alo all...

so i have a hilar story. i know it has been a while---i havent updated about the weekend etc so bear with me. i will start with tonight's activities and work my way backwards because, well, i am cracking up inside about the events that just unfolded...

...so...tonight we went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants--Jagerhof. It literally means, "hunter's house." As you may have guessed, the place is covered with hunting "trophies." There are hundreds of creatures---all shot by the owner---lining the walls of the restaurant. Hunting is not my cup of tea, and i'd prefer if people stuck to the fruits/vegies and occaisional chicken, but this guy was NUTS for meat! Everywhere---deer, wild boar, elk, carribou, muskrat. the works.

anyway, we have been to this restaurant once before, so i was prepared. Jen and I walked in, just like before (except this time we had no males accompanying us...aside from 12 yr old camerin). So we sit down and eat our delicious meal and drink our wine. we had seen the owner--aka the hunter of all the animals on the wall---when we first walked into the place. he had said hello, but nothing had been out of the ordinary until......

....we had just paid the bill. he came over and asked if he could bring us two shots of cognac (his treat). Jen looked at me and we said, "sure." Little had we realized that this would extend our evening quite a bit.

The cognac came...as well as a shot for the owner. he took a seat at our table and began to chat. He did a toast to our "husbands." I'll tell you, i could kill the kids. Minutes later, the kids are telling mr. hunter (i dont know his real name even though he introduced himself) that i am their au-pair and that i am, indeed, not married.

Within instants, I am being winked at....whistled at...and TOTALLY BLATENTLY HIT ON!!! Dont get me wrong, guys, i have been checked out and subtly hit on before, but this was OUT OF CONTROL. He asked me how old I was and where I was staying etc etc. I was soon to find out he was 62, but "young at heart." He's "good at shooting a target." I died.

By the time we left the place, he had given me a card w/ his number on it and a bunch of free meat (leberwurst and stuff i was going to buy for my dad anyway). So hilarious. Jen and I left the restaurant DYING.

He asked when we would be back and Jen said we would bring Alex back---we are going to die. It was a great time...Jen and I cracked up the entire way home in the car. Sometimes it pays off to be a girl. Camerin said, "were you uncomfortable?? I wasnt even being hit on and I was uncomfortable! You musst have been dying!" Haha...so great. You know its bad when all of the kids--kids that are usually just concerned with cartoons and chocolate--are suddenlly realizing that this man is just off his rocker. And to cap the evening off, i was given a kiss on the hand and was made to promise that I would come back to his restaurant before going back to the states. So classic. And even MORE classic: the woman that served us our drinks was his WIFE! Can you imagine?? If I was her, I would grab him by the balls and send him to bed!!!!! Ok....enough with that. I just wish I could've videotaped the whole encounter. It was so perfect.


The rest of the week has been great. Kids are being relatively good, but getting a bit restless with the crappy weather. I just cant wait for ALEX TO GET HERE!!! YAYA!!!

Last weekend I ended up going to Heidelburg. It was a beautiful day and I got to tour the Castle there. Another absolutely picturesque town. I just cant describe these places precisely enough to do them justice. Its awesome. Simply gorgeous.

Alright....take care all! I will be leaving for Italy on FRIDAY! And then back to the states on the 4th of Sept.

Tchussy,
Beth

imagine the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen. now times that by ten. then, surround yourself with endless rolling hills speckled with some of the most beautful horses you have ever seen. now imagine that you are the only human for miles. that was me tonight. it killed me that i didnt have my camera...not to assume that having it would really have done justice to the whole scenario...but i could have at least captured a few images to post for you.

i dont know if it is the unusually nice weather, the fact that i can see the end of the tunnel, or maybe some tranquilizers that i was given in my sleep, but i am in great spirits today. the kids were great--we went on a bike ride to see the horses (same ones i ran to this evening) and just had an uber-fantastic day. very little whining and arguing. love it.

perhaps it is the fact that i have now been here for over two months, but today i seemed to have received a lot more "alo"s and "guten abend"s than normal. everyone was out and about--walking the dog, doing a jog, watering their flowers, reading in their doorway, or just sitting with a loved one. it was great. i helped a woman catch her cat. the entire time she was talking to me i hardly understood what she was saying--just that she had lost her cat because it ran out of the house. hilarious. i just smile and laugh and say "ja." i wish i was leaving here feeling completely accomplished with my german language skills, but im afraid to say that just aint gonna happen.

i cant believe i only have 6 more days with the kids---only 6 more days of their summer vacation. wow. it has gone by fast, but i am glad. i will be leaving at just the right time--enough time to feel comfortable and to fully discover how beautiful life is here, and yet not too much time to get sick of it all.

I will be leaving for home in 17 days!! Cant wait to see you mom and pops!! love you all so much and hope you arent too sick of me yet!

Tchuss,
Beth O.

so i have been here exactly two months as of today...and yet i just found a new favorite spot in wattenheim. well...its technically not wattenheim--its actually some gray area between watteheim and necktarhof. it was so great--today was a great day.

we woke up this morning and did our daily dossage of cartoons and had some bfast before heading out on a walk. i swear, if it was up to those kids we would just sit on our asses all day and do nothing. So i told them to get their sneaker and their scooters and we were going for a walk/ride. no questions.

so they got their stuff and i brought three plastic bags as a surprise. you see, last night, when i was running, i found these huge blackberry bushes!! they looked perfect, so i thought it would be a fun thing to do with the kiddos. we got going and when i showed them the bushes the died. we spent about a half hour picking berries and getting poked by thorns and attacked by bugs. when we got back to the house i made a yummy blackberry pie that we shared with the neighbors tonight at an impromptu get together. it was great.

anyway, i cant get ahead of myself. the kids took a nap because they were having trouble getting along. then when their mom got home, she really wanted to get out on her bike and take advantage of the nice weather we had today. so...we all hopped on bikes and got going. it was great. we rode to the next town and then i told jen that i wanted to explore down one of the side roads that went between the two towns. we got going and then we were passed by our neighbors--Segrid. She was in her car on her way to feed her horse and told us to follow her so that we could see her horse.

It was gorgeous!! The horses name is Nadine. It is a beautiful arabian horse that is full of spunk and very strong. She keeps it at this stable that is amazing!! This is my new favorite place. I will run there every night now---it was just breathtaking. You see...Wattenheim is right on the edge of this valley that is completely wooded. It is sooo beautiful and the horses get to roam the fields that are blocked off right on the edge before getting to the forest. If i was a horse, there is no other place i would want to be. So much open space and such a well taken care of area. I just sat there for an hour brushing the horses and giving them loving. Segrid goes there every night and says that I am welcome to come whenever I would like. I was in heaven.

We rode our bikes back to the house--downhill most of the way. I felt so free and alive and happy. Everyone was out riding their bikes or walking their dogs or just walking hand in hand. it was awesome.

I got back...read my email update from my sis!!...ate a piece of berry pie...and cracked up with courtnie. yes...it was a good day. it started with smiles and ended with smiles. not much more i can ask for.

just a week from tomorrow Alex will be arriving and I can show her all of these great things. That way ya'll will know that im not making this sheiza up.

tchuss...
bean.

what can i say...some days i cant stand her and other days i love her. today was a mixture of both. we had a relatively mellow day--just hangin out while it rained outside. i love the rain, but it can make the kids restless after a while.

last night i headed off to bed only to see the biggest living spider of my LIFE crawling right next to my bed. I screamed and ran to find Jen. Between the two of us and Brian's pep-talking on the phone we managed to kill it and get its remains into the nearest trash can. Ugh...it was so gross. I didnt realize how much spiders scared me until I saw that thing. This was no daddy long leg. wowzers.

im beginning my count down for alex's arrival!! today is august 15--almost 16 for me--which means she will be here in 9 days!!! Holy shit!! yeeehaw!

not much else to report. jen signed the papers for the new house tonight and i went for a run. i cant wait to come back and visit...and bing one of ya'll with me. their new house will have 10 bedrooms...ridiculous i know!!! but it will be so great for visitors and extra living space. i love the house---classic german looking house.

i miss caitlin. she must be getting rained on a lot in horse camp---it hasnt let up since she left.

oh yeah...lexi (the dog) slept with me last night for the first time!!! we bonded...i LOVE that dog. she is so smart!! not as cuddley as Cali, but she is sweet and playful and active and clever.

alright...im done. ciao...have a good monday...and i hope to hear from ya.

tchuss (aka bye!/ciao!/adios!/cheers!)
beth.

alo world...

its been a while since an update. today it is rainy and cold. i just woke up about an hour ago--around 11---the latest since i first got here.

so this week was a rough week--i would say the roughest since i have been here. not for obvious reasons, but for reasons beyond my control. i had issues with courtnie all week because she wasnt listening, but it was more than that. i had my first real bout with homesickness. i was having weird dreams involving my old friends and just having a real hard time coming to terms with it all. its hard not only FEELING disconnected from the whole world, but actually BEING disconnected and not being able to come to terms or find validation in the loving look of an old friend or family member. but its over now and i have survived. my positive attitude just kind of slipped away for a second, but i think it has recovered. i can see the end of the tunnel now--i will be back "home" before you know it.

today was a good day---a day of many firsts. we went to the farmers market this morning in K-town and ate some amazing produce and saw my first ever horse meat. Yes, they had a stand at the farmers market that sold fresh horse meat--pretty much the sickest and saddest thing ever. Especially b/c we were headed to Caitlin's Horse Camp right after that.

I went to my first ever H & M Department store and LOVED it. Had so much fun watching Jen pick out 300 dollars worth of clothes for the girls. I swear, within minutes she had 20 different outfits picked out--it was like speed shopping!

After the shopping we took Caitlin to her camp and it was AWESOME! She will be away for the whole week, which is sad because she is secretly my favorite. The place was so cool---there were 32 girls at the camp. They all moved in today and they are ALL german. Luckiliy Caitlin is there with a friend that can translate for her b/c she speaks both english and german. Its basically a huge house filled with horse paraphanalia and they spend the whole time learning how to care for horses and ride. I snuck back into the barn after making Caitlin's bed and had such an interesting little adventure...

Some of the older girls that helped run the camp were in the barn and were taking the horses out to get brushed etc. The horses that werent being pampered were just out grazing or sleeping and were just so peaceful--and there were like 50 of these horses!! So I was sitting there watching them--totally admiring how gorgeous they are--when i look right in front of me and happen to notice the rather enlarged sex anatomy on the male horse that was just "hangin out" in the corral. Well, before I know it, it hops on top of the female horse right next to it and they start mating. It was AMAZING! They got into it too...like the male horse was full on humping...pretty crazy!!!! I called Jen over and she was cracking up. The best part was trying to explain it to the girls. Courtnie asked, "how can you tell the difference between boy and girl horses?" Jen just died and I had to take the answer. I simply said, "Well, boy and girl horses look different. You just have to look closely." Jen and I looked at eachother and cracked up!!! Caitlin was going to be learning a whole lot more at this camp than Jen had her signed up for!!! HAhaha!

After the camp we took Courtnie to her friend Bailey's house to spend the night. She was so excited (and so were Jen and I because it meant we had a full 24 hrs. without her around!). So now all we had was one kid...one kid that went over to Mr. Pat's house for the night. Ahhh....relief.

Jen and I went to a Pampered Chef party. I must say, it was HILARIOUS. I swear, I feel like I have mastered acting like I am 40 yrs old. We sat around and talked about kitchen appliances--all of which Jen had and I had used. I talked my little ear off and won all kinds of prizes...it was AWESOME! We also talked about diets and pregnancy and annoying husbands--so classic. I felt like I was in a play or something and I was just acting it up. Ya'll would've died to hear me. Anyway, I bought a few small things and then we were on our way. We picked up Camerin from Mr. Pat's and went home for a LONG and peaceful night!

Today is a lazy day. I think I will go for a run and then just put on some loungy clothes. Mr. Pat--a friend of the fam (who is basically an extended part of the fam)-- is coming over to cook for us tonight. His birthday was a few days ago and his tradition is to take all of his friends out to dinner one night (which we did on thursday) and then to make dinner for his friends another night. Its really cool too because he went to culinary school and used to be a chef so he's got his shit together. He's impressed with how much I know though. Like he and I will be talking in cooking terms and Jen will just sit there cracking up. Anyway, yeah. Im really looking forward to what he has to make us.

Momma, I am going to call you tonight so hopefully ya'll are home. I'll probably try around 9 pm our time---which is noon your time. I could call earlier, but i dont know when we're eating dinner. Thanks for the mid-week encouragement...you're the best.

alright...back to my relaxing day. hope you are all doing well and enjoying this last month of summer.

auf wiedersehen,
beth o.

Hello world...

Not much to report today. Just another wednesday--kids are doing great. The weather has been cold for quite a while now. I miss the sun. Aparently its one of the coldest summers--the farmers are worried that the grapes wont be very good this year. We'll see.

All the wheat has been picked. During my run last night it was just so bizarre to see how different the landscape looks with these tilled fields. Its so great. The air smelled like manure because they are started to turn the crops and replenish the soil. I never realized that farming is such a science--pretty cool stuff.

We have been playing Dance Dance Revolution these last few days. It is so great--and I am getting really good I kinda scare myself. For those of you who have never heard of it, its a game made for xbox (the game system) and it comes with a mat that you use to step on and do the dance moves as directed by the tv screen. Kinda confusing to explain, but thats about as good as I can do. Anyway, its a perfect way for Camerin to get out his ADHD tendencies and let the rest of us go about our day in peace and quiet. That is, of course, if Im not playing. Its a great way to work out--no joke. There's a fitness mode on it that will count the calories that you are burning. So far I've burned 400 calories--hahahahaha! Sooo good.

Anyway, thats about it. I'm ready to start packing and get home. Just a few more travels--first Amsterdam and then Italy--and then home. Let me know how ya'll are doing.

Ciao,
beth o.

Wow.

So...I just got back from Munich, and I must say, it was an amazing trip. If you ever get a chance to go, you must. Really...such a fun place.

It all started on Saturday morning. Well...I guess I should start on Friday night. We (Jen and I) took the kids out to dinner with our friend Pat to tell them that Jen would be coming to Munich with me. We went to this great restaurant and I had the most amazing salad! I swear, the salads here are to DIE for----i could eat one for every meal and not feel like I was missing out on a thing. Anyway, we broke the news to the kids and they were SOOOO excited to be spending the weekend with Mr. Pat. We finished the meal with a complementary shot of sour apple schnapps and were on our way.

Saturday morning, after very little sleep, we hopped on the ICE train to Munich. For 64 Euro each way, I was hoping to be picked up by a knight in shining armor. I mean, that's about 150 bucks round trip to go to a city that is only 4 hours away!!!! Anyway, with only a few minutes to spare we hopped on the train and tried to find seats. We were quite unsuccessful however. We found two seats together only to be kicked out by a young girl who said she had that seat "reserved." What the f??? We didnt even have seat numbers on our tickets!! So...we went back to the dining car and had a cup of coffee, contemplating our next move. Basically, we bounced around the train--from the smoking car to the non-smoking car--until we arrived 3 hours later to Munich. I must say, I was impressed with the train. It travels up to 200 mph, and is extremely comfortable...once you find a seat anyway.

So...once in Munich we decided to put our stuff down in our hostel. We hadnt made reservations, so we just walked around until we found a nice place and a really good price. For 19 euro (about 13 bucks) we were put in a room w/ 10 other people and given breakfast the next morning. Not too shabby. We locked up our valuables and decided to head out on the town and see what trouble we could get ourselves into.

Jen was so excited to be out and away from the kids. She is only 28, but when she got married she was thrown into motherhood and has had a hard time just being able to "act her age."

Anyway, we walked around and grabbed lunch at Augustiner Restaurant and Brewery--there are like 8 of them in downtown Munich. We continued to walk and shop. It was perfect weather--it kind of felt like fall. Anyway, we just so happened to be there during their "Summer Fest." So we tried all kinds of fresh fruits and veggies and even my all time favorite bruschetta!! SOO good. I bought some red curry powder--a huge bag for 1 euro!! I cant wait to try it out!!!!

We continued walking through the city. We found a coffee shop and sat down for a bit to rest our feet. The coffee shop, however, was actually a shoe store that had a coffee shop in the back--two of my FAVORITE things in one!!! Anyway, I bought two pairs of shoes and two AMAZINGLY ADORABLE belts for under 30 euro...i was soooo stoked!! They were all made in Italy and they honestly could have been sold for 200 bucks total in the states!! What a find!! (dont worry mom, ill get rid of old shoes here in order to make room for the new ones!! hehe!!)

Anyway, after the coffee shop, we walked and walked for like 4 hours until it was time to find a place to eat dinner. I'm sure many of you have heard of the famous Hofbrauhaus. WELL...we decided we would check it out. Basically, it is the most popular tourist spot in Munich. Its a brewery that is a party all the time. There is an "oompa" band that plays and there is constantly beer being poured from the tap. Its like walking into Oktoberfest at any time of the year.

Anyway, we walked around for about 30 minutes looking for a seat and finally found ourselves outside on the patio. We had found seats inside, but it was soooo smokey that i could hardly breathe.

I'll tell you, two girls walking through that place by themselves sure to get a lot of attention. We had hoots and hollers from every direction--which was even more hilarious walking out of the place. We had our drinks and spent about 3 hours just chatting and drinking and people watching. When it was time to go, we walked back through the place and were summoned in every direction. Amazing what a little beer can do to guys. Anyway, we kept our cool and decided we would walk around the city a bit and find another hot spot to get a drink. The beer was so good though--I dont know what kind of beer it is or what makes it so good, but the Hofbrauhaus Original is now my favorite beer. MMMmmm.

We walked around and had fun laughing and being goofy. Jen popped a squat and left her mark on Munich as I kept watch for passers by. We eventually made our way to a sports bar where we had our final drink of the evening and watched some locals get in a scuff. Some guy refused to pay his tab at the bar and it was about a 45 minute ordeal with the security guy getting involved and everything. Our waitress was sooo nice and was so excited to see tourists visit this little hole in the wall. It was adorable.

Anyway, we made our way back to the hostel on the tram, only to find our beds covered with someone elses stuff. We walked into the room quietly because a lot of people were already asleep. We moved the stuff off our beds and just hopped in with jeans on and all--I didnt bother changing b/c we couldnt turn the light on. Anyway, at around 4 am, the guy who's stuff was on Jens bed woke her up saying, "This is my bed." Well...we had checked in earlier that day and been given cards with our names on them which are supposed to be placed in the plastic sleeves on the bed posts, indicating they are occupied. Apparently, this guy didnt know that. So, she explained it to him and he stumbled out of our room with his stuff. Im not sure where he ended up sleeping, but oh well.

It was hilarious waking up and realizing that we were surrounded by a bunch of strangers. We were only 2 of 3 girls in that room--the other 7 people were guys. I think guys outnumber girls in Munich. Something about beer and male-bonding in Munich that just attracts more guys...classic. Anyway, we met a few characters and breakfast, only to say goodbye as we started out on the town again.

We checked out of our room and stored our big bags of purchases from the previous day in the luggage room. It was pouring rain when we left the hostel, but we didnt care. Within seconds, I was soaked to the bone. We hopped on the tram and headed to the center of town. All of the shops were closed, but the churches were opened. We went into about 5 churches--they were so gorgeous!! I love the architecture!!!! Each one has its unique style, but it is interesting to me how they use symbols of both good AND evil in their decor. Our modern churches have left out the evil aspect--something that I would like to explore and maybe read about. Anyway...it was cool.

Eventually we ran out of churches and still needed a place to take cover from the rain. We just so happened to be across the street from the Hofbrauhaus, so we went back!!!!!!! I am sooo happy we did, because it was SOOOO awesome the second time around.

So...sunday morning, aparently, is when the locals come out. We walked in and found ourselves in a completely different atmosphere than the night before. There was less smoke and more dancing and music. We sat ourselves right next to the "stamptisch" which is a table where the locals/regulars sit. It is constantly reserved for them and no one else is allowed to sit there. It was about 11:30 am...but Jen and I decided to order beers. We intended to order 1/2 liter beers, BUT to our surprise, we were presented with LITER GLASSES!!!

Let me tell you, EVERY MAN IN THAT PLACE STARED AT US AND CRACKED UP!! Here we are, two women sitting at a table by themselves drinking liters of beer on sunday morning!!! We immediately drew the attention of everyone around as we began to do the drinking cheers. Pretty soon, the entire Stamptisch was making toasts to us and summoning us to their table. We stayed put, but continued to raise our glasses to them. The women at the stamptish were hilarious. There were 4 of them--all of them well over 60. The youngest of the bunch, probably in her mid 60's, was the hot ticket. All of the men wanted to dance with her--she was AMAZING!! She had piercings all the way down her ear...and in her nose...and she just danced with everyone around. She wore the traditional bavarian outfit and was just loving every moment of her time dancing.

As we were leaving, the Stamptisch again invited us to sit down with them. While it was tempting to stay, we decided just to chat for a while, take some pictures, and then be on our way. They are there every sunday, however, so if you ever find yourselves in Munich on a Sunday morning, make your way to the Hofbrauhaus and say hello to our friends.

After that, we headed back to the hostel to pick up our stuff and made our way to the train station. We got on the train early and found seats so we could take a rest on the way home.

While it was a great trip, i was ready to make it back to Wattenheim. Jen and I had such a great time just doing whatever we felt like. I was so happy to have someone to travel with. While I'm sure I could have done it on my own, I dont think I would have been nearly as daring as I was with her. Similarly, she said she never would have done this on her own. She told me, "i definetly went out on a limb this trip." See...she is a classic southern belle that just wouldnt have stayed in a hostel or anything like that. Also...when we went shoe shopping, she bought shoes like mine in order to "Stay up with the latest U.S. fashions!!" haha!! Loveit.

The kids were so excited to see us--we got jumped on the second we walked off the train. I must say, it was nice getting such big hugs from them. While they drive me crazy, they are so loving and sweet. Jen and I talked a lot about the issues that lay ahead and the difficulty she has had with their birth mother situation, but right now all they need is love.

Sorry for the long post--there are pictures posted on kodakgallery.com. By special request, there are more picture of me...as opposed to just buildings and structures. Hope that you enjoy and that summer is going smoothly for all of you!!!

much lovin,
beano.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALANA!!

Today has been a great/relaxing day. It has been relatively calm, with very few quarrels and arguments....well...until about 15 minutes ago. We watched A Knights Tale and I was reassured in my belief that Heath Ledger is officially the most attractive man on this universe. Other than that, nothing else to report!

OOOOOOO YEAH! JEN is coming with me to MUNICH!!!! I am soooo excited. She called me this morning from work screaming and giggling she was so excited!! She says, "I cant tell you the last time I went anywhere without the kids!!!" YAYAYAYAYAYAY! Its going to be great. We are staying at a really nice hostel for 13 euro a night--about 19 bucks. It has a free breakfast buffet, free city tour, and free ten minutes of internet...so i'll think we'll be set! Even though she has already been there, I think this trip will be just as exciting for her as it will be for me. No kids in munich makes a big difference--especially when it comes to the nightlife!

Anyway, I guess that is big news. Oh yea...I also got an email from one of the directors from the program in Chile for January 2006!!!! SOO excited about that...except not so excited about buying the plane ticket.

Alright, I guess thats it for today. Tonight we are going to look at a house we looked at last week. Its a 12 bedroom place--HUGE. The backyard is adorable and it has these ginormous zucchini and other squash plants (mom, you'd LOVE it!). I dont know if they are going to go with it. Its in a town even SMALLER than the one we're living in now (which is pretty difficult to fathom). We shall see.

I cant wait for Mario--the ice cream man. Well, actually, its gelato. He is so adorable. He is italian, but he speaks german and french as well (people over here amaze me w/ how many languages they speak). He makes the most AMAZING ice cream. My favorite so far: Spaghetti Ice. I think I talked about it in one of my emails--its ice cream that is made to look like spaghetti. DELEESH! Anyway, I have been cutting back on my ice cream intake for the past week and have decided that today will be my day to indulge. After all, its Friday! Cant wait to hear him ring his bell coming down the street!! Yeehaw.

Love to all,
Betho.

Hello Again...

Another relatively uneventful day around here. Courtnie cried three times today--more than yesterday--but they were all taken care of.

I got a call around 11 am from Phillip from EnjoyTours--the tour company that was running the Bavaria trip. It was cancelled. SOOOO....my NEW plan is to take the train. While it is a bit more expensive than the Bavaria trip, I get to spend the night and hang out in Munich longer--which is awesome!! AND GET THIS--Jen is thinking about coming with me!!!!!!!! I just talked to her...about three minutes ago...and she was saying how much she wanted to come and hang out with me and just act young again!!!! Our friend Pat offered to take the kids for the weekend...so...if all goes as planned, i will have a travel buddy! I'm so excited!!! Jen really needs to get away for a little bit, even if it is only two days. She hasnt really had a break from the kids AND Brian since they got married. I dont know about you, but I would feel so trapped if that was me. Anyway, we'll see...i'll keep ya'll updated.

Anyone want anything from Munich in particular?? A beer opener? A beer? Oktoberfest paraphanalia?

So... I'm thinking about going back to my old job at Estancia when I get back to San Diego. I wasnt planning on it, but it would be so nice to earn some money before heading out on my adventures in south america. I was told that my job would be waiting for me when I got back from this trip, but I'm not sure if theyd be willing to take me back just until december. I'll have to go in when I get back and see what they'll offer me. We'll see.

Anyway, thats all for now. I continued to be impressed w/ the gardens today when I was running. The driveways are so clean that I could eat dinner off of them and remain unharmed. So great. Oh...and I noticed a sanctuary today with a lit candle that I had never noticed before. It has a statue of the Virgin Mary in it--seems to be a common theme here. Every shrineyou see usually has some emblem of Mary on it. Its pretty interesting, but I couldn't read what it said so I wasnt sure what it was all about.

Okay...thats officially all for now. Take Care!!!!!

More Hugs and More kisses,
Bean O.

hey y'all....

well, im in better spirits today. the kids were a little better yesterday, although courtnie was sent to her room. whats new.

anyway, i didnt get a chance to sit down and write yesterday, and there wasnt really much to report, so i wanted to just share something that maybe you would find interesting about german culture.

i was running yesterday and saw a man sweeping the sidewalk outside of his house and it triggered my memory. my mom told me prior to leaving for germany that the germans take much pride in the outside of their houses. they will sweep their driveway, sidewalk, and porch every day. dirt and leaves on the driveway are just as bad as pieces of trash. anyway..

i was talking to jen and she was telling me that by law, the residents of the house are responsible for the sidewalk in front of their house. This means that if someone trips on something on your sidewalk and gets hurt, you are responsible. of course, its not like the u.s. where they would sue you, although they could. so...during the winter, if your sidewalk has ice on it, you are in trouble.

jen says that more germans walk during the winter than the summer. if it is 0 degrees and snowing outside, you will see more people walking than in the summer when its 90 degrees. they just dont do well with heat. so keeping the sidewalk salted and cleared is super important.

also, there is a secret to the flowers here. i have seen impatient plants twenty times the size of my head. they are absolutely AMAZING. I am trying to figure out the secret, but i really just think that they give their gardens and plants extra tender loving care. or maybe its the gnomes--like the one pictured above--that you see in EVERY garden. im going to bring one home...they are SOO cute!! I've seen gardens that have more gnomes than flowers. Any one else want one?? They sell them at every store!! mom, im going to try to sneak home some of the bulbs from holland and see if we can get them to grow. jen has some and they are GORGEOUS!

anyway, thats all i have for now. as of today i have exactly one month!! im getting excited thinking about home. i think im going to get rid of a lot of the clothes i have here and load up lots of stuff to take home. there's just so much great stuff here--endless souveniers and gadgets and gizmos for friends and fam.

i love you all!!

betho.

ps...i had some of the most AMAZING berries yesterday. blackberries, raspberries, blueberries. I swear, if our produce was this fresh in the U.S. i would be skinny as can be. I am happy with a bowl of blueberries instead of ice cream....SO GOOD!

Oh Dear.

Today I am frustrated. It is as if I have reached max capacity for complaints. These children are the most ungrateful beasts. Everyday I make them lunch and there is a complaint. Someone is unhappy. Someone doesnt want their homemade biscuit. Someone doesnt like tomatoe sauce. Someone would have rather had ramen noodles. I mean HONEST TO GOD...Shut the F UP! I really yell that (in my head of course) some days. I cannot stand to hear it one more time.

What is frustrating is that it isnt just me. Poor Jen gets it all the time and she is getting fed up as well. It is as if 3 years of being raised only by their father and being taken out to McDonald's every night has made them into animals that will settle for nothing less....not to say that my food doesnt beat McDonalds, but they want the free toy and the soda and the CRAP food.

Jen and I have talked about it a number of times. She LOVES to cook like I do....and she is really really good at it (she has like every gadget in the world...from a cheese grater to a salad spinner to an avocado scraper) but she is giving up because these kids just pick apart and criticize everything.

To add to my frustration...something that happened yesterday...I had this great idea for something nice to do for Brian before he left (hes in Baltimore until after I leave). Toward the beginning of my stay I made my famous Chocolate Chip cookies and he loved them, so I thought it would be nice to make them again. I told the kids the idea. We would put them in a big ziploc bag that the kids decorated and wrote notes on. I wrote a small note and labeled the bag "Brian's Airplane Goodies." Well...the kids wrote their notes and then sat down to eat lunch. I told them to hurry up so that they could help me make cookies. I went back into the kitchen to start getting things ready. I checked back in with them every 15 minutes to see how they were coming along, and after an hour they were arguing and had hardly put a dent in the food I made them. I finally went and picked up all of their plates...dumped the food...and started working on the cookies. None of them helped, until the very end when they argued about who would pour in the chocolate chips. I was so damn frustrated I couldnt get over it. And to make matters worse, when their dad got home courtnie said, "DADDY, LOOK WHAT WE MADE FOR YOU!!" Ugh. Whatever. I guess I just miss you old roomies that never complained about what I made and all you guys that would devour any food product that sat in front of you. Where you at?? I cant wait to be around my good 'ol grateful friends and family. Daddyo...I know you would have loved those cookies--I would have much rather been making them for you.

Anyway, on the bright side (kinda) its been rainy for over 24 hours now and has therefore put me in a Christmas mood. This is my favorite kind of day. While I love the sun, I also love snuggling up with a blanket and a good book---or without a good book---and just relaxing. I have been listening to Christmas carols for the last few hours with the kids. But their idea of Christmas is just classic kid-like. They say, "why do you like christmas so much? because its Jesus' birthday? or the presents?" When I explained about how you can like Christmas without presents...like my family does...they got so confused! I guess I would too if I was a kid, but for some reason it seems like material things are so much more important to these kids. Like they said, "I cant wait for daddy to come home so that I can get my present!" --He brings them presents every time he comes home from a trip. That comment alone made me want to vomit.

I have always said that I have to take lessons from my parents before I decide to have any kids. Now, I definetly know I do--if I end up with kids like this, I will go crazy. They are sooo ridiculous. I dont know if any of you remeber the show "Tiny Toons," but if you do, there is one character--Elvira (or maybe its Elmira) that is the biggest brat and destroys everything in her wake. That is kind of how these kids are...all combined. We watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory the other day and I decided that they are like a mix between Veruca and Mike Radio. Camerin is actually EXACTLY Mike Radio...and actually looks like him too. Weird.

Anyway, these are my latest frustrations. Dont worry though, I'll get over it. I have always said that I need to work on my patience, and this summer is definetly my time to do so.

I signed up for the Bavaria trip again...although I think it will be canceled again because of the lack of people taking the trip. We'll see. If they cancel it this time, I will just plan on taking the train to Munich myself.

I guess that is all I have to say for now. I'm not sure that anyone actually reads these things, but I'm over it. Its a nice way for me to just let it all out on the page.

Take Care
Beth O.