Allison, Ms. Craft Master and Jon, the new 'Buddy the Elf'

I, Allison, have made a crafty item. Yes, do not be too shocked Mom. Last Thursday I went to a 'sewing group' for an R.S. Group Activity. I figured I would talk and perhaps watch the other ladies sew...but alas, I gathered my courage and faced the sewing machine giant.

Ok, I so did take a basic sewing class in high school. The only reason why I got an A in the class was because I was friends with the teachers daughter and Mrs. Varley totally loved me. My pillow case may have had a crooked stitch but somehow that was overlooked and Mrs. Varley commended me on my work :)


This is what I made on Thursday. Once I put the backing on and the inside lining, it will be a potholder but I'm not sure I will finish it. Jon says I should finish my work...but I want to FRAME it for all to see. It took a lot of blood and sweat to complete it. Man, I hate having to use a seam ripper especially time after time. Anyways, enjoy my little masterpiece!

Meet Jon: The New Buddy the Elf


Last night was Charlie Company's Christmas Party. After much planning and prepping by the FRG group, over 100 people enjoyed food, music, and a special appearance from the North Pole. Santa came to visit the little kids and Jon was selected to be his 'little' helper. The soldiers had to nominate and bid for who they wanted to wear the suit. Jon's platoon paid $103 to see their LT don the red & green leotard spandex outfit. Jon says he was railroaded into the position by his commander, CPT Lucitt, and because he didn't want to face mutiny at work on Monday.


After Santa handed out gifts to the kids, his elf was mandated by CPT Lucitt and the audience to serenade the group with a beautiful rendition of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". I believe that one of Jon's soldiers has already posted it on YouTube.

Once the karaoke was finished for the evening, an auction was held for pies, cakes, and 4-day passes. Good thing it will be pay day on Tuesday for everyone because the typical pie & pass combo went for about $70-$100. It was a lovely fundraiser for the FRG group.


Anyways, that's all for our little update. Jon and I are off to the Frankfurt Christmas Market today. Hopefully we'll get a couple of pictures taken. Snow is forcasted for the day so we might have some white flurries gracing the Christmas Market.

Business Conference - Munich

Last Saturday I went to a business/investing conference in Munich, Germany. My dad and I were representing Gryphon Airlines and one of their partners. The conference was very interesting although it was mostly in German. Thankfully between my limited German and the translating from my Dad...I was able to understand most of it.

Jon and I drove down early Friday morning. We made awesome time travelling on the autobahn going at ... haha ... I won't disclose how fast we were driving just in case some parental units read this :)

Once we were checked in at our hotel, we did some wandering around the city. Munich is a great city with a lot of happy people. Although, I have heard the people are much happier during Oktoberfest.

My dad and I in front of the world famous Glockenspiel.

Same spot, this time it's Jon and me.

Enjoy the Quiet Moments

I've noticed that lately our life has been kind of chaotic in the Dyer household. About two and a half weeks ago Jon and I took a trip to visit my family and it has been busy ever since.

First, the visit with the Gibbs Family.

For those of you who haven't heard, my family moved....to Kuwait. Yes, Kuwait, the country in the Middle East directly south of Iraq. Why you may ask, a short answer is because of my dad's company. Long answer is ... it was about time and had been in the works for many years.

Both Jon and I had been to this country previously (with completely different purposes). He was in country for a short time to receive training and equipment before heading to Iraq. I went for Christmas/New Years in 2006 & 2007; for a business trip with my dad for the 1st and for the 2nd trip...because the rest of the family was there.

When Jon told his commander and other people in his unit that he was going to Kuwait for his 4 day weekend, they thought he was crazy. For you see, what most people in the army see is the endless sand in the middle of the country. They don't go outside of the bases there. Which is a shame really because the country is actually very beautiful in the populated area of Kuwait City.


Almost all of Kuwait's population live in a concentrated area around the capital (Kuwait City). I wish I had taken more pictures, but for some reason I wasn't snap happy this trip. However, we did get one picture of both Jon and I together atop one of the famous 'Water Towers'.

Here we are with a view of the Arabian Gulf. Don't you love flashes on cameras and how they make you look extra white :)

We were in a circular rotating room in the highest sphere on the right tower.

Jon could only stay a couple of days since work has been crazy busy for him. I stayed for a week to spend time with my family and also to work. I have been working for my dad's airline, Gryphon, for the past month and it has been great.

Second, the busy Dyer residence.

I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but let's just say that it has been full of activities...with work and church.

However, Tuesday and Wednesday were interesting in that for Jon...those days never ended.

Tuesday - O'Dark Hundred - Phone ringing at 4:40am ... "Al, I need you to bring my special ear plugs into work right now." (Note...Jon had already been at work for an hour)

Wednesday - Door buzzing at 12:30 am - "Al ... it's me, I'm done with work, can you let me into the apartment building?" The joys of having only 1 master key to the building.

Both Jon and I can't wait for range week (weapon qualifications) to be over.

Anyways...I've done enough rambling. Yay for the upcoming weekend.

Interlaken, Switzerland - August 2009

Here are some pictures from the trip we took in August to Interlaken, Switzerland. If you ever have the chance to go here, we would highly recommend it! It is the most beautiful place on the earth!! We had fantastic weather for our stay except for the last night when the wind and rain were pounding our tent.

Enjoy!

On the road...yep...we got bored so we took pictures. It was about a 5 hour drive.


Inside the city of Interlaken.


Interlaken


A view of the gorgeous Swiss Alps.


This is a field in the middle of downtown Interlaken. It is also the landing sight for many skydiving/hang gliding companies.


Jon was drooling when we passed by this vehicle :)


One of the lakes of Interlaken.

More scenery. The Jungfrau mountain peak in the background.


Swiss Countryside




Our 'Campground'. It was more of an R.V. resort where a bunch of Swiss, Germans, and Brits vacation. Oh, a common sight around the campground was a lot of old men walking around in only boxers. Yeah, a little too revealing ... they really needed to cover up more.


Jon and I rode a series of 4 cable cars to get to the top of Schilthorn. It cost quite a bit, but the memories and the views were priceless.


Jon inside of the cable car.


Cheese!


For all you James Bond 007 movie lovers...do you recognize this place?




A panorama of the Titlis, Jungfrau, Monch, Eiger, over the Bernese Alps and the Jura mountains. What an incredible view and wondrous sight.

Beware!!

If you happen to step away from your oven for 15 min and take a shower...think again.

Because this might happen!




Thankfully, neither Jon nor I were the cause of this incident. A fellow lieutenant in Jon's company, who lives 2 floors above us, has had terrible luck so far with his apartment. While being deployed to Iraq, his apartment flooded. And about 2 weeks ago...his oven BLEW up. Yep...crazy I know. That's what we thought.

Luckily, it only caused a little damage to his kitchen. Jon and I heard this fire alarm going off somewhere in our building and we wondering what was going on. I was cooking some lunch when the fire truck sirens were blazing outside our windows. Before we knew it...a bunch of firefighters (decked out in their complete suits and gas masks) were charging up the stairs. It was quite the spectacle.

So lesson I learned from this story...things can blow up when you least expect them to.

Part 4: Koblenz, Germany

Part 4: Koblenz, Germany - The Final Leg of the Dyer Clan Visit

Jon already wrote about this trip...so I'm not going to go into much more detail about them. Enjoy!

We did eat a lot of cheese and bread b/c it is simply delicious here in Europe.

Where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers combine.

A monument made in honor of German Emperor William I.

Jon and Meredith enlisted the help of Mom to antagonize me by covering up the B & Y. It's ok...because I will have the last laugh when the Cougars demolish the Utes later in the season...that is if they don't choke like they did against FSU.

Part 3: Bastogne, Belgium

Part 3 of the Dyer Euro-Adventure in Bastogne, Belgium

We are slowly catching up with these adventures. It just takes a while for us to get the motivation to start.

One Sunday, a guy in the ward was telling us about the trip his family took to Belgium. They found the foxholes that the Easy Company of the 506th Infantry Regiment (101 Airborne Division) dug during WWII on the outskirts of Bastogne, Beligum.
**See previous post 'Much Needed Update' for more info**

Foxholes

More foxholes

Jon on the road that divided the German Army from the Easy Company's foxholes.

The famous church where General McAuliffe replied "Nuts!" when the German Army told the Americans to surrender because they were surrounded.

A US Army tank in the middle of the town square.

A hole in the tank

A bronze bust of General McAuliffe.

On the drive back we made a quick stop at a rest/gas station. A car parked next to us had a rubber chicken attached to the front. We got quite a kick out of it.

Part 2: Dyer invasion of Trier, Germany and Luxembourg

Before we could leave for Trier, Jon and Papa Dyer had to run onto post and pick up a couple of items. While waiting for them, we came across this poster/flyer. Mom is doing the Mistress of Pain look....haha.


The Electoral Palace in Trier. There were a bunch of interesting statues surrounding the field.


Mer and I decided to re-enact what the statues are doing. This is one of my favs...although the look on my face is a tad scary. Meredith, however, looks happy as can be.


Another picture of a building in Trier.


The town center market area.


For lunch we wandered around until we found a Doner Kebab place. For those of you who don't know what a Doner is...it is sort of like a Gyro. A piece of meat is on a stick and the meat is shaved off and then put inside of some bread. Basically...it is the best sandwich ever! Little Doner Kebab stands are all over Europe.


Acting like responsible adults in front of a Roman inscription on a wall.


Trier is the oldest German city and was an important Roman outpost/site. There are many cool ruins...especially this site.


If you look closely, there are underground walkways and a labyrinth of tunnels.


Aren't they cute?


Inside one of the tunnels....we, uh, had a little fun with the light (as you can see in the next couple of pics)



It was amazing to know that we were in thousand+ year old tunnels. The architecture they used was fantastic.

Our little escape artist wanted out...

Another shot of some ruins

Picture time....say cheese

Welcome to Luxembourg (city) in the country of Luxembourg. Its a big city, with a lot of rich inhabitants. Lots of lovely cars (Jon was oohing and ahhing quite a bit...like a kid in a toy shop).

Group shot

Group shot 2...we would have asked the couple next to us to take our picture...but they were too involved in uh...yeah, we won't go into it...they were a little busy.

Luxembourg

On the European highways, you will see a lot of sedans pulling/towing campers and other items. Who would have thought?

So that is the end of the Trier and Luxembourg day trip...next up...Bastogne, Belgium.