Christmas is coming

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
Frye Veronica slouch boots
no fighting
Tod's bag
healthy family
Gracie here

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
mittens my Godmother made for me

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
now that I am knitting....those mittens from above!

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
a huge box of toys from my uncle

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
Mario Galaxy
Playmobile
Nerf stuff

6. What is your favorite holiday food?
egg nog

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
aprons

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
A Christmas Story

9. Favorite holiday song?
O Come All Ye Faithful

10. Favorite holiday pastime?
eating, shopping, spending time with family and friends

February

A few photos from last month. Owen dressed as a cowboy for Fasching (German Mardi Gras), Henry & Gracie, and the boys together. Mark successfully made it through knee surgery, and either a.) he was bored at home that long, or b.) he felt the need to buy himself a 'I made it through surgery gift'. Hence, the Wii and Rock Band.

Need a Laugh?

You must check out this blog. Every time I read it, I either spit out milk through my nose or laugh so hard tears run down my face. It is hilarious.

Here are some more pictures from our Florida vacation. The boys are at a local park that has a water splash area.

My Mom found a great pirate cruise that we went on. The boys loved it and the cruise was such fun. Really well done.

The weather here is cold and snowy. I am ready to move someplace warm....year round. Change that, I won't be greedy, I'll take sunny and decent for most of the year.

It's A New Era of Superheroes!

The Masked Swimmer and his sidekick, Goggle-guy.

Taken while in Florida over Christmas Break. Stay tuned for more...

Karate Kid

Guess who started karate on Friday? Oh yes, he did! He was practicing Jackie Chan style the entire week. Here is is with Master George. He likes it enough, but it unfortunately, class conflicts with swimming. We are trying to rearrange our swim time so H can continue. Hi-ya!

Almabtreib

Apparently, the cows graze high up in the Alps in the summer, then they are brought down to lower pastures in the fall. We heard about this from a couple that we met at a party. It sounded fun, so we gave it a try. It was great! We drove down to Bavaria Friday night. Our plan was to drive about an hour and 45 minutes into Austria. We were about an hour into the ride when we rounded a corner and started up a mountain, only to hear some clanging and traffic. (Mind you, we are on a 2 lane, fairly narrow road, right on the side of the mountain with only a barrier between us and down below.) So, we round this bend, and holy cow (literally!!), we see them coming down the mountain! I had to quickly do a 11 point turn and we raced down the mountain to the nearest village, found a parking spot and parked ourselves on the side of the street. There they came...the cows...down the mountain, dressed in their finery! They had what looked like Christmas garland and flowers on their head and cowbells bigger than Henry's head, around their necks! Then we walked into town center to find a fest. Lederhosen and dirndls galore! There was dancing and food and beer. The staples of any good German fest.

The next day, we headed to the Garmisch stadium, where the 1934 Olympics were held. Despite the numerous times we have been to this area, this was the first time we saw the stadium. We even managed to see a few skiers training on the jump. Pretty cool. Here the guys and I are posing as skiers. Well, H is a snowboarder, he says.

It was a great trip, except for Owen getting sick. He was a little under the weather (I'll save you the gory details) in the morning, but turned into a wildman by mid afternoon. It was a gloriously warm, sunny weekend, and we had a wonderful time. Nothing like a vacation to soothe the soul!



Enjoy the pictures.

Puffy Eyes and Disappointment

How much tears can one person shed? Yesterday Mark found out he did not get the job in NY. There weren't even any interviews. This is a crying shame, since Mark has diversified so much in the past 10 years in preparation for this job. The person we are guessing that got this job would not have even qualified for it, had it not been for Rumsfeld's big grand renovation! It would have been wonderful to be so close to family and friends again. I tell myself and hear from others, it means there is something better. How? Where? When? I can't imagine anything more perfect. So, I cried like no tomorrow yesterday. And a bit today. By tomorrow maybe all the tears will be gone. Maybe. Mark is handling this so much better than I and it's his job! I prayed long and hard for the hiring official to see the good in Mark in so many ways. To see his knowledge and ability, his dedication and personality. So, we are now going to truly enjoy our time here. We have already bounced around vacation ideas. We think we have a plan of where we will go next. I said to Mark on the way home from dinner that I am at peace with that plan. Remember I was waiting for that lightening bolt to hit me a couple of months ago? Maybe this is it. To jump start me into really enjoying life...not waiting for the next place or step. To live for the moment. I know God has a grand plan for us. We'll be ok. Just a few more tears and maybe it will be ok. Maybe.