Jack

Sorry blog readers -- I haven't had anything new to post about recently! What I have going on is Jack. He's started standing on his own now; I think he'll start taking steps very soon. He's almost 17 months. Maybe he'll beat his dad's late-walking record of 18 months.

Our Holiday Party

We had a good turn out, and I think everyone had a good time. Now I'm really in the Christmas mood.

Thanksgiving

We shared a wonderful meal with our friends, the Bentons, on Thanksgiving Day. Mandy and I each cooked half of it. I really enjoyed cooking all those traditional holiday foods. It was weird, though, celebrating this holiday that was significant to me, but no one around me was celebrating it. All the stores were open, and Germans were going to work as usual. All morning I was thinking of families all across America who were gathering together on this special day. Thank heavens for good American friends! I could not survive here without them.

Please, No More Leftovers!

For Jack's lunch I reheated some leftover vegetable soup that had been leftover for a while (neither Aaron nor I would eat it). Jack was sitting in his high chair ready to eat; I brought the bowl and sat down next to him. He took one look at the soup and started crying. Then he turned back for another look and cried harder. I said, "I understand...I'll make you a sandwich." I threw the rest of the soup away.

Rome

Note: The pictures here are just a taste of what we saw. Email me (or comment) if you would like to see the full album and I will send you the link.

inside the Colosseum

Jack really enjoyed the audio tour.


Roman Forum


St. Peter's Square


Trevi Fountain: Throwing my coin in ensures my return to Rome. It worked last time!
For my siblings, this fountain was the one spoken of in the book/movie/song "Three Coins in the Fountain."

Amalfi Coast

View Larger Map

Aaron and Frank in the kayak

the meat baby foods they had at the local grocery store

Pompeii

Again, this is only a very small part of what we saw. Let me know if you'd like to see more of Pompeii.
This place was amazing! Here is a little more information.

(R) Mount Vesuvius

Happy 50th birthday to the greatest dad a girl could ever have!
I love you, Dad!

Holiday Bazaar

Yesterday we went to a Christmas market on base.

(R) cheese stand -- they had every flavor you could think of. The handmade chocolates also looked divine!

for my mom

(R) Wouldn't you just love to dress a little girl up in this? It was 49 euro!! Nevermind.

I loved all the different types of nutcrackers.

"Halloween, Halloween, lots of fun on Halloween..."

Dear family, I wished I could have sung those songs with you!

We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat party on Halloween night. It started at the time Jack is usually going to bed, so he was very tired, as you can see. Nevertheless, it was fun to be able to celebrate this American holiday here.

My sister sent me this adorable picture of my niece, Hallee. What a cutie!

Misc. Recent Pictures

I was surprised to see this at the Commissary in October. I guess it's that time of year again. Doesn't this carton design look like it's from the '70s?

These are our treacherous stairs that Jack loves to climb up and down. German houses are NOT baby-friendly.

This is what happens to a pumpkin that is left outside in Germany. I was so sad; I expected them to last through Thanksgiving.

This is a stand from the farmers market in Darmstadt. I think these winter squashes are so pretty.

For Jaxon, Jaimie & Dallon:
In that Little Golden Book we have called "Cars," this reminded me of the picture of the huge guy in a little car. He did have his elbow hanging out the window just before I snapped this.