Crazy Little Thing Called Life

More from Germany...

Our Viking River cruise... back in October... was a week long, with most of our time in Germany.
We flew into Amsterdam and then caught a smaller plane to Basel, Switzerland.  We cruised the Rhine from there, 
back to Amsterdam.

Viking had a special reception for return cruisers.

I think this is from Heidelberg.  Honestly, I'm too lazy to get my book and look it up.
I remember I loved visiting here.  Everywhere you walked was beautiful.
And there was a big castle up on the hill... where a really long time ago, lived a king and queen.
Marriages were arranged, and they didn't even speak the same language.  But they fell in love anyway.
The end.

This was from high up at another castle.  Maybe... don't throw rocks and hit people?

This was from Taste of Germany night on the ship.  And he could rock that accordion.
I tried to get Iz some lederhosen, but alas... he said no. :(

Instead of Taste of Germany... they could have just called it meat and beer night.  
Holy cow though... that cutlet thingy was amazing.

Part of the Cologne Cathedral.  Soooooo huge, you can't fit it into one picture.
I think it's 10th largest in the world, or something like that.  Depends on which list you look at.

Anyhow, just a quick peek.  I still have to edit so many pictures.  

Belle is off on a college visit today.  So it's just me and the boys.
Happy Friday!  Happy weekend!

 

happy wednesday!

So the other December 9 event (besides the Army Navy game) was Tolo.  Which for non local people,
is girls ask the boys to dinner and a dance, and pay for everything. ha ha
I think both my children clean up fairly well. ;)

Ian is such a boy.  So not into all the preparation... (Belle pretty much prepped all day).
The whole dressing up, taking pictures... this is a boy who lives in shorts and t-shirts all year long.
So it was nice to see them all fancy.

In other news...

Kate has found a new place to hang out (besides the Christmas tree)...

She's moved in next to Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wise men.

Happy Wednesday!

 

What a weekend!

Let's just start with....

ARMY WINS!!!!!!!

The Commander in Chief's Trophy is back at West Point!!  (Army beat both Air Force and Navy, hence the trophy.)
Woohoo!  But what a nail biter!  It came down to Navy missing a 48 yard field goal attempt.  (Poor kicker.)

The cadets stormed the field, and got to sing second.
If you lose the game, you sing your alma mater first... you want to win and sing second. :)

The Alma Mater always makes me cry.

Happy Cadets.  And oh man, did it snow!
Shelby came from summer in Brazil to this.  And she's pretty happy about it.

Happy Monday!

it's Friday!!

ONE.  Best 3:30am text!

"Mooooooooooom!" 

She's back in New York!  And on her way to West Point as I type this.
There's still lots to do before the bus to the big game tomorrow.  But thank you so much for your 
thoughts and prayers for safe travel!  
I had to laugh.  We didn't buy any international plan for her phone for the 5 months she was there.
She used IME's Wifi.  
Next thing she says to me...
"So I can turn on my cellular data now, right?"
Me:  "Yep!"
"AMERICA!!!  I can text wherever I want!!!!"

Love you Shelby.

TWO.  I got pictures!

The look on Bella's face!  She looks so worried she won't get the cookie JoAnne is bribing encouraging her with.

Oh how I love these pups.  Rocket was so tired from playing yesterday.
He sacked out on the couch for the evening.  The older he gets, the more I realize
he's so much like his mama.

And when Rocket and I drove away, this was the front window:

Can you see them watching?  Don't worry girls, we'll be back!
(We have Christmas presents!) :)

THREE.  Tomorrow.

GO ARMY!  BEAT NAVY!!

Happy Friday!  Happy Weekend!

thursday thoughts...

ONE.  Safe travels.

For Shelby and Annalee as they are heading back to West Point later tonight!  
They have been in Brazil since mid July.  Hopefully Shelby's Portuguese is muy bueno.
Isn't that background beautiful?  I got so many gorgeous beach pictures while she was there.
Hiking too.  
Praying for everything to go smoothly travel wise, so she can get back to West Point...
move into her new barracks (new company, new barracks, new roommates), unpack all her stuff,
and catch the boomerang bus to Philly for the Army Navy game on Saturday.
Go Army!  Beat Navy!

TWO.  The tree is up and decorated.

And I can see the end of the tunnel with Christmas shopping too.  Woohoo!
I still have cards to send out though.  And close to 100 client cards to address for Iz.

THREE.  Totally going to embrace this today.

That's right.
I'm going to visit Starbucks in the afternoon, instead of the morning today.
How's that for bold and new.
Plus it will get me extra plays on the Starbucks for Life game.
Can you even imagine winning Starbucks free for life?  Whaaaaaa?
Or 6 months?  Or even a week?

FOUR.  Rocket has a play date this afternoon.

He gets SO excited to go over to Bliss & JoAnne's house to play with his sister and mama...
that I can't even tell him until right before we go.  
So he has a big surprise coming this afternoon.  Those 3 pups are so sweet together.
I am determined to get a picture today.

Happy Thursday!

Brrr....

It's cold.  Lola is laying in front of the heat vent.  Only because she can't get to it to lay ON it.
And she's snoring.

Yesterday Rocket had his allergy shot.  (He's allergic to cats and dust.)
And we usually celebrate afterwards by going to Starbucks.  Hot chocolate for me.  
Whipped cream neat for him.  It's a thing.

Then we go home and he sighs over and over again while looking out the window.
He's mad I won't roll it down, but it was raining... and I'm mean like that.
Poor dog.  

This morning I have my Mom... and we will hit the Starbucks drive through and then head to Bellingham.
(I don't roll the window down for her either.)  I'm hoping to get a picture of her for my December Daily album.
Happy Tuesday!

oops.

So in my catch up for the Fall, I forgot one little thing in October.
Our Viking River Cruise.  We did the Rhine River this time.  

We kind of selfied our way through Europe.  This was in the Black Forest.  Which was gorgeous.
I'm not sure what I was expecting the Black Forest to be.  Maybe this dark, scary place where the gummy bears come from.
But it was beautiful.
I did not buy a cuckoo clock.  But I could have.

Oh boy, I could have.

They are so detailed!  But I really didn't want to listen to a cuckoo every hour on the hour.
Nor did I want to part with the hundreds of Euros it would have taken to buy one.

I didn't buy him either.  Waaay too big for my suitcase.

So pretty.  And this was just one day in Germany.  There was so much more.
Including my biggest regret of the trip.
This:

You should know I don't even like dark chocolate.  Or grapefruit, for that matter.
I was in the Lindt store in Germany somewhere with a basket full of chocolate.
And at the checkout they were doing samples of this one.  What the heck, I thought.
Best. Stuff. Ever.
Seriously.  So I went back and got a bar.  3 Euros.
I should have bought 10.
Or all they had.
Because they don't sell them in the States.  Germany yes.  Here no. :(
They do have them in Vancouver, BC.  I just don't get up there ever.  Like it might as well be Germany.

I did find a pineapple bar somewhere on Black Friday.  Fred Meyer, maybe?
So that's going in my Christmas stocking.  
But if anyone is heading to Germany........ :)

Happy Monday!

 

happy december!

ONE.  Catch up.

I'll go back and revisit a couple of these... but... here goes.  October and November.
Fall.  Tons of pumpkins from my garden.  Lots of football.  Lots of volleyball.  
Belle had a great senior season, and her team finished second at State!
Halloween.  Basketball started.  Ian grew to 6' 3 1/2".
Thanksgiving.  Tried making sweet potatoes.  Didn't go well.
Black Friday shopping.  Did go well.

TWO.  Look who got his braces off!

And still enjoys posing for his mama.  Ha.  What a handsome dude.

THREE.  Shelby is still in Brazil.

Finished with all her tests, I think.  Don't feel tooooo bad for her.  There's a gorgeous beach right by IME.
(Institute of Military Engineering) where she's at.

She wore her India Whites the other day for their graduation ceremony.
SOON Shelby!  
She goes back to West Point just in time for the Army Navy Game.  GO ARMY!!!
And then home on Dec. 22.

FOUR.  Basketball.

Ian is a freshman.  My baby.  Lol.
Lynden is pretty deep in basketball... all the way down to the freshman team.
Ian and most of his team have been playing together since 4th grade, I think?
And it's been such a joy watching them grow (literally) and get better.

I know.  Nice clear picture of the long haired boy, and Ian is fuzzy.  That's the way it goes sometimes.
The guys came out of the locker room before the game, and the first thing I noticed was their uniforms.
The freshman team always gets hand me down uniforms.  That's also the way it goes, lol.
But these particular ones were the varsity uniforms from 2012.  That was Luke's senior year, and the year his team
won the State Championship.  And he was #4 too.  
Ian has always tried to get #4, after his big brother.  Belle too... she was #4 in volleyball.
Warmed my little heart.

Here's to a great season, #4!

Ok.  Happy Friday!  Happy December!  Going to do December Daily this year... woohoo!