The All-European Team was named today. I have attached the link to the newspaper article.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=123&article=38184
Ciarra made first team All-European and is pretty excited!

Sorry I haven't posted until now. I just returned from a weeklong cooking school in Italy. We learned to cook some great Italian dishes. We also did some touring, shopping, and yes, lot's of wine drinking. Otis stayed home with the kids and they managed fine without me! As soon as I get my pictures, I will post a few.

Braden celebrated his 13th birthday! The picture is from his birthday party at the bowling alley.

We went downtown to watch some of the World Cup games. They have three huge screens in the middle of downtown. It is interesting being in the mist of all these different nationalities watching the games. I plan to go back and watch the USA vs. Ghana game on the big screens by myself, as Otis and the kids will be in Nurmburg watching the game in person. The lottery would only allow us to get four tickets and we thought this would be something the kids would always remember. We just hope all the USA shirts, scarves and arm bands that we ordered arrive in time!

Hi all! We have created this blog to keep everyone updated on life here in Germany. Over Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Ireland. It is a beautiful country and we had a great time. We stayed in Bunratty and went to the Medival Banquet at Bunratty Castle. Otis and I visited the original Durty Nelly's and had a beer. We drove to Blarney and went to the castle there so that everyone could kiss the Blarney Stone. The grounds of the castle are massive and well worth the trip. Our next stop was Cobh which is Ireland's Ellis Island. Then we were off to the Midleton Distillery. No trip to Ireland would be complete without seeing where Irish Whiskey is made!! Our last day we drove to the Cliffs of Moher. What a breathtaking view!

Ciarra left yesterday for New Jersey to play soccer. She is participating in an ODP Showcase Tournament. Last year there were over 150 college coaches there to watch. She has decided that she really wants to play soccer in college and has really picked up her game. Her high school team took first place in Europeans for Division II school. She was named to the All-Tournament team. She also received Honorable Mention for the District Team. Now we are waiting for the All-European team to be named. She was selected to be Co-Captain next year. She was very excited.