Merry Merry!

Hello everybody! It's been a wonderful year this year and we have been blessed with many good things - much travel, good memories and best of all great friends and family!

Christmas passed this year without much ado, but we got to see our friends 4 days out of 5 (or something like that) and that was quite fun. Jaime got a case of the flu (we think) over the holiday, but that didn't stop her from playing some serious Guitar Hero and mastering "La Grange" from ZZ Top...well - I wouldn't say she "mastered" it, but she channels and harnesses the power of her Dad every time she plays, so it's like she is the master of it. Charlie plays Guitar Hero every day, for at least a good hour. That's all we seem to do lately. Sleep, eat, Guitar Hero. Good times. We even got our friends hooked...poor saps...but they seem to enjoy it as well.

Today Jaime is at work (with probably only 15 other people on the NASA campus) for a half day and Charlie is hanging with the stink-pups. Tonight is a New Years Eve party at the Wilke's house (John and Beth and Syd) - COME ONE COME ALL!!

If you're out tonight, drive safe and drive sober.
Much love and Happy New Year!

...see you in '08.

Jaime's Motto

Get Your Mind Right.

Back in the U-S-S-A

Well, after a 21-hour travel day yesterday, I finally made it back to good ol' Houston. It was a lot of fun while I was in Munich - great people, great food, good fun.
I should be headed back sometime in January for Round 2 of the 1E mission launch attempt. I miss it already. Maybe next time I go there will be snow on the ground? That would be lovely!

***NEWS-NEWS-NEWS***
On 12/9/2007 my sister Faith gave birth to her first child, Noah Steven Turner. He weighed in at a tiny 7 lb 12 oz, 20" long, full head of hair. Mom, Dad (Shawn) and Baby are doing wonderfully. Now I'm an Aunt on my side of the family (4 times over for Charlie's side already)!

This weekend I will be headed home to MN to visit my sister and her family - what a whirlwind of a month! I leave on Friday morning and return to Houston on Sunday night.
CONGRATULATIONS TO FAITH AND SHAWN!!
http://www.shawnandfaith.spaces.live.com/

Deutschland!

Hallo meine lieblings!

I've been in Germany for a week now and it has been pretty fun. I arrived last Friday (11/30) to the Munich International Airport, got my swanky, black Opel hatchback (only 226 km on it! brand new!), turned on my Tom Tom for a little GPS guidance and headed toward the town of Pasing (or thereabouts) to my hotel. The Gaestehaus Im Forum (http://www.gaestehausimforum.de/) is the hotel/apartment area that a bunch of us people are staying at, which is great. The people are really nice and I really like my room. It has a kitchen and everything in it, which has come in really handy!

(view of bed/living room, kitchen area, view of double doors looking out onto the rooftop patio I have, which overlooks the little square here).

We hit the Kristkindlmarkt in the Marienplatz of Munich for some Christmas Market goodness, another small market at the Seehof Castle not too far from here, took a quick road trip to Garmisch to check out the skiing there, saw the Olympicstadion, and have had some great dinners (Hofbrauhaus, Paulaner Brewery) and yes, I've even had some bier (Helles?). Garmsich was really pretty and after probably 15 years of not skiing (at least!), I think I'll try to hit the slopes with my hubbie if he ever comes out to visit - after launch and around Christmas.

(Natalie, Spicer, Me in a sleigh at the market)

(Me, Spicer, Natalie in Garmisch on a mountain I can't remember)

Unfortunately today we did not launch the space shuttle for STS-122/1E, the reason I'm here in Germany in the first place. :( BOO! We'll try again tomorrow, so everyone send good wishes by way of the Kennedy Space Center!

That's all for now - peace.

ps: I miss my man and my puppies.

pps: Faithie is still pregnant and last I heard was having contractions at 10-minute intervals. C'mon little Noah, no guts no glory! Love you Faifer!