Merry Christmas!

Here are a few pics from Christmas morning in the Glynn house... JP opened Legos from Grandpa and Grandma and then a fun JP-sized table from Nana and Papa and was utterly overwhelmed :-) So...the rest of the presents have been slowly but surely appearing -- even Mommy and Daddy's tractor set had to wait until the weekend to give him time to finally put his fun Legos down! Oh, the simplicity of toddlers -- why can't this last forever?!?!?

Chamonix 2008 - it didn't disappoint!

We had such a great trip to Chamonix this year... Filled with walks through the woods, sledding, fun friends, cheese, crepes, drinks, skiing, more sledding, playing Scrabble, reading, relaxing -- we couldn't have asked for a better week!

I did my best to minimize all the pictures -- but there are still quite a few! Enjoy the show...

P.S. -- if you click on the little "conversation bubble" in the bottom left-hand corner below the pics, you can view some captions that I included...

Trier's Christmas Market!

Here are some pictures from our trips to Trier's Christmas Market...we all loved it so much, that we went back a second time before Mollie, Derek and the kids had to leave. Lillie, Emilie and JP really enjoyed the train ride down there and the Merry-Go-Round :-) Watching the three of them interact was adorable :-)

Anyways...plenty more pics to come of their wonderful trip to Germany. Mollie took most of the pics, so we'll have to wait to get those from her. Other than that...keep checking back to see pics of our trip to Chamonix (next week) and Christmas!

JP, Lillie and Emilie building a snowman with the Daddies!

Matt and Derek couldn't resist getting the kiddos all bundled up to build a snowman! The snowman miraculously stayed alive for the entire stay of their trip...he endured a rapid weight-loss program during those 10 days, but as far as the kids were concerned, he was doing great!

Orenhofen's first snowfall!

I finally discovered the best way to get Matt out of bed in the morning...four words "It snowed last night!" Right before Mollie, Derek and the kiddos arrived, we had tons of snow fall -- it was beautiful!!! Before eating breakfast, we bundled up and went out to play in the snow :-) Now that JP understands that the snow is unusual, it was really fun to watch him play around with the pups!

Anniversary trip to London...

Sorry we've been MIA on our blog... Here's a few albums to catch everyone up with what we have been up to. More to come in the weeks ahead!

Matt surprised me with a trip to London for our 5th Anniversary (I know...we can't believe it's already been 5 years!) Anyways...we stayed at the same hotel, ate at the same restaurant and ended up at the same spot on the Westminster Bridge where he proposed 6 years ago. It was a perfect weekend -- it couldn't have been better!

Naked Baby on the Loose!

Nothing cuter than a naked baby on the loose! JP might not appreciate us posting these pictures later on...but we couldn't resist!

Costa del Sol...a week away from it all!

We scored a touchdown with this Marriott in the Costa del Sol...it was perfect for a relaxing getaway where we could play in the pool all morning and relax by the beach (weather permitting) all afternoon. JP LOVED the indoor children's pool...and had the weather been a little warmer, I think I would have taken a few more rides down the outdoor slide :-) At the beach, he was perfectly content getting buried and playing in the sand (all while eating his sand-covered crackers of course!!!)

Morocco...JP's first trip to Africa!

Matt planned a perfect day trip to Tangier, Morocco. It was a day filled with walking and taking in all the smells and sights of Morocco (believe it or not...the smells were actually very appealing to me!) We were pleasantly surprised by how little we were harassed by the locals...enjoying a wonderful snack/coffee in the morning, shopping in the Medina, eating lunch at "The Palace Restaurant", and finishing the afternoon off with another drink at the Cafe Hafa (where the Rolling Stones used to hide out and smoke weed in the 60s) -- obviously, JP was beat by that time and wasn't awake to enjoy the beautiful views!

The best part of the day was watching JP take in the Moroccan band that was playing for us at the restaurant. He was mesmerized by the instruments...and the men were all so friendly.

Overall...it was a perfect day touring a very eclectic city in northern Africa. Once again, Matt -- our private FTD (F%$ing Tour Director) pulled off another flawless excursion!

Nana's trip to Germany :-)

So many people question Nana about what she does when she comes over for nearly a month...the answer -- a whole lot of playing and laughing with JP :-) We have had so much fun having Nana here. JP is so proud to point her out and loves sharing juice and chips with her. They are two peas-in-a-pod that's for sure!


Kevbo and Brett also came over for a week of fun memories as we traveled around Germany -- Heidelberg, Dachau, Munich and Rothenburg -- it couldn't have been better. I'll post more pictures of our craziness at Oktoberfest soon...

Wine Wagon Fun....

This evening was too much fun... Oliver proved to be a WUNDERBAR Wine Wagon driver through the countryside near our house. You really can't go wrong with good wine, good food and good friends all mixed into one :-)

JP's Haircut...the first without sitting on Mommy's lap :-)

JP was quite the "big boy" when he got his first haircut sans Mommy. He loved checking himself out in the mirror and impressed the barber...too cute!

Labor Day in Belgium...

We had so much fun on this "local" trip...after stopping at the Eifel Zoo (about 45 minutes from our house), we spent the afternoon drinking beer with friends at the "Beer Museum." We then stayed at a great B & B and headed off on Sunday morning to continue exploring the Belgian country. After stopping at a few monasteries that serve great beer and cheese, we stayed at an awesome hotel that seemed like it was only open for us. On Monday, before heading back home, we rode a "rail bike" -- the countryside was beautiful (despite the rain...yeppo, I gave Matt a hard time about us even going, but it was definitely worth it) -- we had a great time and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick/easy/inexpensive getaway!

More pics of JP...

Here are more pics taken by our friend... You can tell in a few of the pictures that we were asking him, "Where is your tongue?" or "Where is your belly button (can you tell he doesn't ever miss a meal? :-)" or "Honk your nose!" This is such a great age...just when we think it can't get any better, he says something new or does a new "trick." We absolutely love it!

Pics of JP...

Here are some pics of JP that were taken by a friend of ours... She claims to be a novice and just needed little ones to "practice" with -- but if you ask me...she could open up shop tomorrow and start making a killing here with all the military families. My humble opinion...these pictures are keepers!!

Wittlich Pig Fest...

Well I'm embarrassed to say that we went to the Wittlich Pig Fest yesterday and I didn't even see one of the ginormous roasting pigs!!! However, while drinking a beer with friends, we did catch a few pics of JP clowning around :-)

Our weekend in Beilstein...

The first two pics are taken from the castle in the town of Cochem -- the scenery never fails to amaze us!

JP loves riding in the backpack...Daddy's little buddy :-)

Our child has "Osterkamp blood" that's for sure. Aren't children supposed to not like the taste of wine/beer. We sat down for a wine probe in Beilstein and JP enjoyed it as much as we did :-) (Don't worry...we actually cut him off pretty quickly!)

This is another picture of the Mosel from the castle in Beilstein...

This is a picture of our balcony -- JP had a blast playing up there and dropping flower petals over the side onto the people eating down below.

JP's favorite ride...

Here is JP's favorite car...his "Boppy Car" as Germans call it :-) He goes all over the backyard with it -- he feels like such a big boy!

Playing outside...

We're loving the summer sunshine here in Germany... JP takes every chance he can to go outside. Usually, he picks up the dogs tennis ball thrower which gets them all excited...running around the house. The only way to calm the dogs down is to take them outside at which time JP gets to go out and play too -- yeppo, JP is pretty smart :-)

He is starting to really enjoy "smiling" for the camera -- now we just have to work on keeping his eyes open!

Riding the dogs :-)

We knew it was only a matter of time before JP started riding the pups around the house :-) Unfortunately, Lucie is JP's "pony" of choice...too much fun!

My ride in an F-16!

It was incredible! This week is Spouses Appreciation Week on base...and so they had a lottery for one spouse to go up in the F-16 and I was picked!!! I can't believe that this is Matt's job -- craziness! (More pictures to come once I get them...)

Getting fitted for my helmet!

Posing for the camera one last time before take-off!

Back on solid ground again...what a thrill!

*P.S. -- for those of you that are familiar with Air Force Regs...the 10% rule applies :-)

Such a big boy...

I'm LOVING feeding myself...the pictures don't prove it, but I'm actually pretty good at it :-)

Visiting Great-Grandpa Johnny...

4 generations...too cool!

Having fun in California...

We have quite a few more pics from our trip back to the states -- just need to get them on a disk from the fam... We had such a great time visiting everyone -- we're definitely looking forward to our next visit :-)

Hmmm...sand is SOOOOO yummy!

Playing tether ball!

Matt's Homecoming...June 1, 2008!

The wait is finally over...Matt is back!!! YIPPEE!

Watching Matt taxi the jet to the hangar...

Waving to Daddy as he shuts down the plane...it felt like FOREVER!

The canopy opens...he can finally get out of the jet :-)

Trying to get JP to walk to Daddy...although he wasn't too sure what was going on!

Finally...we're together again. JP looking on is too cute!

JP showing off his walking skills to Daddy...

Sizing JP up...Matt couldn't believe how much JP had grown!

We were in shock that they actually came back on the target date...but we're not complaining!

The happy family...

Matt's first beer in 4 1/2 months -- yep, he was a little excited!

Sardinia -- May 2008

Here are pics from the trip JP and I took to Sardinia right before Matt got home. Sorry it took so long to post -- we had a GREAT trip! JP loved playing in the sand (and eating crackers that he had purposefully dropped in the sand...a little dirt don't hurt, right???)

Thanks to my friend Carma for getting all these great pics...she's a pro at it!

Why have so many kiddos???

So that they can do the housework for you... The beauty of it now...JP actually enjoys it! Give it a little while and he'll be running the other way!


That fruit box in the background was JP's entertainment in Ireland. Even though we had brought toys, Daddy put him in it the first day for a little spin around the kitchen and that was the end of it. Lucky Daddy...from that day on, JP would climb into the crate and say "please" for Daddy to take him on a ride! At 6:30am on my morning to sleep in...I woke up to Matt saying "Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!" and JP laughing as they went in circles around the kitchen -- too cute!

Driving on the crazy roads in Ireland...

If anyone has ever driven in Ireland, you know that the majority of the roads are barely big enough for one VERY small car, much less two normal cars passing each other. This road was the road we would take from our house to Portmagee...no kidding, it had a 12% grade, and we even followed a camper trying to make it (he was certifiably NUTS!) Despite the roads being ridiculously narrow -- it seems to work and just add to fun! Poor JP just sits there and wonders when his parents are actually going to grow up!

Thanks Great-Auntie Joanie for this all-in-one travel stroller/car seat! This thing ROCKS!

Ireland -- JP finally gets to see the Motherland!

It was everything we had hoped for and more! Ireland is awesome -- the Guinness was just what the doctor ordered, the Irish still give TERRIBLE directions but couldn't be friendlier and the fields are still filled with tons of sheep!

JP's first Guinness! (The Bridge Bar, Portmagee, Ireland)
Our house...the white one -- it was absolutely perfect!

The view from our kitchen window -- JP loved all the sheep!

Our pet for the week -- Mr. Donkey!

Mommy and Daddy enjoying a bottle of wine in our front yard -- it couldn't get better than this!