 girls and I had 4 additional children over playing he glanced around and said AND ALL THESE TOYS??? LMAO ok so I did tell him that I was going to try to get rid of some more..
I am sitting here going through 5 years worth of saved magazines my keep & toss pile are now equal come on that is better then my previous moves where I said NO WAY I AM KEEPING THEM ALL..after I am done with magazines I am going to work on my books seeI also told the movers I was going to try to get down to 50% on my books...think library and - 50%.
 I am an addict books are my weakness so here I am sitting  trying to get my media down 50% well the mail lady just dropped off my Harlequin box of books...ahhh LML ~{Love My Life}~