Eight months

Beware of Schmutzli

In Switzerland, December 6th is Samichlaus Day.  Kids throughout Switzerland get a visit from Samichlaus - St. Nicholas - and get a detailed report of what they've done good, what they've done bad and they usually get a sack of nuts and chocolate.  However, Samichlaus has a sidekick named Schmutzli.  Schmutzli wears a big black cloak, paints his face black and has a stern demeanor.  It is said that if you are bad during the year, Schmutzli will take you into the forest and beat you.  YIKES!  Sounds a little more traumatic than just getting a piece of coal in your stocking.  No wonder many of the kids here are a little scared of Samichlaus and Schmutzli.

Anyway, Jeremy got to participate this year as Schmutzli.  (They said he could be Schmutzli because he didn't have to say anything :)  He was all decked out in full costume - black from head to toe and even painted his face.  He and Samichlaus went to a family's house with three kids and he said it was all very cute. Samichlaus had a book that he opened and he told each child things they had done good and bad that year.  The kids were amazed that Samichlaus knew so much about them.  The kids then each recited a short poem or story for Samichlaus and then they got treats.  Schmutzli stood by as a nobel sidekick and luckily for the kids, Schmutzli didn't have to take any of them into the forest this year!

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures but Jeremy had a fun night and it was a great way to experience a new tradition.  Maybe Samichlaus and Schmutzli will have to come to our house next year and surprise Liza.

32 never looked so good!

Jeremy turned 32, and I might be a little biased but I think it looks good on him!  We celebrated the day with a milkshake and muffin breakfast, watched The Amazing Spiderman, and went out for kebab's for lunch.  We did all of these activities in the morning because unfortunately he had to work from noon to midnight on his birthday, but Liza and I made him a pumpkin cheesecake and took it to him at work so he could enjoy something in the evening as well.

Thanksgiving

Last year I stated there were pluses and minuses to American holiday's in a foreign land.  This year I've pretty much decided that American holiday's in a foreign land are just lame.  Jeremy spent Thanksgiving day working until the wee hours of the morning and I spent the day preparing treats for a church activity.  That night I got a babysitter for Liza so I could attend the said church activity.  Like I said...lame!

On the bright side, we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving the Saturday before with a few American friends of ours.  Charlotte and Chris threw a great Thanksgiving feast and we all stuffed ourselves to the brim.  

Liza and Jeremy checking out the dessert table.  There were six different desserts and six adults.  We thought those numbers sounded just about right.

Liza and Charlotte, our hostess, hanging out for a bit.

France - Annecy, Mont Blanc, Menthon

We spent one day of our French Switzerland trip actually in France.  Although we weren't there for very long we were able to check off a few fun things.

We saw Mont Blanc - the highest mountain in Europe.  Well we kind of saw it - it is the one covered by clouds, but we are going to say that counts :)  It was freezing cold at this lookout point so we got all bundled up in the car so we could run out and snap a quick photo.

We saw Château de Menthon.  We didn't go inside, which was fine with me.  After living in Europe for a year I think I have about gotten my fill of the inside of castles.  However, seeing the outsides of castles and the picturesque settings still isn't old.  I could find a nice bench, eat some yummy treats and just enjoy this view for a while.

Most of our France day was spent in the small town of Annecy.  It was a market day, which is always my favorite, and so we loved wondering around looking at the vendors.

Obviously it was a little too cold to go out in paddle boats, but I thought it was fun that these paddle boats had lawn chairs and slides off the back.  Haven't seen any like that before but would love to try them out sometime...how fun does that slide look!

French Switzerland

Last weekend we celebrated our All Saints day vacation with a long weekend trip to south-west (aka French) Switzerland.  First stop on our trip was Lausanne.  

Lausanne was a nice city on the water - nothing overly amazing - but we had a good time roaming the old streets.  We hadn't realized it before, but Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee.  The Olympic museum is currently under renovation so we couldn't go inside but the grounds were really nice and we enjoyed seeing some of the posters they had displayed.  Wouldn't mind going back sometime to see the museum when it is open.

On a different day we visited Montreux to explore the Chillon Castle.  The castle sits right on the Lake Geneva which offers some great views.  The best part is that it was Family Weekend and so admission was free!  We had no idea to would be free until we got up to the ticket counter but it was a very pleasant surprise.  

During the trip we stayed with our friends Emily and Joseph, who live in France near Geneva.  They came with us to the castle and it was fun to spend the day together.  We also loved hanging out with them at night during our trip and were happy to get to see them again.

Apparently seeing castle's is tiring work.

Time to head home!

Seven months

Halloween around here

Costumes for a Mickey and Minnie mouse family were created and worn,

Candy was chomped on

Eyeball cookies were made and shared

 Pumpkins were purchased,

slobbered on,

and carved, while listening to Christmas music (of course).

Homemade glazed donuts were made and eaten and a good time was had by all.

Klöntalersee

Fall in Switzerland is great.  The weather is still pretty nice and the colors are amazing.  All the beautiful fall leaves remind us of being in New England...but with mountains.

Last Saturday we hiked around a nearby lake.  The views were great but unfortunately we could have dressed a little warmer.  The weather was forecast to be 70 degrees and although it probably was in the sun, we didn't think about the lake being hidden by mountains and that we would be in the shade the whole time.  Once we got hiking we warmed up but we should probably prepare a little better next time.

The outing was all the more successful because we had to drive right past the Lindt factory to get to the lake - so obviously we stopped and built our chocolate supply up a bit.

I hope one day she doesn't suddenly decide that she doesn't like the carrier anymore because she is in this thing a lot.  On this outing daddy was the perfect heater and per usual, she fell asleep during the hike.

A simple Saturday

Everyone who knows us well knows that we like to get out and do things on the weekends.  Hiking, festivals, sightseeing, etc.  However, a few Saturdays ago the weather wasn't that great and we decided to stay close to home.  It was fabulous!  Don't get me wrong, I love that we are usually out doing things but every once in a while it is nice to relax a bit.

We took Liza to an indoor swimming pool close to the house.  She has really started to enjoy the bathtub so we thought she would like a huge bathtub.  She had a good time but still wasn't exactly sure what to think of it all and was a little reserved.  However, I'm sure a few more times to the pool and she will be splashing and jumping like crazy.

 After the pool we got online and busted out some of our cookbooks to find a few fun new recipes to try.  We decided on an Asian theme and then walked to the local grocery store to pick up a few ingredients.  The rest of the evening was spent cooking together while singing along to some Pandora and then enjoying a delicious meal -- orange chicken, thai-style coconut vegetable noodle soup, rice and veggies.

Wandering people...don't be fooled

A few weekends ago we were looking for something to do and came across a posting for a "Wandering People" festival in Brienz.  We thought it sounded interested so we packed up our stuff and headed that direction.  Unfortunately, to put it bluntly, it was LAME!  Wandering people festivals is the code name for random people selling junk along the side of the road.

We were super disappointed in the festival but took some time to enjoy Brienz and the beautiful view.

Luckily we had already planned to do a hike nearby so the day wasn't a complete bust.  We drove to the other side of the lake to a mountain town called Axalp.  On the way there we passed a few cows coming down from the mountains for the winter -- always fun!

The hike was beautiful and the day was perfect.  The trail led to a secluded lake but all along the way were magnificent wood carvings made from tree stumps of trees that had been blown over in a storm.  We were very impressed by the workmanship and the carvings were much better than the ones we saw on our hike last year in Zug. Next time we will bring a few bratwursts along with us and do a fire by the lake.

Another successful weekend exploring Switzerland!

Six months

We got the Kambly experience

A recent rainy weekend found us at the Kambly factory where we stuffed ourselves with Bretzeli cookies, shortbread cookies and other crackers and cookies of all variaties - we really were stuffed.  And we also got to learn about how Oscar Kambly started the company using the "finest ingredients" and his grandmother's original Bretzeli recipe.

All I need is milk

Eating solid food is WAY overrated!

View from the top

Another weekend full of hiking in the mountains, this time to the top of Stanserhorn.  We hiked about four hours up, and then decided if we ever wanted to make it to the top we should probably take the cable car.

No matter how many times you hike a different mountain, the view from the top never gets old.

The public loves me!

Today I had my six month doctor's appointment - yes, it has been exactly six months since I entered the world.  Everyone at the doctor's office kept ooohing and aaahing at me and kept making comments about my flower and my bright blue eyes.  The highlight was that the doctor also made several comments about my beauty and even asked my mom if she could take a picture of me.

So, I guess it's official.  When a pediatrician, who sees lots of kids all day, every day, asks to take a picture of you, you know you are officially CUTE!

Sweden

We just couldn't get enough of my parents while they were in Switzerland so we packed our bags and followed them... 

...to Sweden!

We had a great time enjoying Stockholm and taking in all the water front views.  Jeremy was really excited to show Liza and I around his old mission grounds and it is always fun to see a new place.

The first day we were there we took a boat out to the Archipelago.

Liza loved the wind in her hair during the boat ride.

We spent the afternoon hiking around one of the small islands.  Unfortunately it was a little colder than we were anticipating.  We had to borrow some clothes from grandpa to keep warm because obviously he was dressed like it was the middle of winter - that's my dad for you.

Once my mom found a nice flat rock she was set for the afternoon.

The other days were spent exploring Stockholm's old town, city hall, palace, etc.

This is Jeremy's favorite church in the city.  I rather like it myself.

Passing the time by flying around.

Smallest street in Stockholm.

"When are they ever going to let me out of this thing?"

Liza and grandpa were hat buddies during the entire trip.  Gotta keep that sun out of your face.

My parents had to leave Saturday morning but Jeremy, Liza and I stayed an extra day until Sunday.  It was nice to get out of Stockholm and see one of the smaller towns, Sigtuna, one of the oldest towns in Sweden.

While we were walking around we came across these church ruins.  Jeremy has a picture of himself here from when he was a missionary.  So obviously we had to take another one for posterity.

Even though she spends a lot of time in her carrier, she is still fascinated by it all.