Garmisch

Yeah, I know.

I'm behind in my Carter chronicling.

Stop your bawling! I'm on it! Sheesh!

This is Jake's new face when he's bossing me around.

As you can tell, he means serious business!

Ryan, Jake and I were supposed to have gone to northern Italy this past weekend particularly to see Venice at the height of Carnival. Cold temperatures, the flu, and a myriad of other little things had us cancel. We wanted to do something with the kids so Ryan scrambled and was able to find us a cabin at Edelweiss in Garmisch. The kids were beyond thrilled and it was nice to check out the cabins without having to reserve them for an entire week during regular season!

It was going to be a quick trip and with it being a big US four day holiday for President's Day around here, my scrambling to find a Primary sub wasn't panning out. So I told myself I'd just stay home and let them go. Ahhhh, to have the house to myself for over 24 hours would be a glorious thing, No? Ryan didn't like my idea so much and somehow he got me out the door. It's a good thing, because I would have missed out!

At the pool, Morgan finally left the safety of the steps and ventured out to follow her brothers in all their splashing fun. She was very proud of herself and so was I to see it!

As our dinner arrived at the Pullman Grill, Jake was in serious need of being put to bed. A loving older couple behind us caught my eye as I was trying to sooth him in the stroller. They'd been making eyes at Jake from the time they sat down. I asked if they wanted to hold him while we got the kids' dinners situated. I think I made that grandma's day! He was sweet and smiley for them the whole time and I got to eat my dinner while it was hot! I loved looking over and seeing Jake so content in this woman's arms and getting the attention he needed. And she intuitively held him the ways he likes to be held - even cheek to cheek! Often I'm not comfortable with this type of stranger handoff, but when it feels right and saves my sanity -- I'd say it was heaven sent!

After a good night's sleep in the fun cabin, the boys did ski school while Ryan and Morgan went swimming. I sat in the lobby and read, fed Jake and watched people. By the time they were done swimming, the snack shop's hot chocolate machine was back in business. YAY for Starbucks hot chocolate!

Then we ventured out to try an Indian restaurant's take out and hit the jackpot! YUM!!! We ate while watching the boys finish up their time on the slopes.

It was so thrilling to see Easton so confident on skis and proud of himself today! He's what they call an advanced beginner now apparently. He said rather than play on the playground after lunch, he hit the slopes and listened in on the advanced instructor giving pointers. Ryan told him it's in his genes to love skiing.

Both boys were thoroughly tuckered out from a day of fun!

McKay did really well in his class that used the magic carpet. His favorite part was when they had him bouncing up and down to get used to having good balance on his skis. He and his instructor said he was really good at it! This is right after I picked him up. He tells me he'll stop sucking his thumb when he's 8. Alright, buddy.

On the way home, Jake was not too happy stuck in his carseat. At one point Morgan began singing her version of Jingle Bells to him:

Jingo Ba-os, Jingo Baos, Jingp all da way.

Santa bwings us tweats and p'esents,

Jingo all the way! Hey!

Tropical Islands, Berlin

Ya know how we had to cancel that family Disney cruise this summer? Well, we tried to make it up to the kids by planning a kid vacation. Outside of Berlin, there’s a huge air hangar that has been turned into a tropical island experience. We figured the kids would love it and we could also show the kids the sights of Berlin since Easton’s class studied Germany’s reunification this past fall.

This will go down as a trip of infamy in some respects as you'll soon see. First off though, Ryan was notified last Monday that he needed to be in San Diego for meetings beginning on Tuesday, Feb 22. We weren’t returning until Monday afternoon from Berlin which meant he’d have to leave our vacation early and I’d be on my own with the kids in Berlin for a day and the return flight. Not a huge deal since Ryan and I feel pretty familiar with Berlin from our trip in 2009.

But Ryan’s passport went through the wash. Luckily he was able to get processed Wednesday for a temporary on base but still had to miss our flight to Berlin on Thursday morning so he could drive two hours up to Frankfurt and get the temporary issued. Poor guy, this was such a stressful experience! Meanwhile, I flew alone with the kids and luggage for the hour flight . . . and we had to leave the house at 4:30am. That was fun! The kids absolutely loved the flight and McKay's face was one of pure joy the entire ride! I heard a few chuckles from passengers who understood his exclamations now and then. Morgan was his echo because she must always have the last word.

After getting his temporary issued in Frankfurt, Ryan drove the remaining five hours to Berlin to join us at Tropical Islands. While Ryan was driving, I wasn’t able to check into our Novasol vacation rental until a later hour so the kids and I headed to the Islands on our own. The kids had a heyday, I was wiped out! The kids spent four hours straight in just the kiddy pool.

Morgan loved the slide while McKay and Easton loved this huge inverted cone that would fill with water until it tipped and soaked everyone below. There were also lots of different fountains and the water was nice and warm until you got out and got chilled – not my favorite!

Four hours later, we met up with Ryan at the rental and did our grocery/stock apt with necessities run, made dinner, and played some fun games of UNO with the kids. I think UNO was the highlight of the trip for me! Realizing Easton has a full grasp of the game and loves to be silly and stick it to us; seeing Ryan melt as he dealt Morgan in and her sweetly say “take-you” for each card; and having McKay just want to snuggle up to his daddy but still be a part of the banter. We all then collapsed into our beds at 8:30 happy to be all together again.

On Friday, we enjoyed a full day at the water park. The kids absolutely loved it and were so easily entertained they would never have left if we’d been up for it. The park is open 24/7 and when we left at 8:30pm there were all sorts of young people just arriving.

We stayed in one of the vacation homes just across the street from the park and were very pleased with our choice. The converted hangar is quite isolated in its location for a good 10 miles or so and so we loved the convenience of these adjacent homes. We found the price pretty reasonable as well since our overnight stay also included park admission. Inside the park, everything is charged to bracelets you wear and you settle the bill at checkout. I can imagine settling the bill can be a bit scary for those who don’t keep track of all their fun! Because our kids were perfectly content to swim and play, we saved a lot by hitting the grocery store and packing our food into the park. The one meal Ryan and I did eat there was not very impressive while the kids were thrilled with their gelato. There’s plenty of other activities and costs inside the park if you’re up for it such as a hot air balloon ride, spa services, water slides, lockers, and such.

With Ryan there, the kids wanted to swim with dad so that’s what we did!

Ryan tossed the boys around in the water, we did many rounds of Morgan’s favorite motorboat game, and we tried all the different pool areas. Easton’s favorite was the base of a waterslide. He’d watch carefully for someone coming down and then position himself to be pushed back by their wave and the current. He especially loved including McKay in his fun and it was so fun to watch them enjoy it together!

After the pools, we took the kids to the playground area. Trampolines, paddle boats, jungle gyms of different sizes, go karts, and air hockey were the favorites.

I seriously don’t know how they were still standing by the end of the day! When it was time to go home, we had two mishaps. Easton had lost his bracelet and while his bracelet couldn’t accrue charges, we still needed to find it. Ryan and Easton went off to look for it and they tell me that Easton wanted to say a prayer. After the prayer, they asked for help from a staffmember and as it happens, someone had turned his bracelet in to the lost and found! Each person’s bracelet has a number so it’s pretty easy to track in their computer system.

However, back in the lockers we had a bigger problem. Our stuff was missing – our coats, boots, clothes, my wallet, our key to the rental home and car. I was on the verge of tears more than once between imagining worst case scenarios like someone breaking into the house and taking our laptops and passports, thereby stranding us and jeopardizing Ryan’s work trip, to just feeling like an exhausted baby who needed to go to bed! Once again our prayers were answered and our things had been taken to the lost and found because our locker hadn’t locked securely. We sure were blessed beyond measure!!!

For those interested in the vacation homes at Tropical Island:

There are two hiccups we encounter with vacation rental homes. For instance, you never know what necessities will be on site and which to bring. This one had linens available to rent per day including a bed sheet, duvet cover, pillow case, bath towel and a face towel. But there was no toilet paper, hand soap, dish soap or kitchen towels or rags. This Novasol also had the added feature of having to note your water, gas, and electricity usage for invoicing afterwards. Upon arrival and departure, you note the meter readings. It made me feel like the utility Nazi! I began noticing all the lights we kept on, how long and hard the water ran when the kids washed hands or brushed their teeth, and the heating settings in each room. Too bad I’m not as vigilant with this at home! The guys that run the front office for Novasol were really fun and tried to keep things light, which must be a gift as people settle their utility and park bracelet bills on departure with them! They were so amazed at our measely 48 euro bracelet total and just had to know my secret which was simply that our youngin’s don’t like to eat out much and were perfectly content with the offerings covered by our admission!

A fantastic gift trumped!

Back when Ryan and I were dating and dreaming about things we'd love to do in our life, I'd casually mentioned I'd love to go on a Mediterranean cruise. Fast forward almost a decade and living in Europe has made that a realistic option with Ryan watching for deals since we arrived.

So Christmas held big surprises this year! Ryan had excitedly planned a late August Disney cruise for our family. And last fall he'd secured another great deal for him and I on a Mediterranean cruise for this May. 2011 was looking pretty untoppable!

And so it should come as no surprise that it actually could be.

December 23. A positive pregnancy test!!! I was so excited and figured it'd be fun to surprise Ryan with the news on Christmas Day if I could keep the secret three whole days. It seemed like forever!

Ryan shared his Disney surprise with us on Christmas Eve - he was too excited to wait for the boys' reactions on Christmas Day. They delivered with squeals of joy and we spent the evening watching all the fun online videos. Cruise date, Aug 27.

My guestimated due date, Aug 18. Hmm . . .

I could barely stand waiting for Ryan to open my surprise gift for him. I even caught it on video!

{Sorry for my nervous excited laughter, I couldn't help it!}

It was great fun to watch him work through the flood of emotions. Speechless, excited, overwhelmed, even some happy tears from us both.

The due date. I know it registered initially to him, but ten minutes later or so I had to remind him of the due date again and then he was laughing in shocked disbelief, "You trumped my gift!"

Later that day in Skype sessions with family we shared our news. Ryan got great laughs from them about how he'd love to go ahead as planned with the cruise and when the crews protested my boarding of the boat, he'd act outraged and holler, "How dare you say my wife is pregnant!" Jokes about our baby being born out on international waters, acting surprised going into labor . . . it went on and on with all his inherited theatricality!

In reality, I told him not to change plans until after I'd had my first appointment and gotten past the first trimester since I've miscarried twice before. This week, he came to the first appointment so now everything looks official! I'm 12 1/2 weeks pregnant and the ultrasound showed that thrilling evidence of our little baby.

Ryan really wants to know what we're having and I was pretty close to saying I wanted to be surprised when the doctor said he thinks it's a boy, but it's really too early to tell for sure. If you ask Ryan, he'd love to have another girl. He's always been like that - his sister's five girls were pretty little when he got to spend time with them and they sucked him in! Boys are great fun, but there's something about little girls to their daddies!

And the cruise in May? Not going to happen either because I'll be past the 20 weeks allowed. All Ryan's hard research and patience! I felt so bad but what do you do?!

Be thrilled and feel so blessed for our coming addition!

Snow Cousins!

McKay has been dying to try skiing since Easton was able to a couple years back and now his school friend are also skiing. We recently met up with our Munich Carter cousins for a ski weekend.

When I took the kids to the ski shop for equipment rentals, McKay was all over it! He watched every part of the operation, especially as they worked the bindings to fit the ski boots onto the skis. When he got his helmet, I had a hard time getting him to take it off the rest of the evening. He was just too excited! Morgan was completely undone not getting her own equipment and I had to threaten leaving her at the shop before she pulled her kicking and screaming heap of a self off the floor to come home with us. Easton? Just cool as a cucumber as if this were the most routine errand, although it was keeping him from food and he let me know he was not pleased.

As we all arrived at Edelweiss Lodge & Resort down in Garmisch, the kids were all so excited to see one another again it was so adorable! We got the kids settled into a room to watch movies and eat pizza while the grown ups went to enjoy a delicious sit down meal without kiddos. Ryan soon discovered his newer European-looking slim jeans weren't quite cut out for the spinach cheese dip, filet mignon and mashed potato feasting ahead of him and I think that's one of my favorite laughs of the weekend!

Every time I sit down and have time to talk with adults, I realize how socially retarded being around little ones all day and living in my head can make me! Add a bad night's sleep and a busy day of packing and cleaning to the mix and I'm down right unfit for public interaction - but the food was yummy and conversation fun and interesting. I'm so glad they're all stuck with me!

Saturday morning was chaos! We didn't really plan out our morning the night before so getting everyone fed, outfitted with gear, and to ski school on time became a logistical challenge but all went well in the end. While everyone McKay and older was on the slopes, Tamsyn and I got to do the fun stuff with two toddlers - grocery shopping, packing up the rooms to check out of the hotel, snap pictures of everyone skiing, and keep the two toddlers entertained/bribed until we could get them to the pool. Yup, regular mom duty. It's so glamorous and really made it feel like a vacation, don't you agree Tamsyn?!

And here's the proof in pictures of their fun!

Easton and Lizzie's ski school:

Easton, Lizzie and her mortal enemy behind her are heading out to the slopes!

This wasn't a funny picture until we saw how their day progressed.

The kids first had to take a ride down the slide to get to their slope!

Mastering the "pizza feet" before side stepping up the carpet for another practice run.

McKay got private lessons from Dad. I have a hard time watching because my lack of skill on the slopes makes me uber-nervous for my babies. But I love watching Ryan ski so effortlessly it amazes me every time! I hope my boys remember that their dad taught them first and that they grow to love the sport.

All decked out and ready to take on the mountain!

If only you could hear McKay's scream of death at this moment! He'd actually skied down like this with Ryan before, but had wanted to ski between Ryan's legs on this run to show mom. Poor kid! But he wants to go again, so he must not be scarred for life!

The real reason my kids love this hotel -- the pool!

I didn't get any of Easton in the pool because I was hijacked by a niece and nephew dying to hit the stores on base for American goods. Seriously funny! Jason manically paced the aisles taking stock of his options and adding the costs on his phone as he went while Hayley took things much slower and stewed over each of her decisions. In the end, all their favorite junk foods won out. Soda, cookies, candies, plus the obligatory "dad tribute" to the founder of their feast. Soon everything was loaded up - everything $25 a piece could buy them!

Morgan's true love of the weekend was this carousel. She quickly figured out that if she sat on this clown fish, the on switch was just in her grasp and thank goodness it was not coin operated!

Those smiles above are the reason my part was worth it. Them and Starbuck's hot chocolate on demand.

A quiet Christmas

We enjoyed a nice quite Christmas here at home all snowed in. Everyone seemed pleased with their gifts although we won't mention some that felt trumped by another's gift idea ;)

My newest, most favorite chocolate confection. This is a horrible picture, but I didn't get another before they were devoured over the past week. So imagine with me . . . an outer dusting of bitter chocolate gives way to a melt-in-your-mouth cool chocolate truffle the likes of which I have never known better! After Ryan brought a sampling of them home from the Tubingen Chocolate Festival, I just had to track down where they might be sold locally! Mission accomplished!

A much needed addition to Ryan's warm weather attire.

Easton's gifts were literary or game oriented like this Sonic action figure.

Morgan is a great mommy to her newest doll that slurps and giggles like a baby should. It was love at first sight! Now if I could just smudge my wardrobe choice out of the picture I'd be pleased as punch.

McKay has been begging for a bow and arrow and was so excited!

He's become a good shot at things on the backs of doors in the apartment.

On Christmas Eve we acted out the Nativity with the following cast:

Easton - Narrator, Angels and Star

Morgan - Mary

Daddy - Joseph & donkey

McKay - Shepherds

Mom - Wisemen

All went well until the Shepherd tried to hold baby Jesus. Mary is quite possessive and doting in our version.

One of the highlights of our day was the big Bare video conference via Skype!

How fun to see almost all my siblings and hear about their Christmas - even my brother Matt serving his LDS mission in Brasil!

Alright, now down to business -- our recent trip to Istanbul!

Santa and cinnamon rolls came to town!

About a month ago in front of the commissary, a nice white bearded gentleman who was collecting donations for the local VFW chapter stopped me [VFW = Veterans of Foreign Wars]. I had Morgan with me and he wanted me to know that Santa would be visiting specific locations in December with free photo ops. How nice!

Fast forward to this morning when en route home, Morgan begins stating something I've heard her say a lot but have never understood - although I know I know it but can't remember this time. "TeeKee," she says with more impatience as we kept fumbling what she meant. When we zipped through the light at the Panzer base, she lost it. She was trying to say "PX!" I'm still laughing that Ryan whipped the car around to make his little girl happy! Her waterworks ceased immediately! We'd both seen the signs earlier in the week posting that Santa would be there today and if the line wasn't horrific, we thought it couldn't hurt to give it a try. But come on, Saturday at 11am? What were the chances!?

We unloaded our crew from the van asking the boys what one item they wanted to ask Santa for. As we entered the PX, to our utter shock, there was only one family in line! Yahoo! We got the kids up there, a photographer snapped away, and then another gentleman burned a cd right there on the spot of our kids' pictures! For FREE! No sponsor posted or solicitation of donations, it was very very nice of them!

Easton told us he was going to ask for an ipod [touch] like his friend Anthony to play games on. What?! For months he's been asking for Super Mario Galaxy II and a Wii to play it on! But he was now determined to not be swayed.

Easton saw the photographer right off and so he wouldn't look at Santa. He just whispered his hope out the side of his mouth as he "posed" for the pictures being snapped.

McKay was fascinated with Santa's glove and kept stroking it which was adorable. If you know McKay, you know how he loves to touch!

McKay kills me! For a couple weeks now, he's been counting down until Christmas. We have a paper chain he made and his advent calendar, but the kid just can't wait! He really wants a bow and arrow but can never remember what it's called so he acts it out. Cutest high pitched "ptchoo" sound effect ever as he lets the imaginary arrow fly while his pincher fingers release! He promises he will only shoot snow with it . . . "fo' wee-o". [for real!]

The boys each got a piece of candy and Santa had his eye on Morgan. She was perched atop Ryan's shoulders and did not want to be handed over. But as she saw the candy being offered she began to warm up until Ryan went to take her off his shoulders so she could take the piece of candy from Santa herself. She began to scream bloody murder! For heaven's sake, you'd a thunk we were trying to drop her off at nursery!

We enjoyed a nice quiet day at home after that and I finally got the nerve up to try making another quiche and my first ever attempt at cinnamon rolls. Oh how I love cinnamon rolls!!! I have two friends that make seriously good ones but they live in Virginia and that doesn't work so well for that craving. But without a mixer, making any type of bread just didn't sound fun and anything that has to be kneaded and rolled out like sugar cookies just seems so arduous on most week days! I cook out of necessity or duty, not because I enjoy it. However today, I had no pick-up/drop-off schedule to pin me down so I had at it!

I've recently been admiring Our Best Bites recipe blog's Christmas concoctions and wanting to try one of their three cinnamon roll recipes. I DID IT!!! First attempt was a complete success! I really like their step by step photo instructions like Pioneer Woman's. This is the Everyday Cinnamon Roll recipe.

Mine didn't rise until they were in the oven and I was a little worried, until . . .

Hello, Beautiful!!!

Ryan called them "Superb!" and better than Cinnabon! And I think he ate four?! Said they might become a new craving for him. {Better get me a mixer then, Santa - wink, wink!} The kids also loved them although they were a bit rich for McKay. Easton went and polished off the extra frosting after downing two. It's a seriously easy recipe with stuff I usually have on hand, even though my yeast packet was probably expired. Debra and Samantha, they're not up to par with your amazing rolls, but they'll do for now!