Week 240: Holiday Skiing in the Dolomites

Christmas is finally almost here and we made it to the third weekend of Advent as the Germans call it! But first, another busy week of school and Christmas activities, and then a weekend in the snowy Alps! Tuesday night was the monthly Civil Air Patrol promotion, and Ryan was promoted to the rank ofContinue reading “Week 240: Holiday Skiing in the Dolomites”

Week 239: Even More Christmas Markets

We’re in the second week of Advent, as the Germans would say, and it was another packed one! As we approach the shortest day of the year, it’s fully dark when we leave the house in the morning—and already nearly dark again by the time we leave work. At least we’ve been lucky, though, withContinue reading “Week 239: Even More Christmas Markets”

Week 238: First Week of December

It’s finally December so that means I could finally give the kids their advent calendars! This year we found some really great ones: Toblerone and Nivea for Brooklyn and Nutella and Formula One for Ryan. The calendars are really amazing in Germany so I don’t hold back; each of these spoiled kids gets one ofContinue reading “Week 238: First Week of December”

Week 237: Thanksgiving Week

It was a short week at work and school for us since Thanksgiving was on Thursday! Our original plans had us departing on Wednesday afternoon to fly to Albania and begin a road trip through several Balkan countries. Unfortunately, on Tuesday we found out that our flight had been rescheduled for Thursday night—not cancelled, justContinue reading “Week 237: Thanksgiving Week”

Week 236: Early Snow!

It’s been a super cold week here in Stuttgart! It has hovered in the 40s since early October, but this week it finally dipped below freezing and hasn’t climbed back up since. We’ve been stuck in the upper 20s to low 30s every day, and even got a mini snowstorm that delayed the start ofContinue reading “Week 236: Early Snow!”

Week 235: Halfway through November!

I can’t believe we’re already halfway through November—it’s been such a busy month so far. The weather has mostly been cold, though we’ve had a few days that almost reached 60°F. You can really feel that winter is just around the corner, so we’re trying to soak up every bit of sun and these rare,Continue reading “Week 235: Halfway through November!”

Week 234: The Marine Corps Ball and Many Other Things

Wow—after some pretty quiet, slow weeks in October, November kicked off with a crazy start! It all began on Monday, when Brooklyn and I left work and school early and took the train up to Cologne to see Bob Dylan in concert. Brooklyn has a wonderfully eclectic taste in music; she bought the tickets overContinue reading “Week 234: The Marine Corps Ball and Many Other Things”

Week 232: Moving Through October

We had a busy but pretty uninteresting week! The weather has been colder, and it’s rained at least once a day, although we have gotten a few minutes of sunshine and some beautiful post-rainstorm sunsets. I’m still attending German class, and I made it through the end of the third week. I’m enjoying it soContinue reading “Week 232: Moving Through October”