HOME SWEET HOME

We are so excited to be settled in...the kids love riding their bikes and we can ride to two different parks about a mile away.

GERMANY REUNION IN SAN ANTONIO!

Here we are having dinner at a wonderful authentic mexican restaurant. After not seeing Dan and Joanie and Sonya and Greg for over 5 years is was really awesome to be with them. Plus, it was really special for Tori and Alyson to finally meet, since they were born 7 weeks apart in Germany and spent their 1st year playing together. Here's another pic of Sonya, Joanie and Sandy. Tori and Alyson had alot of fun in the pool, and the last pic is us in front of the Alamo.

The Beasley's B&B in San Antonio

We were treated to some of Dan's delicious Seafood and Italian dishes!

Our journey begins...

We left STL on 9 July 08 and headed out West to San Antonio. We stayed one night in Joplin, MO and the next night in Dallas. Tori taped her US map to the window and enjoyed tracking our travels. Here she is pointing to Oklahoma as we drove through the very windy state!

LAST WEEK IN STL

We packed up on 3 July and moved into Arlene and RD's home for a week while they were on vacation out East. It was such a wonderful time for us because their home is very comfortable and we swam in their pool everyday!! Here's Tori in her room with her packed boxes...and at the base pool one last time with friends Katlynn and Rachel.

OUR LAST WEEK IN TURKEY!

Here is Nicole and Suna on our last trip to Byrakli Park. It is so nice to have warm weather again! The kids and I are headed back stateside next week!! Here is the beautiful sunset from our apartment view.

SKIING IN TURKEY!

We went skiing in Bozdag, Turkey last wknd, which is only about 2 hours away from Izmir. The weather was gorgeous because it was quite warm and very sunny. The skiing was not the best, because the kids skis were way too long, and there were no bunny hills for them. There were only two runs, so Rob and I took turns going down. There are other ski resorts in Turkey that we hear are very nice, however they are quite a distance away. We have never seen so many adult beginner skiiers (without instructors mind you) bombing the hills...falling down left and right, quite hilarious! Overall, it was a great experience since we view it as a once in a lifetime thing!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

For Valentines Day we all went out to dinner. It is quite a big celebration here in Turkey, all the restaurants were jam packed. Here are Tori and Streicher being picked up for school. They are both going to the "Panda" school in Mahvashir (the next town over from ours). They are going three days a week and learning a bit more Turkish, as well as learning how to play chess! Tori's teacher says she has a good ear and is able to pronounce Turkish words very well. She also suggests that Tori take up a musical instrument, perhaps piano lessons in her near future!

OZDERE BEACH HOUSE

We rented a van and traveled along the seaside to Nicole and Burak's beach house in Ozdere, near Selcuk and Ephesus. A total of 12 of us went and we grilled tons of chicken, lamb and steak. We had a great time chatting and playing games, as we had no TV (what a Blessing!) It did snow that wknd, and it was quite chilly, but we all made the most of it. This old man carves wooden spoons. He showed us a Jet Life magazine article where he was interviewed and photographed. Here is Streicher on the beach with one of his new buddies, Mason. Here are the kids with their new friends having a sleepover (Grace Ann, Mason and Austin)

TORI AND LEETS

Tori and Suna (Leets), wearing their matching Christmas sweaters!

CHURCH IN ALSANCAK

These photos were taken at the beautiful church in Alsancak. We went there for a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

MERRY XMAS FROM AUSTRIA!!!!!!!

NANA, UNCLE JOHN, AND MARIANNE IN AUSTRIA

AUSTRIAN ADVENTURE!!

Here we are in Kirchdorf Austria, near St. Johann and Kitzbuhl. We spent an incredible week here with Rob's Uncle John (from Sacramento) and Nana Barb and her friend Marianne (from Michigan). The weather was gorgeous...sunny EVERY day and not too cold. The kids had three days of ski school, and they actually liked it!! Plus, they are both quite natural at it (taking after Daddy for sure)! We took a sleigh ride around Kirchdorf with a nice family from Poland and sampled the local schnapps along the way, while singing Christmas carols...what an awesome time, probably the high light of the trip! Here is Tori and Kony, her ski instructor. Streicher's instructor's name was Russ, and he told us that Streicher was the best in his class (out of three students...hahahhah).

CHRISTMAS IN GARMISH (GRAINAU)

These photos were taken just a few minutes walk from our charming German apartment where we spent Christmas. We went sledding, made snow angels and played around in the big open fields where we saw alot of cross country skiers. While in Garmish we also took a cog train up to the Zugspitz, spent time at the town Christmas market sipping hot cocoa, and had lunch at the Edelweis lodge (an Armed Forces Recreation resort...which is located at the foot of the mountains). I told Rob that we should both start looking for possible job openings at the nearby base...what a dream assignment that would be!!