Germany Part 1

Matt and I have always talked about going to Germany and were super excited when we started planning our trip. We left on April 21st and got to stay until May 7th. Our adventure started in Denver and then we flew to Chicago and then an overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany. I was so excited I think that I only slept a few hours on the plane or maybe it was because you could watch all the free movies you wanted it was great :) It was a long trip and we were excited to be there. Matt's grandma (Oma) and uncle were at the airport to pick us up. It was very nice of them to drive the four hours to get us. Oma had a very pretty bouquet of flowers for me when I got off the plane.

My first impression of Germany was it was beautiful. It was so green and the landscape went on forever. We made it Polle, the small village that Oma lives in. Polle was a village straight from the movies. It is probably the most peaceful, relaxing place that we have ever been to. Matt's german was great. He communicated very well with everyone and was able to translate for me. Towards the end of the trip I was able to understand some but never did very well speaking it. Oma was very excited to cook for us and we were very excited to eat her cooking. She made us a feast at every meal.

Our first adventure was to Berlin. We rented a car from another town near by and hit the autobahn for Berlin. Our rental cars and the driving were probably Matt's favorite part of our trip. He was able to drive the mercedes 130 mph on the autobahn. He loved it! Berlin was a very neat old city full of history. We had lunch at a great thai place and walked down a street full of huge named shopping stores. All over my price range :) We then got back in the car and tried to find a hotel. We should have booked something at the internet cafe but I thought it wouldn't be a big deal...I was wrong. I thought we were never going to find a place, but it is great how everything always works out. We found a place and when we pulled up and walked in I thought we were in the ghetto of Berlin (not really but it wasn't the nicest looking area). It turned out to be a quaint little one floor hotel with a nice room and a great breakfast.

We then went to look at the Brandemburg Arch. The road was blocked and the traffic was very congested. We parked and headed towards the Arch as we got closer we noticed all the police and police dogs. There was a protest going on and the police were everywhere. It was a little scarey becuase we really didn't know what they were protesting but there were other tourist so we just kept going. The Arch was very impressive. We walked all around and enjoyed exploring. There was a hallicaust memorial that we were able to see as well. We then went to the top of a tower in Berlin. It wasn't the best tower we ever experienced but fun to see all of the city lights at night. We then went to Checkpoint Charley. It closed just a few minutes before we got there but we were still able to see the actual checkpoint. Matt did a great job navigating the subway in Berlin and go us all around without any problems. It was really late and we hadn't had dinner so Matt had us jump on the subway to head to the "newer" part of town. We get off and a few blocks away we found this great Italian place. We had yummy pizza, salad and great beer. It was a great end to a fun day.

We only had a short time in Berlin but we had a great time! We headed back towards Polle for Matt's uncle's daughters confirmation in the church. This was a very big deal there. It actually meant celebrating all weekend with food and family. Oma made all the cakes for the parties. She made I think it was 11 cakes and they were gourmet cakes! We had a very fun weekend and we have never ate so much food in our whole lives...we loved it!

A busy April

Matt finished his rotations the beginning of April and we had packed the next few months full of fun times. We spent the first week he was done working on house stuff and spending time with his family. We then headed to San Antonio to find a home. We drove from Colorado and did the whole 16 hours straight. I don't think that it is something we will try again if I have a say but Matt thought it wasn't a big deal. We got to Texas and started the next morning looking at homes. We looked at about 7 and we had found a few we liked but nothing that we were super excited about. So our realtor had one more stop for the day and it was at a new subdivision. We looked at a home that was still under construction and loved the yard and layout. The best part was we were able to go to the deco center and choose the colors, the tile and the carpet. We headed back to Colorado and started to pack for our trip to Europe.

Shupe Update!

I cannot believe that it is March already. March has went fast. Matt is doing his last rotation in the ER. I can't believe that he is almost done..YEAH!! When we first moved here I thought that I would go crazy not working, but you know I have adapted very well :) Don't get me wrong I have tried to get a job. Being that we were only going to be here for a few months I didn't want to apply for a permanent job. I applied with the temp agencies in town and not a lot of luck. I did have a little job in March for a week so the extra money was nice. Another crazy job that I tried was delivering Dex phone books. It was an awful job and a lot of work for not much money. I would have never been able to finish without Matts help. I do have a few photos of this craziness but they aren't downloaded yet. Amongst these little jobs this month Matt and I have been doing a lot of yard work at his dad's house and was able to go skiing. It was a gorgeous, sunny Colorado day. We had a blast!
We have also been working on our move to Texas. We are in the process of all the financial stuff of buying a home and aren't a hundred percent sure what we are going to do. The options arebe qualified on only Matt's salary or wait until I get a job and qualify on both salaries?? We do know though that we are headed to San Antonio the third week of April to find a place to call home. We have been working with a great realtor whose wife is a second year resident at the base where Matt will be doing his residency. With all of our other moves everything has worked out and I'm sure this will too.
Matt has worked really hard the last four years and has done a great job! Matt and I love to travel so we thought what a better way to celebrate making it through this part of the journey then to travel. We are super excited about our upcoming vacations. We will be going to Germany and surrounding areas for two and half weeks before graduation and then the week after graduation we are going with my family to Orlando for a week. It seems funny to think that all of these plans are really close. Well I think that brings everything up to date. I will try to be better at keeping our blog updated. We have big events ahead of us and I will be better at taking pictures to post here.

January and February 2009

January and February kind of seem like a blur. Grandma Mollie passed away in January and Matt's Mom came for a week for the funeral and planning. I enjoyed being able to spend time with her and get her around Greeley. Matt's brother Neil was the C team girls team basketball coach at the high school he teaches at and Matt and I really enjoyed going to his games. He did a great job and the team did really well! I was able to go back to Kirksville and go to Lauren's baby shower. Thanks to the Schuermann's for being great host. I had a great time. It was like I had never been gone. I assumed my place on the couch and it was great! The shower was very nice and it was fun celebrating the new little Schuermann on the way.
Matt and I were able to go to a few Bronco games. Matt is a huge fan and it is fun to go with him to see how passionate he is about the team and the experience of being at the game. We had a lot of fun! We have all really enjoyed our time in Colorado but Henry probably most of all. Henry and Matt's Dad's dog are best buddies. Well they have a love hate relationship. Henry also really loves his Grandpa. It could be that he gives him ice cream everynight or lets him sit in his chair with him. Henry sometimes forgets that he is a 70lb. dog and thinks that he is a lap dog. Henry loves to have a fenced yard to run in and most of all to have a pal to run with.




In February Matt and I went to Glennwood Springs for Valentine's weekend and had a great time. It was a really neat feeling to be in the hot springs while it was snowing. Matt has had great experiences while here in Colorado. He has worked with great Doctors and has learned a lot!

December 2008

December was a great month! Matt was able to schedule a rotation in Wenatchee, WA for the month and it was perfect because that is where all my family live. We stayed with my parents and it was so much fun being able to be a part of all the holiday traditions. Highlights for me where being able to be a part of my moms daily routines, picking up my sister from school and going to her holiday lunch, daily lattes with my mom, spending time with my aunt and her family, having dinner and watching tv each night with my parents, being able to go to Seattle and visit Jake and Tulla, the Laytons, my roommate from college and Matt's brother and his family.
I could go on forever but overall Matt and I had a great time with my family and spending the holiday with everyone.



Also, in December we found out that we matched to San Antonio for residency. We are both really excited about our match!

November 2008

We made it to Colorado! We moved in with Matt's Dad in Greeley,Colorado. Matt has two brothers and his Grandma here as well. Matt's Grandma was not doing well and that is one of the main reasons we moved back is so that we could spend time with her. Mollie was a great lady! She kept everyone on their toes. With me not working I was able to go and have lunch with Mollie a few times a week. I'm very thankful for the time I was able to spend with her. She was so proud of Matt. She was a little foggy about things but she was very sharp when it came to Matt. She remembered that he was in the Air Force and that he was going to be a doctor. Matt was able to be with his Grandma in the last months of her life and that was worth all that it took to make our move. Grandma Mollie was 94 when she passed away.
Matt and I were able to go to San Francisco and visit his Mom in the middle of the month. We had a great long weekend exploring the area and spending time with his Mom.





Matt and I had Thanksgiving with his Dad, Brother and his wife. We had a nice dinner and time together. Neither couple has kids yet but we wanted to get a photo of all of us and our "kids" so far :)
The husky is Matt's dad's dog and she has been very gracious to share her yard with Henry.

September and October 2008

Once we got back from the wedding Matt left a few days after for Dayton, Ohio to do an out rotation at the military base there. He was gone for the month but he was able to come home one weekend and I went down for another. Henry and I made it through the month and I was very grateful to have him. I worked a lot and I have to admit it was nice coming home and just being
able to pick at food rather than having to cook dinner :)


Also in September it was Henry's first birthday. He wasn't that into it but he was a good sport.
That summer Matt and I also planted a garden and had fun having all the fresh veggies. We really had no idea how many plants to plant so we went a little over board and had tomatoes coming out of our ears. We gave a lot away but then we also learned how to can tomato sauce. We are still enjoying it! Matt was home for two days at the end of September and then he left again for San Antonio, Texas for another out rotation. He really liked the program and had fun exploring the city. October was a wild month. I was working a lot and trying to wrap up all the small projects I had going on as well as teaching some of the gals my responsibilities because I would be done with my job at the end of October. Matt and I decided to move to Colorado to finish his out rotations and be able to be near his family. Matt was getting back at the end of October and we were moving that next week so I started the packing process while he was gone. Between the packing and working the ladies at my job made my birthday very special as well as my going away dinner really fun. So Matt got home we packed everything and loaded the moving truck. We decided to try a new way of moving and used ABF. ABF is great because they drive all of your belongings for you. Well you can have a trailer dropped off at your house to load or you can take your things to their center. You do save money if you go to the center so we thought well we can do that. Bad Idea!! It happen to be the first snow the day we wanted to move and I was sick. We got it all done with a lot of help from the St. Clair's...Thank you! It was sad to leave our little home and my job but looking back now I'm thankful we made the move.

August 2008

August was a long time ago but I can't update what has been going on without talking about my little brothers wedding. Jake and Tulla were married in Spokane, Washington and both Matt and I were in the wedding. The wedding was gorgeous and we all had a very good time. After the wedding Jake and Tulla left for Rome and Matt and I were able to go back home with my family and spend a week at a lake near their home. We had a great time and made many memories!