It Costs HOW MUCH???!!!~

Gas costs for the Volvo that Coreen drives.

Tank size:  Approximately 45 liters (12 U.S. gallons)

Price per Liter:  1.47 Euros (U.S. dollar value $2.01
or 7.614 per gallon)

Price to fill tank:  67.00 Euros (U.S. price 91.12)

Carnival Fun~

One little German house decorated for the upcoming

Carnival celebrations.

People come to parades and parties dressed up in

costumes, wigs, glasses or all three.  

It's similar to creating a halloween costume.

Carnival is celebrated just before Lent which is when

many, supposedly, give up something they feel is a 

sacrifice for 40 days.  The sacrifice is done as a reminder

of the fourty days Jesus spent in the wilderness.  The 

celebration includes costumes, masks, and parades.  In

all the cities there is one person asked to be the King. 

This Carnival Kings duties begin in Novemeber and

he usually speaks to groups including students in the

primary schools to get everyone excited about the

upcoming Carnival celebrations.  The official start date

 for this area of Germany is March 3 and lasts one week.

Once again, I am missing this event by traveling to the U.S.

According to some of my friends at church it is a good 

thing that I'm gone, I guess things get a bit too wild  and

crazy the whole week of Carnival.

Valentines Sweety's XO~

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Cody was thankful for the yummy chocolate's his mom gave
him and also thankful he didn't have to be exposed to too much
 mushy love stuff!  Cody happily escaped to basketball practice while
Jim brought home beautiful roses and sweet gifts for his Valentine.  

We enjoyed an evening meal together in Bonn.

Coreen was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful gifts, but was even
more surprised by the early hour in which Jim was able to come home!

6:30pm on a week night!  Might be a new record. :-)