Day 13 of 23

This will be the last of my regular holiday break updates for a few days. Tanner and I head to Paris tomorrow. I've told Stace that she's welcome to blog while I'm gone, but don't hold your breath.

Our itinerary for Paris is quite loose. The only set plan we have is to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower on Saturday evening because it was better to get tickets for a particular time in advance. Other than that, all we know is that we want to spend some time at the Louvre, tour Notre Dame, visit the Arc de Triomphe, and spend some time walking along the the Champs-Élysées. Other than that, we'll figure it out when we get there. I'll fill you in next week. Happy New Year!

Day 12 of 23

Last night I watched an old classic movie starting Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton, The Third Man. It's set in post-war Vienna. It was more fun to watch because I've been to Vienna and because I understand some German. There were a couple of scenes set in the hotel where we stayed when we were there.

Day 11 of 23

Stace and the kids went to the transportation museum in Lucerne today while I went back to work. It's pretty quiet there right now. Most people are back in the States. The only ones in the office pretty much are those of us who have been here for less than two years, meaning we only get one family trip per year back to the States. With all of the airline security issues right now, I'm just as happy to stay put. I'm assuming that Tanner and I won't have to deal with any of that when we fly to Paris since it's not a U.S. flight. We'll see.

Day 10 of 23--ski day

We had a great day at the Flumserberg. (If you know any German, then you immediately realized that the Flumserberg is the mountain that towers over the village of Flums. And, by the way, the "u" in "Flums" is roughly pronounced as an "oo," not an "uh.") Stace had trouble with her boot, and my ankle kept me from skiing, so the kids were the only ones skiing today. They took a lesson in the morning and then just played around on the hill in the afternoon. After about four hours of skiing, they were, naturally, better than I'll probably ever be. Lindsey could ski a course and make most of the gates, and Tanner could dig in sideways to stop wherever he wanted.

And, this being Switzerland, the scenery was, of course, spectacular. I can't necessarily say that it beats Utah for skiing and scenery, but it sure was nice.

.

.

.

.

Day 9 of 23

Tomorrow is ski day. The kids were so excited that they could hardly go to bed. Tanner, who never lacks for self-confidence, isn't sure why he needs ski lessons. He's planning on just charging down the side of the mountain. I hope he's not too disappointed when it turns out to be a little harder than it looks. I'm sure there will be some frustration at first; the trick will be to keep everyone going through the initial frustration and get them to the point where they enjoy it. I'll be watching from the sidelines. I figure my ankle has another two to three weeks to go.

One tricky thing about skiing is that there's a huge initial investment, and we don't even know if it's something we'll do very much. If you count the skis that Stace and I bought for ourselves, all of the helmets and gear, and the expense of lessons and lift passes, I'll bet we will have sunk about $3,000 into this before we make one trip down a mountain. The goal now will be to go as many times as possible so that the cost per day drops. If we go thirty times this year, the cost per day will only be $100, right?

Day 8 of 23

I walked from downtown Zug up the hill to the apartment today, which I consider to be a significant step in my ankle recovery program. I still feel it when I turn my ankle, so I'm not in any kind of shape to ski on Monday, but it's getting there. I'll sit tight while the rest of the family takes a ski lesson on Monday.

Day 7 of 23

We survived Christmas Day, but we're all pretty tired. Santa was up until 1:00 in the morning getting last-minute presents wrapped and things set up, and then Tanner was up at 6:00 to see what Santa had brought. Tanner got an iPod Touch, which he loves, and Lindsey got an easel, which she loves. The kids also got a couple of movies and other odds and ends. Stace and I also got nice gifts from parents and others. Thanks, everyone!

Tonight, we had dinner with our German friends, Ruth and Ansgar. They have two kids, ages 5 and 3, who don't speak a word of English, but they get along with Lindsey just fine. (Poor Tanner is stuck trying to fit into the boring adult conversation.)

It was a green Christmas. The snow has all melted. I've seen some pictures of my house in Minnesota, and it's clearly been a white Christmas there this year. I can't say I'm too sad to be missing it.