From May to... July?

Yes, it has been a while since I posted.  May went by in a blur....  It's actually kind of hard to remember it now...  Ha!  We spent several weeks in June back in the States.  We spent a week at camp (which was fabulous; as always), then the rest of the time visiting around and seeing family.

Now we're back in Germany, and July is almost halfway over!  I can hardly believe it!  Things have been going pretty well.  I'll admit, it's hard coming back after spending so much time with family.  And yes I know, I live in Germany.  But it's not always glitz and glammer ;)  We have jobs and responsibilities like anyone else.  I'm not going to some exotic place all the time.  Most of my time is actually spent on base, which is like a little piece of America.

But enough about that.  This past weekend, we had family come to visit us.  My cousin, Brittany, and her husband, Josh, got here last Wednesday night, and stayed until Saturday.  We had a good time with them!
Thursday morning, I had to work.  So Jesse took them a couple of villages over to visit some castle ruins in Landstuhl.  I sent the camera with Jesse, and he actually took some pictures!

Brittany & Josh - Landstuhl, Germany

After I got off, we headed over to Heidelberg.  Jesse and I have been there several times, but we really like it.  We walked up and down the main street, saw the castle, and walked up the Philosopher's way (very steep...) and all in the rain...

Before we got wet

And after...

Friday was a fun and crazy day.  Can you say THREE countries in one day?!?!  Yep.  We started out in Germany (obviously) and headed over to Bastogne, Belgium.  We all loved Bastogne.  We practically ate our way up and down the streets of Bastogne.  We went out to the memorial monument for the Battle of the Bulge, and took a stroll through the woods to see where the battle was fought.

This place had the most delicious meats.  I mean, it is the "Museum of Pig" (literally).

They tend to love Americans there.

Yes.  It WAS delicious!!!

The Monument for the Battle of the Bulge.

Jesse and Josh looking at the remains of where a foxhole had been dug on the line.

Dead trees, where the tops were blown off during the battle.

Dead tree with bullet holes.

Memorial for 'E' Company, who held the line for so long.

After going through Bastogne, Belgium, we headed over to Luxembourg (the country, not city), and stopped in Clerveaux, Luxembourg.  It's a tiny little town that's just kind of neat to see.  We didn't stay there long, before heading to Vianden, Luxembourg.  Jesse and I had been here before, and we thought Brittany and Josh would like it.  They loved the castle!

No, it's not Hogwarts...  I wish!

Finally, we left Luxembourg to head back to Germany.  We stopped by Trier to see the sights (we love this town), and have dinner!  It was yummy!

Saturday we took it easy.  We all slept in a little, then went to Mainz.  It was really neat!  They had the BEST farmer's market I've been too!  I got some delicious blackberries (which we ate most of in the car), raspberries, and blueberries (which I plan on using for muffins!).  We've never been to Mainz, so it was  a new experience!

We then headed to Frankfurt, and spent some time in the city before taking Brittany and Josh to the airport.  Once again, a new experience for Jesse and I.  We had only ever been to the airport in Frankfurt.  Frankfurt has a pretty good mix of the old and the new.

Overall, we had a lot of fun with the cousins!  Who's next to come visit?  We have an extra room!!!  The door is open!

As usual, more pictures can be found on facebook!