Kindsbach

I realized today that I have very few pictures up of our actual town: Kindsbach. Here are some pictures in an around our lovely little town - it was a bit rainy today, but that makes the pictures all the more normal for the setting.

Above is the trail that Cody and I like to walk after dinner at least twice a week. On the other side of the green fence is the town's soccer field. There are NO parking places in our neighborhood on Sunday's because of the soccer crowd - it drives Cody nuts.

Just some rolling hills and scenery along the walk. Below is the town church - we can hear the bells ringing on Sunday.

Today I detoured from the usual walk and was rewarded by finding the town's little lake, complete with a railed-off shallow section for kids, a boat-house where you can rent little canoes, and a neat little playground.

Below are some pictures of the road that leads to our house.

And, last but not least, our vine covered home by the forest.

We're Having a Baby (For Sure!)

Here are the first Ultrasound pictures of our baby!! I am 8 weeks 3 days as of today. Revised due date is 12/12/2009.





We got to see the baby's heart beating and he/she was even moving around a little - that's why he/she is in a different position for every picture! We'll get another ultrasound at 12 weeks (or 3 months). :) :) :) :) :) :)

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.