"One, Two"

Yesterday, we were checking out at the Ramstein BX and Jackson was playing with the handled baskets that people carry whenever they shop. There were two baskets, and he was stacking and unstacking them when I heard him say, "One, two. One, two." I could not believe my ears! I have not "taught" him to count. I just count whenever he helps me with things in the kitchen or sometimes when we're putting toys away. The things that he picks up on amaze me.

Achim's Haarstudio

When we moved to Germany, I was a little nervous about finding someone to cut my hair. I'm very plain, but I really care about who cuts my hair and how well they do it. In Oklahoma, I used the same girl for all three years that I lived there. There was a beautiful girl in one of my classes at OU who had great hair. She was much trendier than me, so I figured she must have a good stylist. I asked her where she went, and that's how I found Lindsay, my stylist.

I did the same thing in Germany. I asked around and read a book that one of the squadron's wives published. It was a book full of references from other Americans who'd lived in Germany and made recommendations to certain places. I made my first appointment with Achim, and I've stayed with him the rest of the time I've lived here. In fact, after Jackson's first haircut, I took him to Achim to fix it. Achim will have given Jackson 3 haircuts before we leave Germany.

Jackson and I needed one more haircut before we departed Germany. Since my dad is with us for a month, he felt like he needed a beard trim and a haircut before he returns to Texas. We all three made appointments with Achim and had a great time.

Big Ron loved talking German history with Achim.

Jackson loved Achim's assistant, Betina. While I got my haircut, he followed her around the salon.

After we were done, we went outside and let Jackson play on the little playground that's in the walkplatz.

Well, our hair is ready for America. Everyone in my family (men and women) has quite a head of hair. Jackson seems to have gotten the good hair genes! His hair is so fun to fix, that I don't even feel the need to have a little girl!

Cathedrals, Chocolate and Coffee Cups!

It's 4:30 in the morning, and Jason and I are up watching Texas play Texas Tech. This game is stressing me out! I'm hoping for a victory. We're about to get the ball and we're down by 6. I hope we can get the victory!! Go Texas!

Tuesday, Jackson and I took my dad to Cologne. I wanted him to see the cathedral and to visit the chocolate museum. (I think every chocoholic should visit the museum.) On our way to the cathedral, we passed by a Starbucks. I was so excited to see Starbucks because I collect their city and country mugs. Much to my delight, they had the Cologne mug!!! Yay!!!

My brother is a store manager for a Starbucks. My dad had me taking pictures of the store so I could send them to Ronald. Looks pretty similar, don't you think!

My dad was very impressed with the cathedral. He couldn't believe that only 100 men were a part of the initial construction and then 700 men finished it in (I think) 38 years. A service started not long after we arrived. Jackson and I went outside to run around and play, and my dad stayed inside to experience the German service. The cathedral is so massive, it's nearly impossible to get a good photograph unless you are standing a large distance from it.

As Jackson and I were leaving the cathedral, I asked him if I could take a picture of him. He was so cute. He not only posed for one picture, but kept asking for more!

More stairs outside of the cathedral. Lot's of fun for my baby!

On our way to the chocolate museum...along the Rhine River:

The chocolate museum:

There is a cafe inside and we sat down to enjoy a wonderful dessert. Jackson kept wanting to hold the menu. When it was out of reach, he blurted out, "I need that!" He's talking so much now. I really can't believe how fast his speech is developing. This is such a fun stage!

My dad loves chocolate. He enjoyed every bite!

I was sharing with Jackson...or should I say he was sharing with me. I opted for the raspberry cream dessert since I know he loves raspberries. He loved it!

The chocolate museum was our last stop because we had to get back to the base to pick up Jason from work. Jackson slept the whole way. He's been taking a lot of naps in his car seat lately. My dad and I enjoyed quite conversation just like we did when I was a kid and I'd ride with him into downtown Houston just to talk.

Well, the game is over and I'm sick to my stomach. We had an amazing comeback but lost our lead with only 8 seconds on the clock. Our chance at the national championship and playing in the Big 12 is over. It's so hard when the Big 12 South is so good. Now, I'm trying to decide if I should go back to bed, work out (something I haven't done in almost two weeks), or start packing up the stuff that we're putting in the mail and in our suitcases. The movers come Monday-Wednesday to pack up and ship all of our stuff. We've got a busy week ahead of us.

Luxembourg City

Last Sunday, we drove to Luxembourg City for the day. We wanted my dad to get to experience one of the 14 permanent American military cemeteries on foreign soil. When we lived in Italy, we visited one in France with Meredith and Ronald and the Madrids and Engwalls. We always talked about how much my dad would love to see one of these cemeteries, so we were excited to be living so close to one...only 45 minutes away. 5,076 American soldiers are buried here.

Any place with stairs is a delight for our little guy.

An explanation of the battles:

The names of soldiers whose bodies were never found:

Surveying the missing soldiers and finding 6 Texans on this wall:

General George Patton's body is buried here among his fellow soldiers:

These beautiful trees surrounded the memorial. I really wanted a family photo, but Jackson was missing his nap and very uninterested in the camera. He had only one mission: to get to Dada's car. Notice the keys in his hands.

After visiting the cemetary, we drove into Luxembourg City. I was amazed at how beautiful it was. We've lived here for a little over a year and I am very embarrassed to say that we have never toured the city. We've only been to the train station. What a shame! Now I understand why my friend Megan calls this one of her favorite cities in Europe. I was so impressed.

It took a while to find parking, so we drove around a lot and got a great view of the city. I grabbed a map from the TI and then we drove over to see the Casemates - a series of underground tunnels that were carved into the rock under the city and once capable of housing thousands of soldiers and their horses as well as workshops, kitchens, bakeries, etc. Jackson had a grand time running through the tunnels. The floor is very uneven and I was amazed that he didn't trip and fall.

There were plenty of stairs for him to climb, which always makes for a happy boy!

We couldn't believe how crowded the city was on a Sunday. Once we found a place to park, we headed over to the pedestrian area where all the shops were. We shopped around for a while and managed to find some delicious chocolate. We were so tired from our Saturday traveling, that we found a quick place to eat and then headed home. We wished that we'd gotten there earlier so that we could have seen more. Maybe we'll have one day when we can go back before we leave...but I'm not counting on it.