FALL IS HERE

Fall is officially here in the Eifel. This is what it looked like all day outside. It's cold and rainy and Jack just doesn't understand why he can't go outside and play. Special thanks to friends Katie and Craig and cousin Christina for sending new books that we received today... Jack LOVED them!!!

This was a mistake... I was trying to get a cute picture... Jack tried to climb out.

Evening Walks

We love our evening walks... I think this may have been the last one of the year... and probably our last one in Germany as we'll be heading back to the States in January. Fall is definitely here. The leaves are changing and it's just beautiful here! Well, it was two days ago when these pictures were taken :o)

Brotherly Love

This is the first time I've actually had a camera readily accessible when Jack tried to hug his brother. As you can see, Luke wasn't exactly thrilled to have his 26 lb. big brother laying on him. I thought is was cute, anyway.


Jack is catching up on the election news after a long day at work. Sometimes all a guy needs is a few minutes in front of the television in his recliner.

I'm 9 Weeks Old!

I can't believe little Luke is already 9 weeks old! He is growing so fast!! Every day he looks more and more like Jack did as a baby. I always wonder what he'll look like when he's Jack's age now.

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Attack of the Germs

It seems like every time Michael goes TDY someone gets sick. The last time he was in England we were at the peds clinic every day for Luke. This time it's Jack. Last night we had our first ER visit. It went pretty smoothly and we were in and out in about two hours.... there was only one other family there besides us (THANK GOODNESS!!). Jack has been coughing a lot and yesterday he was wheezing and breathing very rapidly. I called the nurse advise line that we have (instead of an ER on base) and she instructed me to take Jack to the ER. The doctor listened to his lungs, said he has bronchitis and gave him a cough suppressant. I had an appt. this morning with Jack's pediatrician and it turns out he has an ear infection- along with a mild case of bronchitis. Poor little guy! We were supposed to go with Michael to England this time, but Luke's passport didn't get here in time (of course it came today because Michael left yesterday). Jack is acting pretty much like himself and doesn't seem to be bothered too much by his illness. He's such a little trooper!

For Starters...

For starters, there have been an INSANE amount of pictures that have been taken over the past three weeks. Our recent upload to Shutterfly had over 500 pictures... obviously I have neither the time nor the patience to upload all of those here... so here are a few of the good ones. More to come as I have more time.

We had an unbelievable trip to Brugges with Grammy and Papa Felsen. We stayed in the Green Apple Farm Cottage in Odelem, Belguim, which is just outside of Brugge. The place came complete with Abraham the donkey, bikes, playground, indoor playroom, pigs, cows, cows, and more cows. We even saw a cow giving birth! It was a great place for a family with children. Here are some of the highlights... Jack is picking apples... his all-time favorite hobby these days!
Mmmmmm..... blueberry yogurt never tasted better!
After a rainy day trip to the beach in Knokke, we found this indoor playplace. Jack loved it and we all had a great time playing with him.
Brussels has one of the biggest beer festivals in Belgium. Lucky for us we were passing through at just the right time.
Grammy and Papa Felsen

This is back in Zemmer. Jack is playing in the garage with Inges wheelbarrow. If it has a tire... this kid loves it!
We are smiling because this was taken BEFORE we climed the 216 stairs to the top! We are at Waterloo... where Napoleon was defeated. Michael is so great at planning trips... we always get a little history lesson along the way!
At the indoor playplace...
Luke just finished his bath with Papa... he looks like a pea!
Jack loved this tractor... he rode it all over the farm.

Michael and his Napoleon pose...


Jack loved reading his books with Papa Joe! I can tell you he is sure missing all of the attention lavished on him by his grandparents!

In Brugge... Grammy and Papa treated Michael and I to a dinner by ourselves! It was wonderful!

Jack is feeding one of the deer here. These animals all came up to the fence just outside our living room and he had a great time feeding them carrots. He kept putting his hand a little too close to their teeth and it made Michael and I a little nervous...but Jack wasn't scared a bit.

Jack and Daddy bouncing away on the trampoline. It was so cute to see Jack having such a great time with his Dad.

Making marker swords with Papa...
Uh Oh! Jack isn't too happy here... this was just before the epic meltdown occured. You can just see him planning his attack, can't you?
Walking with Papa and Grammy at the WWII Memorial Cemetery in Luxembourg.
Luke and Papa.