A love/hate relationship

Alex and Ruby can be the best of friends. In a matter of minutes this can change until they are both yelling that they are never going to play with the other one AGAIN! When they are getting along there is nothing cuter.

This was true a couple weekends ago when our ward had its primary program. For those of you who are unfamiliar with our church, one Sunday a year the children (ages 3-11) give short messages and sing songs about what they have been learning during the year. The younger ones have parts that are short and sweet (Ruby:I am thankful for my family and friends) and as they get older so do their lines (Alex:In the Book of Mormon and the Bible, Jesus teaches the people and performs many miracles. Then he went on to tell his favorite miracle).

Alex and Ruby were asked if they would sing a song together. Although they can be outgoing, both of them are very reserved when it comes to performing in front of people. Ruby's primary teacher in Irvine can attest to this. Much to my surprise they both agreed to it and did a great job. The other fun thing was that all of the kids sung one of the songs in French.

Best friends...well, maybe


Alex and Ruby singing "Home" together

Ruby and Alex singing as much of "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" in French as they could remember

Ruby and Alex singing "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" in English-take note of their body language

A night in Geneva

Most of you know our kids go to bed early which means they rarely get to experience things at night. Since it gets dark here well before 5 pm, we decided to have dinner and see part of the city after visiting the toy store.


We found a Spaghettti Factory that was child friendly. It's not quite the same as the one we've experienced in the States (Pete had a pumpkin ravioli and they had a "San Diego" spaghetti with avocado), but our kids still loved it...especially dessert.

Afterwards we walked over to St. Peter's Cathedral. We've already been there in the daytime, but it was really beautiful at night.

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

Christmas!

Since Thanksgiving doesn't get much publicity around here, the Swiss began decorating for Christmas in November. After looking at our calendar and seeing that almost every weekend was already booked -- Venice, Thanksgiving, Ward Christmas party, Swiss Christmas markets, German Christmas Markets -- we decided to use a lazy Saturday to drive into Geneva and check out this amazing 3 story toy store. After all, how can I start using the phrase, "You better be good or Santa won't bring you ___!", if my kids don't know what they would be losing.

The Franz Carl Weber toy store is a lot like FAO Swartz. The prices are outrageous...even for Switzerland. A few examples:

1. Fisher Price tractor and cow- $15 US/$46 here

2. LEGO Star Wars- $18 US/$52 here

3. Baby doll umbrella stroller- $7 US/$33 here

The kids had a good time looking around and making their wish lists. We have since learned that there is a Toys R Us in Lausanne with more reasonable prices and I think we'll probably end up there.

Mama Linda

My mom is really good at saving things. What kind of things? You name it. From ceramic art projects made by her kids to GI JOE aircraft carriers, my mom has been charged with saving too much "junk". But as I have gotten older and some of these treasures have begun to trickle back to me, I am grateful for her foresight and her willingness to clutter up her basement for her future grandchildren.



When I was Ruby's age, my sister Karin came back from Europe with this dress for me and a similar one for each of my sisters. I tried to locate a picture of all of us in our dirndls but to no avail. Now, 25 years later my daughter Ruby is wearing my dress and the amazing thing is it looks brand new. I can remember wearing the dress numerous times, so that will tell you one other thing about my mom. She takes really good care of things, which is usually why, in the end, they are actually worth saving. Thanks mom.

Which dwarf would you be?

On most days for me it's a toss up between Sleepy and Grumpy.

But one thing is for sure. Henry would definitely be...

HAPPY!

I realize that a lot of times I am not posting much about Henry because he is the youngest one and doesn't go to school and the like. But he is such a funny little guy and I'm sad that you are not getting the chance to know him. He is definitely my most even-tempered child. But lest you think I have it easy, here are some of Henry's recent shenanigans:

*dumping out baking powder and/or cornstarch all over the kitchen floor

*eating a bar of soap

*giving me daily heart attacks by dangling his legs through the huge gaps in our stairs(his whole body could fit through one of these gaps), jumping off the couch/bed/etc, climbing on top of the table.....

*washing Alex's Harry Potter glasses in the toilet

*dumping 4 Big Gulp sized cups of water out of the tub (with Ruby watching)

*pulling Ruby's hair

*plugging one of our toilets with a Swiss equivalent of 2000 Flushes

*eating dishwasher detergent tablets

*getting a hold of of Ruby's pens and tattooing himself, his clothing and the carpet

*eating the remains of a yogurt that he pulled out of the trash with his hands

It's no wonder that he isn't learning very many new words. I think the only word that he has been hearing of late is NO!

breath right

As a child I snored. Loudly. It was a subject of contention. Just ask my sister April. A trip to the ENT revealed enlarged adenoids and a deviated septum. Problem solved....until after I had Alex when I developed seasonal allergies. Thanks to Allegra and other prescription allergy meds I kept them under control. Until I became pregnant with Ruby that is. Unfortunately you can't take any of those medications while you are pregnant so I suffered and suffered until a sweet sister-in-law introduced me to BreathRight strips. While they are not a cure-all, they definitely help and I have been a fan ever since.



Fast forward to the present. So far, 2 of my 3 kids usually breath out of their mouths while they are sleeping. Alex seems like he could have allergies but with Ruby I'm not sure. When I was in the States I noticed that they are now selling BreathRights for kids. I decided to try out a box. Much to my surprise, both of my kids wore them all night long and Alex especially said that it was a lot easier to breath out of his nose. Placebo effect? You be the judge.

Waking up early

Ruby likes to wake up early...always before 7 and occasionally before 6. Luckily I'm married to a saint who doesn't mind getting up with her. But every once in awhile I attempt to return the favor and take a turn rising while it's still dark out. One day I was rewarded with this...

... and also this...

How could anyone say no?

Zoo de la Garenne

I spent many school field trips and family outings exploring the San Diego Zoo. I had seen the signs describing it as the "World Famous San Diego Zoo". I thought that was just good marketing. I didn't realize how amazing the San Diego Zoo is.....until as an adult I visited the Hogel Zoo in Salt Lake City. Suddenly my eyes were opened. Not all zoos are created equal.

Nevertheless, when some friends called last Saturday to invite us to go to the zoo in le Vaud, we knew we couldn't pass it up. It is tiny and has a lot of birds and nocturnal animals, but our kids loved it. Since it is less than 5 minutes away from our house it was the perfect 2 hour outing.

Alex and "Hedwig"

Ruby in front of the lynx

Henry and Pete check out some rabbits (ooh, aah)

Jacob, Alex, Ruby and Claire in front of the vultures

jail bird

It's been a while since I've played monopoly, but I'd really like a "Get out of Jail Free" card right about now.

You may have been wondering what has happened with my speeding ticket fiasco. Well, last week I received a letter from the court stating that I need to appear in person on December 3rd to speak to a judge. Apparently because the crime I committed is so bad and I don't earn any money, they are not sure how to proceed with my punishment. I don't have to go of course, but in that case I will get the most severe sentence. But it gets better.

After scanning and sending the document to Pete at work, he spoke to his boss who knew from day one about the incident. His boss said to contact HR and see what they think about the whole thing. Well HR ended up contacting the corporate attorney who then got back to Pete. It doesn't look good.

According to cases last year, I could:

1. Get a fine anywhere from $1000-$30,000 AND

2. Lose my license for up to 3 months AND

3. Go to jail for up to 3 days OR

any combination of these 3 things. How do you like them apples?

The corporate attorney gave Pete the phone number of a private attorney and suggested that we contact him, at our personal expense of course. And if you remember correctly, this all began when my kids started fighting in the car. I'd say this has become a VERY expensive lesson on patience and kindness.

Pete will be calling the lawyer tomorrow and we will keep you updated on the happenings here. One thing is for sure, I will move out of Switzerland before I spend 1 minute in jail. Thus when you visit in the future, know that there may be an outstanding warrant for my arrest.

trick or treat

Halloween is not a big holiday in Switzerland. In fact, we found out that they have only been celebrating it for about 10 years. They definitely don't have it down like Americans, but let's be honest, we were just thrilled that they celebrate it at all. For us it was a two day event. On Friday afternoon the kids went to a Halloween party at a friend's house, complete with games and costumes. I'll have to admit that my kids were the only ones dressed up as characters and my Henry was the only baby in costume. Most of the costumes consisted of ghouls and ghosts and other creepy things, although there were a couple of pirates.

Towards the end of the party the kids went around to a dozen houses to trick-or-treat. This part was funny for me because the kids didn't say "trick-or-treat" or even "Happy Halloween!", even though the majority of them spoke English (from Great Britain or South Africa). Usually they said, "Do you have any sweets?" or "Can I have some sweets?". Then whoever was handing out candy would usually give them a handfull of individual candies which consisted of chewy candy (think Starburst or Mambas) or hard-tack candy (think Brachs). Of course my kids were the only ones who had their trick-or-treat buckets. Most of the kids used little bags and a couple kids had a little basket. This flyer appeared in our mailbox a few weeks before Halloween. Basically it says that if you want trick-or-treaters, put this on your door and the kids can knock between 6 and 8pm. We split the trick-or-treating into 2 parts. The first time, I took the kids out while Pete answered our door. The second time Alex, Ruby and Pete went out with some friends from church so I had a chance to pass out candy.

I was really surprised by the number of kids that showed up at our door. It was funny to see lots of teenagers and kids who weren't dressed up at all but had their bags and were expecting candy. Like before, they usually didn't say anything. I would open the door, say "bon soir" and they would stand there staring at me. Then after I put candy in their bags (good American candy I might add) they would walk away without saying anything. There were a few who said "merci" but it was more of a silent exchange.

Our friends, the Christensens, moved to Geneva about 3 months after us. Our kids match up exactly and we are so glad they are here. Ruby and Elsa are pretty inseparable when we go to church or parkdays. It was fun to have them over on Halloween. They live in Geneva and since nobody really trick-or-treats in the city they headed up our way.

Alex modeling his lightning scar

Saturday night our ward had a Halloween party. Because you never know whether or not it's going to rain, instead of decorating cars and doing a trunk-or-treat, they decorate doors inside the church. After dinner and games the kids were able to go around the building and trick-or-treat at different classroom doors that had been decorated by families.

This is the door that Pete and I decorated

Cinderella

Our not-so-scary skeleton

Harry Potter

sticking with tradition

It is not common to see jack-o-lanterns here, but what would Halloween be without pumpkin carving? I was excited that we could buy decent size pumpkins here. I remember seeing my sis-in-law's pictures when she was in Italy and they had teeny, tiny pumpkins. We bought three and let the kids go at it.

Alex was the only one actually willing to stick his hand inside the pumpkin

Ruby loved being able to use a knife-something that is usually forbidden

both kids concetrating hard on making the perfect face

2 cute "pumpkins"

let it snow

I believe there is something inherently wrong with having to go trick-or-treating wearing a huge coat over your costume. But what else are you supposed to do when it SNOWS on October 30th?

For me it was somewhat of a low blow. We had only been back from balmy Southern California for less than a week when Jack Frost decided to come nipping at my nose. My kids? Don't feel sorry for them. They were elated.

Thanks to my shopping spree,

the kids can finally enjoy the cold weather without freezing to death

Alex jumping the gun a little bit

Future shoveler of America

Almost enough for a snowball

How many shades of pink are too many?

Pete took this picture during his morning "commute"

By nightfall it was still going

that's what friends are for

This post is out of order, but I was waiting for some pictures. My best friend Allison and I have been friends since second grade. Although we have not lived in the same city since high school, we have remained close. She has joined us on family vacations (oh the stories she could relate about my family), accompanied me at family get-togethers and my dad considers her daughter #6. She was the first person I told when I found out I was pregnant with Alex.

When she came to visit us in August we found out she is expecting her first baby on Christmas day! Since I won't be there, she was so sweet to plan her baby shower in October so that I could attend. It was so fun to have some girl time and to enjoy a nice lunch without kids crawling all over me.
Although we definitely have a lot in common (people always question how old we are....in fact when Allie was in college a waitress once asked if she needed a children's menu!), we are also very different. She and Pete share a lot of personality traits and unlike myself who has difficulty drawing stick figures, Allie is an amazing artist. In fact, right now she is in the process of painting a mural in her baby's room. I've been lucky all these years to have such an amazing friend and I can't wait to meet her little girl.

Cows

Since the cows came down from the mountains in late September, we have daily reminders of their presence. We can smell them, we can hear them, and on occasion we seem them walking down the street to change pasteurs or to be milked.

Henry loves cows

A breath of mountain air

After our trip to California the kids were exhausted. The first night back Ruby slept for 17 hours! We only had the weekend to get readjusted to the time before going back to work and school on Monday. In order to keep the kids awake we took them on a little hike. True to form, 2 minutes into our walk Ruby said she was tired and couldn't go another step and Henry ended up falling asleep in the backpack.

Switzerland continues to amaze us. We were hiking in the woods when we came across this little shelter, complete with a roof, different "rooms" and a bridge. The kids thought it was Tarzan's treehouse and it left Pete and I wondering who built it.

Alex on the bridge