Highlights

This past weekend the family went to Garmisch, Germany. It is a little ski village/horse pasture on the border between Germany and Austria. The websites don't put a hard sell on the horse pasture thing, that is just a little hidden bonus when you get there. The city is at the base of the Alps and it is truly a beautiful place, even with all the horse poo.

One of the best things about this trip to Garmisch is that it was paid for by the Army Chaplaincy. How exciting is that? 2 night's stay at the Army "resort" in Garmisch, 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts and a lunch all paid for. We added on an extra night so we could take full advantage of our time there. We had a fabulous weekend. We went sledding, played in the indoor pool and outdoor hot tub, I enjoyed a hot stone and swedish massage at the spa while the boys had a full day of ski lessons and Matt took on the slopes snowboarding. We also squeezed in a few marriage "training sessions" which was the official reason we were there.

Some highlights of the trip include:

Eli Sledding: we all went sledding but Eli took the sport to a new level. He pulled his little sled all the way up this hill we found (in the middle of a horse pasture), he plotted his path, and took off. What he didn't see was a little bump about halfway down the slope. His speed coupled with that little bump made for an awesome jump. He hit it fast, flew into the air, hung there for a second or two and did an awesome flip. For a minute it appeared that he was going to land this and then start training for the Olympics, but then gravity took over and he landed hard, no longer on his sled. I don't know how it all happened but I do know his boots flew off his feet, his sled continued down the slope, and he ended up face planted in the snow about 5 feet from where he hit the jump. Did my baby cry? Nope. When I got over to him I was freaking out asking if he was OK and telling him I was so scared and he looked at me with great concern and said "sorry mom". Then his little eyes started to tear up and he said "mom, I got snow in my shirt". I cleaned it out, snatched his boot for him and off he went to retrieve his sled and head back up the hill. He is awesome!

Skiing: Skiing was also a great time for the boys. We dropped them off at ski school around 8:30 and let someone else teach them the ins and outs of skiing. Throughout the day Matt and I would ask each other "do you think they are doing good?" or "do you think they are having fun?" All those questions were answered when I picked the boys up at 3pm. Eli was swooshing down the hill making great turns and even taking on the little jump they had and Gabe wasn't crying. I thought for sure Gabe would get frustrated and end up coloring in the play room at ski school but he stuck with it and worked really hard. He had a much more difficult time catching on, but he did really well too. It was so great to see both of the boys on the little hill having a blast.

The boys had such a great weekend. So far most of our trips have been about Matt and I, but this one was really a great time for them. They played hard sledding, skiing and swimming.

The last highlight of the trip was picking Matt up from his day of snowboarding: He ended up going to a different lift because the one near where the boys were skiing broke. After the boys' lessons we grabbed a snack and then headed over to this other lift. The place was really busy and I was seriously concerned about how I would find Matt. We were only at the base of the lift area for a few minutes when I looked over and noticed Matt unbuckling his board. I said "guten tag" and we all pummeled him with hugs. There was just something really sweet about being there when he finished his day, the sun was shining, the alps were behind us, and here we were as a family at the end of a very enjoyable day. Unlike any ski slopes I have been to in Ca/Nv this place has an incredible atmosphere at the base of the slope. Instead of everyone piling into the lodge, here, people just skiid down to the base of the mountain and settled in for music, food, drinks, and fun. We pulled up a bench and sat down for a few minutes to talk about our day before heading home. Germans were singing and dancing to the music played over the speakers, smells of brats and pommes filled the air, and the sun shone down over these huge mountain peaks to give a little warmth. It was like a little party. The atmosphere was fantastic, celebratory, and just down right enjoyable.

It was a good weekend start to finish.