A December to Remember...

We had our family Christmas a little early since we knew we would be spending Christmas in Germany again this year. Ella was able to open most of her presents but we told her that Santa would be bringing her present to Germany. She had a blast and the best present was her piano and microphone from Grandma and Grandpa Caruthers. She is going to be a STAR!! It was so great to see her eyes light up when she saw the presents waiting for her.

Making treats with mommy!

The first snow

Brian packing the car in the snow!

We spent the week of Christmas in Germany, but our trip was cut a little short because we were stuck in the WORST traffic jam in history. The ferry port we were heading to was just a few exits from the Channel Tunnel and the night before we left, 5 trains broke down in the tunnel. Traffic was backed up for 12 miles with people waiting to get into the tunnel and the port. What a mess... So we turned around, after waiting for 4 hours, and made the 4-hour trek back home to try again. We changed the tickets to a different port that offered overnight trips to Brugge. Here are a few pictures of our room (if you can all it that!)

We made it in one piece and began the drive to Germany to enjoy the holiday with family. We have been hoping to make it to the Trier Christmas Market for a few years and were finally able to see it, all I can say is I love Gluwein!! It was a great way to begin the Christmas holiday. Ella and Marie would have stayed on the carousel for hours, it only cost us 20 euro to enjoy a few glasses of gluwein.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Weides Family and had an amazing German dinner and LOTS of wine. The girls opened, and fought over, presents and then it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for Santa to come. Ella left cookies and milk for the big guy and got into her Christmas jammies. We read lots of Christmas books and called it a night. We woke up to find that Santa is a messy eater, leaving crumbs all over the counter. But he left us all what we had asked for. Ella got a bike (scooter), Mommy got a new purse and Daddy got a really good bottle of Scotch. THANK YOU SANTA!!

At the end of all of the excitement, when asked what her favorite present was, Ella chose the $1 jump rope.....

We can't wait for next Christmas, we have already decided that we will be staying at home!

A Visit to Santa

We took Ella to visit Santa and to tell him what she wanted for Christmas, and you would think that by the look of the picture that she was not a big fan of him. This was 100 times better than her reaction last year!! There were no tears and no screaming, just a little hiding :)

She didn't exactly tell him what she wanted, we had to relay the message to him for her, and she didn't sit on his lap, but we have guaranteed her that Santa will bring her the bike she wants because she was a good girl this year. He gave her a stuffed animal and now she talks about Santa ALL the time! If we have the same level of improvement between now and next Christmas she will give him a hug and kiss!!

Athens

When Brian told me he wanted to run the Athens Marathon I began planning the trip immediately. We joined his sister and our newest friend MaryAnn in Athens for an amazing trip. The weather was perfect, which was a nice change from the cold and rain, and the sights were breathtaking. The marathon took the course of the run that the messenger Pheidippides ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens and died after completing the 26.2 miles. The finish line was in the stadium from the 2004 Olympics. The weather cooperated for a day at the beach to recover after the marathon! Ella had a great time with Aunt Kathy and Aunt MaryAnn and misses being spoiled rotten.

The view from Syntagma

Olympic Stadium

Go Brian Go

Happy Halloween!

This was the first Halloween that Ella really understood what was happening--CANDY!! The base had all of its festivities on Friday and we all had so much fun. Ella wore her Butterfly Fairy costume and we invited our neighbors Carl, Clare and Ella's friend Isabelle. The two little ones had so much fun getting faces painted, trick-or-treating and just playing as much as possible. Ella loves getting her face painted and talks about it all the time, but do not let her go within 100 yards of a mirror! She gets very nervous when she see herself with the paint! She came home with a bag of candy and lots of stories...

The Pumpkin Patch

We made a trip to the local pumpkin patch and had a great time! Ella could have stayed there all day. We took the tractor ride out to the fields to choose our own pumpkin and played all the fun pumpkin games. Ella had her face painted for the first time and was so excited! The weather was perfect and we will be sure to visit again next year.

Ella was a little nervous on the tractor ride!

Choosing our pumpkin

Pumpkin Sling Shot

My little bear

A Family Visit

Brian's parents came for a visit, mainly to see Ella of course, and we tried to see as much as possible. A few local trips and a tight car trip to Germany filled the 2-weeks very quickly. While the boys golfed to celebrate Bob's birthday, the girls made a trip to Harewood House just outside of Harrogate and enjoyed the beautiful weather and breathtaking grounds. Ella enjoyed the bird garden, and may have taken a few years off of the duck's lives by chasing them! We also made a trip out to Fountains Abbey and got many beautiful pictures.

We then got in the car and began the trek to Germany. We drove to Dover and boarded the ferry to cross the English Channel towards Calais, France. We drove through France, Belgium and into Germany to spend time with Jason and his family and see some Air Force friends. It was a great trip and Ella got to spend time with her cousin Marie.