December Happenings

So fun to have a family blog up and running!  Mom has a great idea on rotating turns, and I think she should pitch it to the family!

We are really enjoying our time here.  It gets better and better… that's just the nature of this military lifestyle.  The first year in a new place is typically very challenging, the second year you become more comfortable, and by the third year into your station you are feeling VERY much at home.  I'm glad that we are at this stage.  It's awesome and now I don't want to leave here!

Anyway, we really had a wonderful month of December, once we got readjusted to the jet lag that is.  That was KILLER. 

  I absolutely love Christmas in Germany.  It's so festive as each city, town, village, and even some of the castles have their own unique Christmas markets where they sell all sorts of fabulous woodwork, made right here in Germany from ornaments to nutcrackers to pyramids (like what we got Mom) and much much more.  They also sell super yummy food and treats, mulled wine, and kinderpunsch (the kid version of mulled wine, minus the alcohol, which is what we always get).  Many of the markets also have rides and activities for the kids.  So, next Christmas will be our last one in Germany, and if you haven't come to see me yet, you might want to consider coming during the holidays… it's so fun here!

One of the many many MANY booths at the Christmas markets

During December we did two mini overnight excursions, one to Ulm (birthplace of Einstein) and one to St. Gallen, Switzerland.

 The actual week from Christmas to New Year's Day was super relaxing.  We didn't go anywhere.. and it snowed!  Our post has some amazing hills and we went sledding a ton with the girls.  Even James got in on the action.  I baked and cooked a lot, which was fun.  I picked up a copy of that Christmas cook book Mom bought at Deseret Book and they have a great easy homemade salsa recipe.  Leading up to Christmas I baked cookies and made rolls, wassail, homemade hot chocolate, and a pork roast on Christmas Day.  It was really nice how Christmas fell on a Thursday this year… so Ben got Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the 26th off, and then it just flowed into the weekend.  Then he worked three days the next week and then got New Year's Day off (Thursday) and then the rest of that weekend. It was so nice to have the kids out of school and Ben around.  I just loved it.  We were thinking about it and we've never had this kind of break over the holidays where we weren't traveling or moving.  

So, leading up to Christmas, we hosted a neighbor Christmas party.  It was a lot of work building up for it, but was worth it in the end. We sat around and ate salsa and wassail and hot chocolate and lots of other goodies the others brought.  We sang Christmas songs around the piano.The kids had a blast running around with each other.  It was nice, none of them are LDS, but it's nice to have them in our home, hopefully they can feel the spirit in our home.

Ben got to go to Bastogne for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge… he went with some guys from work.  They did a 20 km walk/march on the actual anniversary, through the woods where the battle was fought and came across all of these hardcore re-enactors, so cool.   And bonus… it snowed!

Re-enactors.  It looks like a movie set, doesn't it?

We went to Ulm and visited their fun Christmas market and climbed to the very top of the cathedral… it has the highest spire in ALL of Europe… it was 786 steps to the top (The Eiffel Tower was only 666 by comparison).  All three kids did it.  Em leading the charge, C crying all the way, and J on Ben's back.  

Getting closer to the top!

This is the entrance to the needlepoint spire at the very tippy, tippy top.  So tight, plus a two way staircase meaning when someone came down it was almost impossible to squeeze past

View from the top… so worth it, right?  Now I would say yes. 

It was SUPER windy and cold up top.  C, NOT a fan. 

  That's the Danube River… you know the famous Waltz on the Danube by Strauss?

Inside the cathedral at the altarpiece. 

Train at the Christmas market

We also went to St. Gallen, Switzerland. I wrote more about this trip and posted a ton more pictures on my blog:  www.benandmarindashaha.blogspot.com

This is where Maria Magdalena Mauchle came from, our great-great-great grandmother.  We went Dec. 23-24, just a 2.5 hour drive from Stuttgart.
 

Most likely the river where they were baptized, New Year's Day, 1863 (same day as Emancipation Proclamation)

 

Surrounding area:

Came home Christmas Eve Day (after a visit to the pediatric ER for Em's ear infection… ugh!).  We summoned our strength and did a nativity… C played Mary and INSISTED I play Joseph.  So twisted. And Ben played the lowly donkey. 

So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!  

Try to have fun without me at the birthday dinner!