The 4th of July!

Eric turned 35 on the Fourth of July!  Even though his birthday was two weeks ago, and I'm still trying to catch up from more than a month with out Internet, I want to wish him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY on my blog!  

Isabelle and I made him a nice supper and gave him his birthday presents when he got home from work on the 3rd, because we knew he wouldn't be expecting it then.  I couldn't find wrapping paper at the BX so I got poster board and let Isabelle go to town with the decorating.

When we were preparing for our PCS, there were a gazillion little decisions that had to be made.  We had no clue if we'd be living in an apartment building, house, duplex, etc... making it extremely difficult to decide what to bring and what to put in storage.  We just assumed that with the size of our family being so small, we would be in an apartment of some sort and wouldn't need a grill, so we decided to put ours into storage.  That is the one thing that we wished we would have brought!  Eric is an amazing cook and was missing his charcoal grill & smoker.  Isabelle and I very much depend on his cooking skills to stay fed, so it seemed like the perfect birthday gift.... my guy got a grill for his birthday!

It didn't take him long to get to grillin'.... my tummy was happy!

Obviously, the Fourth isn’t a German holiday, and being new to the area, I wasn’t sure how we’d be celebrating.  As an American, it wouldn't feel right to not be celebrating such an important American holiday, also for Eric, it wouldn't really feel like his birthday without some sort of red, white, and blue shenanigans   On Facebook I came across a Fourth of July carnival on Ramstein Air Base (only 10km from where we live), and figured it would be a great way to spend the day!  

It was huge!  Live music, carnival rides, games, food, beer.... all the essentials for a great Fourth of July celebration!  My kiddo was more interested in the games than the rides.  She gets motion sick easily so the rides aren't always that much fun for her.

Isabelle and I tried a deep-fried Twinkie for the very first time.  No words could describe how awesome it was!!  {I will probably never have another one again though, I think I gained a good 17 pounds from it}  

With the Fourth being on a Thursday, both Eric and I had to work Friday morning, so we didn't get too wild and crazy.  Eric missed being at the celebration and parade in Ramona, SD with his family.... missing his family is all part of the adjustment of living so far away, I guess.  But even so, he had a good birthday!  Happy Birthday, Babe, we LOVE YOU!