O M A H A beach

By the time we made it to Omaha Beach, the boys were about done with this history lesson.

It was too bad for them, we had more to see.

On June 6, 1944, Omaha Beach was the launching point of the US invasion of Normandy.

It was the primary entry for Americans into World War II.

At the end of a deadly day of fighting, the 1st and 29th divisions held positions around Vierville, Saint-Laurent, and Colleville- three villages that we drove through to get to the coast.
In many areas, it looks as thought not much has changed since World War II.

The homes look as though they are crumbling.
Everything looks old- like much of Europe, but different.

Throughout the villages, it is common to see American flags flying. In preparing for our trip, I read that the French in this part of France are very grateful and love Americans.

I can not imagine how relieved they must have felt the day the Americans stepped into the war starting in their backyards.

The Americans suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha on June 6, but by the end of the day they had landed 34,000 troops. It was the beginning of taking down the German rule.

Overlooking Omaha Beach on the bluff is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.
The boys quickly became interested again as soon as we stepped foot in the museum, their attention was drawn to the documentary showing on the screen.

From the museum, we walked through the American Cemetery. They keep it beautifully manicured as with the other American cemeteries we have been to including Luxembourg and St. Avold.

Walking through the rows of white-marble crosses and Stars of David was stirring.
The location overlooking the beach and ocean could not be more peaceful and perfect.

After walking through the cemetery, we drove back through Colleville in order to reach the access road to drive down to the beach itself. 

Ty wasn't feeling well, so we let him {and Coleman} stay in the van while we walked along the water for a little while. 

A few pieces of tumbled glass and tiny shells were all to be found on this sandy shoreline. We were amazed at the difference in the three beaches especially being relatively close in proximity.

The feelings we felt and things we saw will stay with us forever.

I hope the memories stay with the boys just as long.  

U T A H beach

 On the first full day of the landing at Utah, 20,000 men had been landed and 1,700 military vehicles. This was a huge part of D-Day with far fewer casualties than at the highly-guarded Omaha.

Utah Beach might have been my favorite spot of this trip.

It was calm.
It was peaceful.


As we walked down the walkway to the beach, the first thing we saw were horses running along the shoreline.

Some were being ridden, others pulling small carts.

It felt a little like we were part of a movie.

We skipped the museum and went straight down to the beach.

Our time at Utah Beach was spent looking for treasures and taking in the beauty surrounding us.


Shells, rocks and lots of tumbled glass.

Of course, the boys loved walking out to the water.

We could have stayed there ALL day.

Pointe du H O C

From Etretat, we drove two hours down the coast to the Invasion Beaches.

The plan was to check into our cheap rental apartment {$117 for the night for all six of us is a huge bargain}, then see what we could see with what time we had left in the afternoon.

Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach were the three main sites we chose to visit and focus on.


The villages and French countryside on the coast made for an eye-opening drive from Etretat.

With so much destruction, signs of war times were everywhere.

Even after many trips to France, we were still surprised to find that the reception to our rental place was closed for lunch when we arrived. 

Most of France closes from noon until two o'clock for lunch. This reception was closed from noon until four o'clock. That is after opening at 9:00 and closing at 7pm. That is a six-hour day.

Nice hours, right?

We would have to wait to get our key, so we decided to go up the coast about fifteen minutes to Pointe du Hoc- one of the most important landmarks along the Normandy Coast.

This point of land was the Germans most heavily armed position along the D-Day beaches with guns capable of firing 12 miles to the east and west. 

Omaha Beach is 11 miles to the east. Utah Beach is seven miles to the west.

The Allies had to run the Germans off this cliff in order for the American landings to succeed.

They bombed it heavily dropping over 1,500 tons of bombs on this one cliff top making it the most intensely bombarded site of the D-Day targets.

It is one thing to read about the war and the bombings. 

It is another entirely different education in history to walk in the craters, through the bunkers and along the coast.

Seeing the barbed-wire lined paths and re-bar blown apart in the concrete brings the war to life.
It is a place we will never forget visiting.

After a sobering afternoon, we headed back to the apartment {now open to our delight} and settled in. Rooms were picked and the car was unloaded for the one night we were staying in Grandcamp Maisy.

The littles were excited for some time in the pool and Grandma heated up our big pot of delicious salmon chowder prepared before leaving Germany. Along with fresh French bread {because you have to buy bread when in France} it was the perfect meal at the end of our long day.

In our travels, we have become fans of renting places with a kitchen in order to heat up dinner we can make and freeze at home. It is much cheaper and easier than eating out on the road with boys who are already tired of traveling.

Usually, we do chili, white chili, pulled pork or a roast for French dips- all freeze well and are yummy heated up. We will add our salmon chowder to our list- it was wonderful and appropriate on this visit to the French coast.

Since Justin and Ty were little, all the boys ever want to do is get back to the hotel and swim.
A pool is obviously another huge priority at any place we stay.

Luckily, this pool was heated and comfortable even being the end of September. 
Up next on our quick three-day trip were visits to the Utah and Omaha beaches.

crazy playoff G A M E tomorrow

No football today because Justin is playing in the PLAYOFFS!

The semifinals start tomorrow {Sunday} in a game that is expected to be crazy. I am sure both teams are pumped up and ready to play. Let's just hope Highland is more ready. 

Highland is the only team to beat Butler this year, so they know they can win. 
I'm sure Butler is not happy about being beaten this year and is ready to redeem themselves. 
It is going to be huge- a great time for Justin to shine as he did the last time they played Butler. 

He likes this field and their beautiful, new stadium. 
We just think he really likes playing on the big golden arches on the turf.

It looks like both Butler and Highland are going to broadcast it. We are looking forward to the clear screen and graphics, instant replay and overall excellent coverage that Butler puts together.  
 
2013 NJCAA REGION VI FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Sun. Nov. 3 Region VI Semifinals
#RV Highland (6-3) at (7-1) #8 Butler 1:30
KFH Radio -ButlerLiveStats -ButlerVideo -ScottieSports

#19 Hutchinson (6-3) at (6-2) #18 Dodge City 1:30
BlueDragonSports-Live Stats - ConqSports-DodgeVideo

Sun. Nov. 10 Region VI Championship
at Highest Remaining Seed  

Here is the link to watch the last meeting between the Scotties and the Grizzlies, in case you missed it:
http://www.ihigh.com/butlergrizzlies/broadcast_562588.html?silverlight=1

Our favorite play of the game is in the 4th quarter with less than a minute to go. If you forward to about 1:05 in the online video you can see the most exciting final minutes of the game and Justin's play at 3rd and 19... It's a big play. Huge.

{pictures courtesy of the most adorable nephew and niece Connor and Abigail... we started photography lessons during my visit to Kansas. When Justin saw them he had to ask Connor, "Why did you take a picture of my butt?"}

Update: It  started off strong, but ended in a loss. It was nice to have so many of our friends go and watch Justin. Can't wait to see what is in store next for our big kid...

É T R E T A T rocks

Happy November!

With less than a year to live in Germany, we are feeling some urgency to check things off our list.

Normandy was a big one.

We feel so blessed to have been able to go while my mom was here in September.

As with every other trip we have taken here, we were not one bit disappointed.

All we were missing was Justin.
In planning any itinerary, I like to see what is around the area we want to visit. For this trip, we decided to first drive north of the beaches of Normandy beginning our trip at a place called Etretat.

Driving from our house to this beach off France was six hours. We hit the road at 4am, arriving just after 10am.

The area between LeHavre and Cherbourg are all of the Normandy beaches.

We started a little north and made our way down the coast going through Caen and Bayeux.

It was so, so beautiful. Even in September. I think we have decided we almost prefer traveling on the off season not just for lower prices but avoiding the crowds is really, really nice.

Parking was easy and there were just a few scattered visitors- just our style.

Really, it was the best possible time to be on the coast of France with our toes in the English Channel.

According to Wikipedia,  Étretat is best known for its cliffs, including three natural arches and the pointed "needle". 

These cliffs and the associated resort beach attracted artists including Eugène Boudin, Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. Above are a few Monet paintings I found online.

So close to Normandy, we had to go!

The cliffs were definitely impressive.
Even more exciting was the beach with tumbled rocks- each as smooth as if individually polished.

Every single rock- smooth and perfect.

Not a piece of tumbled ocean glass.

Not a single shell.

Simply rocks. Millions and millions of rocks.

As with every other body of water {large or small}, we had to keep Coleman at bay.
He is a  magnet for water- it does not matter how cold it is.

If he had a swimsuit on, he would have taken a swim with the elderly couple we watched jump in.
Crazy Europeans.

I'm not sure there anywhere in this world more peaceful and calming than on the shores of a beach. Any beach.

The smells.
The sounds.

The view.

A smile this big on the face of our little teddy bear makes a mama so happy.

eight is G R E A T for C A D E N

Caden turned eight last week.
I went to have lunch with him on his birthday and overheard this conversation {out of the blue} between Caden and his buddy.

Caden: "What's your favorite college football team, Dominic?"
Dominic: "I don't know..."
Caden: "No, really- just pick one."
Dominic: "OK, Florida."
Caden: "Do you know any players on Florida's team?"
Dominic: "No."
Caden: "You don't know any and it's your favorite team?"

He was being a little pushy... I felt the need to insert myself into the conversation.

So, I asked Caden to tell me his favorite team and name some players. I should have known his answer, but instead it caught me off guard.

Caden: "Highland Scotties is definitely my favorite team and I know Justin Dickey, {and a few other players he rattled off}..."

The boy loves his brother. His friend stood no chance. Imagine the surprise on his face when he received his birthday package from Justin. Justin bought a football and took it on the bus on his last road trip so his team could sign it for Caden.

A football signed by his very favorite football team. Wow. I think he slept with it for the first few days. The rest of his birthday was low-key but nice as well. Bowling with the family, cheesecake, Hawaiian haystacks. He also loves his new Chargers hoody from his Aunt Starr and Uncle Mac and the cards/money from Granny, G'pa & G'ma and Grandma and Grandma Dickey. So much love.

Our baby is growing up.

saw a G U M expert

I started substitute teaching again last week.
I really enjoy teaching- the kids are great, our school is the best and the flexibility is perfect.

As a sub, sometimes you know in advance when you are needed to fill in for a teacher.

From February until the end of school last year, I didn't have to wait for that call since I was a permanent sub in the same classroom.

Most of the time, that phone rings somewhere between 5:30 and 7:00am asking if I'm are available.

This morning, I did not get a call to teach.
After working the last four days, I was excited for a catch-up day.

I immediately started planning my tasks and figuring out all of the {million} things I was going to accomplish.

Blogging was where I planned to begin, just to help me wake up and get going.

Then, ten minutes after sending Coleman to the train station {with friends} for a field trip and Caden to the bus the phone rang.
It was the dental clinic and I had completely blown off an appointment that took two months to get Caden in with the pediatric dentist.

YIKES! {Not the first word that came to my mind on the phone to the tech who called...}

I told them I would be there in thirty minutes- could I please, please, please get him in. He agreed. I dressed in five minutes and raced out the door to fight the 58 school busses and 1000 kids to get to Caden before school started.

The appointment today was to fix his broken tooth and to x-ray/examine the tooth he pushed up from the slide back in July.

Instead, it was a variety of doctors pushing, tapping and poking on our sweet, brave boy.

The pediatric dentist pulled in a gum specialist {who knew there was such thing as a gum specialist?}, orthodontist and consulted with a root/endo specialist who we will see tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it is not moving down as the dentist/oral surgeon initially thought.
He might be writing a new text book for the pediatric dental profession.

The ideas of gum or bone graphs, pulling the tooth, braces, root canals and other more technical terms and procedures were mentioned from worst-case scenario to simple possibilities.
They took lots of pictures and impressions {gag} in which Caden sat like an angel not moving a muscle.

Dr. Kersey said as we left, "Caden- you're my hero. I want to be just like you when I grow up."

He is the same doctor who saw Caden straight from the pool the day he hurt it and the same doctor who consulted us when Caden fractured his jaw. He knows our little guy is tough.

For now, we'll wait to see what they want to do.
Root regeneration is a good possibility as well- before or after orthodontics, we will find out.

It's sometimes frustrating being seen on base by military doctors. I feel so grateful for this crew of doctors who have taken care and continue to take care of our little tough guy.

 As I left the clinic today {a bit rattled not knowing what is ahead}, I was more overcome with a gratitude for the competence and compassion we experienced in Dr. Kersey, Dr. Speier, the techs and others in the dental clinic here who have also given great care to our big guys.

All that after showing up late.
It was a good day to skip school, so we did.

should be a W

It's Saturday which means it is game day!

Highland plays at home in a game that should be an easy win. These games are the ones that often stress me out the most.

Overconfidence can be such a bad thing. Hopefully, they don't have it.

Win or lose {which really better not happen} Highland made the playoffs, so their season will continue!

It's Independence (1-5, 2-6) at (4-2, 5-3) Highland.
It's an early one with kick off at 1:30 Kansas time.

As always, technical difficulties are always a possibility. They are broadcasting from Highland. Let's hope the announcer remembered batteries for his mic this week.

It was the end of Caden's flag-football season today. No playoffs for our little guy.

Both Jim and Caden are very happy that the next roster he is on will be tackle football.
He was not a fan of playing with those silly flags. 

I'm not sure how lucky he knows he is to have had both his daddy and big brother out on the field coaching this season. I love my family.

I love them

Yep, I love them.

They really need this aunt to live closer to them. Plus, the cool Uncle Jim.

And, they need their cousins.

Can't wait to get my hands on them again.

let's go with F O R T Y

My brother is an incredible guy.

He's the one who is always on the move and constantly coming up with great ideas of what to do or see next.

Ready to go most of the time with one of the quickest-thinking minds I know, it's never dull if you get lucky enough to hang out with him.

Yep, he's a thinker.
Good looking, too.

Little did he know, dinner {and a fake birthday} made it that much more fun to hang out with him on this specific night with the fam in the big city- St. Joseph, Missouri.

With Justin dying to get out of Highland at any chance he gets and Ty dying to eat at some American restaurants, Texas Roadhouse it was.

Seth was obviously set up for a birthday singing and wasn't quite able to talk his way out of it.
The server didn't want to see his ID, or listen to his pleas that he really is a June birthday.
She just wanted him front in center sitting in the saddle.

She even wished him a happy fake birthday afterwards.
It's always a good time had by all when the funny guy gets to be the center of attention.
I think we made up for missing his June birthday.

He was a good sport.
He really had no choice.
So much fun.

Here's a little clip.

It's all about family.

RHS no. 2 S E E B E C K

Today is a special day and one that I know will be memorable.

This evening, we are retiring Josie's Ramstein High School soccer jersey and the number two- the number she wore on her back while standing out as one of the best {if not the best ever} girls soccer players in DoDDs Europe.

It's been just more than two months since a tragic car accident took her life.

This week, my friend {her mom} and the oldest of her sisters made the trip to Germany from Texas to be a part of the unveiling and presentation of her retired jersey and introduction of the Josie Seebeck Scholarship.

Her high school coach has done so much preparing to make sure everything is just right.
I know it will be beautiful.

It has been wonderful to have her mom here. To talk about life, but mostly to talk about Josie Ann- the beautiful girl who touched so many of us so deeply.

We have laughed.
We have cried.
We have talked.
We have shopped.
I have loved having her here- it has been a gift.

Not a day goes by that something big or small doesn't remind me of Josie and her zest for life.
She packed so much punch into such a short life. She continues to inspire us all.

R E A D Y to move, missing these P E O P L E

We have been asked a lot if we miss the United States.
Three years in Germany is kind of a long time.

Jim has been back many times and has been ready to move back for a couple years.
My answer has been the same for a while.

I really love Europe. I have not felt homesick at all. I've missed family and our close friends, but for the most part have felt fine.

The hardest part of living here now is being so far from Justin.
Putting him back on that plane after every visit is something I do not enjoy AT ALL!
We all miss him and I feel like we are missing out on a lot having an ocean between us.

I have not missed the food. German food is really, really good.
I have done fine without pay-at-the-pump gas and drive-through banking.

I've even said if Justin and Ty weren't in college, I would be fine living overseas for a few more years. I could really see living in Italy. I love that country.

Until now.

I'm ready to move back. We all are except for maybe Coleman. Jim thinks I had maybe suppressed feelings that I really was homesick to get through our time here.

I never really felt that way, but instead have just really enjoyed traveling and have been focused on experiencing all that we can while we are in Europe.

Having a dose of family and friends for a few days reminded me of how much I really do miss living close and how far we really are over here.

We got to see my parents- it's been four years since we have seen them.

Mom flew back from Germany with Ty and I while my dad met us in Kansas so we go to enjoy time with both of them.

A lot of growth has happened in four years- look at these big boys!

We got to see my little sister and her cute family including a brand new nephew that I got to hold and kiss and love on.

I love being an aunt and Germany is way too far for any aunt or sister to live.
I don't care how cool Skype is, it's not the same.

Sisters need sisters and cousins need to know their cousins. They need to play together, to get in trouble together, to know and to love each other.

We got to see my little brother- it's been somewhere around nine {9} years since we've been together. Nine years too long for any siblings to be apart especially ones that really like hanging out.

We got to see dear friends {Deb & Brian, Regan, Jayden & the Mulvane kids Jess, Tay, Chris & Jordan} who made the trip up from Mulvane to spend extra time together.

Late-night talks until we couldn't keep our eyes open along with afternoons checking out Dollar General and counting windmills were therapy for my soul.

And, we got to spend time with Justin and Ashten. To see their rooms and what this Highland gig is all about is something I should have done last year. I feel as though Highland has come to life for me now. Until now, it's all been kind of in black and white in my mind.

As small as it is, I think the days in Highland will always be a big part of Justin's life. In spite of lots of homesickness, it has been the start of his college football days.

He may never miss the town, but I reminded him that he is making friends and memories that he will eventually treasure.

While Highland won't be the small town that we settle in, we are ready and excited to get back and pick up where we left off either in our house in Haysville or another small Kansas town.

I miss it more now than ever.

missing our J U S T I N and G A M E day

It's Saturday- game day for Justin.

A big part of scheduling our trip to Highland was to catch a home football game and see Justin play.

Unfortunately, he was hurt in the previous game against Hutch and not only missed a whole week of practice, but the game last Saturday as well.

While going up for a catch {ended up being 34-yard reception} the defender from Hutch ran in to him at full speed hitting knee-on-knee.

Instead of watching him play, we ended up in the doctor's office with him and the hospital getting an MRI on his knee.

As it turns out, it was just sprained so no tears or major damage which is huge. Just hearing the news that it was not any worse was a relief.

It was still nice to hang with him and watch his team pull out a big win against Coffeyville.
It is so nice to have a quarterback who can throw well and to be winning a few games.


They are shocking people all over while pulling out big wins.

When talking about what school he will move up to, he's let it be known he's really not wanting to do this rebuilding thing again if he can help it.

He's been warming up and started back at practice this week.

Hopefully, he'll get on the field today.

Today, it is Highland (3-2, 4-3) at (2-2, 4-2) #RV Garden City.

2013 JAYHAWK CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Regular Season Standings
As of Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013   1:14 PM
	Conf			All Games
	W	L		W	L	PS	PA	OA	DA
Butler #14	4	1		5	1	257	67	42.8	11.2
Dodge City #12	4	1		5	1	193	179	32.2	29.8
Hutchinson #RV	3	1		3	2	164	139	32.8	27.8
Highland	3	2		4	3	201	197	28.7	28.1
Garden City #RV	2	2		4	2	204	123	34.0	20.5
Coffeyville	2	2		3	3	180	202	30.0	33.7
Fort Scott	1	5		1	6	223	288	31.9	41.1
Independence	0	5		1	6	58	361	8.3	51.6
#-KJCCC Champion  **-Region VI Champion
(#) Indicates Current NJCAA/JCFootball.com Ranking

It's a huge game- they need a win to keep their hopes alive for a play-off spot. Caden's game did not go as planned last week either- being cancelled due to the government shut down. He was more than upset being the intense little guy that he is.

No games this weekend due to the holiday. Hopefully, he will be on track next week...