Christmas Markets

Traditional music, gluwein, cold temperatures, warm pretzels, beeswax, festive faces, anticipatory, familial, holy, jovial, unbelievably un-Santa, distinct, packed, lit, snowy, nighttime, daytime, and uniquely German.

What a blessing to have been able to experience these wonderful markets with our family this Christmas season.

Christmas in Bavaria

Grandma and Grandpa McWatters and Aunty Quinn made the trans-Atlantic trek for Christmas in Germany. We spent a portion of their time in Southern Germany at a family-run inn outside of Bertchesgaden.

The rooms were quaint, the proprieters well... German and the meals were served family-style in the dining room downstairs. We had intended to get in more snowboarding than we did, as the snow did not arrive until our last day there, but we managed a few hours while Grandma and Grandpa kept the kiddos (thank you, Mom and Dad). On the one evening with snow, we even gave Viv her first shot at skiing.

Colorado didn't have this many T-bars, I needed private tutoring from Spouse


Shreddin' Spouse
Grandma always had to share her desserts

I think this is a vacation I would like to repeat in about 25 years when I do not have a squirming 11 month old to control in a dining room for 1.5 hours while a multiple course meal is served. But, memories were made, no question about that!

Christmas came early this year

Our Household Goods Arrived! We have been without our own beds, high chairs, plates, silverware, overcoats, bicycles, espresso machine, changing table, and more since February 7th. Seth has never even seen his bed and today, it all arrived! It all arrived into our third-floor, 1100 square foot apartment. Poor moving men.

Dance Babynastics

Daddy's work hours have been particularly insane this week. Correspondingly, Mommy's standards of what is "acceptable" sibling play have broadened. These two chilluns turn into a more hysterical combination every day.

Advent Begins

Today marks the second day of Advent, but we are pretending that it is the first because we were driving back from Paris on Day 1.

I am doing my annual best to hold the "celebrate Christmas before Christmas" societal pressures at bay. Today Vivian and I went to a German florist to buy an Advent wreath. The experience was entertaining.

So the wreath was not what I had expected - it was just plain evergreens. This meant that I would have to do all the ribbons, ornamentation and candles! by myself. The kids and I trudged into the Post Exchange and bought what we needed. It required a lot of surrender from Mommy to allow Vivian to pick out the ribbon and ornaments. Gaudy to me is "fancy" to her. Then we went back to the German florist to buy the plain wreath.

As I was paying, I innocently asked if there was "some of that green foam stuff inside" so that I could get the candles to stick. She looked at me with disgust, flipped the wreath over with her smoky, wrinkled, practiced, hands and showed me straw tightly woven together with wire. All she said was, "we make dem dis way in Germany."
Ja. Got it. So we made our Advent wreath, wrote our Advent prayers and we are off and running.