2010 Year End In Review (part 1)

Happy New Year's (Eve)

Wow! It is almost 2011. It's hard to believe we are now down to the last day of the year. So much has happened and so little blogged about it. Sorry! Here is a recap, to the best of my memory.

January brought Mike and I a newfound freedom when our oldest daughter, Stasia, turned twelve and was officially allowed to babysit. She has

been a tremendous blessing in accepting her role as the oldest child in the family as she carried out new responsibilities while enjoying new found freedoms (like wearing makeup and sitting in the front seat).

March brought about my birthday where I celebrated another 30th. : ) I still cover my grays, so I can get away with it. Because Mike forgot to make a cake, we celebrated by going to an Italian Ice Cream place where I got my favorite German ice cream dessert, Spaghettieis. Ummmm! It is ice cream that really looks like spaghetti.

April rolled around with a Spring Break trip to Paris. We toured the city the first day and went to EuroDisney the next day. The kids did a great job with all the walking and sightseeing. It reminded me of my childhood when we travelled Europe during my Dad's assignment to Germany. I hope our kids have just as fond memories as I do of visiting other countries.

In July, we went to visit a college friend in Ravensburg. We visited Lake Constance which is bordered by Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was cold enough, even in July, for me to wear a wetsuit in the water. I know, I am a chicken when it comes to cold water. The lake and surrounding area were beautiful. We also visited Neuschwanstein Castle (Cinderella's Castle is modeled after it) where not one, but two children threw up in the car due to all the winding roads. Overall, it was a great trip.

At the end of July, we went to Italy for a week. We drove to Camp Darby which is a military base on the coast near Pisa. We did day trips from there. We, of course, visited Pisa and took the famous picture of trying to hold up the Leaning Tower. We also visited Cinque Terre (the five cities built on the cliffs) and managed to go swimming in one of the little alcoves. We took a ferry to the island of Elba and again managed to go swimming in one of the little alcoves. We visited a marble quarry. We also found and American beach, rented a boogie board, and some chairs, and relaxed for a day. It was an awesome trip.

This update covers us through the end of July. There is too much to write in one post! So I'll update the rest of our year in the next one. Needless to say, we have been abundantly blessed to have this opportunity to live overseas. Theses trips would not be financially affordable for our large family if we were to do this from the States. We are very grateful to God for the opportunity to be here in a country that is so good to us. We love it here!

In Him,

Melissa