Since we returned from our big Christmas adventure, I’ve fallen behind on updating our journal, but I’m doing my best to catch up!
It was a snowy week after we returned home from our trip to Finland. There was already snow on the ground when we arrived, and it continued to snow at least once a day throughout the week. While there hasn’t been much accumulation, the cold temperatures have kept the snow around, making everything extremely icy.
After our busy day of cleaning on Sunday, Matt and I returned to work on Monday, while the kids enjoyed one more day of freedom. They volunteered at a wrestling clinic at the elementary school and then headed to wrestling practice.
On Tuesday, the kids were back in school and everyone returned to their regular schedule. It was also Epiphany—known in Germany as Three Kings’ Day—and our neighbors hosted the sweetest little get-together.
We recently met some German neighbors who had just moved back after living overseas. In honor of Three Kings’ Day, they invited neighbors from our street to a small gathering and shared a tradition of having a Three Kings’ punch from a French family who had been their neighbors while living abroad. Since January 6 marks the last day of the Christmas holiday for much of Europe, it was a lovely way for everyone to end their break from work and school.
The party was held right in their front yard, where they set out cake and punch on a table and asked everyone to bring their own mugs. Each person arrived with a Christmas market mug; it was so adorable! It was a perfect example of how Germans host small, low-key celebrations where everyone still has a wonderful time.
We had a great time meeting some of our neighbors for the first time, even though we had all lived down the street from one another for nearly five years. Even some of the German neighbors didn’t know each other, which made us all especially grateful that this family hosted such a lovely little gathering.
Over the weekend, the kids were supposed to travel to Vicenza, Italy for a wrestling match, and Matt and I were planning to go as well so we could visit family. However, with snow falling across Europe all week and a major snowstorm forecasted for the Brenner Pass, the tournament was moved to Ramstein, Germany, and we had to cancel our trip. Instead, the kids met the bus at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Matt and I departed around 8, arriving shortly after the tournament began at 10.
We were a little worried that Ryan wouldn’t make his weight this week. When he woke up on the day of the meet and weighed himself, he was two pounds over. Somehow, he dropped the weight and qualified by 8 a.m.!
It didn’t end up being Ryan’s best day out. I think he was tired from how busy we’ve been and probably a little worn out from having to drop two pounds right before the tournament. He ended up wrestling 1-2 though against some pretty tough competitors.
We ended up leaving pretty early and were home by 7 p.m. The rest of the night was spent on the couch, only breaking to pick up the kids when their bus returned around 9 p.m.
We were expecting visitors the following week, so Sunday was a whirlwind of errands and grocery shopping. The kids spent most of their day buried in school projects, trying to wrap up everything before the last week of the marking period. By evening, we were all ready to collapse; but it felt good to be home and get everything done.
Gilcrests Abroad 