thebanshees

Ansel on Art

2011-11-13T20:37:00.003+01:00

Just randomly I asked Ansel what his favorite paintings in our house were. He launched right into an explanation, so I had to pull out my phone to record him. Apparently, he doesn't care about the Terpsikhorovs (sorry, Nana). He's a much bigger fan of Brad Aldridge.

First Family Football Game

2011-11-13T20:32:00.002+01:00

Last week, we went to our first high school football game. High school football in Texas is a lot different from high school football when I played. For starters, we didn't have a jumbotron.

The kids had a great time. They especially liked the hot cocoa, popcorn and Frito pie. Louisa was a big fan of waving the rally sign.

And as with all events that go on past 9:30 pm, this one eventually put the Booch to sleep.

Banshee Artists

2011-07-29T20:22:00.004+02:00

Hi. This is Greg guest-posting.

The editing company I work with in Dallas had their 3rd annual art show last night. Their own artists and their friends are given 10"x 10" canvases, which are sold for $50 each, with all the money being donated to the local children's hospital.

The producer I work with gave me three canvases so Henry, Elsa and Ansel could participate. I brought them with me to Utah and all three kids spent an afternoon painting scenes from my mom's garden. Here are Henry and Elsa with their pieces (Ansel was on my back as I shot this).

There were some really amazing pieces there last night. This one was painted by a guy who was one of the chief artists on The Iron Giant.

This was a great 3D piece. Sorry it's such a blurry picture.

After walking through and looking at all the art, we returned to the Banshees' work and were floored to realize all three of their pieces were sold! We're not sure who bought them. All we know is the tags below each painting were missing.

So our kids made $150 for the Children's Museum, and they've all sold exactly as many canvases as Vincent Van Gogh did in his lifetime. Can't wait for next year's exhibit.

On the Road Again

2011-07-27T01:00:00.002+02:00

We just made the drive from Utah back to Dallas, taking a slightly different route this time.

We stopped at Four Corners National Monument. Here are four kids in four different states. We're glad no one got lost. We're usually pretty good parents, but at one point, Louisa wandered over into Utah while the rest of the family was in Arizona.

On our way to Santa Fe, we noticed a brown highway sign for a Mormon Battalion Monument. We figured we'd better stop. It was kind of cool. Although there sure were a lot of broken beer bottles nearby. Hope it wasn't from a recent Mutual activity.

We stopped in Santa Fe just long enough to visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, which we all loved. It was very small, but with some amazing pieces in it. O'Keeffe's work was, of course, amazing. But we were surprised to see work by Man Ray, Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Norman Rockwell, too.

The last day of the trip, we drove from Amarillo to Plano. As you might imagine, we have no pictures of that worth posting.

We Like Ike!

2011-06-28T06:57:00.004+02:00

We just drove from Texas to Utah for the 4th of July. (Actually for most of July.)

One of the highlights from the trip was stopping at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Museum and Library in Abilene, Kansas.

We have a goal to visit all of the Presidential Libraries with our kids. Not sure how long that's going to take, but with the LBJ and Bush Senior libraries about three hours south of Dallas, Clinton's just northeast in Arkansas, and George W's planned just down the street from us at SMU for 2013, we'll get a pretty good start.

Visit Wrench Works

2011-05-23T01:01:00.004+02:00

Greg's starting a new blog for the summer, inspired by this DIY article in Wired. It's called Wrench Works. Take a look. Should be fun.

Legally, I don't think I can ask you to click on the banner ads on the site. But I can probably tell you that all revenue (probably 36 cents-worth) will go to the kids' college funds.

Freshly-Painted Room

2011-03-26T18:41:00.002+01:00

A while back, we decided we'd had enough with the color of our room. I'm not sure what the label on the bucket said, but I'd describe the color of our walls as "Vomited Orange Juice."

We thought we'd like some kind of blue. And "Valley Forge Brown" looked really good on the label. But once the samples were on our walls, the blues weren't satisfactory. And our doubts about Valley Forge Brown was confirmed when Henry walked in and said, "Whoa! That looks like diarrhea!" Not really a big improvement over Tang barf.

We ended up settling on Diplomat Gray. As soon as we started painting, we knew we were going to love it.

This is our room now, and we love it.

Now we just need to take care of the rest of our house. Not sure when we'll get to it. We're just slowly eating the elephant.

Dallas Museum of Art

2011-03-18T21:16:00.005+01:00

Last week we went to the Dallas Museum of Art. After visiting the Kimball over President's Day, we were expecting another nice, but small museum. We were in for a big surprise.

The DMA is not only huge, it's gorgeous. The hallways are large and interestingly shaped. When we arrived, a jazz band was playing in this open area decked out with huge glass Chihuly flowers. The kids were interested to learn that not only had their Aunt Amelia taught yoga to Dale Chihuly's wife in the Chihuly home, but the artist wears an eyepatch that kind of makes him half-artist, half-pirate.

Elsa loves Georgie O'Keeffe, and we were glad the DMA has two of her works on display. (Elsa' is posing with her Flat Stanley.)

Not sure who painted this. But it made us a little homesick. It's offers a better view than the one we had when we visited it in person.

In the Asian and Pacific art section, Elsa discovered these warriors. Apparently this art really spoke to her.

Ansel can spot a Modrian a mile away. Actually, I guess anyone can. But it's one artist he knows, so we're happy about that.

We had a great night at the DMA. We only stayed an hour (hard to do more than that with four kids in a "do-not-touch" museum). But it was a great victory for us when we were leaving to have Elsa ask, "Can we come back here tomorrow?"

Henry's Big Guns

2011-03-18T21:11:00.003+01:00

Last weekend, Henry went with his scout troop to Camp Wisdom to fire some BB guns and get his shooting pin. Here he is outside the fort with his friend Jack.

That's a real Red Rider BB gun he's firing. And no one shot their eyes out.

They didn't bring a flag for the Pledge of Allegiance. But the one on Henry's sleeve worked just fine.

Most of the kids got tired of shooting after a while. But Henry and Jack kept firing until they ran out of BBs, and talked about saving up for their own guns the whole drive home. Not sure that's going to happen. But if it does, neighborhood rabbits, beware!

Fort Worth

2011-02-24T01:00:00.001+01:00

We took our first trip to Fort Worth for President's Day. We started off with a trip to the Kimbell Museum. Not exactly the Louvre or the Chicago Art Institute, but it's free and they did have a Cezane and a Monet.

Not sure who this is a picture of (someone Spanish), but Elsa's doing her best impersenation of him.

Later we went to the Stockyards. This is real Texas. We saw people with hats and boots and missing teeth and everything. Twice a day, they bring the cattle out into the streets. We couldn't believe the size of these horns! Everything's bigger in Texas. (This street, by the way, was full of BBQ joints and smelled fantastic. Wonder if the cows knew how much better they'd be smelling with a little dry rub.)

We ate lunch at Joe T. Garcia's - a restaurant that's been recommended to us ever since we landed last May. The food was good, but Greg and I still think it's pretty tough to be Chuy's. Although Ansel seemed to appreciate the meditation pool.

Elsa turns 7!

2011-02-22T03:01:00.003+01:00

Elsa's birthday was on February 19th. She made a pretty good haul. I think Henry's used the pogo stick more than she has. When she finished opening up her presents she said the words no parent who was up until midnight getting a party ready wants to hear: "You know what I really wanted?"

Hesitantly we asked her. "More birthday cards," she said. We explained that birthday cards usually don't come from parents (at least until you're in college), and that she'd be getting some from her friends later that day. That brightened her up. And other that having another confirmation that she's a little nuts, we were very relieved, too.

This year's theme was an Artist's Party. My cousin Brittany, who is an excellent illustrator, came to show the girls how to draw Tinkerbell and unicorns (and the girls' renditions were surprisingly good). While Brittany had the illustrators at one station, girls at another station were painting their canvases.

Just so they weren't at a loss and suffer a humiliating artists block in the middle of the party, we gave them the theme "Your Best Summer Day." We had lots of blue skies and ice cream cones. But only Elsa gave us an ice cream cone floating in the ocean near a pink palm tree. Very Dali.

My artistic contribution was this rainbow cake that I found on the Martha Stewart website. It's a double rainbow all the way!

Oh, you're sick, are you?

2011-02-12T01:00:00.001+01:00

A couple weeks ago, Henry said he was sick enough to stay home from school. But this is what he was doing by mid-afternoon.

I'm not saying he wasn't sick - he really was. I guess you're just never too sick to rock.

Henry's introduction to the NBA

2011-02-08T15:18:00.003+01:00

Greg took Henry to his first NBA game last night. It was the Mavericks vs. the Cavs. It looks like Henry's gagging at the Tyson Chandler poster, but it was just his eight-year-old brain confusing machismo aggression with excitement.

And you know those t-shirts they catapult into the stands between quarters? What are the chances that at his first game, Henry would catch one? Between this and the free Tyson Chandler bobblehead doll he picked up, the kid's going to think NBA games are a giant swag-fest.

Final score

Mavs: 99

Cavs: 96

Henry: Super happy

(By the way, this was Cleveland's 25th straight loss in a row. Ouch.)

Is that you, Texas?

2011-02-08T15:17:00.001+01:00

Last week, we were hit with some crazy snow. Tuesday, the roads were so iced over, newscasters were telling people as early as 6am to stay off the highways. Greg worked from home. And school was closed for the rest of the week.

It's all melted by now. But we sure had a good time hanging out and doing absolutely nothing!

Elsa and Chairman Mao

2011-02-01T20:37:00.004+01:00

A few years ago, Greg's mom went to China. She brought back some great art, as well as a copy of Chairman Mao's little red book.

As I've posted before, for some reason, Elsa has since claimed this book as her own. Although she hasn't read it, she has made some interesting contributions to it.

Christmas Recap, Part 4: Nana's House

2011-01-25T01:00:00.000+01:00

How does someone who has a house like this...

Have a backyard that contains this...

We love Nana and her goats! (Named after her grandmothers Minnie and Myrtie Bell.)

Christmas Recap, Part 3: Snowbasin

2011-01-23T05:57:00.001+01:00

If there's one thing Henry loves, it's skiing.

It's really been kind of hard to go from skiing every single week to one or two trips a year. Maybe Greg and Henry will have to take another ski trip in February. I'm fine staying in the lodge drinking hot cocoa.

Christmas Recap, Part 2: Brother Cooper

2011-01-23T05:56:00.001+01:00

While we were in Utah, we met up with our old friend from Geneva, Ryan Cooper. At Hire's Big H.

Coop was Henry's Sunday School teacher in Geneva. Just look at these tough guys.

Pinewood Derby

2011-01-23T01:00:00.002+01:00

Henry just completed his first Pinewood Derby. He didn't come in 1st or 2nd (or 8th or 10th), but he had fun. And he won "Most Gamey-est" because of his Donkey Kong theme. (I would have thought "Most Gamey-est" would have gone to the car that tasted the most like rabbit.)

Christmas Recap, Part 1

2011-01-05T04:09:00.002+01:00

Two things we loved about Christmas break:

Bedtime stories with Nana.

Eating out. (Even after waiting for 45 minutes at the Mandarin.)

Christmas Recap Coming

2011-01-04T06:24:00.002+01:00

We had such a great Christmas break - full of family, friends and skiing. I'm going to have to break it up into several posts. Coming soon.

Can you tell which of our kids had never been skiing before?

Still the New Girl

2010-11-29T16:28:00.000+01:00

As the Relief Society secretary in the ward, I'm responsible for a newsletter that gets emailed once a week.

As the new girl in the ward, I guess shouldn't feel so bad when I include a list of birthdays in the newsletter and someone sends me the following email:

Dear Sister Christensen,

Sister [so-and-so] died a month ago.

Our ER Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T19:58:00.006+01:00

The day before Thanksgiving, Louisa woke up with a temperature of 103. The doctor told us to monitor her temperature for a day, and to not take her around other people. So that pretty much scuttled our plans to celebrate with our Plano friends. We thought just Greg and the three oldest Banshees could go, but when our hostess said she was feeling a little sickish too, we cut the T-cord and decided to improvise our own dinner. (We were planning to bring one of the turkeys so we weren't completely marooned.)

Thursday morning, Louisa was still 103, so I called the doctor and was told to take her into the ER. Greg gave her a blessing before we left and we spent Thanksgiving day from 10:00 to 1:00 in the ER. Awesome.

A blood test, a urine test and a chest x-ray later (great appetizers for Thanksgiving), Louisa was fine. I came home and spent the next two hours getting ready for dinner, and we were eating by 3:00. I think I could be on Iron Chef America. Especially if the secret ingredient were "Take an infant to the ER!" Mario Batali has nothing on me.

Here's a picture of Greg and the Banshees in the backyard of our neighbor Al, with his son John. Al deep-fried our turkey for us - he and his wife are all-star neighbors.

Here we our at our improvised Thanksgiving dinner. At least I got to use my china and crystal!

Here's a video of Al taking our turkey out of his deep frier. This was probably the best turkey we've ever had. Once you go deep-fried, you don't go back!

How Our Kids Swear

2010-11-20T19:06:00.004+01:00

Conversation in the car this morning...

HENRY: Dad, you know what I say if I get disappointed? I say, "Aw, jackrabbits!"

DAD: That's a good thing to say.

ANSEL: Yeah, and you know what I say? I say, "Oh, geez! I'm gonna kick their butts!"

Halloween

2010-11-07T18:10:00.000+01:00

A ninja, Hannah Montana, and Super Why.

Representative Henry

2010-11-04T17:16:00.002+01:00

Henry was elected to his student council on Wednesday!

Each class elected one boy and one girl. He was the only boy who prepared the mandatory campaign speech, so he won by default. But we’re sure he would have won anyway. We hear he has a strong female base. Here’s a transcript of the speech he wrote (with a little help from Greg and me):

"When I am elected to student council, I will have promises to keep. I can’t promise to change the water fountains into root beer fountains. Or to give us longer recesses. Or to send a note home to your parents saying we have the rest of the month off. But I can promise to be your friend. And as your friend, I can take your ideas to the principal. That’s what a friend would do. And that’s what I will do for you. Vote Henry Christensen!"

More at Four

2010-10-28T04:49:00.003+02:00

One of the traditions in our family is our wooden birthday wheel. The numbers in the center change. Ansel got the #4 wizard this year.

Donuts are starting to be a tradition. And a welcome one, at that.

Ansel Turns 4!

2010-10-25T17:45:00.003+02:00

Ansel turned 4 last Monday. Check out this sweet present.

The Texas State Fair

2010-10-07T20:18:00.002+02:00

Last night we went to the Texas State Fair. It was huge! Of course it is - it's in Texas. Here we are in front of Big Tex, the landmark annual greater.

We go to the fair to ride a ride and get something fried. This is me with a fried s'more. We also tried the fried Frito pie. If we weren't Mormons, I'm sure we would have tried the fried beer and fried margaritas. But I'm sure fried s'mores is a borderline Word of Wisdom violator.

Elsa and Ansel didn't want to ride the ferris wheel, but loved climbing the flag poles. Maybe because the lines are shorter for the flagpoles.

Every year at the fair, there's a butter sculpture. This year, it was of an Oklahoma Sooner about to tackle a Texas Longhorn with the ball. (The Cotton Bowl is on the fairgrounds, and the OU/Texas rivalry makes BYU/Utah look like a tickle fight.) Apparently, Henry's not ready to put that on his pancakes.

School Fair

2010-10-03T17:51:00.002+02:00

We went to the school fair yesterday for a few hours of free snow cones and horse shoe tossing.

Elsa stood in line for about a half hour to get her face painted. When she came back, we thought it was with a cute pink balloon on her cheek. But it turned out to be a skull.

Elsa's New Mustache

2010-10-03T17:41:00.002+02:00

Dad's Home!

2010-10-01T21:08:00.003+02:00

Greg spent the last two weeks in LA shooting the Christmas commercials for The Home Depot. We're really glad he's back. Two weeks is a long time.

We're glad he got to visit with his family, though. His sister Liz lives in Irvine with her husband Mark. And his other sister Amelia surprised him by flying down from Seattle. We're jealous we didn't get to see them, too!

Sisters

2010-10-01T21:07:00.000+02:00

These girls really love each other. It's sweet.

Creepy Crows!

2010-10-01T21:04:00.004+02:00

We went to Target the other night, and the parking lot was straight out of Hitchcock.

We didn't want to get out of the car! They were on the cars, the carts, the signs! But as soon as we came out of the store, they were all gone. Weird.

I Call Her Gorgeous!

2010-09-13T21:35:00.002+02:00

My friend came over to take pictures of Louisa this morning. She did a most fabulous job.

Transition-Texas Style

2010-09-12T16:35:00.003+02:00

"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

We're already three weeks into the school year. Henry and Elsa are doing well. I bet I could even go so far as saying they enjoy it.

I was excited to hear that they still say the pledge of allegiance every morning. And, surprised that after that, they say the pledge of Texas. Then the pledge to Hickey Elementary. Then a moment of silence. I think they need it after all of those commitments!

Hermine makes us green!

2010-09-08T20:45:00.002+02:00

Hurricane Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm. But she is still hitting us hard! Our backyard looks like the Everglades, and our pool is green!

The pool service was scheduled to come out today, but I think they'll just wait until Hermine stops weeping her green tears and moves on.

Greg is a champion!

2010-09-08T20:43:00.001+02:00

Greg did his first triathlon on Labor Day. It was fun to watch him. Henry was a fantastic cheerleader, yelling things like, "You're a man! A man, I tell you!" and "Keep swimming! Don't let your fear drag behind you!"

First Day of Preschool!

2010-09-03T04:30:00.002+02:00

Today was Ansel's first day of preschool. He was so excited to go, we couldn't get out of the house fast enough. Here he is with his teacher.

A couple days ago, he started to insist that he wasn't going to go and he wasn't going to like it. But when we went to orientation, he started enthusiastically whispering, "Mom, it's great! It's great, Mom!"

We Love Ice Cream

2010-09-02T21:48:00.000+02:00

Uninvited guest

2010-08-30T01:00:00.000+02:00

Our home teachers gave us a hummingbird feeder last week. The kids love seeing the birds come and go outside our kitchen window. Sunday afternoon, however, we had a different animal at the feeder. I'm still not sure how it got there.

Henry's Sunday morning

2010-08-29T18:07:00.000+02:00

Focus!

2010-08-29T15:50:00.003+02:00

Ansel knows we need to focus when we visit The Home Depot.

And Elsa needs to focus on not burping so much.

Christmas in August

2010-08-27T04:05:00.003+02:00

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thanks so much for buying me this new thing with all the colors. It's got all these other colorful things hanging off it, which are totally cool. Have you tried putting them in your mouth? It's kind of hard, but totally worth the effort. Seriously, this colorful thing rocks. You must have dropped a couple grand on this, right? Thanks for this awesome colorful thing with all the things hanging off it!

Love,

Louisa

We need to get back to REI

2010-08-25T01:00:00.000+02:00

We haven't been back to REI for several weeks. I think it's about time we returned.

Ansel quote

2010-08-24T01:00:00.002+02:00

Ansel has a pair of fleece-lined boots that he loves to wear, even though they make his feet smellier than most human beings can bear. Here's an exchange from this past weekend when Greg saw him putting on those boots...

GREG: Ansel, you can't wear those boots.

ANSEL: Why?

GREG: Because it's hot outside. And they'll make you stink to high heaven.

(Pause.)

ANSEL: And then I will see Jesus?

First Day of School

2010-08-23T15:15:00.002+02:00

Henry and Elsa begin school today. Getting them off this morning went off without a hitch. Probably because they weren't concerned about having to speak French this year.

This will be the first full day of school for both of them. In Switzerland, they would go to class from 8am to 11:30, then home for lunch (and sometime the Wii) for two hours, then back to school from 1:30 to 4:30. Fingers crossed that they don't start jonesing for the Wii in the middle of the afternoon.

The Xeriscaping Chronicles, Part 1

2010-08-23T01:00:00.001+02:00

We really love our backyard.

But we learned about a month too late that our sprinkler system (which is set to go on at 4:00 am) doesn't extend to the terraced level. And now all of the grass is dead. Totally, burnt-to-a-Kentucky-Fried-Crisp dead.

Part of the terraced level was already xeriscaped. So last week we thought Why not xeriscape the entire area? We'd save on watering, mowing, and it would look a lot prettier.

We always thought that people who made rock gardens out of their yard were a little extreme - unless you live in the middle of the Mojave and only want gila monsters crawling through the yard. We didn't want to shovel a bunch of porous lava rocks around some cacti.

But we looked at some xeriscaped yards and realized they could be very colorful. So we're starting Project Xeriscape. We're trying to figure out which plants work best in North Central Texas, which drink the least amount of water, and which are the most colorful.

Stay tuned.

Russian Art

2010-08-22T15:31:00.004+02:00

Greg's mom Chris came a week ago to visit and to help us hang all the art in our house.

She also sent us two of her Russian paintings by Nikolai Terpsikhorov, which we absolutely love.

They're hard to see, but the one below has two goats in it. (White one to the left. Black one to the right.) Chris has two goats of her own, which she named Minnie and Myrtie Belle, after her grandmothers. I'm not sure how you say either of those names in Russian. Or in goat.

Terpsikhorov lived in Moscow in the early 1900's. He painted a lot of portraits in Russia and Uzbekistan, but we really love his landscapes.

High Antiquing

2010-08-22T15:22:00.003+02:00

Yesterday, a family in the neighborhood had a garage sale. I picked up a secretary desk for Henry's room, and this stackable bookshelf with glass doors.

I think the guy who sold it to me was high. Not totally stoned, but he was very mellow, and when strung together, not all the words coming out of his mouth made sense. And after I paid $20 for this bookcase and found similar items on eBay and craigslist going for $500 and $600, I've decided to be more pro-active in seeking out more cannabis-sponsored antique garage sales.

I'm baaaaack!

2010-08-22T01:00:00.000+02:00

Flies and Spiders

2010-08-21T01:00:00.000+02:00

We have these blue bottle flies that get stuck in our pool fence and die.

I don't know if they don't see the fence and get caught mid-flight, or if they're crawling around and decide to climb through the openings. But every day, we've got to flick four or five of these stupid flies out.

Dear spiders, come to our backyard and eat these flies. This fence is basically a pre-spun web. Then you can quit spinning your dumb invisible webs across my jogging path.

Last Day of Summer Vacation

2010-08-20T19:18:00.002+02:00

Henry and Elsa start school on Monday. Henry's making sure he spends his last morning of summer vacation appropriately.

More iElsa

2010-08-14T21:17:00.003+02:00

Elsa grabbed Greg's iPhone in the car. We're in talks with Disney Channel and Nick Jr. for her to have her own show.

Elsa and the iPhone

2010-08-12T02:56:00.002+02:00

I'm not going to bother documenting these kids' childhoods anymore. I'm just going to make sure they have access to my iPhone and let them do their thing.

Cocorico!

2010-08-10T04:52:00.003+02:00

Henry got a new do, and he loves it. This is the shortest he's ever had his hair. He says it's a lot cooler. And he says he's really excited to jump on a trampoline without his hair whipping him in the face.

He also said he wanted us to take this picture of him so someday he could show his own kids that he once had a faux hawk.

Ansel on a Wall

2010-08-07T16:39:00.003+02:00

Last weekend we stopped by R.E.I. Turned out the climbing wall was open and Greg and the three oldest Banshees put on harnesses to scale the it. Here's the Booch in his element:

Banshees with iPhones

2010-07-28T13:56:00.004+02:00

Ever since we got iPhones, the kids think they have iPhones. And to tell the truth, they're probably more adept at using them. Ansel discovered the YouTube button long before we noticed it, and now he and Elsa can quote the Charlie Bit Me video word for word.

Occasionally we'll see that we have 200 photos on our phones and discover that 190 of them are impressionist blurs of floors and walls taken by the kids. Cleaning our my phone's photo album, I came across this video that Henry made of himself on his way home from his baptism. (His comment about everything turning out great refers to his decision that morning to not be baptized but wait "17 years." We're glad he changed his mind.)

Cliffs Notes on the last few weeks

2010-07-12T02:00:00.003+02:00

Hi. This is Greg posting for Suzy, who's taking a nap. She hasn't been blogging as much, but having a baby, moving across the ocean, buying and house and a car while caring for three other kids while your husband just goes to work and watches YouTube and browses the iTunes stores takes a lot our of a girl. So here are some highlights:

Henry got baptized last week.

Louisa was blessed the following Sunday.

Suzy's parents, plus my dad, stepmom and their kids came out to visit us.

Elsa pulled her own loose tooth right out of her head.

Love the pool.

Elsa set these books up in her room.

That's a book of quotations from Chairman Mao on the right.

Hairstyles

2010-04-28T07:32:00.001+02:00

The Booch Loves His Juice

2010-02-16T01:00:00.000+01:00

Nothing gets in the way of Ansel and his juice.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T20:11:00.002+01:00

We had a nice Valentine's Day today. Each of the kids got a Flik Flak watch, and I got a chocolate fondue pot. I love it, but it's hard to match the Banshees' enthusiasm for it...

Balloon Festival at Chateau d'Oex

2010-02-10T23:06:00.005+01:00

Want to know why Ansel's crying? Click here to see Greg's entry for Father of the Year.

Dinner!

2010-01-21T08:49:00.004+01:00

It seems like dinner is always ten minutes later than it should be. Someone is always too hungry to endure another minute. While waiting for dinner to get out of the oven, I was finishing up homework with Elsa and Henry. Ansel couldn't stand the wait any longer. He asked me to make him some toast, and I told him dinner would be ready in just a minute.

Unsatisfied with my answer, he took matters into his own hands.

When I looked up no less than a couple minutes later this is what I found. Notice there is no toaster in this picture.

He asked me for some help. Smearing on butter and jam is still a little difficult for the three year old.

Carrying the toaster to his room, plugging it in and making his own toast apparently isn't. The hot pads are so that he wouldn't burn himself when the toast was done.
The wooden toaster must have been brought in for some extra support.

Ironically when they made toast in nursery the following Sunday, his teacher was quite impressed with his skills.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-21T08:17:00.005+01:00

Our friends the Claytons hosted Thanksgiving this year. We gathered on the Saturday after the actual event to eat turkey with all of the trimmings. Finding all of the ingredients can be challenging, but we find ways to get what we need. The local grocery store is beginning to catch on to the needs of their American population. They had turkeys available much earlier than usual, and you could even find fresh cranberries. If we could just convince them how important canned pumpkin is to our diet!

The Creators

Perhaps there was a bit of help from their husbands, but naturally we prepared most of the food. Even more significant. . . five out of six of these women are expecting babies this Spring and Summer! Aimee (the second from the right) is exempt. Only because she has a six month old. Only three of us had announced our upcoming births. The other two were in the throws of a yucky first trimester. Suffering in silence. I'm the only one who looks pregnant-even though Sarah (third from the right) is only three weeks behind me. What?

The Fare

Delicious.

The Children

Two tables were prepared to fit all of the youngsters. Fifteen in all.

Thanks for hosting Claytons!

Halloween revisited

2010-01-19T21:34:00.003+01:00

Fascinating how children manage the immense amount of candy they receive Halloween night. I was the one who just plowed through all the good stuff and never ate the rest. My sister ate hers slowly, and tried hiding it under her mattress. Not hiding it from our parents mind you, but yours truly. I knew where it was, duh. I'd check it occasionally if I needed a snack.

Ansel has a system of sorting going on here. We're not sure what that system is, but I'm sure in his three year old brain it is as clear as a bell.

Grandma Bob and Grandpa Wendy

2010-01-19T21:11:00.003+01:00

Grandma Bob and Grandpa Wendy came for a couple of days on their way to a medical conference in Italy. The kids always enjoy these short visits with them. They get lots of attention and lots of treats. When I dropped Elsa off at school that morning she said, "Make sure Mr. and Mrs. Clause come and pick me up for lunch." Funny girl.

What she didn't know is that I had asked them to bring over a whole lot of their Christmas presents. They were so kind to oblige.

The day they arrived we stayed home and played. The next day we took them to one of our favorite Swiss villages, Gruyere. We visited the village, the castle and the cheese factory. For lunch we suggested Bob get the Crote de jambon, the Swiss version of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Usually there are two slices of bread topped with a slice of ham and smothered in cheese. The restaurant at the cheese factory gave him one slice of bread topped with a slice of ham and no less than a pound of cheese. Wow. That was a lot of cheese, huh Bob?

We had a wonderful visit during their short stay. And, as you can see Grandma Bob is always a good sport.

Thanks for coming!

Barbizon

2010-01-18T20:42:00.003+01:00

On our way home we decided to make a final stop in the small village of Barbizon. Barbizon is famous for creating an artist community outside of Paris. Unfortunately we arrived just after the workshops had closed for lunch!

Chris was definitely the most disappointed about our bad timing. Here she is trying to get a glimpse of an artists workshop.

Awww.
We did enjoy a stroll through the village. Elsa entertained herself by gathering leaves.
Ansel entertained himself by balancing rocks on Greg's head.
In spite of some bad timing, it was a wonderful trip. We covered a lot of ground and saw a lot of beautiful places in just a few days. Mostly we had a great time being together and making memories.

Vesaille

2010-01-18T20:32:00.003+01:00

After leaving Monet's garden we headed toward Paris to spend the night and visit the palace of Versaille.

We had already had three very busy and exhausting days. The children were such great travellers. They were impressed by the grandeur and immensity of the palace. It is great to be able to tell them the history of Marie Antoinette (it took a few tellings for them to understand her complexities) and then show them where she lived. Definitely what we've enjoyed most about our travels in Europe.

Old building, Modern art

While walking through the gardens, we met a gardener! He cut us each a rose, which brought out Henry's chivalrous side.

Monet's Garden

2010-01-18T20:23:00.003+01:00

Do these haystacks look familiar?

How about this bridge?
Maybe the lush trees and a distant shot of the bridge?
We had such an awesome time (Chris and I) walking through these beautiful gardens and visiting Monet's house. I didn't get any pictures of inside the house. Maybe you weren't allowed to take them. I left his house thinking, I can paint any piece of furniture I want and not feel guilty about it. His house was very colorful-french blue (of course), sunshiney yellows, lavendar, green, he used them all.
We were there in October so a lot of the blooming was spent. However, we were still able to recognize most of the flowers and imagine them in full bloom. Plus. . . it wasn't very crowded, or hot, and there weren't any bees swarming around! ha ha.

Omaha Beach

2010-01-18T20:18:00.004+01:00

We made a fairly quick stop to visit the WWII Memorial and stroll along Omaha Beach. The kids had heard stories about farmer's finding bullets in their fields many years after the war. They were certain they'd be able to find something as the strolled along the beach. Alas, all they gathered were a bunch of sea shells.

France with Nana-Continued

2010-01-18T19:51:00.007+01:00

Mont Saint Michel

The main point of interest for our trip to France was really Mont Saint Michel. We had all been enamored with pictures we had seen of the beautiful castle surrounded by water. I think most of us felt like it was a dream that we were actually going to be there. It was an overcast morning, we set out pretty early so that we could see the castle at high-tide. Here is our first glance of the castle in the distance.

I believe we took this picture on our way out, after the sun had burned off the clouds.
Elsa rejoicing with us that we had finally made it! Yahoo.
Ansel standing in the courtyard of the castle-pretending to be the court jester.
It was like a labrynth climbing to the top. A very high up long labrynth.
These angel wings were set-up on a platform in one of the gardens in the castle. They provided much entertainment for them. They pretended to be prophets heralding the coming of Jesus.

We spent a wonderful day wondering the chapels and gardens of this magnificent castle. Before we left Henry and Ansel posed for one last shot atop of cannon balls.

Helloooo (echo).

2010-01-17T18:16:00.004+01:00

I've been away for so long, I've avoided going to my own blog to link to yours. It's sad. The past two weeks I was a total no show for fear of seeing that "No Articles" message come up. It's easy to want to just give up when your last post was an event that happened in October.

Alas, I have survived my second bout of flu for the season.

Elsa is now wearing jeans, and I look forward to the moment she runs in the house and changes into a skirt. The weather got too cold-and she recognized the value of covered legs.

Ski season is well underway and Henry is content. No he's thrilled.

Ansel is cracking us up, and is clothed 90 percent of the time.

Greg is balancing much and entertaining us all.

This week promises much here on thebanshees.

France with Nana

2009-11-17T08:24:00.006+01:00

Nana came to visit and we decided to take her somewhere we've all wanted to visit, Mont St. Michele. Our trip turned out to be quite an art tour.

Our first stop was in Rouen, which is famous for its cathedral that Monet painted over and over. . .

We arrived after a long day of driving and we were all very very hungary. I asked the security man at the department store to suggest a good restaurant. It wasn't quite 7:00 PM so most of the restaurants weren't open. He told me to go a few blocks to a creperie. I wasn't sure what we'd find-a place to sit down or a concession stand. It turned out to be the highlight meal of the trip. At least for me! I order a crepe with raclette cheese and potatoes topped with a generous portion of cured ham. The pickles on the side were nabbed by Elsa before I could get them on my fork. It's probably what she has in her mouth when the picture was taken. Delicious!! And the waiter brought out the most generous cups of hot cocoa to warm our chilled selves.

I love the reminders all around me that we live in a very old country. Going to the bathroom felt like a trip to the medieval past. The bathroom itself was very modern and clean.

HELP!

2009-11-12T08:08:00.007+01:00

When I logged it in says I have six followers, so I'm expecting at least six comments. More are surely welcome.

The dilemma part 1: We live in a cold climate and Elsa is skinny.

The dilemma part 2: Elsa wears two jeans skirts and tights every day.

The dilemma part 3: Elsa chooses clothes, I buy them and she won't wear them.

Why do I buy them? I don't want her to freeze on the playground.

Well. . . yeah everyone who knows me knows I'm also obsessed with children's clothing.

In my own defense, I've really cooled my jets. I let her choose what she wants to wear every day, and I rarely make a fuss. I've also recognized that she has her own ideas about clothes, and haven't gone overboard buying.

In her defense, she dresses appropriately for different occasions (school, church, dress-up). Maybe she isn't cold, and I'm just a worrier.

Back to the dilemmas.

The problem is mine and not hers. Right?

Two jean skirts every day with tights. Fine. Fine?

Really I just find it really really boring.

SO. . .

Do I feed her passion and avoid my boredom and just buy the girl denim skirts?

Not really such a big problem is it?

*Loved hearing from everyone!! I returned Elsa's new Hello Kitty jeans and bought a new denim skirt. She wore it three days in a row. I washed it and she's wearing it again. I'm glad I have a girl who knows what she likes!

The Cravings

2009-11-04T08:48:00.001+01:00

It is strange being pregnant in a different country. The easy go to foods that you rely on to get you through the first few months aren't there. Fast food chains find their real purpose.

Then I remembered-France has Subway.

We traveled 45 minutes to enjoy a Fall day and have lunch eating an American sandwich.

Lovely.

I'm sure I've posted a couple of times about the charms of Annecy. They haven't changed.

Henry and Ansel

It was a wonderful afternoon. I devoured an entire foot long, and was tempted to pick up another on the way home.

I left satisfied.

Halloween

2009-11-01T09:00:00.006+01:00

I've always thought it ironic how our church embraces the Halloween Party. We love it. As well we should. I understand the backlash by some and in certain parts to suffocate the pagan tradition. They mistake fun and frivolousness with darkness and attempt to replace the whole event with leaves and gourds. Sad. However, some of us recognize it as a chance to enjoy an evening with many many friends and neighbors. It's a great opportunity to invite those who wouldn't normally accept an invitation to visit our church.

In Geneva it's big. Halloween as a whole is expanding over here. This year I noticed even more products in the store than last. Even my little Coop was selling jack-o-lantern cookie cutters. Halloween rolls on. Pockets of neighborhoods even trick-or-treat! I'm glad for this. My kids embrace any opportunity to disguise themselves as a super-hero or a villain. They've been planning and scheming since August.

Sam and Henry (he's a vampire)

Elsa with her favorite devil, Parker.

Ansel as Wyatt from "Super Why."

Greg stole the show with his Secret-Service get up. You'd have thought the President himself were there.
To stave off the excitement before the party started, we got out the face paints. Henry painted Ansel. Daddy painted Elsa. Ansel and Elsa painted daddy.
Notice how much more surface area you can cover on his head!

Breakfast on the Farm

2009-11-01T08:31:00.003+01:00

It is a tradition around these parts for the local farms to prepare brunch from their harvest. Since we've moved here I've wanted to go.

The reservations were finally secured, thanks to our good friends the Trogers. The morning of I was too sick to get out of bed and Henry was too devastated about his haircut. We missed out.

Greg, Ansel, Elsa, the Troger family and their G'pa had a terrific time.

Aimee, baby Luke and papa Charlie

Ansel and Jacob

Jacob, Elsa and Claire

Greg and Ansel

He at least brought us home some fresh produce.

Next time, I'm there.

Three Is a Magic Number!

2009-10-29T15:03:00.003+01:00

Sunday was Ansel's birthday.

Love. Love. Love him.

He has opened each gift with this response, "I love it, I really really love it."

I think he had a good birthday.

Now We Are Six!

2009-10-26T14:08:00.004+01:00

For those who missed my announcement on FB. . . we are expecting our fourth baby! Eighteen weeks into it and recovered from six weeks of flu (not the swine variety), I can finally say how excited I am to welcome this new little one into our home! Three cheers for number four!

This first photo was taken at 12 weeks.

Elsa, with all her love and excitement added the heart drawing.

The expected arrival is April 2nd. We will try and avoid the first and are aiming for the sixth. I've always celebrated it anyway! Going a few days over is definitely worth it to me. --I always go a few days over.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

2009-10-26T13:23:00.002+01:00

One of the hardest things about living far away is not seeing those we love enough. We are so grateful for the many visitors that have come. We have been so lucky.

Lucky is spending days with Grandma and Grandpa. We were spoiled with their hugs and kisses. I was spoiled by their shopping, cooking, and cleaning. Three weeks went by way too fast. We look forward to seeing you again as soon as possible!

Northern Italy

2009-10-03T17:35:00.004+02:00

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit and we took a trip to Northern Italy. I served my mission in Milan and have returned several times since, but this was the first time I'd seen the Duomo clean. Way to go Milan!

The kids loved walking around the outside of the Duomo and finding recognizable figures-the apostles. I think Elsa with her stoic pose is pretending to be a statue.

After Milan we stopped in "fair Verona" to visit the scene of Romeo and Juliet. It was a beautiful city that has profited from some great fiction.

Greg and I outside "the balcony."

We stayed outside of Venice at the home of our friend's father. He had a wonderful place and was so kind. He took Henry on his first motorcycle ride! Henry was nervous at first, but was beaming once he decided to go ahead and ride. We visited Venice of course. This picture was taken on top of the parking garage.

We visited new cities like Cittadella and Lake Garda that were beautiful and charming. In great Italian style we ate plenty of great pasta and ate lots of gelato!

Viva Italia!

She's Got Moxy!

2009-09-21T03:56:00.003+02:00

Elsa came home for lunch the other day declaring she had her first loose tooth. At five and a half it wasn't a big stretch. I was stunned. Another child moving along through childhood. She'd reached that next phase before I was ready.

After school she became quite curious about getting that loose tooth out of her mouth. It annoyed her. She was curious about the process and the anticipated pain. She was thrilled about the prospect of a coin!

By the time Greg got home from work she had made that tooth quite wiggly. She petitioned for help, but Greg told her to be patient. "When it's ready it will come out," he told her. So a minute later she just pulled it out. I couldn't believe. She worked that tooth from mildly loose to very wiggly and gone in one day.

What a showing of tenacity and determination. I couldn't be prouder!

The Much Anticipated BTS Photo

2009-09-21T03:34:00.004+02:00

I waited to post about reentry into school this year. Maybe pessimism has taken over, but I didn't want to say it was good and have that be a lie. I hesitated because they were so happy about going back to school this year. Obviously still shell shocked from last year I had to wait until they weren't coming home saying it was "the greatest day in their life!" I'm pretty sure the new colored pencils and markers has a lot to do with that.

I'm proud of them. They both have good teachers and have been optimistic about learning and making friends.

Seeing this photo actually makes me really emotional. They go to school with children whose backgrounds are so diverse and so different from theirs. It isn't easy for them. They're so sweet. They go every day and try their best to fit in. I hope this experience has taught them to be a little kinder and a little more empathetic. It has me.

Soo. . . a month into it we're still cruising along. We've had a few sick days already that had to be milked because Grandma and Grandpa are here.

Henry started his supplemental English class this week and came home from that with a book he read to me on the way home. Learning is a thrill.

Zermatt and the Matterhorn

2009-09-01T07:33:00.000+02:00

Last Saturday we drove up to Zermatt and to view the Matterhorn. It's about a two and half hour drive to Tasche where you have to catch a train into Zermatt. The city is closed to all vehicles except for the hotel taxis which resemble large electric golf carts. Once we arrived we took another train up the mountain which would give us a great view of the Matterhorn. Minus the big cloud covering the tippy top.

Once at the top of the mountain, you could visit with some big St. Bernards and enjoy the thin cool air. We decided to hike down and catch the train at another stop.
The kids loved the walk down. They felt like real mountaineers. Walking DOWN the mountain!

We walked for about an hour and then got back on the train to take it the rest of the way down.
It was such a great day trip. Zermatt is a lovely town and all of the trains kept the kids plenty entertained.

If you're curious how it compares to the Matterhorn in Disneyland, Greg has a witty post on his blog.

My friend Jisoo

2009-08-27T05:02:00.001+02:00

I recently read that it is an innate part of the female brain to surround herself with friends for survival. This becomes even more necessary when we don't live in family groups. Interestingly we do this for more than someone to chat with. We do it also to support each other with our own families.

Allow me to introduce my friend Jisoo. . .

Jisoo and her family (husban Sung Yoo and daughter Jiyeon) moved here from Korea the same time we did a year ago. Jiyeon (9) and Henry learn French together at school and play chess together in their free time.
Jisoo LOVES children and knows how to be silly. My children LOVE to be with her. Ansel especially adores her and even cries when she leaves!
We love to share recipes from our different cultures. Her recipes are typically spicy and mine are typically sweet. The first time she came for lunch she brought chopsticks and taught my kids how to use them. They do.

She has been such a wonderful friend and support to me this past year.

A Paci

2009-08-24T04:57:00.002+02:00

What to do when a paci becomes more than just a comforter?

Hungary

2009-08-12T01:00:00.001+02:00

Greg served his mission in Budapest, Hungary. Like moi, he loved his mission and loved the people he served. Unlike moi, he has maintained close relationships with many, many people. In fact it was humbling to hear how grateful they were that he still had made such an effort to maintain their friendship. They'd always mention the many missionaries that promised they would, but didn't. I probably fall into that category.

Since we've been married, he has wanted to take me there and introduce me to his beloved city and friends. Finally we made the trek. As previously mentioned our family loves road trips. Even if a six hour drive takes eight or nine.

We drove into Budapest in the evening through the brightest rainbow in my memory. The kids were thrilled and begged us to divert to search for the pot of gold. It was a sweet entry for my dear husband who really misses the country and the people.

We rented an apartment from a member who has numerous apartments for rent. We were hoping that it was actually the apartment he'd lived in and rented from her years ago. However, his apartment was a couple houses away.

This is the Orszaghaz - the national parliament building as seen from a cruise on the Danube River.

This is the royal palace (now an art museum) in the castle district.
Eating gelato on Vaci Street - Budapest's version of 5th Avenue or the Magnificent Mile.
This is part of the Vajdahunyad Castle - something that was built for the World Fair in the early part of the century.
When the Soviets left Hungary in 1989, the Hungarians immediately started tearing down all the communist propaganda and statues that had dotted their city for the last 50 years. Now, all of those crazy communist statues stand in a park outside the city limits.
This is Aquaworld - a water park built a few years ago. A Hungarian in Greg's office recommended it. We're glad we went, although the night we returned home, the lead story on the news was how a kid drowned there the week before and it's been under scrutiny for very lax life guards. Glad we heard about that after a fun day.
This is a huge cathedral in a city called Esztergom. It's an hour north of Budapest on the Danube bend. If you walk around the back of this cathedral, you can see Slovakia across the river.
Here's Ansel wondering why the pews in our church don't have arm rests.
Greg made us drive through Slovakia on the way home, because when else are we ever going to drive through Slovakia? On the map, it looked like it would be the same distance driving to Vienna. But what we didn't realize were that the highways in Hungary are modern, and the main highways in Slovakia are, well...like this.

Austria

2009-08-05T00:34:00.000+02:00

We're three days back from our summer trip to Austria and Hungary. Oh! and a drive through Slovakia. Because, why not.

We started our journey with a six hour drive to Innsbruck, Austria. Our family actually enjoys car rides. When the drive is so beautiful and the music so good the time passes quickly. We arrived in time for dinner, and while exploring the city found a nice little pizzeria. While enjoying the outdoor pizzeria we got caught in a huge rainstorm. We didn't even suspect it would come. We came back to the apartment drenched and ready for baths and bed.

The next morning on our way to Hungary we decided to stop at the Swarovski crystal "museum." This crazy head is outside and you enter the museum through its shoulders. They had fascinating Euro-modern-artsy ways of displaying their crystals. We were all very fascinated and entertained. The grounds were beautiful and included, a view tower, hedge maze, two parks and flower gardens. Definitely a worth the time stop.

On the way back from Hungary we stayed in Salzburg for a couple of nights. The swimming pool at the hotel was the main attraction. Not outdone however, by the historic old-town. We loved seeing Mozarts old stomps and trying to follow the journey of the VonTrapps while singing "Doe a deer a female deer. . ."
Not my favorite picture, but here we are outside of the gazeebo that Rolf and Liesl danced around. Ahh.
Henry couldn't resist the gigantic pretzels. He ate the whole thing.
Can't you just see Maria dancing through this street?

Ideklic

2009-08-03T17:07:00.004+02:00

The weather this summer has been perfect. Most of the days have been in the high 70's to low 80's. Because air-conditioning is rare here, when it gets into the 80's it just isn't very comfortable. A few weeks ago on a day too hot to be comfortable, we decided to venture into the Jura mountains and visit a children's festival in France.

The ride was beautiful. Up and down around and around. Two hours later expecting to find county fair crowds, I'd wondered if we were in the right spot. Instead we found a great parking spot and a lovely French village lined with banners ready to celebrate children. At the end of the street we found a "Charlie Chaplinesque" man playing a piano that moved like a bike. We only got to enjoy a few of his songs, but I'm pretty sure we got the best of the show. He invited people to dance while he played. It was great. Couples in the street dancing while this barefoot piano man played. The children were delighted.

We began looking for the other events-face painting and crafts, but were apparantly too late. We did happen upon this. . .

An open trailer filled with paper-mache people playing really awful band music. The children were allowed to stand in front and conduct the group. Henry spent nearly half an hour pretending he was the conductor. Yikes.

We ended our evening like you might expect at a French festival, eating crepes filled with nutella.

A wonderful way to spend a hot evening.

Boating at Balexert

2009-07-15T23:23:00.003+02:00

Our local mall has a huge courtyard that they use for weekly exhibitions. About fifty percent of them are targeted at children. I don't mind because they are generally free, fun, and keep them distracted from those coin-op shake machines shaped like motorcycles and spaceships. I despise those.

For two weeks we were able to enjoy the boats you paddle with pedals. They were contained in a inflatable pool that contained one foot of water. Very entertaining. And a little bit pathetic.

Genova

2009-07-15T23:20:00.001+02:00

We headed to Genova, Italy for the Fourth of July. We thought it would be novel to visit the birth place of Christopher Colombus. Really it was hot and stinky. I served for one month in Genova with a companion who didn't leave the apartment. I hardly have any memories of the city-except for CC's house.

Here is the corner of the house. Henry took the picture. He wasn't interested in being in any of them.

This was a lovely tribute to the man. It stood about a hundred meters from the train station and 10 meters from the bus station. It seems to be the gathering spot for Hobos. In contrast the man who liberated Genova had the most beautiful garden surrounding his statue, but I didn't catch his name.
After our sightseeing we headed down the coast. We had a delicious lunch. The kids ordered the ever popular spaghetti noodles with butter. The chef loaded on the butter. They couldn't have been happier. Henry didn't leave a noodle in the bowl. That seemed to take care of the grumpies he'd had.

We visited a local beach and hung out with the locals. Ansel made quite a splash with his blonde lockes-that and his fearless swimming techniques. The water was amazing warmer than our favorite pool in Geneva. A wonderful introduction to the ocean-and a refreshing break from the heat.

Before we left we had to have some gelato. We found a great little place near the restaurant. Having eaten my fair share of gelato, I don't like to eat just any old gelato. It has to pass certain requirements: A. Be "arteginale" that means that is made there and is usually a good sign. B. It should look soft. If it passes those two tests, we can go in. Not too tough. After filling up on the usual chocolate, strawberry, lemon and coconut that we all tried Greg was stricken with curiosity to try lilac. He went back for a cone of the stuff. It was wacky-like eating a bar of soap without the soap. After one lick I went back for more confused, my brain was waiting for the gag reflex to kick in, but it never did.

Like lilac ice cream our trip was enjoyable, but doesn't need to be repeated. The drive was beautiful. And really, even hot stinky Italy doesn't disappoint. There is a bit of a sting looking at our family's blogs and seeing them enjoying the local parade and relaxing in Nana's pool. I love the Fourth of July for that.

It's Been A Year!

2009-07-03T06:45:00.003+02:00

It's been a year since this was our only seat in the house.

To celebrate we bought a couch. It will go on the opposite wall in the same room as this picture. . . when we figure out how to get it from it's point of purchase to our house.

Here's how we did it a year ago.

We spent hours with those little wrenches from Ikea.

With the house put together we'll spend this July swimming and barbecuing instead.

One of my first memories when we arrived was how hot it was. I was surprised Geneva got so hot. The heat of the sun wasn't helped by the modern aid of air conditioners. It made us very irritable. (well that and jet lag). I didn't know how we would make it through the entire summer.

We soon learned that Geneva summers aren't hot forever. 70 degrees is perfect when there isn't air conditioning.

Now here we are same week a year later and Geneva is again going through a little hot spell. I'm surprised how well we've adapted to not having the luxury of cool air-except what is produced from a little fan.

Picnic at the Mission Home

2009-06-21T10:27:00.001+02:00

A mass exodus is about to take place in the Geneva Ward. Sadly we will be saying goodbye to nearly 60 people. Ouch. Before they all left we had a terrific activity at the Mission home. The yard was large enough to let the kids run free. The house was built in the 60's by the Iranians. Once it was built they felt it wasn't grand enough to meet their needs. They actually built twin homes facing each other. The one you see in the pictures is used for offices and missionary apartments. The other is the Mission President's residence. President Peterson told me that President Hinckley took a nap here in the 80's and after requested the property not be sold. Many properties have been sold, luckily we still have this beautiful place in Geneva. Thanks President Peterson, we had such a lovely time with so little effort.

My kids love the elders.
Nothing like a great game of "Red Rover."
We invited our friends JiSoo and Sung Yoo. They brought their friends.
I got to man the barbecue until some men arrived. Why is it men always control the barbecue, but not the stove?

Hannah Montana's Geneva Fan Base

2009-06-21T10:26:00.003+02:00

Elsa has two passions, dancing and drawing. Both of them seem to put her into an alternate universe where no one else should dare enter. She's very happy there.

While I was in Chicago my friend Michele introduced me to Hannah Montana. Of course, I'd heard of her. We even watched the show while staying at Euro Disney. To our surprise, we liked it. Michele's daughter and Elsa's dear friend Brynn, sent us home with the soundtrack to HM's latest film. Elsa couldn't stand it. Suddenly the floor was no longer enough to feed her passion for dancing fame. Here she is posing on her newly built stage.

Standing ovation please.

Pickin' Berries!

2009-06-21T10:24:00.001+02:00

I love to tell new people I meet about being a child growing up in Oregon. The fresh air, the unpredictable weather, the child labor force. Before the migrants from Mexico came up to pick strawberries, they sent the children out. School ended in time for berry picking to begin. The bus would pick us up at 6:30 in the morning, luckily we were at the end of the route. We'd unload with our sack lunches and then be assigned a row to work in. I remember sitting with my best friend and chatting the hours away. Mostly daydreaming about what fabulous thing we'd buy with all of the money we were making. We'd work until about 2:00 PM and then they'd take us home. This routine would last about two weeks, three if we were lucky. The last day they'd drive us to Dairy Queen treat us to lunch and ice cream and give us our cash. My grand total, usually a whopping $100. Those were good times. Such a shame the children today can't earn their own living for a couple of weeks.

These memories flooded my mind when I drove past a local u-pick berry farm. There was no doubt what our free Wednesday morning would now include. I knew they'd love it. . . they did. Henry who is Mario Kart obsessed sums it up best, "Mom, I even enjoyed this more than Mario." Of course he did!

In all of my excitement to be the first ones at the farm (I wanted them to have the thrill of putting their chilled hands into the dewey leaves), I left my camera at home! Such a bummer. However, here is a record of our loot. We managed to eat half of those berries fresh! Including two strawberry pies. The other half is now some very delicious strawberry jam.

Mom's in Chicago

2009-06-21T10:21:00.002+02:00

Last week was fun-filled for the Christensens! I flew to Chicago on the 10th to attend to some landlording. Luckily, more of my time was spent with wonderful friends and lots of shopping. I had such a fabulous time.

Greg stayed home with the kids for three days and the weekend. I think they had a pretty swell time as well. . . (maybe he'll update this post with the events in the photos)!

Hi. This is Greg with an explanation of the pictures. These first two were taken at the Nyon beach/swimming pool where Henry and Elsa spent the early afternoon collecting shells and the late afternoon screaming at Ansel for dumping them back into Lake Geneva when they weren't looking. (That white mountain in the background, by the way, is Mont Blanc. It was an incredibly clear day.)

The pictures below are from a picnic we had with friends.

Events at this picnic that were not photographed include:

Elsa pooping her pants.
Elsa finishing the job on the grass while I tried to change her into Ansel's backup underwear.
Elsa stepping in her own poop once she had Ansel's underwear on.
Ansel pooping in his pants after Elsa had donned his backup underwear.

Good times. Good times.

Ascension in Yvoire, France

2009-05-23T18:24:00.005+02:00

The kids had Thursday off for Ascension Day. We decided to visit a midieval town in France, just minutes from Geneva. I had pretty low expectations. Someone had told me it was boring. The first thing we did was take a forested trail down to the lake. It reminded me of day-trips to the beach from my youth. We walked along the rocky beach, skipped little rocks, and climbed on the big ones. The kids were having the best time.
We walked around the castle and then through the ancient city. The streets were lined with boutiques that sold lovely things like hand blown glass (the blower was looking at us through the window), art, and homemade gingerbread. There was also a sensory garden. I can't wait to go back and see, hear, taste, feel, and smell what that is like.

Vevey, Switzerland

2009-05-23T18:02:00.003+02:00

Have I mentioned that I think it's a pretty good thing we live in Switzerland? Saturday morning Greg woke determined we were going to have a great day and go on a little trip. Honestly he was the only one with that thought. The rest of us were barely along for the ride. As it turned out. . . 20 minutes down the road he'd nearly given up on all of us. That's how we ended up in Vevey!
We parked and he pulled out a most amazing picnic-which he bought groceries for and prepared entirely on his own. The picnic included the most delicious chocolate eclairs. I believe they were my first eclairs since we've lived here.
After eating, we were all starting to feel much much better. The day was beautiful and Vevey has a beautiful park that we enjoyed for a couple of hours.

That's why I'm glad we live in Switzerland (and married to Greg). We'll do Basel another day.

Amelia

2009-05-14T16:19:00.008+02:00

Amelia was here last week. Yeah! It was such a great time being with Aunt Amelia. We kept very busy. Here are some pictures of our day spent in Lyon, France.
This is how Henry and Elsa enjoyed the Textile Museum.

This is how they enjoyed the ruins.

Here we are crossing the pedestrian bridge.

This is why I think Lyon is funny. A mini Eiffel tower. Serious.

This is why I don't intend to spend too much on a badly needed new camera. Any suggestions?

We love you Amelia. Thanks for coming.