october already?

crazy that its already october! where did the summer go?! i was looking forward to summer all year long then it comes and goes just like that...i like fall but im missing the sun! it isnt even that warm here in germany in the summer but i miss seeing the sun! ugh...im really hoping that we do get to move to tampa here in the upcoming spring as the idea of wearing flip flops all year round is very appealing! and it would be nice to live by a warm beach!

its been a good week! last night our ward had a relief society enrichment program that was awesome and i definitely left feeling uplifted. i needed that as ive been slacking on so many things spiritually and this was something that made me recommit to a lot of things. valerie g did an AWESOME job putting everything together and the food was unbelievable. i havent had a bread bowl since we lived in logan 2 1/2 years ago so seeing that those were part of the dinner made me happy. a few ladies in the ward shared personal stories/experiences about visiting teaching that really touched me. ive been slacking on seeing my sisters and last night i made the decision to see them each month no matter what! im really not that busy to not see them so im going to really try to be better about it.

steve had work off today (it was a training day for the base) and he was pretty excited about that. since the USAF had their "tax season" recently, steve has been working crazy hours and also was working on the weekends. so it was nice to have him home to hang out and see brynn's school for the first time. we dropped her off this morning, hit a local german bakery, then worked out at the gym as nothing was opened (it was a german holiday...doesnt it seem like they have a friggin holiday every week?!). steve is still sore from the aerobics class i made him go to wednesday night with jessica (a personal trainer that i work out with) so he wasnt too happy about hanging out at the gym all morning! hahaha! it was funny seeing him "fall" out of his car wednesday night after he had attended her class. he said he hadnt worked out that hard since ROTC at USU so he is still pretty sore.

tomorrow im going to trier with shelly and emily to do some shopping! i guess they just built an indoor mall (and for those of you who are in the states, you have no idea how awesome this is for us in germany!) and im excited to check that out and not freeze my butt off when i go to trier. trier has lots of little shops and department stores, but they are all outside so having an indoor area to shop is pretty sweet. im addicted to H&M (awesome store thats trendy and not as expensive as other stores in europe) and hear that the indoor mall has a children's H&M so of corse i have to check it out. when we were in spain this past spring, we hung out at a mall for a few hours and they had an children's H&M but i didnt get to spend a lot of time in there. shopping with steve is like getting your teeth pulled, no fun. so im excited that i get to take my time and look at things without having him breathe down my neck! lol!

we got a package from steve's parents the other day and loved it! i love seeing a package slip in my box! it seriously makes me day to get something in the mail. we received those cinnamon gummi bears (which are like gold to us americans stationed out here! you cant buy them anywhere in europe), a few books for brynn, some ribbon for my scrapbooking stash, and awesome awesome earrings. thanks guys for thinking of us!

here are some pictures from the week

yes our cat is wearing a diaper. if you have met mango, you would know that from time to time she needs to be "humbled" up a little. this was steves doing...imagine that? hahaha! he cut a hole in the back of the diaper so he could put her tail thru and she hopped sideways down the stairs while we all laughed! poor cat...cheap entertainment

brynn covering my couch with the stickers grandma sent! she was very proud of herself.

the library has story time once a week and afterwards they provide a craft for the kids to do. its national hispanic heritage month so the kids made their own paper bag pinata's and broke open a big pinata all together. brynn had a blast and was happy to score some dora fruit snacks. since brynn is always bringing home crafts from school, i plan to take pictures of each thing as i wont be able to hold onto all her artwork. (dont worry! i wont post all of her things on here!)

brynn with her buddy the elephant. i just love her hair!

when steve hunts out here, these are the seats that he sits in. they are called hochsitz (high seats) and are found all over. they remind me of tree houses! brynn and steve went for a walk after church on sunday and did a little exploring in our town/fields.