Lajja

One of the HARDEST  things we as a family had to deal with when Eric's retirement was denied was deciding how to handle our animals once we knew we were coming back to Germany.

Lets just say there were alot of tears, sadness and self sacrifice of knowing what was best for each of the animals.  To make matters worse, we were all still dealing with Cali, our German tortoise shell kitty we had adopted on our last tour, just disappearing from our lives.  We still don't know what happened to her and it breaks my heart because she was the sweetest cat ever.

We ended up finding a home for our two other outside cats, Maddie and Mamma.  Let me tell you, this was one of the hardest days for all of us.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house, and this was hard on Eric seeing the kids so upset because of the Army way, again.

You might be asking yourself how we ended up with 4 cats at one time, and all I can say is that my kids have the biggest hearts and the most compassion for animals without homes.  As a mother, I wanted to say NO, but I couldn't.  This is something I love about Eric, because most guys would not go for it, but he knows and he just accepts our kids for the big ole' hearts they are.

So, that left Champie our dotsie and Sami our cat, who we adopted on Deployment #1.

This decision was phase 2 of the first decision, and probably the hardest for Eric and I.  Champie didn't do to well with the stairwell stairs the last time we were stationed here.  They confused him, he would often go to the wrong door, and being his legs are so low to the ground, it was just hard for him to get up and down the flights of stairs.  He could never run outside, he always had to be on a leash on post.  He also didn't fly well, and was pretty shaken up after the flight.

Maybe it was the stress of the move, or maybe just remembering the past, but something told me we should leave him and even though we didn't want to, we somehow knew we had to?  That was even more confirmed when we could only get a flight with one animal slot.

Needless to say, Champie leaving us still pings at our hearts.  But he is getting soooo spoiled at my parents that I know that God allowed that to happen for us, and I am forever grateful.  Champie couldn't be more happier and the fact that we will always get to see him make it even a sweeter deal.

I am thinking he probably feels like he won the doggie lottery.  It is still hard, and Eric still talks about his popcorn buddy, but no one ever said the RIGHT thing to do would be the EASIEST thing to do.

So, after all that sadness, we have a bright light to share.  All Avery wanted for her birthday was a new kitty, and we just had to keep telling her no.  We couldn't go the new kitten route because Sami is seriously territorial....so she pretty much had realized that we would not be getting another cat.  In the back of my mind, I knew if the right situation presented itself, I would know it would be the right thing to do.

A couple of days before her birthday, an ad popped up on our local yardsales site from a fellow Military spouse, and to make a long story short, she needed a home from a more than loving home.  I had, have and will never forget being in this same situation of having to give your pet away, and was so happy when we found out we could adopt her.

So please meet Lajja.(lashya)...she was born in Japan and is so beautiful, soft and dainty.  Her and Sami are already best of friends and she fits right in, and Avery is IN LOVE.

It's SKI time!

When I first met Eric in Highschool, I knew him to be an awesome snow skier, and he was an active in the SKI club.

While I on the other hand enjoyed growing up in the snow, I spent many of my winter weekends sledding at Gma and Gpa's, riding horses "bare back" thru snowy country fields at Dad's, or later cheering at winter Basketball games.

Needless to say, my ski skills were never even close to Eric's.

We lived in Colorado with all three kids and had enjoyed playing in the snow and sledding as a family.  However, up to that point they had never snow skied.

You may ask why, since we lived in Colorado, the most awesome place to ski.  Most of it had to do with Eric hurting his back and physically not being able to ski for alot of years.  I think total, he may of went skiing three times while we lived there.

Eventually his skis, boots and jacket all ended up in a garage sale because he just couldn't take the pain in his back.

So when we moved to Heidelberg in 2009, the boys were really excited to ski and so were we. I hoped they inherited his love of skiing, and they did!

We put them in lessons and they had a blast, and Eric got back on skis that year also.  He definitely doesn't take the slopes like he used too, but he enjoys skiing at a much lower level, and at least he can get out there with the boys.  The first time around, Avery wasn't feeling good so she didn't take lessons that year.

Here is a cute picture of Zach and Nic after a day of lessons in 2009....

So while back in Garmisch, we took the kids to a Spaghetti dinner at the lodge, and night skiing adventure. Having an "all you can eat spaghetti dinner" is awesome, perfert carbs needed for energy for night skiing. Eric and the kids even went back up after skiing and ate again, and we enjoyed getting warm and a live band.  It was a really great time!  Something about cold, lodges, food, loud bands, just love it.

Nicky is all about speed now that he knows the basics, and if I could crop the top picture, most likely his tongue is hanging out curled up around his lips trying very hard to do the ski moves Daddy was showing him.

This would actually be Avery's first time on skis, and she did very well.  Earlier I mentioned  her slight memory lapse  in forgetting what to do coming down the hill to slow herself down.  This was really the only flaw of the night, and even though she scared Eric and I, I think she scared herself enough that she will never let that happen again. I guess that is the best way to learn, but thank goodness she didn't get hurt.

However, it really reminded me of how stupid I was back in my early 20's to attempt German ski slopes the way I did. I am lucky I really didn't get hurt, and seeing Avery fly by me I relived those moments with a cringe!

Eric patiently tried to help Avery the best he could, and show her the basics, but we all agreed the 4 hour instructional lessons are well worth the money.

And looking thru the pictures, this is the only picture I have of Zachary skiing.  He was way to fast to catch in a picture, and usually wouldn't even venture down to where I was, he would just whip back around and go back up the hill.  I think in this picture he is actually showing Avery different ways to slow down,  you can see her standing to the left and Nicky trailing him in the back.  Remember that snowball competition?  They are the same way skiing......

On a side note, I don't know if snow skiing in the states is the same as it is in Europe now.  I have to say the days of skiing without helmets are over as far as I could see, or maybe it was just the Military slopes.  Adults and kids alike now where ski helmets, and I think it is a great thing to avoid brain/head injuries.  I was able to relax so much more watching the kids knowing that their heads were protected from falls.

Thanks to Gpa Brown and G'ma Julie, this fun packed trip was our family Christmas gift from you both!

NO THROWING COLORED SNOWBALLS!

One thing we always like to do when we go to Garmisch is hike around Lake Eibsee.  It is a majestic lake in my opinion, nestled between mountains pure and natural.  It is quite a hike too, it took us 3 hours the first time we hiked it. Love this picture of Avery and Daddy in the summer of 2011.

This time around, we didn't hike around the whole lake, the intent was just to hike in a little and get some nice pictures of the lakes winter scene......

I guess anyone with kids knows when there is snow, it is inevitable that someone will reach down, pack a snowball and start a ridiculously crazy, intense, snowball fight that can last an hour or more....

See how Avery participates....That's the biggest snowball I have ever seen!

This is typically how this plays out in my family....

Nice little snowball playfully pitched, ha ha, so much fun! We love each other!

Mom smiles and drifts off marveling at her lovely family tossing snowballs around at each other, never intending on hurting one another! It is all in good fun! 

Just then, a snowball flies past my face at what seems like sonic speed...aimed at target Brown brother or sister, and a yelp can be heard for miles.

IT IS ON.....

I point out that in this picture Zachary has about four snowballs stashed in his hands and obviously he is thinking sinister thoughts!

I, the innocent picture taker/mediator, start to notice the snowballs being packed a little bit tighter, more into balls of ice, and whipped with war like retaliation.

I think this may typically occur in families with more than two males.

I then notice Eric walking towards the camera, sweating what I think is testosterone, sticking out his tongue, shaking his head, mumbling words of war and and I realize this is not going to go down good.

As we get closer to the beach area and snowball fight number 8 (possibly 9) intensifies, Avery uses her spidey female senses and realizes she should step out of the battle, NOW.  She comes to the safety of the camera crew, a known off limits to snowball warriors. 

However, notice how Nicky is coming up pretty close behind her....pretty sneaky.

At this point, all three boys (yes, Eric is considered a boy at this point) are all now sweating, out of breath, pelted crazed maniacs. 

They only stop long enough to let the German hikers pass by, each of them acting completely normal, looking at the scenery, ladedah, until they have safely passed and they can engage in this war again.

After Nicky gets pelted approximately fifty times with ice balls from Zachary...he is done. He is not happy...Eric and Zachary seem to be worn out and over their little winter war zone episode, no major injuries, yeah!

This is where my story gets somewhat embarrassing, but hey, this is our life! I want to remember it for what it is.....

I won't go into super duper details, but lets just say Zachary made the mistake of pummeling Eric with a few hard snowballs on the back while Eric was taking a whiz...... and in retaliation, Eric nails Zachary with  a pretty "colored" snow ball on his back.

NO THROWING COLORED SNOWBALLS ....echos over the lake for all the Germans to hear.

I will stop my story there, but hiking out of the lake included Zachary destroying Eric with snowballs, head diving into snowbanks, handfuls of snow shoved down coats and possibly a few choice words.  Nicky gets back into the battle because he thinks his Dad is the coolest Dad ever and he is back in the game on Daddy's side.

Avery and I just shake our heads in disbelief and hike ahead of them.

Yep, that's my family.

Who am I kidding, they will stop at nothing to achieve the Brown Snowball Warrior  title.

Don't they look like a nice family, would you ever even know it?

The Partnach Gorge

While we were in Garmisch, we took a day to hike the gorge. The gorge was declared what we would consider a national monument in 1912.  Loggers and hunters used this passage, and before it was deemed a tourist excursion, it was actually a pretty dangerous hike.

When we were here in the summer of 2010, we rode bikes up to the Gorge entrance, but never went in.

Here is a picture from that trip.....

But since we were out in the cold, we decided to hike in, the cold making it even more exciting!

Here is the same shot in the winter:

Hiking up the gorge was some work, but the pictures were well worth it.  Sheets of icicles hang from the cliffs and it is just amazing.  The pictures really don't capture the beauty of the ice. I have tried to put these in sequence, so that you can get a sense of hiking "up" into the gorge, to come out on the other side, and as you exit the gorge, the last picture is what you see. Click on the pictures to create a slideshow that is larger.

It was a fun trip, and we actually want to do this hike again in the summer to get a whole different view of the gorge, I bet the water roaring is beautiful.

Winter fun

We spent the long weekend skiing in Garmisch....well, let me re-phrase that....

BrownfamFOUR spent the weekend skiing in Garmisch.  I took all the pics and enjoyed watching my family have a blast.  We spent one day hiking thru the Gorge, which was very awesome, especially in Winter with huge icicles hanging over your head and roaring waters below.

Then we hiked around Lake Eibsee.  I have lots of pictures of Eibsee during the summer, and it is absolutely breathtaking.  The winter view is pretty too, and so peaceful hiking around the lake.  Brownfamfive engaged in a massive snow ball fight during this hike and I got some great pictures of the kids and Eric in their glory.

We took them sledding and night skiing also.  What fun they had...Avery had a "Ronda" moment skiing, and honestly standing at the bottom, I flashed back 18 years ago to Eric and I skiing in Germany and my triple somersault down the hill, ski's flying and all.  It was a quick flash back just as a I saw Avery fly past me and into the safety pads.  She blew thru them, but thank God they served their purpose.  She had a momentary lapse of remembering how to slow down and just kept going faster and faster, as Eric and I were yelling, FALL DOWN< FALL DOWN.  After all was said and done, it was a good laugh, and thank god for those ski helmets, but she really scared me!  In her typical fashion, she got right back up on the ski's with Zachary giving her a lesson on different ways to slow down in the future, lol!

In the next few days, I will post different pictures from our trip.  We came home late Monday night and Tuesday celebrated Avery's 10th birthday.  We have been non-stop for six days now, and I really need to unpack and re-group, but I need to deliver cupcakes to Avery's room, so I am off again.
                                                                                                                                                                                           
Until then, enjoy these cool pictures I snapped while hiking up to the gorge, Germany at it's finest in the winter.

Happy Birthday Avery

Today, ten years ago we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.......

And everyday since has been a gift from God..... 

Happy 10th Birthday Sweet Cheeks!

Creativity

As the New Year starts, I'd like to highlight some stuff the kids are currently doing.  Besides the normal playing video games like Nintendo DS , XBOX  and Wii, I do try to encourage them to get involved in creative things they love--outlets that actually challenge their minds.

I really don't want game zombies for kids, and it is really easy to do this time of year, when it is gloomy and cold in Germany.  (BTW, really missing Atlanta at 73 degrees yesterday)

Zachary is still sketching.  He doesn't seem to sketch as much as he once did, as he spends much of his time with his nose buried in books...but I really can't complain.  Although he has found a new passion in graphic arts and is always creating interesting works in Adobe's Photoshop.

This is currently pinned above his desk.  It's pretty cool.  Wonder who's eye it is?  (We have a hunch:) (click to make larger)



Here's a pair of pics of Nicky, who's always been the family jokester, but his creative side really shines as well.  He has us rolling at least a couple times a day with his signature dry comedy--similar to what's on his shirt (right).  This was one of his favorite gifts from G-Ma and G-Pa C, and it completely sums up his sense of humor.














The picture to the left is Nicky's new hobby, CODING. He's gotten really good thanks in part to a new coding buddy Sphen.  This is one of his command games he has created.



I wish I could get the coding to show up more in the picture, but it's really awesome.  The code he chooses commands the computer to create what he wants.


One of Avery's favorite gifts for Christmas was a huge package of art supplies.  She has always loved anything art related, and she went right to work on this beauty.

I have to say, in a Mommy's opinion, this is one of the best sketches she has done to date.  She sketched, colored, and outlined the portrait thanks to the instruction in her new drawing book.

Her passion is still horses and kitties, and has pictures of both all over her room.  This is going in a frame on her wall, some day I know she will enjoy seeing her skill set at nearly age 10!

Enjoy God's day, keep counting your blessings, and pray for those you love!

An Old Favorite

Do you ever have one of those recipes that you LOVE, but make very little?

In a previous post I mentioned the German and Italian equivalent to Coca Cola, and how much better they are here.  We really need to visit the World of Coca Cola and ask what is different about the recipes.  I bet American Coke has alot more sugar (or corn syrup) and European coke has more fizz.  Just a hunch I have....

Anyways, we had grabbed a "Vanilla Coke" on our last trip to the Getrankemarkt.  Neither Eric or I really enjoyed the taste, it was odd tasting and very sweet.

So I decided to pull out a favorite recipe, Coca Cola Cake.

Love, love, love this recipe, and letting it sit at least a day makes it the yummiest chocolate cake ever! There are so many renditions of this cake, but this is one I love....

Sooo, I used up my Vanilla coke and the only problem I see with this cake are the mystery crumbs I keep finding all over the house.  One of the many joys of living with BOYS!  Happy Friday!

Coca Cola Cake

1/2 stick butter
6 oz chips
3 eggs
1 2/3 sugar
2/3 c oil
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c coke
2 c AP flour
1/3 c cocoa
1 1/2 t powder
1/2 t soda
3/4 t salt

Preheat to 350.  Melt butter and chips, mix and let cool.  Cream eggs and sugar for a minute, mixing in oil and vanilla. Slowly add chocolate mixture, then Coke and blend until smooth.

Combine your dry ingredients, sifting into the wet and mix well.  Pour into a buttered 9x13, and bake 35-38 mins.

Top with your favorite fudge frosting, some like a glaze, I like to make a fudge frosting with coke as the liquid and lots of chopped pecans!