We have survived another crazy week! This one was really “Ryan’s week” because he reached multiple milestones.
One Tuesday night, he was promoted to cadet airman in Civil Air Patrol! Ryan’s goal is to join the Air Force, and he came home last spring saying he wanted to join to improve his chances of getting into it. I had never heard of Civil Air Patrol before, but once I did my research, I was really impressed! If I had known about it, I probably would have made him join, so we’re so proud he made this move on his own! He had several physical requirements to meet and classes and tests to complete. He actually made rank over the summer, but this was the first promotion ceremony of the year, so he was able to wear his new dress blues, and I got to pin his wings on. Definitely a very special night!
On Thursday, we attended the fall Court of Honor for Scouts, where he was awarded multiple new merit badges. He has been working hard both in and out of school, and we are so proud of him!
Brooklyn had another busy week running around between her one million sports, clubs, and work. She is working hard and making good grades in school despite a challenging course load and we are so proud of her too!
Friday, we all went to the final home football game for Stuttgart High. It was a great game but really cold, and sadly Stuttgart lost.
On Saturday, Matt and I attended Stuttgart’s Volksfest with our friends visiting from Wiesbaden.
This was our first time going to the bier tent during the day instead of in the evening, and I’m happy to report that it was much better than expected! The party atmosphere is virtually identical, except it isn’t as dark as nighttime. The only downside is that we must wake up and leave so early. We woke up at 9 to catch the 10 a.m. train to arrive early for our 11 a.m. reservation. When we arrived, it almost felt more like brunch than lunch.
The earlier reservation also means the party doesn’t have to end when your reservation ends. If you go at night, the fest is closing down as you leave, so there is no time to visit anything else. Our reservation was over at 4 p.m., so we were able to continue the day at multiple biergartens before heading home around 8 p.m. We had an awesome time! The early reservation also meant we had a full night to sleep off the effects of the day before!
On Sunday, Matt and I went with our friends Chiara and Alex to Tierisch Gut, a huge dog expo in Karlsruhe. We got a ton of deals on dog food, treats, and supplies and saw tons of demonstrations on the newest pet gadgets, like robots that play with dogs and dog hair vacuums. The highlight was probably the dog dancing competition. Who knew there was a whole class of people who choreograph and practice dance routines with their dogs? It was just as entertaining as it sounds!
Gilcrests Abroad 