Garmish

We had a wonderful time while we were in Garmish. I just wanted to share more pictures. It was snowing when we woke up on Sunday so we were able to play in the snow before we left. We really enjoyed our time there and were able to rest and enjoy. The highest peak is in this area. There is skiing near there. It was neat to see the ski lift and people actually skiing down the mountain near us. They looked like they were so little and it was hard to even think they were skiing. The resort was very pretty and we were able to stay on the resort if we wanted to. The restaurants were nice one was covered with greenery over the archway. It has brick or cobblestone floors which are really neat. One restaurant is like a market place and has a gazebo and park area looking out to the mountains on a painting on the outside wall in the courtyard. The rooms were nice and our double doors opened into the courtyard filled with snow. Aubrey was exctied about our "backyard". It was nice and the kids really had a good time too. We will try to return again for more fun.

Aubrey's Birthday!

We had a fabulous day. When Aubrey got up she looked in the mirror and asked Phillip "do I look taller?" She thought she still looked five. Aubrey went to the reptile center with the kids program. She enjoyed seeing the rattlesnake, teranchala(spider), iguana. I'm sure it was neat to see. We walked downtown that day. She and Ethan are such troopers with just going. We ate at Pizza Hut and they gave the kids balloons. It really did taste like pizza hut. The pan pizza is my favorite so it was great. The shops were neat but we didn't do much looking. Phillip's shins were really hurting. When we got back to the hotel we gave Aubrey her birthday gift. She got a dress up outfit and a word play book with some knee socks. She loved it all and she looked beautiful in her outfit. We then took the kids swimming. That is what Aubrey wanted to do from the first day. She had a wonderful pool party. The indoor pool is shallow enough that Ethan can walk on it and the second section is where Aubrey can even stand. I think it went to about 4 foot in the deep end. Aubrey had to wear her floaty but she loved it. She could go all the way to the deep. Ethan seemed to really like the water too. In the past he was so in and out and in and out but this time he stayed in and liked it alot. We also went to the outside hot tub. It was so nice once we got in. We quickly walked from the door up the steps to the hot tub. It was so cold outside that it seemed it would snow but didn't while we were in there. It was about 23F in our swim suits and did snow that night. We really loved it. It was a figure 8 and very large. It was very warm but not too hot for the kids. Many children liked it there too. Aubrey had a friend who played with her, swam with her and came to the hot tub with her so that was great. She loved it so much and was sad when we had to leave. We had dinner at the resort. We were able to get cake and ice cream for dessert. It was really neat. We took the kids to the carousel near the game room and they played. Each of them got to ride with other kids so they loved it. We stayed a while and she played with a different friend there. When we went back to the room the kids were worn out and went to sleep well. It was a lovely day. She was so excited that it was finally her birthday. We had started celebrating on Wednesday before since we knew we would be out of town on her actual birthday. We had balloons and happy birthday sign. She loved it and was surprised when she came in from school that day. We made mini cupcakes for her school the next day. We had them for dessert on Wed. and Thursday too. We gave her a fairy doll, "The Love Fairy" that night before bed. It has a book and in the back a room that opens for her to play with the doll in. She had seen it earlier so we had saved it for her. When we got home on Sunday she couldn't wait to open her other gift. She knew she had another one because she was with us and I told her she had to wait. It was a fairy wing doll for the bathtub with a seahorse. She also got a tank top, a pink henley shirt, and a wooden puzzle with letters. I think these things will help her develop more reading skills. It was a wonderful day. I will try to post her thoughts later.

Garmish Trip and Aubrey's birthday!

We travelled for a family retreat to Garmish. It is in the mountains and a beautiful area. We left early and got there by afternoon. It was a nice trip and the kids did good. We stopped at McDonald's for lunch so the kids liked that. It is a beautiful resort. The mountains just make you stop and say wow. They are in every direction you look. It is amazing.

We had sessions that evening. We think Ethan got motion sickness right before dinner, took a nap, and felt better. We had sessions the next morning and it was good. I wasn't crazy about the babysitter I got from the CDC list but it was okay I guess. This was Aubrey's birthday. I will share more about it later.

We had a nice time and were able to eat at Pizza Hut in town.

We enjoyed getting to know the other families and it helped make me feel a little more a part of the squadron. We made it home safe and were glad to be home. We hope to go back soon.

Computer Problems!!

Okay here's the scoop!! We purchased this windows vista writing program to update the one we had that was a trial version on our computer when we bought it. It was horrible. We installed it and it erased everything that was on our computer before. We couldn't connect to internet, play games or anything. What is funny is that the next day we found an older version of microsoft office that we installed. We couldn't get anything else to work. The German phone number for tech support is in German which I don't understand. The US number is 1-800 and costs me international fee. I didn't have a phone card with enough minutes on it to be able to call. I later did and they sent a CD to my parents house as they would not mail to Germany. We finally received it on Monday and our computer is now up and running. HOORAY!!!!!

Okay alot has happened since our last blog. I will update as much as possible.
We have been really sick with cold and fevers and coughing. It is going around in the community. One day Ethan and I just laid on the couch and slept and he would say,"I don't pill(feel) good." And we would fall back to sleep all day. The next week the nurse from Aubrey's school called and said she had won the award for the highest temperature of the year. It wa 104F. I felt so bad. Meanwhile Phillip was sick too. It was hard when we all felt bad. Aubrey was better soon and just has a cough. Phillip had a single soldier retreat and had to go. We stayed home and rested so we could feel better. We are all better but still are not the well.

I went to PWOC and it seems to be a good group of ladies. I just have not connected with anyone. I feel I am just taking a back seat which is good.

We had a coffee group meeting so I was able to meet some new ladies there too. It was nice and we welcomed the new commander's wife. She is really nice and the command is a really good structure. Each family within that seems to have some good religious beliefs. Some of them will be moving soon so there will be another turn over.

We also had a CH spouse's coffee and it was really nice. Many of the ladies have been here a while and another lady was new like me. I made some good contacts and I look forward to working with them all.

Aubrey has started ballet too here and she seems to really like it. We surprised her with that and also a Daddy Daughter Dinner and Dance for her birthday. It will be on Friday for Valentine's Day. She is so excited about that.

I will share more about a retreat we went on this last weekend later but it was nice and we had a good time. We celebrated Aubrey's birthday there too.

More later!

Snow Pictures

Pictures of the Squadron Ball Jan. 9

Neurnberg, Germany

Saturday we took the train to Neurnberg. It was a good trip this time. haha!! We were able to get a family pass at a discount so that was good. We had a nice ride and the kids enjoyed it too.

We arrived at the train station there and it seemed like more of an airport. It has two bookstores, a food court, fresh fruit markets, McDonald's, and other small stores to browse. It was neat.

As we left the train station we were not sure exactly where to go from there. We walked around a little, and then decided to go back to the station and buy a map. We found the pedestrian streets and walked there. It was really a neat area. There were many stores and lots of people.

The town is historical with many sites to see, and we were able to see an old church, St. Lorenza. It was really tall, old and had beautiful windows, architure and a large pipe organ. The kids enjoyed it too.

They have at least three STARBUCKS!!! We had coffee at one of them and it was really good. We found a mall. WHOOO!!! It was nice to have it available. We looked in alot of stores and found Phillip a pair of snow boots. Aubrey got a pair of gloves and an ear warmer. We had alot of fun!

Okay I did forget to mention that as I tried to take a picture I dropped the camera and it really broke. It doesn't work at all. We were so upset. We had only taken one picture of the church.

Overall we still made the best of the trip. We made it home safe and had a nice time.