Well, after Chad and I visited Dublin, we started prepping for our move to Fort Leavenworth, KS. BUT, the weekend prior to our packout, I went to ISTANBUL with my great friend, Gokce. This was a gift from Chad for Christmas. Gokce is Turkish and was the perfect tour guide. We visited the following sites in Istanbul:
Topkapi Palace, Ayasofya, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar. My favorite was the Blue Mosque. We had to remove our shoes and cover our heads prior to entry. The Turkish food and goods are phenomenal...I love the colorful pottery and tasty food. Since I love spice, Turkish food has to be hands down my favorite. We stumbled upon a Turkish restaurant and they were so impressed that I was from the US, that they provided a full meal for us. We had dipping sauces, lamb, Turkish salads, desserts, and coffee. It was the best meal of my life.
Topkapi Palace, Ayasofya, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar. My favorite was the Blue Mosque. We had to remove our shoes and cover our heads prior to entry. The Turkish food and goods are phenomenal...I love the colorful pottery and tasty food. Since I love spice, Turkish food has to be hands down my favorite. We stumbled upon a Turkish restaurant and they were so impressed that I was from the US, that they provided a full meal for us. We had dipping sauces, lamb, Turkish salads, desserts, and coffee. It was the best meal of my life.
And then, I had to get onto the airplane and go back to Belgium to the reality the move was happening the next day! I was smart and packed all of the kids and my luggage the week prior to my trip to Europe. I even had all of the paperwork, electronics, ect. ready to pack. AND, I had a mini garage sale...getting rid of everything that we could not use stateside. So, I was only a tiny bit stressed. What I was not prepared for was the packers packed my kitchen first, so we no longer had a proper kitchen to cook. After four days, the house was empty and the cleaning lady came and took two days to clean the house so that it passed the homeowners inspection. In fact, we only had to pay 50 Euros in damages.
Look how they pack the furniture!
On February 24, we were virtually homeless. We stayed one night with our wonderful Belgian friends, five nights with our friend's the Dubay's, two weeks in the post hotel and then we got onto the airplane and flew to the USA. The kids were stupendous during the flight, Nora did not sleep and when we landed in Chicago, she vomited everywhere. Our schedule was tight, so we barely stopped to clean up, collect our luggage as well as the cat, recheck the luggage, and get onto our next flight to Kansas City. When we landed in Kansas City and took the shuttle to our hotel, we had been traveling for exactly 25 hours.
This is my brother, Jeffrey, and I at Indian Island Winery.
This is Great Grandma and Grandpa Weyhrauch with the kids.
Then, we went to Arkansas to see my dad and his wonderful wife, Lisa. Eureka Springs is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year. We enjoyed waterparks and the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. After a week in Arkansas, we headed to our new home, Fort Leavenworth, KS. Chad found out the day that he checked in that he was promotable to Major and he signed for our new home. Never in his whole career in the military have we received our home so fast!! After scrambling around at the PX as well as Target for air mattresses, blankets, sheets, towels, as well as all new appliances, (we had to purchase a washer, dryer, toaster, mixer, microwave, coffee maker, iron, ect as the voltage is different in Europe than in the USA) we were able to move into our new home on April 3rd. Our HHG (household goods) were delivered on the 12th of April. Since I live close to family for the first time in Chad's 15 year military career, my family came to help us unpack and set up our new home. I will blog about the house and our feelings of living stateside in my next post. But, I do have to say, it is GREAT to be back in the USA!!!
Then, we went to Arkansas to see my dad and his wonderful wife, Lisa. Eureka Springs is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year. We enjoyed waterparks and the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. After a week in Arkansas, we headed to our new home, Fort Leavenworth, KS. Chad found out the day that he checked in that he was promotable to Major and he signed for our new home. Never in his whole career in the military have we received our home so fast!! After scrambling around at the PX as well as Target for air mattresses, blankets, sheets, towels, as well as all new appliances, (we had to purchase a washer, dryer, toaster, mixer, microwave, coffee maker, iron, ect as the voltage is different in Europe than in the USA) we were able to move into our new home on April 3rd. Our HHG (household goods) were delivered on the 12th of April. Since I live close to family for the first time in Chad's 15 year military career, my family came to help us unpack and set up our new home. I will blog about the house and our feelings of living stateside in my next post. But, I do have to say, it is GREAT to be back in the USA!!! 
2 comments:
I LOVE LOVE Turkish food. Trip sounds like a blast. Matt has been and wants to take us. Not sure if it'll happen before the baby is born though. Glad to read you had a good time.
Are you living on or off post? Congrats to Chad for making 03P!! I have a love/hate relationship with Leavenworth. I don't like Leavenworth - but, I loved the farm in Easton where I got my eggs, chicken, beef, pork, flour, etc. Miss it so much b/c it was a one-stop trip. Here, I have to visit several places. Pain. I also loved Lawrence, and both Kansas Cities, Brookside, etc. Have fun! There's lots to do nearby!
Glad your back!
Post a Comment