Ch-Ch-Chamonix!

We spent our February holiday skiing in Chamonix, France (Feb. 13th -21st, 2009).

After eating our delivery of New York Pizza (which was nothing like the real deal) and Tony wrapped up his evening meeting, we all piled into the car and set off for Germany. We left at 6:15 and arrived at our German hotel just past midnight. It was quite a hairy ride through Germany, as it looked like we were traveling through the Twilight Zone......the snow was dumping and the Autobahn was impossible to see. The boys slept the entire way there, so they had quite a bit of energy to burn at our midnight arrival. Nothing a cartoon or two didn't cure!

We had the car unpacked and the boys ready for bed in no time. We actually had time to hit up the hotel bar twice before it closed at 1am. We enjoyed wine and beer in our family suite while watching German TV.

After a great breakfast in the hotel, we set out for the second half our journey....another 6 hours in the car before we arrived in Chamonix, France. We passed by Lake Geneva and through the amazing Alps. The most striking part of the drive, and maybe the most unbelievable ever, came in the last hour. After bending around Lake Geneva and crossing the French border, we began a 40 minute ascent & decent over a 2-lane mountain road. Even with the temperature dropping nearly 10C during the climb, it wasn't enough to curb Tony's sweaty palms. In typical European fashion, safety was in the hands of the beholder. Guard rails were virtually non-existent. Though making for an unobstructed view off the shear cliff, this didn't make for the most relaxing drive.

We pulled into our chalet at 6:15pm. After getting the low down on the town and the chalet from the property manager, we set out to get our usual basics from the nearest grocery store....milk, cheese, booze, beer, wine, and snacks.

Sunday was our final "free" day, as we would be busy the rest of the week skiing and snowboarding. We spent the day walking around downtown and enjoying the local cuisine of French onion soup and cheese fondue. As the outside temperature kept dropping, we kept our body temps rising by refueling with beer and hot chocolate. Late in the afternoon, we all put our bathing suits on (it's important to note here that we put on board shorts and a bikini). We entered the indoor swimming pool, paid our fees, and headed down to the locker rooms. While leaving the front area, Stacie noticed something interesting out of the corner of her eye....a sign that had a picture board short with a line through them, and a picture of a man wearing Speedos with a thumbs-up sign. She immediately started cracking up because she couldn't wait to see Tony's reaction when she broke the news to him. "No way" was his reaction. We decided that we were not going to rent Speedos for Tony and the boys (which was actually an option they had for us), so we got a refund and went back home. We had plans to return to the pool just to take a picture of the sign, but never found the time. Tony did tell Stacie that he would've rented a pair for himself because he has no shame, but we were NOT going to stick our boys in those briefs!

Monday morning started early with a hearty breakfast. After the 4 of us got bundled up in our ski apparel, we drove to the Panda Club, where the boys would spend every day taking ski lessons.

After getting the boys situated at their lessons, we headed over to the gondola to head up the mountain. The mountain turned out to be a bit of a challenge for Stacie who preferred sliding the whole way down on her ass to skiing down!

We had booked a babysitter for Monday night weeks before our trip so we could enjoy an adult only dinner! The sitter was scheduled to arrive at our chalet at 7pm. As the minutes ticked away, we realized we weren't dealing with a Dutch babysitter. At 7:45 Tony phoned the sitter to see where she might be. Turns out.....she had forgotten. Strike #1. We're sure most people we know would agree that for 20 euros and hour, we wouldn't have forgotten! She finally arrived at 8:15 (thank goodness we hadn't made reservations). We had kept the boys up so they could play a bit with her before we realized she was going to be so late. So, of course, they were still awake when she got there. We introduced them to her, and she quickly realized that she knew them from the Panda Club. She told them that they better go to sleep or else she was going to be mean to them at their skiing lessons the next day. Not the most brilliant thing to tell children. Strike #2. We let her know what time we would be back...midnight.....we know, we know, we're old, but we were exhausted from the travelling and the first day of hitting the slopes. She said, "Oh, I'm so tired too. I had to deal with 170 kids skiing today. Don't worry, I will probably be asleep before the boys are". Okay, need I say it? Strike #3. We got out of there so we could get back quicker!

We walked around downtown in what seemed like circles, until we found the restaurant we were looking for....Casa Valerio. We sat at the bar for dinner, as the restaurant was extremely tiny and crowded. We were surprised we actually got in without any reservations. The bartender was fantastic and directed us toward one of the most delicious Italian wines we have ever tasted. Tony enjoyed his Osso Buco and Stacie enjoyed her Saltimboca. We had a great time and were bummed when we had to leave the restaurant to walk back home in the -20C weather.

We arrived home 45 minutes early to, yep, you guessed it, find the babysitter asleep on the couch. And this 22 year old English chick was really scheduled to return on Thursday evening? Yikes.

Tuesday turned out to be a repeat of Monday: up early for breakfast, skiing, snowboarding, and eating! We bought a sled so that we could have a "snow stroller" to tote the boys to town with. Avery has decided that his "batteries run out" after the first 3 minutes of every outing. Carrying him more than 2 or 3 blocks was no longer an option due to extra 10 lbs. of snow gear he was donning. Bryan joined up with us around midnight at our chalet. He would be spending the rest of the week enjoying France with us.

We decided to take the day off on Wednesday. We took the boys sledding with their new sled. Stacie decided that sledding was her favorite snow sport and had more fun than the rest of the family! Carter and Avery had more fun rolling down the snow hill that sledding down it. After sledding, the boys enjoyed a ride on the chariot (sled) while munching on granola bars. We purchased some Chamonix art to beef up (or see "start") our collection on Tuesday as well.

After getting back to the chalet, we let the kids take a bit of a nap. During the rest, we went out behind the chalet and put together the "frosty-foundation". Once awake, Carter and Avery grabbed the carrot in the fridge, rounded up some scraps from outside and brought Frosty to life. The strangest thing about this unique frosty came to our attention the next morning. It is almost as if he was a bit full, as we found a pile of steamy poo sitting right behind his bum when we went to look at him the next day. (Not sure if it was some sick adult trick from the night before, if some animal just happened to relieve near the snowman or if Frosty really did come to life and let out his dinner?)

Thursday found the kids back at the Panda Club, Stacie on the flattest bunny slope ever made, and Tony and Bryan on the extreme Alps range. However, after dropping the boys off at their lessons, we decided that we needed to thaw out before we hit the slopes. Bryan ordered a cappuccino, while Mr. & Mrs. Q opted for hottie totties....French coffees! After the slope-shredding was complete, we ended the day with another slow lunch at the restraunt closest to the Panda Club.

That night was round #2 with our English baby-sitting friend. She arrived on time (after verbally highlighting that she would earlier in the day) which allowed the three adults to partake in some village fun. We found a small restaurant online that had a great menu at a very reasonable price. Though good in taste, the food lasted with all of us a little past the dinner hour. Coincidentally, Stacie started to feel a bit sick right around dinner, as well, both Bryan & Tony got all of the same symptoms (minus the throwing up) that were experienced from the "Austrian Chicken" just one year prior.

Friday found Stacie relaxing in the Chalet with Avery while Carter set off for his last day of the Panda Club & the big boys headed over to the Brevent peak to check out some new slopes. Carter ended the day with a "Panda level 3" diploma, and Tony came back with some memories of the most fantastic views ever.

We all ended that night at the Chamonix Micro Brewery where we loaded up on some burgers & beers with some of Tony's friends from work and their families. After the cold walk back, we played a bit of Jenga, then called it a night. What a great trip!

Hallo D & Double D

So nice to get some good friends passing through town. We have come to get to know a lot of great people, but nothing can top a trip from the Lucas'.

Up until their arrival, we had not yet found a babysitter. Knowing how well the four of us are capable of enjoying the town together, this was the perfect catalyst to go find one. Through a babysitting service, we booked two different girls for the first weekend that Darryl and Marquisha were here. As it turned out, Maaike, who came on the first night, was a smash hit, and we have been using her ever since.

The visit of Q (DD) & Dhawg was filled with some of the usual, but always enjoyable, leisurely biking and walking around the Dam. Upon night fall, the four of us got out for 4 incredible nights of entertainment.

Of course we had to introduce the Lucas' to Quinto's on the first night that they arrived. Having just got off a plane from London (where they spent a week), there was no need to give them time to adjust to the time zone. The dinner and service at Quinto's was how it always is.....fantastic! A few weeks later, our favorite waiter Dave told us that the owner was getting a bit upset with him that night because he wasn't doing anything but hanging out at our table.

One of the other nights out, we decided to venture over to Boom Chicago, an improv comedy club run by(you guessed it) some guys from Chicago. Having just finished off a few late bites of sushi, we arrived a bit late, but it turned out to our advantage (or so we thought). We were seated at the "VIP" table, as the guests who had reserved it did not show up(per the host). Lucky us (again, or so we thought) we got seat middle-center seats. The show was good (American bashing comedy), the beers expensive, and the laughs were hearty! At the intermission, we all took a "break the seal" break. When the 4 of us joined up at the table again, we all got a bit nervous.....except for Tony (who seemed to be in on the joke).


The only table with a table cloth, center piece (that we swore for a few minutes was armed with a mic), and candles, Darryl, Marquisha, and Stacie became paranoid that we were set up by being seated at the "VIP" table and were going to be pulled up on stage to perform some improv of our own! Upon further investigation, we noticed that there were cameras aimed directly at us and we had some repeat customers, pointing and smiling at us. Darryl immediately started placing the blame on Tony, to which Tony had no idea what he was talking about. Darryl assumed that since Tony was making a push for the show ever since their arrival, this was his doing. We did learn that Tony was NOT part of the set-up, but it sure looked that way. As it turns out, we were being "observed". After the intermission, the MC walked directly over to our table and started the embarrassing interrogation. After getting some one liners and personality insights from everyone but Tony (another reason D,Q, & S were convinced Tony was in on it, the actors, dressed as Darryl, Q & Stacie (note, Stacie's actor was a skinny guy) were all up on stage playing out an MTV Sweet 16 improv scene. It was filled with references to Marquisha's Louis Vuitton dream shopping spree, Darryl's monotone answers and Stacie's call out of "Rock Out With My Cock Out" when asked what her favorite saying was.

Darryl & Marquisha.........we had a blast! Thanks for the visit, but damn you! Before you came, we had never ventured to one of the ham & kaas croissants from the bread shop around the corner. Now they are an unhealthy morning staple. We will always give a shout out to you before our drinking escapades......Long Live the B-12!

C'est la vie Ron & Roxanne

Ah, the weekend trip to Paris. I remember talking to Stacie before coming out here saying how nice it would be to head down to Paris or Milan instead of Home Depot & Costco on the weekends. Well this was our first weekend getaway to one of those two locations (though Stacie's 3rd trip so far to Paris in the past year). With only a couple of weeks remaining on their European adventure & Halloween right upon us, we thought what better place to head to than down to Disneyland & Paris with Ron & Roxanne before they moved back home to the States.

We stretched out the weekend a tad and left for Disneyland early Thursday morning arriving to the Sower's residence around 6:30 am to pick up the better half of our caravan. Following a gentle 5 hour drive down, we made a quick dash to the store for some cheese, wine, beer & waffles of course. Post check-in to our Marriott apartment (highly recommended), we got on to our first of 3 Disney visits for the weekend. The downside of Halloween at Euro Disney....the cold. After only a handful of rides, we made the call to head to dinner, not inspired by hunger growls, but rather at the prospect of curbing the cold shivers and frost bitten toes that had come across everyone. We ended up enjoying the warmth so much that we watched the Lion King dinner show three times!

Prior to calling it a night, Avery wanted to head into Buzz Lightyear. When we saw the line, we decided to just wait until the next day. Then on our way out, a lady offered us some Fast Passes that allowed us to get on the ride only 15 minutes after running into her. What luck! Not necessarily for the ride, but for the sake of avoiding the wrath that Avery would bring upon us after he heard the news of no Buzz for the night! We rode on Buzz (oooh, yeah) and then headed home to our hotel.

The next morning we started out at Hollywood Adventures (think California Adventure). The best part of the day was taking Carter on Crush's Coaster(a Nemo themed ride) with Stacie and Ron, while Avery hung out with Roxanne on the Lightning McQueen tea cups. The roller coaster was similar to Space Mountain, as you were in the dark for part of it, but you were riding in a 4 man pod (turtle shell) that floated around, and spun and dipped. Stacie rode with Carter in the pod and hung onto him for dear life, fretting that he would let out a blood curdling scream at any moment. Though it gave Carter (and his Mommy) a good scare and sea legs, the little guy decided to go again later on in the day!

After heading back to the hotel for some lunch, afternoon refreshers & naps for the kids, we targeted Disney once again, costumes a-blazing, to ring in Halloween. Initially excited, we ended up a bit disappointed as it turned out the park closed at 8pm for a pre-paid shindig. The night did deliver a good laugh, though. Due to the freezing cold weather, we thought it would be best to bundle the boys up under their firemen costumes. The belly laughs came after we looked at Avery and realized he looked just like the kid in The Christmas Story. He was so bundled that he couldn't put his arms down. Needless to say, the kids were not happy campers being so immobile, so the costumes came off!

The next morning, we jumped on the early train bound for Paris. As it was Ron's last chance to take in the sites, we fast tracked many of them on that rainy Saturday afternoon. When the walking and wetness got to all of us, we ducked into a nice Brassiere that worked out just right... great food (pizza --> Rabbit stew), cold beer, reasonable price (Ron was paying) and good service.

On our way back to the hotel, the train happened to stop right by Disneyland, so we headed in for a few more rides (why not, with the season pass, it would be dumb not to go back in).

The next morning, we picked up, packed up and then soaked up the sun's rays that were finally beating downoin the patio in the back over-looking the Disney golf course. We enjoyed the morning for a bit and contemplated staying just one more day. Finally, we hit the road for a lazy Sunday drive home. At our gas-up stop, we decided on a lunch stop in Antwerpen (this would allow Ron to check one more box before commencing his short assignment). Just a bit later, we noticed Ghent on the GPS map and decided it would be good to change the lunch target (as we hadn't been here yet either). Since Ron's mobile was out of juice, we resorted to the "pen on paper stuck to the passenger window while pulling up on the side" trick to let them know the plans had changed. Great call, what a picturesque town! Though we were only there for a few hours, we decided that we needed to add this to the "must-see more of" list.