Skiing Feldberg

We had a really, really busy weekend.  On Saturday we went to the new Lego movie at the BX with a bunch of us.  One thing about movies over here is they get sold out extremely quickly.  So the boys and I went at 10 am to get our tickets and 16 more for friends.  Then we had to go home and back for our ski trip.  We headed back to the movie theater and arrived 50 minutes early and there was already a line to get in.  It is crazy!!  We were able to get seats together and we all LOVED the movie!!  It was a great time!!!  We then grabbed dinner to go and headed home to bed.  We had a very early start the next morning, we had to be at the bus at 3:30 am for our ski trip.  The boys were sooooo excited!!!   Michael didn't want to ski again for the longest time and then a couple of weeks ago decided he did want to go.  So off we went.  I wanted to take the bus because it is about 3 1/2 hour drive to the mountain.

The boys looking like they were going back to sleep on the bus, but that didn't really happen.  I made them lay there for about 30 minutes and then they were up and watching a movie.  I think way too much excitement.  Michael and I slept for about an hour on the bus, but that was about all.

First getting there, the boys were so excited to see snow!!!  They have been waiting all year and we haven't gotten any in Kaiserslautern.  

They found a hug pile of snow to play on.  While they did that I looked for ski lessons for them.  I finally succeeded and found some English speaking lessons!  I was very excited!!  With never being there before, it was all new.

The boys ready for their lessons.  AJ was upset because he had to wear purple.  I tried to get a different color, but the colors are ages and purple was eight and green six.  The green was great for Michael, it matched all his ski stuff!!

They started out basically skating on one ski.  I have never seen this, but it was amazing.  It helped the boys get their balance and the feel of the ski.

I also LOVED this ski school!!  The boys were up on the "slopes" within 30 minutes.  At Garmisch they didn't ever get on the rope tow on the "slope."

AJ did so well that he was split off and went higher on the hill.  This was a cool tunnel that had a "magic carpet" that took them to the top!

AJ coming down the slope.  After this we took a break for lunch.  Luckily they had a restaurant with chicken for Michael and spaghetti for AJ.  There were no seats inside so we ate outside.  Michael said he didn't want to go back to ski lessons.  He was pretty adamant and either did AJ because he said it was too easy.  So I ran into the ski school and asked if AJ can be moved up a level for the afternoon and they said yes.  I just kept avoiding Michael on the subject until we arrived back at the lessons in the afternoon.  I worked with him on how to get up after he fell down and then he decided that he would ski for a little bit.  So I said I would come back in an hour.  AJ headed for the big hill and I decided since I rented skis, I might as well go on a few runs.  I off I went.  It was foggy, windy and cold but great to get back on the slopes!!!

Michael at the top of the higher hill working on his turns.

I was coming down to check on him and saw this - he LOVED going down with the hula hoop.  He was having some problems slowing down and stopping so this helped him keep his speed down.  The hour was up and I asked him if he wanted to stay and he said yes!  I was so excited!!  But he asked me to come back in thirty minutes so I went for one more run.

Michael coming down the hill on his own and doing so well!!!  Here he is on the "magic carpet"  When I got there he said he was done so I told him he had to say goodbye to his instructor.  So he was waiting at the bottom for him, but then decided he would go up one more time to say goodbye.  :-)

After that we dug, had a snowball fight and some snow fun while we were waiting for AJ to be done with his lessons.

Fun in the snow!!!!

Since AJ was able to go to the higher class he was able to change colors to red!  The boys after a great day of skiing!!!

My two little skiers and me!!  It turned out to be such a great day even if the weather wasn't all that great!!  AJ's instructor said he did so well and wanted him to be able to show me if we had time.

So of course we did!!  Here is is getting on the drag lift.

He is about mid way up, you can barely see the top.  It was a decent hill especially since this is the second day he has ever skied!!

Here he comes down, in the middle of the picture with the red vest on.  I let him do some  more runs because he was so excited to ski!!  They both did so well!!  While AJ was on the big hill Michael wanted to do some skiing on a smaller hill.  He was doing great with his stops, staying up and going nice and easy.  I was so happy with the ski school here and would definitely go back!!  It was such a great time!  We headed back to the bus and headed home.  AJ slept some and Michael not so much.  We arrived home around 10 pm, all pleasantly exhausted!!  Next year we will definitely have to plan a skiing weekend instead of just one day.  :-)

Valentine's Day

So the boys were very excited for Valentine's day at school.  I volunteered at the school during the day and helped out in both classes.  AJ's class is a little older now so they didn't have as big of a party as last year, but last year it was also the 100th day of school, so it was a joint celebration.  I started out in Michael's class.  Every morning they do songs with letters and skip counting.  Whenever I go in, I love to join them!  They pick a different student to lead each song.

Michael led one of my favorite skip counting songs - skip counting by 11.  It has a great beat!!

So of course I had to join him!!!  It was a lot of fun!!!

Then off to Valentine's day centers.  Michael started out at bingo.  He won twice and was so excited!!!!  One reason is there was a prize box for whoever won!

Look at the concentration on this kid!  I love his focus!!!

He also made a Valentine's head band!  Then Michael had a pizza party and ate the cupcakes that we made.  Later in the day they also had banana splits - talk about hyper kids!  Then it was off to AJ's party.

The kids putting their Valentine's in their monkey boxes.

AJ and his teacher deep in conversation.  We LOVE Mrs Richardson!!!

AJ and Mommy!!!  Aren't we cute?

AJ with his Monkey box for Valentine's Day

All the cupcakes we made for his class.  I know next time not to volunteer for both classes to make cupcakes next year.  :-)

Setting it out for his classmates.  Both boys had a great day!!  They received tons of Valentine's and of course candy!!  We all enjoyed the day though I was exhausted by the end of it.  It has been a long week!!  So we rented some movies for the night and settled in for some video games and movie watching.  It was a great relaxing evening!!!  I missed the love of my life since he was half way across the world, but he is always with me and I know how much he loves me!  We don't have to have a special day to celebrate because we celebrate our love daily!!!

Bowling Fun

On Thursday February 13th, Michael's class went on a walking field trip to the bowling alley.  They have taken so many funds away that there are no buses anymore for field trips for the schools here, so we have to find ones that are close to the school, which is fine.  The kids were over the top excited!!!  We headed down to the bowling alley and off they went.  For a few it was the first time they ever went bowling.

Michael has a unique way of bowling, he shot-puts it.  His fingers aren't strong enough to hold the ball and it works for him right now.  :-)

Excited after a good bowl!!!!

They were able to go behind the scenes as well.  Michael is leading the way up front.

They were showed how the ball was returned and how the bowling pins were picked up so the other ones could be swept under.

Here they are showing them how the pins get set up for the next ten.  They all thought it was really cool!!!

The posse - Michael and some of his good friends in class and Mr Hector.

Michael's class after bowling.  They all really enjoyed themselves!!!

Then the teachers were so sweet and bought all the kids cookies.  Of course Michael had to have chocolate chip, but they are not as good as Mom's chocolate chip cookies  ;-)

Heading back to the school.  Luckily the rain held off.  About an thirty minutes later there was a complete downpour!  It was awful!  I was so thankful that we made it back to the school before that!  That night we frosted cupcakes,  had karate and a basketball game.  Michael earned his second stripe on his yellow belt and then AJ played a great game!!!  It has been a really busy week and of course valentine's day is tomorrow.  

Seahawks win the Super Bowl

I have been a Seahawks fan for quite a while, my Dad might tell you differently but I have rooted for them since I was a kid.  For those of you that know me pretty well know how big a fan I am as well as the family.  Tammy and the boys are certainly becoming bigger fans everyday.  I have fond memories of watching the 'Hawks with my Grandpa after church when I was little and have rooted for them through the semi good years with Chuck Knox, Dave Krieg and Steve Largent; the really lean years (see pretty much the entirety of Cortez Kennedy's career, thankfully he is still in the Hall of Fame); the surprisingly good years with Mike Holmgren, Matt Hasselbeck and Shawn Alexander (I still think he runs like a wuss) and now the great years with this team.  Most of the Seahawks teams have been disappointing over the years but I have rooted for them nonetheless (now I will admit, I may not have rooted for them as fervently when they are not as good though).  This last season was incredible, not only for the Seahawks but has also been something for the boys to start to get excited about as well.

 

Michael sporting my Seahawks hat, he loves taking this from me and wearing although I don't think it is always because it is a Seahawk hat.

 

So I wore this shirt to the Vatican when we went last summer, yes I wore it in hopes that it would bring the Seahawks a little extra blessing from God.  I normally would think that praying for a pro sports team is silly but I couldn't help it.  We have never been this good and I REALLY wanted them to win!

 

Great symbol, I love the combination!

 

 

So when I told Tammy that I was going to write this post she asked me why because it is not something that really has anything to do with our time in Germany other than it happened while we are in Germany, she was joking.  I did think about her question quite a bit and that the Seahawks as well as other things we are passionate about are a part of every adventure we take, even if we really aren't thinking about it.  I know people that are into arts and crafts and while they are traveling they find ideas or things that they want to do or work into something that they are already doing.  For me it is a simple as just wearing a Seahawk shirt while we are traveling and hopefully it will be something that we as a family will rally around for years to come and with this Super Bowl win it is certainly something for us to get behind and be excited about, something that will hopefully always be a mutual talking piece for the boys and I when they get older and don't feel the need to spend much time around Dad.  I know that when I call home talking about the 'Hawks with Mom and Dad or Grandma is something I look forward to, heck I look forward to talking about the 'Hawks with everyone really.  It is also really cool to see friends and family show their Seahawk pride on Facebook and has been a conversation starter with quite a few people or just an acknowledgment of another human being I would normally not have anything else in common with or reason to say hello to.  It is amazing to see how sports teams can be such a rallying point for people, I guess I hadn't thought much about it until I have seen more and more Seahawk fans out while traveling.  It is really cool to finally see my team bring so much joy to so many people.  So here we are at the end of the season looking forward to next season!

 

 

Here are the boys with their new Seahawk shirts, my pillow pet (Blitz) that they have been taking care of while I am at school.

 

Looking good in their NFC Championship shirts!

 

I thought this was cool because it certainly feels that way!  This season has been so much fun, hopefully there will be several more to celebrate with my family, friends, and fellow 12s!

Basketball

We have been keeping busy here, not much sightseeing at this time but we have been doing a lot of roller skating, rock climbing, karate, basketball, scouts, etc.  Since I am coaching basketball I can't take pictures and ref on the court at the same time.  So I asked Michael to take a few pictures for me so I would have some of AJ playing basketball.  He did excellent in his games!!  He made a basket in the last game, nothing but net!  The team is doing great and really improving!  It has been a good season so far.  We have three more weeks and they are already having sign ups for baseball.  Crazy.

AJ is number 9 - looking to get an inbound pass.

Getting some water after a hard quarter of running!

On the move to play some defense.

Bringing the ball down to start the offense

Concentrating really hard - check out the tongue.  :-)  It has been a good season but coaching adds a whole another element and time commitment.  It has been fun, but I think I will let somebody take over for the spring season :-)  Especially since David will be back and I plan on getting some more traveling in.  :-)