My new apron

Christmas with Ana and I (and a little birthday)

Merry Christmas to all.

Ana had a wonderful Christmas. She needs a much bigger stocking though ;)

She was not going to let me get that toy :)

The delicious chocolate marbled cheesecake I made for dessert. It was soooooo yummy! Also doubles as my birthday dessert :)

The beautiful diploma frame that Thomas got me for my birthday.

Thank you to Sara, little Richard, and Kaylee for providing me with my next sewing project. I will soon be the proud owner of a beautiful apron (provided I sew it correctly).

Thomas' gift :)

Thomas' Christmas gift from me, all wrapped up and ready to head to the desert. What is it???


That's right...my FIRST quilt :) I sewed the top with the sewing machine Thomas bought me for Christmas last year and then hand quilted it all together.

It turned out to be a beautiful quilt. He's lucky it got mailed :) Thank you grandma Kathy and mom for the supplies, he loves it!

Christmas in the desert

Thomas' dfac decorated for Christmas.

Thomas has his own little "Christmas corner" in his room :)


A paper tree he took from his dfac. I think his tree may be bigger than mine!

Holiday fun

Ana and I had a very busy day :) So many sweet treats...and I only ate FOUR!!! Cookies: cream cheese sugar cookies (mmmm...the best), secret kiss cookies rolled in powdered sugar, acorn cookies, and peanut butter blossoms.
Ana clearly does NOT have the same enthusiasm for baking as mom :)

The advent calendar I made for Thomas. Can't tell what's inside though...as he's only opened three days worth :) So far he's opened a mini Christmas scented candle (so he can smell Christmas in the dessert) and some fun drink mixes.

Cute as ever!

Thomas has finally sent some more pictures! Hope you guys enjoy. Workin' hard :) In his room.

At work...somewhere...maybe on the MKT...AGAIN.

The MKT (Mobilized Kitchen Trailer) or as I call it, the "portable cooker." He spends crazy amounts of hours working on this thing....and I have NO idea why....it's SOOOO small.

She loves the snow!!!

Ana and I played in the snow this morning for a long time. She is beyond tired now and will be sleeping (snoring) until dinner time!

She runs SUPER fast....she eats LOTS of snow....she looks extremely cute.....and then begs to go in.This is what happens to mom's pants!Time to rest now :) On a side note, Ana had tons of fun yesterday with her new friend Trixie. Giving Trixie lots of kisses :)

WINTER WONDER LAND!!!!!!!!!!

Ana and I woke up this morning.....to SNOW!!!!!!!!!

Come on mom, let me go, I'll be good......

I'll only eat white snow, promise....Hahaha, sucka....catch me if you can :)

It's still snowing, so I'm expecting a lot more snow :) We're going to have lots of fun this Christmas.

It's almost here :)

This morning while eating breakfast I decided it was time to start decorating. I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I couldn't wait a day longer. I love decorating for the holidays. Sadly, there are still many decorations still in boxes because our tree is a little on the small side this year.

Tree will be staying on kitchen table because ANA LOVES to eat the dirt :)
Our wineless wine rack sporting the beautiful snowflake ornaments Thomas bought me last year at the Christmas market in Mainz.

Our advent calendar will be stuffed with dog treats this year :) Ana is lovin' that!

Not a great picture, but this is the beautiful Christmas bouquet Thomas bought me last year.

Ana said she's being very good so Santa will bring lots of treats...so you better get on it Santa....p.s. she really wants a new frisbie this year!!!

Thomas' Birthday!

Ana's very sad that she didn't get any birthday ice cream :(

Thomas playing xbox live with his brother.

We just got back from his birthday dinner. We went to a really yummy Mexican place. His party was two weekends ago, so tonight it was just the two of us. Along with the picture below, he got a new computer and camera. That way he can keep in touch and send us all lots of pictures while he's down range. The most exciting "gift" this birthday was the news that he's getting promoted October 1st!!!!! Congrats to Thomas!!!!!

Thomas' birthday present from the Martindale/Huling/Popp household :) This is one of his favorite scenes, the flag raising at Iwo Jima. Thank you guys, he loves it!

Ana

Ana "helping" mom make dad's Christmas present :)

Vacation

Ana and Thomas saying hi.

During the past two weeks we went on a few really fun trips. We went to a beer garden in Munich, Olympia Park (where the Olympics were held), to a concentration camp near Munich (which cannot be classified as "fun," but I'm glad we went), to the Black Forest, and to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. My mom was able to see what life is like for us here and even had the opportunity to experience what it's like trying to sleep through the nightly artillery training.

Eagle's Nest

The beautiful view from the top...after a two hour hike up.

Our little Ana made it all the way to the top!!!

Dachau

The gate that so many innocent people walked through....

A mass grave where so many of those innocent people remain.

Munich

At the beer garden.

Waiting for our food.

The famous beer (yes...he drank TWO of those).

This guy made bird sounds with his mouth....it was amazing.