Gibbs Family Adventures!!

Krabbenland!

2009-11-01T18:24:00.003+01:00

In town we found an inside play place for the kids! Needless to say they LOVE it! =)

my babies

Trey on the go-carts

Auntie and Faith on the slide

Faith loves the slide

haha

Trey in the maze

Faith is looking for Trey =)

Hudson would have been perfectly content to stay in this car the whole time ha!

our friends Emily and Joaquim =) he's so adorable!

and Trey would have been perfectly content to stay here the whole time! He wants to be like Daddy so bad. =)

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T23:42:00.001+01:00

We had such a good time for Halloween this year. First, Trey had a Halloween party at school where Jane and I were room mothers and of course got to bring Faith and Hudson. Then back in Bremerhaven we had our own little Halloween party and took the kids trick or treating to all of Daddy's teammates. Our friends Alex and Thorsten (from Ulm) came to visit and went trick or treating with us. The kids were so happy they could join us!

First stop of the morning..STARBUCKS!! Jane and I met up with our friend Kara and her son Tre before heading to Trey's school.

Notice how excited I am to be at Starbucks?! HA! It's the little things...

Hudson, Tre and Faith =)

They all play so well together!

supergirl! =)

Jane =)

Kara =)

Trey was so excited for us to be at his school for the Halloween party!

spiderman (venom)

supergirl & superboy

Trey!

Faith had so much fun playing in Trey's classroom

Faith is ready for school. =)

Jane and Hudson =)

Jane being room Auntie =)

they look guilty!

juice break =)

Hudson felt so cool to sit at the table with Trey =)

Trick or treating outside the school

the pumpkins we carved after school

this poor cake! we couldn't find orange food coloring, this is supposed to be a pumpkin. =)

a game I made for the kids!

the Halloween decor..

trick or treating...

Kevin and the kids

Jeff & I and our baby bump =)

Daddy and Faith =)

Steve, Faith and Hudson

Phillip and the kids

Torrell and the kids

Jan, Jeff, Torrell, Brandon, Bryan and the kids

these kids all knew who Trey was and were trying to talk to him...so cute!

best buddies. =)

Daddy & Faith

Trey and Hudson =)

Rodney, Jeff, Bryan and the kids

party time =)

making ghosts with their feet

our crazy group =)

Taking a walk...

2009-10-07T15:33:00.001+02:00

While Trey was in school and Daddy was at practice we thought we would take the little ones on a walk.

Faith is always pulling Hudson along. =)

She loves Auntie!

checking out nature. =)

my little tomboy!

Hudson is looking for the tractor =)

ha!

snack time!

Pregnancy Update!

2009-09-30T19:57:00.006+02:00

I am finally feeling somewhat of a normal person again. From the minute we found out we were pregnant I have been EXTREMELY sick! Not just your typical morning sickness, not even throwing up, but just constantly nauseous. I have been stuck on the couch or in bed for WEEKS. Thank God for such an amazing husband and for putting someone like Jane in my life. I honestly would not have made it through without them. It's hard being so sick and having 2 other children and husband to take care of, add being in a country with no family makes it a little harder.

We're over that "scary stage" and got past the 3rd month and are now in our 4th. I have a great Doctor here and everything is looking good so far. The Dr. seems to think it's going to be a BOY, but it is still very early to be 100%. Here is our little peanut... =)

New school for Trey!

2009-09-30T14:40:00.002+02:00

Trey is really loving his new school. Once again we have lucked out and have an international school nearby. Jeff and I are really happy with the curriculum they offer. Trey is in kindergarten but the curriculum he will be studying is equivalent to what 2nd grade is back home. Trey thinks it's pretty neat that his teacher here is also from Ohio. What a small world! We're so excited to see how he does this year.

Reunited....

2009-09-28T10:25:00.001+02:00

and it feels soooo good................ HA!!

Same Country, Different City!!

2009-09-27T12:49:00.006+02:00

We have arrived back in Germany but in a new city with a new team! The biggest blessing in all this is that we are reunited with our closest friends Bryan, Jane and Hudson. Can't wait to endure this basketball season together!

Here is our first excursion out in our new city!

It's so nice living right by the water.

The Lucas Family =)

The kids have so much fun together!

Daddy and Faith

They loved the Polar Bears! =) (also the mascot for Daddy's new team)

buddies =)

my sweet baby girl

Bryan always being silly

they love the penguins

The kids loved the zoo and we enjoyed seeing a bit of what Bremerhaven has to offer!

The best ending to our summer....

2009-09-26T15:14:00.000+02:00

Right when we were ending our summer and getting geared up to head back overseas we got some GREAT news.... PREGNANT AGAIN!!! =) We are so thankful and so excited! God has blessed us once again!

2009-09-25T14:07:00.000+02:00

Our baby girl turned 2 on July 10th! We're so grateful to be able to be home with our families and friends to celebrate Faith's birthday! We had a cookout and party for her! I think she really enjoyed it. =) Here are some tidbits about Faith right now...

-you are SO independent

-you still LOVE Dora

-you love playing dress up and really think you can dress yourself for public, but mama won't let you do that to yourself ha! you'll thank me later.

-you think you are grown, you told me the other day "you bad go to your room"

-Trey is your best friend, you absolutely love hanging out with him

-when you wake up in the morning you whisper "Dadda" constantly til he comes into your room

-you love to dance and shake your "booty"

-you love when Daddy sings to you

-it's so funny when you grab your little purse and coat and go to the door and tell Daddy and I "I go see Hudson"

-when we get in the car you tell me "seatbelt please"

-you truly have NO FEAR

-you love to sing

-your favorite songs right now are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the Spongebob song ha!

-when we go to Daddy's games you get so excited to see Daddy out there you say "there's Dadda, HI DADDA" really loud! And when he sees you it makes your whole day.

-Daddy is still the #1 person in your life, you are a true Daddy's Girl!

-you're starting to show more interest in baby dolls and girly things but still shove those aside when you see a ball or cars of Treys

-you always yell "I win" when you're playing

-when I tell you you're pretty you say "yea" I'm working on getting you to say thank you to that compliment =)

-you love giving us kisses, you're so loving

-you are a very mannered little girl, you say please and thank you to just about everything

-you count to 15 perfectly

-you say your ABC's but miss L M N sometimes =)

-you love to color

-you love stacking objects

-you have taken a real liking to soccer right now

-you're working on dribbling a basketball, haven't mastered that yet =)

-you speak in complete sentences consisting of 5-6-7 words

-you and Daddy even have a secret handshake, you love doing it every time you get excited or "win" at something.

Everyday is an adventure with you! We are so blessed to have you Faith!!

Pictures from Faith's birthday party...

Daddy always wants to video tape everything =)

opening presents....

she even takes the time to read the card ha

Hmmmm cake...

Faith LOVED all her presents!!

Summer Recap con't...

2009-09-22T18:13:00.001+02:00

Still trying to recap from our Summer. Bear with me! Our last stop on our family vacation was Daytona Beach but I forgot all those pictures back home on our desktop so we are moving forward to July 4th celebration. =) We had the July 4th party at the park with Jeff's family, then went to my brother Chad's house for BBQ and fireworks with my family later that night. We had so much fun with our families. The kids loved it!

Trey and Faith playing at the park

They loved playing with the sparklers

Jeff has just as much fun as the kids ha!

Mom, Dad, Nick, Amie and Jamie

Fam!

Faith really enjoyed the fireworks this year.

Trey and his cousin Austin

Faith and her cousin Madison

Austin and Faith

Amie and I loving on Summer. =)

The Bahamas!!

2009-09-20T18:12:00.007+02:00

This was actually our first cruise! Jeff has been trying for years to get me to go on a cruise and I finally caved. =) I'm so glad I did, we had such a great time and enjoyed every minute of it!

In our room =)

the kids would have really enjoyed the cruise..

watching the sunset....on the boat..
I woke up around 4am and had to look outside to make sure we were still afloat haha!!

My baby at the slots! =)

I stuck to the $.25 slots but hey I won $33.00 ha!!Right when we walked off the boat..

The Atlantis!

the water is so beautiful...

Crossing the bridge to Paradise Island!

path to the water...

working on his floating skills ha!the water is AMAZING!!
HAHA!!

This is all the entertainment I need!! =)

Summer Recap!!!

2009-09-15T18:48:00.023+02:00

I have been MIA for several months!! I will try my best and do a full recap of our summer. :) A main event of the summer was our family vacation!! We started it off with a road trip to Florida with the kids, my mother in law and our niece Aja. The kids LOVED the ocean and the pool, they were like little fish the entire time. We couldn't get them out of the water! Faith was a little hesitant when she saw waves but then Daddy went in with her and all was ok. Trey is finally at the stage where he loves the water. He loves swimming underwater and jumping in. He's such a big boy now! We spent a few days in Ft. Lauderdale then Jeff and I took a little 3 day cruise to the Bahamas (where we got married) It was so nice to be back there, we had an amazing time! We need to take more vacations just the two of us. It's nice to be reminded of where we began. :) After our refreshing time away, we then all headed to Daytona Beach for a week. The kids had such a good time with Nana and we love her so much for allowing us to enjoy such a wonderful vacation.

Here are the kids watching their movies on our way to Florida!! They were great little travelers!

Here is Kay and Aja watching their movies!

The first thing Trey does when we arrive at the hotel...

The first thing Faith does when we arrive at the hotel...(she's back there on the phone ha!)

Here we have Kay's suite which was completely spic and span because of course the kids tore our room apart. :)

The kids loved the inside of the hotel. They got to feed the fish and watch the turtles. They thought it was pretty neat! =)

The kids enjoying the beach...

Faith taking in the view =)

AND....this would be my mother in law!! :) Crazy isn't she?! Gotta love her. =)

Faith ABSOLUTELY LOVED the sand!!! She even wanted to take a nap on it. =)

Of course Jeff had to bury Trey and Aja in the sand.. =)

Daddy and Trey..

Back at the hotel playing in the pool...

Trey and Aja playing underwater..

Daddy and Faith playing in the pool..

Trey and Aja

Nana and Faith

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:15:00.003+02:00

Trip to Austria!

2009-03-07T22:56:00.006+01:00

This past weekend we took a trip to Austria to visit Bryan, Jane and Hudson! We had so much fun we didn't want to leave. The weather was beautiful, the kids had a blast and was overall just what I needed. :)

Faith and Hudson had so much fun together, they're so funny to watch!

It was so nice out we took the kids for a stroll

He has the funniest expressions..Trey loves baby Hudson :)
They kept fighting to see who was going to get up the slide first haha!
Trey thought it would be fun to go down backwards.. I just love that face.. :)Faith was pumped about getting some ice cream! She had a whole conversation with it before she devoured it haha!!Hudson wasn't too impressed with it though ha!Then it was bath time... :)

Look at her trying to give Hudson kisses. I'm surprised Jeff is sitting there allowing this to take place... ha ha :)How cute are they?! Then we attended Bryan and Austen's game.. This is what Trey lives for haha! Look at him just staring up at the basket..

He just has to be on the court, he's got to get the feel... :)

Jeff playing with the kids after the game
It was so nice to see Bryan and Austen play again!

Thanks to Bryan and Jane for having us, hopefully we will all see each other again real soon! We miss you guys already :)

Summer Lynn Strout

2009-02-28T22:49:00.005+01:00

Summer has finally made her debut! :) She was born Feb. 27th at 6:52p.m. She weighed 6lbs. 1oz. and was 19 inches long. She is so precious and so beautiful! I haven't even met this little girl and yet I already love her so much. We were in Austria visiting Bryan, Jane and Hudson when Amie called me as she was on her way to the hospital. Her and my mom kept me updated throughout it all and when it came time for Amie to start pushing I didn't want to miss any of it. I asked my mom to keep her phone on speaker so I could hear it all. I'm so weird I know, but it has killed me not being there so I needed to feel that I was somewhat with Amie through this. I stayed up til 5:00 am my time and it was well worth it. As soon as I heard Summer screaming I cried like a baby ha! I'm so thankful everything went well and Amie and Summer are both doing great. What a blessing!! :) Congratulations to Bon and Amie, you guys are going to be amazing parents!

Mom and Summer :)

Bundled up for her first car ride :)

How precious is she!?

Ahh Mussels!

2009-02-25T20:46:00.001+01:00

We went to dinner at The Hummels house in which Alex cooked mussels and noodles and salmon and noodles. We like to let our kids venture out and try new things so Faith had mussels for the first time and actually liked them. I will usually eat and/or try anything but mussels is just something I'm not interested in, ha! But evidently Faith is taking after Daddy on this one!

Daddy is helping her out. :)

Then she decided she wanted some salmon as well..obviously she loved that too! :)

Countdown to Baby Summer!

2009-02-15T23:41:00.006+01:00

Baby Summer will soon be making her big debut!! My sister is now dilated at 3cm. I hate it so much that I can not be there with her. I always pictured when my sister would grow up and get married and have babies I wouldn't miss a second of any of it. And I would be the one right by her side taking care of her and all the details. I also never pictured that I would be living in another country and her in another state. Ahh the sacrifices we make for our husbands haha. Amie has done such an amazing job throughout her pregnancy. She has everything organized, nursery done and decorated, and is still working out about 4 days a week. Who does that?! haha! Sure not me while pregnant! And just this week stopped working. She has kept herself busy and still got all the important things taken care of, all the while missing her husband who is in the Air Force and has to leave for weeks at a time. She doesn't realize how strong she is and how wonderful she has done throughout all this. She is already such an amazing mother and Baby Summer is going to be the luckiest little girl.

Here is a recap of Amie's pregnancy. Here she is at 4 months

Bon & Amie

5 months

Beginning of her 6th month

6 months - Gauge is loving Baby Summer already :)

End of 7 months

End of 8 months

Just a couple more weeks to go til her due date but I think Summer is coming sooner :)

I can not wait to meet this little girl and spoil her rotten. :) :)

Faith is a Big Girl

2009-02-09T20:42:00.007+01:00

We have been attempting the whole potty training ordeal!! I know alot of people think I'm crazy for trying because Faith is only 18 months but I figure there is no harm in getting a head start. It has been very entertaining to watch her! Jeff or I would take her into the bathroom and put her on the potty and she would freeze up. Then as soon as we would take her off the potty she would walk out of the bathroom and squat, ha ha! We have had a few messes to clean up, but that's ok. :) Tonight though she chose to sit on her potty and go. We are so proud of her! :)

She was so excited!

Mommy already cleaned the potty out but Faith wanted to follow suit, ha ha!!

All-Star Weekend

2009-01-23T18:35:00.002+01:00

Last weekend was the All-Star game, the kids and I had so much fun. We were lucky enough to bring The Hummel family with us who offered to watch the kids so Mommy and Daddy could go out. :) It's been SOOO long since we have been out with some friends it was really nice to be able to do that again. We had a blast with our friends Konrad and Regina! It was also the VERY FIRST time I left my babies over night. Even though they were just next door in another room with The Hummels, I was pretty proud of myself ha! And yes Trey is five years old and I have never left him overnight, this was a big step for me! All-Star weekend is also the one time of the season where I get to catch up with a few of the other basketball wives which is always nice.

A few pictures from the game...

Here the fans are trying to advertise Jeff as not being for sale HA!

We ordered some room service and Trey was a little excited about the size of the cheeseburger they brought him! :)And Faith found her own little "cubby" area to entertain herself. :)Jeff and I before heading out on the town :)Jeff and KonradMaria, Regina, myself and Konrad at the after party!Jeff had such a good time he got coaxed into dancing onstage with some of the other players ha ha! It was a very entertaining night!! And here he is singing, ha ha!!

Trey is back to school!

2009-01-08T11:56:00.008+01:00

Trey went back to school yesterday after a very long holiday break, he's been off since December 19th. He had lots of stories to tell his teachers and classmates. He was so excited to go back to school, he missed his friends so much over the break. We got to school that morning and Trey's friend Julius had brought him a present. Here is what Julius and his parents got him... Yes that is a life size cardboard cutout of Trey and his friend Julius :) They said they figure since they have the life size cardboard cutout of Jeff in their house that Trey and Julius also needed one, ha ha! We love it, it's so cute!

Faith had so much fun with this throughout the day. I think she was a little confused also as to why it was so easy to pick "Trey" up and carry him all throughout the house ha ha. She just kept laughing at it!

So now this is what is in our house..

Faith and I are feeling a little neglected!! ha :)

Home for Christmas!!

2009-01-07T21:17:00.008+01:00

We absolutely love going home for Christmas but this time was the hardest and worst trip yet. Thankfully our flights were not delayed like everyone else around us so we can't complain there. Faith is at the age where she likes to try and fight her naps, which she does not win, ha. And being on an airplane and trying to put her to sleep was not happening! She fought us so hard to where she got over tired and just kept crying and screaming. We had this wonderful older couple right in front us that just kept staring, every time Faith started crying they would give us a nice glare. As if I needed them to let me know she was crying again or to let me know I wasn't doing a very good job of being a good mother. Gotta love those people!! I always felt bad for those parents that had the screaming kids on flights and yet I was so proud that I wasn't one of them, ha ha. My kids have always been the good quiet ones keeping themselves entertained with their games or books or DVD players. We would always be complimented on how well behaved our kids are. Whoa not this time, they were all glad to see us go! I figured this was just a one time deal and Faith would be fine on the flight back to Germany. Boy was I wrong, the flight back was just as bad if not worse. Both the kids were sick, Faith got diarrhea and was throwing up. Trey didn't feel well and kept having to use the restroom and even Jeff got sick on the flight. I was trying to fight whatever it was that I had caught as well. So all in all it was a rough trip but it was worth it to be home and be with our family and friends.

We came home to the Christmas tree already put up and decorated (thanks Mom and Jamie) as well as the house decorated thanks to Mom, Jamie and Grandma :)

My babies on Christmas morning! Even though they were sick they were excited to open their presents. :)

Trey got a new bike from Mema and Papa! Uncle Nick is teaching him to ride it in my living room, ha!

Faith's favorite present, her Dora sofa/sleeper :)

I hosted Christmas dinner this year and had both my family and Jeff's family all there! We had such a good time!

All-Star Game 2008

2009-01-07T11:46:00.003+01:00

My hubby was voted into the All-Star Game for the third year in a row! This year he was the highest "vote getter" tallying up the most votes out of anyone in the whole league! Congrats Baby, as always I am so proud! :)

Christmas Market 2008

2008-12-19T20:35:00.001+01:00

Jeff and I took the kids to the Christmas Market. Alex and Thorsten also came to meet us where we enjoyed some Gluwein and good ole German brats. :) Trey and Faith got to ride the Merry Go Round which means mommy had to ride because Faith is too small to ride by herself. :) Then we walked down in the city and stopped at a cafe and had some hot chocolate. We love Christmastime! :)

Faith enjoyed her first sucker thanks to Alex :)I think she really liked it, ha!

Daddy got us all on video riding the merry go round :)

Here are a few pictures of what the Christmas Market looks like

Christmas Concert

2008-12-15T22:48:00.015+01:00

Trey had his first school Christmas concert! He had so much fun on stage singing Christmas carols and even did a good job singing one of them in German :)

Here Trey is walking into the auditorium
Trey and Kate After the program we all went back to the classroom and had snacks and juiceTrey waiting patiently for his present from Santa :)Faith is checking everything out..
Look how handsome he is :)Faith loves playing in the classroom :)Trey and Faith occupying themselves :)And this is a look into my future...Trey's friends fighting for Faith's attention..HA HA!Then offering presents when conversation doesn't work..ha ha :)

Here is Trey singing Jingle Bells (don't mind the camera work, Jeff was multi-tasking between taping Trey and holding Faith-What a good Daddy :) )

Lucas Family Visit and Trey's Birthday Party!

2008-12-12T14:15:00.006+01:00

Bryan, Jane and baby Hudson came to visit us last weekend! Their visit has truly been the highlight of our season. :) Only wish it could have been a longer visit, but we had so much fun! Before leaving for Trey's birthday party we wanted Hudson to open his gifts from us..

He wasn't too sure about this haha..

Faith thought she would help Hudson out :)
How cute are they?!All by himself :) I think he likes his car :)

Pics from Trey's Birthday Party...

Here is the homemade Spongebob cake that Jane and I stayed up til 3:00 a.m. working on, of course with the wonderful support of our husbands :) And thank you to JB for saving us on what could have been an icing catastrophe ha :) Trey and a couple friends from school
Hudson and Faith were so cute together :)
Trey and I on the go-carts ha!
the boys on the slide
This is not just for the kids as proven here by Jeff and Bryan!!

Trey, Max and Julius
Jeff and Faith on the slide
Trey, Max and Kalaia

A few videos form the party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TREY!

2008-12-03T12:50:00.019+01:00

Our little boy turned 5 today! I got to be "THAT" mom who brings in cupcakes for all the kids in the class to celebrate Trey's birthday. He had so much fun and felt so special. All his classmates got together and made him a big birthday card, and all individually drew him a picture. After school he got to come home and open his gifts from Jeff and I, then Alex and Thorsten came over and brought him gifts. He also got to choose 6 kids from his class to invite to his birthday party over the weekend. He was really excited about that and couldn't wait!

A little recap of the things Trey is into right now. Of course I can't remember everything but here are a few things...

- Spongebob is still his favorite character and cartoon!
- He absolutely LOVES basketball, the highlight of his week is getting to go watch Daddy play.

- He shoots basketball everyday

- started soccer a little over a month ago and loves it. although during soccer practice he sometimes picks up the soccer ball and starts dribbling it like it's a basketball. ha!

- loves school and always has stories to tell after each day.

- loves to read!

- loves painting!

- loves anything to do with numbers!

- Daddy and him always watch NBA.com top 10 plays of the day.

- loves to sing and sometimes makes up his own words :)

- enjoys teaching Faith how to say words and tries to get her to do everything with him unless it consists of him sharing his video game or basketball. he will usually go get her a different ball to play with.

- during the day he would rather have a peanut butter & jelly sandwich than any cooked meal.

- loves macaroni and cheese!

- loves bowling!

- he is learning more and more German and likes to speak it with Alex, Thorsten and Tim. Trey always tells me to say Dankeschön rather than Thank You, ha!

- loves getting phone calls from family members back home but acts very shy when actually talking on the phone.

- always asks where mema is and when I tell him she is up in heaven with God and watching over him he looks up in the sky and smiles as if to smile at her. :)

- he thinks Daddy is king of the world, he loves bragging to his friends at school that his daddy is a basketball player and his daddy can do everything. He wants to follow Daddy everywhere he goes and wants to be just like him.

- loves his little sister and gets upset when people don't give her attention right when they see her, ha. He always points out that Faith is here and to talk to her, ha. He's very protective of her already!

- he feels bad when people get sick. His teacher was sick one day at school and he walked up to her and asked if she was ok. He said "I know you're sick, I hope you feel better" and gave her a hug.

Pics from his little party at school...

At home opening his presents...

Loves his new game boy!

Opening gifts from Alex and Thorsten. He loves his Spongebob snack box and Spongebob game!

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! We are so blessed and so thankful to have such a wonderful and loving son!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T23:47:00.005+01:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was very entertaining. Ever since Jeff has been playing overseas I try to have a big Thanksgiving every year so all the Americans don't miss out on turkey and stuffing. :) As always the guys were very grateful and needless to say there were no leftovers, ha. After dinner we thought it would be fun to play the game "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" whoa was that interesting. I never realized how smart fifth graders really are, ha ha. It was a great dinner and we are so thankful for our amazing family and friends!

Here is how messy my kitchen gets when I cook :)

My taste tester...

I think he likes it! :)

Here are some of our guests!

Faith in the middle of it all :)

Parent Teacher Conferences!

2008-11-11T21:25:00.014+01:00

I wonder if I'm the only parent to get nervous before a parent teacher conference. It feels like I'm the one being evaluated! In a way it's like my parenting is being tested and what this teacher is about to tell me will seal the deal on whether or not I have done a good job. I know I'm crazy but being a parent is the most important job I have and I want to be good at it. So needless to say I was a bit nervous going into our first Parent Teacher Conference.

I would like to know if any of you teachers out there (hint hint JB :) ) ever fabricate or dramatize how good a child is?! ha :) WARNING! BRAGGING ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE...Trey's teacher Ms. Roberts informed Jeff and I just how wonderful Trey is, how smart, how considerate, how thoughtful, how observant, and how independent he is. She told us that Trey is a leader, that everyone wants to do what he is doing and how much of a positive influence he is. As a parent it's always nice to know that your child is comfortable in who he is to be the leader and not the follower! Ms. Roberts said that Trey's educational level is at the level of a first grader and is impressed with how far ahead he is! Everyday they have quiet time and during this time Trey is usually reading a book rather than playing with a toy or napping. She said the other day during quiet time a boy in the class went over to where Trey was and wanted him to play a game with him. Trey told him that he was reading and they would play later, ha. Jeff and I are so proud of Trey and were so happy to hear all the wonderful things that Ms. Roberts was telling us. I could really go on and on but this post might get a little boring to read if I continue. :) We're just so proud of Trey!

Trey's First Soccer Practice!

2008-11-09T20:39:00.010+01:00

Trey had his first indoor soccer practice Friday night! He almost knocked over one of his own teammates, kicked the ball in the wrong direction and laid down during the scrimmage because he was tired. All in all it was an eventful evening. :) Jeff had to leave that afternoon to travel for an away game so Alex and Thorsten came with Faith and I to watch Trey. It was so much fun to watch, he kept looking over at us to make sure we were watching him, he would just wave and smile. Faith got upset and started crying because she wanted to go out there and play, so in the middle of the scrimmage Trey walks off the court to come over to Faith to make sure she was ok. :) He's such a good big brother, but I'm sure the coach won't appreciate him doing that in a real game, ha!

Here are a couple clips of Trey's scrimmage!

Trey had so much fun at soccer practice, he asks us everyday if he gets to go back! :)

WE ARE A PART OF HISTORY

2008-11-05T13:47:00.008+01:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T09:08:00.007+01:00

We took the kids trick or treating last night with the Hummel Family. Well, this is what our trick or treating is here in Germany... Halloween is not celebrated like it is back in America. They celebrate it but you don't see all the kids dressed up in costumes running around. You can just imagine the looks we got last night with our little bumble bee and SpongeBob running around yelling "trick or treat" ha ha! One person asked why our kids were dressed up and what were we doing, ha ha! So every year Jeff asks all the American guys on his team if we can bring our kids trick or treating to their houses. Since we all live pretty close to each other it works out perfect and the kids still get the whole Halloween experience. Trey and Faith had a good time, Trey was originally a skeleton but when he looked at himself in the mirror he informed me it wasn't a nice costume, he didn't like it. So I had to wipe of the face paint and thank goodness we had SpongeBob from last year.:) So of course he opted for SpongeBob because he's much nicer than the scary skeleton!

I think he makes a very nice looking skeleton :)

Trey and Alex! Trey loves Alex, every time we do things with the Hummel Family Trey always wants to go with Alex :)

Dora was on the television, I could not get Faith's attention :)

our little bumble bee :)

Alex and Faith

Alex, Thorsten and Tim, Fabi, Trey and Faith

Faith didn't want to pose for pictures, she wanted to go go go!

Got em' both cheesin! :)

Pumpkin Patch!!

2008-10-22T18:14:00.027+02:00

Jeff had a day off from practice last week so a group of us decided to go to the pumpkin patch in Ludwigsburg. The kids LOVED it and got to pick out their own pumpkins. Every year the castle in Ludwigsburg holds a themed pumpkin patch. Last year was Noah's Arc which was really neat. And this year's theme is outer space. They also had a "fairy tale" trail for kids, where we got to visit Rapunzel's tower. I got a little camera happy, here are MANY photos from our day!Faith was having such a good time :)Trey thought all these characters were really neat!Us and Trey's friend Kalaia!I love this pic of Trey, he looks so sweet and innocent!:)Faith was loving life, ha!Check out the size of those pumpkins, they have a contest every year.Jeff and I in front of one of the castlesFaith and KalaiaThis is a crab! Which has nothing to do with outer space ha!UFO!along the whole trail Faith wanted to pick up every pumpkin :)Trey said the UFO was COOL! haThe Solar System!A Car made out of gourds!The AstronautMe and my babies:)Trey had fun playing in the hay with the other kidsFaith picked out her own pumpkin!She kept trying to eat it too! ha Do you know how hard it is to get all of us in one picture, and as you can see our kids aren't even looking at the camera. :)
Trey with a gourd he picked out. And notice Faith is still trying to eat her pumpkin!

Lee with Trey and Kalaia looking out at the water.

Trey picking out his pumpkin!And Daddy bagging it!
Trey taking a break We are the most easily amused family :)
Daddy has it down pat, Trey needs a little work, ha!

Daddy and Faith

Jeff and I on the fairytale trail

Rapunzel's tower

Lee and TreyTrey leading the wayanother stop along the Fairytale Trail

Part of the trailTrey was loving this, Faith as you can see wasn't so sure:)Now she's ok with it, ha.Jeff and the kidspart of the group - Dominika, Dan, Lee, Jeff, Trey and Faith

Trey watching the boat ridesFaith thought these little characters were funny!then she was trying to take their body parts, haJeff making some new friends :)

Love this picHow funny is she?! She had so much fun!

Trey and Faithah got them both smiling at the same time:)Look at him posing! ha hatoo funny!aww and he picked momma a flower:) Faith here was trying to eat the rocks, she will eat ANYTHING!:)

All that wore my babies out! :)

Hall of Fame!!

2008-10-22T10:56:00.036+02:00

My Hubby was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Otterbein College this past weekend. What an honor! I'm so proud of him! Although we were not able to attend, our families went to support Jeff. His father Jeff Sr. accepted his award and read his acceptance speech. Jeff hated that he wasn't able to be there, but didn't feel right leaving his teammates here on an undefeated record (needless to say we picked up our first loss that night, but that's beside the point:)) Jeff is the first and only athlete in Otterbein history to be a 2 sport All-American (football and basketball) Here is what Otterbein had to say about Jeff..

Jeff Gibbs' career has been about defying the odds. It was thought to be impossible that someone could become an All-American in both basketball and football, but Jeff became the first. As a 6-2 center for the basketball team, Jeff graduated as Otterbein's all-time leading rebounder (1,496) and ranked fifth on the all-time scoring list (1,924) while playing against men much taller then him. For a football tight end to graduate holding career records for most touchdowns (29) and most receiving yardage (2,476) would be inconceivable, but Jeff did just that while also ranking second in career receptions with 162. His most amazing feat, however, would come his senior year in 2002 as he was named Player of the Year in basketball while leading his team to Otterbein's first national championship in any team sport. These accomplishments have led Jeff to be named to the D3hoops All-Decade team, and to be able to play professionally in Germany.

Antwaun and Nick at the luncheon (Nick is sporting Jeff's current jersey:) )

Nick, Antwaun, Jamie, Mattie and Grandma

Jeff Sr. reading over Jeff's acceptance speech :)

Jeff Sr. with the other inductees being introduced before the football game.

Thanks Mom, Grandma, Mattie, Jeff Sr., Shawn, Nick, Jamie and Antwaun for being there in honor of Jeff.

Bowling

2008-10-17T14:51:00.017+02:00

Trey has been so good in school, we wanted to treat him to a night at the bowling alley. Trey has come a long way since his first day of school. He started out not wanting Jeff or I to leave once we would drop him off at school, now we're lucky to get a kiss and a goodbye before dropping him off. As soon as we get to school in the morning he's off and playing with his classmates and not worried about whether or not Jeff or I are there. At least he is still excited to see us when we come to pick him up at the end of the day! :)

Trey and Faith outside the bowling alley

Daddy and Faith walking in to the bowling alley

Trying to figure out which ball to use

Trey was excited that Kalaia and her parents came with us.

Hanging out!

This is his serious face :)

Faith trying to pick up her own bowling ball :)

This was the highlight of his week!

I think the kids were a little worn out

Faith taking a break from her race car game

Trey is so intense

Faith loved that car game!

Trey is learning to read...

2008-10-16T16:58:00.006+02:00

Trey has been learning to read for a couple weeks now. He does really good, he can recognize most words and if he doesn't know it he will spell it then try to sound it out. Here is a short clip of him reading his number book. He absolutely LOVES numbers!

Trey's First Field Trip!

2008-09-23T16:00:00.017+02:00

Today was Trey's first field trip and of course I offered my chaperone expertise, ha! We went to the Fire Station in Geislingen, Germany. Taking field trips here are totally different. Back in the states you would just take a school bus to and from, no big deal. Here we walk to the bus station wait for the next bus, take the bus to the nearest train station, walk to the train station, wait for the train, then walk the rest of the way to our destination. Same thing on the way back. They're all about public transportation here. Boy, were these kids worn out by the end of our little excursion. Trey had a good time although he is scared of the firetrucks. He doesn't like the ladder lifts that are part of the fire truck because last year Jeff and Bryan went up in the lift and Trey was afraid they were never coming back. So he is scarred for life, ha!

Here are the kids having lunch inside the fire station

the kids outside the fire station

They let the kids sit on the fire truck, but Trey was not interested at all.

they were taking over the fire truck :)

Group picture

Summer Recap Part 2..

2008-09-17T23:15:00.033+02:00

I thought I might want to finish recapping our summer before Christmas gets here! Here are a few other highlights of our summer..

Faith and her cousin Madison got their ears pierced...

Faith beforehand.

and my poor baby girl afterwards.
The crying only lasted about 20 seconds, she is a champ!

She already realizes that beauty is pain, ha! My brother and Madison.
Madison and her daddy!
Here are the pretty girls!!

A friend of ours from college and former teammate of Jeff's got married this summer..
Here are a few of the boys acting silly as always!

Man, my baby cleans up well :) A group of us with Coach Dick Reynolds and his wife Ellen.

We had to cut Faith's tail, ha! I have never seen anything like this. She had a strand of hair in the back and on top that would grow faster than the rest of her hair. But since she has curls you don't notice the longer strand on top, just this straight piece in the back. We won't mention any names but we know someone else very close to us that has the same thing, haha!

Nana bought Trey a new bicycle.

Trip to my parents cabin in the woods!

Faith's first ride on a 4 wheeler. She looks a little scared, she was holding on for dear life. My dad wanted to take her for a ride, look at him laughing, he is loving it. After the first ride she kept wanting to get back on, she loved it.

Faith is a little too dressed up to be playing on 4 wheelers and in the woods huh?! :)

Trey has Papa's binoculars in hand and ready to do some deer hunting!

Trey and Faith hanging out on the deck.

Faith loves to play in the rain

Mom and Faith

You can tell he's a city boy! We go out to the country and all he is worried about it fixing a video game controller, ha! He actually had a good time out there in the middle of nowhere, we got to ride 4 wheelers and my dad showed him around the land and all his paths.

My brother Chad and his wife Jessica welcomed a baby boy, Wyatt Alan!

Getting his little feet stamped!
Chad and his two sons!

Chad with all 4 of his kids! I think they're done, ha!

A highlight of Trey's summer was getting to hang out with his cousins. Here is Trey hugging on his cousin Austin.

Trey's 1st Day of School!

2008-09-09T19:12:00.007+02:00

Trey started school today and I had to come to the realization that my "baby" isn't a baby anymore. All he talked about all summer long was going to school and how excited he was to meet his new friends and teachers.

Here he is on his first day..(he is still a little tired, ha)

On the way to school, he is so excited!

So far he is loving his classroom :)
Trey at the introduction assembly. The principal asked for all the new students to stand up and be acknowledged. So Trey stands up then walks up onto the stage and looked out at everyone and smiled, haha. I'm so mad I don't have a picture or video clip of that, it was too funny.

Throughout the assembly Trey kept looking back and waving to Jeff, Faith and I. I think he was just making sure we hadn't left him yet. :)

The teachers were so nice, they even let Faith play with Trey in the classroom.

Getting ready to leave after his first school day. He LOVED school, as soon as we walked into the classroom to pick him up, he shouted at Jeff and I "I LOVE MY SCHOOL". Note the little girl behind Trey, she is not enjoying her first day at school!

I think he enjoyed school!They were so excited to see each other! Throughout the day all Faith wanted to do was play in Trey's room, she missed him so much.

Opening his "First Day of School Presents"

Here he is as soon as we walk in the door. Clothes off game in hand!

They were inseparable the rest of the day. Trey has his sister and game, life is good!

I'm Back!!! Here is Part 1 of our summer recap..

2008-08-12T20:43:00.027+02:00

We had such a crazy and busy summer I wasn't even able to fit in some blogging time. Lots of positives and fun times and also some sad times. First, we bought a new vehicle, Cadillac Escalade, which Jeff adores. Bought a new house which I adore, ha. Faith turned ONE, which is still hard to believe. We prepped Trey into getting ready for his first year of school which he is PUMPED about and can't wait. My brother and sister in law welcomed a baby boy named Wyatt. And found out that my baby sister is having a baby of her own. Boy, am I feeling OLD!! We had plans to take a trip to California and Las Vegas with our friends Bryan, Jane and baby Hudson for a friend's wedding, but had to cancel it because at that same time frame we were closing on our house. Bittersweet I know!! They have promised though to come visit us next summer. Just had to put that out there so they know we haven't forgotten, haha.

Here is a picture of our new home (minus the minivan and ladder)

It is so sad this is the only picture we have of our house. This was taken by the inspector that performed the home inspection. And the nice weather we had that day really helps the house look better huh? ha

Here is Jeff's baby :)
On a sad note I lost one of the most important people in my life and that was my grandmother. It is still so unreal to me, I just can't believe she is gone. She taught me about strength and to trust in my faith. I have never and will never know a person like her, she was the strongest and bravest person I ever knew. Mema, you will truly be missed, but will always be with me.

Another sad note Jeff also lost someone close to him. During my grandma's funeral he got a call that his uncle passed away. He was only 55!!

We had some very sad times during our summer vacation home this year, but we were glad we were there and not thousands of miles away.

Back on a positive note...Faith turned ONE and is just running around everywhere. She now has 8 teeth, loves learning new words and still wants to follow Trey everywhere he goes. I try to mold her into my little princess, but she tosses the barbies and baby dolls aside for the footballs and basketballs. Go figure!! And I am FRIGHTENED that she is going to take after her daddy somewhat in size. We went from a size 3 shoe to a 5 and now she wears a 6. Daddy wears a size 17 please Lord don't do that to my baby. She is my little chunky monkey though and I am thankful every day that God blessed us with her.

Here are her one year pictures:

We also went swimming with our wonderful friends The McClures this summer. Oh my did Faith LOVE the water. She didn't want to get out! Trey always loved the water too, but for some odd reason the past 2 summers he was not having it. He told us he was scared, we're still not sure what that is all about. We spent lots of time trying to coax him in the water.

Here Faith is rocking her bikini

Ahh milk break :)Here, Trey looks like he is all ready to go..

Testing the water, we're good so far..

Ahh we're in...he's happy...

BUT not for long..do you see how scared he is? So not like him, poor guy. Kori is wondering what the heck his problem is, haha

Here is Kori and Kruz playing in the water, with Faith in the background kicking up her feet, loving life. :)Please notice in this picture...do you see Jeff pulling Faith away from Trey? That was NOT Faith holding onto Trey, it was Trey holding on to Faith because he wanted HER to hold him up. He thought he was going to drown. HAHA!!! Priceless.And this is where he ended up staying the rest of the dayHere is Jeff with Kyran and Kori. We love spending time with the McClure family. It is always entertaining. :)

Mommy & Trey time!!

2008-04-28T23:39:00.019+02:00

Trey and I decided to spend last Sunday evening baking cupcakes. While Daddy entertained Faith, Trey and I baked away. Trey was so excited, he got to mix all the colors he wanted for the icing. He made blue, red and green. And for the ones he wanted white he put sprinkles, a smiling face and on one his name and another Faith's name. Here is Trey's job well done!!

Mixing the ingredients..

Look how excited he is mixing his colors

Check out the concentration..

He was so proud, he wanted to show Daddy.

And Daddy gave him his "props" :)

Putting the icing on.

Here is Trey's finished product.

I think he enjoyed his cupcakes!!

Team Bowling Night!!

2008-04-19T22:33:00.011+02:00

Another night at bowling! The team had the day off from practice Tuesday evening so they decided to have a team bowling night. One team were the Americans, another team were the Germans, one team were the coaches and management staff and the last and most important team were the wives and girlfriends. :) Then the kids got their own lane separate from the competition. The set up was not quite fair, because there were only 4 of us wives and girlfriends, if we had more we would have easily won. ha! The winners were The American players so of course Jeff and Bryan were happy. I never care about beating anyone but Jeff and I think he cheated and lied to me about his score because rumor has it that I beat him. Men, they just can't admit when they are beaten by a WOMAN!! :) But needless to say Trey had a blast as he always does at bowling. He did not want to leave and keeps begging us to take him back.

Here are the babies and daddy's :) Hudson and Faith in usual form, ha.

Trey even had a little dance he did after he bowled, ha ha

Look how happy he is, he had so much fun!!

Faith is 9 Months Old Today!!

2008-04-09T19:37:00.015+02:00

Only 3 more months to go til we are done with formula, WOO HOO!! She has done so much within these last couple of months. Her favorite things to do, besides crawling all over the place and getting into everything, is pulling herself up on anything she can get a-hold of and walking along it. She loves to walk along the couch and the tv stand. She can stand for seconds at a time but then falls. She forgets that she can't quite walk yet. She loves her walker and loves to play with Trey. She calls him TT (I call him Trey Trey so we abbreviated it for Faith) Our proudest moment within this last month was when she picked up a baseball size plastic ball and threw it PERFECTLY to her Daddy. Now you can tell that her parents are athletes for us to be that proud, ha. She's gonna have an arm like her momma, haha :) I think our kids will always master their motor skills first. We are working on broadening her vocabulary, right now she can say bye bye, momma, dada, TT, bottle and of course ball. Oh and she says Uh-Oh when she falls! And she only likes to kiss her Daddy, no love for momma yet. She is definitely a Daddy's girl, she lights up whenever he walks into the room and immediately wants to go to him. Though she loves to follow Trey around and do whatever it is he is into at that moment. And Trey has wonderful patience with her and always tries to involve her in his games. They love to wrestle on the floor but at times Trey gets a little too rough and we have to remind him she is still a baby. I keep telling Trey that one day when she gets older she is really going to pop him one, haha. He loves having her to play with though! He is extremely protective of her, if he doesn't know you he doesn't let you near her. Her favorite object is the basketball (go figure) whenever someone has a picture of a basketball on their shirt she goes straight for it. She loves game days, she gets excited when Trey puts on his jersey, she knows that means she is about to go watch Daddy play. She sits at Jeff's basketball games and claps her hands and yells for "Dada". Her favorite game is Peek-A-Boo, she will do it to anyone and loves when we play with her. She is so ticklish, especially her tummy area and inner thighs. She cracks up and thinks that Daddy and Trey are the funniest people in the world. She ABSOLUTELY LOVES when Daddy sings to her, she has pumped up his self esteem so much that he thinks he should be on the next American Idol!! :) She tries to repeat some things that we say and loves it when we mimic her sounds and words. As of right now she has her third tooth starting to poke through. Her and Trey are truly our most enjoyable entertainment and we love EVERY second of our days with them.

Here is our precious baby girl..

Trey and Faith having fun as usual..

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-23T21:07:00.013+01:00

We spent the day coloring Easter eggs and making a mess for Mommy to clean up :) Here is how excited Trey was to color eggs..

I think Faith was just as excited, look how happy she is here..

Then the kids got their Easter baskets (of course Daddy too) and enjoyed the rest of the day off!! And Mommy had to play dress up and get some pictures..

Trip to Berlin..

2008-03-16T22:04:00.041+01:00

In the years I have lived in Germany I have never visited Berlin until now. I had plenty of opportunities but at the time I just wasn't up for the drive (5 1/2 hours). But since the team was flying there we thought it would be fun for us to all go. Jeff has been there a few times, but never really got to see the city or any of the sights. So we decided to make it a little weekend vacation. Jane's father was visiting and he wanted to see Berlin as well. So Jane and Benson decided to rent a van, drive there and then we all drive back. As long as I have my co-pilot I'm up for any road trips. :) In case it hasn't been obvious this is my reason for living in Germany in the first place. :) This is my hubby in action, the one higher than everyone else, ha:)A big win in Berlin was the first event of the night. Then afterwards we were all pumped to get to go to Hard Rock Cafe. It's so funny to see how excited we all get to eat some good ole American food :) Here are a few pics of us enjoying Hard Rock..In case you were all wondering, Faith was there with us but decided to sleep during the timeframe of the pictures being taken! :)

And the "Parents of the Year Award" goes to....drum roll please......
Bryan & Jane

Do you notice in this picture, there are 3 glasses of beer and a BABY bottle, HAHA :)

So after that entertainment we drove around a bit before heading to our hotel and saw the city at night. I have been told before that it's been compared to Manhatten and I find that to be true. It reallly does look like downtown Manhatten with of course the European twist to it.

Bright and early the next morning we all headed out to Dunkin Donuts. Once again some very HAPPY Americans were we. :) And our little journey begins!!

Here we are at the Berlin wall

Trey seems to forget who he belongs to..

Here is the Brandenburg Gate

The Victory Column Reichstag Building
Checkpoint Charlie

And this is what Faith and Hudson did as usual

Here is the crew after our drive back home (minus myself and Trey)
Benson-I hope you enjoyed your little road trip with all of us, I know you were just thanking God you made it back to Ulm safe and sound. ha :)

And here was our driver home..

My Little Man is Such A Trooper..

2008-03-14T15:48:00.010+01:00

The last couple of weeks I have stressed over the fact that Trey had his 4 year shots coming up. I was so afraid that it was going to be pure agony to have to sit there and watch my "baby" get his shots. I was dreading it!! I was afraid with Trey being 4 years old it was going to be a fight and something that could cause him to NEVER want to go back to the Doctor. :) This was a two day stint, the first day was testing on his hearing, eye sight, knowing his colors, etc. He flew by all that like it was nothing. Everything in those areas are perfect and the Doctor was impressed with Trey knowing the alphabet and counting to 100 and so on. So needless to say Mommy and Daddy were happy to hear that and proud of our little man :) So yesterday he had to get his shots and momma was worried. And by the way our trip to the Doctor is always a family trip, ha. Whenever Faith has an appointment we all go and the same goes for Trey. Jeff and I both got ready thinking we were going to have to hold Trey down to get his shots. We were so wrong, he took it like a champ. Trey sat there, saw the needle coming, got the shot, said "ouch" and that was that. My little man didn't even cry, not even a "whel" up, NOTHING!! Here Trey is after his shots...such a big boy!! Here he is getting his hearing tested..
Trey was such a good sport we took him to get ice cream then he wanted to go show Bryan and Jane his airplane band aid and tell them all about his trip to the Doctor. We also had to pay a visit to Jane because it was her birthday yesterday!! Happy Birthday to a YOUNG beautiful woman :) We Love You..

Before I was a Mom

2008-03-12T20:47:00.008+01:00

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

I am having that "I am so beyond happy and blessed to be a mother" feeling right now and wanted to share this poem that was sent to me.

Here are my little blessings.....

Quick Trip to the Bowling Alley

2008-03-04T18:45:00.011+01:00

And now a quick jaunt to the bowling alley. Trey absolutely LOVES to go bowling so we thought we would treat him to a quick game because of the traumatic events that happened at the fire station and thinking he was not going to see his daddy again, ha ha. Though we were all excited to go to the bowling alley mainly due to the fact that they have American food. It is the ONLY place in this town I can get battered fish fillets, so I was pumped as we all were. And it was evident by our outrageous obscene bill of 105 USD (and that is no alcohol involved, ha) Here is an overview through the pictures we took..

And by the way we did not leave Baby Hudson at home, he was just no entertainment whatsoever because he felt the need to sleep the whole time we were there. :)

Visit to the Fire Station

2008-03-04T13:00:00.013+01:00

There is a fan that comes to all the basketball games and is always asking Jeff's teammate Bryan if he would come up to the fire station to visit and take a tour. So we all thought it would be fun to take the kids, but I think Bryan and Jeff had more fun than anyone :) Trey was scared of the fire truck ladder that took Bryan and Jeff up in the air. Trey thought Daddy wasn't coming back, so he was not liking this trip so far. But, Trey warmed up when he got to see the inside of the fire trucks and take the tour throughout the station.

Does Bryan look a little scared in this picture?! Ha :) Bryan is letting Trey know it's ok. Ignore the red eye that I could not fix on Trey, do you see how scared he was for his Daddy? Poor guy!Here is Jeff being goofy (as usual) on the firemen pole

Then we have stripper Turbo on the firemen pole.. And this is what the babies were doing throughout the evening...Look at Baby Hudson, not sure if he was trying to poop or getting ready to give us a smile, either way isn't he a cutie?! :)

Trey was excited to get his very own firemen's helmet..

2008-02-29T17:14:00.008+01:00

Then we got great news that Grandma would be visiting us. Grandma's trip to visit us was her Christmas present from Jeff's father and uncles. We were so excited to have her, we wanted to plan the perfect trip for her. Her time here she got to watch 3 of Jeff's games, and that truly was all she cared to see. She was so excited to be able to see him play again. Grandma never missed a game Jeff played in since he was a child, but had not had the opportunity to watch him play since he began his professional career. Needless to say Grandma was ecstatic to once again see him perform on the basketball court. It's so touching for me to see how proud she is of him. Grandma and I spent more time in the city and shopping then we did anything else. I enjoyed my little shopping sprees with her:) We surprised Grandma with a trip to Paris, France. She absolutely LOVED Paris, and still can't believe she has been there. It was so much fun seeing her react to a place she never thought she would ever see. It was also a first time appearance in Paris for Faith, who I'm sure will really remember the sights :) There is nothing that can compare to Grandma's trip to Paris, but I also showed her the sights of our city, including the Ulmer Munster, shops and boutiques. The biggest gift Grandma gave Jeff and I was when she babysat our two angels so we could have a nice romantic dinner out for Valentine's Day. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU:) I sometimes forget what it's like to have my husband all to myself. I love my children, but I miss those days, ha!

Our Visitors This Year!!

2008-02-28T20:40:00.023+01:00

In the (almost) 4 years that we have lived overseas, this year was the first year we had family come visit. Not that they weren't all wanting to come earlier, but people DO have to work for a living, they have children, family and other responsibilities. Thankfully though my mother and Jeff's Grandmother were able to come stay with us for a couple weeks this year. My mother came in October and we all had such a good time. We took the kids to the pumpkin patch at a castle nearby in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Then we all went to Venice, Italy which we all absolutely loved. It was so beautiful there, and the drive on the way was amazing. We're so glad we decided to make the drive and not fly. This was my mom's first trip to Europe so I wanted her to see as much as possible. We drove through Austria and Switzerland and the mountains through those countries are breathtaking. After our trip to Italy we came home and re-cooped for a couple days. Jeff had a morning off so my mom and I took that opportunity and we spent the day in Strasbourg, France. We went to the Strasbourg Cathedral also known as the Notre Dame Cathedral in which I think my mom really enjoyed. It was a nice way to spend the day, and really enjoyed the sights. I then finally got to show her the city we call home. We visited the bakeries, the shops, boutiques, markets and of course what our city is known for, the Ulmer Munster. The Munster is the tallest church in the world and of course a huge tourist attraction. During my mom's stay here in between our traveling she also got to see 4 of Jeff's games which I KNOW was the highlight of her whole stay. Thanks mom for coming to visit, we can't wait to have you back :)

Our Babygirl Has Her First Tooth!!

2008-02-27T11:27:00.004+01:00

Now when she is playing with her big brother, instead of grabbing a handful of his hair she will be able to bite him. :) Trey is just as excited as mommy and daddy are, he tells everyone that Faith has her first tooth. Here is our princess with her first tooth poking through..

Not much of a tooth yet, but it's there.

So I Have Decided To Become A Blogger!!!

2008-02-26T21:45:00.007+01:00

After going back and forth with this idea, I have decided to go for it. I love the idea of sharing my humorous family events. There is never a dull moment in our household! Between my 4 year old son, 7 month old daughter and crazy husband, I feel I have plenty to laugh and talk about. Here is my entertainment...