Color me YELLOW?

I have heard that such a thing existed but did not get to experience for the first time until this past Monday evening. I am trying to make an effort to do a better job at watching what I eat so one of my favorite desserts has become watermelon. I get a small watermelon from the commissary, slice it open, use my melon ball scoop to scoop it out and save it a container for easy snacking or for a good dessert. It had been a while since I had watermelon so I made sure to get a nice looking one on my shopping trip Monday. I got home and put away all the groceries and left my watermelon out to cut it up and save it in containers. It was not until after dinner I got around to actually slicing it open. I was so excited to get that pinkest middle piece that is always soooo good!! I used one my big knives, sliced it open and found this:

I immediately racked my brain to think if there was any other watermelon looking foods that I could have possibly picked up when my hubby reminded me that yellow watermelon does indeed exist. I was a little hesitant to try it but it indeed taste like pink watermelon. I didn't get as many good pieces from it as I typically do a pink watermelon but none the less got my watermelon fix!!

German Bucket List

I mentioned in my last post that my friend and I were discussing the list of things we wanted to get done in our remaining here in Germany because it will be gone before we know it. Here are the things that were on my German bucket list:

1. Go to Oktoberfest in Munich.
        ~I am not a beer drinker myself but I have met people who have said it is something everyone should experience regardless of whether they drink or not. The mass amount of people and the festivals and just pure madness going on has got to be pretty entertaining.

2. Go to Rome, Italy
       ~ This was my main goal in coming here to Germany is being able to take a trip to Rome. I am a huge history buff and love seeing history in today's world. I am the type of person that would rather go here than Paris any day!!

3. Go to Nuremburg for the Christmas market
      ~ This city, not sure I spelled it right, has the largest Christmas market in Germany. I love going to the Christmas markets around here but I think it would be one of the greatest experiences in Germany.

4. See as many castles as possible
     ~ This is just a pretty generic one. I think it is awesome to be driving down the autobahn and see castle ruins all the way down the road.

5. Learn more german before I leave
     ~ I have been incredibly slack about learning german. I know what you might be thinking, "Why start learning now?" I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to learn a foreign language while living in a foreign city.

That is all that is on the list right now, maybe more later.

Womanly Ways

This weekend some good friends of ours came to stay with us for a night. On Saturday we got out to sight see a little around the town. This family has been our family away from family. We used to be five minutes down the road from each other in Mannheim but we have both moved since and are now a solid two hours away. We went from seeing each other at least every other day to maybe once every two months so it was a special treat to have them here. We starting talking about all the things we want to get done in our last year and few months here in Germany and I started shaking my head in disbelief that come August of this summer we only have one more year here. I gripe a lot about being far away from family but it has been an adventure in and of itself living in a foreign country these past two years. So I truly hope we both get every thing checked off our "Germany Bucket List."

Anyhow, we went to the castle in Heidelberg and walked around down town before stopping for dinner at the Hard Rock. The boys were teasing my friend and I because we came across a few different weddings where the bride and groom were having their picture taken. My friend and I both stopped to take pictures and ooohhh and aaaahhh over their special day. I thought about how funny it is that women can't resist a wedding. We are drawn to the romantic setting! I loved planning my wedding as crazy as it was but I was immediately sad that it was all done.

All in all it was a great weekend with great friends!! Maybe I will include the German Bucket List in my next entry!

Making Mom Giggle!

So for Mother's Day we interviewed our sweet little kindergarten kids to see what they had to say about their moms. It is so much fun to do this and I hope it is even better for the moms to see themselves through the eyes of their babes. I hope when we sent them home it made the moms giggle as much as it made me giggle asking them. Here are the questions we asked along with some of my favorite answers:

1. How old is your mom?
    A says, "Maybe 6"
    D says, "She never tells us- maybe 23"
    R says "16" (she isn't by the way!)

2. What is your mom's job?
   T says, "To be the boss of the house"
   M says, "She goes to the bank and gives money to people."
   N says, "She works- she works hard."
   S says, "She doesn't have one- she goes to a book club."

3. Why do you have your mom and not someone else's mom?
   S says, "Because I came from her."
   R says, "Because my mom gives us good stuff, not bad stuff."
   N says, "I only have one mom."
   N says, "Because she didn't marry anyone else."
   T says, "Because my mom doesn't want me to be caught by strangers."

4. What is your favorite food that your mom cooks?
   T says, "Every food except her chicken."
   N says, "Steak with the green stuff."
   A says, "oranges, apples, grapes, and meat with the blood coming out." (Guess he takes it rare!)

5. What does your mom love to wear?
   Most all said, "dresses"
   M said, "The bank clothes"

6. What does your mom smell like?
   T says, "She doesn't smell like anything."
   A says, "Brown skin."

7. What is something that your mom always says?
   C says, "Don't say bad stuff."
   D says, "That she loves me."
   M says, "Close the door."
   T says, "I'm the boss."

8. What makes your mom mad?
    A says, "When I hit my sister."
    T says, "My brother thinking he's the boss."
    N says, "When she breaks something."

9. What makes your mom happy?
    C says, "Playing with me."
    S says, "To see me."
    N says, "When I get something for her- she really loves rice krispie treats
    T says, "Getting married with my dad."

10. What does your mom do when she is with her friends?
    N says, "Talks a lot."
    S says, "Go to the movies."
   
11. Why is your mom the best mom ever?
    R says, "Because she says yes to everything."
    S says, "She takes care of me."
    A says, "She always makes the food I like."
    T says, "Because she is my boss, I mean not my boss- she is my friend." (Did you catch the boss theme?)
 
I loved hearing what these sweet ones said about their moms. These moms are all amazing moms especially since some of them have been dealing with a deployment all year long. I admire the moms of our little ones and hope they had a very special day all to themselves!

Memories on Monday

Every now and then I get the sudden urge to look at what bizarre holiday might be on a particular day. I did this a good bit last year but have not done so quite as much this year. I randomnly looked it up what might be the bizarre or unique holiday for today, May 14th- Dance like a Chicken Day! I immediately began chucking to myself because at this time last year I was home with my family. On this particular day last year, I happened to be doing the bizarre holiday for the day and convinced my 3 year old nephew to join in! I even blogged about it if I remember correctly. Life is funny how it cycles back around! :) I wonder if Jack will dance like a chicken for me even from far away!



Jack celebrating "Dance Like a Chicken" Day last year!

This sweet lil boy is 4 years old now, obviously, and growing up so fast. He started his first year of t-ball this year and you have no idea how badly it killed his Aunt Emmy to not be there to go to his games. I am extremely excited however that he and the rest of my family will be visiting with us shortly at the end of June. I know he will probably be happier to see this little guy than me but oh well!

I am sure he is also excited about meeting his new puppy cousin, Trooper, who he has only seen on webcam. I am sure the pups will love having someone on their level to bug and lick on!! So, if your kids get bored and you want to do something fun and silly, dance like a chicken!!!

Mema Rocks!!

So while I do not have any kids of my own yet, my sister does and my sweet nephews refer to my mom as "mema." I thought for mother's day I would go ahead and post about my amazing mother and how she deserves so much more than a meager Sunday in May to honor her mothering. So this is for my mom who I will not get to spend mother's day with as I did last year.

Important things you should know about my mom:

1. She was born to be not only a great mother but an incredible grandmother and I can't wait for my future kids to experience the greatness of mema. I know whenever that time comes they will love their mema because she will spoil them, love them, teach them things I cannot, and always be there for them as she was and is for me.

2. She waited on a godly man to commit herself to for her whole life. She may have only been 18 when she said I do, but anyone who knows my parents knows she made the right choice. She has been a living example of how I should love my hubby unconditionally and stand by him with support and love though it all.

3. Like a true southern woman she is a sucker for sweet tea and she didn't mind passing that on to her family, well all except my extremely weird sister! :) Love you Laura!!

4. Both my mom and dad taught me the importance of competitive sports. Don't take this the wrong way because my mom loved and supported me no matter what. But my mom taught us all how to stay strong as a family and spend time together by sharing what we all grew to love, sports! My brother, sister, and myself all participated in sports and still love watching sports. One thing I miss since becoming a military spouse and moving away from home is going to sporting events with my family.

5. She is a superhero! When my military hubby and I got married, the wedding date changed three times thanks to the dear old army. My mom was there by my side the whole time helping me figure it all out and never complaining about any of it! She is a true rock star!

6. She loves to laugh. This is probably a big reason she married my dad, who can make just about anyone laugh. I love that my mom loves to laugh because when she laughs- she lights up the room!

7. She had incredible patience to put up with the numerous fights between my big sister and myself. I do not doubt that there were times when she probably wanted to pull her hair out but she endured it all and because of her my sister and I are closer now than ever before, now that we no longer share a bathroom! ;)

8. Lastly, she instilled in me the importance and value of family. I think my grandfather played a huge role in that but she has faithfully carried that on. She raised us all in church and taught us family values as well as how to honor our Father in heaven.

Thank you mom! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you and hug on you. I can't wait until you get here to visit us in a little over a month!! It will be so wonderful to be sharing our adventure in Germany with our family! I love you mom and Happy Mother's Day!

Watching tv in style

Jonathan and I have been trying to build our home collection slowly over the years as we find things we both love, which can tend to be a little tricky! :) I am sure none of you other wives have problems with that. First, let me say that some of you probably have husbands who could care less how you decorate your house as long as there is not an overwhelming feminine feel to it. My hubby, being on the artistic side, cares about what I put in the house and loves to put his input in- whether I want it or not! haha. Anyhow, on a recent trip to the shopping mall in Ramstein here in Germany we found a tv console that we both loved- so we jumped up and down (figuratively) and ordered it. It arrived Friday and my sweet hubby put it together yesterday and we both are very pleased. We like the old look to it:

Of course, we both look forward to when it does not look quite so silly with this crazy German flooring but we still love it. Now to find a couple baskets for remote storage and such.

Blog Hop for Military Spouses

Well as a military spouse it is always nice to meet people who are facing the same issues as you. Thanks to Household6Diva and Riding the Roller Coaster I have a chance to participate in this blog hop so I thought it might be fun to read about fellow bloggers who stand behind their soldiers just like I do.

Hi, my name is Emily. I am 26 years old and I am an army wife. Being an army wife was something I never imagined calling myself when I was growing up. I was a homebody to the core. I even went to college less than an hour away from home so as to be close to family but still get a new experience. Well, I guess God knew it was okay for me to be a homebody for a little while because at that small college is where I met my husband. My husband and I both played soccer in college and while we were friends for a few months before we started dating I knew as soon as we did start dating I was a goner. We dated for a year and got engaged. I knew my husband had thoughts of the military when he was younger but figured those days were behind us. It was not until my grandfather who served in the military passed away did he discover his passion for serving his country was still alive and well. So about a month after we got engaged he left for basic training and AIT. He came home after AIT for two weeks. We got married and he then left for a year to his duty station. After finishing his time there, we agreed we wanted to start our married life on an adventure- so we signed up for three years in Germany. It has definitely been an adventure. We have two dogs and hope to have kids someday.

We enjoy getting out and exploring whenever we can. We both enjoy sports, although he stays more active than I do. I try to stay connected into the schools because of my teaching degree and my love for kids. I enjoy photography, baking, and decorating in simple and cheap ways. This blog is a place for me to keep in touch with family back home as well as write about adventures we take, things I make, and people I love.

I would have never considered five years ago that I would be a military wife but I am coming up on three years standing behind my soldier and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Trier

This past weekend we ventured out to Trier, which is a little over an hour away from where we live. Trier is known as the oldest city in Germany. The Roman influence of ancient ruins is still present in this German city and it was very neat to walk around and experience the mixture of the two cultures. There is a cathedral in Trier which houses the Holy Robe. This Holy Robe is said to be the robe that Jesus wore. It is a seamless robe that is said to be the robe they cast lots for. The robe is typically kept out of light and not on display. Every few years they put the robe on display for a pilgrimage of believers who travel to come see the robe. The last time the robe was on display was 1996. We initially intended on waiting in line to see the robe. However, upon arrival we had trouble finding the actual cathedral and once we did we were all very hungry, looking at a 2 hour wait, and about to get rained on. Needless to  say, we abandoned the line to venture out to see other things before they closed- rather than spending all our time at the cathedral. Here is what we would have seen- had we endured the wait:

In the end, it would have been nice to see it in person but a part of me was convincing myself that nobody knows if this was indeed the robe Jesus wore so it was cool enough to be outside the church! :) Just so you know here is a glimpse of the madness outside the church:

We did get to see some other things that were very interesting like the Roman baths:

We also saw the palace, palace gardens, some other beautiful churches, and the black gate. There are more pictures on facebook that I simply do not wish to move to here because anyone that reads this is my friend on facebook and can therefore go there! :) All in all, it was a good weekend and it was great to have a mini adventure.

BEWARE:

Bed-ripping dog found its way into the Rupard household. Two beds have bit the dust and one has been critically injured. 

 The culprit has since been detained in a kennel when supervision is not possible.