Unfortunatly my camera is broken so I have not been able to take pictures this past month.
We had a very traditional American style Thanksgiving with some friends we met here and my friend Trina from the US. It was a great meal and fun to be with other Americans since it is not celebrated here. Obviously! Actually, it can be really difficult to find a turkey.
We are really excited to come back to the states in just 4 short days. I cannot believe how quickly the time went. We had some great visits here with friends and family in the 5 months we have been here. I have also met some wonderful women through the kids schools and a local English playgroup I have been going to on Mondays. We had a great Christmas dinner together and a fun girls night out.
Ill post some more pictures once I get a new camera, I guess I know what I am getting for Christmas this year!
Happy Holidays to everyone and safe and "sane" travels to those of you who are visiting loved ones!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Grandma and Grandpas visit!
Our first snow, Oct 29, 2008..it did not disappoint and the kids ate a ton if it!
We LOVED having Grandma and Grandpa here for 2 weeks!! Here are the kiddos singing Happy Birthday....eieioooo...to Grandpa. It was hilarious. They got lucky with warm sunny weather almost the entire trip!
Interlaken above and shopping with Grandma in Zurich, Ryan actually looks like he is having fun, I think he was ready for a beer after all the markets we hit. Ella was in heaven, her favorite thing to do is to "buy stuff".
We LOVED having Grandma and Grandpa here for 2 weeks!! Here are the kiddos singing Happy Birthday....eieioooo...to Grandpa. It was hilarious. They got lucky with warm sunny weather almost the entire trip!
Interlaken above and shopping with Grandma in Zurich, Ryan actually looks like he is having fun, I think he was ready for a beer after all the markets we hit. Ella was in heaven, her favorite thing to do is to "buy stuff".
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Interlaken and Lake Lugano
Interlaken, Switzerland
We were able to squeeze in a couple trips in September on the weekends. Here are some pictures of our day trip to Interlaken. Below are pictures of our weekend in Lake Lugano on the Italian, Swiss border. Although you are technically in Switzerland since it is on the border you really feel like you are in Italy. Most people speak Italian and the food is no joke: we had some of the best pasta we have ever eaten.
Our first visitor!
Our first vistor, Trina! She flew in from DC this past week and we had a full 7 days of packed hilarious adventures and tooo many pastries and lattes to count! Since she lived in Germany she was able to teach me a lot of the language and how to grocery shop. Now, I am not as afraid of the meat and cheese department. She was my translater all week!
Here we are eating our classic German food at Oktoberfest in our downtown of Wadenswil. Here are the kids with their flags playing outside the brewery.
More pictures to come once Trina sends me hers, I thought my camera was broken and realized near the end of the trip my battery was not in it!
Our home away from home
Hi all, after a long time away from my blog I am back!
Here are pictures of our Swiss "home": pic #1 we are the end unit, 14 - looking from street, #2 my mini kitchen (yep I have a lot of stuff stored in the basement!) , #3 our garden and back yard
#4 and 5 our backyard, walking down the steps opens to a large grass area for the kids to play.
#6 is our view from main level out back. The Alps just got snow on them this week when it was raining here.
The view off our second level, our staircase, and the family room looking into the hall towards the kitchen and eating area. The house is four levels with spiral stairs up each level.
Kids playing in garden and little pond, they throw about a million rocks in it a day. Lastly, a pic of the neighbors yards next to ours.
Here are pictures of our Swiss "home": pic #1 we are the end unit, 14 - looking from street, #2 my mini kitchen (yep I have a lot of stuff stored in the basement!) , #3 our garden and back yard
#4 and 5 our backyard, walking down the steps opens to a large grass area for the kids to play.
#6 is our view from main level out back. The Alps just got snow on them this week when it was raining here.
The view off our second level, our staircase, and the family room looking into the hall towards the kitchen and eating area. The house is four levels with spiral stairs up each level.
Kids playing in garden and little pond, they throw about a million rocks in it a day. Lastly, a pic of the neighbors yards next to ours.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
First Day of school! August 21, 2008
Ella dressing up at school, within 5 minutes of getting there she was in a princess dress....a girly girl at heart.
Do you see Charlies arm, he has a toy blood pressure thing on his arm from a little doctores kit and insisted on wearing it the entire drive to school! He also had a little turtle stuck in the top of his shirt that you cant see, but it was so funny.
The red couch is a moms area equipped with coffee and (English) magazines for moms to relax and hang out while the kids get adjusted..maybe Ill just have to hang out there while my kids will take a really long time to get "adjusted"...ha!
With traffic it took me a whopping 45 minutes to drive them, so it will be that way until mid-September.
The call it "nursery school", which I dont know why here, but it actually is a school where they will do organized learn and activity--mainly through play. Charlie loved the train set.
Do you see Charlies arm, he has a toy blood pressure thing on his arm from a little doctores kit and insisted on wearing it the entire drive to school! He also had a little turtle stuck in the top of his shirt that you cant see, but it was so funny.
The red couch is a moms area equipped with coffee and (English) magazines for moms to relax and hang out while the kids get adjusted..maybe Ill just have to hang out there while my kids will take a really long time to get "adjusted"...ha!
With traffic it took me a whopping 45 minutes to drive them, so it will be that way until mid-September.The call it "nursery school", which I dont know why here, but it actually is a school where they will do organized learn and activity--mainly through play. Charlie loved the train set.
They all held onto a rope and took a walk to the farm and saw "a big brown Swiss cow" according to Ella. When they split the class, Ella is with 2 other boys and Charlie has a mix of both with about 6 kids. Charlie finally gets some boys to hang out with...poor kid is getting dressed in dresses by Ella all day, this must be so refreshing for him.
All said and done it was a great first day. And, I got 3 hours to explore the town.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Daily life here
Hi everyone! I have had so many questions about just our day to day life, so Ill do my best to give a good idea of our life from Mon - Fri because so far Ive only shown all the weekend adventures. Heres what we do when Ryan isnt around..hehe
Housing and our new place!
We are currently in temp housing until we move into our house on Sept 16th. Ryans company owns the condo we are staying in and we are able to stay here for a total of 3 months, which will work out good because by the time we leave it will have been 2.5 months. I can best describe this place as maybe a condo youd rent in Florida, all light colors , mainly white with tile floors. With a washer and dryer that can get out any stain! No joke, I am bringing back one of these washers if I have to smuggle it. The town we are in is called Rotkreuz, it is about 30 min from Zurich but situated between Zug and Lucern, both about 10 min away by train and so far two of my favorite towns. Both are located on lakes.
We will move to a town called Wadenswil, that is 20 minutes from Zurich and way more international than where we are now. The shops and resturants are open later and there are many more English speaking people there. It is located along Lake Zurich. Our house is the end unit of a 4 unit "townhome" structure. It is very European. The kitchen is smaller than many of your master closets and I am not kidding! However, for those of you who know me, I dont like to spend much time there anyway so thats ok. It has two car garage...The basement level has a large laundry room, bomb shelter (all homes have them and they are good for storage) and a bedroom which will be the playroom, the main level has a mini kitchen, eating area and family room and half bath, then the next two floors up are bedrooms and bathrooms. The top floor is a guest bedroom with a bathroom and veranda with awesome views! I was thinking of also putting Charlies room up there but I am a bit worried about him falling down the stairs if he looks for us a night. I might actually have Ella and Charlie share a room. All the stairs are circular and carpeted, which the carpeting is rare here. Our favorite thing is the location which is close to town, close to Zurich and it has a large backyard with really cool views of Lake Zurich and the Alps. You can even see the boats cruising on the lake. There are lots of dinner cruises that launch from the town about a mile from us. It is situated at the end of the road so the kids can ride their bikes.
School, horray!
The kids will start school Thursday and Ella will go 3 mornings per week and Charlie will go 2 mornings. The days Charlie is there, Ella will be there also. It is a split class, they divide the younger and older kids after circle time and free play. The school will be 1 mile from our new house and I can walk there except it is up hill the whole way. Maybe I will take the bus to take them to school and then walk them back home. Having them together is good for everyone, it eases their anxiety and gives me time to run errands. The school is English and brand new, the day they arrive will be the 2nd day it is opened. It has a wonderful setting and lots to play with, including fish tanks, wooden train sets, games, kitchen sets, dress up, etc. So, needless to say, we all cant wait for tomorrow! As of next week my days will change alot from what we are doing now because I will have to drive them 25 min to school and back, 3 x a week.
We have one car that we bought, Ryan and I will share it and it is like a trailblazer with a 3rd row but just shrunk a bit. Everything here is smaller and a wide car wont do, you would take out your side mirrors for sure! Its black which is cool, I have never had a black car.
Grocery Shopping:
Shopping here is better than when we first moved here, once you figure out what everything is it is somewhat easy. The stores are smaller but within walking distance I have 3 I can walk to so if one store doesnt have what I need , the other usually will. Sushi is impossible to find here, when I go back to the states for Christmas i will be a regular at my favorite sushi resturants. If I go up to a deli counter I usually point to what I need and with the little German I know and the little English they know, it works out. I can count to 100 which seems so hilarious, but actually helps a ton. The neighbor kids above us taught us how to count. I have a list of things to bring back with me from the states but off the top of my head it is impossible to find: lemonade, ranch dressing, canned soups, hot sauce, chedder cheese, anything premade or boxed like mac and cheese...the food is good though and very natural. You need to eat it quick because it wont last long in the fridge! I also miss jalapeno poppers. Love those things.
The Farms:
The farms here are everywhere and most of them have cows, goats, chickens, some horses (not sure if they are to eat..ugh). But they are beautiful and the animals are treated like royalty. You can walk to many of these farms and help yourself to the fresh fruits, eggs and veggies theyve picked that day. You just write down what you took and leave your money in a basket. They are some of the best fruits and veggies Ive ever had. The dairy farms are crazy, lots of cows and they are equipped with spritzers incase the "ladies" get hot, huge fans and a big massager they can rub their back against. Not too bad. Ella and Charlie like to feed them, as if they are not well fed enough as it is. Maybe that is why the milk here is great, the cows are happy! Well as happy as you can be having to produce milk all day.
Daily Life:
Our days have been filled with going to parks, farms, shopping, taking trains to neighboring towns and it is fun but we are ready for school to start. The neighbor kids here have been really friendly and we will miss them when we move. Their moms speak English. The kids above us are sweet, 10, 8 and 7 and they love Ella and Charlie and run around riding scooters together and playing with chalk. Everytime we walk by they are waiving and saying hello. Ella and Charlie think it is really neat that their friends live right above us.
We brought a large container from our house and it arrived on land last weekend. It will go straight to our new house in Sept. we brought about 60% of our stuff, all the beds, couches, clothes, kitchen stuff, toys, bikes, etc. I am so happy to hear our stuff actually made it as far as it did. FEEWWWWW
We have slingbox which means we watch tv through our colorado cable box at my parents house...we are able to record programs and watch them which is so nice. We have been watching Seinfeld at night or movies , the tv here is either british or german. Watching the olympics in german is just not the same.
ok, thats it for now!
Housing and our new place!
We are currently in temp housing until we move into our house on Sept 16th. Ryans company owns the condo we are staying in and we are able to stay here for a total of 3 months, which will work out good because by the time we leave it will have been 2.5 months. I can best describe this place as maybe a condo youd rent in Florida, all light colors , mainly white with tile floors. With a washer and dryer that can get out any stain! No joke, I am bringing back one of these washers if I have to smuggle it. The town we are in is called Rotkreuz, it is about 30 min from Zurich but situated between Zug and Lucern, both about 10 min away by train and so far two of my favorite towns. Both are located on lakes.
We will move to a town called Wadenswil, that is 20 minutes from Zurich and way more international than where we are now. The shops and resturants are open later and there are many more English speaking people there. It is located along Lake Zurich. Our house is the end unit of a 4 unit "townhome" structure. It is very European. The kitchen is smaller than many of your master closets and I am not kidding! However, for those of you who know me, I dont like to spend much time there anyway so thats ok. It has two car garage...The basement level has a large laundry room, bomb shelter (all homes have them and they are good for storage) and a bedroom which will be the playroom, the main level has a mini kitchen, eating area and family room and half bath, then the next two floors up are bedrooms and bathrooms. The top floor is a guest bedroom with a bathroom and veranda with awesome views! I was thinking of also putting Charlies room up there but I am a bit worried about him falling down the stairs if he looks for us a night. I might actually have Ella and Charlie share a room. All the stairs are circular and carpeted, which the carpeting is rare here. Our favorite thing is the location which is close to town, close to Zurich and it has a large backyard with really cool views of Lake Zurich and the Alps. You can even see the boats cruising on the lake. There are lots of dinner cruises that launch from the town about a mile from us. It is situated at the end of the road so the kids can ride their bikes.
School, horray!
The kids will start school Thursday and Ella will go 3 mornings per week and Charlie will go 2 mornings. The days Charlie is there, Ella will be there also. It is a split class, they divide the younger and older kids after circle time and free play. The school will be 1 mile from our new house and I can walk there except it is up hill the whole way. Maybe I will take the bus to take them to school and then walk them back home. Having them together is good for everyone, it eases their anxiety and gives me time to run errands. The school is English and brand new, the day they arrive will be the 2nd day it is opened. It has a wonderful setting and lots to play with, including fish tanks, wooden train sets, games, kitchen sets, dress up, etc. So, needless to say, we all cant wait for tomorrow! As of next week my days will change alot from what we are doing now because I will have to drive them 25 min to school and back, 3 x a week.
We have one car that we bought, Ryan and I will share it and it is like a trailblazer with a 3rd row but just shrunk a bit. Everything here is smaller and a wide car wont do, you would take out your side mirrors for sure! Its black which is cool, I have never had a black car.
Grocery Shopping:
Shopping here is better than when we first moved here, once you figure out what everything is it is somewhat easy. The stores are smaller but within walking distance I have 3 I can walk to so if one store doesnt have what I need , the other usually will. Sushi is impossible to find here, when I go back to the states for Christmas i will be a regular at my favorite sushi resturants. If I go up to a deli counter I usually point to what I need and with the little German I know and the little English they know, it works out. I can count to 100 which seems so hilarious, but actually helps a ton. The neighbor kids above us taught us how to count. I have a list of things to bring back with me from the states but off the top of my head it is impossible to find: lemonade, ranch dressing, canned soups, hot sauce, chedder cheese, anything premade or boxed like mac and cheese...the food is good though and very natural. You need to eat it quick because it wont last long in the fridge! I also miss jalapeno poppers. Love those things.
The Farms:
The farms here are everywhere and most of them have cows, goats, chickens, some horses (not sure if they are to eat..ugh). But they are beautiful and the animals are treated like royalty. You can walk to many of these farms and help yourself to the fresh fruits, eggs and veggies theyve picked that day. You just write down what you took and leave your money in a basket. They are some of the best fruits and veggies Ive ever had. The dairy farms are crazy, lots of cows and they are equipped with spritzers incase the "ladies" get hot, huge fans and a big massager they can rub their back against. Not too bad. Ella and Charlie like to feed them, as if they are not well fed enough as it is. Maybe that is why the milk here is great, the cows are happy! Well as happy as you can be having to produce milk all day.
Daily Life:
Our days have been filled with going to parks, farms, shopping, taking trains to neighboring towns and it is fun but we are ready for school to start. The neighbor kids here have been really friendly and we will miss them when we move. Their moms speak English. The kids above us are sweet, 10, 8 and 7 and they love Ella and Charlie and run around riding scooters together and playing with chalk. Everytime we walk by they are waiving and saying hello. Ella and Charlie think it is really neat that their friends live right above us.
We brought a large container from our house and it arrived on land last weekend. It will go straight to our new house in Sept. we brought about 60% of our stuff, all the beds, couches, clothes, kitchen stuff, toys, bikes, etc. I am so happy to hear our stuff actually made it as far as it did. FEEWWWWW
We have slingbox which means we watch tv through our colorado cable box at my parents house...we are able to record programs and watch them which is so nice. We have been watching Seinfeld at night or movies , the tv here is either british or german. Watching the olympics in german is just not the same.
ok, thats it for now!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Disneyland Paris
Hi Minney. Ella love Minnie and she was in our hotel every morning on our way to breakfast. We spent the weekend at the NewYork Hotel which felt a bit more like actually being in the US. We even spotted a guy in a Denver Nuggets jersey.
Rainy day and everyone got ponchos but me - they are such wimps with the rain! Actually I had an umbrella but it broke about halfway through the day so I ended up with Ryans poncho on.
Kids on Small World ride which is identical to DisneyWorld ride - actually the entire park is literally almost identical to DisneyWorls - just smaller.
DIsneyland Hotel - we didnt stay there but went it to check it out, it was really cool - all decorated like the old US South.
Downtown Paris before we went to Disney , sorry guys we just drove past the eiffel tower so I dont have any good pictures. I had grandoius plans to see the eiffel towe at night all lit up! My plan foiled after the drive was WAY longer than we thought (8.5 hours). So we got there at 9pm and we were all tired, hungry and couldnt figure out the tram system to get to that side of the city. The city is huge and we stayed in a Holiday Inn (above with Ryan and kids) on the other side of the city. NEVER ever ever drive in Paris, it is crazier than any city I have driven in mainly because there are no designated lanes so people literally just turn in front of you, bikes and motorcyles come between you and the busses cut you off. Ryan was a superhero and got us through that city without a scratch on our car - but we did hold our breath most of the time!
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