Germany TLA Living

After landing in Germany, we got some burner phone cards and were met by Kevin's sponsor and already in the car in less then an hour after departing the plane.  This was so much faster and better than landing in Korea.  We had so much in-processing when we landed in Korea that we about lost all the kids to meltdowns of fatigue and pure tiredness.  This was a completely different experience.  We walked right through as if we already lived here, it was wonderful.  It was in the middle of the day, so we didn't have a problem staying awake as we drove to Ramstein-Miesenbach, where our interim TLA was.  When we went to book a room onbase at Ramstein, they didn't have anything available until 7 days after we arrived, so we had to find an off base approved TLA to stay in for a week.  We found one only about 15 minutes from the base in Ramstein-Miesenbach.  It was a cute three bedroom apartment in a cute blue house.

Kevin's sponsor got us a welcome basket along with some food.  We were also blessed to have friends from San Antonio here also, the Lunds, who brought us a few days worth of groceries and dinner from PF Changs for the night.  We visited with them for a while, ate dinner then sent our exhausted kids to bed.  Germany has these AMAZING window coverings called rolladens that cover the windows completely on the outside.  It was pure darkness, which was perfect because it didn't get dark until after 11pm.  We all slept great and woke up at a normal hour ready to explore Germany.

Our first stop was at the base so we could start in-processing.  We had fun exploring the base and getting into the DBIDS so we could have base access.  Ramstein is so huge compared to Osan!

Living in Germany is so hard without a car.  Holy Cow.  The kids and I were stuck at TLA all day, luckily Kevin was able to catch a ride to work with either Erick Lund or with his sponsor.  The week passed pretty slow with only Netflix and colouring pages to keep us company.  But passed it did.  Kevin was able to pick up his car that we bought in Germany, and we moved into the TLA on base at Ramstein.  This apartment was more dog friendly and much bigger then our TLA off base.  There were so many breakable things in the TLA off base that I was worried Monster would break something I would have to pay for it.  We also went from a three bedroom apartment to a four bedroom apartment, so that was nice.  Plus we were on base so we were much closer to everything we needed to in-process and to Kevin's work.  We originally were in the top floor of the apartments, but we were only there for one day, because we found out a first floor apartment was coming available the next day, so we moved to room 111 on the bottom floor.  This was to be our home for the next month.  

Big Sis and M&M shared a room, Little A had her own room and Monster had his own room.  Sadly, on base did not have rolladens, so the sun kept waking Monster up super early in the morning.  That was why he needed his own room, so he didn't wake Little A up.  Little A is not a happy morning little gal, she's a huge grump if she doesn't get enough sleep.

We had a good sized kitchen with all the necessities that we needed to cook and make meals.  The apartment also came with a huge kennel, so Bailey was able to have everything she needed.  She loved running around the house, but since we were on the first floor, she had to be in the kennel when we left so she wouldn't run out if housekeeping came.  TLA on base was super frustrating.  One of the house cleaners kept stealing from us.  First I noticed our Bose bluetooth speaker was missing.  Then my running watch went missing.  Our room safe was broken, so we weren't able to lock anything away.  It was frustrating and nerve-racking to leave the apartment.  I left a note for housekeeping asking to return the speaker and luckily the next day they returned it.  I never got my running watch back, and that was super frustrating.  

Since we only had the stuff we brought with us on the plane and the boxes we mailed to ourselves, there wasn't much that the kids could do during this summer break.  We went to the park down the road a lot, and did some exploring, but they were still bored.  Luckily, Aunt Lisa sent a package with activities for the kids and crayons and colouring books.  It was fun getting a care package.

From Seoul, Korea to Frankfurt, Germany

We originally had TLF (Temp living at the on base hotel) booked for a week in Korea, but then we found out we can just stay in our apartment with loner furniture until the last day, so we chose to do just that.  Especially since we have Bailey now, life is easier to just stay in our own apartment.  We had our final inspection and turned in the keys the night before we left Korea.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to 615 Hallasan, our home the past two years.  

Even though the apartment was really small, and significantly smaller then our home in Texas, it was perfect for us while we lived here.  I won't miss the broken master bedroom ceiling fan, or the weird toilet that never seemed to work in the master bath.  I also will be so excited for more space and especially for room to breath and spread out.  But, I will miss the convenience of living on base, and Kevin walking across the street for work.  I will miss all the kid's activities just a walk away.  I will miss the friends right across the hall, and I will miss the easy friendships we made.  Korea has been wonderful and I am so glad we had this opportunity. So we said good bye to our empty apartment and set off for a night at TLF in Korea and back to temp living for a while.

The next morning, we got up nice and early and packed our bags for our ride to the airport.  Kevin and all the kids took the base bus at 6:00 AM to the airport.  We didn't have as many bags as when we moved to Korea, but we still had a ton of bags.  I helped Kevin get the kids on the bus, and the luggage in the bus cargo.  I waved good bye, and off they went.

Unfortunately, the busses don't allow animals, so since we have Bailey I had to make other arrangements.  Our amazing friends, the Walkers were spending the day in Incheon and offered to wake up early and take Bailey and me to the airport.  About an hour after Kevin left, I was picked up by Brianne and Co. and off we went to the airport.

Kevin got to the airport without any problems.  All the kids helped carry all the luggage in, except for Monster who added himself as one of the bags.

The kids found some seats and waited the hour for me to join them.  Krista DeGuelle, our adopted Aunt and our previous neighbor in San Antonio, sent a package with airplane gifts for all the kids.  The opened their gifts and were busy little bees (Thanks to Krista) while they waited for me.

The Walkers and I arrived to the airport and they decided to park and come hang out with us for a while.  The kids were so happy to see their best little buds one last time.  They went and got donuts and smoothies and just played and talked while we waiting for our flight to check in.  The time came to get checked in and we had some rather sad goodbyes to say.  These were the hardest good bye of all Korea.  We will miss the Walkers!

It took us about two hours to check in.  Oh MY Goodness!  That was so stressful.  Our orders only allowed us one luggage per person, so we had issues with having too many bags.  Then, we were having issues getting Bailey on the plane.  Eventhough we came to the airport just a few days earlier to get her passed with customs, and even though we had all the required paperwork, the agent didn't seem to know what she was doing.  She kept leaving and going in a back room to check the paper with someone in the back.  In the end, they finally said we can take her, but then charged us a few hundred dollars to let her on the plane.  By this point, we were frustrated and the kids were a wiggling mess, so we paid the money and moved on to security.  Luckily we didn't have any further problems, and made it through security and to our gate without any hiccups.  We brought a pee pad, so the girls took Bailey into the handicap bathroom and she went on the pee pad without any issues, so that was super nice!

We made it onto the plane and found our seats.  Big Sis wanted Bailey under her feet, so she took charge of her.  I had the Monster and Little A by me.  We got out Aunt Krista's gifts once more, iPads, and some small toys and the kids made it though take off and into the sky.

We had an 11 hour flight to Germany and the kids did great.  I think travelling all over Asia has made them better travellers.  We kept them occupied and they really did wonderful.  We landed in Germany safe and sound and didn't have any problems as we walked through customs and onto German soil.  And here we are now, in Europe and ready for our next adventure to begin.  Willkomen German!

A Fond Farewell to Friends

We spent our last week in Korea spending as much time as possible with our amazing friends.  The kids loved going to the pool and seeing friends, and I loved it even more when we would go and I would see my friends.  If friends were at the pool we would spend up to four hour at the pool.  Here is Adreann Liddell, Corianne Shwarts and Holly Rust posing for this picture.  I love my friends. Monster also loves his friends, especially Rhett.  It was always hard to get him out of the pool when Rhett was there.  Friends make life so sweat.

One of our final times before we left, we made sure the kids told their friends that we were going to the pool and they had a small pool party.  They loved having fun in the sun one last time with all their best buds.  

We had a girls night right before Holly Rust and I left and we got together and went to my favorite cafe, CF Cafe.  We talked and laughed and just had a great time.  After CF Cafe, we decided to say Good Bye to Korea through Karaoke.  So we went out in search of a large Karaoke private room.  We went down one of the SED side streets and saw a sign that looked like a microphone and decided to try it out.  As we were walking down the walkway there were neon flashing lights that made it look as if it were a strip club.

We were a bit nervous as we reached the top of the stairs and came to a closed door.  We didn't know if we should walk in, knock or walk away.  Someone ended up opening the door and it was in fact a Karaoke place.  We rented a large room for an hour and had the best time just singing our hearts out.

The girls also had a final Young Women night with their friends.  They loved being able to say good bye and bake with their friends.  They sure have made some life long friends here in Korea.  It has been such a great place to live and we have loved calling it home for the last two years.  Kevin and I had one last final Minute to Win It Party with a few friends.  We had a blast playing games, talking trash, and just being with our favorite peeps.

Two nights before we left Korea, we finally found the most amazing restaurant.  We had a final farewell and amazing dinner with our neighbors and good friends, Jin and Will Chung and their family.  They not only treated us to the best Korean BBQ, but they taught us how to eat it correctly.

Kevin and I have had Korean BBQ a few times, but we always ate it wrong.  Jin shared with us that you are supposed to put the entire thing in your mouth because it hold the goodness of the person who made it. The sides that they put all around the table are unlimited free re-fills, which I never knew.  We also tried some amazing side dishes that I was always scared to try.  Will taught us how to use the sauce to make it taste even more amazing.  And we tried some excellent soup.  The food was so amazing.  The best part was that the restaurant had a play place, so when Little Monster and Little A were done eating, they just went to play.  We had a great dinner and a sad good bye to our great friends, the Chungs.

Golf Club to Pass the Time

All our stuff is gone, and the kids have nothing to do.  I found out that the base was offering golf club/ lessons for kids the last two weeks before we left.  I called and reserved them a spot.  The golf club included golf clubs for all the kids, and it was three hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday for two weeks.  We had absolutely nothing else, other then going to the pool, so the girls were excited about learning how to play golf.  The Rusts also joined in the lessons, so they were even more excited to have friends join them.  It was actually Holly that told me about the lessons, Thank you Holly!

All the kids had fun and the instructors really did an amazing job with all the kids.  They spent time at the driving range practicing their swings.  There were a few old men that would sit back and give the kids pointers.  I'm not sure if they were part of the lessons or not, but they helped the girls so much.  I think they were just avid golfers with nothing to do but love the sport.

The very last lesson was the day before we left.  We literally loaded a bus to the airport 17 hours after they were done with their last day.  Instead of a lesson on the last day, they had a golf tournament.  I brought Monster and came to watch the game.  They had the course all set up for the kids and we started on hole 10.

All the kids took their turn, and I was surprised at how well they all did.  Golf isn't a very exciting sport to watch, poor Monster kept asking if we could leave.  You can see M&M, Little A and Big Sis all ready to go.

After the tournament, we all went back to the club house for awards and food.  They fed everyone a hotdog and chips lunch with a nice cold soda.  They also gave the kids certificates of achievement and completion and a golfer towel.  All the girls were excited to learn the sport and asked if we can play in Germany.  After lunch, we put the golf clubs in their boxes, along with the certificates and towels, and went straight to the mail box to mail them to ourselves in Germany.

Freedom Festival at Osan

We celebrated Independence Day on American soil at Osan Air Base this year.  It was a funny thought to think we are here in South Korea a few hundred miles from the North Korea border and we are celebrating America's Independence.  The USO put on an amazing festival this year.  There were planes to see, bouncy houses to jump in, food to eat and amazing performances to watch.  I was excited to bring Talia to the Freedom Festival because last year it was pretty awesome.

We made sure to meet up with the Walkers, so we could hang out during the Festival.  The girls were excited to hang out with their best friends.

One of the celebrities that appeared at the Festival was Spiderman.  Little Monster was so excited he was speechless.  He saw Spiderman and stopped dead in his tracks.  He waved and just kept staring at Spiderman and kept telling me, "mom, look, it's Spiderman" over and over again.  Spiderman got down and Monster ran for him and gave him a hug; it was a dream come true for him.  It was pretty adorable.

The South Korea Military professional Taekwondo Team was at the Festival and put on an incredible performance.  They had this huge perforce choreographed to some pretty awesome techno music.  They kicked, jumped, broke boards and danced.  It was so cool.  After the show a few of the men went to Monster and picked him up and were taking a bunch of selfies with him.  Monster was excited to be sitting with the 'cool jumping men'.

Little A and Monster also did a takewondo demonstration.  They both broke boards and did such a good job.  Little A missed but didn't give up and when she broke the board the entire crowd cheered, and Monster broke his very first board ever.

After the performance we went with the Walkers down the street and ate dinner.  We got back to the festival as it was getting dark, we found some amazing seat and sat back and watched a really great fireworks show.  We all laughed as we talked about how close we are to North Korea and how we all hope they can see the fireworks from there.  Happy 4th of July! Here's to freedom.