Girl's Camp

Right from the start, girl's camp was....challenging this year. It was held down in Garmisch, Germany, which is on the border of Austria. Cora was YCL (youth camp leader) this year, and needed to go down a day early, so Joe and I decided to take her and her friend down ourselves, and spend the day there. I wasn't going to camp this year because I was released as YW president a couple of months ago. We were only a 1/2  hour from camp (we had just dipped down into Austria, and were coming up to Garmisch....because that's the fastest route) when our car died. Right outside of this beautiful little village.

We were not getting any internet or phone service, so I left Joe with the girls and walked into the village. I couldn't find any businesses, so I followed the voices of some people I heard to their house, and asked them if they could help me. Luckily, one of the women spoke a little English, so we were able to communicate. She called us a tow truck, and he took us to the nearest auto shop, which was in another town a few miles away. The alternator was dead. We decided to have them just charge the battery so we could get to Garmisch, and then we'd figure it out from there. It took a couple more hours, and we had lunch while we waited, which totally makes our visit to Austria count :)

We drove the rest of the way, and thouroughly enjoyed the scenery. It's so beautiful there!

We finally got the girls to camp, about 5 or 6 hours late. But hey, they got there. The camp was area was as gorgeous as anything else we'd seen.

We got someone to take us to a parts store to see about an alternator (Joe could have fixed it if we could get the part), but they wouldn't have been able to get one for 2 days. That wasn't an option for us. We needed to get back to Wiesbaden. So we decided to buy a battery charger and a battery and just drive. Long story short, we ended up spending the night in Stuttgart, got home, and now we're just going to junk the van. No use buying an alternator now, because we're moving so soon, and we're not spending money on a vehicle that we can't take with us, and we can't sell because it won't pass inspection. It's been a good van for us here - saved us a TON of money on gas - but it's time to part ways with the "Poo"geot.

Anyway, back at camp, it rained every day, things got wet, and other trials were had. But lessons were learned, including:
1) People aren't perfect.
2) Sometimes WE get what we need out of these experiences, and sometimes we are there to help other people get what THEY need out of it. Both are valuable, and both can strengthen our testimonies in different ways.

They were able to go on a couple of amazing hikes, including one of the places that Joe and I had wanted to go.

 

And of course, the girl's all got to know each other better (we have a LOT of new Beehives).

 

I feel like, in some ways, girl's camp has gone down hill in the last couple of decades, trading in tents for cabins, having most or all of their meals made for them, and going straight to Pinterest for ideas, rather than...well, just relying on the Lord more maybe? I think the girls miss out when things are too easy, or too cutesy, or too shallow. They don't need to be spending too much time crafting, they need to be working on/doing the same things the boys do - starting fires, using knives and compasses, repelling, white water rafting, snorkeling, strenuous hiking, really pushing their limits, and learning and growing and seeing what their bodies are capable of. They don't need to be comfortable, they can sleep in a tent, dig ditches around them to keep out the water, dig their own latrines if need be or learn to squat, wash in the freezing cold river instead of a warm shower. And they don't need handouts with short inspirational quotes and a piece of candy, they need deeply spiritual experiences and discussions. I'm not doubting the prayer and fasting and hard work that leaders put into these camps, I just see some of these things missing in most girl's camps these days, things that I DID have when I was a girl, and I don't think they're doing the girls any favors. Girls WANT to do hard things. That being said, our stake leaders did a LOT right with camp this year, and it definitely was not easy for the girls. I'm glad for that.

Moving Again

I haven't been blogging much this summer because...

1) My computer sucks. We've had to wipe it (you mean, like with a cloth?) and set it back to factory settings twice recently, and it's still not working great.
2) We've been busy with moving stuff. We leave in less than a month!

Moving sucks because...

1) It costs money. Even though we are VERY lucky that the military moves us, there are some things we have to pay up front and get reimbursed for (eventually...as long as we have the proper documentation), and other things we don't get reimbursed for at all. Things that you don't even think about sometimes, unless of course you've moved a ton. This includes restocking supplies you might already have, but moving companies won't move for you. Things like liquids (cleaning supplies, condiments, etc.). What if I run out of olive oil 2 weeks before I move, and I have to buy another bottle, that I know I'm not going to be able to use up in 2 weeks, and then I've just wasted money......times a hundred other things that are liquid. You also have to tip your movers, or at least feed them lunch. We have to get our car detailed in order to ship it. We have to pay to fly our dumb dog. When we get to our new home we probably have to worry about installation costs and turning on utilities. Do we own a lawn mower? I can't remember, but we'll have a lawn to mow. We'll need new shower curtains - I'm not packing gross old plastic shower curtains! How are we going to afford everything? I have no idea.
2) It is stressful. Not just because of the whole money thing. There's a lot of running around. School records have to be collected. Medical and Dental records. Getting the dog's records and certificate for travel exactly 10 days from travel. I can't remember how many times we've already dropped a load off at the thrift shop. We've got to make sure our phones, internet, etc. are shut off. Make sure we don't have any overdue books from the library, or unpaid speeding tickets (more money). Ship our car. Check out of our apartment and hope that they are kind during the inspection and don't charge us an arm and a leg and our first-born child for any damage (more money). We have to decided what to take with us in our suitcases, keeping in mind that we won't see everything else for about 2 months, but at the same time we don't want to pay extra for suitcases that exceed the weight limit. And once we get there, we have to quickly get the kids registered for school and buy school supplies (more money). We have to find new doctors, dentist, person to cut your hair, etc. We have to make sure our address is changed with EVERYTHING. The worst are the "what if" questions, that you really shouldn't worry about, but sometimes inevitably cross your mind. What if our stuff gets damaged or lost (happens all the time - among other things, we had a dresser ruined in our move here because the packers loaded extremely heavy boxes of books on top of the dresser, Joe's brother had 80% of his stuff burned in a fire on the ship, and one of my friends is currently missing 4 crates of her stuff). What if we have reverse culture shock when we get back to the States (yes, that's a thing)? What if we don't adjust well to the move? What if my kids don't make any friends or get bullied at their new schools? What if Joe doesn't like his job? What if.....ugh, there are so many what if's. Don't think about those.
3) It is sad. Even if it's also happy. It's sad to leave a great neighborhood, a fantastic church group, an amazing country, and mostly, some very dear, dear friends. It's sad to see your kids be sad about some of the same things. It's sad to leave behind things that you've fallen in love with, and won't experience anywhere else. We've made this our home. We're leaving home. It's sad.

I will miss...
1) Church bells. Everywhere we go, but I can also hear the ones downtown from my apartment, every day.
2) Food. Super cheap gelato, German bread and brats and gummy candy and Fanta and chocolate. All better in Germany. Wild blackberries everywhere. Just all the food.
3) Fireworks on New Year's
4) Driving here. People follow laws/rules. It's better. Plus I never get tired of the scenery, the cute little German villages, with their red tiled roofs, tucked into green hills, with a church steeple and/or a castle rising above. So pretty.
5) The Christmas markets. Nothing compares.
6) The main Platz in every town, with the pedestrian only, cobblestone streets.
7) The ease and cheapness of traveling to other nearby countries.
8) The way the windows open. This might sound weird, but they're cool, trust me.
9) Everything is closed on Sundays. Kind of nice.
10) Did I mention the food? I just want to make it perfectly clear that I will miss the food.

Of course, there are things that I won't miss...
1) No AC in the homes or buildings. Most of the time it's doable, but when it gets in the 90's-100's, it's unbearable, no matter how many fans you have.
2) Living in an apartment. I'm sick of sharing walls, floors/ceilings with other people. I'm tired of having a shared garbage area, and no yard of my own, and worrying about if my dog is barking too much, or if my neighbors can hear me yelling at my kids (never mind, I NEVER do that). Not to mention the stupid firebox at our entryway that has an alarm that goes off for no apparent reason every 2 weeks to 2 months, and can only be turned off by the fire department coming out.
3) Not being able to speak the language. I realize that's mostly my fault, but it's still nice to be somewhere that you understand everything.
4) Small parking spaces, and paying for parking everywhere.
5) Being so far away from family
6) There are only white lines on the roads, instead of a yellow middle line. Most of the time it's not a big deal, but every once in a while it's confusing and I wonder if I'm driving in the right lane. It bugs me.
7) Everything closes early. 24/7 is extremely rare. In Denmark it was even worse, because most things were closed by 4.
8) Potatoes. I don't know what the heck is up with German potatoes. I mean, they're delicious, but for some reason I can NOT make mashed potatoes without it turning into a gelatinous mess.
9) Having to carry cash everywhere in case they don't take credit cards, which they often don't
10) In the summer it stays light until after 10pm, and it's light by 4am. In the winter it's the opposite extreme, and you have very little daylight.

I'm sounding whiny again, aren't I? This post is not supposed to be a pity party, just the reality of life. But life is good! Seriously, I am SO grateful for our time here and the opportunities we've and, and I'm SO grateful that we are moving to Nebraska, because I know it's the right place for us right now. I am very optimistic about our future. For the time being, I will try not to focus on all the crazy stuff, but soak up every last minute we have here, and I will look forward to the day (a LONG time from now) when I can afford to get myself a new computer ;)

Scout Camp and Other Adventures

Joseph went on Scout camp to Slovenia this year, by Lake Bled. I know he had a great time, but I hope he realized how lucky he was to go somewhere so beautiful! It was just our ward this year, and I think they did a fantastic job. They went swimming, and snorkeling, and repelling, and zip-lining, and hiking. They had great weather the whole week, and I wish I could have been there too.

Meanwhile, back at home, the rest of the kids and I had a couple of our own adventures with our friends. First we went to the Lindt Chocolate Museum in Koln. It smelled so good in there! We took our time, learned a lot about chocolate (the good and the bad - Cora will tell you not to buy Hershey's because they're the worst.....this post is not sponsored by Hershey's), saw a lot of artistic stuff, watched the chocolate being made, and of course, we ate some!

A couple of days later we went picking blackberries together. Wild blackberries grow everywhere here. If it's on public land, you can just pick them. Joe and I always grab a handful when we're on walks or out riding bikes. This time we picked, and picked, and picked until the bugs, thorns, heat, and tired children forced us to stop. It was a good haul.

 We went back to my friend's house and made blackberry pie and jam. We pretended to be domestic goddesses.

 Then we went home and made blackberry pastries, milkshakes, and froze the rest for smoothies.

The jam is my favorite thing. I have rediscovered peanut butter and jam sandwiches, which I've never been a huge fan of. Homemade jam makes ALL the difference. On a good slice of grainy wheat bread, it's simply heavenly.

FSY

Cora and Joseph got to go to FSY International (for all the English speakers in Europe), here in Germany again. They do FSY here remarkably well. The kids always come back with great stories, good friends, and stronger testimonies.

In case you don't know the difference between FSY  and EFY:
EFY (Especially for Youth) is put on by the continuing education department at BYU, and is in the United States.
FSY (For the Strength of Youth) is held in several countries outside the United States, and is run by the area presidencies.
I can't personally tell you how they compare, because I never went to EFY (it seemed like it was for the "rich" kids - EFY is waaaaaayyyyyy more expensive than FSY, and there's no way we would be able to send our kids to that)

Anyway, I'm just grateful my kids had the opportunity to go. Cora, especially, got some things out of it that she REALLY needed, that she didn't even realize she needed, until she got them. I think that was so important for her right before this move we are preparing for. We've talked a lot lately about how God knows what's best for us, better than we know ourselves. He doesn't always give us what we ask for, but He gives us what we need.

Nuremberg

I have resigned myself to the fact that I'm not going to get to see everything I want to see in Germany (let alone in Europe) before we leave.

resign (rɪˈzʌɪn)

verb

1. accept that something undesirable cannot be avoided.

   synonyms:

   reconcile oneself to, become resigned to, become reconciled to, have no choice but to accept, come to terms with, learn to live with, get used to the idea of

Some of the places I REALLY want to visit, but won't because of a lack of money and time:
Berlin
Garmisch (I've technically been there, but didn't get to see the area, including the Zugspitze, Partnach Gorge, and the nearby Neuschwanstein Castle)
Munich and nearby Dachau
Hohenzollern Castle
Lichtenstein Castle
Essligen
The Black Forest
Leipzig
Fulda
To name just a few.

Now, when you see this list you might think to yourself, YOU LIVED IN GERMANY FOR 3 YEARS AND YOU DIDN'T GO TO BERLIN!!! No, I didn't, and I partly hang my head in shame for that....HOWEVER - Berlin is 5 1/2 hours away from where we live.  Do you know what is closer to us than Berlin? Other Countries. The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Every time we took a trip somewhere that wasn't too far away, we had to make a choice, and there are a lot of factors that go into that choice. Berlin, sadly, didn't make the cut for a number of reasons. Neither did the other places on my list, which are also ALL closer than Berlin ;)

Before I moved to Germany, I had NO IDEA how beautiful it was, or how much there was to see here. No. Idea. Even though I took German in high school for 3 years, Germany was barely on my radar. It was never at the top of places I wanted to see. But now I can't recommend it highly enough. If you are ever able to travel to/in Europe, you should definitely try to see Germany...and I'm not even getting compensated for saying that!

One other place that I really wanted to see was Nuremberg. I'm not going to get there even though it is only 3 hours away. Lack of time and money ruins EVERYTHING you guys! However, Joe was TDY for 5 weeks during May-June in Vilseck (he got to come home on weekends because it's only 4 hours away), and the last week his class got to go on a field trip to Nuremberg. I am jealous, obviously.

I don't think they did a whole lot while they were there, but they did go the courthouse where the Nuremberg trials where held (these were trials held by the Allied Forces after WWII to prosecute the most prominent leaders of the Nazi party. Nuremberg was chosen partly because it was considered the ceremonial birthplace of the Nazi party. Joe got a couple of shots there. Just a couple.

I feel like this post might sound like a whiny post, and really, I have absolutely nothing to whine about. I have been so blessed to be able to go to all the places that we've been. Maybe we'll get to come back someday and visit some more places, but if not, I'm still grateful. Plus, more adventures await us in Nebraska, right? Right? (p.s. if you didn't know, we're moving to Nebraska)