Birthday Celebration - October 12

I celebrated turning 31 in Germany.  We went to a winery and had a wine tasting.

Me with the winery owner.

These are some of their vineyards.  A crew of 4 people pick about 30,000 liters of grapes each year.

Pretty picture of the Mosel River with vineyards in the background.

My birthday party... notice the fun party hats!!

I was so excited to watch Wes eat birthday cake.  He really enjoyed eating the cake.  

When you say "Sweet Baby" to Wes, he tilts his head to one side.  It is adorable.

Wes knows sign language and he is making the sign for bath.  He definitely needed one after enjoying the cake.

Bath time fun!

Cologne, Germany - October 13

We spent the day in Cologne.  This is me, Wes, John & Dad in front of part of an old Roman sewer system.  

This one includes Mom!

This is the Cologne Cathedral as known as the Kolner Dom.  It is the largest Gothic Church in Northern Europe and took over 600 years to complete.  We climbed 509 steps on a spiral staircase to a viewing platform 98 meters above the ground.  John carried Wes the entire way and Wes enjoyed every minute by laughing most of the way. 

Half way through the walk up... John & Wes in front of the bells.

View from the top!

We went to a Lego Store and Wes enjoyed playing with the Legos.  I even bought Wes' Christmas present while we were at the Lego Store.

I love this picture.  What a poser... makes for excellent photos.  

Luxembourg - October 2

I met up with Becca & Wes in Luxembourg.  We walked around the city, watched the changing of the guards at the palace and had lunch in the main city square.

These are old casemates (21km network of underground passages created in the solid rock).  They were capable of sheltering thousands of defenders during their time, as well as equipment, horses, workshops for artillery, kitchens, bakeries and slaughterhouses.

Tagged

20 Years Ago
We moved from Alexandria, Virginia to University Place, Washington. I went from Claremont Elementary School to Sunset Elementary School. I met Jennie (Rennie) Rhode through her sister Danielle.

10 Years ago
I had just transferred from Western to WSU. Fall 1998 was my first semester at WSU. I took HA 480 with Dr. Kendall (no relation) and received an A. I still remember all the late nights from working in teams for that class. Our team was called Motel 6. I also met two good friends – Joe and Stefanie in that class. Sadly I did not know Kelli, Emily or Charlotte yet. I would not meet them until Spring 1999.

5 Years Ago
I had been working at the Space Needle for a year. I moved out of my parent’s house and into my condo. I remember all the long weekends of painting, painting and more painting before I moved in.

3 Years Ago
I was still working at the Space Needle. I also attended my 10-year High School Reunion (Boy did that make me feel old). John & Becca were married in November in Las Vegas.

1 Year ago
I was on vacation in Egypt with my fabulous cousin Jenny Doyle. We had an amazing trip and toured all over Egypt. If you want to see pictures look at past posts on my blog.

Today
I went to work, then met with my trainer at the gym and then painted the kitchen ceiling at my parent’s house. I will be going to bed soon as I am still dealing with jetlag and trying to get over the 9 hour time change.

Tomorrow
It will be Friday so that means the weekend is almost here. I will be working and it is jeans day so I will be wearing jeans to work.

1 Year from now
Who knows… That is part of the fun of life you never know what the future holds.

Home Sweet Home

So I made it home.  I have tons and tons of pictures from my fabulous vacation - 1,093 to be exact.  It will take me some time to post pics.  I will start this weekend so check back for photos.

Bitburg, Germany

We made it to John, Becca & Wes' today and are looking forward to spending time with them.  John has a 3 day weekend thanks to Columbus Day.  Today I "went to work" with John in the afternoon and toured F-16 and A-10's are in the hangers for maintenance which was really cool to see.  

Lucerne, Switzerland

Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. We are in Lucerne, Switzerland and having a blast. We arrived yesterday and walked around this beautiful city. Today we climbed along the very old city wall and up several watch towers. Then we went on a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne and stopped over in Vitznau & Weggis (not pronounced like you think... it is like Veggi). Tonight we had pizza and delicious Bailey`s ice cream for dinner/dessert.
We went to Innsbruck on Tuesday. We loved it there and we so glad Katie recommended it to us. We went to the ski jump that was used in 2 Olympics. We also went to a Bell Museum which was very interesting. Then we had our first (and hopefully only) disapointment of the trip... the Swarovski Factory. It was really weird and all about fantasy. Then went went to the giftshop and were not impressed. There were stores in town that had a better selection. We wanted to see how the crystals were made and did not learn anything. Needless to say if you end up in Innsbruck skip the Swarovski Factory. You can look at my pictures instead. :)
Tomorrow we head up to Bitburg to visit John, Becca & Wes!!! We are very excited to spend time with them.
I will be home on the 14th and back at work on the 15th...