The celebrities in Chaminox

Wednesday morning was a bit rainy, although it was snowing on the mountain we opted to take a break and hit the city of Chaminox. Probably the ritziest ski area I have ever seen. I figured everyone we saw was a celebrity, just covered in high end ski gear.

A well painted house.


The mountains were beautiful from any angle.


Outdoor dining


Indoor dining with fireman drew


Hey fireman drew!


It's not possible to get too many mountain photos.


We may have a winner;)


It's so beautiful looking at the mountains they made statues doing just that.


Another winner


Can anyone find the celebrity in this shot?


How bout this one?


3 celebrities in this photo


Celebrity or tourist.


Hmmmmm...






Love the church photo


Chasing pigeons











Check out the gondolas in this photo, want to ride?


Something about our quick trip to Chaminox made me so thankful I have such a traveling family. My folks love to wander the streets, the boys are happy to ride on shoulders, eat at restaurants and just soak in the sights. They all took naps along the 45 minute drive home.---success.

Now onto dinner, I'm not one to take photos of food, but this salad was just awesome, smoked salmon on top seafood salad.


Lemon dressing


This restaurant had awesome ambiance. We walked in to a packed room (thankful for reservations) and one skinny waiter was running the show, (to include the cd that was constantly skipping). His first question was a speedy 'rose or blanco'. Rose!! Thankfully he meant wine!

Dinner was fabulous-Chris ordered a cappuccino (which I alway heard was an insult after an amazing meal-you are supposed to order expresso). But anyway, I call this a friendlys sundae;)


Puddin pants!


The only munchkin we ate with thanks to eleanor-one of the strongest ladies there might be a blog about this later (if I get more than 5 minutes of focus time)


A beautiful end to a beautiful day.

A final farewell to the alps

Today was the kind of day I just couldn't keep my camera in my pocket. It was just beautiful. There is something genuinely breathless about the mountains. I don't have any words... Just photos.

The arrival in France

We woke up at 5:30, drove 6.5 hours in the pouring rain to arrive in morilion, France. A town nestled in the France alps. What do you think it was doing in this sweet town? Raining... Gosh I love the french.

Our home is beautiful and catered, no dishes on vacation.





I'm guessing we arent the first ones to knock out this pose.


Cheers from france!


The next morning we were thankful for no rain now it's time to explore the slopes. One French road block at a time,

Here goes the Leadbetter family


And our travel buddies the Duelleys


Oma sue over sees the action


Ready Lego man??


We took advantage of the clear day-photos in the next one.

The final new years

Years year eve was the perfect time to gather some great friends in our home for one last party before it all gets packed up. We filled the rooms with blow up mattresses and pack and plays for the kids. It was the perfect evening to mingle around snack, light countless sparklers for the kids and enjoy the new years.

After the kids went to bed we refreshed our memory on the years events family feud style and of course a game of name that tune which Eleanor won single handedly!!





In my opinion, in Germany there isn't a huge push to go out and eat at a restaurant as they literally bring the celebration home!! Here is a video my father took literally outside our window. There were TONS of personally purchase fireworks.... 100,000 euros worth. People were shooting them off in the street, on their porch, anywhere. A firemarshalls nightmare but a treasured memory for us.

We were shocked that all 6 kids slept through it! Guess they were tired;). Enjoy the video!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E65vQgIHbMc

The days in-between

The week between Christmas and new years was filled with little trips and adventures. Here we checked out the suishiem museum. It was filled with airplanes, cars, tanks, motorcycles and all kinds of fun 'boy' stuff. From a museum lover.... It was still a museum.

Oma sue happily obliges the 2euro plane demo


This was rather entertaining.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkguJIVHWFI

At the museum you could scale a large ladder, climb into a plane and than ride a metal tunnel back down. Nick(my little German boy) had the fore thought to grab the mandatory rug, we grabbed 2. Once we finally got up there I scoped the area. No signs, no age restrictions, height etc... So nick hopped on the carpet while I listened nervously to his decent. No squeals... He hopped out and shout back up-'that was cool, little scary, but fun!'. Shane and I were next (Oma sue was with the other 2 boys in the cafeteria) so down we sailed. I must admit, with Shane in my lap it was a bit scary... But what could happen in a super fast windy silver tube... Let's do it again!

With all the rain and mild weather in Germany, we were happy to start packing for our final vacation in the alps. The helmets are always a favorite toy.


Next stop, mountains!

Christmas day

Christmas was once again filled with the excitement of Santa claus. Nick came into our room at 5:50 but managed to 'stay calm' until about 6:30 when he was 'released' to check on Oma sue and Goomba. The sound of his feet running down the stairs was really a joy to listen to. Especially since he was going so fast and the end result was not a fall.

Here is the first gift staged by Santa. Lights on an all. To the Leadbetter boys. All 4 of them!


Drew with his stocking for the first time. The name was knitted by crafty Oma sue;)


A builder book from builder mom.


Dad helping out with the toy assembly.


A memorable book from some very talented authors;)


Thankfully Santa bought the larger size as nick can wear this for years!! Wonder if it will hold for all 3 boys?


See Chris's dream car behind him? Another favorite by more than just Chris as it was remote control!!


We enjoyed a relaxing family morning with my folks as the kids enjoyed their new loot. Shane carried on the Leadbetter tradition later that night in a bit of an upset tummy. The bug made it's way to 2 other Leadbetter before leaving us. Thankfully we had a low key holiday planned with lots of relaxation (and laundry!!)

Merry Christmas