Germany~Austria

We went to Germany this past weekend. It was lots of fun. Wished we could have stayed longer. It was so nice there. Colder yes. Cheaper yes. Relaxing yes. We loved it. Here are a few pics...

This one is an arena that Hitler had built by the lake so it would look bigger with the reflection.
Here is part of some seats that he had used for his speeches.
This is the Courtroom 600. 600 rooms in it.
By far my favorite picture. Totally German.
Cute Austrian house.

I will post more later, but we're off to the base and to a place called Center Casa.

Ciao!

What they do...all day...

This is what she does, when he is chewing on his raw hide and she wants it. Thing is, there are about 3 rawhides around the house, and they have to have the one the other one has! Just like children! Haha.

Speechless

Well. I am just that. Speechless. Can I help it? No I can't!

Friday I started getting a sore throat, and it didn't get better. Well Sunday it felt better but I was coughing & coughing.

Yesterday the voice was hoarse.

Today.

It's vanished.

Its crazy. I was just outside with Kodi and Kaci and Kodi was about to go to his corner, that he jumps out of! Well I was like KODI....and nothing came out. But for some reason, he kinda heard me. Haha.

I am so thankful God gave me a voice. Because it would be so hard without one.

Good thing Nick is at work all night. EXCEPT, when the phone rings....depending on who it is, I will answer with a whisper otherwise I just ignore. Its a pain.

Anyways. I thought I would share my pain. Lol. Plus, with not having a voice, this is the best way to communicate!

Well, this sums it up I believe..

This is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark.

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe.It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?
Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.I know, I know.What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession?Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig.So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks,'

Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Home Sweet Home

I got these wall stickers from Kohls.com and thought I would share how splendid they look!

They give the walls that extra oomph.

This one ^ is above the couch.
This one ^ is above the front door.{inside of course}
This one ^ is by the stairs, I love how it gives that extra-ness to this wall, it was so plain!

My children. And this last one, Kodi was laying on the center console of my neighbor's car. He looks weird though.

New Set

Well, here is our new couch and loveseat. Before this all we had was a single couch and it just wasn't enough seats when people would come over.




I really like it because they recline too! They are micro suede. At first I kinda wished they were lighter, but now I am glad that they are not any lighter!




With Kodi's shedding being mostly white/light hair and Kaci's being black{she isn't really shedding yet though but soon} I figured a in the middle color would do ok. They aren't allowed on the furniture. Well Nick likes to cuddle Kodi but he never gets up there if we don't ask him to.




Tell me what you think!

Almost gave me a heart attack...

That would be Kodi. He almost gave me a coronary! We{myself, Kodi and a couple of my friends} have been going to base and go walking. Our town is small. Italians don't like sidewalks or safe driving. So we feel safer going on base to walk. Sidewalks. Lights. Not many people at night.

On to the main point. Kodi is a sled dog. So he pulls. A LOT. He weights 3/4 as much as me. So its hard to walk him with out his choker poker. It does't poke. It actually pinches, IF he pulls. If I don't use this, I am being drug wherever he pleases. Some people may say its cruel, but it isn't hurting him. Especially with all the fur he has. Here is what it looks like:

Anyways...it has been known to 'pop' off. So sometimes I put the regular choker on so if this one snaps off, I still have him with the other. Well tonight out of all nights, I didn't. We were walking near the flightline and POP goes Kodi. I pretty much froze, freaking out at the same time. Cause he took off. Not full speed. Then I grabbed Skye[my neighbors Husky that we bred Kodi with] and started after Kodi, using Skye as bait. Well he stopped at the end of the sidewalk to sniff something. And we got him to come back. I literally was going to have a heart attack. My heart felt like it was going to jump from my chest.

Kodi is a good boy. Its the fact that Husky's cannot be free from a leash. They will run. Just for the fun of it. AND there are Jack Rabbits ALL over the base, I was so afraid that he was going to get a trail or even see one and be gone, literally. Then I got to thinking, what if he runs to the flightline. I couldn't even chase him out there. They are night flying tonight. What if he got sucked up into an intake...now I know that is highly unlikely but who knows if he would be scared of the jet or not.

All in all, it could have been WAY worse. And I thank God the way it ended! WHEW!

A little update...

I have really started to get more into photography. I had my first 'paying' customer and that was pretty exciting. I already have 4 families that want me to do their Christmas pictures!
I am saving up for either a printer, that prints up to 13x19 pictures or another lens. I of course want both, but in due time....I haven't done any sessions in a month, I hope I can get some more soon!

Nick is doing well. He is on swings again. But for this week and the next they are night flying so he goes in at 6 p and who knows when he gets hom. He is a night owl and not a morning person so it works for him. There is a deployment coming up for him in the near future. I'm not looking forward to it but he is. Which I understand why. That is what he is here to do and he feels like he has done nothing thus far. So its all good.

My mom and sister get here December 30th and stay till the 12th of January. We are hoping Nick isn't gone by then but we aren't sure as of now if he will be able to see them or not. We'll see. I am really excited to show them around here though! We are going to go to Roma January 2nd. We have yet to go and so we waited till then because my sister really wants to go.

We are planning a trip to Dublin, Ireland for next summer. A bunch of us are going to go. It should be fun. We have to go before October because our friends PCS that month. We are thinking the 4th of July. I am excited!

We have been talking a lot on where we would like to go next, but of course we still have a while here which is great still. These are our tops. But I know I know, not really our choice!
Eielson AFB, Alaska; Spangdalem or Ramstein AB, Germany; Kadena AB, Japan. We have no Stateside ones that we REALLY want to go to. We would prefer staying overseas for a while. But we'll see what the Air Force and the Lord have in store for us. Oh and if we got Ramstein or Kadena, Nick would have to switch jets, cause they don't have 16s there. But he said that would be kinda cool. Either way he doesn't mind.

Our "Kids"

Here is our big boy Kodi. He will be two in October. We adopted him from a family who didn't want to take him with them when they moved. I honestly don't know how people can just leave their animals like they do! They are family, I could never get rid of them when we move!
Then here is our newest little girl. This is Kaci. She is 7 weeks[yesterday]. She is awesome. Loves to play. Kodi is finally adjusting to the fact that she is a permanent resident, and not just a vistor. He plays with her a lot. Often too rough, but soon enough she will be able to fight back and give him a run for a change. She is pretty much potty trained already and we have only had her a week. She catches on so fast. She sits and lays down too. And with those baby blues she can pretty much win anyones heart!

Tornado

Well we didn't know we had tornado's here. But really didn't think about it. Well Sunday the 7th of September I was looking outside and saw the horrible winds. It was crazy but I did not expect a tornado at all. It didn't hit our town but it did hit the main base area pretty good.

Here are some pics. Some of the trees on the golf course, the shingles off the roofs, the shopping cart returns were ripped from the concrete, and a store off base.





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Welcome!

Well, here I am. I figured this would be easier for some people and lots of family and friends that don't use Myspace and I don't do much on my Facebook.

I will be putting updates on here and pictures and everything. So keep it saved and check it every so often. Leave comments too!