Trier

Cody had the day off today (Friday) so he took me to see Trier, home to several historic sites!

First of all, the drive to Trier was gorgeous - we had a nice, sunny day for it! There were beautiful fields full of yellow flowers:

After seeing so many fields with greens and yellows, we were completely taken aback by a black field! It was a solar farm:

When we got to Trier, our first stop was the Basilica - this is the place Emperor Constantine set up as his throne room in around 100 A.D. There are just not words to describe how majestic this place feels inside! It's where I would set up my throne room!

Here Cody is standing next to a wall built a couple thousand years ago by the Romans - it just blows me away that it's still here.

More of the Roman Wall

Here I am in front of the Imperial Bath House. Constantine originally started it's construction as a sign of prosperity, but ironically enough, he halted construction in 312 A.D. due to lack of funds! He used the partially-finished baths as a barracks for his imperial bodyguards.

Below is me in front of the palace of the Archbishop Elector. The palace was closed, but it was the gardens that were spectacular!

Here are the Gardens:

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Trier is The Dom or the Cathedral. It is massively huge. Unfortunately, it was a bit too dark inside to get any good pictures, so you'll only get to see the outside:

And last, but not least, here is the Porta Nigra, or the Black Gate. It is another of those incredible relics that remain from the Roman Empire.

It was a great little day trip! I was so excited to begin our travels here in Europe!

Combat Readiness Training

As many of you already know, Cody recently underwent a Combat Readiness Course. This entailed a week of classroom training and parking lot exercises followed by seven days out in a muddy field being confronted with every type of combat and non-combat situation they could possibly encounter while "down-range." During their seven days of muddiness, the group could not go home, have any contact with the outside world or shower. They were also constantly inundated with random noises and Russian rap music day and night to aid in sleep deprivation. You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.



































Unfortunately, I can't upload the random noises that were played both day and night for seven consecutive days. One of them was simply a high-pitched voice screeching:

"ring...... ring, ring, ring...... ring, ring.... ring, ring, ring! RIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNG!!!!"

That particular noise played for 12 hours straight. If that wasn't enough to mess with anyone's sanity, they also tried other ways of messing with their heads. Check out the pictures below:

These are supposed to be "deer." They did this just to see how the guys would react.

And of course, someone dressed up as the sasquatch and tromped around the far perimeter of the camp - again, just to see how they would respond.

We're Having a Baby

I'm pregnant! It certainly was a big surprise - we were not planning for a baby, but God was. The tentative due date is December 11, 2009, so we might be having a Christmas baby. My first ultrasound is on May 5th so I'll get the "picture" of our little one up as soon as I have it!

As of today, I am 8 weeks (or 2 months) pregnant. Only 7 months to go - hahaha. :) Thank you to everyone who has sent their congratulations!

Berg Nanstein

Hello everyone! Here are some much-needed photo updates! I recently walked the mile-and-a-half from my backyard to the castle on the hill in the next town. I definitely wasn't disappointed! Here are a few pictures of Berg Nanstein: