Sunday, January 26, 2014

Weekend Woes

   1 sick child 
+ our turn to clean the church 
+ husband gone all day to help someone move
+ cold dreary weather =
 not a very fun weekend


But at least we've got this guy to help us keep smiling.


Except at 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.  
Will I ever know the simple pleasure of a good night's rest again? 
 Oddly enough, he looks very well rested.




Thursday, January 23, 2014

Ski Trip to Austria

Ben had a four day weekend over Martin Luther King…  woohoo!  Got to love the Army four day weekends.  So, we went on a ski trip with his work in Tirol, Austria.  It was awesome, except there was no snow... but that's just a minor detail when it comes to skiing, right? What little snow there was was generated by snow machines or what ever they are.  Not exactly what you imagine in the Alps in January, right?  Nonetheless we made the best of it!


I always have to show the fam loaded in the car at the start of a road trip.  Our Kia Rondo is proving to be too small.  Look how crammed it is!  Trying to convince Benny Boy we need to buy a minivan.  So far, unsuccessful.  Anyone have any pointers?


We had one awesome day where Em got to go to ski school, C and J went to a nursery, and Ben and I got to ski together.  How often do the stars align like that?  Em had a great time…. even though she was stumbling and tripping and doubled over.  We thought she was hating it, but she wasn't!  Afterwards she said, "I liked it! My teacher said as long as I make my skis like a pizza I'll go slow."



So Benny Boy, who is an impressive snowboarder by the way, was sweet enough to stick with me on the bunny slopes.  In fact, the resort we chose was right next to the nursery and it had ONE slope.  So, we went down that slope about 25 times.  The good news is we had the whole mountain (or hill, whatever) to ourselves!  Not exactly the most popular slope around.  But by the end I had that thing beat!  And Ben got the whole next day all to himself to snowboard down some monster runs while I watched the kids, just in case you were starting to feel sorry for him... DON'T!


Master of the snowplow!
 I hadn't skied since high school so this was super awesome for me.  I can see how people really get hooked on skiing.


Em, after a long day




This pic says it all:  ski "vacation" with three kids.  Yeah. 


Sunday we went to Salzburg for church.  This pic was taken in the church parking lot, you can see the famous Fortress Hohensalzburg.  Not a bad view from the church. Love how you can find the church almost anywhere. Loved how the older gentleman blessing the sacrament was decked out in a Tyrollean suit.  





And we briefly checked out Berchtesgaden (Hitler's old stomping grounds) we'll definitely have to return and we went on a boat ride on Lake Konigsee, part of Berchtesgaden National Park




The captain played a tune on his trumpet so we could hear the echo





You can't exactly see it in the picture, but if you look on the right hand side of the v in the valley, that is where Hitler's Eagle's Nest is located.  I swear it's there.  




And in typical German fashion, there is always a Biergarten to greet you, no matter where you are visiting.
So, I guess winter isn't such a horrible season after all.  Now if only we can get some snow in Stuttgart!  Our base has an amazing sledding hill.  

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Family Ties



So, the morning after Christmas, Emily and I got up at the crack of dawn and boarded a plane to Paris where we boarded another plane to Salt Lake City to see this gal get hitched.  Mi hermana.  It had been almost two and a half years since I had seen Mary!  The last time I saw her was when we were at the Pizza Factory in Orem where I gave her a big hug good-bye as she was about to enter the MTC.  
Crazy, eh? 
 So, there was no way I was going to miss this shindig.  But there was also no way I was going to bring the whole family, even though I wanted so badly for everyone to be there.  The expense+winter weather+jet lag+little kids just seemed like a bad combination.  So just Em and I went and left Ben behind in charge of C and J.  Em has proven herself to be a good little traveler, so I was happy to have her as my companion.  


This was like Em's favorite thing at the airport.  She doesn't have much endurance when it comes to strenuous physical activities such as... walking.  So, she was happy to ride on this.  


Back in the land of milk and honey… the gals went and got manicures the day before the big day.


The is my awesome sister's big red van.  She has five kids.  She has no shame when it comes to sportin' this thing around.  So, my younger bro watched all the little nieces and nephews during the ceremony and then brought them all up to meet us at the temple.  What a guy!







Em played with cousins for five days straight.  She was having the time of her life.


My mom's expression is the best one in this.





Just the eight of us


And the four sistas.  I look the youngest, right?




All the grandkids minus C & J :(



My cousin Leanne and me.  And no, I'm not pregnant.  Bad camera angle, I swear.  



 The plane ride home was a little rough… arriving in Germany at 8 a.m. which was midnight in Utah.



But Em did great. 

Friday, January 10, 2014

Frohe Weihnachten!

Yeah, it's a little late in coming, but oh well.  

So, here we are in Germany, the land of the TANNENBAUMS… and look what we went and cut down ourselves in the BLACK FOREST… isn't she a beauty?!


Haha.  Just kidding.  We got her at the PX.  She's fake.  Sad, I know, and much less romantic.  But oh my goodness, sooooo much easier and less of a hassle.  I'm sold.  

So I looooved Christmas this year.  Christmas in Germany really was magical.  The markets that I've written plenty about made the whole month feel so festive.  And really, I loved decorating our home.  I loved the tree and the soft lighting it gave off.  Every night I just wanted to get cozy in the recliner and enjoy the relaxing ambiance.  Such a relief that we don't have to move this year!  And didn't have to worry about traveling (except for my sister's wedding which I'll eventually get to!).

So, some highlights from the holiday: 

 Em's kindergarten class charmed the pants off the parents with their Christmas caroling. 

The class received a "special visitor".  No, it is NOT Mr. Roach.  Why do you ask? 




The kids had a farewell party for Mrs. Roach who is retiring midyear… ahhhhh!!!


Christmas Eve Day!!  The weather was weirdly warm… no coats at the park


And delivering goodies to the neighbors.
 Ok, New Year's diet starts... NOW!


Christmas Eve dinner… hot chocolate and homemade rolls.


We loved lighting our little German pyramid every night and watch the rotating nativity.  







And our first ever Ben Shaha Family Christmas Eve Nativity Reenactment.  How's that for a mouthful? We actually kind of had enough cast members.  Although Ben doubled as Joseph and a shepherd.  And I was the narrator and a wiseman.  


Emily was Mary.  Doesn't she look AMAZING full term?


And Caroline starred as the fairy godmother/Belle/angel.  They were more than cooperative in getting their Halloween costumes back out.  


And of course you know who James played… he was a natural. 
 A very drool-y natural.  


Christmas morning was a lot of smiling



And a lot of drooling


And slobbering


Hey, leave me alone!


So, there you have it.  Christmas Day actually felt a little depressing.  I don't know why.  Maybe because there's so much hype and then you feel a little disappointed that the gifts don't turn out as AMAZING as you hoped they would be for the kids.  I don't know, material things always seem to be a let down.  Maybe I missed my family a tad bit, my dad especially.  Maybe I was dreading setting my alarm for 3:30 a.m. the next morning to leave my own little family and get on a plane to my sister's wedding.  Or all those things combined.  But overall, the Christmas season really was wonderful this year, definitely memorable. 
  Anyone want to come next Christmas?