Germany!

Wilkommen to our photos of

Germany!

An aerial view of Stuttgart from our plane as we were about to land.

Pictures of our housing nestled in the hills next to a vineyard - beautiful. And they are newly renovated - YEAH!

Cherry Blossoms

My favorite time of the year in Japan! The cherry blossoms are gorgeous - the pictures don't even do them justice. If you look closely in the first one, you can see the Samurai Castle at the top of the mountain. I am really going to miss this part. We were there at the Kintai with my friend's kids, Taylor and Ethan.

Good-bye Guppy

Good-Bye sweet little baby Guppy.
We had some good times you and I. I
could drive you anywhere on the crazy
mini-streets of Japan. And parking -
never a problem! I shall always
remember you, your beautiful color and your cute little "meep meep."
Sayonara, my friend. Sniff.

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg Hunt with our MAG-12 Command Group. Doesn't Marissa look just thrilled to be there! The boys had fun - especially our competitive Makie. He always makes out with the most eggs. He won a prize for the egg on the spoon contest. The busted egg was the end result of the "Team Marissa and Mason" egg toss. It was BEAUTIFUL weather.

Skiing at Geihoku

Valentine Ski Trip at Geihoku Ski Resort

What a fun trip! Sure, we could not walk for nearly a week after, and we are still black and blue, but we would do it again in a heartbeat! We went with our friends Toni and Chris. Toni's toosh is still broken (literally) from the "sledding incident" so she could only sit and watch. Needless to say, we kept her entertained! Most of the pictures are courtesy of Toni.

This last photo is of Jamie after he skied into a mud hole! It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. He was trying to be cocky and told me that I did not have the "ski control" he did and then SPLAT! I tried so hard not to laugh because he just laid there face down in the mud, not moving. Once I was sure he was not broken, I let it all out. The little Japanese hotel guy would not let him in the door at first because of the mud (like he was supposed to strip down outside)?

Super Bowl 2009

The winners of Armchair Quarterback. They received Budweiser Salutes the Marine Corps mirrors!

Super Bowl 2009

Stephanie and I at the Super Bowl party. What kind of party starts at 0800? One on the other side of the world - in Asia!! Fun was had by all though - the Marines are used to early mornings and when it comes to drinking, there is no such thing as "too early" or "too late." Good thing they had the Monday off. As for me working for Budweister - whooda thunkit! It's been a year and a half now!

Sledding in the Mountains

The snow was so beautiful! I was so happy to see it. I was hanging out the window like a dog trying to take pictures. Good thing we had snow tires on the van (a total fluke - they were cheap when we had to buy new tires). We almost got stuck! I guess it was snowing a lot more than usual that day in the mountains. Our ears kept popping on the way up. The kids were so excited. As soon as we got out of the car, the kids were jumping in the snow in the parking lot. Unfortunately, there were cars trying to park - I am sure we looked crazy to them again. We can't wait to go back!