Second time's a charm

Usually it's third time's a charm...but I'll go with second this time around.  Last year we had only been in Germany 6 weeks and were off for our first official Euro ski break.  Isn't it crazy that the kids get a week off and they actually call it 'ski break'.  Well - what's a person to do with an invite like that, but to ski!  So we headed to the Alps.  I still have a hard time saying, 'I'm skiing the Alps' given the fact in Mr. Timm's 6th grade class at Herbert Hoover Elementary I had to think of the most exotic place to go in my life....and I wrote about Maine.  So as you can imagine actually skiing in Austria is still a lot to imagine and we feel extremely lucky.

Packing a family of 5 for any trip is a challenge - but then you add in all the ski gear - need I say more. By the time Tim got home from work on Friday you couldn't even walk in the front door.  Suitcases, LL Bean bags with zippers bulging, and of course my personal favorite part of skiing vacations.....games and all the fixins' for apres ski.  We had a bit of a strategy after last year's trek to Austria remembering most of the EU has ski break at the same time....most head to ski.....and there seems to one way up and one way back.  Our strategy was to wake up at 5:00 and hit the road.....and as I said before:  second time's a charm.  The traffic was spotty, but not like we experienced last year with the autobahn parking lot.  We were skiing with a group of about 40 including kiddos.....so some texts were exchanged along the route....and re-route....and excitement built as we climbed the windy roads to our hotel.  It's always fun driving these roads with a passenger who has a fear of heights (that would be me).  It is breath-taking and nerve-wracking at the same time.  The kids are always saying, "mom, you really don't want to look down right now, but look at that!!"  I also love Tim's comments on the fact he's amazed there are no guard rails......oh well, who needs those anyways on icy, hairpin turns?
For all the snow we got in December, it's amazing that there really wasn't much snow when we arrived....but that soon changed, as another couple of feet fell (or 60 cm - look how far I've come with the metric system in 15 months) the first two nights we were there.  I was well-informed that the hotel was going to be 1800 meters up....ski in / ski out and no town but get a load of the picture.....

It was amazing.....all nestled in the mountainside.  Tim was like a kid in a candy store...loving every minute of the fact he could ski in and out...and his wife wasn't going to be asking for any money as there was no where to shop.  It was incredibly beautiful to see the sun shining and a clear, blue sky.  I could swear that the mountains were covered with powdered sugar.
Once we unloaded and unpacked it was time for the moment we all dread as a family of 5.  Ski rental!!!!  Could Nike ever invent a comfortable lightweight 'air' ski boot?  Once you figure out the kids weight in kgs, height in km, and European shoe size (which is not the same as the UK or US), and you try to decipher what they're trying to ask you in the Austrian dialect of German......I was about ready for apres ski....and we haven't even skied yet.  The kids were troopers and got everything sorted....mom was the weakest link.  I can never get my heel in the ski boots - can anyone relate?  I will admit that this is the first trip that I can actually say I've mastered it. (just the getting ready part - not the skiing part)  The entire Schmidt clan could latch, lace, buckle, snap, zip, and ski on their own!  Another milestone accomplished!

Caleb mastered the poles...and the cutest outfit (no mom bias)

Noah skiing through the deep stuff

Hannah and Ashley -the teen skiers!

With our good friends Donna and Wes and family

As I look back at all the pictures I've decided that it's a good thing there is no 'snow security' because we all look like ninjas.  I went up to one guy in our group one afternoon and told him that his kids were covered and skiing like champs.  He replied, "thanks, and I have no idea who you are".  With the helmet, the ski, the neck wrap everyone looks the same. But I definitely stand out on the slopes - I'm the one taking the enormous side to sides.  The skiing was great even for a rookie like me. I had never experienced skiing through powder - so that was an adventure and softened the fall a bit. This year was especially nice for 'mom' as the whole family skies a heck of a lot better than me...but with a group this size there was always someone ready to ski with me.  I even got to do a few runs with the kids on their way to the blacks....Hannah had a group of teenagers to ski with which was a treat....and ski school for the boys is always a hoot.  Caleb spent the last day doing a slalom race and took 5th place.

I will say that the apres ski was one of the best parts of the vacation.....the adults met in one room and the kids entertained themselves with cards or scattagories.  Good wine, good conversation, good stories.  Skiing stories are a bit like rehashing 18 holes on the golf course (which I can never do)...but for some reason men can recite every mogul, bump, icy patch and remember every run number they skied throughout the day.  That was pretty easy for me as I pretty much stuck to 3 runs....all blue with no moguls, icy spots, or steep parts!  But I did make it to the top of the mountain and was part of the family pic this year!  Another milestone.....second time's a charm. 

Apres ski rosy cheeks

So all in all the whole group had a great week!  No major injuries.....no drama....just good old family fun!  We came a long ways in a week of skiing.  The ski boots never comfortable...but a little advil helped with the aches and pains.  As we turned in our equipment, (and could actually walk in regular shoes again), and loaded our stinky ski clothes in the car for the trek back to Germany we all came away with great memories of skiing in the Alps.  Since the second time was a charm we look forward to what the third time brings!