German-living Ahlers-style

Snowboarding...also known as Falling with or without Grace!! :~}

2009-03-01T21:04:00.003+01:00

Here we are...Shelby's first time on a snowboard...Don't they look happy and excited??? Nick was the ever helpful brother...
teaching her lots of important things...like

how to do a proper faceplant...isn't she a GOOD student?!!!

Dad to the rescue!

But at least she is still smiling!!!

now Nick shows off his MAD skills....

Okay...maybe not MAD!!!

And just becasue they couldn't get to the slopes without us...here we are!

Making up for lost time!

2009-01-02T22:52:00.001+01:00

Contrary to popular belief...I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth. I DID --apparently --lose my mind (for a short time) and found myself tossing out things that I truly enjoyed doing but seemed less important than all that HAD to be dones! Rest assured I have "found my mind..yeah right...not to mention being beaten up by several friends who are tired of seeing Graduation in Feb!!!!

OK...now that I have gotten that off my chest....here is a quick pictorial synopsis of the last 6+ months here at the Ahlers house:

June was all about Robert! We called it vacationing in Florida and San Diego but really Florida was about getting him licensed to drive and San Diego was to drop him off at the Boy Scouts resident camp facility--Camp Fiesta Island--for his summer job...by the way....he had a blast. We enjoyed hanging out with everyone in Florida and San Diego.

Hanging out with Granny!

What did Nick say...Granny seems surprised!

Off to work for the summer as the Oceanography instructor!

Here at the San Diego Zoo you can get REALLY close to the MONKEYS!!!

See the happy children.......

Water rides are fun.....

Lots of fun!!!!

sometimes!

Boys and girls...this is what happens when you ride too many water rides...the water is definitely not good for the skin....

If I had been remotely operating on all cylinders I would have posted pictures of John's beautiful garden. We ate more salad and zucchini and tomatoes this summer....did I mention zucchini???

August:

Nick turned the big 13, Dad turned 40, Mom, 41 and Robert turned 18...all grown up!

John and I spent a long weekend in Garmisch at the Ride through the Alps....the local Armed Forces Rec centers answer to a HOG rally...only smaller, not sponsored by Harley

September brought us to 19 years of wedded bliss.....October was Shelby's 15th birthday....

On the 27th of November, we hosted the 2nd annual Thanksgiving Potluck (for 41)!!

December brought us a new kitten-Zoe, Christmas markets all over Germany...where we had loads of hot gluhwein, meter long brats and lebkueken!

So hopefully I am on my way out of the dog house and on my way to redemption!

I promise to try better in the future:-}

Graduation!!!!!

2008-06-08T06:57:00.007+02:00

I just love this shot!!!!

Well to paraphrase Nick’s sentiments this week “Does everything this week have to be about Robert!?”

Apparently, YES!!!!

We started off with the Spring Sports Banquet where Robert recieved his Varsity Letter in Socccer,

then off to Prom on Saturday,

moving right into a beautiful Baccalaureate service on Tuesday

the Senior awards ceremony on Wednesday

Where Robert received several accolades including 2 scholarships totaling $4500, Recognition for his work as Photoshop guru on the Yearbook,and maintaining a a 3.57 GPA!

and ended with Graduation on Friday!!

Whew, I have never been so happy to see a week end…well maybe not ecstatic since it means my first-born is ready to venture out on his own. I think John summed up our feelings bestwhen he sat at Graduation and said “I can’t believe this is the same kid I looked down at in the delivery room 17 years ago!”

It was a super-busy week and we were convinced it would never end...but it did and now we wonder where the last 18 years have gone...

Blessings from The entire Ahlers Clan

Adoption Announcement!!

2008-05-13T20:23:00.001+02:00

Finally....

After years of saving and planning and dreaming and saving and hoping and justifying the expense, did I mention saving, we have a brand new baby in our house!!!

Welcome to the world the newest member of the family:
Harley Davidson Fireman's edition Road King (poor kid what a name to lug around)
Born: 14 February 2008
Weight: 780 pounds (wow talk about a big boy!)
Proud Papa: John

Isn't he beautiful? He sleeps through the night and barely makes a peek...unless the alarm goes off or you start him!!

Look at those specialty tank emblems and Firefighter paint job!! What a beautiful baby! Ok..that was definitely too much.

We don't want to be accused of showing favoritism so here are the latest pictures of our 1st born: Heritage Softail she went out for a makeover and cam back all dolled up. It is just like going to Glamour shots...only not!!

A beautiful Sunday in Rothenburg

2008-05-11T07:48:00.000+02:00

Our favorite place to blow an afternoon has got to be Rothenburg! It is a beautifully preserved medieval city that just happens to have the best Christmas shopping year ’round.
This weekend they had a huge festival, parade, military camp display and gorgeous weather…so we loaded up the dogs and 2 of the kids and headed out to see the….

Schäfertanz
Historical Shepherds Dance

here's a little background for ya

Even in the Middle Ages, sheep farming and the wool trade played an important part in the life of the town. In 1517 the Shepherds Guild was granted the privilege of celebrating Shepherds Dance with music and dancing. In remembrance of this custom, every year, visitors have several opportunities to see the dance of the colorful couples in the market square.

All dressed and SOMEWHERE to go!

2008-05-09T07:43:00.002+02:00

John doesn't own a complete suit (i.e.-jacket and pants match and were purchased that way) he does have a custom-made sports coat from Korea but that is the extent of his formal clothing choices. Since he is usually working in the garage or riding the dressed in Motorcycle leathers he just doesn't have alot of need for "dress-up" clothes. Plus, the Army is kind enough to take care of any "What will I wear today" concerns so the only time John has to consider his clothing is for church or the occasional rugrat awards ceremony!

I LOVE to go to Military Balls! I LOVE the chance to shop for a beautiful gown, the perfect heels and jewelry. It is so far from my stay-at-home mom persona that is actually FUN! John does not really see it that way...but he is sweet enough to give in.
Before we left Korea last year, John had a Mess jacket and a party shirt made. He wasn’t happy about having to spend money on it but I did promise to have him buried in it so he shouldn’t consider it a waste. I think of it as “planning ahead” he thinks of it as a warning to pay attention to the odd flavors in his food.

I think he almost looked as handsome as on our Wedding day! The food wasn’t going to win any awards, the wine on the table is never exactly the good stuff but if I had to rate this from 1-10 it would definitely be a 10! It was so much fun to spend the evening dressed to the 9s hanging out with friends!

BIG NEWS!!!!

2008-04-29T21:00:00.001+02:00

Wow! A whole month since the last post, I knew I had been procrastinating but I wouldn't have bet a full month. Sorry!

I have some pictures to post but first we just have to share some wonderful news-

John has been selected for promotion to CW4. Talk about someone so happy they are literally on cloud 9. The whole family is so proud of him, promotion time is always hard, John has been very proactive about his career but he worries about the things he can't control (deployment time, assignments-etc) and then he hopes for the best--

and waits, and waits.

This definitely makes 22 years of late nights and separations worth it, plus it will be just in time for Robert's 2nd semester college tuition! YEAH!

for those of you who know us IRL (in real life) and are keeping track...this promotion will take us to 30 years...8 years from now...no changes in the near future, the final plan is still CW5 and 42 years....who knew 20 years ago ;-)

Update on the Harley

2008-04-29T20:37:00.000+02:00

Renee commented that she wasn't sure which parts went where so I thought I would post some pictures from stripped down to ALMOST done....hopefully putting the pictures in the post below into context :-)

Hope you enjoy!

Stripped down...but the chrome is blindingly polished!

Front fenderThe tank is mounted the new tank bib, new ignition and cool aircraft-style gas caps are on!

There's the back fender

The sissy bar/pad plus new brake light and bullet turn signals are mounted!

And even new whale-tail mufflers!

For all you horse lovers!

2008-04-29T20:33:00.004+02:00

Poor kid looks beat, of course she is only 12 hours old at this point. Looks like she had a rough night!

This was the 4th and final foal born for this season.

Although she doesn't have a permanent name yet, loosely translated from German she is called "the springy one"--her name fits her, those legs are constantly moving!

Snow day on 25 March

2008-04-29T16:00:00.000+02:00

So this is what Spring looked like here in Germany. Even though the tulips were blooming---that wasn't enough to stop Mother Nature from dumping a bunch of snow all over us!!!

Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the better and spring (I think) has finally SPRUNG!

New fenders and tank for the Heritage

2008-03-26T21:14:00.005+01:00

Wow!

Things are starting to come together.

Vivid Dragon just emailed these pictures of the finished sheet metal.

They did a great job of taking our ideas and making them reality!

Take a look:

Beautiful work, we can't wait to see them mounted on the bike.

Our trip to Innsbruck, Austria

2008-03-25T17:39:00.004+01:00

2 weeks ago we took a trip to Garmisch which is in Southern Germany. We intended to spend the long weekend skiing...unfortunately Mother Nature was NOT so helpful. Oh sure, it snowed but gale force winds closed down ALL the slopes including the Zugspitz...how rude! So the weekend wouldn't be a total loss we decided to take a train trip to Innsbruck, Austria.

Here we go.....don't the kids look HAPPY!

So here we are in the market square, lots of wonderful architecture, beautiful old buildings...oh wait, what is that in the center right side of the picture...oh that's right the oldest in Austrian businesses....Mickey Ds!! It never fails.....
I wanted to order 2 of these but John said, NO! Every little sparkly spot is a Swavorski crystal!
Beautiful carvings and statuary!

Can you count how many faces are in this door?

Train stop...even the bahnhofs are decorative...I just love Europe!
So there's the snow we have been looking for!

interesting street corner....I am not sure which one I like better...hmmmm

On our way home....I mean hotel.....they look happier after a day of sightseeing!

Rosetta Stone~FREE!

2008-03-24T13:44:00.002+01:00

We have been using Rosetta German and LOVE it! Well I better go sign up before I miss out!

Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!

Artwork- as promised to my big brother

2008-03-24T13:02:00.005+01:00

My brother called the other day wanting to know if my bike was on the road yet. Not yet since we are still waiting for various parts and pieces to arrive from all over the states! In the meantime here is the latest on the custom bags we are having made.

We received an email from Dave over at Osprey Limited-Custom Saddlebags. He recently added laser-etching to his list of customizable options. This was mentioned way back when we first placed the order....we figured we would settle on a HD bar and shield on the top of the bags or something similar. That was back around Christmas.....so we hadn't given it much thought....today, he emailed some of the artists renderings and here is what we settled on....far cry from a little bar and shield.....don't you think?
Thanks, Dave

Bad, bad Mom!

2008-03-24T11:47:00.003+01:00

I was SURE I had finished uploading Robert's Sr pics (at least for a little while)...not so according to my Dear 17yo....he REALLY wanted this picture to live on in infamy for all to see on the internet...

so here it is....enjoy it, run from it, wonder what the heck we were thinkin'...but here it is Robert...

Love, Mom

Making up for lost blogging time!

2008-03-23T08:20:00.008+01:00

I have been meaning to post these pictures for sometime but managed to forget regularly. These are are just a few of Robert's Senior pictures.

This was the 2nd time he had Sr pictures taken. The 1st were taken at school before he cut ALL of his hair off...plus he realized a few days later that he was wearing the SAME clothes as our family portraits taken in Florida! Not a great testament to the changing spirit of a teenager! :) SO off to a different (read: better) photographer for pictures of the new and improved Robert!

He took some prodding to FINALLY smile...of course it helped that I refused to pay for any sullen, sad-sack portraits and walla, we have a smiling boy in our midst!

In case anyone is wondering we own the rights to these pictures so there is no copyright infringement happening here....a graduation present for the boy...just so he could post his favorite shots on his Myspace.

I will post more as I get the opportunity to watermark and convert them.

Enjoy!
Jackie

This would be the picture Robert chose for the Yearbook! When we went to look at the proofs our photographer told us this one was just a goofy joke that she mocked-up to freak Robert out...but he/we instantly knew this captured the essence of Sparky/Gumby! She was sure we were crazy but it turned out to be the perfect choice!

Okay, I lied, we paid for a couple of "non-smiling" shots...but if you look closely he is trying NOT to smile...but doesn't look like we just cancelled his allowance!

My personal favorite!

Nick cuts off ALL his hair....well most of it!

2008-03-08T21:16:00.005+01:00

Nick has spent months trying to talk us into getting his hair cut but we were afraid he was only interested in copying his brother. We finally reached a point where it was becoming apparent that he like many other 'tween boys typically do a lousy job of maintaining good hygiene!!

If you have ever noticed a young boys "gookey" teeth you can imagine what "past your shoulder hair" plus a complete fear of warm water and SHAMPOO looks like on a daily basis.

When you combine this with a wonderful set of greasy Italian genes....well let your mind wander to something that looks like salad dressing spilled on a kitchen counter and that is how bad Nick's hair could get...granted he did TRY to keep it clean but most of the time we fought over the definition of "clean!"

I finally had enough and decided to fulfill his dream of looking like a boy once again.

It didn't hurt our cause that Nick was completely mortified the other day when a man asked him, "ma'am, are you sure you are in the right bathroom"....hmmmph... some people can be SO thoughtless!

I won't lie, we (Shelby and I) miss his long locks...but he is much happier now and tranquility has returned to our household....yeah right!

Photoshop can be SO addictive!

2008-02-22T21:28:00.007+01:00

Now that Robert has given me a beginner's tutorial on Photoshop
I figured it was time to mess with some run of the mill photos.
These are of a town near us. Every time we drive by John mentions how we need to get a picture...but it is always overcast, too late or we have once again forgotten the camera!

Enjoy,

Wonderful product and Fabulous service

2008-02-15T21:48:00.003+01:00

I want to thank Dalyn & Tori of Hick Chicks Soap Barn. Talk about service above and beyond! Knowing not every company is willing to take care of those of us living in APO and FPO--it means ALOT when a company goes the extra mile. Even though the site didn't give APO as a choice--I emailed hoping just maybe....and even though it was a HUGE hassle plus a bit more work, I was so happy when (4 days later!) our order arrived. The soaps are great (the pumpkin spice sample made me want pie...go figure) and the lotion bar is our favorite!

If you have been looking for great homemade soaps and lotions make sure to check them out!

German sunset!

2008-02-15T21:26:00.002+01:00

Here we are rushing to *another* activity and we look out the van window--right there is the reason why we LOVE living here...right out the window...good thing we stopped or we might have missed it!

European Varsity Wrestling Championships

2008-02-14T18:02:00.006+01:00

Well he did it! Robert came in 2nd in his weight class, which secured him a spot at the European Championships in Wiesbaden--this weekend, YEAH! They headed out right after school today, figuring they had a 5 or 6 hour drive ahead of them. Unfortunately, by 6:30 they were still only an hour away from us....it may turn into a VERY long night!! They will spend 2 nights there, wrestling tomorrow and then Saturday. We are SO proud of him...although we can't be there he promised to call as soon as his 1st match is over--we'll update as son as we hear from him!

Robert, we love you! Mom, Dad, Shelby and Nick

New bags for the Heritage

2008-02-11T19:26:00.000+01:00

Just a shameless plug for the helpful owner of Osprey Limited....

We decided if the tank and fenders were getting replaced then it was probably about time to replace the cracked and hardened saddlebags. We found these hand-made custom bags at http://www.ospreylimited.com/ David Weinberg, owner is hooking us up with the bags below but of course with a few added extras....dark blue piping, the Harley bar and shield outline on the lid with "Live to Ride" etched in the center. These bags even come with new quick-release mounting hardware which makes John very happy...like we will EVER run around town without the bags on.....but whatever makes him happy :)

Wrestling, Basketball and the Wii

2008-02-06T20:17:00.000+01:00

Wrestling :

Well here we are--2 weeks to go--Robert's Varsity season of wrestling is almost over. We FINALLY get to watch him wrestle. For 17 years our son has guilted us every time we had to miss an event until we got to wrestling. This is his 2nd season of wrestling and we have been allowed to watch him 2 times, period...here are pictures from the 2nd time...he didn't win but it wasn't from lack of trying!

Right about now would be the perfect opportunity for me to throw in some wrestling lingo to make myself sound really informed....but alas, I can't do that....I don't know the difference between a 1/2 nelson and powering up! Even with my lack of wrestling knowledge I was still the one yelling from the sideline for my son to beat him, come on PIN HIM, GET MAD, You Can DO IT...BEAT HIM!!!

Basketball:

Nick is on an undefeated team, ONCE AGAIN! The are doing really well, he has proven to be an asset to the team. He is so big and solid that if he stops for a moving pick, the other team can't help but plow into him and BOUNCE right off. It is somewhat comical to watch! He is running faster and faster....his Severs disease seems to have tapered off this year...we are SO thankful for that.

Here he is going for a couple of free throws!

and just so Shelby isn't left out.... here is her 1st attempt at Wii Golf.....and Robert's Wii Me.

Things around the house

2008-01-29T12:54:00.001+01:00

You know you have TOO many tools when you can't park your car in the garage AND you have to purchase a high-speed shed to store your bicycles in!! :)

This is a pretty cool little shed, though. The little bump-out on the right side houses the lawn mower and all the lawn items....the left-and side will become the garden once it gets a little warmer...brrr

Here is Weiden during a rare day of sun. I had hoped it would turn out better but it was hazy and I suppose the window screen wasn't really a big help...but...I have to be on the 3rd floor to get a good shot of the hills in the distance!

A sign we have had on our house for years! We bought it at a bazaar in California and it has always fit our military lifestyle! I think I might add it to the template..hmmm

Have a great day!

2008-01-28T21:10:00.000+01:00

Day 3...meticulous disassembly taking place....like open-heart surgery only alot slower and without the need for malpractice insurance.

AND......

Here's what 2 kids look like

after they have been filled with really GOOD Italian food!

It almost looks like they like each other!!

Harley surgery begins

2008-01-23T22:12:00.000+01:00

Now that John has a heater in his garage

I always know where to look for him when he goes missing.

This destruction took place after dinner tonight. It seems so sad to watch her get stripped down like this...especially when we pull things apart and keep finding little parts that need to be replaced. I feel the need to show John pictures of his bike....it seems to "calm" him :)

I should probably explain

2008-01-22T10:32:00.000+01:00

I've added several Harley Davidson references and failed to post explaining why! I shall remedy that now....A very frivolous dream/plan that we have had for about 5 years now has finally come true....1st part is John has officially ordered his 2008 Fireman's edition Road King. They will begin assembly on 14 February (that's right...in a couple of weeks!) and ship it to us on 22 February! The really cool part is they will send update emails as major steps in the assembly process are completed! Since I can't possibly send any "live" pictures of the bike I will attach the one from the HD site....I realize this is NOT proper 365 protocol :) but I will fix that in the 2nd half of this post...promise!!

The 2nd part of our "dream/plan" is to rebuild MY bike. I am POSITIVE this would have happened sometime LOOOONNG after retirement if it weren't for the impending arrival of John's "baby." John, being a smart and supportive husband, KNOWS that if his bike shows up and my bike is still sitting in the garage-leaking oil on the ground-there may be NO living with me! So, empowered with the knowledge that mid-March will arrive whether he likes it or not, he felt the need to get the ball rolling!

Thanks to Shadd at VividDragon.com we have ordered the new fenders and tank with custom paint in 2-tone fade-Cobalt Blue on Black. Here is a pic of the paint job except in red/black ...plus mine will have Harley Davidson across the sides in Script!

Since this will be a total work-in-progress I should be able to get lots of p365 photos on the blog...hopefully!

and here are some "BEFORE" shots

Well there you have it, a 4 day weekend and all we did was mess around with the bikes. Good thing the kids were out and about with friends...they barely noticed their parents huddled in the corner, nursing carpal tunnel symptoms from all the inet surfing :)

Some great sunrise shots...plus playing & working in the SNOW...a week ago but still SNOW!

2008-01-15T13:53:00.000+01:00

Here's what happens when everyone has a digital camera and uploads images into their own settings....you forget about all the cool shots of John and R shoveling snow and the BEAUTIFUL sunrise we enjoyed last week!

We hope you enjoy them!

shovel envy

Who scooters in the snow?? Oh that's right we are talking about N here!! :)

Busy week...and it is only Tuesday!

2008-01-15T13:05:00.000+01:00

Whew, it will be nice when this week ends! Robert left for Aviano, Italy at the "crack of dawn" on Friday! He wrestled with his injured shoulder...but he won! Now he is paying the price. Hopefully he will download his pictures so I can post a few! He was due home Sunday afternoon...but wait...the phone rings at 0230 Sunday morning....he will be dropped off in 30 mins??!! eek

Nick played in his 2nd Basketball game of the season...at first it looked like they were going to get outplayed but we managed to get into sync in the 2nd quater and win the game 29-21...not too shabby!

Here's the tip-off:

Waiting for the rebound:

The weekend was spent assembling our new IKEA furntiure. That was a process, especially since we didn't have all the pieces right away....a couple of items had to be ordered. Although John may disagree, assembling wasn't nearly as hard as moving the furniture around 150 times, trying to figure out how to make it all work. Finally after a week of pushing, lifting, rearranging, we are finally happy with the results! We are so pleased with how it looks. Even though I love IKEA's office furniture and beds--we NEVER thought we would buy real honest to goodness living room furniture from them. Thier stuff is so minimalist and modular, but this new Liatorp line is definitely a change from the same old IKEA stuff! We even had enough time to install a new dining room light fixture (also from IKEA)...

We have a 4 day weekend starting Friday and we are planning to go to Cheb, Czechoslovakia for some flea market shopping...should be fun!

Hopefully, we will get some good pictures to post!

Have a great week!

SNOW and The Behrends!!!

2008-01-09T09:14:00.000+01:00

We went to Ramstein this weekend to visit friends of ours from Korea! It was a fun to see them and lunch was GREAT!! It rained the whole weekend and hovered in the low 40's....but.....on our way home, as we entered the mountainous region where we live, our cool rain turned into slushy rain, then sleet and finally SNOW!! It snowed all night and here is what it looked like when we woke up on Sunday!

Shelby went sledding with the English's....a family she babysits for.

This track belong's to Bogie (also an English)...Shelby couldn't resist showing how deep the snow was!

The hill is at the top of our street.

Good thing we have pictorial proof since almost all the snow is gone, the sun is out and it is becoming a distant memory!!

Ikea, part I

2008-01-03T22:11:00.000+01:00

Well, today we broke down and went to....

3 years of storage really did a number on several pieces of furniture...so....we finally broke down and replaced them! Merry Christmas to the house??!! Now we have lots of boxes in the living room and no idea what to assemble first. My biggest fear is that as we assemble pieces we'll decide we need to move pictures, which will lead to patching holes, which will lead to new paint color....you see where I am headed with this....only bad can come from this...:)

Here we are at photo #2 and already I am behind!!

2008-01-03T07:40:00.000+01:00

Well, I figured I would miss days but not this soon :) Actually the picture was all set to go but I forgot to post it before going to bed.

Shelby's passion is the horses-they come before schoolwork, they take the place of shopping with friends or sleeping-in during Christmas break or even being warm and lazy in her pj's!

Shelby took these pictures of her 2 favorite horses!

The 1st one is Unia-the prized black mare!

This is the "young chestnut stallion", poor guy is still test-driving his name, nothing seems to fit yet....

1st day of 2008 and Day 1 of Project 365

2008-01-01T17:49:00.000+01:00

We started taking down some of the Christmas decorations today. I always hate this part- it seems like it will be so long until we get to put everything back up again...the tree may stay up for a little while longer-I love it lit early in the am or late at night!

I thought it would be nice to get a picture of my beautiful Christmas present from Robert. I was the only person he actually shopped for. He was quite proud of himself since I have a collection of German smokers (rauchermann) but not 1 Christmas one (not sure how that happened)! Isn't he pretty! :) Thank you, Robert!

Here is a picture of most all of the ladies from the New Year's Eve party at our neighbors house. Don't mind Robert, he thought he deserved his "surrounded by women" spot...unfortunately Alicia--our host--isn't in this shot....where in the world did she run off to??

We hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve and enjoy Peace and Prosperity in 2008!

New Years Eve 2007 in Weiden, Germany

2007-12-31T19:24:00.000+01:00

Well here we are almost to the New Year, but wait the celebration hasn't begun yet! We are going to a New Year's Eve party over at a neighbors house tonight! Chief went ot a local grocery store to buy fireworks. Germany reminds me of Louisiana (sort of), fireworks EVERYWHERE and drunk, crazy people just waiting to light themselves on fire-just no swamps! The kids are jumping out of their skin looking for a chance to shoot off some of them, so out they go now to make the dogs crazy! Chief shot off one of them earlier and Daisy bolted upstairs to hide underneath S's dresser.

Here are some pictures from the melee :)

Goodbye 2007

2007-12-29T20:10:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the inaugural post for our new BLOG and updated website!!!

It has been a looonnngggg time since we were able to do anything with our family website (due to provider issues and military moves) BUT that is all about to change! Hang on tight while we update you on the last year or so.

When last we visited the Ahlers family they were hunkered down for a cold winter in Seoul, Korea awaiting a move to Kaiserslautern, Germany. As time passed Nick became more proficient on the piano, Robert acquired YET another guitar (see picture) and Shelby was nursing a broken wrist (darn Basketball practice!)

Fast-forward through the last 6 months and we finally left Korea on 13 June headed directly to Germany. Although we made many plans for our new life in K-town, the Army saw fit to redirect us to Grafenwoehr...a very pleasant change of plans! Graf is very rural, and located in the state of Bavaria, K-town is much more cosmopolitan and 1 hour from France. We were quite happy to come back to Bavaria since both boys were born in this state and we are quite familiar with it!

The last 6 months have been full of sad endings and beautiful beginnings! An old family friend who was Nicholas' God-mother, Dorie Kleis, passed away after a long fight with esophageal cancer. I don't think I can ever remember a holiday or family event that didn't include the Kleis clan! Nick had a hard time this Christmas, it has been hard for him to accept that both his God-parents are gone (but not really-what better way to watch over your God-child).

We ended up living in a small city 20 minutes from the post, our house is HUGE (well can we really be good judges...we lived in 800 sq ft in Korea) all 4 floors, we have so much room we can actually move around and not step on one another! The backyard is enormous, which is heaven for our 2 little creatures, Daisy-the long-haired dachshund and Taffy-our ever present always lovable apricot poodle! There is plenty of room to search for bugs-which pleases Robert and Nick to NO end. Shelby has even secured a job (no pay but so much reward) working at a stables nearby, actually she has become like one of the family up there. She is responsible for 15 horses and does a little bit of English-style riding on the side! A wonderful plus is that her fluency is improving every day!

This year we are going to participate in Project 365-where we are tasked to take AND post a picture a day . I hope this will get us into the habit of carrying the camera with us and better yet uploading them here so we can update the blog as things happen within our family!

That about covers all the high points of 2007. I hope you visit us again (and again) in 2008!

Blessings for a peaceful New Year!

The Ahlers Clan