January 15th (Monday)

Giving his tractor a sled ride!

January 14th (Sunday)

Beach toys also make wonderful snow toys!

January 13th (Saturday)

We had a wonderful time playing and walking in the snow today.

January 12th (Friday)

Storm, storm, storm! Can we all say storm? I thought the best photo I could hope for today was the breakfast table being set... still missing the cherry tomatoes, pickles, farmer's yogurt, tea pot, coffeee... but you get the idea. I think every breakfast in Austria centers around the bread basket which definately includes those rolls you see on top and sliced black bread, misc. breads underneath. Sometimes we have soft boiled eggs too, but basically it is cold cuts and cheese!


















A-ha! But by afternoon we did have small patches of blue sky and I was able to take this photo of the mountain. Skiing in the morning was difficult at best - high winds tended to stop us all in our tracks! Visability was terrible (one of my classmates actually went out before class and went completely off the trail by accident!). We had to stay on a fairly easy trail simply because it is the one with a chairlift that has a bubble to protect against the weather (which, by day 5 of skiing was just FINE with my leg muscles!). But - ahhh, the snow was fresh, deep and powdery (and of course - just the perfect conditions for broken legs, as our teacher was sure to point out - so be careful, and careful we were!). And the reward for being dressed and on the slope came in the afternoon when the weather broke and there we were - skiing on fresh snow in the glorious mountains!!!!

In the meantime, Little Boy stayed home from ski school to play at the house (he also skipped yesterday afternoon because he declared he wanted a nap rather than go back after lunch!). But - in the afternoon DH brought him to the "awards" ceremony and all the kids got ski medals and photos that the ski school had taken earlier in the week. He is soooo proud of his "first" ski medal! LOL. Our son was sound asleep by 4 pm so my DH and I went to the beer tent to meet my ski mates for a drink at the end of the week (Omi was left in charge of the sleeping babe), but alas, we must be getting old, because finally we have someone to watch our son and we left within 1/2 of an hour as it was soooo crowded and noisy!

Jan 11th (Thursday)

How did skiing go today? Well, we did - steep slopes and moguls - which of course, means I fell - more than once. But, I bounced back up each time laughing. And - my ski teacher really does push us - lots - and keeps an eagle eye on us - so I am learning. Unfortunately, one of my class mates broke his thumb. Here's a photo from the top of 1 slope - right where everyone meets their group (because for some reason you always seem to get seperated in the chair lift lines) and takes photos - smile - then go a few more feet and meet a slooooope!!!! End of smile, LOL!

Taking the T-Bar to get to where I want to be at the end of the day - big sigh of relief - I am tired! But happy - despite my falls, it was great fun! Please be slightly impressed with this slightly blurry photo because believe me, taking a photo while on a T-Bar is a slight challenge!

Jan 10th (Weds)

Beautiful, isn't it? Even more beautiful is that it is an EASY slope, phew! Not so sure I could face the top of a steep slope today - truth be told - it rained, yes rained yesterday so the slopes are very icy in the morning. Carve, carve, carve - ohhh my leg muscles, but my ski instructor has very little pity. What's up with rain in the winter??? Thankfully, I took the afternoon off to go to my son's Kinder-Fest... (see next photo)...

His ski school had an afternoon of Krapfen's (think jelly filled donuts, but not quiet as sweet), plus hot punch for the kids, followed by pig-pile sledding down a hill on a tube - here you can see me with my son (front and center - can't miss my retro pink snow suit - my son is in green) - we are waiting in line to get him on a tube. 1 adult and about 3-4 kids per ride. He had lots of fun! And you know what, so did my DH and I!!!

Jan 9th

It gives me a happy thrill to look at these photos - my 3.5 year old son at ski school. He says it is "kind-ov fun" and he "sort-ov likes it" - already learning how to talk like a teenager! 1st photo - he is on a moving sidewalk that brings him up a little slope. He is holding an orange tube that he sometimes skies down with - holding it between his legs. Holding the tube helps keep his knees together and skis together so his legs/skis aren't going in every which direction. 2nd photo - he is skiing down without the tube.