Ostersonntag.

We had fifty-five Irish pre-teens here for Easter, plus their sixteen adults. Most of them had never skied before, so had our work cut out for us. Actually, the work started before the ski days. We needed all hands in the kitchen to cook for the eighty or so total people here. I'd rather we just get food in town. The bakeries went all out for Oster, with lots of cakes, Easter pies, and chocolate rabbits.

Their first day, we took the Irish on a hike to Engstligen. It took three hours, twice as long as it takes me to do it. I took the rear and threw snowballs at the laggards whenever they sat down. Really, you should be able to hike for three hours at age twelve, even if it's up in the Alps and on a very slight incline. We rewarded them for finally making it with a snow barbecue. We had to change the schedule around here to accomodate them all. After dinner, I roughhoused in the snow and then ordered them to build snow creatures. They're fun kids.

The next morning, we got up at six to get them all set for skiing. We marched them to town, then lined them up for ski fitting. This is Syndey and me hiking the last bit of the walk to town. It's a lot of uphill, so we had more kidherding to do. Finally, they all had skis and had walked three blocks to the park in their ski boots. We served a breakfast picnic and sent them off with their ski instructors.

We had intended to go ice skating to celebrate having accomplished all that by nine a.m., but they'd just closed the rink for the year. We had hot chocolate and cakes instead. I chose a mini Easter pie, complete with little eggs on top. I don't know what was inside, but it was delicious. Sydney and Sloan got some sort of pastry-custard cake, one vanilla and one strawberry. Brazil got a custard pie, also with strawberries, and Bowie got a more cake-like cake, I think. We swapped around to check the quality and that they all went well with cocoa. This is Brazil and me giving our smiles of approval. I'm also displaying my racoon tan of approval, it seems.

By that night, I had contracted an evil stomach virus from one of the kids. I went to bed early and missed the chocolate fondue. I was sick for half of Easter Sunday as well, which is a pity. I did get to watch the Salvation Army Band through the window. The Easter tradition around here is to get in uniform and have the SA Band stand by the flag, facing out into the valley. All of Adelboden hears them play at about eight in the morning, then we file inside and tuck into our Sunday Bread. I fell asleep on the couch instead. Canuk says she'll make me some another day. I also missed Easter mass, to which I had been looking forward. I will have to catch another, less fancy, Swiss-German mass while I'm here.

I have the next two days off, so won't see them for more skiing, a day trip to Bern, and a night hike. I plan on recovering for the rest of the afternoon so I can make the most of my free time. I'm already feeling much better. The kid who was sick enough to miss skiing yesterday is just fine today, so I figure it's a twenty-four hour thing.