 |
| On the Ferris Wheel with Grandma!!! |
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
.JPG)
Saturday, November 15, 2014
All dressed up!!! June 28th 2014
 |
| Waiting for Matt & Kayla's wedding to start!!! |
 |
| Hannah & Brooke! |
 |
| Bill & Daniel |
 |
| Hannah & Sarah |
Gruenes side summer fun!!!
 |
| Joshua & Alyssa |
 |
| Hanging out with cousin Joshua!!! |
 |
| Cutting down some trees!!! |
 |
| Swimming fun!!! |
 |
| Sand castle building!!! |
 |
| Helping grandpa in the garden! |
 |
| Hanging out with cousin Nick! |
Friday, November 14, 2014
San Antonio photos are now offically all shared!!!
It makes me sad that I have now shared all our San Antonio memories, we have a lot of great ones from there! I miss all my friends, so very much. Next on the list is to share our summer vacation photos with all of you!!!
Thursday, November 13, 2014
.JPG)
Monday, November 03, 2014
Time for an update!
On October 16th the kids and I had to go to base for a Soggiorno appointment. A Soggiorno is a document that we have to carry with us at all times, it is like a VISA, but different. We need it to live in Italy. In November we go to pick up the finalized document!
October 18th we head over to Gorgazzo. Here is a link: http://www.visitsitaly.com/friuli/gorgazzo/index.htm along with the image below. We ended up hiking up the mountain about 1 1/2 miles, so 3 miles round trip. It was a good time!!!
October 25th we attended the Protestant Harvest Festival at the chapel. I love all the base events that are put on. They had activities, games, costume contest, and a chili cookoff! Oh and Alyssa got first place with her robot costume that her and Bill made just that day!
October 26th along with our normal busy Sunday we attended a potluck after our church service. I am actually starting to feel at home with our new church. I really have a hard time being that new person.
October 29th I spent most of my day at the school! I got to see Alyssa's class do a pumpkin drop, I helped out with Hannah's 2nd grade Harvest Festival, and got to meet Daniel's new teacher!
October 31st we brought the kids to the BX for trick or treating since Italians don't celebrate Halloween.
November 1st we attended the Aviano Fall Fest!!! I have to say this is by far the best base event we have ever attended. We all went in the non-scary haunted house, went to the pumpkin patch, the kids did crafts, horse rides (which we forgot about), bounce houses, rock climbing, tons of games, trick or treating, and much, much more! I was amazed!!!!
Today is the 3rd and as I am writing we are getting screens installed on our windows!!!! This will complete our agreement with our landlords and property manager!!! It is so nice to be able to vent the house without flies and spiders getting in. Life is good in Italy!!!
October 18th we head over to Gorgazzo. Here is a link: http://www.visitsitaly.com/friuli/gorgazzo/index.htm along with the image below. We ended up hiking up the mountain about 1 1/2 miles, so 3 miles round trip. It was a good time!!!
October 25th we attended the Protestant Harvest Festival at the chapel. I love all the base events that are put on. They had activities, games, costume contest, and a chili cookoff! Oh and Alyssa got first place with her robot costume that her and Bill made just that day!
October 26th along with our normal busy Sunday we attended a potluck after our church service. I am actually starting to feel at home with our new church. I really have a hard time being that new person.
October 29th I spent most of my day at the school! I got to see Alyssa's class do a pumpkin drop, I helped out with Hannah's 2nd grade Harvest Festival, and got to meet Daniel's new teacher!
October 31st we brought the kids to the BX for trick or treating since Italians don't celebrate Halloween.
November 1st we attended the Aviano Fall Fest!!! I have to say this is by far the best base event we have ever attended. We all went in the non-scary haunted house, went to the pumpkin patch, the kids did crafts, horse rides (which we forgot about), bounce houses, rock climbing, tons of games, trick or treating, and much, much more! I was amazed!!!!
Today is the 3rd and as I am writing we are getting screens installed on our windows!!!! This will complete our agreement with our landlords and property manager!!! It is so nice to be able to vent the house without flies and spiders getting in. Life is good in Italy!!!
School Pictures 2014-2015 school year!!!
 |
| Alyssa Nikay 4th grade! |
 |
| Hannah Ellen 2nd grade! |
 |
| Daniel William Kindergarten! |
Monday, October 20, 2014
Laundry is loads of fun in Italy...
Topic of the day as I have laundry everywhere in my house today. I want to start off by saying that laundry use to be my favorite chore, but not anymore. Power is a huge issue here in Italy and I am talking that you can only have one thing running at a time. For those people that have the luxury of having a dishwasher, which we do not, well they cannot run a dishwasher and a washing machine at the same time or a washer and a dryer at the same time or an air conditioner and washer at the same time or you will blow the fuse for the circuit.
In the town we live in we cannot buy extra power like in some other towns, as it is not available. Those that do get the extra power, it is very expensive from what our property manager is telling us. So, we have resorted to washing and line drying clothes, which is very hard with all the humidity in this area we live in. Sundays is the day that I wash and dry a few loads of clothes likes towels, socks, bedding and things that are better off being dried in the dryer.
There are three readings on our electric meter A1, A2, & A3. Right now I cannot remember which is which, but on Sundays electricity is the cheapest, which is why I try to do as much washing and drying as possible on Sundays. From about 6:00 am to 11:00 pm it is the most expensive and I believe from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am it is the in between rate.
One last interesting fact for you, the water has to be dumped out of the dryer after each load with the Italian dryers.
Well, I am off to make beds and put the clothes that are dry away :) Happy Monday!!!
In the town we live in we cannot buy extra power like in some other towns, as it is not available. Those that do get the extra power, it is very expensive from what our property manager is telling us. So, we have resorted to washing and line drying clothes, which is very hard with all the humidity in this area we live in. Sundays is the day that I wash and dry a few loads of clothes likes towels, socks, bedding and things that are better off being dried in the dryer.
There are three readings on our electric meter A1, A2, & A3. Right now I cannot remember which is which, but on Sundays electricity is the cheapest, which is why I try to do as much washing and drying as possible on Sundays. From about 6:00 am to 11:00 pm it is the most expensive and I believe from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am it is the in between rate.
One last interesting fact for you, the water has to be dumped out of the dryer after each load with the Italian dryers.
Well, I am off to make beds and put the clothes that are dry away :) Happy Monday!!!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Shopping Experiences
Due to the lack of cupboards in the kitchen and closets in the house we were on a mission to get all this squared away. The military gives us a 1000 euro move in allowance, which we will be using most of. Our kitchen came with one wall of cupboards, which is not enough space at all. The bathrooms each came with a vanity and one small cupboard in one of the two bathrooms. Besides that the military supplies us with one closet per child and two per adult. I am so thankful for all the plastic storage containers we already had.
On Friday the 10th we decided to check out what Mercatone Uno had for storage. They are a store sort of like a Walmart with all the furniture you need for your house. After arriving there 15 minutes before they closed we found a counter top that we could purchase and by putting two of them together back to back we could make an island. We didn't purchase it as it was closing time.
On Saturday the 11th we headed out on our adventure to IKEA. We found out quickly that it is very expensive to travel on the autostrada (highway). We had just under an hour drive to get there and were charged 5.30 euro (which is about $6.80) for one way. It was easy to find and our experience there was great up until the end when it was time to check out. The credit card I had planned to use was declined and I was using it since that particular card doesn't charge international fees. I ended up just using our USAA debit card and found out later that international fees for using the card are only 1% of your total, so it wasn't so bad after all! We came out of there with rugs for the kids rooms, lamps, a bathroom cabinet and more!
Sunday the 12th we headed back to Mercatone Uno to purchase our countertops that we had found on Friday, to find out that they were discontinued...the language barrier is very frustrating when you are trying to ask a question. I was almost in tears. We ended up just buying a pantry closet for the kitchen.
Monday came along and we decided to check out the local SELF store (like a Lowe's or Home Depot). We were able to get lots of things that Bill needed for fixing up the house. With no counter top luck there we headed over to SME (a department store with anything you need along with a huge furniture section). As we were about to leave we came across some kitchen cabinets! One was available that day and the other would be in on the 16th! Finally we had success with the kitchen cabinets for our island! Now just waiting to see if it actually comes in tomorrow...
The house is slowly, but surely coming together! Hanging up pictures is a job in itself as all our walls are made out of cement. I am patiently waiting for the 10 foot pole to arrive for my cobweb brush, so we can get rid of the cobwebs around the outside of the house. Once everything is done I will for sure post some pictures! So far so good, life is good!!!! Ciao
On Friday the 10th we decided to check out what Mercatone Uno had for storage. They are a store sort of like a Walmart with all the furniture you need for your house. After arriving there 15 minutes before they closed we found a counter top that we could purchase and by putting two of them together back to back we could make an island. We didn't purchase it as it was closing time.
On Saturday the 11th we headed out on our adventure to IKEA. We found out quickly that it is very expensive to travel on the autostrada (highway). We had just under an hour drive to get there and were charged 5.30 euro (which is about $6.80) for one way. It was easy to find and our experience there was great up until the end when it was time to check out. The credit card I had planned to use was declined and I was using it since that particular card doesn't charge international fees. I ended up just using our USAA debit card and found out later that international fees for using the card are only 1% of your total, so it wasn't so bad after all! We came out of there with rugs for the kids rooms, lamps, a bathroom cabinet and more!
Sunday the 12th we headed back to Mercatone Uno to purchase our countertops that we had found on Friday, to find out that they were discontinued...the language barrier is very frustrating when you are trying to ask a question. I was almost in tears. We ended up just buying a pantry closet for the kitchen.
Monday came along and we decided to check out the local SELF store (like a Lowe's or Home Depot). We were able to get lots of things that Bill needed for fixing up the house. With no counter top luck there we headed over to SME (a department store with anything you need along with a huge furniture section). As we were about to leave we came across some kitchen cabinets! One was available that day and the other would be in on the 16th! Finally we had success with the kitchen cabinets for our island! Now just waiting to see if it actually comes in tomorrow...
The house is slowly, but surely coming together! Hanging up pictures is a job in itself as all our walls are made out of cement. I am patiently waiting for the 10 foot pole to arrive for my cobweb brush, so we can get rid of the cobwebs around the outside of the house. Once everything is done I will for sure post some pictures! So far so good, life is good!!!! Ciao
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Another update!!!
Everything is slowly, but surely coming together!
I forgot to mention in my last post the the kids started Awana on the 21st of Sept. at a church off base in the local area. Bill and I made the decision to be co-leaders for games since they were needing someone to step up. It is pretty fun so far, we are excited to get to know all the kids this year!
On the 26th of September (Friday) since the kids didn't have school, we decided to go on the Benvenuti Tour through the Airman and Family Readiness Center. We rode on a bus to learn more about the local area, went to a local market, stopped into a coffee/pastry shop and chocolate shop, learned how to purchase train tickets, rode on a train, ate a late lunch at a very nice ristorante, Cial de Brent, and toured the Le Favole Winery. It was a great experience for all of us!
Sunday the 28th we attended a potluck after church. I have to say that I truly miss our church families in San Antonio both at Zion, the chapel on base and Village Parkway, I really dislike being the new people. Once we get settled I need to get myself involved more again. Right now it feels like it is still so far away...
The 29th Bill and I spent cleaning the house and packing up our TLF room. Speaking of our TLF room I forgot to share our exciting story of the flood right outside our door in the middle of the night. On the 22nd we were woken up to someone pounding on our door at 3:00 am, here a waterline had broke right by our door. Alyssa spent all night up with Bill and I packing up all our stuff and moving to a new room in a another building, it was early to bed for all of us that night. We really lucked out and nothing of ours was damaged. It was just really crumby that we had to move rooms just a week and a day before we were going to move out.
September 30th was the big day! All of our household goods arrived, 13 full crates, 1 mattress crate and our early shipment crate. We have spent the last week working on unpacking everything, and still have so much to do. I have learned to appreciate all the closet space and kitchen cabinets that the US has to offer. When we lived in Germany the house we were in had extra cabinets in the house for the kitchen, so we didn't have this issue. We are going shopping this weekend for more storage cabinets. Oh and so far we have 6 boxes packed up of our 110 volt items that we cannot use here, I am sort of wishing we would have stored it back in the US as we can really use the storage space. I am excited to get everything put all away and all the pictures up on the walls, pictures to come!
On the 1st of October I attending my first PTA meeting for the kids school. Another place where it is really hard to be the new person that has no clue what is going on. It was nice to get a feel for what they do for the school here in Aviano, which seems to be a lot!
On the 3rd we all went to the semi-annual Bazaar that they put on here in Aviano. We picked up some delicious stroopwafels and liquore fragoline di bosco. The stroopwafels we had had in Germany before, so we stocked up until the next Bazaar!
Monday the 6th the installer came to put in our home phone and internet! It is nice to have access to technology again and be able to call our family and friends when we want.
Monday afternoon Alyssa was in a baton performance and did a great job! I sort of wish this would go longer than four weeks as Alyssa really enjoyed it. She learned a lot and her teacher was impressed how quickly she caught on. She is now an owner of her very own baton and I'm sure she will participate next year too!
Until next time....ciao!
I forgot to mention in my last post the the kids started Awana on the 21st of Sept. at a church off base in the local area. Bill and I made the decision to be co-leaders for games since they were needing someone to step up. It is pretty fun so far, we are excited to get to know all the kids this year!
On the 26th of September (Friday) since the kids didn't have school, we decided to go on the Benvenuti Tour through the Airman and Family Readiness Center. We rode on a bus to learn more about the local area, went to a local market, stopped into a coffee/pastry shop and chocolate shop, learned how to purchase train tickets, rode on a train, ate a late lunch at a very nice ristorante, Cial de Brent, and toured the Le Favole Winery. It was a great experience for all of us!
Sunday the 28th we attended a potluck after church. I have to say that I truly miss our church families in San Antonio both at Zion, the chapel on base and Village Parkway, I really dislike being the new people. Once we get settled I need to get myself involved more again. Right now it feels like it is still so far away...
The 29th Bill and I spent cleaning the house and packing up our TLF room. Speaking of our TLF room I forgot to share our exciting story of the flood right outside our door in the middle of the night. On the 22nd we were woken up to someone pounding on our door at 3:00 am, here a waterline had broke right by our door. Alyssa spent all night up with Bill and I packing up all our stuff and moving to a new room in a another building, it was early to bed for all of us that night. We really lucked out and nothing of ours was damaged. It was just really crumby that we had to move rooms just a week and a day before we were going to move out.
September 30th was the big day! All of our household goods arrived, 13 full crates, 1 mattress crate and our early shipment crate. We have spent the last week working on unpacking everything, and still have so much to do. I have learned to appreciate all the closet space and kitchen cabinets that the US has to offer. When we lived in Germany the house we were in had extra cabinets in the house for the kitchen, so we didn't have this issue. We are going shopping this weekend for more storage cabinets. Oh and so far we have 6 boxes packed up of our 110 volt items that we cannot use here, I am sort of wishing we would have stored it back in the US as we can really use the storage space. I am excited to get everything put all away and all the pictures up on the walls, pictures to come!
On the 1st of October I attending my first PTA meeting for the kids school. Another place where it is really hard to be the new person that has no clue what is going on. It was nice to get a feel for what they do for the school here in Aviano, which seems to be a lot!
On the 3rd we all went to the semi-annual Bazaar that they put on here in Aviano. We picked up some delicious stroopwafels and liquore fragoline di bosco. The stroopwafels we had had in Germany before, so we stocked up until the next Bazaar!
Monday the 6th the installer came to put in our home phone and internet! It is nice to have access to technology again and be able to call our family and friends when we want.
Monday afternoon Alyssa was in a baton performance and did a great job! I sort of wish this would go longer than four weeks as Alyssa really enjoyed it. She learned a lot and her teacher was impressed how quickly she caught on. She is now an owner of her very own baton and I'm sure she will participate next year too!
Until next time....ciao!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
We are in Italy!!!
Just a little run down since we left the US:
We flew out of Minneapolis, MN on the 1st of September 2014. Arrived in Baltimore and spent about 10 hours in the airport before we left for Italy, thank goodness for the USO! We flew out around 1:00 am on the 2nd. Our first stop in Europe was Ramstein, Germany then headed to Aviano arriving around 7:30 pm on the 2nd. We were greeted by about 5 people from the shop and brought to our TLF room. Everyone did awesome adjusting to the 7 hour time change. I think we only had one night that the kids were up in the middle of the night and that was the third night here.
On the 5th of September the kids started school and rode a bus to school for the first time! Quite a change for all of us since I have either walked or biked them to school for the past four years. We were also able to pick up our van, which really helped with all the appointments we had!
September 8th to the 10th Bill and I attended Right Start, which was very helpful and informational. So much to get done: find a house, find a second car (which we have to pay road taxes on), getting our Italian drivers license, applying for a Soggiorno (so we are able to live in Italy), applying for a Codice Fiscale (used for purchases off base), find a church, and the list goes on and on...
After looking at only 6 houses we made our choice, since there were very few houses available. I guess that's what happens when you come in in off PCS season :( We dropped off our housing contract on the 11th and signed it on Monday the 15th, with the side note that they add heat in two of the basement rooms and put screens on all the windows. Bill had to get everything set up with Home Fuels, that is how we pay our utilities, so we get a tax break. That's a whole other story for another time. Move in date is September 29th!
September 14th we attended the Protestant service on base and enjoyed it!
September 15th Alyssa started baton at school and absolutely loves it, I can't wait to see her recital!
September 20th we went to our first festival, the American/Italian Friendship Festival in Sacile. It was a great time! The kids got to go canoeing for the first time, they went through an Italian Fire Fighter obstacle course, we had good food, we watched a lot of shows put on by local groups, but most of all got to spend time together as a family!
September 22nd we purchased our second car a 2003 Mitsubishi Space Star, pictures to come. It is like a tiny mini van! We are just waiting on the backseat head rests to arrive from the prior owner. Insurance is very expensive here, plus if you have a second car you pay a yearly road tax on it. Insurance is also taxed like crazy. I can't image living here and not being in the military.
Today is the arrival of our FMO stuff, closets, washer, dryer, and stove. The kids also only have a half day of school and have a long weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)