Frohe Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas 2009, from the Radios in Germany! We celebrated our last (maybe) Christmas in Germany with a week long present opening marathon via Skype/webcam with the Grandparents, Christmas Eve with friends, Christmas Day at home with lots of gifts from a Santa, and Boxing Day in France. Check out the NEW Web Albums for the updated photos and future pictoral additions.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The boys wanted to take Daddy someplace fun. The pizza place is closed on Monday, so why don't we swim in the snow! Check out the Web Album for some more updates.

December 2009

We have added some new photos of December in Germany... hoops, Christmas markets, WW II tributes, schnee... check out the update in the Photo Gallery.

The Impossible Photo Shoot

Eli's Fave Spot in House

If we ever lose Eli, first place to look is in the garage... FORE!

Germany's Christmas Market Capital

From Berlin

We visited the capital of Germany, Berlin, which also claims to be the capital of the country's Weihnachtsmärkte. We saw at least 6 markets(out of the advertised 60), but the city seemed to be an endless stream of wurst stands, skating rinks, and holiday treat vendors. We climbed to the top of Reichstag dome, traced a portion of the Wall from Checkpoint Charlie, strolled Unter den Linden, rode the Choo choo (U-bahn), swam in the hotel pool, and walked under the Brandenburg Gate.

Check out the Berlin Web Album for the latest photos and videos.

November 09

Updates made to Web Albums... check it out!

It's Gameday...

Go State, Beat the Buckeyes!

 

Home Sweet Home

From PA Visit

New photos have been added to the PA Visit Web Album.

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

From Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

 

We've added some pics of our pumpkin carving to the web albums.

Me Golf!

Check out the web albums for a few more pictures.

Pennsylvania Boys

The boys are missing Mommy very much, but enjoying their time in PA. The web albums will be updated throughout the trip.

From PA Visit

Oktoberfest

From October09

We have updated with some pictures from October 2009. Thanks to Grandmom and Grandpop for our return visit to Tripsdrill. This time, there were about 30 cars in the parking lot and zero waiting on the rides. Enjoy!

Photo Update

We have put a few pictures in the September 09 album.

Some gameday entertainment

Weekend in Italy

We just returned home from Tuscany. We spent a wonderful Labor Day weekend in Pisa, Cinque Terre, the beach near Camp Darby, and Lucca.

Jack and Eli were impressed with yet another Little Einsteins landmark... "Wow Mommy, the Leaning Tower of Pisa really IS leaning!"

From Italy

We headed straight for the Field of Miracles from the airport and enjoyed the site, a nice dinner, and our first of several gelatos. Camp Darby is then only a 10 minute drive away. This is a small Army post in a great location. We were lucky to get a room given there was a big softball tournament going on.

Saturday was Cinque Terre day. We made the 50 minute drive in the morning to La Spezia to catch a short train to the first town of Riomaggiore. From the first glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea down the rocky cliffs,

From Italy

we knew we were in for a beautiful day. From Riomaggiore, we walked the Via dell' Amore along the Sea. The views are spectacular. Story has it that teens from the neighboring towns met along this path, and so many people (not us, though we have our own lock story coming) place padlocks along the path to seal their love. A 30 minute walk took us to the second town Manarola.

Manarola has a small "swimming" area. The boys had fun watching the cliff divers and others trying to battle the waves to get back onshore. We ate lunch here in a tiny trattoria, sampling local specialties Spaghetti Batti Batti and pesto ravioli. We first ordered Pasta with shellfish, but was informed by the waiter that the sea was too choppy that morning to bring in any shellfish. Nothing like fresh seafood. There was even a grape delivery man that handed us a bunch right off the truck after Kristy snapped a picture of the basket. After lunch we headed UP UP UP on a hike thru the vinyards above Manarola. While above the town, Jack spotted a playground out a small peninsula overlooking the town. We hiked back down, padlocked the stroller and played. Unfortunately upon returning, the lock on the stroller was jammed! After asking around (and not knowing the Italian word for BIG wire cutter), we had to train it back to town #1 and find the only hardware store in Cinque Terre. When we first looked in the store, we were worried by what was called a hardware store. It was one aisle about 15 feet in length! At first the girl tried to sell us a lock. Then, I spotted a cutter for some chain link that they sold in the corner the corner of the store. I said, "No, I need something like that." She said, "You bring it back??" So I took the wire cutters and trecked back. Stroller saved.

We then boarded a train which took us to the last town of Montorroso. Here we found a rocky "pokey" (a la Eli) beach, but it was the boys first taste of the warm Sea water. They even played European style... in underwear!

Finally, another train back to town #4, Vernazza. This beatiful harbor town glistened in the sunset. We ate pizza on the breakwater and Mommy had a small heart attack as Daddy carried the boys out onto the rocks. More gelato and another playground finished a long, fun day in Cinque Terre.

Sunday, we played at the beach in Tirrenia just a few minutes from Camp Darby. The weather could not have been better. Sun, waves, and just the right heat. The boys made some friends and loved the sand & surf. At dinnner that night, there was a Italian entertainer/magician/balloon artist. The boys had a blast following all the other Italians around the restaurant grounds.

On Monday, we decided to take in the town the Lucca before our evening flight. This was a last minute decision, but it turned out to be a good one. The town is surrounded by a Renaissance wall that you can walk atop. Of course the boys spotted a playground as soon as we entered the town gate. Lucca was also close enough to Florence for Kristy to find a new leather purse! Lastly, we have two new chefs in the house, thanks to great personalized Chef hats.

Now, if only they can duplicate all the great food we ate throughout the weekend.

Check out the Gallery for all the latest pictures.

The Emerald Isle

From Ireland

Ireland... beer, golf, rain, castles, narrow roads, rainbows, luck... we had it all. Four whirlwind days touring the island took us to the Cliffs of Moher, the Dingle Peninsula, the Rock of Cashel, Kilkenny, Mount Juliet, and Dublin. We had a great time. Check out the updated Ireland Photo Album for all the highlights. A few more pics have also been added to the American Invasion Album.

The American Invasion, August 2009

From The American Invasion

Check back often and view the gallery for updates on Grandmom and Grandpop's visit to Germany.

Goodbye July, Hello August

From July09

July went out with a bang. The boys continued their Kindersports adventures with some water balloon golf; we spent an afternoon shopping at the outlets followed by an evening in Wurzburg; and we hosted a going away play party for Jack's friend Kate, who is leaving for the States this weekend.

Check out the July Album for the last update before Grandmom and Grandpop's arrival tomorrow morning!

Happy 6 Month Birthday JD!

 

Love,

Jack and Eli

PS - Eli heard you are eating... "Yeaaaahhhh JD"

The Sleepover

From The Sleepover

Lizzie and Robby are spending several days with us. So far, the kids are enjoying each others company. Check out the gallery for periodic updates of the party!

After a long week, the kids decided to take a rest at IKEA.

Burg Eltz

Happy Birthday America! We traveled to Burg Eltz Castle and it was finally open this time. During the tour a thunderstorm hit and the lights went out for special effects... We traveled with Tory and Chris who were visiting from Texas and Alaina who just landed in Germany to replace Kristy in TDS. We also celebrated Jack and Eli's kindergarten's 100 yr anniversary and July 4th at the base. Check out the gallery for more photos and videos.

A Selection of Disney Videos

Click on the video to view and visit the Web Albums for some more! In the Web Albums, notice the link to view HQ (higher quality) video.

Bon Jour Mickey!

From Disneyland_Paris

We returned last night from three days in Disneyland Paris. The kids -- all six of us are kids in Disney -- had a blast. We met lots of Disney characters and even found Daisy after a few days of searching. Jack gave hugs to each of them and Eli preferred to view from afar. After punching Mickey in the nose and digging finger nails into Mommy's neck next to Woody, he decided to stay in the stroller! Kayla really enjoyed all the thrill rides and made multiple trips aboard Space Mountain 2 and Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster.

On Wednesday, we entered the park early and practically had Fantasy Land to ourselves. We got on a ton of rides in a few hours and met Pooh bear before boarding the train for Paris. We had a delicious lunch including French wine, French fries, and a hamburger on one piece of toast??? Kayla and Mommom rode the tour bus from Notre Dame to Champs Elysees where we strolled and spent some dough in the Adidas store. From there, we headed to a the Eiffel Tower. After literally walking shoulder to shoulder with Barry Bonds -- sorry brothers, we didn't have time to get an autograph -- we photographed and played under the tower's shadow. Another crowded train ride and we were back in Disney. Happy first Birthday Noah!!!

Our final day was spent primarily in the Disney Studios. The kids loved the Playhouse Disney show. They clapped and danced with all their favorite characters. Eli loved the car and motorcycle stunt show and everyone enjoyed some ice cream before a quick parade sighting and the long drive home. Happy Birthday Oscar (9 yrs)!!!

Some pictures are posted in the web albums. We'll add some video later after we finish some editing.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

L-O-N-D-O-N

 

Well, we are back from three exciting and exhausting days in London England! We climbed the lions in Trafalgar Square. shopped in Covent Garden, celebrated the Queen's birthday with an awesome fly-over viewing, rode the tube, played in Princess Diana's playground in Kensington Gardens, saw a show, ate fish & chips, watched changing of the guard, saw the Tower of London, heard Evening Song in St. Paul's Cathedral, visited Westminster, rode the tube some more, cruised the River Thames, flew in the London Eye, rode the double decker buses, shopped in Oxford Circus, walked across Abbey Road... ahhh, I am sure there was more but my memory fails me!

As always, pictures are available in the Photo Gallery.

Multi-tasking!

 

The boys painted a picture, potted some sunflowers, then Eli decided to play some fussball in his golfing hat!

Memorial Day Weekend

Click the photo below to watch the video of the next Tiger Woods!

From Memorial Day Weekend 09

Check out the Gallery which will be updated throughout the weekend with photos and videos.

Happy 90th Baba!

Three boys made the space-A trip to PA on a C-17 without Mommy (on Mother's Day no less) to visit the family, meet a new cousin for the first time, and celebrate the Radio/Oleksa family reunion in honor of Grammy's 90th birthday.

(the inside of a C-17 from the stairs to the flight deck looking backwards for those interested)


We all missed Mommy and Oscar very much, but we had a blast hanging out in "English-land." We met JD for the first time, played with "little" cousin Noah, big cousins JJ Kayla and Chad, Ethan & Owen, and all the grandparents. We celebrated Mother's Day (about 20 minutes late) and Baba's birthday. We met more family from far and near. We went bowling and played at the spielplatz. But best of all, we went to...



Click on the Photo Gallery for more pics of our trip.

Mother's Day 2009

Today we celebrated Muttertag (one day early). The boys took Mommy to the Gartenschau, aka Dinosaur park, which is one of their favorite places to play. We had a nice picnic lunch, saw lots of dinosaurs, and played on all of the great playground equipment! Check out the gallery for more photos.

Mother's Day 2009

The Alps

We had a great week in the Alps. First stop was Mommy's conference at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Though we missed Mommy during the day, we were able to do lots of fun things and of course sample some eis. We frequented the hotel pool and even went in the "hot-hot-pool" while it was snowing. The weekend took us across the border into Salzburg, Austria. We strolled the city, sampled local cuisine & music, and slept in a hotel building more than a thousand years old. We traveled to a nearby town, where Mommy and Jack explored some old salt mines. Check out the Photo Gallery for some more pics.

From Garmisch_Salzburg