Sheep!

 Last Sunday, as the girls and I were driving home from church we came around the bend in the road by the Schloss Solitude (the palace) at the top of the hill near our church and discovered a large herd of sheep being shepherded across the field and road.  We quickly parked and crossed the road to join the other curious spectators that were milling in and around the herd of bleating adult and baby sheep.  As is befitting the spring season, lambs were everywhere and the girls loved them!  We even got to see a real sheep dog in action.  It made quick work getting the herd across the road and into the pasture across from the palace.  We didn't tarry long though as it is still a little nippy here and we had forgotten our coats in the car in our haste to see the fun sight.

A visit from a college friend

The other day I had the opportunity to visit with one of my room mates from my time at BYU 17 years ago.  It seems amazing to me that I haven't seen this lady for 17 years.  Except for a few crinkles and maybe some gray hair, it was like there no time had passed.  We met at the Stuttgart main train station (the Hauptbahnhof) and walked around the Konigstrasse (Kings street) and the Schloss Platz (Palace Place) before getting on a short train ride to the Porsche Museum.  I had never been there before and so it was exciting for the both of us.  We were given headsets and a recorded guided tour in English that was manually operated by entering corresponding exhibit numbers. 

I learned, although perhaps I knew and then forgot, that Volkswagon was created by Porsche as a more affordable version for the people.  The Porsche factory/headquarters is in Stuttgart and that is why there is a horse as it's mascot.  Stuttgart, means "Stud garden" in German and was originally a market place for horses.  

Among the fun things I learned was that Porsche manufactured 120,000 tractors and you are not a true Porsche collector unless you have one.  One of the Porsches could theoretically drive on the ceiling because of how it was designed.  Another Porsche resemble a "fat pig" so they painted it pink and painted the parts of a pig on it.  It was fun to see Sally Porsche from the movie "Cars" complete with her pin striping tattoo.

At the very end of the tour, I got to sit in a nice cherry red Porsche.  Arnie thinks that one day he will get a Porsche.  Until then, I'll always have my picture :)

Rachel and I said farewell at the train station near a nice display of giant Rittersport chocolate (fake, of course).  Just like that chocolate, her visit was very sweet and I hope to see her again soon.

Elder Connelly's Bon Voyage

On March 16th, the three younger girls and I set off early in the morning for Alençon, France to see my nephew Michael before he headed home after successfully completing a two year mission for our church.  We left around 7am and arrived in Alençon around 4pm.  It was quite a long drive to do by myself but I discovered that if the girls had their own row, they get along very nicely.   Driving through France reminded me of driving through the American MidWest, full of flat farmland as far as the eye can see.  The only difference would be the wonderful French chateaus that dotted the landscape and of course, the lack of decent rest stops.   We had learned our lesson about the small pullout rest stops many years ago when we discovered that the "toilets" were actually a cut out in the floor, similar to a shower stall, with two spots to put your feet.  My girls called them "the squats," because that is what you had to do.  The bathrooms at the gas station rest stops are only slightly better, as they provide an actual toilet, just no toilet seat.  Maybe these are called "hovers?" 

Anyway, about an hour prior to arriving, we stopped at a roadside McDonald's that had wifi and contacted Michael to get his phone number and to arrange a time and place to meet.  We were astounded to discover fancy computer ordering machines at this McDonald's in the middle of no where.  The girls loved ordering a snack using the touch screen which had an English setting that they appreciated.

We met Michael and his two companions at our little hotel on the outskirts of town.  They piled in my van and we proceeded back into town to explore a little before dinner.  Alençon was a nice little town with its own "Notre Dame" cathedral.  I discovered that there are many cathedrals in France with the name "Notre Dame," the most famous being the one in Paris, of course.

We got to go into this one and it was nice with high ceilings, stained glass windows, statues, candles, etc.  It was interesting to find a Mason symbol carved on the main statuary in the church.  Michael said that he has seen it carved in other churches as well.  It is fun to learn new things.

After walking around for an hour or so, the guys were getting hungry.  We tried to go to two different Chinese buffet restaurants, only to find that we were too early for dinner.  Europeans don't eat dinner until 7 or 7:30pm at the earliest and it was only 5:30pm.  We ended up killing some time at a shopping center similar to Walmart, if Walmart had a mall like area surrounding it.  In this mall area, there was a restaurant called Flunch.  It is similar to a simple cafeteria style place where you get side dishes and drinks and then order an entree that is cooked to your specifications (if you speak French, that is).   It was really good food for a decent price.

After dinner, we delivered the guys back to their apartment and I was able to give Michael a farewell hug.

The next morning, the girls and I had breakfast at our modest hotel.  Jessica really enjoyed the French bread with butter and jam.  She was so funny.  She exclaimed, "Why have you been keeping this from me all my life?!" 

We drove through Paris on our way back so the girls could see the Eiffel Tower.  We tried to park but discovered that you needed a special card to use the parking meters.  So we just got a quick picture from where we were parked and got back in our car before the gendarmes got upset that we were there.  We will just have to come back again when we are better prepared.

Michael, his companions, and the girls in front of the cathedral 

Inside the cathedral

Michael explaining something in French and the girls are ignoring him

La Palais de Justice (The palace of Justice!)

Kaitlyn and Jessica hanging out waiting for the clock to chime

Jessica liked the "lollypop trees"

In front of the office of tourism.  The girls asked if they could take a drink from the fountain.
We had to explain it wasn't that kind of fountain.

The ordering machine at the roadside McDonald's
More fun than the food itself!

My steak dinner at Flunch

Michael enjoying his dinner

Bon Voyage Michael!

Ooh! It's so good!

"Can I take one for the road?"

The girls, the Eiffel Tower and the Maury bus

Valentine's Day Skiing and Fashing

For Valentine's Day weekend, we went down to Garmisch again to ski. (And so did the rest of Germany)  Fashing or the German's version of Mardi Gras was going to happen the Tuesday following that weekend so it was the start of an entire week off for all of Germany.  I was told by a local friend of mine that it is called "Ski week" here.  I could definitely believe it.  It took us forever to get on the regular six person lift that we normally use.  So we decided to expand our range and went all the way down to a different side of the mountain and went up a gondola to meet our friends for snack.  The girls are now able to go down several less challenging black runs without any trouble.  

Saturday night, we went out to eat at this quaint little restaurant called the Frauendorfer.  It is the German equivalent to a mom and pop restaurant complete with the grandma visible cooking in the back and her great-grandchildren providing the entertainment.  Memorabilia is heavy on the walls and the friendly older staff have probably been there since they were much younger.  We had wonderful music of a guy on an accordion and a lady on a guitar for which we had a front row seat.  Malia and Kaitlyn weren't really that into it but Bethany and Jessica really enjoyed dancing and swaying to the beat in their seats.

The food was quintessential German comfort food of meat and potatoes.  So delicious!  Definitely worth a visit next time you are in Garmisch, for the atmosphere if nothing else.

All bound up and ready to go

Getting "pommes" (fries) and "apfelschorle" (bubbly apple juice) slope side
Lila has something interesting on her parent's iPhone 

Our ski buddies

Our view while we eating snack.  Not too bad, eh?

Jessi and Kaitlyn going down their first black run.

Sharing some tunes over french fries :)

Gondolas silhouetted in front of the Zugspitz

Malia and Kaitlyn are not getting into the spirit of the accordion music playing behind them

Bethany and Jessi getting too much into the spirit of the music.

Lila and Jessi sharing a KinderIce (child's ice cream) decorated like a clown

Eating lunch slope side at the Dremoser 9.  Kaitlyn got a pretzel shaped like a "9"

Rosy cheeked girls :)

Couple selfie :)

Quality couple time (and skiing)

On Jan 25-26, Arnie and I got to participate in a marriage retreat in Garmisch put on by his command.  Childcare was provided for the younger kids and the older kids had fun hanging out in the hotel or having snowboarding lessons.  Arnie and I got to have a night out, per design by the marriage retreat planners, at a cute little restaurant in downtown Garmisch.  The food was delicious and the apfelshaftschorle (bubbly apple juice) had a green apple tartness to it that we've never experienced before.

On Feb 7, the day after our 16th anniversary, Arnie and I took off in the wee hours of the morning with a whole bus full of other people to the Austrian ski towns of Lech and Zurs.  It is a huge resort that is accessed with one ski pass, albeit an expensive one :)  We spent all day skiing this vast resort.  We had a nice lunch at the top of a very high mountain and skied down and around back to our bus from there.  The whole mountain range is connected by ski lifts and runs called the Weis Route (White Route).  We only did a little part of it.  My legs were really tired by the end.  It was wonderful to spend time with Arnie.  

I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who has taken me to such amazing places and exposed me to such incredible experiences.  I am so grateful to have good health and strength right now so that I can do some of Arnie's favorite activities with him.  I am truly blessed that my children have become self-sufficient enough that we can leave them safely and work on improving our marriage and ultimately our family.