Winter Formal at Schwetzingen Palace

Keeping with tradition, Heidelberg High School's last Winter Formal was held at the Schwetzingen Palace again this year.  Lissie and Bryant both went with a group of friends.  They and Tracy had to orchestrate it all while I was in the states meeting Henry and sending Christian off on his mission.  That might explain why we have NO pictures of Bryant from this event! 

Lissie and I found this dress on the H&M sale rack and then made a few changes -- narrowing and shortening the sleeves to 3/4 length and then adding some lace to extend the hem. I love an easy dress remake. Doesn't she look lovely?  Wish I could have been there to see her in person.

 Renee Duvall and Lissie

Renee Duvall, Elisabeth, Brianna Bronell, Mishell Rodriguez, Rina Ferreras

You all look so lovely!

Temple Blessings

Christian went through the temple (Frankfurt, Germany) for his own endowment on January 12, 2013. It was such a special day for us. He seemed to take it all in and enjoy his time there. I was impressed that President Berghahn took the morning to teach and guide Christian (and another young man also preparing for his mission service). It seems individual attention from the temple president is one of the benefits of going through a small temple.

It was a different experience for me too since I have only been able to guide daughters through the temple thus far. I felt peace and gratitude for the blessing of being able to be there and of having such a fine young son.

Here is a picture of Christian with Lissie, Bryant and Tracy one week later. They got to do temple baptisms: Christian as the baptizer, Lissie and Bryant as baptizees, and Tracy as a witness. I couldn't be there because of my work schedule, but I'm so glad they all got to go together, and I love this picture!

Snow Fun

Santa made good on his promise and sent us all on a trip to Garmisch after Christmas for some fun in the snow.  He even delivered Matthew Steffen to us from Texas.  After a three hour drive, and a quick Subway dinner, we checked in just in time for the kids to spend some time at the pool before it closed, and then we all tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour (is that before or after midnight?).  We were up early the next day for a hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage and orange juice (yum!), and then the kids were off to rent their skis and take the tram up to the Zugspitz for some alpine skiing with fabulous views.  Their ski day included some fog and snowfall though -- which converted some of our kids to the idea of goggles. They ate their lunches outside (so cold!) near the lodge, but were treated to a warm crockpot stew (Thanks, Jeanette) and brotchen once they got down off the mountain.  They still had time for more fun in the pool and karaoke at Zuggy's that evening where Lissie and Christian sang a duet of Payphone, the new song by Maroon 5. 

The next day we walked around Partenkirchen, got some hot chocolate, did a little window shopping, and then went ice skating.  Garmisch has two large rinks right next to each other - an indoor and an outdoor.  Funny that we didn't even know until this year that the outdoor rink existed.  Tracy and I enjoyed watching the kids chase each other around the rink, and even get some impromptu lessons from a middle-aged Japanese skater.  She looked like she knew what she was doing and gave our kids tips on how to skate backwards.  We ended our trip with a stop at Pizza Hut for their half price Friday take-out pizza.  So we ordered several (maybe 7?) and enjoyed our meal up at the Hausberg Lodge cafeteria.  What a fun time to be together in Garmisch again.  Thank you, Santa.  And thank you, Clarks, for letting us spend Christmas AND Garmisch with your family again.

Here is a sampling of pictures:

Lissie at the skating rink

Bryant, Lissie and Christian - ready to skate:

A "cold" lunch up at the Zugspitz:

Matthew S. and Bryant with their snowboard gear:

On the tram:

Matthew S., the cowboy from Texas:

Ezra, Bryant and Matthew

Bryant's patience and determination = dct

I have been so impressed by a couple of qualities Bryant has demonstrated over the past couple of years - patience and determination - as evidenced by his ability to:

1) Learn how to put together his own computer (by watching YouTube videos)
2) Gather the parts (by saving his money or asking for specific computer parts for birthdays and Christmas for the past TWO years)
3) And finally -- put together his computer as soon as he had every part he needed.  He even came home with just Mom and Dad, and passed up staying a little longer at his best friend's house on Chistmas day!

Here he is with his Christmas wish -- the CPU:

His computer "dct" (dream come true). . . and it works like a dream too!

Outstanding job, Bryant!

The end is coming . . . or is it alreadly gone?

Not to be alarming or misleading or anything, but the end to our annual New Year's Eve bash has likely come and gone. We have had a long tradition of New Year's festivities which have included themes such as "Hollywood", "Rock Star" and "Feliz Ano Nuevo", and involved multitudes of young people filling our home into the wee hours of the night (and morning) -- playing games, setting off fireworks, hiking to the bunker, and eating, drinking and generally just trying to stay awake!

But since it is a time of transition for our family -- the Heidelberg Military Community is closing this year, Lissie will soon to be going away to college, and soon we will have only one kiddo (poor Bryant!) left at home, I am wondering if our New Year's bash has actually come to an end. Did the kids realize that their annual tradition was likely ending as they were just beginning in the early hours of January 1, 2013? 

Well, here are some fun pictures - complete with fake mustaches, sombreros, and pinatas - to remember it all by:

Farewell New Year's Fun and Everyone!