Family in Town

We've had Greg's mom and sister in town for the past week. Liz has to leave tomorrow to get back to her husband in LA. But Chris is staying with us until the 29th! We've been visiting Geneva and the surrounding areas almost non-stop. Chris and Liz spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva. Thursday they took the train to Chamonix and Mont Blanc. Friday we went to the Christmas market in Montreaux. Saturday, we drove to Bern. And Sunday afternoon we went to Annecy, France.

Chris and Liz in downtown Geneva

Liz and Elsa

Greg, Henry and Ansel in Bern.

(These streets are full of statues that look like something from a Tim Burton movie: a bear wearing a knight's helmet, a gryphon, Moses with rays of light that look like moose antlers. But our favorite was the statue of the man eating babies for lunch. I'll post that one soon.)

Elsa in the pews

Elsa in the Münster Cathedral 

This was the runner-up photo for the holiday card. Yep, this was the second-best pose we could get our kids to take. Compared to the others ones, this one makes us look halfway normal.

Christmas is coming

Sunset from our balcony

Ansel Sits In Judgment

Ansel is judge, prosecutor and jury of the breadman we found at the store.

Verdict: Guilty.

Fall in the Alps

These photos are from our trip to the Jungfrau region a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful. We stayed on the Thuner See. It was just a lovely way to enjoy the changing of the seasons. It has been nice entering our second season in Switzerland.

Mom and Granny

So I just want to document, as good as my life is here, and as content as I feel. Last week was a bummer. My Mom had a heart attack and her second coronary by pass surgery (a redo of the first). That was stressful enough. Of course I wanted to be there. By the time I found out it was happening, it was happening. Then you have to figure anouther 36hours to get there. I missed out. Before my mom was released from the hospital my grandma (my mom's mom) passed away
I thought that I would go. Even the airfare was acceptable at 24hrs. notice. I was so sad-especially for my mom.
I loved my Grandma. She opened her home to everyone. It was truly a gathering place. I knew the last time I saw her it would be the last. Since then I've been wearing her scent and sipping her drink, diet cherry coke, in her honor. It hasn't been hard. I love the way she smelled and I love diet coke in all its forms.
Also in her honor I will buy a new dress and a pair of shoes to match. That's what she would have done.
I didn't end up going, and that's ok. Granny is ok with it.
My mom is doing well. I'm so grateful that she was able to make it out here and spend time with us before all of this happened. I miss her and talk to her as often as I can.
This is the hardest part about being here. With technology you feel so close. It is so easy to communicate and even see each other. It's even easy to trick yourself into thinking that you aren't that far away. But when it comes down to it. . . in the words of Elsa, "We are from the other side of the lake." That is one big lake.

Halloween? You bet!

When we saw Halloween costumes and decorations in some of the larger stores we were stunned. It turns out, Halloween is catching on. I give it five years for full infiltration. We all waited anxiously to see how the holiday would pass. We had heard that the church Halloween party was the event not to be missed. A huge draw for American ex-pats. Greg was in charge of the party, and surely felt the weight of the community.
The party was a success. Americans had been importing candy for a month from the states to hand out to the kids. Thank goodness, good old American starbursts and M&Ms (yes, I know they have M&Ms here, but they just aren't the same).
We actually were able to take the kids trick-or-treating in a friend's suburb. We even had a few come by our apartment. That made us feel so good.
The kids were even invited to a Halloween party a couple of days before. Thrown by a couple of American moms.
By the time the Ward Halloween party was over, we definitely felt like we had celebrated.
The Banshees had a great time dressing up, naturally!

The Booch Is Two!

Happy Birthday to you!

I wish I could just give everyone a little slice of this baby cakes.  He is so sweet-you'd just eat him up.  

He's been the most cloistered of all my children, you'll just have to believe me when I say he is one nugget of greatness!

I know I'm bias, but seriously the boy just has coolness radiating from his everything.  Since he was very very young men would just say-"he is such a cool baby."  Once would be fascinating twice charming, but over and over the dudes just think he's cool.  

When I'm walking down the street with him men will just give him the dude grunt broo ha ha noise.  Apparantly he's reaching them.

For me, he just melts my heart.  He falls asleep with his arms wrapped around my neck.  For two years I'm the only woman he would let hold him.  

This year all that will change.  The last signs of baby will go away.  He'll leave those pacis (bobi) and diapers behind.  Two is bitter sweet.

Back to School

Don't expect any photos in front of the school. We haven't gotten that far yet. The transition into a French speaking Swiss school has been exciting enough, trying to get the two banshees to pose for a back to school shot might put them over the edge! Henry and Elsa both started school on the 25th of August. Today we finish week two. phew. I am humbled by how well these two have handled it. They have been so courageous. I'm glad they're mine!
The school doors open at 8:00 AM, but they have until 8:45 AM to arrive. We usually leave the house at 8:30 AM. Today we actually got there right at 8:00 AM and witnessed the process. All of the children gather according to classes and their teachers come and get their class. Classes enter the school one at a time. It's quite calm and orderly. The kids loved being early. Maybe we'll try it again sometime.
They come home for lunch at 11:30 AM and stay home until 1:30 PM. It is nice to have them home for lunch. It gives Henry a chance to relax before going back to school until 4:00 PM. So, I have 6 trips to the school dropping off and picking up. My day is busy.
Henry started a "French as a Second Language" class this week. Half of his day is spent at a different school across town. Monday and Tuesday he goes in the morning and Thursday and Friday he goes in the afternoon. I am so glad he is in this class, it will really help his French.
The kids are adjusting well. It is scary and they will usually say they don't want to go to school, but when it comes down to it-they go. Henry has never complained about going back in the afternoon. They must enjoy their teachers and the students. From what I've seen all of the children are very nice and try to include Henry and Elsa. Their teachers are also very nice and keep me posted on how they are doing.
Elsa's teacher has really gotten a kick out of her. Elsa has refused to paint in class because she doesn't like the painting smocks that I've bought her. I've bought two! The other day her teacher said "Elsa won't stay in her chair."  I said, "Oh really?  Who is she sitting next to?"  The teacher replied, "two boys."  I knew exactly what the problem was.  When I asked Elsa why she wasn't staying in her seat she said, "I don't want to sit next to a chubby boy and a thin boy!"  ahh yes.

Part II.

I haven't posted this in what four weeks?  I don't know why, maybe I thought a picture would be possible after all.  Well no.  There is still no back to school photo.  Elsa still complains about going to school every morning, but really I think it is just habit.  She always has a nice time.  I continue to be amazed at my children.  They are so brave.  I love them for that and try to give them so many extra hugs and kisses.  

Maybe next week we'll get a photo.

Felix, Hyena and Henry

This is how Henry makes his bed in the morning.  Such a sweet boy.

Ansel in a Cast

Greg manages to keep up three blogs and then uploads (or is it downloads) pictures on my blog in hopes that I'll write something.  It would be so much more interesting if he'd just write the commentary as well.

Yeah Ansel "hurt" his leg.  They didn't find a break or a fracture.  We go back tomorrow for more x-rays.  So why the bright red cast?  The little Booch was in so much pain they decided to use the cast as pain control.  He was in so much pain,  it was so sad.  Now I wonder what they will do about my back-ha ha.

Here is the story.  We went to pick the kids up from school.  Henry got out first and wanted to play on the playground.  Ansel wanted to join him.  I was watching of course.  Elsa came out and I greeted her.  As we were heading to the boys her teacher called after me and I turned around.  That's when it happened.  Henry catapulted over the safety fence on the sling bridge.  Ansel thought that looked cool and attempted to do the same.  Without success.  

I knew something was wrong immediately.  His little foot was just trembling.  I took off his shoe immediately.  The foot nor the leg swelled much.  He cried non-stop for an hour and wouldn't stand on it at all.  I took him to the ER right away.  You can imagine the rest-not much different from an ER in the states except that I got to speak German with the nurse and Italian with the Dr. and French with everyone else.  It was nice when the head Dr. spoke English.  I love that about Switzerland.

Ansel with the bright red cast his siblings got to pick out!

His new mode of transportation.  Well really it's me.

Ansel's Haircut!

Yes. Those are a pair of sewing shears and a brush.

Ansel has been in desperate need of a haircut.  Not being much of a haircutter myself, I've just avoided it.  But one day last week I couldn't stand it any longer.  I remember my cousin telling me she use to cut her sons hair in the bathtub(less messy).  Lots of people have used the television distraction technique.  Ansel isn't interested in television and I just imagined him trying to climb the wall of our high bathtub slipping and cracking his chin open to get away from my big shears.  So I waited until he fell asleep, put a towel underneath his head, and just started cutting.  He was definitely distracted and the clean up was a cinch.  I wonder if I could do the same with Henry?

Not too bad. His face is pretty forgiving!

Des Alpes-Saint Cergue

Our family spent Saturday experiencing "When the cows come home."  It is a Swiss tradition to bring the cows off the tops of the mountain in the fall.  They have a festival in the village to greet the farmers and the cows.  The cows and the farmers get all dressed up and parade into the city.  What a fabulous experience.  I really wanted to cheer, but the crowds were pretty mellow.  Maybe because it was so cold?  Maybe because it is Switzerland?  As with the beginning of any parade-I did get a bit misty eyed.

Elsa and Ruby

Ansel and Pony

Henry and Alex

We met our friends the Claytons up their.  The kids had fun getting their faces painted, feeding the animals and playing around.  Ruby is pretty special to Ansel.  He only says a handful of names and hers is the only one that isn't a relative.  He already has great taste-she's a cutie pie.

On our way to the parade while walking through the village, we came across a restaurant roasting their meat for lunch.  Shocked to see a little piglet-we pointed the barbecue out to the kids.  They haven't really made the connection between the dinner table and the petting zoo.  When Henry saw the pig it came together.  At first he was a little bit disgusted by the thought of eating an animal.  Walking away he was still a bit shaken so I told him that ham comes from pigs.  It all clicked and the carnivore in him came out . . ."well, I sure do like ham."  

The Whistling Toilets

Suzy hasn't had a chance to post in a while. I posted this link on my blog. She asked me to post it on hers, since this is a shared situation.

- Greg 

As you may recall from a previous post, we have interesting toilets. No handles. No discernible tanks. Just the big flush/little flush control panels.

When we first moved into our apartment, I was a little distressed to realize neither bathroom had fan. A bathroom without a fan is like a room that’s on fire without an exit. But after several weeks we realized these bathrooms have one of the most efficient ventilation systems I’ve ever seen. But in addition to being very capable, it’s also very musical.

In the photograph, notice the shelf behind the toilet. That’s not just cosmetic. I don’t have the schematics, but somehow air is being continually sucked into it the vents behind this shelf. I removed the iFlush panel and held up a piece of paper for confirmation. Air is being sucked out of these cracks at a impressive rate.

The good news: These bathrooms are virtually stink-proof.
The bad news: These bathrooms whistle. Sometimes quite loudly.

With the panel in place, the air that’s sucked through these cracks sounds like a 1950’s B-movie UFO landing. It’s worse when the toilet seat is up. Something about the bowl amplifies the sound. Remove the iFlush panel entirely, and it sounds like there’s a tornado behind the shelf.

The best solution I’ve found so far is to keep all but one of the iFlush panel corners secured. This leaves a large enough crack between the panel and the wall for air to pass through without becoming a high C.

Thus, my pre-bed routine has become:

1. Detach the panels.
   
2. Lower the toilet lids.
   
3. Shut the bathroom doors.
   
4. Lie in bed wondering if anyone else in Switzerland has this problem.

Nestle Chocolate Factory

We visited the Nestle/Cailler chocolate factory this weekend and it was pretty amazing. We liked pretending that we were visiting Willy Wonka's factory. The wallpaper was a collage of chocolate with pieces of fruit here and there. We were tempted to taste it but opted for sniffs instead. It didn't smell. Here's Henry shouting that he found the golden ticket.

They invite you to watch a movie that was made pre 1965 for sure. Then you get to walk through the factory and see the progression of chocolate making machines. Interestingly the Swiss have just honed their craft of making chocolate because of their passion for chocolate. The raw ingredients for making chocolate are far from Switzerland.

Then you enter a room full of chocolate and sample as much as you like. I guess they figure you can only eat so much chocolate. I could only handle about 6 pieces. Kind of a bummer it has to end. In fact I couldn't even eat chocolate the next day.

We had a great time this weekend with the Davis family. We already miss them. Henry is especially sad that they are gone. He really does miss being home in the States with friends and family.

The Weekend

Our shipment arrived on Thursday! Woo hoo. It has been so nice to have real forks and knives. The kids have been so excited to have all of their "gear."

On Saturday we visited Ste. Croix. The reason: When Greg and I came out to check out Geneva they took us up to the mountains. For lunch I got this sandwich called crote de formage. It is a gigantic super deluxe grilled cheese sandwich. They put a gigantic piece of bread an inch thick and enough to cover the whole plate, then they put a slice of ham on top of that and melt about a pound of Gruyere cheese on top. Six months later Greg and I were both craving it. We tried to find the same restaurant, but got too hungary before we did. It was good, but I'm guessing it will be another six months before we want it again!

First Guests

The Davis family arrived on the 9th of August. It was fun having them with us for a few days before they ventured off to Germany and other parts of Switzerland. They'll be back this Saturday for a few more days. Henry and Elsa have loved playing with their cousins. Jacob is great for wrestling with Henry and Matty keeps both of them busy most of the time. She even reads Elsa stories at night until she falls asleep-which is no easy task. Ansel took a special liking to Lisa. I'm stunned. He usually won't go to any woman, especially if I'm around. It was sweet to see him climb right on Lisa's lap and let her hold him. We can't wait until they come back.

We visited the Castle Chillon which is about an hour away in Montreux. It was one of the best castles I've been to. It was very kid friendly and also furnished. Henry loved it. He was running from room to room wanting to know all about the people who lived there or were imprisoned there. The whole way home he talked non-stop about what it would be like to be a knight. I'm sure glad he got that knight set for Christmas.


Lisa, Laura, Matty, Elsa and Ansel waiting for the bus outside of our apartment. We spent the day downtown Geneva. We should have taken pictures when we got home. Waiting for the bus was the only time it wasn't raining. After more than three hours we were drenched.


Matty, Elsa, Henry, Jacob, April and Ron


So the kids were treated to a ride on a carousel during our downtown jaunt. I tried to get Ansel to sit on a horse, but he would have none of it. He saw this race car on the way to the horse and it was all over.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

So I haven't updated in a while. Our camera died and it just didn't seem as fun to post without pictures. Nothing I have to say seemed worthy enough. My sister and her family arrived a week ago and brought us a camera from Grandma and Grandpa. They got a new one and didn't need two! Thanks so much. We're back.

What Everyone Moving To A New Country Needs. . .

Sarah and Alma!

These two sisters are fabulous! Look at their beautiful smiles. Totally contagious. Thank you Sarah and Alma for including us in your play. You really have made our transition to Geneva a breeze.
Sarah's children match up perfectly with ours. Even better they play peacefully. It's amazing, and such a blessing. Today we met at the Botanical Garden downtown.
This is a picture of most of the kids (Sarah has four and Alma two).

The theme of the park was myths, so the park was filled with fairies and gnomes. Ansel took a liking to this particular gnome and climbed on its lap. Then he asked me to take a picture. Such a funny little dude. He spends most of his days half dressed, and this smile is his latest in CHEESE!

Tuesday Morning

Tuesday mornings start early at our apartment. Why? It's our laundry day. Everyone in the building can sign up for a five hour time slot for laundry. Located in the basement, along with the nuclear bomb shelter, you will find one washer and one dryer. Besides, the chocolate bars at the COOP it is the best deal in Geneva. I pay 1.20 francs an hour to use the washer and the dryer is free. Free! So my standing laundry reservation is Tuesdays from 7:00 AM-12:00 noon. Perfect. I sneak down there a half an hour early. I managed to finish seven loads this morning! Amazing. By noon I have not only done the entire weeks laundry, but it is also folded and put away. This is a feat I never guessed possible living in the states. The secret, the professional washer and dryer. I can do a load of wash in half an hour (or if it's really dirty stuff 1 hr. 22 minutes) and the dryer doesn't need any more than 40 minutes. This laundry thing has been such a great deal, I don't think we'll buy a washer and dryer. The computer can go ahead and stay in the laundry closet.

I Like My Birthdays Every One. . .

I'm 36.  woo hoo.  Really the birthday has become a thing of the past.  I can remember when I was a child wondering how my parents could let such a special day pass without trumpets and fireworks going off on their behalf.  It has taken 35 years to get there, but I'm there.  I told everyone that I really didn't want anything for my birthday-and I meant it.  Greg still felt stress to make it a special day, but I wasn't worried.  I know he loves me.

So this is how we spent the day:

We visited a picturesque town in France called Annecy.  Everyone talks about it, so of course we needed to check it out.  It was definitely lovely and family friendly.

Henry and Elsa each rented one of their child size charriots.  Henry really felt powerful steering that horse around.  

Of course they had some great parks.  These ones were probably designed by some Dutch dude.  They were pretty mod.  Henry and Elsa really enjoyed the stick that spun around.  It would spin faster if you distributed your weight just right.

Having never been on a paddle boat-and it being my birthday-we decided to view the city from the lake!  It was fun and exciting balancing on the paddle boat, and trying to keep Ansel on board.  We nearly made it back to the shore before the thunderstorm.  Nearly that means we didn't.  We did make it back to shore before the mento sized hail came down!  Yikes.  It was Henry and Elsa's first memorable experience with hail.  I don't think I have ever been outside in a hail storm especially not one with such big hail.  It hurt.

The entire family was drenched.  I was wringing out the kids' clothes when we got to the car.  Nuts.  It's just part of our European assimilation-half naked children(Ansel prefers full nudity) in public. We'll have to finish our trip to Annecy another day.  It is definitely worth a return visit.

Chamonix, France

We thought we'd venture across the border into France this weekend.  It is only a 20 minute drive.  Everyone says that meat is a lot less expensive over there.  I had to check it out for myself, and am still not totally convinced.  I bought a whole chicken (4 lbs.) for about $18. What a deal!  I got some ground beef for about $10/lb.  We've been eating a lot more pasta.

It didn't seem right to just go to France to pick up meat so we thought we'd go to the mountains again.  We've been having so much success with our mountain excursions.  Chamonix was gorgeous that's for sure.  However, it was sooo much more touristy.  The kids didn't have nearly as good of a time.  We ended up going to lunch, walking around the market and enjoying the magnificent Alps.

Henry is proud of his Euro Cup Suisse soccer jersey.  He has worn it every day since he got it. He spends every morning convincing me it isn't dirty.  (I am allotted a five hour time slot once a week to do laundry.  It actually has worked pretty well so far).

Yatouland!

You've never heard of Yatouland?  What!   Yatouland is a blow up jumping park that they put on the terrace of a huge mall.  It is free all summer long.  The Swiss charge a lot for everything except entertaining children.  Great.  I took the kids there this week because it was a bit too cool for the swimming pool-low 70's.

Even Ansel had a great time.
Elsa and Henry are scaling this huge slide.  This "ladder" practically goes straight up.  It's totally safe.
Looks like fun!