... That's a Wrap!

I didn't want to jinx the purpose of our trip, hence no posts for the last two weeks ... but Al and I returned to the "states" and are now back in Germany! It was a whirlwind of traveling, working, and visiting old friends.

Despite living in Germany, I'm stilled employed as an entertainer/performer at Walt Disney World ... in order to keep my employed status and my "show" approvals I'm required to perform at least once a year. Performing means a great deal to me, it's my outlet ... and a way to hold onto a bit of my youth ... not to mention an awesome experience to perform in a large venue! Al, Kelty and I took a leap of faith, flew to Baltimore, rented a car, drove to FL and then I crossed my fingers in hopes that my requests to "pick-up" show would be approved ... and thank goodness, our efforts were not in vain! I was able to perform 4 shows and stay approved in my old tracks. Hallelujah!

So lets move along to the trip ...

THURSDAY ... We caught a "military hop" directly out of Ramstein ... tell me this is not the scariest toddler face! Thankfully Kelty did really well on our travels and this "you have no idea what I'm going to throw your way" face did not show itself again! Yikes!

FRIDAY ... After arriving in Baltimore we rented a car and drove down to SC to spend the evening with my sister, Rachel and her husband, Shawn. It was a quick visit but really nice! Shawn is high on "cool" meter with Kelty ... Kelty digs boats! Kelty was taking a moment to take a picture of Uncle Shawn's boat.

SATURDAY ... After a night in SC we headed down to Tampa to stay with our old neighbors and AWESOME friends, Tina and Jordan. Tina got her "toddler fix" playing with Kelty ... I think it was also a good "birth control method" too! Hahaha! We stayed with Tina and Jordon the rest of our time in FL ... it was WAY to short! We also had the chance to visit our "other neighbors" and great friends, Lisa and AD. It was strange staying next to our house ... but we met our renters and we think they are great!

SUNDAY ... Before heading in for my first shift at Fantasmic!, we ate Moe's for lunch!! I LOVE MOE'S ... and hadn't had it for a year! We ate Moe's twice! Whoop whoop!

MONDAY ... While Tina and Jordan were at work, Al and I met our great friends Adam and Michelle, their daughter (and Kelty's buddy) Catherine, and their newest addition Conner at the Brandon Mall. It didn't take long for the kiddo's to re-connect!

Catherine and Kelty ... too soon to arrange the marriage?

Awww, sigh.

Before we met up ... we took Kelty on the carousel.

TUESDAY ... My dear friend Lindsey stopped by the house for visit and brought her new baby, Gunnar! Lindsey and I met at Disney and worked MANY a shift together! We both had long commutes and spent a lot of time chatting on our cell phones to keep eachother awake after our 12:30am "out-times" following the Christmas parades at Disney.

WEDNESDAY ... The old gang was back together! We set-up a playdate with Kelty's old buddies (our buddies too!) and met at a new park in Lakeland! It was AWESOME and Kelty had a blast!

It was non-stop movement for the kiddo's! I snapped a quick pic of Kelty while he took a breather on the "grass".

The kids sliding down the hill ... it was quite a site! Scooting down on the left is Kelty ... Catherine is sliding down into Jake ... I think that's Ryan walking up the hill in the back.

Kelty running through the tunel under the hill ... if you can enlarge the photo, his face is hilarious.

Slide wars! Catherine and Kelty at the bottom of the slide duking out "ownership". :o)

Ryan making his way out of the tunnel ... Kelty was lounging at the bottom.

After the park we rallied over at Ruby Tuesday's ... what a site ... 5 tots, 1 infant, 4 moms and a daddy (Al)! Ok, so Kelty isn't that short ... he was just sitting back on the bench! He is the shortest of the bunch though.

THURSDAY ... I had my second and final (not FINAL ... just final for this trip) show at Disney! We decided to go early and meet up with the Travis's and enjoy a few hours in the park with the kids. The kids are so much to watch! I see Disney through different eyes now that we have Kelty! Here we are with some of Kelty's favorite characters ... Lightning McQueen and Mater ... he was actually more excited than what he appears!

Here are the Travis's waiting for Playhouse Disney!

Kelty was excited about something!

FRIDAY ... we started our trip back up to Baltimore and stopped and Shawn and Rachel's again on the way up. We originally planned to stay 2 nights but our flights were moved up a day. :o( Despite our quick visit ... we had a great time!

Shawn and Rachel took us out to see the sights on Saturday before we headed out.

More "cool" points for Uncle Shawn!

We made it back to Germany on Monday night ... totally exhausted! Just in case you were wondering ... during Kelty's naps back in Tampa ... I hit JoAnn Fabrics and Micheal's Crafts! Tina and I also hit Target Tuesday evening! Our "extra" suitcase came back to Germany full of fabric, craft supplies, and pajama's for Kelty!

Ok ... now I can get back to my normal blogging schedule! This 2-week lapse totally stressed me out!

Ummm ....

So far behind (again) in keeping up that I can't even come up with a suitable title! Ummm ... so here we go! Yabadoo, Christmas Markets, Schnitzel and Austria ... all for your reading and viewing pleasure condensed into one blog post!

When the weather outside is frightful and you have a toddler tired of being couped-up in the house ... take 'em to Yabadoo! It's an indoor playground!

Aunt Susie racing to the top of the canopy ... Kelty made it about a 1/4 of the way up.

Air hockey for the little ones ... Kelty held his own against his fierce competitor ... Daddy

Daddy and Kelty tumbling down the slide

It's Christmas Market season!!! I LOVE the Christmas season and I love shopping and I love food and well .... I LOVE the Christmas Markets in Europe! We hit our first market the weekend before Thanksgiving and we plan to hit A LOT more! Gluhwein (a hot mulled wine) is the drink of the season here ... and it's great!

Susie and I eating potato cakes with applesauce ... this made me think of the awesome German meal my mom made for G'pa Lutz several years ago. G'pa Lutz was born in Germany and moved to the U.S. when he was in his youth ... we found his citizenship papers after he passed away in April 2006 and realized he did not become a U.S. citizen until he was in his 40's. I wished I would have talked to him about it more.

More "Cooking with Evi"! Evi and Heinz came over and made homemade pork schnitzel in our kitchen! It was WONDERFUL! As always, we had a really nice evening with them. Oh! We also introduced Evi and Heinz to a traditional "American" dessert ... the good 'ole Root Beer Float. Neither of them had heard of or tasted a Root Beer Float so we were quite excited to share one of our traditional drinks/desserts.

Austria! We spent our Thanksgiving weekend skiing and snowboarding in the Austrian Alps! The Stubai Glacier in particular. It was beautiful and breathtaking ... I can cross that of off our "Bucket List" now (though we are planning to ski/board in the alps frequently). We stayed just outside of Innsbruck at Hotel Happy Stubai ... this hotel was amazing. They provided a sitting service for Kelty so we could spend a few hours skiing ... not to mention breakfast, lunch and dinner included in the hotel stay! The meals were AWESOME and they even prepared special meals for Mike to work around his food allergies. Our first night at dinner our designated waitress was concerned as to why Mike wasn't eating ... we explained his food allergies and then he went back to eating his "cold leftovers" we brought with us. The waitress came back again and asked if their was anything she could bring him ... we again said "no, but thank-you" ... then she came back a 3rd time and inquired exactly what his allergies were ... Mike pulled out the list (yes, it's quite an impressive list) ... she took it back to the chef ... then came back and said they will have special meals for him the rest of our stay! Whoa!

Oh ... did I mention the "nude" sauna ... and did I mention it was gender mixed? My favorite part was watching Al carry on a conversation with an older gentleman standing in the middle of the sauna (I am a mature adult ... I am not giggling ... nope, not giggling).

Riding the lift and bundled up!

I took it easy and snowbladed the first day. I re-injured my ankle a few days before we left and was actually back on crutches. I ditched the crutches for the trip but kept my ankle wrapped. My ski boots and snowboard boots kept my ankle really secure. :o)

My hot snowboarder of a husband!

Taking a break and finding a photo op

Cloud layer at the top of the mountain!

Kelty's "mannequin pose". A few weeks ago we were in a store and Kelty started running from mannequin to mannequin trying to imitate their pose ... it was hilarious! Now whenever we ask him for his "mannequin pose" this is what we get! :o) We took this picture outside our hotel. No snow on the ground yet ... just on the mountain!

I can't get enough of this landscape! Green hills and snow-capped mountains!

Mike and Sue. We hit the Christmas Market in Innsbruck both evenings. We took a horse-drawn buggy ride through the Altstadt (old city). We were wrapped in blankets and sipping Gluhwein (technically it was Sue's ... but we were sharing).

Nice little photo op of the entrance to the market.

A Fantasmic! Night

Last night I was able to pick up a show at Disney ... I was so happy to be able to perform again before leaving. Fantasmic! performances are down to 2-nights per week due to park attendance and budgeting; however the guests have been lined up with complaints since they started this new schedule earlier this month. Guests have been waiting hours in line to see the show and thousands have been turned away once the theatre met full capacity (10,000). Last night we were asked to stay and perform 2 shows instead of the scheduled 1 ... heck ya! We had 2, full-houses!

Standing in the theatre before my call-time.

I found this photo that someone else had taken but I thought it was a great ... it really captures the enormity of the theatre. I wish I could take a photo from our perspective on the stage ... it's amazing!


The 2nd of 3 sets of movers come today. This is our non-temp storage ... these are the items we've decided to keep in FL in a storage facility. Most of our storage items are things like: non-dual voltage appliances, vacuum cleaners, boating equipment, etc. I'll dearly miss my Kitchen Aid ... can you beleive that's not dual voltage? I'd be able to use it with a transformer, however they are the size of kleenex and ruin the life the appliance. Wish us look with part 2 of our move!