Edelwise

2012-02-06T20:00:00.002Z

A few shots from our first meal at the Chalet. It's looking so cute and it's inhabitants are enjoying their bright and cheery home.

ski camp

2012-01-16T07:48:00.002Z

Dylan left for ski camp this week. He will be gone until Friday and I think the dynamics in our family will totally change. I think his brothers will be surprised at how much they miss him and I am pretty sure he has left a gaping hole in MY heart and life. Our funny boy is growing up...he was much more calm this morning, responsible about what he had to take with and that he had it all organized on time. This morning a very grumpy little girl has agreed to keep me company. Her name is Alinya. She is usually not so grumpy but today seems to be an exception. I am already looking forward to Dylan coming back and telling us how it was...they have a week of excellent weather and snow conditions ahead. The girl in the turquoise is our Monday girl, Timea, whom Alinya loves. I have not yet figured out how to turn the pictures around on our camera...mes excuses.

2012-01-16T05:59:00.003Z

We hung the shutters on the chalet on Saturday. They are exceedingly bright, which will feel good on a winter's day and keep people feeling energized during the afternoon mtg at conv! There is just a little misc cleaning to do before our renters arrive on Thursday. Hopefully with a little bit of power shopping on Friday, they will be able to use their newly refurbished abode. We're really happy with the way it all turned out, even though it is pretty much what we have been doing since May! The yard will be next so we will be attacking that as soon as it warms up enough to plant grass. There are front and back doors coming next week and the balcony railing needs some magic wand work still. I'll be showing the place to the people who sold it to us today. I am sure it will evoke memories of their auntie who owned the place. Just to make sure there were no serious night noises (or ghosts) in the house, we slept there Friday and Saturday nights. It was fun but all is back to normal and we have a boy leaving for ski camp today. We got a bunch of kiss cookies ready (heart cookies here as we don't have hershey's products but do have some really yummy chocolate hearts) and a big bag packed and he's ready to go. Just has to eat breakfast and get on the bus. Happy Monday!

Laundrymat adventure

2012-01-10T17:10:00.002Z

The last time I was at a laundrymat that I can remember, I was a little girl and I looked suspiciously at the other poor folk using the facilities. I imagined that they were all derelicts (how in the world do you spell that word?) and I was in immediate danger. It was a real adventure. We were in Greenfield, California and it was REALLY hot out. Or is Greenfield in Arizona? Anyway. When we had finished using the machines, we got our things out of the dryer and put them in one of those nifty rolling carts with a basket on the bottom and a place to hang things up on the top. We were disgusted to see our things full of dead (but now clean) flies who had gone through the cycle in addition to our clothes. It sure made an impression on me! Soooooo, today, because of a delay in the washing machine repair man's schedule, I took about 8 loads of steaming, stinking laundry to the laundrymat. The machines were state of the art, the caretaker exceedingly odd but no flies in our stuff. AND I got all of the loads done in two machines within one hour. Hm. I might just get a regular subscription to the place.

Alinya goes to school

2012-01-10T08:49:00.003Z

Alinya started a little playschool yesterday. She'll go every week for an afternoon. My littlest child gave me a kiss and hug and walked away into her new world without a backward glance. I got home and wondered what to do with my free afternoon (for about 1.3 seconds) and then time passed quickly until I went to get her again. She had a mixture of joy and apprehension on her little bright face while she searched for me in the crowd of parents. Then she ran to me and said that she didn't want to go home yet, it wasn't over yet was it? She hasn't said a lot about what they did but she seemed very happy and very tired so I think it was good. She slept in the next morning until 9am! And is now eating beans on toast for breakfast at her request...

2012-01-10T08:37:00.001Z

christmas past

2012-01-10T07:37:00.006Z

2011-12-06T06:47:00.001Z

Yesterday I put away the changing table, the diapers and the wipes. The toddler bed is awaiting removal in the hallway. It felt strange but good to move on out of the baby stage. Alinya could still sleep in a toddler bed of course, in fact, Liam still fits in it--but we have more room if it's gone. We are officially out of one stage and onto the next! I think the next will be interesting and challenging too. In fact, it already is. An almost 12 year old, a nearly 10 year old, a 6 year old and a nearly 3 year old makes for an interesting mixture of needs to be met. Some days I manage....

Our swiss friends in Thailand

2011-11-29T12:44:00.005Z

The view out the back onto their garden (bananas, papayas etc) onto a rice field, currently suffering from floodwaters.

2011-11-29T12:28:00.002Z

The market closest to Amy and Remo's place

2011-11-29T11:49:00.003Z

Wendy House and the market. We stayed at a guesthouse very close to the center of Bangkok. It was a basic and simple place but very central yet quiet. The sister workers were here before us and after us they were moving in as they couldn't get to their batch because of the floods. We also visited the weekend market on Saturday as well as on Sunday. On Saturday we were moving into Bangkok after staying one night with our Swiss/American friends who have been transplanted from the heart of the emmental to the heart of Thailand. It was great to see them again and to see where they are living.

2011-11-29T11:22:00.003Z

The Blue Elephant

2011-11-29T10:49:00.002Z

One of the things we wanted to do is take an authentic thai cooking class. Both being a fan of thai dishes, we decided to unlock the mystery of creating them. It's not as hard as one might think. The dishes were surprising simple and easily made. Preparing the ingredients took much longer than cooking it. It was super fun and we have some great ideas now and the know-how to implement them. Just to find the time now....:) We started out at the market with our chef's assistant. She explained what different fruit and veggies were as well as let us taste a few things. It was fun to visit an original market, frequented by locals and full of fresh, tempting produce. Then we returned to the building and were shown how to make a dish (there were four menus) and then we had to go make it too. Then they got it ready for us and we ate in their restaurant, our own food. It was really neat. The flowers are really pretty everywhere and I loved that they were simply done but looked so cool.

2011-11-29T07:52:00.002Z

Wat Pho and the reclining budda
A trip on a tuk-tuk

2011-11-29T07:19:00.002Z

The big river snaking through Bangkok was open for travel again. It's a great way to get around and fast too.
Kim exiting with the Dalai Lama or one of his associates
Wat Pho and the reclining Budda, a very colorful place to be.

Thailand

2011-11-29T06:27:00.005Z

The thing of dreams...a friend won a raffle last year at a business dinner and won two tickets to Bangkok. Friend just started a new job and wasn't free to use the tickets. Friend's wife, Kim, asked me to keep her company in Thailand. End result-an awesome week spent in a beautiful country with excellent company. Here are a few shots of the things we experienced. Too bad you can't pipe smells in here because Thailand is full of interesting ones!

Hazel and Kim in our guesthouse
The side of the skytrain, outfitted in Man U for the boys
Flood leftovers with yucky stuff floating in it
Kim recovering from some serious shopping

2011-10-27T11:50:00.003Z

The lastest news just in from France.

Yes, they really do grow lavender in rows here! I always wondered what that looked like...unfortunately all of the plants have bloomed out now, and are neatly trimmed back. I was glad to see that they trim them just how I do and they seem to be growing in very poor, rocky soil, similar to mine too! The days have been a mixture of sun and rain, indoor and outdoor activities. Right now the sun is shining so the boys are going to go play tennis for a few hours this afternoon. Alinya is napping and Maria is upstairs reading a book. Yesterday was our only beautiful, sunny, clear sky day so far and we were out checking out the gorges around here. There are also a lot of beautiful old villages to see. You COULD spend days taking in all of the sights but our travelling partners' interest is limited...not to mention their patience:) Thankfully there are a lot of things to do right here in front of our nose that are very fun. The big thing to do here is float the river but it is definately too late unless you are equipped with the right gear..waterproof stuff. We've had fun anyway, and we have discovered yet another place to come back to. There was a market here today and it was full of interesting things to eat, wear and smell. The street was closed so we had a relaxing hour checking out what the french eat! There were some things that I have never seen before, let alone eaten. The bakeries are delish...not enough time in the day to eat all of the things that tempt us:) A real weight watchers vacation...wish you were here. Well, maybe not all of you since I don't really even know who lurks around on this blog...maybe you don't brush your teeth often or something. Or wear deoderant--peee-uuuu. Or maybe you just take a french shower. Hee Hee.

The real birthday

2011-10-09T18:39:00.004Z

Another party, another cake, more presents...now we have a 6 year old boy at our house! He requested spaghetti on the table for dinner so that is why there are some extremely bad table manners being displayed. He chose the utensils that each one had to eat with.

Liam's party

2011-10-06T20:28:00.002Z

Liam had a party today with his school friends.

more bday

2011-10-06T20:16:00.003Z

Ralph's birthday. He requested a scooter with big wheels. An after lunch nap while being covered with hay

Saturday

2011-10-06T20:01:00.002Z

Our local motocross took place last weekend.

birthday

2011-10-06T19:51:00.001Z

2011-10-06T19:41:00.002Z

Numerous events have taken place but haven't made it onto the blog. Life is full but fun..getting one year older doesn't hurt as much as one might think:)

Liam's class went to the chalet to pick apples one day. Dylan's class went on a bike ride and asked for parents to come along so Ralph went. Alinya's morning hair, quite a showing some days!

remember these?

2011-09-20T14:15:00.002Z

Nostalgia makes me bake more often than any other feeling...and it happened again today with these. They are as good as I remember them as a kid!

Window washing

2011-09-20T12:37:00.003Z

I bet your window guy isn't this cute! (Your windows may be cleaner when he's done tho:)

corn dogs, or puppies, or frogs or lizzards

2011-09-06T14:12:00.003Z

I love fair food. This is not a question of nutrition. It's a question of tradition. Lately a lot of people have mentioned going to the fair and that makes me think of funnel cakes, elephant ears and of course, corn dogs. We can't buy corn dogs here. To be honest, if we could, I probably wouldn't eat more than two or three per year. But....since we can't get them and I have been wanting one, we made some today. It was a first try, but honestly, they weren't too appealing. It looked like the dogs really had legs and they split open and filled with oil. Next time I need to make the batter thicker and cook it longer. They all disappeared within a short period of time in spite of being less than perfect specimens.

progress

2011-09-06T14:05:00.000Z

More of Alinya

2011-09-06T13:58:00.000Z

Birthday boy

2011-09-04T11:35:00.001Z

Dear dad...happy birthday to you! Too bad we won't be there to help you blow out your 65 candles....love you lots, M6

2011-09-02T18:24:00.001Z

2011-08-16T05:16:00.000Z

2011-08-16T04:39:00.002Z

It's early morning, the week before school starts. I'm awake with ideas swirling through my head. Unfortunately, I am not a very practical person. I have great ideas, some of them unrealistic, so of them not. In light of the first semester back to school and a schedule looking challenging, I'm wondering how to cover all of my bases and to pull it off with style. Of course there have been thoughts of completely changing my character and our lifestyle to be instantly highly organized and everything will run smoothly. A loud laugh comes out of nowhere and I recognize the voice of reality saying, YEAH RIGHT. I know if I make extreme changes, it will last maybe through the first two days and then I will fall into a heap, crabby and exhausted. So here's what I think I need to do. I have decided to involve the kids more in the daily picking up, putting away and doing it all over again. Part of our crazy schedule will include extracurricular activities that they love. In order to have access to these activities, they need to fulfill certain pre-requisites. We did this last year to a certain extent, but as usual, I backed off and they SLACKED off on their responsibilities. We need to develop some good habits. Things you do automatically before going to school, after school and going to bed. This is starting to sound like the army. Part of me kicks against being too organized but at the same time, I realize that it just won't work otherwise.

At the same time, there is also ME to look after! I want to get back to eating healthy, exercising and indulging my creative vein by setting out to do and accomplish certain projects, mostly around the house. I don't want to let myself go in all of this mad scramble. I will have a lot of time to myself really, with Liam in school 5 mornings and 3 afternoons. If I could get up in the morning and get the necessary (drudgery) jobs done, I could have the rest of the time to play so to speak. Alinya naps in the afternoon so there would be time to do projects, walk on the treadmill, plan healthy meals etc. I realize that this family's level of healthy eating depends on me. That is a pretty big task and important to get right.

Then there's the two of us. With marriages dissolving right and left aound us, I realize how important it is to invest time in our relationship. The problem is, when and where and how. We don't have close-by grandparents and leaving the 4 on their own is out of the question for the moment. I have not been very good at just organizing an evening away. Years ago, I made a 3 page list of ideas for cost-free romance (there was a complaint from the mgmt at the time that all of my ideas were on the expensive side--hence the list) and there were a lot of good things on that list that were cheap or free to implement. The kids find it extrememly insulting when we do anything that excludes them, and explaining to them that it's to their advantage seems to have absolutly no effect. Sooooo....I need to make sure to go on dates with my hubby. Deal?

Then there's the 6 of us. With the kids' ages sread out 11-2, it's difficult to find things that please everybody. Difficult, not impossible. I'd like to concentrate on activities that help us to be more, not less active. Our Saturdays will be filled with soccer games again and there is always something to do around the house. Sunday is a family day and it's good that way. With our week being so busy and the kids increasingly spending more time at school and away from home, I feel ferociously protective of our time together. It's the now that I want to enjoy.

Do you think I can pull it all off? I was wishing there was a magical substance that I could consume that would make it all work, but don't think it's that simple. My recipe is going to be this: get enough sleep (the first point is already debatable-how much sleep is enough sleep?) prepare for the following day, take moments for myself when it's less hectic, eat healthy and get exercise, make lists and get a calendar ready with all activities (including dates). Yawn, I'm already tired. Better head back to bed.

2011-08-14T19:53:00.003Z

I know, it has been soooo long since I posted. If I listed all of the things that have been going on, you'd understand why! I'll just have to skip most of the past month and start with our most recent postable event, a night away in another beautiful corner of this tiny country. Adelboden was the venue of our traditional company picnic with M and H. We had a beautiful view, good food and once again excellent company. The two younger kids stayed at home this time. Here we are, enjoying breakfast outside with an almost fake looking backdrop.

Parade

2011-07-03T20:38:00.003+01:00

There was a parade in Donneloye today and the boys were all in it. We had a large group of spectators as some of the workers were there plus somebody drove up in two carloads for a visit of the grounds. It was fun and the kids said it was dumb but I think they liked it just a little too:)

And we're off!

2011-06-23T16:23:00.002+01:00

Preps has started! Let the eating, dusting, talking, laughing, vacuuming and prepping begin!

Liam's first field trip

2011-06-23T16:17:00.002+01:00

A fun day with our Monday kids

2011-06-23T15:56:00.003+01:00

About an hour from our house is a fun place called Labyrinth Adventure...we spent a few hours there playing on all of the cool stuff they have. The blow-up castles are especially fun.

End of soccer season

2011-06-23T15:43:00.001+01:00

The boys enjoyed playing soccer again this season. Dylan's team played in purple at the end of the year tournament.

cousins

2011-05-30T12:06:00.002+01:00

We had the cousins over during the weekend so that their folks could celebrate their 18th anniversary in peace. Our great idea to get some pictures was comical almost. Not one turned out without someone making a silly face-big surprise:) Anyway, here they are.

2011-05-08T20:10:00.003+01:00

Hey. Happy Day all you moms. My heart especially goes out to some special friends of mine who no longer have the possibility to call their mom up and say hey mom, happy day. But exactly THOSE moms who left too early did an excellent job in instilling some great stuff in their kids and would be SO proud to see them as they are, also moms (and dads) of the first order. I love you guys.
Tucking my furious four in tonight, I felt a great happiness and thankfulness for my job, never boring, sometimes frustrating but always challenging and rewarding.

2011-05-03T08:14:00.009+01:00

mom and dad left bright and early this morning and so now i am here with a lot of catching up to do! We had a great time and will have a lot of memories to slowly savor. I'll get started on that by posting some catch up pix of our last few weeks. We had a few days after they got here to get used to each other again and then we took off for Corsica for a week. We travelled to the south of France (Toulon), spent the night and caught the ferry down to a town in Corsica called Ajaccio. The ferry ride was about 6.5 hrs and then our little beach side cottage was a half an hour's drive north in a small town called Tiuccia (prounounced tee-ooch). While there would have been a lot of places to drive to, we pretty much hung around close to home as it was a fantastic place. The ocean was very calm and every day was warmer, then a little rain on our last day. We tried all of the bread and croissants around the place and enjoyed corsican fruit and vegatables from the market. We travelled up to Bastia, on the northeast side of the island, and caught the ferry to Livorno, in Itlay. Livorno is very close to Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Florence etc. We spent two nights in a charming B&B and tried to take in the tuscan scenery. We visited Rick Steves' favorite tuscan hill town, Volterra (most recently famous for it's appearance in a certain vampire series....) and were surprised to find several thousand other tourists in this fascinating place:) We saw several places we'd like to revisit and were all impressed in spite of ourselves by the leaning-ness of the tower of Pisa. We returned home on Monday and then got to work on the yard and house. We had a fun potluck on Sunday and then a visit from Kim and Aschi before turning our attention to the suitcases to be packed again. We'll forget the dog doo we stepped in, the loooooong wait for some average pizza, the rude lady at the post office but we'll remember the sweetness of the clementines, the tartness of the balsamic vinegar, the scent of a million flowers trying to bloom at once and the simple pleasure of being together with people you love and only get to enjoy in small doses! Love you lots mom and dad! Thanks for making the trek again.

2011-04-28T20:02:00.003+01:00

Alinya was mad at me because I wouldn't let her eat any chocolate after refusing to eat her dinner. A few minutes after dinner she was caught redhanded trying to con her brothers into slipping her the goods on the sly. I was forced to post a reminder on her person and she actually got into it after that. Funny gal. The one of mom and dad with a hand holding a nut is Ralph saying 'they're driving me nuts' about his inlaws:) Dylan making us his nightly hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate powder sprinkled on top:)

2011-04-28T19:54:00.002+01:00

We worked outside today a little. Things are getting kind of out of control so some spraying was necessary...like my WWI era sprayer? It only weighs about 100 pounds. Comfy to carry around on the back:)

The parents

2011-04-06T14:08:00.000+01:00

an 11 year old boy

2011-04-06T08:12:00.005+01:00

A 11 year old?! Yes, we have one...Hannes, mom and uncle Ed had birthdays yesterday. Hannes wanted a trotinette (razor) and requested crème brulée for dessert. I think it was more about the torch part for the sugar but it was really tasty too.

Oberhofen

2011-04-06T07:55:00.003+01:00

We spent a beautiful Friday evening with Heidi and Markus on the occasion of their 30th wedding anniversary. They chose a small romantic hotel with a fantastic restaurant-we ate and chatted and ate some more, slept like royalty and then met again at the breakfast table for some more food:) truly a weight watchers occasion! The weather cooperated and we took in the breathtaking scenery from our balcony. Ahhh..thanks Markus and Heidi for a great time and to Nani for watching our brood here at home.

Alinya talking (ok, mostly mom talking...)

2011-03-31T19:22:00.002Z

Go-karts

2011-03-31T18:53:00.002Z

We combined the boys' parties and went to the karting place with two friends each. It was loud, fun and crazy and we all enjoyed it. I just watched but even that is fun when all you can see is one big grin on each of their faces!

Austria

2011-03-06T20:16:00.003Z

a few teaser shots as I am too sleepy to put more on....

Little drummer boys

2011-02-21T17:31:00.003Z

We have been given a drum set and the boys are pretty excited, as most kids would be! We have already broken one drumstick so you can imagine how LOUD this all is! They are having a great time with it...now we just need an electric guitar and a lead singer and we're off. The key word is a vocabulary word from Dylan's list this week-assourdisant (something that could make you deaf) fitting, don't you reckon?!

Grandma VDB

2011-02-20T19:38:00.005Z

A twinkle in her eye, flour on her apron, pulling a fresh pie out of the oven, a dress in a pastel blue with small flowers (matching belt of course), a red bathrobe in the morning and her hair still half rolled on the sides and hanging down her back, the way she lifted her elbows out to the sides, kind of like a hen fluffing her wings...these are the things I am remembering right now as I think of my grandma who just passed away a few hours ago. I was watching our email to see if there was any news of her but it was a message on our answering machine that gave us the news. I feel sad about not knowing her better, about not being very good about calling or writing. It's too late for that now and I am glad she didn't have to wait any longer in her condition.
So tonight I got out the apples, the flour, sugar and cinnamon just so that I could smell that apple pie smell and think of her. She was a good woman, stepping back so others could step forward, nurturing and loving, spunky and good. The last time I saw her she apologized when I said that baking was in my blood and I tended to feel like sinking up to my elbows in a bowl of pungent bread dough when I felt blue, that it was like therapy for me. Her apology was directed toward the extra pounds that tend to accompany the love of baking but I can only be glad that she taught me (if indirectly) something that gives me great satisfaction. Go, Grandma, and be at peace.

Alinya turns 2

2011-02-15T20:11:00.003Z

We celebrated our baby's second birthday today. The day sped by and now it's drawing to a close. The kids are all abed and it seems quiet, parents yawning and thinking about bed too! It was funny to see Alinya more interested in wrapping paper and chocolates stuck to her envelopes than the actual presents (for the moment). I think she'll wait until she's alone to enjoy her gifts, which were all very fun. Kitchen and kitchen set from us and Nani and The Kammermann's, the old bassinet from Kim and how did you know that she was into tractors Julie? A book from Hanny and a few more odds and ends.

Wrapped around her finger

2011-02-08T20:04:00.000Z

Hannes leaves for ski camp

2011-02-07T08:00:00.002Z

2011-02-07T07:57:00.004Z

no broken bones but orange hair..not a bad trade! Dylan had a great week and we were very happy to see him again!

Liam in action

2011-02-01T19:21:00.002Z

Something's hiding in the cupboard

2011-02-01T18:02:00.002Z

This has been the latest fun for the two of them...thx Jewels for the cute clothes for Alinya!

Ode to Caroline

2011-02-01T06:20:00.002Z

You can peek at our blog anytime...it's great to know that you're out there and I could be a much better friend too, you know. Wish I was better at writing or calling. (Caroline is a beautiful, warm lady that I connected with many years ago in a far away place who has just written a letter admitting to checking our blog often, but never leaving a comment:) Think she must not be the only one out there doing the same thing) You have an adorable little grandson now and it looks like your children are happy and leading interesting lives. I'm glad for you! Stop by these pages anytime! Love from us.

Ski camp

2011-01-31T07:56:00.003Z

Dylan left for ski camp this morning. He was really happy and excited to go and it looks like they'll have great weather and hopefully some snow. His good buddy Stephane will be in the same room with him. He's the one in most of the pictures, red jacket.

2011-01-29T07:24:00.002Z

Our local ice rink is open to the public on Wednesdays for a few hours. We met Julie and co there this week. Hope to get some more action shots next time!

2011-01-27T15:54:00.002Z

A few shots of our lovely grey weather and busy kids. Thanks Jewels for the swimming suit...Alinya insisted on having it on for most of the afternoon! Liam's sweatshirt is something for all of our family/friends in Idaho...gotta balance out the BSU stuff somehow. Just happy for whatever brings smiles around here lately..Alinya has been sick with a cold so nights have been not exactly restful:( Hoping for better times just around the corner. It looks like some good faries are coming to give me a day off tomorrow so nothing to complain about!

2011-01-26T09:47:00.002Z

Sometimes you look back on a situation and you just have to slap your forehead and say, 'how could I have been so dumb?' I had one of those moments yesterday after an incident which could be labelled as more or less ALL MY FAULT. No major injuries were sustained, just a little excitement at the Meyer circus. Whew.

I was helping one of the boys get ready to go back to school after lunch (yes, our children come home at lunch, aren't we lucky:) Don't know what would happen if our little darlings couldn't connect with mom for a few hours in the middle of the day as well as taste her delicious home cookin') I was namely snaping some jeans when I realized that the waistband was way too tight anyway, the knees were completely ripped out and so in great Grandpa JR Sloan style, I said, you can't wear these pants anymore, they are too small, plus they have a big rip here--and proceeded to rip the pants right in half. Growing boy, embarrassed at having been forced to show his (following word to be said in a classic Barb Rowland whisper) undies, screams (and this is where I made my mistake in evaluating my son) in what I took to be hilarity, but was actually rage. He proceeds to say, so now I'll rip yours and the chase is on. Mom, getting older in years (a grand 38), realizes the need for speed and runs, also screaming (but with glee) around the kitchen. I took refuge in the bathroom and just managed to close, ok, slam and lock the door before he got me. What happend next was a surprise for us both as his hands both came right through the glass window in the door, completely shattering it. I expected him to basically come up with two lacerated appendages but lucky for us both, he only had a few small cuts, which we bandaged up before sending him off to school a little pale. Alinya however, was inconsolable and had to be fed dark chocolate (her fave) to appease her. And to be truthful, I had a piece or two myself. All's well that ends well!

bathroom renovation II

2011-01-26T09:11:00.003Z

One more donut picture and then the start of our bathroom rip out! The tearing out is always fun and we'll learn a lot on the way I'm sure. The boys are always very enthusiastic about the ripping out part.

Donuts

2011-01-26T08:58:00.001Z

All of the sudden I can't remember if I already put these in or not. Bad memory. Oh well, I am too lazy to go look now. A donut making exercise-fun and fattening. This was our new year's eve entertainment. We made way too many but they were the best ones we have managed to make so far (out of three tries).

skiing

2011-01-05T11:14:00.004Z

It was a boys skiing day, Manuel, Hannes, Dylan and Ralph in the mountains...they had beautiful weather as u can see. I enjoyed the day without them:)

2010-12-31T07:44:00.003Z

We went up to the Jura yesterday to spend some time with a family there. They took us up the hill to find the sunshine by tractor, some in the shovel and some on sleds behind the tractor. It was a great day and mostly because of the company but seeing the sunshine was awesome. They have FOUR cute little girls. Their cousins were also there, two boys about the same age as our two older ones. They had a lot of fun together.

2010-12-28T12:03:00.004Z

The last few days have been a respite from the pigging out we did the first few days of vacation (but maybe not quite so fun and gluttonous:) We spent Friday night at Kim and Aschi's and enjoyed a beautiful dinner and dessert and then stayed the night as our stomachs never would have fit in the car...Saturday found us with a big breakfast again and then late lunch at Ralph's mom's place. Saturday night we made our way home in the snow and then had a turkey lunch on Sunday with some old friends. It was very cold and beautiful and we braved the minus temperatures to go outside with the sleds for awhile. Monday was a clean up day and an outing to find some material for another bathroom renovation. Today the boys have friends over and I am enjoying a quiet moment in front of the fire. I haven't had too much time to call family or friends but have been thinking about you all.

a day in the sun

2010-12-18T19:15:00.003Z

The kids begged and pleaded to get up into the snow today so we finally set off in the afternoon when the fog had lifted in the mountains. It was well worth it so thanks kids for getting us out of the house!! It turned out to be a beautiful clear day even if it was VERY cold still. Alinya got to try out her new snow suit and she was really happy at the few runs we took down the hill on the old fashioned wooden sled. Liam got on his skiis again and seemed to enjoy himself on the bunny hill. Hannes and Dylan went up the hill on their own for the very first time and it worked out great. It's nice to be able to let them do that and it gives us some more time with the little kids. We are all tired and happy and have our sandwiches all ready for sp mtg tomorrow. We jumped in the hottub when we got home and took Alinya in for the first time and she calls it the 'teeny bath' which I love! What a kid. She loved it and kicked and splashed the whole time. The fire is burning strong and I will be headed to bed soon....zzzzzzzzz

2010-12-01T09:55:00.003Z

It's taken me awhile to catch up here...we've had a very sick Alinya and that meant holding her for about three days nonstop (what a chore eh?!) I am relieved that she is better now and she has even been out in the snow. All of the kids are mittened, hatted and snow panted as they leave the house and when they go out on break. It must be chaotic for the kindergarten teacher to get the kids ready to go outside on recess when not one out of 25 can probably get all of their snow gear on alone!

Liam sings

2010-11-11T15:40:00.002Z

Liam was willing to perform today and I actually caught it on the camera! I am not exactly sure what the song is about yet...cute though. I wish I had caught Collin and Mariska's Melissa singing her dutch song. It was adorable.

Alinya goes to school

2010-11-04T12:46:00.002Z

Maren

2010-11-04T12:37:00.002Z

Hungry kids in sombreros

2010-11-04T12:23:00.002Z

Our last week in the USA

2010-11-04T11:30:00.008Z

Here are some of the events of our last week in the US. We are back on Swiss soil and trying to get back into the time zone here, which has not been so easy. Thank goodness we have had to jump back into a schedule so that has forced us to sleep during the night, or at least try:) Last night nobody had an awake period so I think things are in order finally.
Our three weeks went by so quickly and yet we did so many fun things and saw a lot of the people that are dear to me. This lot of pix includes our visit to the Sullivan Farm, Cherry Pie and Sausage reunited (Liam and Brent), meeting Sandy and Robin for coffee in Albany, Mom and Aunt Bonnie and I doing pedicures and breakfast (after skipping our WW mtg :), visiting Uncle Scott at his new shop and the boys going up in the forklift, Silver Creek Falls with Gpa, Hannes and Dylan going to the Holley School with Milah and Maren, where they gave a little report about what their life in Switzerland was like, and just general last week fun. The first two pix are actually here again, pumpkin carving and Alinya with Liam's school stuff on. She loves to wear it! I guess this bodes well for the future.

Squeeze your thumb for Milah!

2010-11-02T20:10:00.002Z

Milah is running for School Secretary and the votes will be cast today! In German, instead of saying we'll cross our fingers for someone, we say that we'll squeeze our thumb for good luck...just thought you might appreciate learning that bizarre and useless tidbit of info. So we'll keep our thumbs crossed (hardy har har har) for her today:)

oops!

2010-10-23T17:16:00.002Z

Safety is important. We have told the kids often that quads are fun, but dangerous and gravity cannot be overridden. Sooooo, who spends an hour in emergency but DAD! Ralph had a collision with his helmet while combating a dune and losiing. He has a gash in his chin, just below his lower lip and he has stitches in and outside of his mouth. Three of his teeth have taken on a new position and it remains to be seen what will happen with them. We'll probably check that out when we get home. He is not really in pain and has eaten and is chipper and smiling! Unfortunately the next steak will probably have to be blender steak:(

USA

2010-10-23T16:31:00.007Z

USA

2010-10-23T15:59:00.005Z

Days full of cousins, friends and time spent together with people we haven't seen for a long time....it is going great and we have a week left before we hop on that plane again to head back to Switzerland. We are currently spending some time in Central Oregonm all together at a beautiful spot nestled among the Ponderosa Pines. We are all here together which is the way I like it best! The boys love all of the sand action and are convinced that we could build a track in our backyard. Alinya seems to be a hit and she frequently has to ward off abundant affection!

Another birthday!

2010-10-05T06:29:00.005Z

sorry, I had a few technical difficulties..

Sept/Oct are birthday months around here. Ralph was yesterday and Liam will be on Friday, 5 years for our littlest boy. Ralph requested 'öpfucheuchli' with vanilla sauce, which I had never made. It is kind of like apple fritters, you just slice apples and dip them in batter and fry them in a frying pan. They turned out pretty good and made a 43 year old boy's eyes light up!

Trampoline

2010-10-05T06:21:00.003Z

My 50th

2010-10-03T12:23:00.004Z

Birthdays are not quite the same thing when you are an adult. When I was a kid, it was always a great day, presents, cake etc. Now the reality of a birthday is that it is like any other day, busy and not very glam. This birthday was no different...the boys went to school in the morning without lavishing me with kisses. Ralph's mom came over and satyed with them for the day until around 4:30 when she returned home. After school in the afternoon we had differences in opinion concerning homework, chores, behavior etc. During dinner they continued to exhibit less than exemplary behavior. Then dessert came and I put a '50' on my cake (which I had of course, baked for myself :) instead of my actual 38. They questioned my application of the wrong number and I said, well this is how old I actually feel today...you have been pretty rotten. From that point on until bedtime, they became perfect children, just like the ones I had wished for my special day. I guess I didn't specify that I wanted them to be good ALL day long. Sigh. Thanks to all of you for your comments and birthday wishes! And I did get some fantastic presents of course!

Catching up again...

2010-10-03T12:05:00.004Z

This time it is a little end of the summer bbq with Julie and co, which Rain was also in on. The pic of her on the couch is her showing the boys pictures of her time spent in Mongolia living in a yert(sp?) with a Mongolian family. Bye bye summer....

2010-10-03T10:34:00.002Z

2010-10-03T10:21:00.003Z

Alinya and Hannes were in the dark with a little duckie light and saying 'nose'. It was so cute.

B&B weekend

2010-10-03T10:04:00.002Z

Weekend guests

2010-10-03T09:54:00.004Z

Our bed and breakfast had it's official unofficial opening and first guests. Actually a B&B IS one of my long term dreams but for now we had some family over for the night and nice relaxing breakfast. We all enjoyed each other's company, lounging around, letting the kids run wild and eating rich food:) This was last weekend already, I am sorely behind (not to be confused with having a sore behind) and these lovely people, two of them anyway, are already back in Ca. Auntie and Kim were creating again, this time felted hats, and my choice was the brown one (big surprise) and I promptly wore it to town a few hours after it was given to me!

2010-09-27T12:16:00.000Z

Eguisheim

2010-09-20T18:52:00.007Z

Alinya got some very cute leggy things today all the way from Canada...thanks Elann!
I discovered a nice big fat greasy fingerprint on the camera lens (which I have since cleaned off!) so bear with the sort of foggy look that all of these shots have!

We spent the weekend in Eguisheim, just over the swiss border into France. It is a very picturesque village in the vineyards of the Alsace region. They weren't into harvest too heavily yet but we did see some grapes in big plastic buckets being taken to the co-op. It is mostly just a pretty place to be and one of our favorite little haunts. This time we shared it with Rain. We also spent some time with some old friends, Bernard and Christine, plus saw Judith and Dorien, an unexpected bonus. Bernard and Christine have successfully tackled a daunting renovation project and their place is in a beautiful and peaceful location.

Lavaux

2010-09-20T18:23:00.003Z

My wandering cousin Rain came to visit us for a few days. She has been travelling through some different areas of the globe and stopped in on her way through. We had a few kid free hours and did a walk along Lac Leman in the vineyards. We hadn't seen each other for about 27 years so we had a thing or two to talk about.

Maria's birthday lunch

2010-09-20T18:08:00.002Z

We celebrated a grand lady's birthday a few weeks ago. The cousins had a great time together and so did us parents. They always groan about the annual family photo but it is a nice memory!

Liam begins école enfantine

2010-08-27T13:45:00.004Z

We had three children leaving this house on Monday morn for school. Liam was VERY excited and so were we. I almost wanted to start again as his classroom was so inviting..but then I went home and it was beautifully quiet!

2010-08-22T14:11:00.002Z

We had to have a family picture for Liam (who starts kindergarten tomorrow) so this is the best we could come up with. What a Calvin front and center.

2010-08-22T14:05:00.002Z

Our last Saturday of vacation was spent watching two soccer tournaments (at the same place and time for once!) and then cleaning up around home. You can guess who enjoyed which part more....

2010-08-22T13:58:00.002Z

Another fun afternoon at the Krebs. Ralph put some soap on the trampoline and with a little water from the hose it turned into an awesome time! Complete with a little gokart and they didn't want to go home. Of course they claimed to not need a shower that night due to lots of soap and water already that day.....

2010-08-22T13:50:00.003Z

We had our annual company fun a few weeks ago. We spent a night at Iseltwald, one of my favorite little spots in Switzerland that I have already blogged about before. It is a small hotel and we could put Alinya to bed during dinner and enjoy the rest of the evening as she was right above where we were sitting and we had the monitor....that said, it was a really nice relaxing afternoon and evening. Switzerland is not really equipped to accomodate more than two children with their parents in one room so we had three rooms total(Heidi and Markus R were with us too) Ralph ended up in the room just above us with Liam and Hannes. At about two in the morning, I heard a suspicious sound from above so sent Ralph a text message...sure enough, poor Liam had caught the stomach flu that seems to be taking us out one by one. The rest of us enjoyed a big breakfast the next morning but little pale Liam sat it out in front of the Sat am cartoons in the room :)

2010-08-12T08:29:00.002Z

Here u go grandma, the long awaited video of little Alinya walking on her own.....and for all of the other Alinya fans out there too!

2010-08-12T08:07:00.002Z

2010-08-12T07:36:00.004Z

We took a lunch boat on Tuesday with our extended family! Only Aschi was missing from the crowd. The weather cooperated with our outing and it was an hour and a half of pure beauty. The town of Murten is showing off in the background (where Ralph has his office) and on the other side of the lake are the vineyards of Mount Vully.

2010-08-08T20:05:00.003Z

This afternoon we took off down to the river, walking down and riding up. On our way we saw these very cute sunflowers that someone altered with a great deal of good humor. Or is it genetically altered seed that produces only happy sunflowers? Does the sad faced one need a good plant psychotherapist? We also saw a baby mouse, eyes still stuck shut, erring around on the road. Some in our group wanted to immediately adopt this sad little creature but mom nixed that idea on the spot but I did agree to get a leaf and move it out of harm's way. The kids were adamant (spelling looks weird, too lazy to look it up)about no way no how being able to walk down to the river and then riding back up in the bus. Amazing how they did it in the end and with absolutely no complaining or slowing down. It was even declared 'fun' by all.

Friday evening bonfire

2010-08-08T11:57:00.001Z

Swiss style smores made with Kambly cookies and swiss chocolate instead of hershey's....