Deutschland and the Frandsens

We had an excellent visit with the Frandsen girls in Germany. We started out nice and easy and ended running our tails off. The first few days were spent adjusting to the time change and just hanging with Leslie and her girls enjoying movies, spa nights, and home cooked meals.

First up, Leslie and I took a German Baking class offered through the air force base near by. It was a lot of fun seeing all their excellent and efficient tools like the torte ring, cake cutter, and cake lifter. Not to mention the delicious desserts Mandarin Orange Cake, Poppy Seed Almond Roll, and Berliners.

Next, we had a few days of shopping we bought some shoes, some chocolate, and Easter decor. They had the cutest Easter/Ouster decorations. My Mom and I had a lot of fun gazing at all the chocolate Easter Bunnies, eggs, and wee trinkets.We also went swimming. The base nearby has an excellent facility. Both McKenna and Ellie surprised us with their bravery. McKenna turned a new leaf that day and began to get her face wet and dunk herself all the way under. While Ellie couldn’t get enough of the little slide she was so excited she would clench her teeth and shake her fists.

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Then our big adventure and truly the the highlight of the trip was a weekend spent in the town of Rothenburg.  Rothenburg is a Medieval city with a wall dating back to the 1400’s that surrounds the old town square. It was a beautiful city with so much preserved we were very impressed. We took a Night Watchmen tour there as well and learned some more interesting facts about living in that time and the crazy history of Rothenburg. The next day we visited a Toy Museum and the Christmas Museum where Leslie and I picked up the classic German Christmas candle light windmills.

The next town we visited is Strausburg, France. A town just across the boarder of France that has a good mix of German and French culture. First we hit the Cathedral. It was mind blowing with all the detail both inside and out. Some of the stained glass was dated back to the 1300’s and it was one of the tallest of the Cathedrals built in this era. Strausburg has a historical section of the city called “La Petite France” where we found classic half timbered architecture and a classic European feeling with quaint narrow streets and shops.

We enjoyed a boat tour through the cities canals as well and finished the day off with crepes.

Finally we spent one day enjoying the walkplatz in Kaiserslautern the main town near my sister. They had a farmers market that morning which is always a good thing to check out anywhere you go… The day ended with some sunshine to enjoy once we got home.

So overall it was a fantastic trip. Leslie and her girls were awesome hosts and we really enjoyed the time spent with them I loved watching Ellie play and get to know her cousins they are very special girls. I hope that we helped bring a bit of joy and distraction to them as they pass the time while their Dad is out working so hard. Thank you Leslie, Mark, Bailey, and McKenna! We love you and already miss you so much.

Baby Plays the Blues

Ellie got a harmonica from her Dad over Christmas.

This week she figured it out a little better.

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Papa and Hanna should be proud maybe they could start a family blues band one day.

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Family Ski Day

We took Ellie out on the slopes today in the backpack. We had so much fun together. She did really well and seemed to enjoy herself. The lifty’s let us load on the chair as three so she could sit securely in the pack  right by Gary and I. She was quiet on the first chair ride up but by the last she was laughing and pointing at the trees and skiers. Gary took her down the first run. We did a groomer called “Main Street” off of the Collins lift nice and easy. She called out for me a few times until she could see where I was, not sure if it was anxiety driven or if she just wanted to keep tabs on me. I took Ellie down a couple of times on the last run it was just the two of us as Gary paid his dues to High Rustler. At the end of our run I took her down Lower Rustler, which is a little steep relative to the cat track we were on and she let out a big Whooooaaaa!. It was so funny she had me laughing all the way to the truck. At any rate I think she enjoyed the wind in her face, the swoosh of the snow, the bluebird sunny day, and all the great people in Alta who gave us nods and encouragement all day.

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My Favorite Christmas Picture of 2008

Thanks Danielle for capturing the moment and puting it up for us to share. Love all your pictures from Christmas Eve.  These are my favorites…

Christmas Backlog

We enjoyed Christmas this year so much we lost ourselves in it. It was a special Christmas for Gary, Ellie and I this year because we were able to combine both the Marcoccia’s and the McKenney’s. My parents decided to come along with us to New York and spend the Holidays with the Marcoccia’s. So needless to say our hearts were full and we had a wonderful time. Everyone got along fine. The Grandpa’s talked, and talked, and talked, and the Grandma’s cooked, and cooked, and cooked. Pretty much we were gluttons this Christmas. We were spoiled! We all came home 10 pound heavier literally. This I am not proud of and Gary has put himself on an oatmeal diet the last few days, and Ellie, oh my little sweet Ellie, well she is going to have to adjust to just one Mommy now and a few no’s thrown her way.

We have a ton of Photos up on flickr Check out our Christmas 2009 set here

After Christmas we had a Cider making day. It was a beautiful day so we brought out the apple press and made some cider up in the barn

My parents and I took a day trip to Niagara Falls. It was COLD. We were a little bummed out to find that the walk way was closed due to ice build up from the mist off the falls. We did well though it was a blue sky day and we had a nice lunch with a view of the river. On the way back we took route 14 down along Seneca Lake which turned out to be a good choice as the sunset we enjoyed a nice view of the NY Finger Lakes landscape.

Now we are home and I’m overwhelmed with a truck load of things I need to unpack, a house I need to get organized, groceries I must shop for, a body I need to get back into shape, and a winter I need to start enjoying.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

We decorated the Christmas tree last night. Our plans to decorate earlier in the week were put off so that we could enjoy the company of Jill, Kevin, and Sarah. The old record player was brought out and we were bopping around the tree listening to the scratchy old 40’s spinning around. All the ancient and new Christmas ornaments were hung. Grandma Marcoccia has quiet a collection she has kept every ornament from the begining of their marrage up until the glass ornament we made last year. Each ornament is remembered by Sarah, Jill, Gary, and Kevin and each one has a story.  There are even some very special ornaments that were passed down from Great Grandma Opal. Ellie got right into the mix. She was very interested in hanging up the ornaments. She even did some dancing for us.

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