It's great to be 8!

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Serenity now!

Why is it when the kids are happily playing together it is never quietly?

Shiner

Alex and Henry in the tub
+
a detachable shower head
=

This was a few days afterward.
It was so bruised and swollen he could hardly open his eye the morning after the "accident".

Wind chill

The first week of March the sun began to shine, the snow was melting and I was sure that Spring had arrived. Leave it to me to jinx everyone else. The second week of March brought freezing cold temperatures, made worse by the bise (pronounced "bees").

Last winter we learned that the bise are strong, freezing cold winds that blast their way through the valleys of the Alps. They clocked the winds over Lake Geneva on March 8th at 90 km/hr (about 56 mph). You can imagine what it was like for the kids who had to walk to school in those conditions with the thermometer reading 18 degrees Fahrenheit. I had pity on Alex and Ruby and actually drove them.

I tried to take a video of what it was like outside but it didn't really do it justice. The winds are a lot louder than they come across on the movie. The filming is horrible because I was freezing and my hands were shaking. You can see the neighbor's swing blowing above. The wind blew so hard that the swing flipped around and around until it was stuck to the top of the playground!

Change

Recently my friend Kelly made a post on her blog entitled, "Shed a tear and then feel blessed". Although it is about a totally different subject, I am echoing her sentiments.

Last week we found out that we would be saying goodbye to this:

and returning to this:

It came as quite a shock since we weren't planning on moving until the end of the year and are expecting baby #4 in July. Moving is never easy, but with 2 months notice, 3 kids, a dad traveling every other week and 1 pregnant mom, it makes it even more complicated.

I have to admit that in the first few days there were a lot of tears. It's not that I'm not excited to be back with family and friends or to have some of the conveniences I have been missing. I'm sad because it's the end of another chapter in the book of my life.

It's hard to know that we will have to say goodbye to friends that we will probably never see again. It's made worse by the suddenness, especially for a person like me who avoids surprises and change at all costs. I will miss the beauty, the diversity and the simplicity that Switzerland has given our family. I know that this experience has changed me and our family for the good.

In less than two months, I will invite the movers into our house and we will begin to prepare for the next amazing adventure that will become part of our story. Like before, it will be filled with challenges and heartaches, but it will also be full of fun, excitement and happiness.

Until then, we will keep you posted as we finish what has been a crazy, wonderful ride. A bientot!

Blogging for Pete

While we've been living abroad, Pete has flown all over Europe for work. I'm always trying to get him to take the camera and blog about his travels. Unfortunately, he doesn't look at his trips in the same light. To be fair, he is usually working long days and it is unusual for him to be able to get out and see any part of the city he's in. Nevertheless, recently he had a trip that I could not ignore. I've decided to post about it even though it was a couple of months ago because honestly the pictures are cool and I wish I could have gone too.

In January, he ended up in Moscow for work. This was not just another work trip because his sister Heather and her family live there. Unfortunately, he was only there for a few days and didn't have too much time to visit with them. They were nice enough to meet him at his hotel (not close for them) and take him to Red Square and out to dinner so he could experience a little of the city. It was FREEZING cold and DARK and after hearing Pete's stories of his trip (for example: it took him about 2 hours to go 20 miles for a meeting), huge kudos to my sister-in-law for living there the past 3 years. She's a lot tougher than I am.

Abby, Allyson, Pete and Rachel in Red Square

A closer picture with Saint Basil's Cathedral in the background

Pete and Heather at the Starlite Diner

Finally

We have tried several times over the last couple years to visit Bern. It is less than 15 minutes from the Swiss temple, but every time we've been to the temple it's been cold and rainy. Until now. The last weekend in February we finally made it and it was beautiful. The weather was pleasant and Pete now has a new favorite Swiss city.

Christina, Pete, Henry and Ruby in front of one of the famous statues found around the old town of Bern

There are 11 of these throughout the city and they are all different.
You can check out some of them here.
Alex thought they were awesome and tried taking pictures of all of them.

Pete and the kids in front of the Rathaus (town hall)

A closer look at the cool clock on the front

Kirche St Peter-und St Paul

Alex, Pete and Henry on Kramgasse Street which houses an apartment where Albert Einstein lived from 1903-1905. It is now a museum.

Alex, Ruby and Pete with Munster in the background

Munster is one of Switzerland's great Gothic cathedrals

I though these doors were amazing

Henry at the front entrance of Munster

Alex took pictures of the gargoyles that he thought were really cool

The entrance to Munster has a depiction of the last judgment up top

Here you will notice the saved on the left and the "other guys" on the right

Alex pointing things out to Ruby and Pete. The kids were really engrossed in this.

The Zytglogge is the clock tower that was once used as a prison

Alex, Pete and Ruby in front of the Zytglogge

Pete and the kids on Marktgasse Street which is the city's main shopping district

Pete and the kids in front of the Federal Assembly building

Switzerland is represented by the initials CH. It took us a while to realize that stood for Confoederatio Helvetica.

The Swiss National Bank

Henry looking tired and done with Bern