Nurnberg

While we were in the hotel, waiting for our house, we looked for things to do. I should note that we also did not have our car yet. We shipped our car earlier then the recommended date...but still we waited two weeks for our car to catch up to us here. Eventually we were able to borrow a car from some good friends we met here, but until then if we wanted to do anything...we road the train. It is really cheap...about 9 Euro for my family of 7 to go anywhere in Bavaria round trip. Our first train ride and trip was to Nurnberg. It is only about an hour away, so very close.

Here is a picture Anya took of us walking up a typical European street.

I have seen Chalk artistis or street artists in movies...the most famous coming to mind is Bert in "Mary Poppins". This was the first time I had ever seen one in person, and they were beautiful drawings!

There is never a shortage of a good scenery shot.

We saw several cathedrals while there, this was my favorite.

This is St. Lorenz (Lawerence), parts of it date back to the early 1500's. Some of has been rebuilt due to fires and such, but most of it is the original structure.

Here is a shot of the inside. I think I may need a better camera. Inside these old churches are very dark and dim, so it is hard to get good pictures with my camera without a tripod. They just don't do the subject justice!

We ate at this cute restaraunt at the base of our first castle!

Enjoying a famous Nurnberger Wurst

Our first Castle

The Kaiserburg

I guess technically this is not a castle, it is a burg. Which is like a fortress but smaller. I am still trying to figure out what constitutes "castle" status versus "burg" status...what I have come up with is it is just what the builder decided to call it. This one dates back to 1012 ad, the girls were fasicnated with the tour. They were able to see the deep well room and learn how important a clean water source was back then. And what lengths people go to, to protect it!

It was a fun little day trip.

First Day of School!!

We are jumping ahead a little, but today was the first day of school, so we wanted to share!

Don't let the crazy picture fool you. My girls were VERY excited for the new school year to start. It is all they have been talking about for the last couple of weeks. They have had a very long summer, getting out mid-May and not starting until today! But, we packed the summer full with a move, traveling and such, now it is time to settle down and get into a good routine

Cora has a teacher we think is good, but new again. We lucked out last year with the "new" teacher...she ended up being fabulous. My favorite Kindergarten teacher yet...this year Cora is a "grader" as she calls it. Her teacher is due with her first child this Thursday...!!! So, she, along with the semi-permenant sub, both started out the year together. They will co-teach until baby comes, and then Cora's teacher will be out until after winter break. Thankfully we have heard great things about the sub for cora's class as well. Keeping our finger's crossed it will be a good year for her.

Hannah's teacher is just awesome! She is southern, and Loves kids! I know a few people whose kids have had her, and they all have loved her. We are very excited for Hannah and her year at school!

Anya started Middle School!!!! It was a pretty good day, but not without it's bumps, as with all transitions to middle school. The biggest was not getting to eat lunch!!! I guess the line was so long, that by the time the bell rang to go back to class, Anya and her friend were still waiting to in line to get lunch. They got their lunch, but were stressed about missing class...so only at their rolls. Apparently it was put out that lunch was most important and to eat even if it meant missing class...but Anya didn't get that message. Poor kid, what a stress to undergo, do I eat, or be late to class. Needless to say, we are doing home lunch tomorrow...maybe the rest of the week. I totally meant to make home lunch today, which is what I do every year...but I was a mom space cadet today and forgot to do it.

This is Hannah's little friend that wanted to go to class with her. I tell ya, this girl is a magnet for butterflies, moths and ladybugs!

All in all we are hoping for a great school year!!

FischFest

Back at the beginning of this journey, before we got our house, we were stuck in a 12 x 15 hotel room. So, we were actively looking for things to do, to get us out before we drove each other crazy. One of the things German's do real well here is food and Festivals...which are, amazingly enough, often combined! Each little village or community has their own fest, so there is something nearby to attend almost weekly if you wanted. The town of Grafenwoehr, where the army base is located, has the annual Fischfest. This was our first fest, and it felt so european to us. We could walk the cobblestone streets down to the fest, and it even rained on the walk back home...but that didn't stop us from grabbing an Eis waffle (ice cream cone) from our favorite Eis Cafe...Penguino Eis.

Here they are cooking the fish on these huge sticks...these spits were massive, like weapons! Not sure how to spell or pronounce what they call these...but it kind of morphed into "stukefish" for us. They knew what we meant at least!
Matt enjoying his trout. I even tasted some...and I am NOT a fish person. I don't even tolerate fish, but what can I say...Europe has brought out the adventurous side of me.

Jack ended up LOVING the fish. He couldn't get enough of it. Who knew? Maybe I should start cooking fish more often...we will start out slow by adding fish sticks to the menu (is that even real fish?)

We have been having fun, exploring, and trying new things...we hope you enjoy this adventure with us!

Probably what you all have been waiting for....our new home!

Well, here it is, at long last... The Newest Residence of The Jeppson Crew!

I had expected to find a charming, cottage with a balcony made from black forest wood...draped in flowers like hanging Geraniums or petunias. However, when we got here there were NO private rentals available for a family our size. Nor, did it seem, that any would become available soon. So, we filed an exception to policy and we were able to recieve this lovely 4 bedroom duplex. It is new, clean, and fairly spacious. The best part is, it is wired 110w and 220w, so we can use european and american electronics. It also sits in a subburb at the top of a hill...down one side is the Main town of Eschenbach of which we are a part, and down the other side of the hill is the base Grafenwoer, and village of Grafenwohr. We are across the street from the elementary and middle schools, so the girls can all walk to school together. And our home sits at the end of a culd-a-sac, next to a walking/biking trail. It is perfect!

So...Here it Is:

Right after moving in. Yeah, no more hotel!



Our new home

View of the walking path and Bavarian countryside from our front stoop.

Another view of the front with our garage

Our back yard, it is fully fenced and landscaped!

Our Front Entry way, with the refinished bench I picked up at an antiques store located in the ruins of a castle in Fischbach.

Halfbath off the entry way

Living room area (the dining and living are combined, which will make for cozy living quarters...but I think with the rest of the space in the house we will be fine)

Dining area

Kitchen (small, I know...but the funny thing is, it is the same size as the one I had in Fort Irwin. But this one is laid out much better...so I like it a lot more)

Boys room

Hannah and Cora's room

Anya's room, She gets her own room again! Boy is she excited. She got kind of tired of sharing with the boys in our last house. Also, what you can't see in the pictures is, all the bedrooms have built in wardrobes. Which is awesome!

The "kids" huge bathroom. It is enormous, and this camera angle just doesn't do it justice!

Our stairwell. you can view from the top of the third floor, all the way down to the basement. The boys love to go up here and drop balls, clothes, toys and anything else they can find and watch it drop alllllll the way down. We have vowed to not leave any expensive electronics (cell phones) or anything fragile down!

The master bath...off to the side that you can barely see is the shower...and to the other side is a big window in the eaves of the roof. It is pretty big, about the size of the master bath we had in Fort Irwin.

The Master bedroom is huge! It is the whole third floor of the house, up in the "eaves"

Another shot of the master, this is a good view of the built in wardrobes.

Yet, another view. It is like a long L shape, kind of a wierd shape, but this is by far my favorite master bedroom we have ever had.

Last of all is the basement. Here is the bottom of the stairwell. Cora has kind of taken this place over, as her little hidey hole. Not sure what we are going to do with it. I was toying around with the idea of putting the computer here, but Matt doesn't like that idea. So we will see it...Cora may get to keep it.

Storage room, which may become a craft/sewing room

Laundry room, which is where we will probably put a lot of storage and food storage because it is so HUGE!!

Here is a big room. I begged and pleaded with Housing, and they agreed to come carpet this room on Tuesday. When that is done, this will become a family/toy/game room. The kids rooms are a little small, so most of their toys will go down here. I think it will work out nicely.

Last of all, here is our Attic space, reachable by a pull down staircase. I love it because it reminds me of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and how he gets stuck in the attic and rediscovers old family movies. Anyway, we have a staircase just like that now! This will most likely be used for storage space.

We also have a garge with a shed attatched to the back...more storage space! I was not expecting so much storage space, and I don't think we will fill up even a third of it with the stuff we brought. But, it is nice to have just in case!

So that is our home while we are in Europe. Obviously, these are the "before" pictures with all the Army loan furniture. We will post "after" pictures as soon as we are finished moving in with all our furniture and pictures are hung :)

Crossing paths again.

I FINALLY HAVE THE INTERNET!!

I am so excited. This is my first blog using the internet in our home in Germany, sitting on the couch in my p.j.'s! No more USO's, or borrowing other people's, it is such a nice feeling being connected again.

Ok, on to my post. One of the greatest things about the army is all the people we get to meet and friends we create. Of course, the down side is the little heart breaks you feel when it is time to move on. However, it is also amazing how those path's cross again. Since we have been in Germany we have been reunited with friends we had in Fort hood, and Fort Irwin. Plus, in our travels to Utah before we moved we were able to cross paths with a few different families that have become close to us. We got to hang out with the Larson's, and will meet up with them again soon since they moved to Europe as well. We also spent some time (not enough:) with the Swenson's and they, so very nicely, shared their home with us for an evening. And what a lovely home it is! Towards the end of our trip in Utah, we wonderfully had the opportunity to catch up with some dear friends we hadn't seen in a year or so. Remember the Throcks?! Well, we were able to hook up for an afternoon in Utah right before we left and as they were traveling through to Idaho. It all just lined up perfectly, and I was so happy. Not because I love the Throcks (and I do...), but because of this...

and this....

It just makes me cry when I see this pictures. It makes me think of "Anne of Green Gables" and finding a kindred spirit. These two are truely kindred spirits, they are the best of friends and I hope they keep that friendship growing for years to come. I have personal, selfish visions of them being roommates at BYU, keeping each other in line and out of trouble :) Back to the photos...I don't think these two girls stopped smiling the whole time we were together.

It is amazing how all our girls get along so famously. We each have three girls that are close in age.

Such good times with good friends

The whole gaggle of us, picnicing in the park

Our 10 kids, between us.

We knew about a month before this day, that it might possibly work out to meet up. Once Anya and C.J. Throck found out, they would not let us NOT meet up. This was truely the highlight of the Utah trip for Anya, meeting up with her good friend again. It was a perfect ending to a perfect visit. It was so nice to spend time with all our dear friends, and we look forward to our paths crossing again in the near future!

Coyote Kissing, Utah and Matt's Birthday

There is a stone coyote that sits at the exit of Fort Iriwn. It is a well known tradition at Fort Irwin, that when you move, as you drive away, you stop and kiss the coyote farewell or you will be stationed there again. We all kissed the coyote, except for the boys. It is fairly gross, hands were sanitized, but what do you do for lips?

Before moving to Germany, we spent almost two weeks in Utah. It seemed like a long time at first, but it quickly flew by! There never seems to be enough time to do all the things we would like to do. The main thing we wanted to do, but did not have time to do, was go to the Manti pageant. I was pretty bummed, I thought it would be awesome for the kids, and fun for the girls to see the temple where their parents were married. Someday we will get to the pagaent! We did get to spend lots of time with good friends, lots of family and doing some fun activities.
Grandpa Overton and Hunter playing "copy cat"

Great-grandma Gale spending some quiet time with the boys

Matt also celebrated his birthday while in Utah. It was a great day! We ended up being able to see most of his family that day, one way or the other. We also were able to do some fun things as a family. One of the things Matt has wanted to do for a few years now is go on the Heber Creeper. It is an old steam train the runs down Provo Canyon, purely tourist. We had never had time to do it before, but this year...for Matt's birthday, we made time. We got to the train station in Heber with only minutes to spare, but we did make it. Unfortunately, the train was so full that we were all in separate train cars, luckily we did find enough seats together that everyone had someone to sit by.

Great-grandma Gale was able to go with us. Grandma Overton came as well, they with the girls sat together in one car.

Matt, the boys, and I, were in another car. During one of the "breaks" the train had, we noticed this toddler boy in the row in front of us. He was about as old as our boys, and was playing with his mother's cell phone. All of the sudden he chucked it out the window!!! Luckily, with the train stopped, she was able to quickly hop off and retrieve it. Matt and I kind of laughed because it was so like something Jack would do, yet we vowed NEVER to let the boys play with our cell phones...especially by open windows!!!

The whole gang that went with us on the train. Now you know why we couldn't find seats all together. It was so neat to have everyone there. Along with my mom and grandma, Matt's mom, sister and two nieces were able to come too.

The girls in front of one of the engines.

After the train ride we stopped at "Granny's" for a world famous milkshake...at least famous in Utah. Anyone born and breed in Utah knows that you can't go to Heber without stopping at "Granny's" for a milkshake! Later I borrowed Matt's mom's oven and baked his favorite cake, yellow with extra chocolate frosting. And we conned his nieces into babysitting the kids, while we went out for a birthday dinner with his parents and sister and her husband at "Los Hermanos". It was a very fun day! One of the best we spent while in Utah.

Sadly, our time in Utah came to an end quickly. We found oursevles packing up for the drive back to California (yes we drove west to fly east...it is the army way! They wouldn't pay for us to fly out of Salt Lake...and we didn't want to pay when it would be free from California...so driving we went). It was a great trip. We feel blessed to have such wonderful family, and friends, and to be able to spend some time with them. Hopefully we will see them all again soon!

Thankyou Utah for a wonderful visit!