Saskias Welt

19 weeks and counting!

2011-10-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's time to start spreading the news...

So far, no boy parts have been found so we better start bracing ourselves for another spunky little miss!

ETA: March 14, 2012.

Off to the beach!

2011-10-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, we spent an absolutely glorious fall weekend on the beach. I have never seen weather like this at the notoriously nippy Baltic sea in O-C-T-O-B-E-R:

I love those beach chairs! And apparently, so does everyone else because this was one of the last ones available for the entire weekend.

Travemünde, near Lübeck

Lazy Sunday afternoon in Scharbeutz.

At the pumpkin patch...

...and the adjacent corn maze. Sooo American, if you ask me.

Which way out?

We're back!

2011-09-18T10:03:00.001-07:00

It seems like an eternity has passed since my last post...but I've got plenty of good excuses! Over the past 2 months, we have packed up our stuff once again, moved our family 300km north and set up shop in a small town outside Bremen, Germany. Bremen is a maritime city located about 45 minutes south of the North sea, which is a totally new setting for us. Within an eighteen-month time span, we moved from the Swiss Alps to the heavily industrialized Rhineland to (almost) the North Sea:

We got here in the middle of August, just in time for Max to start second grade and for Anna to enter her last year in Kindergarten. Anna has loved every minute at her new (non-denominational!) Montessori school, which is a great fit for her. Max has had a rougher transition, but signing him up for the local soccer team right away has helped quite a bit. Jeremy has been completely preoccupied with getting the new Precorp facility off the ground, and I'm helping him out on the secretarial side of things for the time being. We also decided to take the plunge and build a house...no more paying outrageous amounts of rent, worrying about every little scratch we put into doors or floors and tip-toeing around noise-sensitive neighbors! Well, starting next spring, that is. If all goes well, we'll move into this beauty sometime between next April and June, depending on the severity of this upcoming winter:

But, for now, we're staying busy trying to settle in, making new friends (get this: Max's new best friend at school is named Saskia!) and exploring our new seaside home state on the weekends:

So long, Krefeld!

2011-07-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

After months of struggling with German bureaucracy, it finally looks like the new Precorp facility in Delmenhorst will actually become reality:

We still haven't fulfilled all official regulations and secured every single permit, but hey, they can't shut us down once the signs are up, right?

Here, the shop floor is being painted for the THIRD time. The first two attempts turned out horribly, but THIS job is looking real nice.

So now that I have started getting our good old moving boxes back out of the basement, I am once again waxing a little sentimental. Krefeld and I got off to a rough start, but there are certainly a number of things I'm going to miss.

No. 1: the coolest library in continental Europe. I got a membership here within 24 hours of pulling into town. The Krefeld library offered a virtually endless supply of cookbooks, news magazines, travel guides, the latest American hit TV shows on DVD, children's books and whatever else struck our fancy during any given week.

No. 2: my favorite bakery. Best bread and rolls in town. I always bought extra loaves to freeze and pull out when I was craving liverwurst on rye. Or Nutella on Italian bread.

No. 3: one of the biggest outdoor flea markets in Germany. Taking place once a month during spring and summer, the Krefeld flea market usually attracts hundreds of vendors and thousands of shoppers. My friends and I would meet up at 7am and spend hours shopping for children's clothes, books, virtually ANYTHING we could think of.

So, Krefeld, I forgive you for being home to the most aggressive drivers, constant traffic jams and generally crabby locals. No town could have easily mended the broken hearts that we had left Switzerland with. We'll chalk it all up to experience and always remember the good times we had here!

5!

2011-06-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Here she is, Miss Anna on her 5th birthday:

And yes, Max likes to dress up as an astronaut around the house.

Yay for pink!

Mental note: it's useless to try and compete with Nana's presents. She always gives the best stuff. Period.

Reading about how to be as polite as a princess, which obviously troubled Anna a bit.

The happy birthday girl in the midst of all her best friends from Kindergarten. They're a great group of girls...they will be missed sorely.

Unwrapping presents. Everyone was so well behaved, handing Anna one present at a time and wishing her a happy birthday. Incredible.

The craftsy part of the party. I had bought a ton of different beads for them to make necklaces. Few of them actually had the patience to finish a whole necklace, but it kept them entertained for about a half hour.

Of course, all that sitting down quietly, being nice and polite only lasted for so long, so we took the girls outside. Because no birthday party is complete without a sack race... :)

Jeremy vs. Jana

This serene scene actually spiraled into trampoline (cool girls) vs. sandbox (more easily intimidated girls) warfare...

...which we successfully put a stop to by bringing the girls back inside for some princess-themed drawing and coloring. Whew!

Dalkeman

2011-06-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Competition season is once again upon us, so here's a picture of Jeremy's 2010 bonus, reincarnated as a new set of wheels:

Just recently, he finished the Dalkeman short distance triathlon in Gütersloh with a new personal best:

1000 m swimming/ 40 km biking/ 10km running
20:43/1:07:54/45:52

Total time: 2:14:29

Next up, the Limburg113 in Belgium. Bonne chance, chéri!

Easter recap

2011-06-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm about two months behind my blogging...so no more lollygagging, let's take a walk down Easter memory lane:

As with most other major holidays, we spent Easter weekend with my family in East Germany. Luckily, we weren't the only ones. Here, Anna is painting Easter eggs with our favorite Texans, the Woffindens, who had made the trip, too.

They painted about two dozen real eggs, egg whites and yolk blown out through tiny holes by moi for several weeks prior.

Great job!

For Easter, Anna wished for and got a St. Bernard - again. She used to have one that Grandpa bought for her in Switzerland. It was her favorite thing in the world...until one day, she took it to show and tell at preschool, where it disappeared. Anna was maybe 3 years old at the time but she never stopped talking about that dog. So, all is well again at last.

The kids trying out their Easter presents. As you can tell, our family has been swept up by Star Wars mania as well...

What you don't see is that Max usually wears a soccer uniform under his Star Wars costume, which has earned him the nickname 'Darth Ballack,' a mix between, of course, the Dark Lord and the former German national team captain. :)

Max, playing a round of outdoor chess with Oma. How come no one has invented outdoor Star Wars Stratego yet?

Max practicing his cycling skills.

The weather over Easter was great, so we took a little day trip into the Ore mountains to ride this historic train.

Max and his beloved Uncle Söri.

Since Jeremy had to go back to Krefeld a couple of days ahead of us, I decided to take the train home. It took us about 8 hours, including 3 train changes and a missed connection. Not ideal, but I still like the idea of the kids being able to walk around, draw and play games while travelling.

Our super nice compartment on the ICE. The rest of the passengers literally fled when they saw me and two little kids with lots of luggage enter their compartment. Fine with me! Next time, you should pony up a couple of extra bucks for seat reservations, too! :)

Beautiful Bremen

2011-05-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

We have an announcement to make.

We've been there before.

It's probably not much of a surprise.

Do I dare say it?

It looks like we' ll be moving again. That's right. Move #7 in 11 years. This time, we'll be heading even further north, to the Bremen area. Here are some pictures of the reconnaissance mission we recently went on:

In front of the Bremen town hall, a Unesco world heritage site. Designation fully deserved.

I adore European market squares. I am holding out for the day the kids will be civilized enough for us to actually sit down in one of those little cafés... :)

The Bremen town musicians, a popular Brothers Grimm fairytale.

Wow, what a beautiful town! I think this could be good...

Springtime, at last

2011-04-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

As temperatures climbed into the high sixties, this week finally saw the return of short sleeves, shorts and lots of spring flowers!

Forsythia in our backyard.

Max, sporting the official 2006 World Cup fan outfit and some very white legs.

Daisies on our patio. I love, love, love all my flower pots! My big goal for this gardening season, though, is an herb garden. I already have some rosemary and chives in place from last year. Next, I'm going to sow some flat-leaf parsley, and plant dill and peppermint. And I have to think of a good way to keep the predatory snails in our backyard at bay.

The homes in our neighborhood sit so closely together that we can look right into our neighbor's second floor windows when we jump on the trampoline...and we jump a lot. :)

Posers...

Chocolate Museum, Cologne

2011-02-20T12:29:00.000-08:00

Is there a better way to spend a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon than at the Chocolate Museum?

The Bosch-made robot that transported tiny bars of Lindt chocolate from one production line to another provided hours of fun, especially for Max.

When production was disrupted, the robot would drop the chocolate headed for packaging back into a melting pot. Incredibly cruel to watch. :)

Free chocolate dipped waffle no. 5.

Old-school shop.

After spending a couple of hours learning about how chocolate is made, wrapped, marketed and consumed, I began to wonder how the museum gets away with charging admission...I mean, all you want to do afterwards is dive into a big tub of the stuff. Or buy stock in Lindt. Or at least spend an obscence amount of money at the in-house chocolate gift store...

7 candles

2011-01-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post some pictures of Max's birthday party, which was crazy to have two days before our big trip to Utah but gave my family a chance to get together right before Christmas:

I'm not one to go overboard for themed birthday parties, but I couldn't resist making these for all the guys. Templars vs. Musketeers!

Max just adores my brother...

Opening presents. Although everyone still seems fairly subdued, the wooden swords had to be confiscated for safety reasons soon after.

Sitting down for juice and cake.

We had emptied out one of the storage rooms in our basement so we could have a little tournament...

...which quickly spiraled out of control. But, what else did we expect of a bunch of 7-year old knights ready to duke it out? :)

The attending princesses, who kept a rather low profile. Because boys are annoying and don't appreciate true beauty.

There you go. In my playbook, a birthday party ain't over until everyone's well-fed, happy and tired.

Mission accomplished.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

Aside from the fact that I was detained by US Immigration on the way in and the French police on the way home, we lost luggage both ways (Thanks, Charles de Gaulle!), and all of us except Max ended up in Urgent Care at some point, we had a wonderful Christmas vacation with Jeremy's family. See for yourself:

All the kids got along so well! There were moments when I wondered when I had last talked to Max because he was constantly on the go, having fun with his cousins. Here, they are playing a round of 'Apples to Apples' with Uncle Joe.

Listening to a Christmas eve story read by everybody's favorite uncle.

And there was UNO. Lots of UNO.

Coloring away at Nana's kitchen island.

The third biannual production of the Christmas story. This time, Max and Kylie read the story while Aiden, Ava and Madison acted it out. Anna, who was a fabulous donkey two years ago but had come down with a terrible ear infection this time around, watched from her sick bed on the couch....

Doing a wonderful job with Luke, chapter 2.

Poor little Anna on Christmas morning.

The loot. Leapster games can cheer up even the sickest kid. ;)

Max has really gotten into soccer lately so (in addition to the personalized uniform his friends gave him for his birthday) we got him some shinguards and a pair of pop-up goals for Christmas. They were an instant hit.

One happy UAB alum...I burned a big hole in Jeremy's favorite UAB business school t-shirt (trying to dim an apparently very hot light bulb so that I could read in bed late one night...) so I didn't have to think for long about what to get Jeremy this year.

Max, becoming engrossed in all things Star Wars.

Once a big snowstorm had moved through Utah Valley, the weather was wonderful!

The view from Grandpa's backyard.

Awesome snowcave, built by Uncle Jake in the frontyard.

Group picture at Kangaroo Zoo, an indoor playplace.

And, last but not least, the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.

Playing at the mud table, where the kids got to simulate dams breaking and burying dinosaurs.

Thanks for the good times, everyone! Can't wait to see you all again on the beach next year!

Un, deux, trois!

2010-11-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, long time no blog! It seems I've been caught in a whirlwind of soccer practice, swimming classes, ballet lessons, bake sales, lantern parades, primary presidency stuff, the occasional doctor's appointment, and the thousand other little things that make up life with kids, a house and a yard.

Anyways, yesterday I decided to dust off our camera and start documenting our daily ventures again. Anna's ballet teacher is very strict and doesn't ever want the moms to stick around to watch the girls practice, but I figured it was worth the rebuke to finally get some shots of our little ballerina:

Anna started ballet right after we got here, back in April. Initially, she was taken a little aback by the discipline and close attention that is expected of the girls, but I think she has really grown into it since.

With Rasmus, their instructor, whom Anna adores for practicing lifts with them.

Anna and her two best friends, Zoe and Klara. They are also in the same Kindergarten class, where they have been dubbed "the power girls" for being...um...how to put it...feisty? Lively? Strong-willed? Fiercely independent? Either way, their teachers have their hands full. :)

Can't wait for their first public performance next week, when they will trade their pink tutus for hunter green Christmas tree outfits! :)

Flower children

2010-09-23T01:47:00.000-07:00

We recently drove east to attend the wedding of my third cousin (yes, in my family, that's practically next of kin). When the pair of three-year old twins designated (and done up) to be the flower girls froze in the limelight, Anna and Max stepped up to the plate:

Very professional, aren't they?

Party girls! :)

First day of school

2010-09-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

Four weeks into the new school year, let's take a look back at the big day it all began:

Decoration detail. The kids and I made a gazillion of these little cones and strung them across the living room. To the uninitiated, cones filled with candy and small presents are THE essential feature of a little German's first day of school:

Cool, huh? Max's cone had a medieval theme (his latest passion) and contained a lot of his school supplies, along with the mandatory sweets, of course.

Anna got a smaller version for attending a new kindergarten, all by herself now.

Anyways, we kicked off the festivities with an inter-faith church service held in honor of the new first graders. The service lasted for about an hour, featured sermons by both a Catholic and a Lutheran preacher, a few hymns, and, interestingly, a blessing given to each child.

Walking over to the school after the service.

Max meeting his classmates for the first time. His class is actually quite big, with 27 kids of all sorts of ethnic and social backgrounds.

Proudly presenting: his first homework assignment!

While the kids were in class, the parents were served coffee and cake out in the school yard. Anna used the time to do a little hopscotching.

All done for the first day!

Next, we headed to Düsseldorf for a wonderful cruise on the Rhine (and no, Germans are not allowed to smile in pictures).

Passing under the Rheinbrücke.

Media harbor, featuring architectural designs by Frank Gehry.

Strolling through downtown Düsseldorf with Nana, Oma, Opa and great-aunt Renate.

What a great day! Let's do it again in, say, two years? :)

Cologne Triathlon Weekend

2010-09-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Phew! We have a pretty crazy busy week behind us! Jeremy's parents came out to see us, my parents joined all of us for Max's big first-day-of-school celebration, we went on some awesome day trips to Düsseldorf and Cologne...but let's start with the most recent event:

The Cologne 226 Half Triathlon

Not too many people can pull off looking this good in a neoprene suit...

First off: 1,9 km of swimming.

Transitioning out of the water, Michael-Jordan-style.

Getting off the bike after a cool 90 km.

Finally, 20 km of running. Our job: cheering Jeremy on when he passed us by for two seconds every hour. (To be fair, though, my father-in-law did most of the cheering since the rest of us didn't make it to the race until Jeremy's final lap due, in part, to the horrendous traffic resulting from a largely roped-off downtown Cologne).

Finished! And, may I suggest, looking surprisingly good! :)

5 cool things we did this summer

2010-08-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Summers in Europe are short, so here's how we have tried to live it up during those precious few warm and school-free weeks:

1. Chilled in Oma and Opa's backyard and played a lot of soccer on Opa's incredibly well manicured front lawn.

Anna interrupted her play to strike a pose as soon as she noticed the camera...

2. Had a big party in honor of our soon-to-be first grader.

In Germany, starting elementary school is a big deal that's celebrated with the whole family. Since we live on the other side of the country, though, and Max's big day isn't until the end of the month, we decided to have an advance party with the East German side of the fam at my parents' house.

It's great to have relatives that will do just about anything to humor a six-year old... :)

3. Rode a lot of rollercoasters at Belantis amusement park in Leipzig.

Anna's favorite was the giant swing boat, which she got to ride exactly once before the supervisor pulled her off for being 0.5 cm below the minimum required height. Seriously?! Was it worth the gigantic 20-minute fit she threw in response?!?

5. Had loads of fun with our Texan friends, the Woffindens.

Anna and Kaylee got along so well this time around! (Oh my gosh, Doreen, look at that picture - it's you and I all over again!)

5. Celebrated our 11th anniversary by going on a fabulous 2-day trip to Dresden.

Beautiful, isn't it?

All done. No more. Finito.

2010-07-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today was it: Max's last day in kindergarten. The kids have actually been attending the same kindergarten, even ending up in the same class (yeah, Germany is weird like that) so today at noon we gathered all their art work and a couple of parting gifts, packed up their rubber boots and rain clothes, and said goodbye to some dear little friends.

Now, Anna gets to take 4 weeks off before she heads off to a new kindergarten down the street from us (Yaaaay! No more half-day kindergarten involving long commutes across town!). Max gets to enjoy 6 weeks of summer fun before he starts first grade at a local city school...

...which I am equally apprehensive and excited about. Here's why:

- We didn't actually have much of a choice in selecting a school. Some elementary schools were already full when we got here in March. Then, he was rejected by the local Montessori school for religious reasons. Unbelievable!! Needless to mention, I have lost my cool and quite a bit of sleep over this issue...

- Speaking of religion: I had to sign Max up for an in-school religion class. I could choose between Protestant and Catholic. Since the latter hadn't shown much affection for our religious affiliation when I tried to apply at Montessori, I went with the Lutheran crowd. What I really want to know, though, is why these churches get to teach their take on religion in schools at all. Not much of a separation of church and state.

- On the upside, he's going to get quite a social education. He'll be going to school with both inner-city immigrant children as well as suburban German kids. I have also noticed that most major announcements posted in the school's atrium were also translated into Turkish and Russian. A little street cred has never hurt anyone, right? :)

Until that big day at the end of August, though, we'll be enjoying the insane continental European heat, explore our still somewhat new home state, and spend a lot of time with Oma and Opa in Lichtentanne. Sounds like a plan to me!

Ironman 70.3 Switzerland

2010-06-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

I realize it's pretty lame to post a copyrighted picture, but at a cool 25 bucks for the original, this rip-off will have to do:

Pretty sweet, huh? I can't believe this dashing triathlete is my husband! Ever since watching a good friend compete in last year's Swiss Ironman, Jeremy rapidly evolved from occasional gym user into passionate runner/swimmer/biker. This development hasn't come without some friction in the spouse department, but the results are definitely impressive. Here's proof that he finished this year's (half-) Ironman Switzerland:

The price for this admittedly awesome photo-op: a jacked-up knee that will require the attention of a sports orthopedic specialist...

Turning 4

2010-05-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the day Anna so impatiently has been waiting for:

Thanks to Nana, no more fighting over the sole, much coveted Leapster in the family!

Notice the new, four-year old haircut...

Having cake with Anna's new friends from kindergarten. A big thank-you to Oma and Opa, who made the trip to help out with the festivities!

Yes, we like to party like it's...1847.

Racing Oma, one egg on a spoon at a time.

By the way, I love, love, love our new backyard! I can't think of a better way to spend a sunny afternoon than to plant, rake, weed and water away in that small, lovely yard...

With Leila, who didn't speak a single word the entire afternoon, but seemed to enjoy herself nonetheless.

After four hours of presents, games, a few tears, but mostly lots of girly fun, we had a small picknick outside. I'd had all these fancy food ideas, but in the end, all they wanted was some fruit, vegetables and cheese. Go figure...

Reflections

2010-05-03T13:36:00.001-07:00

While my homeland and I continue working on decreasing the distance between us, here are some preliminary thoughts on the progress we've made so far:

- I appreciate the local dialect, or lack thereof. It's nice to be able to keep up with conversations at all times.

- Smokestacks and steel plants light up very nicely at night.

- Driving in Germany is a continuation of war by other means. Honking, yelling, passing within city limits, a ticked-off old guy on his bike (somehow offended by MY driving) taking a picture of my license plate. Oh, bring it on!

- If you don't own an industrial-strength power drill, the solid concrete walls of your German apartment will remain pictureless, the ceilings lampless and the windows curtainless. Very homey.

- And, last but not least, you definitely know you're back in Germany when recycling bins take up more space in your kitchen than actual food products and throwing anything into those bins is preceded by a debate about different composite materials. (It's not a bad problem to have, admittedly.)

Living la buena vida

2010-04-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

First off, spring break in Cancun was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! The plane flight was one of the smoothest yet (thumbs up for MartinAir and Amsterdam Schiphol!), the cousins all got along great, the weather was fantastic, the beach immaculate, the food tasty, noboby got seriously ill.

Wow, so THAT's what a family vacation can be like! :)

Thanks to merciless jetlag, our days usually began well before the crack of dawn - and the hard choice between the pool or the beach.

The resort. Aahhh, life was easy that week...

Building sand castles while debating health care reform. :)

Testing the bathtub water with cousin Maddie. I don't think my kids will ever be able to warm up to the Baltic Sea, glorious summer vacation destination of MY childhood...

Everybody's favorite uncle. Anna cried when she realized that Joey wasn't coming back with us to Germany....

Hanging out with Nana.

Taking the whole gang out to dinner. We attracted a little bit of attention, as one lady asked to take a picture of all of us and another couple complimented us on our well-behaved children. Apparently, they hadn't been there the previous dinner outing when Max and Anna passed out from jet lag right at the table and poor cousin Aiden threw up from sheer exhaustion, all to the sound of a live Mariachi band. Ay caramba!

So adorable...the older cousins got to have lots of sleepovers at Nana and Grandpa's, which was great for us but not so relaxing for the both of them, with plenty of nightmares and even the occasional croup attack waking them up in the middle of the night.

What a good-looking crowd!

Cute t-shirts courtesy of Aunt Kassie!

Strong contender for this year's Christmas family picture.

For more pics, especially of all the little cousins, you can go here and here.

Vamos a la playa!

2010-04-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, my last post wasn't much of a riddle for some of you. We ended up outside Düsseldorf, 60km north of Cologne, in a town called Krefeld. Geographically speaking, Krefeld belongs to the Rhineland, with the Dutch border just west and the heavily industrial Ruhr area directly to the east of it. Trading scenic Switzerland for flat and insanely populated Northrhine-Westphalia has been a challenge but we're starting to settle in. And while we're struggling to unpack the rest of our boxes (where did all this STUFF come from?!), we're also in the middle of getting ready for the long anticipated Bunting family get-together on the beach in M-E-X-I-C-O!

Max and Anna have been counting down the days for weeks now. And despite near-freezing temperatures outside, they've been sporting shorts and beach dresses, if only around the house. So, we'll drive to Amsterdam on Saturday morning, then hop on a direct flight to Cancun. If all goes well (i.e. nobody vomits, passes out, sustains head injuries, or catches the rotavirus) we'll be on the beach 10 hours later.

Andale, amigos! Vamos!

The European adventure continues

2010-03-18T12:41:00.001-07:00

If you got a Christmas card from us, you've probably been under the impression that we were on our way back to the US. We were, in fact, planning on going back to Utah but then our game plan changed quite unexpectedly. Instead of moving 5500 miles, we moved a mere 400. Any guesses on where we ended up? Here are a couple of hints (if you are somehow connected to my or Jeremy's mom, you may not participate!):

Jeremy works in this city (though in a much less scenic part) and we thought we'd live here, too. We abandoned that plan after spending a few days looking at apartments and the rents they go for. Instead, we set up shop about 15 miles away.

Gorgeous. World famous. 4o miles to the south.

Go out our front door, get in the car, drive west for 3o minutes and you'll end up in this country.

Carnival is big here, too, though it's a sillier and...uh...more embarrassing version. :)

Until a few decades ago, mining was the main industry here...

...today, you're more likely to see one of these chemical industry parks along the freeway. Lovely.

Oh yeah, she's from the area, too.

Anyways, we've been here for three crazy, chaotic, confusing weeks now and I'm experiencing a severe case of culture shock. I feel like a fish out of water, a stranger in a strange land. How ironic. I think I need some more time to acclimatize...

So long, Helvetia

2010-01-28T03:01:00.001-08:00

With merely weeks left in the great Confoederatio Helvetica, I am waxing quite sentimental about the three marvellous years we got to spend here. Before the big secret of our next destination will be revealed, though, let's take an inventory of some of the things I will surely miss:

1. Cheese fondue

Luckily, a Swiss neighbor of ours showed me how to prepare this most delicious of all Swiss dishes. Coming in a close second and third on my list of culinary favorites: Älpermagronen (Swiss macaroni and cheese, with diced potatoes mixed in) and Rösti (hash browns), all washed down with a cold Rivella rot (a soda that contains milk extracts).

2. Folklore

Alphorns, flag throwers, cow bells, yodelling. I've loved it all. From here on out, I will have to get my fix from Ricola commercials or vintage Heidi movies.

3. Multilingualism

How awesome is it for just about any given person to speak 2, 3, even 4 languages as if there's nothing to it??

4. Carnival

The Swiss are such a reserved (bordering on sedated) people all year long - except for those couple of days in February when they lose all inhibitions. Swiss carnival is the loudest, strangest, coolest thing I've ever seen!

5. The Military

Omnipresent and ever helpful. But you can't help but wonder what kind of scenario they are preparing for when they set up their tents, radars and anti-aircraft guns in the field behind your house. Given how the Swiss feel about the Germans, I've had my suspicions, but I've never been able to get a Swiss to reveal the big secret. :)

6. Traffic conductors

These guys made my early morning commutes to school. Their traffic-conducting moves sometimes looked like fancy choreographies, only interrupted by the occasional "Luege!" ("Just look!") shouted at drivers or pedestrians that dared to disobey.

But, alas, there are also a couple of things, few and far between, I'll be able to live without:

1. Right-wing conservatism

In the face of political extremism, direct democracy no longer looks like such a good idea. It's the Muslims today, the Germans tomorrow, and whoever else the SVP deems un-Swiss after that.

2. German bashing

I definitely won't miss being part of a much-maligned minority. What was up with the constant insinuations that we take jobs away from the Swiss or milk the social welfare system? Or those countless references to the Third Reich? Seriously, I thought we were friends.

3. Prices

It will be nice to take the family to McDonalds without having to save up for a month prior. The same goes for buying some beef or any other domestically produced food item the Swiss protect with horrendous import taxes.

When all is said and done, though, we'll look back at these years as some of the best of our lives. We've loved your dearly, Switzerland. And although you didn't always love us back, you'll forever be our favorite neutral microstate!

VIVE LA SUISSE!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Nearly a month into the new year, let's take a long overdue look back at Christmas with Oma and Opa in Germany!

We kicked off Christmas Eve with delicious cake and cookies in the afternoon, then went for a long walk. When I was a kid, that was the time when my mom would wrap all the presents, which, traditionally, children aren't supposed to see before Christmas Eve. Interestingly, the same goes for the tree.

My dad absolutely adores his grandkids!

Finally, the big moment!

The wand is from Nana, the tiara from Oma. Obviously, both grandmas happily indulge Anna's obsession with all things pretty, pink and princess. Check out the finished product:

Ha ha ha! And that's BEFORE she unwrapped the matching princess dress.

Oma, unwrapping the big one.

New Year's Eve with the Woffinden kids! My friend Doreen came all the way from Texas to spend Christmas with her family in Germany. We had dinner around 6.30, then went and set off fireworks with all the kids. They got along so well that Max and Anna ended up sleeping over at their house - and refused to leave the next morning. (Doreen - I so wish we could do this more often!)

A very, very late Happy New Year, everyone!

Speeding, Swiss style

2010-01-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

So, according to this court ruling, the 600+ Swiss francs I have been fined for speeding over the past year or two can only mean one of two things:

1. I don't really speed that much after all (I knew it!)
2. I'm considered indigent by Swiss standards

6 Candles

2010-01-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

Now that all the Christmas candy has been eaten, the tree is gone, the decorations have been put away and the new year is in full swing, it's time to catch up on the last few weeks! Let's start with Max's birthday party on Dec. 19:

Since Max's birthday is so close to the holidays, a lot of his friends usually leave town before his party rolls around. Not this year. All but two of his classmates showed up on the big day! We kicked off the festivities around noon, serving a kid-friendly lunch of Viennese sausage (aka fancy hot dogs) and pasta salad.

Yes, Max has a lot of girl-friends! At the beginning of the semester, he apparently asked Dorothea (who couldn't make it to the party) to marry him, but later broke off the engagement for Sara (on the far right). He briefly fancied Ana-Luisa (on the far left) when she joined the class in the fall, but eventually decided that Sara was his favorite after all...

We ended the party with cake and hot chocolate around 3.30 pm. There are no pictures of the craziness that unfolded inbetween because, as it turned out, keeping 9 lively kids happy (i.e. no pulling the girls' hair, no crying after losing a game) and entertained (egg and spoon races, anyone?) required our constant and undivided attention.

Since the 20th actually fell on a Sunday, Max got to open more presents after coming home from church the next day.

A new Leapster game, yay!!

Checking out all the cool stuff Nana sent from America.

Christmas preparations

2009-12-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

No Christmas season is complete without at least one good batch of homemade Christmas cookies!

Cutting out the cookies.

Egg white+powdered sugar+food coloring+sprinkles=easily entertained kids

The finished product.

This is what St. Nick drops off on your doorstep if you clean your boots reeeeeally well. Only works on Dec. 6, though.

Unwrapping the loot. Given how well-behaved Max and Anna appear in this picture, they must not have been awake yet.

Now we're off to Oma's and Opa's for Christmas (assuming we'll ever make it through 450 miles on an icy and seasonally crowded German autobahn)!

A little bit of politics, again

2009-12-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

You might actually have heard about the latest Swiss referendum, held on the issue of minarets. Minarets are those skinny towers from which the call to prayer is issued. Over the past couple of years, there has been an ongoing debate about whether Muslims should be allowed to put minarets on top of their mosques. Last Sunday, a majority of Swiss decided that they shouldn't.

I can understand that the steadily growing and poorly assimilated Muslim population makes the Swiss uneasy. But it is hardly constitutional to keep a religious group from putting a tower on top of their buildings of worship. Neither will this vote improve relations between the two groups or encourage Muslims to integrate into Swiss society. I'd be curious to know how all this looks on the outside, to those of you looking in?

Baking for sanity

2009-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I finally blew my top in class. Totally flipped my lid. Popped my cork. I have been trying to teach a class of predominantly male freshman students, some of which either come from troubled families, are unassimilated minorities, have behavioral problems, or all of the above. On that particular day, I ended up throwing a bunch of guys out of my classroom, which probably hurt me more than it did them. So, in search of some type of compensation for my failure at school, I got a book off my shelf that I had recently purchased at my favorite second-hand bookstore - and baked my first loaf of bread:

I am still amazed by the simplicity of baking bread. All you really need is time. See for yourself:

20 g (3/4 oz.) yeast
1 tsp honey
600 ml (2 1/2 cups) water
200 g (7 oz.) rye or wheat whole grain flour
800 g (28 oz.) white flour
3 tsp sea salt

Mix the honey, yeast and 200 ml (a little less than a cup) of water.

Mix the two types of flour in a large bowl and make a hole in the middle. Pour in the yeast and stir some of the surrounding flour into the liquid. Cover the bowl with a moist towel and let dough rise for 15 min. in a warm place.

Add salt and stir contents of the bowl. Add 400 ml (1 1/2 cups) of water and knead the dough for 10 min., preferably on a floury surface. Make a ball and return dough to the bowl. Cover again and let dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (at least 30 min.).

Cut the dough in half and form two balls. Let rise on floury surface for another 15 min. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Celcius (480 degrees Fahrenheit).

Use a pin to roll the dough into circles approximately 20 cm (7'') in diameter. Cut in half again and sprinkle with some water. Roll up the pieces and stand them up straight on baking paper or a coated cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 10 min., then turn the heat down to 180 degrees (350 degrees) for another 25 min.

London? Lostorf!

2009-11-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

We live in the Midlands, the most climatically challenged region of Switzerland, as far as I'm concerned. Located between the Jura mountains to the north and the Alps to the south, this area drowns in fog from about October until the beginning of spring. On a good day, the fog dissipates after lunch, which leaves you with a few hours of sunlight before dusk sets in around 4:30. More often than not, though, this mind-numbing haze lasts for days or even weeks:

Hey, it's like London, just a little less exciting, right? :)

Crunchy Caramel Popcorn

2009-11-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

I was looking for something to bring along to a spontaneous neighbourhood get-together on the playground on a cold and cloudy Saturday afternoon and ended up with this awesome crunchy caramel popcorn:

I used this recipe, courtesy of my new good friend Martha, but added peanuts instead of cashews (although that sounds yummy, too). Also, if you, like me, have an oven that recirculates the air, you might want to turn down the temperature to avoid baking the popcorn into oblivion.

P.S.: Those of you alarmed by the growing number of recipes posted on here may rest assured that I don't intend to turn this site into a cooking blog. To my surprise, I have simply discovered cooking to be a satisfying outlet for all the frustration a teacher slowly being robbed of her youthful idealism accumulates. :)

The birthday partying continues

2009-11-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

With the season of birthdays at the Bunting household in full swing, it was Jeremy's turn on November 5! I had been searching desperately for a way to make this day a bit more special and finally received a great tip from a friend:

A birthday breakfast!

So, I got up at six in the a.m. to make a traditional American breakfast: pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. I even got maple sirup, albeit at an unreasonable price at a local store. All my pot-banging and pan-(man)handling eventually woke up Jeremy and the kids around 7 a.m.

Opening up birthday cards.

Personally, I prefer crepes over pancakes (and thus ended up eating a roll for breakfast that morning), but according to Jeremy and the kids, these pancakes are the bomb! I found the recipe in a Jamie Oliver (aka the Naked Chef) cookbook:

3 large eggs

120 g (4 oz.) wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

140 ml (5 oz.) milk

a pinch of salt

Separate the eggs and beat egg whites until stiff. Add salt.

Mix flour, baking powder, milk and egg yolks into a smooth batter. Fold in egg white.

Bake in a coated pan until golden brown.

I like to add apple or banana chunks to the pancake before flipping it for the first time. Bisquick has nothing on these babies!

Halloween

2009-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Although the Swiss don't get all dressed up and crazy until carnival in February, there are enough international kids at Max and Anna's school to warrant a Halloween party. Here are this year's costumes, courtesy of Ebay USA (the astronaut) and Germany (the princess):

Last carnival, I sent Anna to school in the most adorable lion costume, complete with a wild mane and a tail. When she saw the other little girls in their fancy princess dresses, she took off the lion costume and proclaimed she would rather not dress up at all than wear THAT. Wow. That's when I realized I could no longer shield her from the princess-industrial complex, aka Disney and Mattel.

Max, on the other hand, has recently discovered his love for rockets, astronauts and the solar system at large. He knows all the planets, their order and which of them have moons and/or rings. He has also been wanting to know why we didn't name him Neil Armstrong...come to think of it, that's better than the time he wanted to be known as Joseph Nicolas Cugnot, inventor of the first steam engine. :)

Fun with friends

2009-11-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

Although Max's obsession with trains has recently given way to all things space, I took the kids on a historic train ride from Olten to Basel the other day.

It took the train over an hour to complete the 20-mile trip, several stops in VERY small towns such as this one included.

We went together with some good friends of ours, who are originally from the Baltic sea region of East Germany. My family used to vacation there every summer in the old days, so we're tight. :)

Clark and Anna, partners in mischief. (And no, we did not let them hang out the window when the train was in motion!)

During the warmer months, the large yard in the middle of our apartment complex turns into these kids' stomping ground.

The neighborhood gang, from oldest to youngest. I'd love to take this picture again in, say, ten years...

30 plus 1

2009-10-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'm running a couple of weeks behind, but let me just say that I had a marvelous birthday! It started with this super-cute banner the kids made for me and hung on our front door:

Then there were these gorgeous fall flowers, courtesy of my very thoughtful (and obviously well-trained) husband.

No birthday party is complete without friends and good food, though. I wanted to have a raclette party, which required a little bit of preparation. I made three different kinds of chicken marinades, prepared pork filet, shrimp, bacon and small sausages. All these things are cut into thin strips or bite-sized pieces...

...to be fried on a raclette (or table-top) grill. The one we have looks something like this:

Underneath the grill, cheese is melted and then poured over small, boiled potatoes. True to Swiss tradition, I served a variety of pickled vegetables on the side. Sounds weird, but works surprisingly well with the meats and warm cheese.

Oh, yeah, we have a BYOB policy. :)

(It is actually a much better idea to drink something warm along with raclette because cold drinks may cause the melted cheese to coagulate in your stomach, giving you a nice little bellyache)

Bon appétit!

Soup for the soul

2009-10-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Before Jeremy and I were married, my grandmother took him aside to share some sensitive information: I couldn't cook. They had tried to teach me for years but apparently, I had shown very little interest in all things domestic. Ten years of marriage and six years of motherhood later, I have accumulated an impressive library of cookbooks. Here is the latest milestone on my road to culinary competence:

Real chicken soup!

1 whole (1 kg/2 lbs) chicken
a couple of peppercorns
1 1/2 Tsp salt
pot herbs (e.g. 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 leek or large celery stalk, celery root, some cabbage)
5oog (1 lb) cauliflower
100g (4 oz) leek or celery
250g (1/2 lb) carrots
100g (4 oz) small pasta (e.g. shells)
soy sauce
2 Tsp. parsley

Put salt and peppercorns in 2 liters (2 quarts) of boiling water. Rinse the chicken and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Skim off foam every so often.

Rinse pot herbs and cut into large chunks. Add to boiling chicken and cook on medium heat for another 45 minutes.

Cut cauliflower, leek and carrots into small, bite-sized pieces.

Remove chicken and pot herbs from broth. Discard cooked vegetables. Strain broth if necessary. Return to heat and add cauliflower, leek and carrots. Cook on low heat for 25 minutes. Add pasta ca. 10 minutes before the end.

Pick meat off the bones and add to broth. Season soup with some soy sauce (and chicken bouillon, if desired). Garnish with chopped parsley.

Seriously, you'll never touch an instant chicken soup again!

Tessin

2009-09-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, we headed down to Tessin to spend a very nice weekend with my family on Lago Maggiore. You get to this southernmost Swiss canton by either driving over or through Mount Gotthard, a sort of cultural-meteorological divide. By the time you get to the other side, you've left German-speaking alpine Switzerland behind and find yourself in a warm and sunny mediterranean setting, surrounded by palm trees and Italian-speakers.

The lovely view from our vacation home. We froze for a moment when we saw the church bell tower right outside our window. Last time we stayed in the area, we received earth-shaking 6am wake-up calls from a similar tower. Fortunately, this one kept quiet until about 8. Which can't be said about the train line that literally ran through our backyard. :)

Climbing to the highest point in Vira to get a better view of the area. It is amazing to me that people build homes and live on these incredibly steep mountainsides (and then drive their tiny cars at excessive speeds on winding single-lane roads to go places).

Et voilà! Beautiful Lago Maggiore. The city on the other side is Locarno.

From here, it's merely stone's throw to Italy. George Clooney actually owns a villa somewhere in the area (and spent that very same weekend in a local hospital after a motorcycle accident!).

We took the kids for a dip in the clear blue water on this little beach.

The actual reason why we all came: my brother got a bungee jump off this (still operational) railroad bridge for his 25th birthday.

Söri getting ready. He only spent a moment before he actually jumped...

...and fell 230 feet, letting out a scream of death and sending my mom into a state of shock. The kids, of course, were mesmerized.

One down, 19 more to go

2009-09-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Three months shy of his sixth birthday, Max lost his first tooth! A few days ago, I noticed that one of his lower incisors was loose. Upon closer examination, I found that the new tooth was already emerging, pushing the old one out. I left it up to Jeremy to give it the final pull, though. Tooth removal is definitely dad territory. :)

Behold the Powerman!

2009-09-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

After making some unauthorized contributions to my facebook page, Jeremy has also figured out how to post on my blog. This is his account, followed by some clarifying words of my own:

Several weeks ago, I got this crazy idea that I wanted to get in better shape and set the goal of doing the Powerman in Zofingen. The powerman is similar to an Ironman, but instead of swimming, they run at the beginning. I decided I would only do the short version of the race, 10km running / 50km on a bike / 5km run to the finish. I had a good 7 weeks to train and after all, I was serious. Well, my friends, I did finish, beating 4 people, ending in place 201 of 205. Not to mention that the 4 people I beat were overweight and/or senior citizens. (One was a lady that was begging for water 20 minutes into the race. I thought to myself "that can't be good").

I have never done anything so phyiscally difficult in my life. It was most likely more difficult because I wasn't physically ready for the race. The people I went up against had been training for years, literally. I knew I was doomed when the women completed the first 5km in 18 minutes, and averaged 50km of biking in 80 minutes. I knew I was in over my head. I just didn't know how long I could hide this fact from everyone else? Heaven knows I looked the part, I even shaved my legs.

I did fine during the 10km run, and moved slowly onto my bike. 20km into the biking portion, I almost hurled my Powerbar and Gatorade all over a beautiful small town in Switzerland. I knew that everyone (the long portion had to do 150km of bike, or three loops) would see my gift to them, so I took a quick breather. I managed to keep it in, but only barely.

There is a reason that I am all alone in these two pictures. Everyone else was finished. But I am a good sport and can laugh at myself.

Well, I am still in recovery. I lost some weight along the way. I learned a ton about this kind of sport, and I know some of what I did was wrong. I have time to improve before my next attempt (assuming we stay here) in Zofingen. I would also like to thank my wife for her emotional and verbal support. Some examples include the following:

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Where is the will?"

"What hospital is responsible for the race?"

"You think it's fair your kids will grow up without a father? Do you?"

and my favorite "Let me see if I can get your enlistment money back!"

I did not actually use those words! I did, however, watch people keel over and get taken away on stretchers at the Ironman in Zurich this summer, which caused me to voice some concern prior to this race.

P.S.: Jeremy - in open defiance of bicycle racing etiquette, I'm going to hide my razor so you can no longer use it to shave your legs!

Back to school!

2009-08-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Max and Anna had their first day back in school about two weeks ago. Anna is now in her second year of playgroup, which is the toned-down Swiss version of preschool. Max started his last year in Kindergarten before he heads off to first grade next year. Unbelievable!

Even though this is a German tradition reserved for a child's first day in first grade, I couldn't resist! I gave both of them a small "Zuckertüte," a sort of upside-down dunce's hat filled with sweets and school supplies. They absolutely loved it and Max can't wait for the real thing next year! He already picked out a train-themed cone (what else?) about ten times the size of this one - which brings back fond memories of my own three-foot tall, fairy-tale themed cone of wonders...I was one happy first-grader carrying around her own weight in pencils, candy and toys that day. :)

P.S.: Kudos to Jeremy, who got the kids ready, took them to school and spent the first hour in Max's classroom alongside all the other proud and slightly sentimental parents!

Hangin' at Oma's and Opa's house

2009-08-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

With preschool and kindergarten out for the summer, we spent most of July at Oma's and Opa's in Germany.

As Oma kept lamenting for three weeks straight, it would've been nice to go up to the Baltic Sea. In the absence of any accommodation available on a short notice, though, this lake made for a nice alternative. No jellyfish, algae or elderly nudists, either!

Forget Max's budding interest in astronauts and space travel. For the time being, he's aiming for excavation.

Playground designers never do run out of ideas, do they?

Mini-golfing with Opa.

And summer sledding with Oma.

It's not all fun and games at Oma's house! You do have to put in some work.

A clothesline. So last century and so ecological!

Playing chess with a cousin of the n-th degree.

Although I come from a rather small family, this is the closest we have come to a family reunion in years. This picture features my dad, brother, two cousins, only aunt, a great-aunt, and various boyfriends. Seriously, guys, we should do this more often!

Jokester

2009-08-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Dinnertime at my parents' house.

Oma (slightly indignant): Max, did you just wipe your mouth on the tablecloth?!

Max: No, only my nose.

Rigi

2009-07-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

I finally got a hold of some great pictures of our family outing to Mount Rigi following Anna's birthday back in May:

A historic steam-powered cograil train, on loan from the Swiss Museum of Transport. For an extra 20 Francs, on top of the regular fare of 60 bucks, you can ride it all the way to the top, huffing, puffing, and whistling included.

Looking towards the canton of Zug.

Waiting for the train to take us to the other side of the mountain.

In Europe, there's not just a restaurant on top of every mountain. Usually, you can also find some type of fireplace, with wood and an ax for chopping on site. So, we grilled some wurst and had a nice little picnic lunch with a marvelous view!

Looking towads Lake Lucerne.

Jeremy, John and my parents hiked down while Shelby, the kids and I opted to ride the cushy train back.

"Which way, again?"

Another herd of cows happily grazing on a luscious mountain meadow, and a friendly reminder why beef is so freakin' expensive in this country! :)

Weissenstein

2009-07-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I've been meaning to post. They were taken on top of Weissenstein mountain outside Solothurn back in May when my in-laws were visiting.

Spring (when it's not rainy, cold and foggy) is so beautiful in Switzerland! For about two weeks, blooming dandelions turn every meadow into a sea of yellow.

Anna, alias Heidi, pasture-roaming girl of the Alps!

An old-school trough outside the restaurant where we had lunch.

The inevitable Swiss cow herd. If you are out and about in the countryside, you WILL run into them sooner or later. I get the impression, though, that cows have no idea how big and intimidating they are up close. They don't mind you walking past them or even patting them. They are cud-chewing teddy bears, if you will.

Our two globetrotters. Too bad all that haze impaired the view, but the city below is Solothurn.

Road trip

2009-07-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

With our future in Europe remaining as uncertain as ever, we decided to turn a job interview in Austria into a family road trip. To break up the 9-hour drive, we stopped over in one of the coolest cities in Europe:

MUNICH!

It stopped raining just long enough for us to take a few pictures...the rest of the day was spent at the incredible German Technical Museum, every budding 4-foot tall engineer's wonderland.

On to Graz, second largest city in Austria and hometown of Arnold Schwarzenegger! Unfortunately, it kept raining. The whole weekend. Geez. We braved the wetness and semi-cold, though, and made it up Castle Mountain, an old fortress area overlooking the city.

The view was stunning, but check out that w-e-i-r-d building in the center of the picture! It's an art museum, of course, designed by award-winning architects. Hm. Sure looks like some sort of internal organ ready for transplantation, doesn't it?

All in all, the trip was a very nice break from all the soul and job searching of the past weeks and months. The job opportunity in Graz has to be mulled over some more, though...

Meet your friendly neighborhood tank division!

2009-06-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to set something straight real quick. Nobody outside Switzerland ever believes me when I tell them that it's not uncommon to see tanks going down the street. Seriously, we've run into them on the freeway, on country roads, on the way to preschool, whenever. They usually travel in convoys and get going pretty fast. Very impressive. And if you're lucky, the guy looking out the top is your friendly neighbor doing his annual three-week refresher course in civil defense. :)

Celebrating 3 years of pranks, pink and princesses

2009-06-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here's to 2 weeks in the NICU, 3 months of colic-induced nonstop screaming, 18 months of sleep-deprived nights, and 3 years of joy, mischief and the occasional question how someone who looks so angelic can be such a pistol...er, so full of personality! :)

Miss Anna on her big day!

With some of her friends from preschool and our neighborhood.

In an effort to hold a candle to all my ridiculously domestically talented friends out there in the blogosphere, I really put some thought into this birthday! I made princess muffins, magic wand cookies and Martha Stewart's strawberry punch. Thank goodness we don't have another birthday until December... :)

Proud parents of a three-year old!

The loot! We were very proud of her for not going crazy while unwrapping all her gifts. At least not right away.

It's been an unbelievable nine years since these two ladies sat on a couch together! Natually, Oma and Nana picked up right where they had left off!

The weather was great so we took the party outside. Here Max and Anna are sack-racing each other.

And here's the inevitable ping-pong-ball-on-a-spoon race.

Voilà! The party turned out great. It was wonderful to have so much family around, too. I'll post some pictures of the day trip we all went on the next day asap!

Stockhorn

2009-06-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

Whenever he gets the chance, this is what Jeremy likes to do with his free time:

My friend and I decided to take a day hike up the Stockhorn. This is about a two-hour drive from our apartment, and straight south of Bern. This is a picture we took on the way up the back of the mountain, looking over Oey.

This is near the top, but not quite there. Half the trail was covered in snow and we had to improvise the last 2 kilometers.

It turned out that our route of choice was actually closed due to danger. We couldn't help but take a picture of our decision.

Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (aka three of the many beautiful reasons why we love Switzerland)

Mother's Day recap

2009-05-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, my Mother's Day last weekend was great! I got so many thoughtful gifts...here are my two favorite items from the under-six age group:

The present on the left turned out to be an adorable soap dispenser painted purple and pink by my little princess Anna. Max made some heart-shaped cookies for me that I haven't touched yet and probably won't for a while just so I can look at them at little longer...and smile.

And then, of course, there was another one of those gorgeous bouquets from Jeremy:

I don't think there's a more beautiful flower than a yellow gerber daisy. (Well, except for an orange one...)

The Bughunter

2009-05-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here's Max, great explorer of everything that creeps and crawls!

I don't know how he can stand to have those things crawl across his hand. At least this snail has a shell, unlike the slugs he's been finding underneath the patio in our yard...

And then there's Jeremy, who has discovered the avid ping pong player in himself! Here he is playing a tournament with our neighbors - whom we love, by the way! They're mostly transplants from Germany, young, married, with children. So rare. Seriously, our neighborhood must have the highest birth rate in all of Switzerland. :)

They are playing a version we call, for some unknown reason, "Chinese ping pong:" instead of two players just hitting a ball back and forth, you alternate however many players by constantly running around the table. So much fun - and incredibly exhausting!

Favorite spots

2009-05-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Since our days in Switzerland are quite possibly numbered, I've decided to take the time to revisit some of our most favorite places:

First up: the Swiss Museum of Transport, aka Max's idea of heaven on earth.

Snack time. Given the ridiculous cost of eating out (and despite Jeremy's continued embarrassment), we usually take sandwiches wherever we go.

Real trains, kiddie trains, wooden trains, or card decks featuring trains - Max loves them all.

Next item on my list of the most beautiful places in Switzerland: Lake Lucerne. Since the main promenade is usually packed with tourists as well as the rich and well-dressed, we prefer to hang with the locals at this more remote lakeside park.

So gorgeous...

Yes, I know Anna needs a haircut. Jeremy has been doing a good job of trimming her hair (that's right, hair cutting is a male domain in our family), but her hair is so fine and curly that we need some professional help. I actually took her in once and the hairdresser refused to take anything off, saying she looks so cute. Huh?!

Easter on Lake Constance

2009-04-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

After about 5 weeks of egg dying, egg painting, and various crafts involving bunnies, Easter finally arrived last weekend! Thank goodness. I don't think I could've held out any longer. So, we drove up to Lake Constance, on the border between Germany and Switzerland, to meet up with my family and spend a weekend full of ponies, parks, and playgrounds:

Our first stop: Mainau, an island turned into a park full of flowers. Every gardener's dream. Every springtime allergy sufferer's nightmare.

Little girls and ponies...

...but wait! Apparently, they're not just for the aspiring princess crowd!

Anna, not wanting to go home and wandering off inconspiciously...

Hunting for eggs on Easter Sunday. We hid small baskets full of candy in the yard behind the condo we were staying at. As expected, the kids were almost completely oblivious to the brightly wrapped eggs and had a blast just running around aimlessly.

Sweet success!

Take one basket from Oma, one from great-great aunt Renate and various other relatives, and you've got quite a bit of loot!

Next stop: an animal farm.

Max doesn't seem to mind wet animal noses and slobbery tongues...in fact, he'll feed anything that walks on four legs. He's also been quite interested in bugs, most notably rainworms, which he rescues after rainstorms by picking them off sidewalks and putting them back on grass. Or, occasionally, my car. Wonderful.

Smile, Opa, you're riding a chicken! (And it won't be your last round, either :)

The things that make little girls happy...

Thanks, Oma and Opa, for an awesome Easter weekend! Now, you better go home and get some rest because Pentecost (the next major holiday weekend in May) is just around the corner!

Life, turned upside down

2009-04-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been forever! It's not that nothing worth blogging about has happened lately. Au contraire. TOO MUCH has happened. Anna finally finished potty training. She has also joined the ranks of three-foot tall princesses, donning tutus and painting her toe nails with purple marker. Max loves to practice his writing and has started reading simple words. Sadly, I had to travel home to attend the funeral of a close relative. And, last but not least, I guess you could say that the global economic crisis has claimed us as its victims. From one day to the next, our future has become completely uncertain. Or wide open, depending on your interpretation. Either way, we have no idea where we are going to be three months from now. Will we be able to stay here? Or are we going to end up in another European country? Maybe head back overseas?? And what if preferences (clearly) differ?!

Good thing nothing seems to drag these two down... :)

Good news!

2009-02-25T23:50:00.000-08:00

This past week, I've been busy getting quotes for spare parts and paint jobs. So far, every mechanic I've talked to wants to replace the whole door and paint most of the right rear side of my car. Problem #1: cost. Problem #2: that side of my car would end up looking way nicer than the rest of it. So, I did some research and I found a used black rear door that should fit my Jetta at a car recycling place. I'll go pick it up tomorrow. Only downside: it is located clear on the other side of the country. Fortunately, in the case of Switzerland, that means a mere 80 miles. :)

"I'll have the door on shelf #241 and the mirror on #586. Thanks, man!"

Disaster (almost) strikes

2009-02-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

So, I was driving (alone, thank goodness) on a country road near our house the other day. It was freezing cold and had been snowing, but the road had been cleared and was completely dry. I was going about 50 mph (the permitted speed outside city limits) when I got to a foresty area and hit black ice. I was neither breaking nor turning the steering wheel, but the car all of a sudden spun out of control. I swerved from one side of the curb to the other several times and hit a wooden advertising sign that broke my mirror, smashed in my right rear door and scratched up the right rear wheelwell. I managed to slow the car down and pull over, and realized how incredibly lucky I'd been. If there had been oncoming traffic or the car had rolled over, I could've been toast or seriously hurt someone innocent.

This just really made me realize how your whole life can change within a split second. And the least I can do is be a bit more patient with my children, kinder to the people around me, more loving to those who love me. Because I just don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

Introduction to volunteer firefighting!

2009-01-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

So, here they are, the first couple of lessons learned at my first official training session in volunteer firefighting:

- Find locker. Put on uniform, including overalls, jacket, belt, helmet and boots. In absence of a separate women's changing room, put everything on top of regular clothes. Feel like the Michelin man. Wonder how that's gonna work in the summertime.

- Don't forget rope and carabiners. Adjust helmet to fit apparently incredibly small head. Realize that I'm practically floating in my boots. Cautiously ask for extra small boots, resulting in a special order and a slightly annoyed equipment officer.

- Take extensive tour of depot. Learn about ladders (the longest one being 23 meters), hoses (up to 800 meters long), different types of trucks, foam, pumps, how to deal with oil spills (use special granulate with spills up to 300 liters), oxygen tanks, defibrillators (heart attacks are the most common reason for deployment) and LOTS of other things whose purpose I didn't retain. Does this training course come with a textbook? How about handouts? Or study groups? Seriously, how am I ever supposed to recall all this information?!?

- Remember to use the bathroom at home before coming to fire department. Latter only has urinals.

My next training session is next month. At that time, we'll jump right in and learn how to use extension ladders and set up water lines. Recruit Bunting-Schier (for some reason, the Swiss authorities decided to double up and hyphenate my last name) is standing by! Stay tuned!

Oh, my dear Switzerland...

2009-01-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a bit of political activism. Let me begin by saying that I have loved living in Switzerland from the minute we got here. And I really like the Swiss people, even if that affection is not always returned. But occasionally I am seriourly disturbed by their style of politics. Especially their brand of conservatism, which thrives on a mixture of primitive populism and xenophobia. In the Swiss system of direct democracy, it only takes 50 000 signatures to force a referendum on bills passed by parlament or on any given constitutional issue. And it does seem like the Swiss are always voting on something. Here is a selection of initiatives and election campaign posters I have been particularly annoyed with. Keep in mind that these were all commissioned and put up by the SVP (Swiss People's Party), the biggest party in the country and not some fringe movement on the far right.

"Creating safety"

This was part of a campaign to deport foreigners that break the law. I can understand that you wouldn't want a serious serial offender in your midst, but the initiative sought to include even relatively minor infractions such as burglary or welfare fraud. Had it passed, it also would have applied to minors (whose parents would have been deported with them).

"Aarau (capital of the Swiss canton of Aargau) or Ankara (capital of Turkey)?"

This guy was running for parlament on the widespread fear of Muslims overrunning Switzerland and turning it into some type of caliphate. He failed.

"Stop mass naturalization"

The Swiss seem to be under the impression that everyone (especially people of darker complexion) is clamoring for a Swiss passport. If this initiative had been successful, the authority to naturalize foreign nationals would have passed to the eligible voters of the town the applicant lives in. In other words: Eastern Europeans, people of color, and Muslims need not apply.

"Use your heads!"

Brazen and shameless. No further explanation needed.

"No free pass for all"

The latest initiative, to be voted on in early February. Switzerland allows EU citizens to enter the country on work permits such as the one we have. Problem is, the EU keeps expanding. Two years ago, Bulgaria and Romania joined. This initiative is trying to keep out workers from those two countries (depicted as the ravens) but can't single them out because they are members of the EU now. In the unlikely event that this referendum passes, it will become all but impossible for any EU citizen to enter Switzerland legally.

Goodness gracious. I'd be curious to know what you all think about this!

Good times!

2009-01-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, a whole month has passed since we left for Utah! It's been three weeks since Christmas, two since New Year's...high time to take a look back at a fun-filled holiday season!

All the cousins. Given how rarely they see each other, I think they did exceptionally well with each other. Few fights, lots of playtime together, leaving enough time for the adults to sit back and catch up.

These two really like each other! Here, Max and Kylie are playing post office in the closet...

...and "Sorry," LOTS of "Sorry," which is Max' favorite game of all time. Also, note the train conductor's uniform Nana gave him for his birthday. What a great gift!

The second biannual renactment of the Christmas story. Credits: Max as Joseph, Kylie as Mary, Aiden as a wise man, and Anna as a donkey. Next showing: unfortunately, not until Christmas 2010.

The production, so carefully prepared by Shelby, turned into complete and hilarious chaos! I haven't laughed this hard in a long, long time.

Anna, immersing herself in her character.

Utah valley, as seen from my in-laws' front door. What a view!

We had some of the most beautiful winter weather out there! Winter is called the 'dark season' in Central Europe for a reason (with the sun never breaking through the clouds and then setting at 4 o'clock each afternoon...oh, and what's up with all that fog in Switzerland?!), so it was wonderful to be able to play outside in the sun.

Et voilà! This season's second snowman, which was soon surpassed by the 7-foot monster Jeremy and Jake built but no one thought to take a picture of.

Next project: Jeremy and Jake building a sledding run. The picture doesn't do it justice, but that thing was awesome! It looked like a genuine bobsled tube that ran from John and Shelby's yard down into their neighbor's (we bought his goodwill with a plate full of cookies).

And it worked, too!

We also took the kids to see the lights on Temple Square, which were just incredible! I couldn't believe the sheer amount of lighting as well as the amazing attention to detail. How in the world do they do that?! And how can I get one of them to put the lights on our Christmas tree next year?!

Beautiful in any season.

New Year's Eve. It may not be Times Square, but there were games, a pretty good cheese fondue, and freshly baked cookies, so good enough for me! :)

Utah, here we come!

2008-12-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

For the next two weeks, this is what I'll be looking at while having breakfast at my in-laws' kitchen table every morning:

Stunning!

All bags have been packed, the plants watered, the fridge cleaned out, and the mail key given to the neighbors. Jeremy and Anna already left a week ago and, now that I'm done teaching for the year, Max and I will be on our way in just a few hours! We'll all be in Provo until the 2nd of January so if you happen to be in the area during that time, please let us know!! We'd love to see you! Seriously, I'm not making that 18.5-hour trip for nothing.

Pigtails!

2008-12-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I'm embarrassingly low maintenance. I don't wear jewelry and I haven't painted my nails in years. I don't know much about makeup. Or doing my hair. I own one lipstick. I have sub-zero fashion sense. I own one, maybe two pairs of shoes for each season. I have never been tanning or had a pedicure. For two and a half years, I thought Anna was even less girly than me...until I saw her with these pigtails. I knew there was a little girl in there somewhere!

More snow, please!

2008-11-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the season's first snowman! We built it together with our new neighbors Alexander and Anna (yes, another one!). We were so happy when these guys moved in...finally, a couple our age! Married! With kids! German! It's a match made in heaven.

Also, happy belated Thanksgiving to all my American friends! Every year, Jeremy and I think about having Thanksgiving. So far to no avail. The first problem we run into is the fact that Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Europe. Most importantly, though, what should we do about the bird? A whole duck or goose wouldn't be a problem, but where can we find an entire turkey? Also, could we even afford a Swiss turkey or would that thing cost the equivalent of a used compact car? Possible solution: going up to Germany and buying one. That would be cheaper, but how do we get it across the border? Getting caught by the Swiss border patrol with more than the permitted half pound of fresh meat would be even worse than getting busted smuggling counterfeit Swiss cheese. Of course, we could take backroads through the woods and thus avoid customs but...what are we, drug-runners?!?

We did have some turkey breast Thursday night. :)

Road safety education

2008-11-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

This must've been Max's favorite day at school so far. He has become quite obsessed with roads signs and traffic rules lately so he couldn't believe his luck when an actual traffic policeman showed up at his school the other day! The officer was part of a program to teach kids how to be safe on their way to school. And the first thing he did was to outfit the kids with these snazzy hats:

Now, take a closer look at that hat. For those of you familiar with the German language, what do you think it says?

Puzzled? It actually reads "wait - look - listen - go". 'Luege' means to look, which I can still understand because it reminds me of the English word. But as far as 'lose' is concerned, it took me over a year to figure out that whenever a Swiss person told me to 'lose', they didn't want me to draw a raffle ticket (the meaning of the word in high German), I was simply supposed to listen! Ha ha!

Here they are receiving some final instructions before crossing the road by themselves. Max, of course, is the little boy standing closest to the instructor, whom he adored.

Here we go. A perfect 10, I'd say.

Max, dutifully waiting for his turn. (Okay, there is literally NO traffic EVER on this particular road. If they actually waited for a car to pass by, they must've stood there for a very long time :)

Looking good!

2008-11-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Why is it so hard to get all of us in one and the same picture every once in a while?

Here are some rare family shots taken at our friends' wedding back in August. They're sepia and we had to scan them in, so the quality is a bit poor. But we all just look so darn good! Check these out:

Wasser marsch!

2008-11-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

So, that's the official German command to start the water flow from the truck to the nozzle of the hose the firefighter is holding...but first things first. Here's the much anticipated (judging by the comments left after my last post) rundown of my recruitment meeting!

For the first half hour, the instructor gave us a very convincing civics lesson (who knew that we live in a canton that requires every person over 18 to serve in the fire department?!), reminding us that refusal to serve results in a tax, paid annually. Then, each of us had to appear before a committee of sorts and argue our case for or against joining. Perhaps it was my conscience. Or I was taken aback by their offer to provide in-station babysitting if there ever was an emergency. Or I just have a hard time saying no. Either way, I caved. I'm going to be a volunteer firewoman! I've already been fitted for my uniform ("Chief, just make that a size small on everything!"). What's crazy is that there seem to be no restrictions on what they'll let me do (save my ability to carry heavy equipment and move around in those freakin' massive boots). I just have to donate one night a month and I will start training early next year! Oh my goodness...if nothing else, this will give me plenty of blogging material. That much is certain. :)

Here's a picture of some of my soon-to-be fellow firefighters, as found on their website:

Note the one other woman, fourth person from the right!

Be afraid, arsonists of rural northwestern Switzerland, be very afraid!

Mother, wife, teacher...firefighter?!

2008-11-06T12:24:00.001-08:00

Get this: a couple of days ago, I got this very important letter in the mail. Apparently, I have been drafted into the local fire department! We live in a small town of about 3000 people and it appears that the local fire brigade is a bit low in the manpower department. So, I have to attend a mandatory recruitment meeting tomorrow night, at which time my personal aptitude, health and professional background will be evaluated and I will be assigned a post accordingly. Huh?! Me?! Seriously, I have no upper-body strength whatsoever. :) And, the most obvious question of all, how come my big, strong, manly husband didn't get drafted?? Wouldn't that be a much smarter choice?? Stay tuned to see what happened!

Let it snow!

2008-11-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the view from our bedroom window early one morning last week. It has warmed up a little since then but there's just something so beautiful about the first snow of the year...beautiful, that is, if you don't have to head outside in about five minutes to take your kids to kindergarten, knowing you've still got summer tires on your car. :)

I love those European-style homes, built on however small a piece of property. (At a cool half a mill a piece, however, we'll have to keep renting for a while...a LONG while)

Anna and Max, ready to brave the early-morning cold. Anna was so pumped about those mittens, courtesy of her big brother!

If only I could vote...

2008-11-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I went on Barack Obama's campaign website looking for a new bumper sticker to replace my outdated and weather-worn "Hillary for President" one. (Mind you, I got that sticker before Obama even entered the scene at the 2004 Democratic National Convention!) As it turned out, the campaign only ships to American citizens over the age of 18 with a current address inside the United States. Hm. I fulfill exactly one of those criteria, apparently not enough for them to send me a measly little sticker. But, with only 48 hours to go until the elections, I'm ready to set aside any hard feelings. Time to put on my virtual bumper sticker!

Randomness

2008-10-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Jasmine, Art's lovely wife. I can never resist a tag. So, here are another six more or less well-known facts about me:

1. My childhood idol was Katarina Witt, East German figure skater extraordinaire. Anyone out there who remembers her gold-winning "Carmen" performance at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary? I do.

2. I enjoy politics, especially the American variety. I have seen Bill Clinton in person. I have shaken Wesley Clark's hand. I've seen George McGovern debate Bob Dole. As an intern in D.C., I got to write letters to Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleeza Rice. My desk was across from Dick Cheney's office (Please note: in no way do the views of these individuals reflect my own!) Wow. My glory days.

3. I'm not the highbrow snob you think I am after reading the previous post. Case in point: I love to watch Heidi Klum's "Germany's Next Top Model."

4. I have been caught several times trying to smuggle sausage, mostly salami and liverwurst, into the United States. I just love liverwurst on rye, a trait I have passed on to my children. A few weeks ago, Anna also stunned some of my German relatives by devouring two pieces of fried cow tongue, a dish she had never tasted before but apparently loved...

5. The best job I've ever had was taste-tester for the BYU food lab. They were looking for European students to rate different types of instant mashed potatoes. LOTS of different types. When I got done, I didn't feel the desire to taste instant mashed potatoes ever again. Until we moved to Switzerland, where (to my great surprise) the instant 'Stocki' is delicious!

6. I don't like sci-fi (a cause of occasional contention in my marriage). I think the Beatles are overrated. Country music (except for the Dixie Chicks, perhaps) is just awful. I don't like Elton John, either. Or any electro-pop duo. Wow, now I'm really starting to ramble... :)

I tag Sören and Michaela because I'm pretty sure they're actually going to do it. :) Na dann mal los!

Tribute to my license plate

2008-10-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the license plate on my car. It's a Swiss tag, with the flag in the top left corner and our canton's emblem in the right. Oh, how much I love this thin piece of sheet metal! But let me explain: apparently, Switzerland has replaced the US as the Germans' favorite emigration destination. With tens of thousands of my fellow countrymen arriving here every year, though, resentment among the Swiss has been growing. Enormously. Some feel that we take their jobs away. (See Swiss accuse German job thieves article in the Guardian) Most think we're snooty and rude. (What? Us? Naaaaw....) So, driving around with a German plate felt like having a big flashing arrow pointing at me. "Here comes another boastful German around the corner! Wait, she's probably unfamiliar with Swiss right-of-way laws...yep, what did I tell ya, she cut me off! And she's speeding! This is NOT the autobahn!" I might as well have painted my car red, black, and gold. In other words, my new license plate is my ticket to blissful anonymity, to blending into the crowd. So long as I don't open my mouth, anyways. Then, my tongue's complete inability to form the nearly incomprehensible sounds that make up the Swiss dialect exposes me once again... :)

The inevitable happens

2008-10-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 16, 6:15 am, the Bunting residence

The alarm clock rings. It's cold, dark, and raining outside. I roll out of bed.

Jeremy: Happy birthday, honey! Wow, the big 3-0. You don't look a day older than, say, 25. Seriously.

Me: Aw, you're so sweet...

Yeah, right. It took Jeremy 30 minutes before he even realized it was my birthday. But I'm willing to look past it - just check out these gorgeous flowers he got me again!

Not surprisingly (given how many beautiful bouquets he's purchased for me), he's become good friends with the florist, who also happens to be our next-door neighbor. She's talented, isn't she?

The next bouquet arrived by international delivery from my parents:

And, one of my all-time favorites: a gerber daisy, from my friend Silke:

So, I'm thirty now. After all the well-wishes, pretty flowers, thoughtful gifts (including a year-long subscription to SPIEGEL magazine!), and a great party on Saturday night, things don't look so bad anymore, though. :) Here's to womanhood!

The things grandparents do...

2008-10-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

... to make their cherished grandkids happy.

Exhibit 1: silly dolpin gondola ride. Anna ate it up.

Exhibit 2: mechanic horse rides, neighing and gallopping included.

And my personal favorite: the neon-green caterpillar. You can't see it very well, but Max and my dad are in the front. Humiliating? Not in the company of a beaming (soon to be) five-year old!

In other news, we've all been reeeeally sick for the past week, struggling with a vicious cold and cough...Oma spent two days in bed, coming back to life only after a heavy dose of penicillin. If it hadn't been for great-aunt Renate coming here and holding down the fort, we may not have recovered...not this soon, anyways. :)

I thought I could!

2008-09-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it! It took 8 1/2 hours (I know that sounds like a minor road trip to my American readers, but I could've driven to freakin' Rome in about the same time), loads of snacks, dinner at a fast food restaurant (which we hardly ever do in Switzerland, home of the $7.50 Happy Meal), and a brand new portable codefree DVD player. We also picked up my brother on the way, which meant semi-adult conversation and less driving for me. Sweet.

Now we're here, enjoying the last few sunny days of fall and all the great perks that come with staying at Oma's and Opa's. More photos coming soon!

Mystery solved

2008-09-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me thank all of you for your valuable input! As it turns out, we all got it wrong. Personally, I had my mind set on chicken pox, especially since there had recently been a case of it at church. So, I whisked Anna off to the doctor, even requesting that we wait in the quarantine room. When the doctor came in to see us, it took her all of, like, three seconds to figure it out: Anna had been mauled by mosquitoes. What?!? How can that be?! How can I be that far off the mark?! What kinds of mosquitos are we dealing with here? Were they on steroids? I was SO embarrassed. I won't go back to my pediatrician until everyone in that practice forgets that I'm the mom who mistook bug bites for chicken pox.

In other news, it's fall break and I'm getting ready to take the kids up to Germany to see my parents. This is the first time that I'm making the drive all by myself. I've been mentally and physically preparing for this 700-kilometer white-knuckle marathon for weeks. The Swiss part of the trip is not so bad - you can only go 120kph (75mph) on the freeway and people are fairly courteous. The German autobahn, on the other hand, is a motorized version of survival of the fittest. If you're not in a Mercedes or BMW (or you're generally traveling at less than 120mph), you're expected to stay in the slow lane. Ventures into the passing lane are punished with tailgating, flashing lights, and honking. Add lots of semis, windy roads and narrow lanes, and I'm looking at 7 hours of sweaty palms and a greatly increased heart rate. Wish me luck.

Guess the childhood disease!

2008-09-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Anna woke up this morning with a rash all over her face. She has had a couple of red spots on her chin for the past two or three days, but this was a whole new story. So, let's review our options:

A. Chicken pox
B. Allergic reaction
C. Mosquito bites
D. German measles (Ha! Whoever came up with that silly name?)

Additional clues: no fever, no spots anywhere else.

I await your response.

15th day of school

2008-09-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that I'm just about the only mom in the world who didn't take pictures of her kids on their first day of school. Gross negligence! So, here they are, my kids, on their, um, fifteenth day of school:

This is where Max and Anna go to kindergarten and preschool, respectively. It's a bilingual school located just 10 minutes from where we live (a.k.a. the Swiss boonies). It was started a few years ago by an Irish-Swiss couple that wanted their kids to get a bilingual education here in the area rather than Zurich or Basel. (How cool is that?!) I take Max and Anna there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings when I teach English in a nearby town.

My little kindergartner, hanging out in the shy-boy corner of the morning circle.

Technically, Anna isn't old enough yet to attend preschool but - after a whole year of having to carry her out of Max's preschool class kicking and screaming - the school showed mercy on me and admitted her early. And she absolutely loves it! Here she is horsing around with (German/English/Italian-speaking) Massimo, who's often mistaken for her brother. Must be the hair.

Since he was 18 months old, Max and I have had this goodbye-ritual: if I leave him somewhere, he goes to the nearest window and waves. Three years later, we are still waving...and so are all of his little friends.

Max Monet and Anna Pollock

2008-08-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

With the weather turning kind of chilly and rainy already, it's craft season again at our house! I tend to shy away from paints because I usually end up having to scrub my children, their clothes, and our walls. But these kids just love to paint...

Les artistes at work.

Forget brushes. Or painting with your fingers. You can get so much more done with both hands!

Opera!

2008-08-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not really into talent shows and such, so when I first saw this clip on TV I thought it was all staged. It's not. It's truly amazing. The guy went on to win the show and this song is now among the top ten singles in Germany. You have to see this:

Getting hitched, Swiss style

2008-08-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we were invited to our good friends Silke and Bastian's wedding. The interesting thing about tying the knot in Europe is that you are required to get married civilly first. You may also have a church wedding, but you have to appear before a civil registrar (or justice of the peace, in America) in order to have the marriage recognized by the state. (I apologize for the generalization - does anyone know of a European country where a church wedding is legitimate?) Anyways, we were invited to the civil ceremony on Friday but actually missed it because we went to the wrong registrar's office...oops!

The religious part of the wedding took place the next day in this twelfth-century church located in a small mountain village south of Bern. What an absolutely wonderful setting! Only downer: summer dress combined with altitude and overcast skies makes for miserable outdoor experience. Mental note: wear black gown, buy shawl, fit in with the rest of the crowd.

Check out the interior: stained-glass windows, medieval murals and wooden pews. Amazing.

The kids inside the church. I spent most of the hour-long ceremony desperately trying to keep them quiet and in one place...with some success. Max and Anna also had the honor of serving as the official flower children! They threw rose pedals as the bride and groom were leaving the church. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of that because everything happened so fast and I was preoccupied worrying about whether the kids would remember what to do...which they did, and beautifully so.

These alphorn blowers were actually part of the ceremony - I didn't know you could do that. :) Right out of a Ricola commercial.

The happy couple. Since I helped the bride pick it out, I like to take some credit for that beautiful dress. So classy!

The alphorn blowers congratulating the happy couple.

After the ceremony, everyone headed back to Bern for the big party that included a delicious six-course dinner, skids prepared and performed by the guests, and, of course, dancing that lasted into the wee hours of morning. Europeans sure know how to throw a bash!

Listen up!

2008-08-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not the biggest fan of automatic playlists embedded in websites. I just don't always share that person's taste in music. But I do love to listen to music, especially on the radio while driving in my car (my kids broke my tape deck, which I need to hook up my mp3 player, by sticking pennies in it). There's just so much great music out there that I decided to create a (non-automatic) playlist on this blog. I'll keep adding whatever songs I like to turn up and sing along to (hideously) at that random moment in time. And if you ever get totally bored, listen to one or two and let me know what you think!

Scenic vacations, part 2

2008-08-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Oh geez, where did the past five weeks go?! Schools starts again on Monday, so I guess it's time to take a quick inventory of the things I had set out to accomplish:

1. Read a bit more. I'm not much of a book reader anymore. The last book I started on was Madeleine Albright's memoirs. That was back when Max was a newborn and I had a lot of time to read while nursing. Since then, I've found that news magazines fit my schedule much better. This summer, though, I read Thomas Küng's "Gebrauchsanleitung für die Schweiz" and loved it! It's sort of a foreigner's guide to Switzerland that made me laugh out loud! After living here for a year and a half, I still find a lot of things the Swiss do rather perplexing. Their funny language. Their crazy style of government. Their suspicion of anything German. For a country only twice the size of New Jersey, they sure have a lot of issues... :)

2. Sit out in the sun a bit more. Hm. There were definitely a couple of unbearably hot days (let's not forget that we live on a continent that eschews air conditioning) but by and large, this summer has been rather rainy and cold. Here's to hoping for a sunny fall season before everything turns drizzly and gray again for winter...

3. Blog a bit more. This is only my third post in a month. Mission definitely not accomplished.

I did, however, manage to clean all of our windows, organize the attic, persuade Max to trade his beloved tricycle for a bike (with training wheels) and put together two rather spontaneous family vacations. Here are a couple of pictures from the second trip, which we went on with my family during the last week in July:

Aaah, the view from our little condo in Diemtigen, a tiny village just south of Thun (I realize that means absolutely nothing to most of you...I guess you could say we stayed pretty much in the middle of the country).

My parents and brother on the patio where we ate our (continental) breakfast every morning.

Anna and Opa on a little hike we went on. Little meaning that it was only about two miles long but took us five hours to complete. That's as fast as this easily distracted two-year old moves.

On top of Pfingstegg, one of the smaller mountaintops in Grindelwald. Even though we had been there with Jeremy's parents two weeks before, we decided to take my family as well because it's just so beautiful. Just ask the Japanese. Or Koreans. Or, as of late, the Indians. :)

The postcard view from Pfingstegg. We rode that gondola up there and Jeremy actually hiked down. In light of our earlier hiking (read: dragging/pulling/carrying) adventures with the kids, the rest of us decided against joining him.

Our kids love alpine slides! Max is at the point where he doesn't even break anymore; he just floors it all the way down. Given his generally timid nature, that's totally amazing (and fills us with some hope for a slightly more rough-and-tumble future).

Since my camera died last time we went to Grindelwald, I made up for it on this trip. Here's a small selection of family photos taken. Enjoy!

Between heaven and earth

2008-07-18T13:09:00.002-07:00

We spent this past week in one of the most beautiful places on earth: Grindelwald, Switzerland. Two years ago, we went there with Jeremy's parents and we liked it so much that when we found out they were coming back to visit, we knew exactly where to go...

The view from our chalet's balcony. The mountain you are seeing is the Eiger, famous for its spectactular but extremely dangerous northern face.

Anna, surveying the landscape. (All I want in life is to live in one of those little chalets, with a little yard and flowers along the window sills...is that so much to ask?!)

Two blondes.

Max, in full conductor gear, taking the cogwheel train up to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. We bought a six-day railway pass that let us ride all the trains and gondolas in the area - and we took full advantage of it, sending Max right to railway heaven!

It takes the better part of a day to get up there, but the view from more than 11,000 feet above sea level is amazing (if you can elbow your way through throngs of Japanese tourists)!

The snow on top of Jungfrau never melts, and we actually saw some people skiing up there (though that almost seems like an inappropriate activity at a UNESCO world heritage site...).

Winter in July!

It was so bright up there that I could barely open my eyes... this is also the last picture we took before our camera's battery died. All the breathtaking vistas, the once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities - gone! (A few tears were, understandably, shed on my part...)

Hiking down from the Eiger glacier towards Grindelwald.

If you look closely, you can actually see an avalanche coming down the side of the mountain!

This and that

2008-07-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, school's finally out for the summer over here, so for the next five weeks or so I'll (hopefully) be able to sit back a bit more, read a bit more, sit out in in the sun a bit more, blog a bit more. First off, though, here's what's been going on lately:

Item #1: I was diagnosed with scarlet fever not just once, but twice, in the last 3 weeks. A close cousin of strep throat that comes complete with a full-body rash, the disease totally knocked me off my feet. I took a week's worth of antibiotics, was fine for a few days, and came down with it again. Wonderful. The bacteria are so aggressive that I have to go back for two more check-ups in the next couple of weeks to make sure they're actually gone. Wow, let's hear it for childhood illnesses striking in adulthood!

Item #2: Germany lost 0:1 to Spain in the Eurocup finals. They played a great game against Turkey in the semifinals, but totally faltered in the final round. We watched the game in disbelief, mourned the rest of the night, and moved on, reminding ourselves that we're only two years away from the next World Cup!

Item #3: I won the garden furniture I've been eyeing on Ricardo.ch! I paid about $70 for the whole set and I'm very proud of myself. I ought to take some pictures of our new and improved yard...

The many faces of Anna

2008-06-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

This little girl just cracks me up...

Sunday morning, right before we head off to church, when Anna actually has a hairdo and a clean dress on.

Miss Anna, looking like a little lady...

... and the rascal she is the rest of the week. :)

Getting ready to go to the pool (the public one, that is, of course).

Tagged!

2008-06-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

I've never been tagged before, so this gave me a little bit of food for thought about myself...

Joys

Lying down on the couch with a news magazine and a jar of Nutella. I've been subscribed to Newsweek on and off since high school, and we used to get the Economist, but my true love is SPIEGEL, a German newsweekly that's about 200 pages thick. Kids napping + news magazines + chocolate = my heaven.

Used bookstores. Whenever I have some time to myself, I head to the used bookstore first. My second choice is IKEA, followed closely by H&M.

Those moments of calm when no one is grossly misbehaving and it seems that my kids have actually learned a thing or two. Or those rare occasions when no one is sick and everything seems to be going smoothly. Till disaster strikes again.

Fears

I have developed a serious aversion towards flying. I used to be a fly-aholic and thoroughly enjoyed jetting around the world. Then I had kids. Now, you almost have to put a gun to my head (or seriously sedate me) to get me to board a plane with two little kids in tow. Tantrums, vomiting, diarrhea, twelve hours of singing to a screaming baby, complaining passengers. Why would a sane person put herself through that?!

I'm afraid of the dark. Don't like to be or walk in it. At least not alone. Completely cutting out scary movies has helped some.

Doesn't everyone have a recurring nightmare? Mine is that I have to take an exam I didn't know about and didn't prepare for. So, what does that say about me? That I'm a nerd? Afraid of failure? Have unreasonably high expectations of myself? Either way, I need to chill out a bit...

Goals

In the short term, I'd like to take up sewing again. And retake first aid. Organize the attic. Keep a journal. Become a better cook. And a more patient mom. Make a family photo album. Maybe brush up on my dormant French. Teach my kids to share and be kind to others...and, when I've got all that squared away, return to academia.

Current obsessions

My car, a 2001 VW Jetta. I drive the most stylish car in the world and I just love to take care of it! Jeremy thinks I clean my car more often than my kids but that's clearly an exaggeration. The average German cleans his car 9 times a year, which really puts me only slightly above average ... :)

Ricardo.ch, the Swiss version of Ebay. We live in one of the most expensive places on earth, so whenever we need something, I check Ricardo first. I've bought several great pieces of furniture, a fondue pot, a few toys, and, most recently, bicycles for all of us! At the moment, I have my eyes set on some inexpensive lawn furniture. Wish me luck!

Calories. Nobody ever takes me seriously when I say that, but I am very concerned about consuming enough calories to hang on to the few extra pounds I managed to gain during my last pregnancy.

Surprising facts

I've never had an epidural. I'm not really the natural-childbirth type but things just turned out differently than I had planned. With Max, I was at 9cm when I got to the hospital, so it was too late for an epidural. Anna was born in Germany, and the attending midwife dragged out giving me any pain medication until it was too late. Again. :) Looking back, I'm just amazed that I made it through...and who would've thought that unmedicated labor makes for such a great self-motivation tool? Whenever I get intimidated by a situation, I remind myself that I've been through natural child birth. Works every time! :)

I would love to be in a marching band. One of my biggest regrets in life is that I'm musically challenged, to say the least, and I'll never be able to play a brass instrument. Maybe I can talk one of my kids into learning to play the trombone, then I can at least watch from the sidelines. :)

I can't drive automatic cars. I guess I could learn how to, but I much prefer manual transmissions. The fact that a car moves without me doing anything just freaks me out.

Hm, I have no idea who actually reads my blog, but I'll try and tag Tiesha, Mirjam and Audrey.

Lake Halwil

2008-06-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Beautiful, isn't it?

A couple of weekends ago, we went on a little reconnaisance trip to Lake Halwil, located about 3o minutes southeast of where we live. As is common in Europe, people like to fish and sail on this lake, but we have yet to see a single jetski or waterskier anywhere.

Since it wasn't warm enough yet to swim, we decided that the best way to explore the lake (and keep the kids entertained) would be to go on a boat ride. We ended up being the youngest people onboard by about 40 years, but it was still fun!

Max really enjoyed the cruise (and the ice cream that came with it)!

Eurocup update: Germany has made it into the semifinals and will play against Turkey on Wednesday night! I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Euro Madness!

2008-06-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Is anybody out there (I'm talking to you, my American friends!) keeping up with the ongoing European soccer championships? Two years ago, we were so lucky to live in Germany, the host of the 2006 world cup. We never got to see a game (not that we could have afforded a ticket...) because Anna was born just before the tournament started. But the soccer gods were so kind to give us a second chance...Switzerland and Austria are hosting the 2008 European tournament, the second biggest in the world, and Jeremy actually got to go to a game! Last weekend, he saw Portugal beat Turkey 2-0 in Geneva. Very cool. Now, I'm waiting to find out if Germany will beat Austria on Monday and move on to the quarter finals...

Swiss Museum of Transport

2008-06-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend a rainy Saturday than at one of Max's favorite places in the world?

The museum is full of planes, trains, and automobiles, some of which little kids can play in. It goes without saying that Max was preoccupied with the trains (though he showed some budding interest in planes as well).

This is one of the coolest contraptions ever: there's a little ball that rolls down a really long, windy track and, in the process, sets an incredible amount of Swiss-themed gadgets in motion. So, you've got cows, a fondue pot, cheese, chocolate, alphorns, watches...it's THE most mesmerizing thing to watch!

Here I am standing on a giant, Google Earth-type map of Switzerland. Initially, that concept sounded lame but...

...it turned out to be surprisingly entertaining to crawl around on the floor, peeping through a magnifying glass and looking for a point of interest. (Mind you, the map is not labelled!) For instance, we managed to find our house by identifying a lake we know, then moving along the nearest freeway. It also helped that we live near a nuclear powerplant that, apparently, can be seen from space.

Annalie* turns 2!

2008-06-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Then...

... and now!

Two things I remember about Anna as a newborn: (1) she was just tiny (5 1/2 lbs, 18 inches) but what she lacked in physique she made up for in (2) sheer volume. Neither (1) nor (2) have changed much. Just add a whole lot of spunk and you've got Anna at 2!

"That's what I want!" (The candy on top of the cake, not the cake itself. Duh.)

At the ripe old age of 2, Anna...

...can do somersaults.

...loves all types of candy, especially gummy bears.

...knows a ton of animals and the sounds they make, can name all parts of her body, counts to two, and can even screw and unscrew a bottle cap.

...apparently feels ready to go to preschool. Every time we drop off Max, she takes off her jacket, finds an empty seat in the morning circle, and starts singing with the other kids. I end up having to carry her out kicking and screaming.

Anna, making out like a bandit.

Making giant bubbles with Oma and Opa. Concocted by my parents from wallpaper paste and other mysterious ingredients, this bubble-brew kept the kids entertained for hours (that day and many days since. We've got several gallons of that stuff.)

My parents drove all the way down from Germany to be with us on Anna's birthday. That's dedication! The kids, of course, absolutely loved having Oma and Opa back in town!

Max takes his bubble-making very serious. :)

* "Annalie" (pronounce Anna-lee) is what the Swiss like to call her. It means "little Anna" and sounds so cute that we have adopted it as her nickname.

Spring, glorious spring!

2008-05-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's May, much anticipated across Europe as the month with the most (and most obscure) religious holidays! We started off with May Day (the exception to the religious holiday rule), which this year happened to fall on the same day as Ascension Day, so we actually lost an extra holiday. Then came Pentecost and Corpus Christi. Lots of time off to go out, explore, and enjoy this beautiful country!

Over May Day weekend, we took my parents on a daytrip to the Pilatus area. Rather than going all the way to the top of the mountain (it was still very much wintertime up there!), we got out halfway at Fräkmüntegg, which features the longest alpine slide any of us has ever been on.

At 1500 meters above sea level, it was pretty chilly and not at all springlike up there (though I still managed to get sunburned somehow).

Proud Opa.

Same weekend, much warmer weather (what a difference 1000 meters of altitude make!). We love this wooden wagon and can be seen frequently hauling our kids or the occasional load of groceries around Lostorf.

What a doll!

Blowing bubbles with Opa.

Oma, getting the flying-grandchild workout.

Top that!

2008-05-13T06:05:00.001-07:00

Just look at this GIANT bouquet I got for Mother's Day! For someone who considers flowers to be about as necessary as a bicycle would be to a fish (trivia contest: who did I just plagiarize?), Jeremy really went out of his way to pick the most beautiful flowers in all of Switzerland! Merci vielmals!

Seaworld, at last!

2008-04-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

Oh geez, I have had these pictures uploaded and sitting in my blogger account for almost a month now...I just never got around to writing some witty captions. So much to do, so little time! Anyways, Seaworld turned out to be a much more pleasant place to visit than Disneyland. Smaller crowds, less waiting around. And the weather, of course, was gorgeous!

Amusement park tip no. 2: take one stroller per small child. Having learned this lesson the hard way at Disneyland, two strollers made for much smoother sailing at Seaworld (though Jeremy still ended up with a child on his shoulders most of the day).

Flipper, up close and personal.

The mandatory Shamu show...the whales were truly amazing but who comes up with those sappy storylines??

We managed to talk the kids into sitting down for a second show. This one featured dolphins, acrobats, and divers. Once again, the story was silly, but the animals were absolutely fantastic!

Alright, now we can move on to what's been going on lately! Stay tuned!

Week 2

2008-04-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

Since it takes almost a week just to adjust to the time change, and we knew we wouldn't be ready to go back to Europe just yet, we decided to extend our vacation and spend some time in the great US of A. First, though, what was supposed to be a quick 90-minute trip across the Gulf turned into a bit of a traveler's nightmare.

Apparently, you have to arrive at the Cancun airport 3 to 4 hours prior to departure - which we did, bright and early at 7.30 am. Little did we know that our plane wouldn't take off until 5.30 that night. Which left us with 10 hours to spend in an overcrowded, overpriced and understaffed airport. That won Cancun a spot on my list of worst airports - coming in a close third after Charles de Gaulle, Paris and Pristina, Kosovo. Congratulations.

Luckily, Max didn't seem to mind the excrutiatingly long wait too much. He was quite fascinated with all the planes taxiing around the tarmac.

Having breakfast (and loving it - you can't get Froot Loops in Switzerland) at our little condo outside Orlando.

Although there's only a two-hour time difference between Cancun and Orlando, I guess it was enough to throw off the kids' sleep cycle once again...

Can't go to Florida without going to Disneyworld! What we hadn't taken into account was the fact that some states were still on spring break, Florida included. So, Disneyworld turned out to be a massive horde of people with a few rides in between...

Future princess? Hm, not sure...more like slightly evil munchkin. :)

Ah, the tea cup ride! We spent an hour waiting under the scorching Florida sun, trying to keep Anna from running off and/or throwing very loud trantrums, for a 90-second ride...which Max and Anna (and apparently that big kid on the left) thought was the greatest thing in the world.

Carousels, carousels...our record stands at five (or was it six?) rides in a row.

Amusement park tip: slow boat rides are MUCH less popular than, say, Splash Mountain.

We ran out of steam around 8pm...while everybody else, it seemed, was going strong and holding out for the fireworks at 10.

Alright, just a few more pictures from SeaWorld next time and you'll be completely up-to-date on our world travels!

Mexico, part 2

2008-04-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

I've been unable to post more pictures because we got cut off from the internet during the second week of our vacation...before we get to that, though, let's finish the roundup of week 1:

After six days under the Mexican sun, and despite various sunscreens ranging from SPF 30 to 50, we all got pretty good sunburns...which resulted in nice tans for Jeremy and Max while Anna and I usually just stay red (the fate of most true blondes, I suppose?).

Jeremy actually emailed this pictures to some coworkers stuck in rainy 50-degree weather. That's just cruel.

I sure wish my nieces and nephews lived closer... (I know, I know, it's not THEIR fault we live on the other side of the planet).

Sleep-over with Kylie! They did this a couple of nights in a row and Max was quite disappointed when Kylie decided she needed a bed to herself towards the end of the trip... :)

My sister-in-law Kassie brought matching tutu-onesies for all the little girls to wear. Very girly, very American - and so cute!

From left to right: Kylie, Madison, Anna, and Ava

Doesn't it make you wonder what they'll be like in, say, ten years?

And now, all the girls together. (We are all looking off into different directions because there were five cameras pointed at us and there was obviously some confusion as to who was taking a picture when... :)

From left to right: Shelby, Ashley and Madison, Kassie and Kylie, Korey and Ava, et moi avec Anna

For more great pictures (and much better travel journaling), check out Kassie's, Korey's and Ashley's blogs!

Viva México!

2008-04-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

With our stay here in Mexico already halfway over, it is high time for some beach pictures!

Every couple of years, Jeremy's parents try to get the whole family together for a vacation. This time, they were so kind to organize a family reunion at a really nice resort in Playa del Carmen. The weather has been great, the food tasty, and the kids semi-good. Also, no more major medical emergencies to speak of. What more can you ask for?

Thanks to our jet lag, we're usually up and ready to go to the beach shortly after the crack of dawn. And since our resort is about 40 minutes south of Cancun, we don't have to worry about sharing the beach with any crazy spring breakers (not that they would be up building sand castles at 7am anyways...)

Max gets along really well with his cousin Kylie, who's a year older than he is. When they are not playing in the sand, they are coloring together or playing hide and seek. So adorable!

The moment we stepped off the plane, the humidity turned Anna's hair into the cutest blond afro on a 22-month old!

No offense, my beloved Baltic Sea, but this sure beats your rocky beaches and freezing water! (But don't worry, we'll be back next year!)

It's hard to imagine that it was still very much wintertime in Switzerland when we left. I have no idea how we'll ever adjust back...

Trying to put all that sand back in the ocean.

Anna and her newest cousin, Madison. Madison is four months old and must be one of the most easy-going babies ever...

More pictures coming soon!

Yeah, but you should see the other guy!

2008-04-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

The other guy being a sharp edge in an airplane lavatory! After about 15 hours of travelling, somewhere between Philadelphia and Cancun, Jeremy went to the bathroom to deal with some queasiness. From then on, it's a blur: he either fell asleep or passed out. In his state of unconsciousness, he fell over and hit his head. I, sound asleep in my seat, was then awoken by the flight crew announcing a medical emergency onboard. I found Jeremy in the back of the plane, bleeding profusely from a gash just above his eye. When we got to Cancun, the paramedics waiting for him at the gate were ready to take him to the nearest hospital. Fortunately, he talked them into patching him up a bit and letting him go...there was just no way I could've taken two sleeping children, two backpacks, and four pieces of luggage through Mexican customs and on to the hotel! In the end, we made it to our destination in one piece (more or less) and Jeremy got ten stitches (and a tetanus shot) from an on-call doctor that same night. Geez...and we thought all we would have to worry about is getting the runs!

Easter recap!

2008-03-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's already been a week since Easter! Time flies when you're getting ready for major transatlantic travel! We're leaving for Mexico in the morning (am I the only one stressed out by this idea?!) but before we go, here's a quick Easter recap:

Here's Max hanging up some of the eggs we've made. The twigs came from a birch tree, which looks a lot like an American aspen tree, and whose pollen makes anyone prone to springtime allergies (such as myself) sneeze up a storm.

On Saturday, my parents stopped by for some Easter egg hunting. Unfortunately, it snowed so heavily all weekend long that the Easter bunny had to hide his goodies inside our apartment...

...but that didn't stop the kids! Here's Anna trying on a pair of shoes the Easter bunny had brought. Although she usually shows very little interest in girlie things, she does LOVE shoes! And little handbags to go with them.

Reading a book with Opa. My dad must be the most patient and persevering book-reader I've ever seen! He can sit down and read twenty children's books in a row without even blinking (or falling asleep).

The kids got some more cooking utensils for Easter, which were put to good use immediately.

Everyone getting their nightly 10-minute dose of "Sandmännchen," which means "little sandman" and is sort of a televised good-night story for kids. As far as Anna and Max are concerned, though, watching the show neither means they're going to bed anytime soon nor does it replace any part of our lengthy going-to-bed ritual.

Alright, we're off to the Mayan Riviera (if we survive 16 hours on a plane with two small children)! Hopefully, we'll be able to give you an update and post some gorgeous pictures soon!

The Easter bonanza continues!

2008-03-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

With only one more week to go until Easter, we have been dyeing and painting away! Anna doesn't have the patience for any of this yet, but Max can sit and paint for hours. If their current personalities and preferences are any indication, Max may turn into the sensitive-artist type while Anna will be our rough-and-tumble soccer player...or figure skater, if I have a say. :)

Isn't it pretty? This is one of a dozen eggs Max painted that day. He's been asking for more, which means more French toast, scrambled eggs, and omelets for us!

Easter grass update: I think I might have sown the bamboo version. This stuff just keeps growing and growing!

Winter-is-almost-over Wonderland

2008-03-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Here's what we saw when we looked out the window this morning:

It hasn't snowed here since November (Global warming? El Nino? What's the problem, Switzerland?!). Max promptly requested his sled and was hugely disappointed when most of the snow was gone by the time he came back from preschool a couple of hours later. With the official start of spring just two weeks away (and our much-anticipated trip to Cancun just around the corner!), I've been desperately looking for a new bathing suit. Not a single store in the area has moved out its winter gear and put swimsuits back on the shelves - now I know why.