Rome

I must admit that Rome was never at the top of my list of must see places, and certainly wasn't at the top of Jeff's! But, I knew I really wanted to see it while we were here and decided to do a trip without Jeff and the kids. So glad I did! My friend Staci and I took advantage of the 4 day weekend to travel without our families. Visiting Rome in January may be one of the best travel decisions I've ever made! First off the city was very quiet and there were no crowds anywhere. Everything was cheap. Very cheap. Our flight (round trip) was only $50. The weather was also nice, definitely not hot but also not too cold. It did rain a bit, but without kids complaining rain doesn't matter so much. Traveling without the kids was also a good move. There is soooo much to see and do in Rome and we were able to fit in just about everything (with kids we wouldn't have accomplished half the sites). Many of the museums were also not very appropriate for young kids (we both commented on the numerous naked statues that our kids would have giggled over). Staci was a great travel companion. We had some of the best food we've ever had (including the best pizza of my life), and some very delicious cheap wine. We walked miles and enjoyed everything the city had to offer. Jeff has never been, but also didn't have much desire to visit. One day I would love to take him and the kids when they are much older and can appreciate  everything. 

Capitol Hill:

Coliseum: 

Palantine Hill:

On top of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican:

Better view:

St. Peter's Basilica:

Inside the Vatican Museum. I've been to many art museums around the World, but nothing can prepare you for the inside of the Vatican Museum or St. Peter's Basilica. I mean it literally takes your breath away. Obviously, none of these pictures do it justice.

One of our favorite things were these night strolls we took throughout the city courtesy of Rick Steves' travel book. We walked to many landmarks/fountains/churches and would duck in for a drink or food when we wanted a break. This is the Trevi Fountain and absolutely spectacular at night!

Girls' weekend in Garmisch

Feeling pretty blessed that I had the opportunity to take 2 fabulous weekend trips back to back this month! It's wonderful to vacation as a family, but also very nice to enjoy some adult time. My friend, Kristen, had a free weekend in Garmisch and invited 3 of us girls to hang out. We had a great time! We enjoyed 2 full days of skiing, some hot tub time, delicious after ski drinks, and some amazing food at night. The first day I spent on the mountain with my dear friend Hillary who is quite the accomplished snowboarder. She's from Aspen and her brother is an olympic gold medalist in snowboarding from the Salt Lake City games-- need I say more about her abilities? So I was a little out of my league skiing with her. Nonetheless, we still had a great time and she pushed me to do some hills I would never have done. I did miss my husband though-- I always enjoy him taking care of me on the slopes!!

Loved this view of Garmisch:

Me and Hillary:

I realize I look like a HUGE dork in this picture, but it's the only one I have of me on skies-- so go with it...

The 4 of us enjoying our delicious 4 course meal, Garmisch has some fabulous restaurants!

New Year's with the Crombe's

Right after Rothenburg we headed down to Fussen to meet up with the Crombe's for some New Year's fun! Fussen is the town with the Neuschwanstein Castle. We loved visiting the castle during our first summer here, and the winter was just as lovely! The views with the snow were pretty spectacular. Ben, Katie, Dylan, and Owen hung out with us for 4 days. The girls had a blast together and us adults enjoyed plenty of adult time after the kids went to sleep. We castle visited, and went to Austria to sled during 2 of the days. The sledding was awesome and the kids loved it! You take a chair lift to the top of the hill and they actually have paved trails to sled down. Jeff got a little carried away with speed on our first run and actually ran Luke into a fence (hence the scratches on his face in the first picture). We hope to link up the Crombe's again soon!! 

Love this picture of the kids:

The girls!

Playing around the castle: