Oh, where did August go?
I barely had time to blink it went by so fast. I still can't believe it's September and Labor day has passed (more on our Labor Day weekend soon!).
That means that this ENTIRE blog entry is all about August happenings, so sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and get ready to read A LOT. It took me forever to write it, so I know reading it will take awhile too. Enjoy!
August began with a flurry of activity at work. Our first ever youth summer camp was held at the Kitsap Humane Society. This week-long camp for 10 - 15 years olds was the first major project I had in my new position at the shelter. Working alongside my friend and co-worker, Amy, we were able to pull off the project successfully. I will admit that it needs tweaking for next year, but overall, I'm so proud of our accomplishments. There's a slideshow on YouTube that shows some of the activities we had the campers participate in throughout the week. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbB2U_gBcJw
Here I am with Amy after one of our successful camp days. We were a great team (if I don't say so myself).
I missed the last day of camp because we left for a 2-week to visit friends in Germany! Our dear friends, the Scherdens and Yosts moved there from Okinawa with the Department of Defense Schools a couple of years ago. Even better, we got to see other friends, like the Greens, who moved there this past summer. There is no way I can capture and describe everything we did, so I'll focus on some of the highlights of the trip.
Weilerbach
We began our stay with the Scherdens in the village of Weilerbach. The village seems to be typical of many German villages with adorable houses, walking paths, and a village center. It was a great time of year to visit and walk the village because the fruit trees and bushes were rich with fruit. On our first Sunday there, I went with Emily, Liz, Kathy and the kids for a walk to visit some local horses, who enjoy munching on treats like carrots and apples. Along the way we ended up picking 10 cups of blackberries and sampling fresh apples and plums!
This picture cracks me up. I don't know what was so funny, but apparently Emily thought whatever it was, it was a riot!
Horses!
When we got back, Emily and Kathy made blackberry cobbler with all the blackberries we picked. It was so yummy!!
Soccer, er, Football
Meanwhile, the guys went to a FCK (Football Club Kaiserslautern) soccer game.
You can't really tell from the picture, but they all wore Germany's colors on their face. They reported that it was a great time, although Noa still can't tell me who the other team was.
Saarbrücken
What a good looking group! Here we are with some of our friends from Okinawa...reunited in Germany! Pictured left to right: Noa, me, Emily, Jason, Shawn, and Liz. We were going out for sushi to celebrate Jason and Emily's wedding anniversary!
We went to the city of Saarbrücken for sushi, but before we dined, we walked along the Saar river, took in the sights and relaxed at one of the beirgartens (beer gardens) along the route. It was a beautiful day to hang out outside.
I loved watching all the people, dogs, and boats.
The sushi restaurant is named "Oishii" which means "delicious" in Japanese. It was a fun night of reliving favorite moments in Okinawa and enjoying some great food (even the non-fishy stuff was yummy!).
Trier
We traveled to the historic city of Trier, which is located along the Moselle river, near Luxembourg. Although the city had been heavily bombed during World War II, it has been rebuilt and held on to it's historic roots. I loved the architecture and city center, with all the markets, people, and dogs (of course!).
We walked to the Trier Cathedral, which (according to Wikipedia) is the oldest cathedral in the country.
We also visited the Porta Nigra, a gate that was originally built by the Romans. It served as a church at one time and is now a World Heritage site. You can see part of it behind these two smiling boys.
We had a chance to walk the gardens outside of the protestant church. I'm really glad we did this, because we stopped to take pictures of our crew.
The Scherdens
The Bertrams (Emily's parents)
The Hammers (AKA Team Juloa & baby-to-be, of course!)
Trier Basilica (the Protestant church)
Later, we saw remnants of the Roman baths. I was more concerned with getting a photo with Emily though. Baths, smaths, I say.
Softball
We were fortunate to travel to Spangdahlem Air Force base with the Scherdens and Yosts to support Tom as he played with his softball team, the Ramstein Rams, in the 2011 US Forces Europe Softball Championship. Although it got really hot for a few days, the guys won first place in the tournament! Go Rams!
The Yosts are looking good, even after a long, hot day of softball. Their family has grown by one since we last say them. Cooper is their newest addition and such a cutie!
Isn't this the cutest picture? Little man, Cooper was keeping cool with Noa's big ol'Celtics cap. Too cute, Coop!
And one of the softball families brought their dogs along to the tournament. They were hilarious. I kept noticing that every once in a while, the one dog enjoyed a cozy spot by SITTING ON the other dog, who, incidentally, didn't seems bothered by the action at all.
Cochem
During one of the tournament days, we took a break from the action (sans Tom) to visit the Cochem (pronounced co-kem), another historic city located along the Moselle river. Cochem is one of those places that looks like it came straight out of postcard and is the epitome of what I think Germany is supposed to look like.
First stop: lunch. The food, again, was very good. Noa ordered fish (I forget what kind right now) and it was covered in almonds, which I had never seen before.
The big highlight in Cochem is Cochem Castle, which dates back to 1130. It sits upon a hill overlooking the city of Cochem, the Moselle river, and hills of vineyards. Again, it was postcard worthy.
We went on an excellent tour of the castle.
I, as usual, had to find the one dog friendly area around the castle.
But, really, my favorite part was the balcony - the views of the Moselle were amazing!
Wittlich Pig Festival
The Scherdens had to head home after a couple of days, but we stuck around to finish out the softball tournament and also to walk through Wittlich's annual pig festival (also called the Saeubrenner Fest). Festivals are a big deal in Germany and towns and cities hold them all the time. However, this one is well-known and rich in history. This large festival features lots of food (including roasted pig, naturally), rides, games, a crafts market, and performers. We could only stay for a couple of hours, but we got to get a small peek at the festival and taste some of the fun fair food.
In fact, as soon as we got there, Noa and Tom ordered some German soup and sausage.
What's a pig fair without pigs? Ella found one she could ride!
If you are wondering what that is, let me explain. It is heaven. Well, maybe not actually heaven, but rather nutella and banana in a crepe. It sure tasted heavenly. I could go for another 5 of them right now. Mmmmmm....
Heidelberg
When school started up, and Tom, Laura, and Jason were busy with that, so we joined Emily, the kids, and her parents for an afternoon in Heidelberg, Germany. We spent several hours walking through the downtown walkplatz (pedestrian street), where we enjoyed the shops, lunch, the sights, and a fabulous gelato place. Mmmm...gelato....I'm salivating just thinking about it.
We had a yummy lunch at a place right off the walkplatz.
The street had tons of restaurants with outdoor seating. Thankfully our lunch spot had seats in the shade.
Look how big the baby belly grew during our trip! I was about 27 weeks when this photo was taken. Of course, it could have been all the gelato and pretzels I was enjoying throughout the trip. :)
I love this photo because of the fountain detail with the Heidelberg Schloss (castle) behind it. We didn't go to the castle since we were pretty tired from all the walking, shopping, and eating, but it was still a site to see.
Even with all the historical buildings around us, we couldn't help but be entertained by the kiddos. Jackson's favorite restaurant is subway, so I had to get this photo:
Oh, and I had no desire to eat these (it was so hot outside!), but I wanted to get a picture of these German treats, called schneeballen. They are these large, doughy balls that are fried and are coated in all kinds of goodness, like chocolate, coconut, or cinnamon. Perhaps on my next trip to Germany I'll feel like chowing down on one.
Reunion
One of my favorite moments of the trip was reuniting with one of my favorite former kindergarten students, Zoe. Her family moved to Germany a little over a year ago. It was great to see how much she (and her siblings) have grown! The best part is that they are friends with the Scherdens and all the kiddos enjoy playing with each other. So, we spent a morning at the park and enjoyed catching up and playing around.
Last Dinner
Our last night in Germany was awesome. The whole "Oki" gang went out to an old farmhouse-turned-restaurant. It was charming both inside and out and breathed "old Germany." We were planning on eating outside, but the weather turned and the rain poured down most of the evening.
We were able to all squeeze in and enjoy some great food, drinks, and company.
Speaking of food, I had some awesome CURRY (yes, there's curry in Germany) for my meal. I loved how it had fruit on top and was sprinkled with pieces of edible flowers!
We had all the kiddos sit at their own table (they are the cutest!). But, that didn't last long. Most of the time, they played in the rain or throughout the restaurant. Well, until the food came; then they were back.
It was the perfect ending to a fabulous, memorable trip.
