Christmas Holidays

Well we are now getting settled into our routine after our big Christmas vacation. We took a 10 day road trip to Germany. We started off on our trip on December 18th. We drove to Dover, UK to catch the ferry to Calais, France. From there we drove to Brussels. We spent the night there at the Army post. The next day we headed to Reimstein. This was a huge Air Force base. I ate my weight in Macaroni Grill. It was great! We stayed the night there across from the NATO headquarters. We had some snow and we did some shopping. Our next stop was to Anna and Terry Houston's house. On the way we did some history sightseeing. We saw the Mardasson Memorial, Battle of Bastogne. It was very interesting place to see. And a lot to take in. The girls really didn't and probably wont remember, but we have pictures so that they can say they were there. Then we continued our drive to the Houston house. We had a great time catching up! The girls had a great time playing with Layla and their dog. I had a great time holding their cute baby girl. BABY FEVER started up! ha ha!We spent the next day hanging out with the Houston's at the Christmas market in Rothernburg. I fell in love with the Kathe Wohlfarht. I love nutcrackers and this place has some BEAUTIFUL ones! I could have spent SEVERAL paychecks in there.
We all had a great time hanging out with the Houston family but it was now time to go and pick up my dad in Munich. We didn't spend any time there. Just ran to the airport, grabbed him and then headed to Garmisch. When we got to the hotel we were there just about tea time. We were all starving, but that really wasn't what we had in mind. And I think PaPa was starting to feel the effects of the over night flight and a granddaughter that had not stopped talking.
Our first night was a bit layed back since we were all pretty tired. We enjoyed our first five course meal. It was delicious!!!!! Now, it wasn't the best for Reagan. Starting at 6:30 and then not ending until about 8.... that was rough. We spent the next day at the Christmas market. You know... shopping is first. haha!
 The next day was Christmas Eve. We signed Madelyn to her ski lessons and Ryan and I went to ski ourselves. It did take us a while since the wind was a bit out of control. So we had to wait and see if it would calm down so that they would open all the lifts. We enjoyed lunch and then headed to get our lift tickets. Reagan and PaPa headed back to the hotel to get a nap. Ryan and I had a great time. Well.... we eventually had fun. Ryan took me down the red slopes. That means intermediate. I needed the beginners.... bad! After screaming and cussing down the mountain, I finally made it. Then for some crazy reason, I decided to do it again. What was I thinking??? Then the next time we went up, we asked if anyone knew where the beginner slopes were. And then we were directed the correct way. AHHHHH!! That made it fun! I went down a couple more times after finding it. I felt much better. It was fun! After a couple of times, I was done. Ryan decided to go down the big hill and meet me at the bar at the bottom. Then it was time to get Madelyn from her lessons and head back to the hotel. They were serving a great dinner for Christmas Eve. The girls were really tired. Madelyn made it but Reagan did not. I took her to the room and my dad switched with me when he finished.
Christmas morning was here! I'm not sure what time Madelyn would have gotten up but Reagan beat everyone to that. She was up and ready around 630. Santa saw a note that Madelyn left at the house and made a stop at our room. She was super excited. Reagan on the other hand was sick. So my dad, Madelyn and Ryan headed out to walk around and grab lunch. Reagan went down for a nap about 10 and got up almost 4. That day was a wash. So we needed to start planning our day for the next day. Monday would be our last full day in Garmisch with my dad.
So on Monday we made a visit to Zugspitze. From the top they say that you can see four countries. Reagan was really not in the mood to do anything. She seemed to reach her terrible two's a bit early. We had lunch and then we had to take the crazy ride down the mountain. As we were heading down, Ryan started to not feel well. We headed to the hotel and he seemed to get worse. My dad and I went to our last dinner at the hotel. Poor Ryan had to stay in the room. He tried to come down for a bit, but it just didn't work. I spent the night taking care of getting the bags all ready to go. We ended up having to get a train for my dad. Ryan was sick all night. Then I woke up to take my dad to the train station, and I was sick too. It was going to be a long drive to Brussels. It was suppose to be eight hours... wonder how long it will be. hummm
Reimstein and we were getting gas and some food for Ryan and Madelyn. And then it happened, Reagan got sick. So it wasn't just a fluke, it was a stomach bug. So there was no room at the base for us so we had to keep going. An eight hour drive turned into almost nine and a half. I was sooo ready to get out of that car.

The next day we caught the ferry back to the UK and we were home. When we got home, the presents were there and Santa had made his appearance. Even though they were pooped when we pulled in the driveway, it quickly went away as soon as they saw their presents. The girls stayed up until 10 opening presents. We all went to bed and had a great night sleep. Madelyn on the other hand was itching to get up and play with her presents. It was her Christmas morning!!! We all had a great trip. Even though it didn't end the way that we had planned, it was a great time. We saw a good bit and we have a ton of memories.