~Goodbye To Garmisch~

~This was our third dental conference in Garmisch at the US Edelweiss Resort. We always have a great time here because it is American accomodations, service, and food! The boys and I had a great time playing while Steve was at his conference~


~The weather could not have been more different than it was for us at last year's conference. We had lots of rain, and freezing cold weather this time. The fall colors were still beautiful.. but...~


~This was our first day of snow. We actually were out catching snowflakes on our tongues. The trees looked very pretty because they looked like they had just been sprinkled with powdered sugar~


~We wanted to take a walk around this entire lake.. but I was not dressed warm enough for our adventure. I was freezing! The boys thought I was just being a wimp. Cole & Kade were having a blast and being good sports~


~A family picture in the snow by the lake and snowy mountains. We will always remember our trips to Garmisch. We have experienced every season in this little ski resort town~


~That night the snow began to fall much harder. We woke up to a couple inches of snow. The boys had a great idea to go and get their scooters out and see if they would cruise through the snow. They actually were like sleds with handle bars.. it was great fun~


~This was our first snow experience for the year.. so we had to make a pit stop for a snowball fight. They were entertained with eachother for a while.. and then they both tagged up and attacked me. Cole & Kade = 1, Mom = 0~


~After we all had been hit by enough snowballs, we decided it was time to build some snowmen. This was Cole's end result.. he was very proud of it~


~Kade also built a snowman..his design had a slight contemporary feel~


~The next day Steve was able to get a half a day off from the dental conference. We decided to visit the neighboring village of Oberammergau. It is very famous for the Oberammergau Passion Of The Christ Play. This play has been performed since 1634 as a tradition by the residents of the village. About half the inhabitants of Oberammergau are expected to take part in the once-a-decade Passion Play in the year 2010. This means that over 2,000 villagers will bring the story of Jesus of Nazareth to life for the audiences that flock in from around the world~

~In this picture Cole is not acting out a part in the play, he actually just got tagged from a snowball that Steve just threw at him from across the parking lot. He fell down and immediately started crying and screaming.. you can only imagine the looks we got from the Germans.. and Steve pulled out the camera to capture the moment~


~We had a full day of playing in the snow, and sightseeing local villages so the boys were super tired that night.. doesn't this look comfortable?~


~The Zugspitze mountain will always hold a special place in Steve's heart.. because unfortunately it is the only mountain he skied while in Europe. That was definitely not part of the master plan when we moved to Germany~


~There are so many beautiful things to see in Garmisch. We have been here six times, but we always find new adventures everytime we come~


~This trip was a little bitter-sweet for us because Steve was set to leave for his deployment to Afghanistan a week after it was over. He is doing an incredible job over there, and helping out in amazing ways. It was not part of our master plan.. but I think it will probably be one of the most important adventures he will experience in his life.. and that is why we are making this huge sacrifice~