We made it!

Here we are, in Germany. So far I'm loving it. I will admit that first day we got here I wanted to go home, but in my defense I had NO sleep in over 24 hours, I didn't feel good from the plane ride, and its was raining here. Plus, it just wasn't Minot. BUT after much needed sleep I woke up ready to enjoy Germany.

So, the plane actually ended up leaving at 1130pm Baltimore time. It was a horrible wait as we had to be out of our hotel at 2pm. The kids were so well behaved though. They took the boredom much better than I did actually. We hung out at the USO most of the time so at least there was TV, snacks, and comfy chairs to sit at.

Once we boarded the plane Wyatt literally fell asleep right away. The plane didn't even move away from the gate before he fell asleep. Kylee dozed off shortly after take off. James is apparently used to sleeping on long flights so it was easy for him to go to bed. However, I was just too uncomfortable to fall asleep. Plus, I watched a few movies on the plane. Dinner and Breakfast were both served but I wouldn't suggest trying the food. James enjoyed it but I thought it was horrible. I guess when your used to eating food at the Chow hall for a year any type of food is considered good.

Anyhow, we were originally scheduled to land around noon Germany time, but the airport was closed. Odd isn't it? Actually, Germany is pretty big on going to Church and closing around lunch time so there are quiet hours in place. Our plane was landing on a Sunday so there could not be any noise from the base until 1pm. The pilot told us he flew super slow over the ocean to try to get to Ramstein AB around opening time, but still ended up having to do a few circles for about an hour before we were able to land.

The landing was HORRIBLE!!! I thought I was going to throw up. I'm usually a pretty good flyer, but for some reason this was bumpy and had my stomach in knots until we touched down. Once we departed the aircraft we had to have a customs briefing. Basically we were told what we could and could not have. We couldn't bring in more than 10,000 euros. (We obviously didn't have THAT problem.) We also couldn't bring in meat, dairy, and some other type of product. Getting our luggage was easy and we weren't checked going through customs either. Our sponsor met us at the airport so that we had a ride from Ramstein AB to Spangdahlem AB which is about an hour or so away. I really wish I would have taken a picture of ALL of our luggage. It was an ungodly amount of stuff: 7 bags, 2 carseats, 5 carry-ons plus the kids (they are considered luggage as we had to carry them half the time).

Ok, I will have to update about our current living quarters later today. Its pretty awesome I must admit, even with all the quirky cute German touches. I will hopefully add some pictures of it as well.

I have a friend taking me to the commissary later today so that I can get more than a few things. After James' briefings today we are going to look at a house (hopefully). I'll update later on that as well.