Our Next Big Adventure

Portugal - Fatima

2012-01-18T21:08:00.000+01:00

The only 'must see' on my persoanl list for Portugal was to visit Fatima. It is a long day trip from Sintra by train, then metro, then tour bus. But well worth it! The biggest tip I have for anyone planning a trip here is to allow yourself plenty of time! We did not realize how spread out everything was and we could have easily used six hours there.

We first went into the Church of the Holy Trinity which is very new, consecrated only 4 years ago for the 90th anniversary of the apparitions. It seats 9000 people which is 100 times that which the old church was able to seat. The cornerstone is a stone from St. Peter's tomb under the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica, given to Fatima by Pope John Paul II.

Outside is this soaring crucifix which pulls you to just stand and contemplate.

Despite some skepticism on my part, David was able to lead us through the town to find the Way of the Cross. I really thought we were taking one of his infamous shortcuts which invariably are long, but he was efficient and effective!

Each station was beautifully crafted, but its simplicity did not distract you from meditation.

Near the 10th station is the Chapel of St. Stephen.

After completing the Stations, we walked to Loca Do Cabeco, the site of the first apparition of the Angel.

Unfortunately we did not have time to go on to the site of the second apparition as we really wanted to get back to the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima...

...and the Chapel of Apparitions. We were able to participate in a short part of Mass in the Basilica. The experience of the Shrine is indescribable. The faith of the people visiting was obvious and profound.

One of the questions we had before going was if women needed to be in dresses. We were all dressed in slacks and had no issues whatsoever. I am sure that during the summer it is expected that from shoulders to knees are covered, but that is only as it should be.

The other recommendation I have is to pack a lunch. There is not time nor really many places to get something to eat. We snacked out of the vending machines but were famished after Fatima!

Stopping on the way back at The Hard Rock Cafe for a bite to eat.

Post Lisbon fun

2012-01-18T08:27:00.001+01:00

We arrived back at the house from Lisbon to another feast being prepared by the UK contingent. Those women can cook! It was not quite ready yet, so I took the opportunity to check on some laundry in our house. As I am folding the laundry, I hear the unique Erin cackle from the back yard. I thought to myself that someone must have done something REALLY stupid or REALLY funny to set her off.

Finally she comes bursting into the laundry room, still speechless but full of noises and simply holds up her left hand, which now has a sparkly bit added to it. LOL

She was so excited!

She couldn't stop shaking so Bella and I had to hold her hand still so I could snap this picture.

It is a beauty!

The plan was that she was just going to go over to dinner and say nothing, waiting to see who would notice first.

No one noticed her ring, but they noticed that Erin and Peggy had matching louge wear.

They noticed nothing as dinner progressed.

Poor Connor had missed the plan and most of dinner. When he came over, he naturally asked the kitchen crowd what they thought of Erin and Jay's engagement. So shocked, I yelled his name, probably scaring him more than I've done since he was a little kid, wondering what he'd done now. LOL!

It was a small kitchen crowd. Lou very nicely and demurely commented on how pretty Erin's ring was the next time she went into the dining room to get some food. Well...that just woke everyone up and Erin and Jay had their shining moment. She beamed! So cute!

No wedding date, or even year, is finalized at this point. They will have to plan around the girls' time off school, but they have that in all seasons. Erin would like to finish up her Masters program before she tackles planning the wedding so that she can have fun and not be over-stressed.

This was pre-designated to be a game night, so we all enjoyed multiple games of The Village in front of a nice cozy fire in the drawing room. Many of us had never heard of it before, let alone played it, but we all had a great time. In fact, such a good time that we didn't try any of the other games that night.

Portugal - A Day in Lisbon

2012-01-17T09:53:00.000+01:00

Wednesday in Portugal - hump day, midway through vacation. The day when multiples started beginning to feel the Portugal plague set in. Sniffles, cough, over feeling of blah and sleepiness. But, none-the-less, there is no rest for the weary when there are places to go and sights to see. Onward and upward - literally in this case, as we stand at the Lisbon train station with our first destination, St. George Castle, visible at the top of the distant hill.

Our group is smaller today as the UK contingent decided to head back to Cascais for a 1/2 day horseback riding adventure. They are all top-notch riders, so it wasn't something the rest of us novices could share with them.

Maybe it was the vaious maladies that waylaid us, maybe it was the lack of internet access to ferrat out the details, maybe it was the lack of touristy "Castle this way" arrow signs, maybe it was the construction which had us changing directions constantly, or maybe it simply that I was reading the map starting from the wrong train station, but it seemed to take us forever to get to that castle.

It was actually a morning of almost total inefficiency and ineffectiveness for us, but we did improve after lunch!

Once at St. George, I can't say that we were massively impressed by this 14th-century architecture after having just explored the Moorish Castle the day before, but we were impressed by the views of Lisbon afforded us from the various plazas. And of course, we make our own fun....

And never the two shall meet...

Some views inside the castle walls, which you enter over a stone bridge where the moat was, (and can still be imagined)...

Someone was lucky having this view outside their window, although the view was certainly different as Lisbon was largely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1755).

The sun was just right for us to have some shadow fun...

One of the great panoramic views from the castle....

I was glad I stopped to take that picture because those who were quicker getting down the steps found out if was a deadend and had to come all the way back up.

After lunch during which we regrouped and purchased tram tickets, we became much more effective! First stop, the Coach Museum with quite a collection of very beautiful and ornate coaches...

From there, we took a short walk towards Jeronimo's Monastery, stopping to admire this bird's perch atop this monument.

The Monastery was huge and beautiful.

We visited the church...

...but not the cloisters.

Then, a longer walk along the water's edge towards the Tower of Belem, sighting more birds who like to use historical monuments as perches.

To amuse us along the way, the girls tried their hop along game. Bella first...

...nope didn't make it. Maggie next...

...and she made it with a little balancing help from papa.

Confidence up, she goes for the next pole...

...and...epic fail....

Luckily, saved by dad, cos that would have hurt!

And finally, we see the Tower of Belem, which originally served military purposes but had other functions including that of a customs house and a prison, over the years.

I tried to get some group shots of family, but chaos ensued once everyone went inside. Communication lines were broken, so some ended up here...

...while others were up there...

And then, the ones that were up there, came down here....

...but now they were up there!

Oy vey!

It was a beautiful time of day to visit the Tower, as the hints of sunset were beginning. It was nice to just sit for a moment and soak up the atmosphere.

Protugal - The Moorish Castle

2012-01-16T15:49:00.000+01:00

The Moorish Castle lay between our house and the Pena Palace, so we stopped there on our way back down the hill. This is a pickture of the castle taken from the palace, so you can see that is is relatively close.

Much of the lower area has been grown over, but the vegetation is kept manageable. There was a lot of work going on and I get the feeling it is fairly continuous. There was also an archeological dig going on with information about where the most recent findings (skeletons) were found.

The castle was massive and spread out. A lot of ground to cover.

David studies the map pondering the best way to attack seeing this castle...

...while the girls just huddle looking pretty.

Do you see? There is a daughter in each torret opening below...

What you don't see is Jay standing in the torret holding Bella by her feet up to the window.

There was a wonderful view of Sintra all around.

We met up with the British contingent as they were coming around the other direction.

There we a lot of outlooks to explore

including this one which everyone was very careful to climb up and down. To the left of Maggie was a sheer drop off which would have hurt.

The girls stopped to take a rest in our climb up to the highest point of the castle.

Queen Isabella ruling over her kingdom....

We are now at the highest point looking down on where we came from. Quite a climb!

It was all downhill from there!

Portugal - Pena Palace

2012-01-16T11:37:00.000+01:00

Desptie the request for Fatima to be the next port of call for this blog, I will be going in order of our visits, so the next stop is Pena Palace, in my humble opinion the top thing to see in Sintra. Pictures were only allowed outside, sorry. Originally a chapel and monastery which fell into ruin, it was bought and made into what you see here by the King of Consort.

The architect's German influence is seen in the exhibit of stained/painted windows where one finds a blatent advertisement for German beer in amongst the windows depicting the Annunciation, the Resurrection, etc. Too funny.

Some of the cousins, sisters, and friends...all beauties...

You will note that most of the pictures I took of the palace include only David and Maggie as Bella ditched us to hang out with cousin Meg. :)

Ah - a rare one of my love and I...

Ah - there's Bella, Meg, Erin and Jay - we found them!

And off she goes again! At least Meg waved goodbye.

Once we finished inside we went exploring the grounds which were lovely.

And yes, that is Bella, who much to her chagrin, ran across our path and was plucked from the company of her cousins, for reasons you will see in a moment.

I was very impressed with my photographic ability in capturing this picture of Maggie mid-skip (pure luck).

Our destination in our wanderings around the grounds was this cross which we spied from the terrace of the palace. The very first picture at the top of this blog entry was taken from this vantage point, so you can see how far away it is.

This cross was beautiful!

Of course, from this vantage point we couldn't resist taking some fun pictures of the palace...

The girls and I....

Portugal - Daytrip to Cascais

2012-01-15T05:47:00.000+01:00

Our first daytrip venture outside of Sintra was to Cascais and Cabo de Roco. The first adventure of the day was surviving the almost one hour bus trip to Cascais. It all started well, especially given the look of disbelief on the attendant's face when we asked for 17 round trip tickets. LOL!

These happy faces....

soon turned very sad...and very pale...and very green...

Luckily David, in his wisdom, had packed some large seashell collecting bags. Unfortunately they didn't get filled with seashells. YUCK!

But finally we arrive at Cascais and after a short walk through town, and a long stop at McDonald's for a burger to settle a girl's queasy stomach, we arrived in heaven!

After the cold and damp of our rental house and then that bus ride from hell, it was soooooo glorious to see sun...and sand...and waves. The beach is good for whatever ails you.

The group very quickly ascended upon a glorious rock crop, climbing to their hearts content.

Some beauties stayed closer to the sand, happy to simply have her toes wiggling in the sand and water.

Cascais will always be the memory place where Jay asked David and I for our blessing in proposing to Erin. I got a glimpse of her beautiful ring. He was so nervous - so cute! His plan was to pop the question in Cabo de Roco since that has the auspicious honor of being the western most point of mainland Europe.

Bored with the initial rock formations, three of the group thought it would be a good idea to climb up the rock wall to the left of the beach. They did a great job and were quite happy with themselves at the top. It was then that Lou, the only Portugese expert among us, noticed the sign warning of the instability of said rocks. Oops!

While Maggie was very happy to put her feet in the icy ocean,

David was happy finding a lounge chair rock to spread out on and take a nap, soaking up the sun.

We finally make our way to the upper plaza overlooking the beach...

...where a game of human checkers ensued....

...complete with Crownings...

...and jumping.

Maggie needed some help from big brother to execute the game winning jump.

A short walk took us to another beach, where an impromptu beach exercise class was born,

and a fun game of tag was played.

After all that, we were hungry, so we took over this restaurant and enjoyed spending more time soaking up the sun.

We were encouraged by our friends in CH to try the sardines when in Portugal. So we did. They were okay - not at all what I expected. They had more of a dry white fish taste than the saltiness I expected.

Our original plan of a second stop at Cabo de Roco was squashed when the bus schedule indicated we would arrive with darkness and thus not be able to enjoy the views. I think the vote to skip it was also influenced by the thoughts of getting back on that bus of sickness to go there. Instead we road back to Sintra via a different bus route which was easier on everyone's head and stomach.

Christmas in Portugal - Christmas Eve and Day in Sintra

2012-01-15T04:35:00.000+01:00

When 17 people converge from six different places in five different countries, things are bound to happen. When you factor in that our family is involved, the odds of a screw up rise exponentially. The first sign of trouble was with the MD/PA contingent flying out of BWI to meet up with the NY contingent in Newark. A flight delay, thankfully announced early, had them rerouted by train into Newark, luckily still in time to catch the flight to Lisbon. (This is the same group for whom the flight home was delayed out of Lisbon due to cockpit seat problems. I still have no idea how they got home from Newark!)
The Swiss contingent, we who arguably had the easiest travel plans by far, was alerted to a potential issue when Bella, sitting by the window, announced as the plane departed the gate that our luggage was sitting on the cart visible outside the plane. Of course, our thoughts ran along the lines of Oh well, there is nothing we can do about it now and it must be someone else’s luggage which bears a strong resemblance. Yeah, well…not so much!

Fourteen of us arrived in Lisbon within 45 minutes of each other on Christmas Eve morning. Three more arrived from the UK that night, and two from Thailand on Christmas morning. Neither the other US contingent traveling out of BWI through Paris, nor the UK or Thai contingents had any issues, thus providing supporting evidence of the travel curse associated with our family. (In all fairness though, four of the US contingent had a three day unplanned stopover in Frankfurt after Christmas in France two years ago, so it was their turn to have easy flights.)

The house (really two attached houses) we rented was owned by a man named Ben who lived in NY. This made contracts (in English) and payment (in US $) fairly easy. Formerly a rectory or convent (there was conflicting data) the houses were advertised to be filled with museum quality antiques. Knowing my family’s penchant for mayhem and mischief, (all in the name of fun, of course), I was a little worried. It was needless worry. The houses were probably beautiful underneath all that stuff, but it was hard to really see the bones. It had absolutely beautiful tile work.

Advertised as sleeping 11-16, the Swiss and UK contingents came prepared with sleeping bags. We knew going into it that the sleeping arrangements would not be ideal for everyone and that sofa sleeping would be required. However, the sofas were teeny tiny, Bella sized! Luckily there were some extra mattresses that we were able to simply position on the floors. It is actually a shame – the houses could have easily been set up to sleep more people through the use of trundles or bunks or putting double beds in rooms which only had a single.

One thing the house was though, was cold!

Yes, we all wore our coats for the first day! We were bundled up all week, but it did get better after that initial day. When you have a party of 17 arriving, wouldn’t you think to get the house ready and check for the heat to be on and working? Maybe they thought all those people in one space would generate enough heat.

The Thai contingent stayed in a B&B located about a 5 minute walk away. They had heat, and WiFi, and breakfast brownies! Not having WiFi in our houses really set us back. We were told it was available for fee when we arrived. What this really meant was, it is available if you drove to the store, (we did not have a car), purchase a plug in UBS type modem, and sign on using your (previously signed up for) mobile ISP. We count on using WiFi to finalize details of the next day’s plans, so not having WiFi to do this meant we floundered and wasted time regrouping on our excursions.

So, that was Christmas Eve - full of traveling, arrivals, grocery procurement, fighting with the heat, getting sleeping arrangements sorted out, waiting for delayed luggage to arrive, etc.

Christmas day was gloriously sunny! The Thai contingent arrived without problem and at some point, our luggage also arrived. When everyone was settled, we went out to explore Sintra which is said to be the most magical city in Portugal.

Our house was set up on a hill overlooking the historic section of Sintra. Heading into town meant a trek down very steep steps and hills, and heading home meant the same uphill trek, a killer at the end of the day! The humidity was high making the tiled streets very slippery when the sun was not shining on them to dry them out. That was fun!

Overall, Sintra was a nice place to visit. The historic area was pretty. The main tourist attractions were well worth seeing. Given that Portugal was the first EU country to fall into economic demise, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at the overall disrepair and seeming poverty of the residential areas. One very frustrating note about Portugal was the difficulty in using credit or debit cards to pay for food and services. For a place which is dependent on the tourist industry to help get them out of this financial slump, they certainly didn’t make it easy for tourists to pay in anything other than cash.

The area of Sintra we explored on Christmas day was nice and we even found a few things open.

In true Patterson form, we were seen to take breaks at odd times/places,

climb random trees,

and pretty much take over small places like this tiny sidewalk café, much to the chagrin of the other customers, I’m sure.

We loved the outdoor art

and side-of-the-road water fountains which were beautifully tiled works of art themselves.

We got our first glimpse of the National Palace, which we toured later in the week.

Beings it was Christmas, we came prepared for everyone to open a gift. Each person was instructed to bring a game. Not just a run of the mill popular game like Apples to Apples or Skipbo, but something new and/or unusual. Peggy volunteered to be Santa and come up with a method by which the games, as presents, were dispersed. She was very creative!

Each person received a cut out Santa with a work on one side and a number on the other. Then she read a story. When you heard your word, you were allowed to select a present from the pile. Once the story was completed and all presents had a home, the number dictated the order in which the presents were opened for all to oh and ah over. It was a lot of fun and we had great games to play all week.

While the US, Swiss, and Thai contingents went to Christmas Mass (yes, we've added Portugese to the list of languages in which we've celebrated Mass), the UK contingent volunteered to make dinner, a Herculean task indeed! But they more than managed, making a beautiful dinner for us all! Thanks again to the UKers!!

The process is breaking down...

2012-01-14T17:07:00.000+01:00

I know there is some discontent out there in the blog community with my lack of updates. It isn't for not trying! Blogger doesn't want to cooperate in uploading my pictures, so it is a slow process. It also deleted my last attempt at an entry just before I hit the publish button - lost all the pictures it did upload AND the text. That on top of just not feeling good - and I was done for the day. LOL. I'll keep trying!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-20T06:48:00.001+01:00

FINALLY! The baking and decorating began!

It turns out that Swiss teachers are supposedly offended when they are given gifts other than homemade items, as the belief is they are simply doing their jobs and gifts may be seen as bribery. Of course, this tidbit of information is coming from an expat board, so there is always the chance something is lost in translation. In the off chance that we have been annually offending said teachers, this year our plan was to bake, bake, bake and that would be the basis of teacher gifts. :)

We made five of Grandmom's cookie recipes, Aunt Janie's zucchini bread (in muffin form), and lemon poppy seed muffins, which do not hold a candle to my favorites from Giant.

Everything turned out Wunderbar!

Normally we like to get the tree up Thanksgiving weekend. This year, the third Sunday of Advent came, and almost went, without a tree. But, it is up and decorated.

Bella was the motivation behind the whole decorating experience this year. She was raring to go!

It is amazing how our little 25 franc tree, dragged through the streets of Zurich five years ago, transforms from this.....

to this...

Bella is now tall enough to put on the star without any additional help.

Maggie was getting into the mood when a song she liked momentarily blasted from the stereo speakers. That smile turned into a pouty lip very quickly when Manheim Steamroller almost instantaneously replaced her choice of music.

David and Bella spent some time decorating the flat with many homemade items from Christmas past.

These angels were made and sold by the St. Rose Senior Girl Scout troop many moons ago as a fundraiser for a trip. One angel is missing her wreath, but otherwise they've held up well.

I hate to admit that I'm not sure if this is one of Maggie's or Bella's creations, but my guess would be Maggie.

This is a cherished decoration from David's childhood...

The Manger is set up. Mary and Joseph await the baby Jesus, an act we imitate each year...

Off to some French Christmas Markets

2011-12-12T06:35:00.000+01:00

The girls were away for their annual Chlaus weekend with the fussball team, so we took advantage of a weekend getaway to France. Do we look a little too happy to be heading out?

Our primary objective was to see Colmar and experience its rumored wonderful Christmas Market. We knew it was going to be crowded when we could not get a hotel room!

Colmar has been described as the Beauty and the Beast village. It was a pretty place from what we saw. Unfortunately with the crowd, we had to pay more attention to walking than looking, so maybe we will go back in the spring with the girls to get more of a view of the town. We did enjoy what we saw though.

We wisely decided to take an early lunch break and duck into this little French restaurant, which was turning people away a half hour later. When in France, one must have French Onion Soup...

and a pot of mussels...with french fries...

We were amused by the assortment of hats. PDA took on a whole new dimension with this hat...

A lot of people were sporting these hats.

We were tempted to buy one, but couldn't think of anyone who would be brave enough to actually wear it.

Apparently in Colmar, Santa arrives by ski...

...and their penguins are huge!

It was very storybook-ish, though! (That, however, is fake snow on the trees and bushes.)

After our fill of the sights of Colmar, and the tastes and smells of Gluhwein and maccaroons, we head to our second French town, Mulhouse.

We stayed at a wonderful hotel, which luckily featured prominently on the maps posted outside the train station, as our Google directions would have had us completely lost.

Despite the rain, we enjoyed a Sunday morning strolling through the much smaller Christmas Market and seeing the town.

This Christmas Market had some different offerings than the one at Colmar, which is nice because sometimes they all seem to be the same with just the surroundings a little different. We were amused by this spoon holder which looked like a Hershey kiss.

It was raw and rainy so David broke down and bought himself a warm neck scarf. Now he looks all European. ;)

In walking around the town we spied two of his favorite things - an Irish pub (closed though) and part of the old wall of the city.

We saw some things which probably needed further explanations...

...and then we saw this ironic picture...

One day this will be us....God willing!

Schule

2011-12-09T14:15:00.018+01:00

Last week was an eventful week in the school life arena.

On Wednesday, Maggie officially passed the Probezeit! This was the three month probationary period in Langzeitgymnasium during which many of the kids are expected to fail out. Maggie's class lost only two children - the one boy who left at midterm break and one girl. The boy who was thinking about dropping out at midterm, whom Maggie and her friends talked out of leaving, ended up passing!! Her class was told again that they were at the top of the first grade classes!

On Thursday, Bella's school presented their Advent Concert. Yes -you read that correctly - Advent concert. There is no such thing as politically correct terms of Holiday this or that over here. It was held in one of the old churches which was very very dark. Hence, really bad pictures.

Bella is in this mess somewhere:

But, here she is doing the freewill offering after the concert. They were raising money to support a school in India.

On Friday, Maggie's school held an apero for the kids and parents to celebrate the end of Probezeit. They sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas - in English - which at the end proclaimed NO MORE EXAMS!

Once they sang, the kids were let loose on the food!

That night they held a Jungle themed disco for all the first class - including those who did not pass the probation time. Maggie had a lot of fun!

The towers of Bicentennial Man

2011-12-04T21:17:00.000+01:00

When we all got home from our weekend away (more about that in a future post), the girls and I watched Bicentennial Man, with Robin Williams. The movie was from 1999, looking into the future. At one point towards the end they say that the robot, Andrew, was created in 2005 and then the movie continues for 200 years.

It was interesting to note first of all what things were thought to look like in the future of 2005, now that it is in the past.

In one scene, I literally gasped! There in the skyline of New York stood the twin towers. It really hit me that no one could ever imagine that they would not be a part of that skyline. But, only two years after that movie, and a good three years plus before the time portrayed in the movie, they were gone.

The first Christmas Market of the Season

2011-11-28T20:11:00.000+01:00

We took a break from the homework and studying to go up Mt. Pilatus to the Christmas Market. It runs only one weekend a year. Pilatus is always a nice trip.

The views are always spectacular! Even when it is cloudy, the cloud formation gives a preview of Heaven.

The picture below does not give an accurate feel for how many people were there. We stood in many lines for cable cars and gondolas. You can see a couple of the stalls in this picture.

Most of the vendor stalls were inside, though, which was really nice from the standpoint of not freezing as we usually do at these things.

There was some serenading with the Alphorns.

Given that this was the suckiest Christmas Market we've ever been to, we found other ways to entertain ourselves and those around us.

David had a great time feeding the birds french fries. He made a friend.

These dang birds were lining up to get the fries. One would be fed, it would fly off and the next would hop into place to get a fry. They formed better lines than a lot of people!

The other amusement we got was unintentional. This picture below is of David and Maggie waiting in line to pay for some food. While they stood in that line, I hopped into the line to actually GET the food so when they got out of their line, they handed me the ticket and I had a jump on the wait. Only....it totally fouls up their system! The fact that our ticket came ahead of another ticket who paid before us confused them and threw such a wrench in their system, it was unbelievable!

The Swiss precision is amazing!

The last preteen year

2011-11-28T19:57:00.000+01:00

Two years ago my baby entered the double digit birthdays, and this year she entered her last year as a preteen. It is hard to believe how quickly 12 years has gone by.

She invited two of her friends over for a taco lunch.

She wanted brownies with peanut butter icing. I think my family would gladly forego the cake and just dine on the peanut butter icing.

I hope all her wishes come true...

Packed into her presents from Aunt Janie was this thoughtful gift of a picture of Bella with her late Godfather. Very thoughtful!

Bella really wanted an iPod Touch, but had to settle for a Nano instead. She seemed happy enough with that. I am a killjoy who wasn't thrilled with all the features, and expense, of a Touch for a 12 year old. She uses it almost nonstop.

Isn't she lovely?!

Marshmellow Roast

2011-11-28T19:46:00.001+01:00

Jenni and Pat held a marshmellow roast reception at their home on our last night in St. Louis. Jenni worked her fingers to the bones getting everything ready for the wedding and the reception. So much was homemade and very unique. While I can imagine at the end, she just wanted it all done, everyone can look back and remember how much of herself she put into each and every detail.

Her mom's flower arrangements were beautiful...

The food was delicious....

The drinking cups were so cute...

And the sangria sooooo good....

Peyton was adorable, as always....

This is the family, minus 8...

Pretty good looking bunch! I love how the girls outnumber the boys by so much!

The Arch

2011-11-28T06:35:00.025+01:00

It was great to have all my kids (plus one) under the same roof again. Poor Andy got a healthy dose of living with the Pattersons. Jenni and Pat planned a reception at their home on Saturday night, so we all decided to visit the main tourist attraction in St. Louis, the Arch, during the day.

We were lucky - it was a beautiful day and the lines were not incredibly long.

The initial view of the Arch as we walked through the adjacent park...

The process is that you acquire tickets then wait for your reserved time. You pass the time by walking through an exhibit with the timeline of events in the US, with a focus on the explorations of Louis and Clark. It was very interesting and I learned a lot. This is my family waiting patiently for me to finish reading everything...

After some tacky tourist pictures, (which they subsequently lost), we were admitted to the final waiting area where we entertained ourselves, and quite possibly those around us, with the scales...

Then, onto the tiny cars for the ride to the top. Erin enjoyed our ascent.....

Bella and I enjoyed our ascent...

Andy seems okay, but Manda - not so much....

At the very tippy top!

It was such a clear day and the views out over the city were great.

I had to capture a picture of the baseball park where the night before the Cardinals cinched a spot at the World Series, which they eventually won!

My artist daughters noticed the shadow of the arch over the park below - what a cool picture!

My motley crew and I...

The Main Event

2011-11-28T06:07:00.000+01:00

We had a great time exploring Chicago and St. Louis, but the main reason for the trip was to attend our neice's wedding. Given that monetary fines are steep for unexcused absences in Swiss school, our attendance was only possible since Jenni and Pat scheduled their wedding for the weekend right smack in the middle of the girls' two week midterm break.

The wedding was timed for sunset in a beautiful park. We arrived early to set up chairs and took advantage of the surroundings for some family pictures.

I love this one of our Fabulous Five...

They insisted on one of the two of us...:)

Manda and Andy went exploring by the river....

And, now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for...

The beautiful , but sleepy and unhappy, flower girl with her Daddy and grandma (my sister-in-law). Terry did the flowers for the wedding including Peyton's floral headband. Right after this picture was taken, her little hand reached up and tore that flower right off her head. So cute!!

The beautiful bridesmaids...

They each picked their own dresses, with Jenni's final approval, in shades of purple. So each dress was unique in style and color, tied together by the type of fabric. They were all lovely.

The handsome groom and groomsmen...

And the beautiful bride escorted by her Daddy (my brother)...

The exchange of vows and rings...

The kiss....

The Mr. and Mrs...

And the party!

Jenni and Pat's friend made a video which was played on the big screen. It had pictures from when they were little all the way through their courtship. There were a lot of personal touches which made the whole event so special and unique.

The sharing of the wedding cake...

...with no need for showers and drycleaning afterwards. YAY!

Best Museum Ever!!!!

2011-11-17T18:32:00.034+01:00

Warning: This will probably be the longest blog entry you have ever read, so if you are in a hurry, come back later. :)

The reasoning behind this exceptionally long blog entry is the exceptionally unique City Museum in St. Louis. It is beyond description, so lots of pictures are necessary to relay a glimpse of how cool this place is. If you are ever near St. Louis, it is a MUST do! Heck, I would even go out on a limb and say it is a reason to GO to St. Louis - it is really that great a place. (Caveat - I'm not sure I would have been as thrilled with it if it were just David and I - it is fun with the kids.)

To set the stage, this museum is as much a playground as it is museum, in an old shoe warehouse. The basic concept was to rescue architectural and historical artifacts from Chicago area buildings and use them to make this museum. Unfortunately, the man who's imagination spawned this project was killed not long ago in a bulldozer accident as he was creating a second masterpiece.

Everywhere you look there is a surprise! This is a place you could go back to again and again because each time you would see something you hadn't noticed before.

For the kids, old or young, there is an unending choice of holes to disappear into, nooks and crannies to explore, and things to climb.

There are even water elements built in...

It was hard to keep track of the girls. I definitely wouldn't want to take young children in here as they could disappear for days!

I cannot imagine that many people pay any attention to this sign indicating that those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. We were all UP for a 10 story slide!!!

But, at the top of the climb to the slide we got distracted. This next series of pictures is a story of personal achievement!

Up on the roof of the museum is a whole new world of things to do, beginning with climbing up the inside of the doomed roof. Maggie went right for it, Bella decided to sit it out, and I was the photographer, so David decided he was going to go it with Mags. And so they start...

Maggie is going up with no problem....David is...ummmmm...waiting for that other person to come down so she has plenty of room. Yeah, right - that's the story!

Maggie makes it all the way up, over the roof and into this little cage hanging in the middle. Where is David?

There he is!! But - he is going! I sat there watching in amazement, knowing what kind of will power he must exert to do this. Heights are not his cup of tea, to say the least. I think it was at this point that Connor called the first time. Obviously David was not about to answer his phone.

Maggie climbs back onto the roof part and cheers David on - look at him go!

He made it!!! I was so proud of him! He couldn't bring himself to lay down flat on that cage bottom, though. LOL.

They crawl out on the roof and Connor calls a second time with the beginning of the travel drama (with Erin's apartment being in a gas leak quarantined zone and she might not make it because she isn't allowed into the apartment to get her luggage. But she made it after sneaking into it and driving out with her important boyfriend. ;)

Outside on the roof is even more fun! This slide was so cool! Rough landing at the bottom though.

This rickety old ferris wheel was so cool! I noticed though that it was held together with what amounted to large safety pins, like you would wear on a wrap around skirt/kilt. Oh well....it was fun to ride.

The surprises know no end! Here - a school bus to climb in!

So - I think I could be a bus driver....as long as I wore ear plugs, that is.

That step off the bus is a doozy though - the picture below shows the bus hanging out over the roof. By the way - this picture is taken from a second, lower, roof area, not the ground.

As if having a school bus on the roof wasn't enough, there is also a plane!

Maggie was happy in the cockpit.

We ventured inside to look at the collection of pieces salvaged from buildings. I am not sure what this was, but it was like walking through a kaleidescope.

David has fond memories of Bob's Big Boy.

My crew under this sign seemed appropriate!

There were some really beautiful things....

And once, again, Maggie in the continuing series of Life Imitating Art...

There were so many more wonderful things about the City Museum, but two final pictures...

First - my favorite slide which was really like being in a kaleidescope (I love kaleidescopes!),

...and finally, the huge ball pit.

New Life Eases Loss

2011-11-17T06:52:00.000+01:00

After a long drive from Chicago to St. Louis, we checked into the wonderful house we had rented and then quickly made our way to Jenni's house for the first main event.

We were all very excited to be coming to the wedding and seeing family, but we would be less than honest if we said that meeting Peyton wasn't on the top of our looking-forward-to list. Of course, because her daddy and aunts share pictures and video on Facebook, we've been able to keep up with her progress through the 10 months since she was born, but nothing takes the place of a real live snuzzle and deep intake of baby smells.

I'm sure as of this posting, Peyton's love of the moo'íng toy has worn thin with those who also have to listen to it. But, I'm glad she liked it.

She had fun exploring Uncle David's face. I think we have pictures of David with most family kids doing this exact same thing!

Our first task for the evening was to help Jenni make some goodies for the Saturday night Marshmellow Roast.

Everyone was helping with something, although I'm not sure what my sister-in-law and neice are doing here...probably something with flowers as Terry did all the flowers for the wedding and they were stunning!

Guess how David helped out!

Shocking Shopping Day in Chicago

2011-11-17T06:33:00.000+01:00

Surprisingly, our hotel in Chicago did not offer free in-room internet access, so when we paid for access, David used it to get his work emails back and forth. We had been out of the loop for our Facebook and email addiction for a few days, so this morning, I logged on to catch up a little bit before we got ourselves together and heading out.

And there it was!

I love Facebook! Let me just make that very clear right up front. It has been an excellent tool for erasing miles and keeping us up-to-date on things happening with our friends and family. Sometimes, however, news on FB can completely shock you.

So, as I burst into tears, David comes running. Bella remains seated on the sofa totally confused and Maggie leaves her book in the bedroom to come see what the commotion is about. Only, worse than reading the news is us having to tell Bella that her beloved Godfather, her Uncle Gene, has died. Needless to say, our day did not start off well.

We did make the most of it, however. I was able to tell the girls some of the stories I remember Gene sharing about his time in Chicago. He was certainly in our thoughts all day as we roamed the city he had roamed many years before. We went back to the Cathedral to light a candle for him.

We had a low key day, doing some shopping and enjoying a traditional deep dish Chicago pizza at Gino's East.

She looks shell-shocked, doesn't she? RIP Uncle Gene....

I love a parade...or not...

2011-11-15T15:58:00.000+01:00

About midday we took a break from the Field Museum and went over to watch the Columbus Day parade. I am a big parade and fireworks fan, so the opportunity to see the Columbus Day parade on Columbus Avenue in Chicago on Columbus Day was too good to pass up.

We got a glimpse of some of the floats as they manuevered into line. Hmmm...they were all looking alike - what is up with that?!

Finally it starts. There were marching bands

...and old cars

....and floats, which indeed all looked alike.

Maggie and Bella were not enthralled, but quietly endured.

When I looked down and saw this level of complete boredom, however, we gave up and went back to the Field Museum.

Loving the Field Museum

2011-11-15T14:52:00.000+01:00

It was hard to choose between all the many wonderful attractions Chicago has to offer, but we ended up choosing to go to the Field Museum. It was a beautiful day so walking along the lake to the museum was a treat.

It was nice to meet "Sue" and funny to read that it might actually be a boy named Sue as they are unsure of the dinosaur gender.

The museum had a wonderful exhibit for 9/11.

David and the girls ended up having to wait many times for me as I tend to be one of the pain in the neck museum people who reads a lot of the explanations - well, at least at the beginning of the day.

We seem to have begun a new tradition of Maggie imitaing faces...life imitating art.

The museum was huge. We spent most of the day here and didn't see it all.

Bella enjoyed the hands on portions....

Navy Pier

2011-11-15T14:36:00.000+01:00

Chicago's Navy Pier was a nice place to walk around and relax.

We enjoyed the sculptures...

...the ferris wheel...

...the food and drink choices...

..but most of all we enjoyed watching the sun go down ...

Reconnecting and on the (L)edge!

2011-10-31T11:33:00.000+01:00

One of my friends from Zurich moved back to the US a year and a half ago. Although she lives in Columbus, Ohio, she has a brother in Chicago and a sister in St. Louis. So, we made plans for Lynn to meet us in Chicago to spend some time together on Sunday.

Our first stop that morning before meeting Lynn was Holy Name Cathedral. At the beginning of Mass, the priest asked for raised hands for those who lived in the city, in the general Chicago area, in the state of Illinois, in the US, and then from outside the US. He commented that he always seems to have international visitors.

We met Lynn right outside of church after Mass and simply proceeded to mosey around Chicago getting our bearings. We had a couple of goals in mind, but it was so great to see her and catch up that we meandered for a while just heading in the general direction of Millenium Park.

The park was pretty cool.

We especially liked The Bean, as it is affectionately known. I think it's actual name has something to do with a cloud, but it certainly looks like a bean. It was fun to look at the reflections.

We also liked these two buildings with a water fun area. It was a hot day and some of the kids were taking advantage and cooling off.

It took us a minute to realize that faces were imposed on the buildings on the sides facing each other...

And sometimes the faces changed, as did the water...

That would be quite an unexpected surprise for someone caught unaware!

Next stop: Willis Tower, aka Sears Tower,

to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor, soaring 1,353 feet (412 m) above ground!

The views out over the city were great!

Part of the attraction at the Willis Tower is the Ledge, a clear box hanging out over the city which gives unobstructive views to the ground below. That first step is a doozy!

But, once your senses get in sync that there really is solid mass in seeming air, it is pretty cool!

It gives an illusion of floating on air!

Our final stop of our time with Lynn was a the train station for her to leave. :(

The old station is pretty cool though.

Someone (gee, I wonder who) had to go check out what was behind the big black curtain. I think he wanted to be the Wizard. So, behind it he disappears, only to reappear moments later, tentatively peeking to see if the coast was clear to come out.

Favorite building

2011-10-30T12:28:00.000+01:00

I've never had a favorite building before, but I think I now do. I am fascinated by the Tribune Building!

It isn't the actual building that I am necessarily fond of, although it is a nice building.

What I absolutely love is the elements they've included into the building from other famous buildings, attractions, and places.

We saw places we've been to close to our original US hometowns...

...as well as those we have visited near our new home...

One of these days, we hope to travel to see the original neighbors of this one...

I'm not sure I ever want to visit the mates to this one!

Can you even imagine how much meds it would take to get me on a rocket to the moon!!?? It would have to be full out anesthesia.

Skyline of Chicago

2011-10-30T10:29:00.000+01:00

I find the skyline of Chicago very unique and interesting. The architecture is varied with a mix of old and new. Obviuosly there are not many seriously old buildings in comparison to the cities we've been exploring the last 5 years, but old in terms of relativity and architectural look.

While this looked like a beautiful autumn day, the temperatures were warm! It was marathon day in Chicago so the runners had perfect weather.

The skyline as a backdrop for other sights, (in this instance, Buckingham Fountain, makes for interesting pictures.

Also pretty at night with everything lit up.

Off to the US again...

2011-10-21T08:32:00.000+02:00

YAY! Time for midterm break and a trip to the US! The primary purpose of the trip was to attend our neice, Jenni's, wedding in St. Louis. With a direct flight from Zuirch to Chicago, we planned a few days in the Windy City enroute.

So, who do you think was happy about flying?? We flew Swiss Air this time and boy, do they know how to fly! A nice plane, movie selections, decent food...

It was very late our time when we arrived. The skyline of Chicago is very unique and interesting, even at night.

Someone was too tired to even eat dinner.

I love this picture of Maggie reflected in the glass of the elevator looking out over Chicago.

While Daddy and Bella slept, Maggie and I enjoyed the fireworks over Navy Pier.

Bella was a total bed hog the first night,

so, in the middle of the night, I found Maggie laying on the sofa, trying to cover up with one of her neck scarves. Poor thing. I found some extra blankets and covered her up. Despite all, she had a good night's sleep.

Given the time difference of 7 hours, we were all up in time to watch the sunrise over our first full day in Chicago...

September Birthday Celebrations

2011-10-21T07:37:00.000+02:00

David decided he would like to have Boston Creme Pie for his birthday. Having never made one before, I went in search of a good recipe online. I found many which required ingredients not readily available here in CH, so had to improvise. It started out looking pretty good, but, the cream filling ended up flattening out and looking pretty pathetic as it oozed out the sides of the cake.

But, it still looked okay with candle ablaze on top, carried by a beautiful almost-12-year-old.

He still has the lung capacity to blow out the 7 candles!

It may have gone flat, but the taste was still pretty good!

Only one gift to open, but it was an Ipad, so he was very happy! He had been wanting one, but would never actually buy it for himself, so the birthday bear decided it was time.

Soon after, Herb came to visit us on his way to and from a conference in Innsbruck. He had also just celebrated a birthday, but this year with a mandatory work move to Boston, spent it away from his family remaining behind in Delaware. The girls really wanted to celebrate Uncle Herb's birthday with him, so once again, Boston Cream Pie was in order, given the new weekday "home" away from home.

Ebenalp

2011-10-07T06:23:00.000+02:00

We took advantage of a three day weekend to venture to a place on David's wish list. It was, after all, his birthday weekend, and given that the girls had an extra day off on Monday to finish studying and homework, not to mention the beautiful sunny weather, it was an opportunity not to be missed.

We assended the mountain in a gondola, paying up front for a return ticket back down the mountain. At one point I was regretting this purchase!

The view from the top was beautiful.

It didn't take us long to get sidetracked off the path to explore an outcrop of rocks which looked like they might be a cave entrance.

We also took advantage of David's exploration to take a quick rest and enjoy the view.

The beautiful view made even better by the beauty of our beauties.

And, the birthday boy in all his glory....

Ah - here is the cave...

...which ends at a little chalet type museum in which is displayed these bones found in the area.

The path continues outside the cave...

Another small cave is used for a beautiful little chapel on the side of the mountain.

Looking ahead we see a walkway out over the side of the mountain....

...looking down....

And, here it is!!! This is the place which inspired the whole trip!

Another rest....

...followed by a light lunch at this destination restuarant.

It was not easy to get seats as once people sat, there was no incentive for them to hurry through lunch on such a beautiful day.

After lunch we had the decision as to how to journey home. This is Bella at the crossroads.

Going up led to led to about an hour hike back to where we started. Going down led to a longer hike back down the mountain. Since we had already paid for our gondola ride back down the mountain we chose going up.

And off we go...with Bella in the lead...

This was rated a tough hike due to the narrow stone paths with no protection from falling off the side. LOL.

But it was beautiful! Very rocky in places, but also some areas protected by forest.

David and I brought up the rear which gave the girls opportunities to rest while waiting for us to catch up.

And, at the top, a rest for all. It is surprising how comfortable rocks can be after a one hour climb up the side of a mountain!

Bella looks like it was no big deal!

Some more beautiful views....

...and a slight refreshment break....

...then we begin our journey home.

School update

2011-10-05T09:51:00.000+02:00

Bella and her friend, Desi, on the first day of school.

School began the last week of August. Bella went back to Muhlebach as the big 6th grader. She is loving being the oldest group in the school. I think she is also loving not having Maggie there. It is hard following a big sister!

Big sister went off to the big school, Realgymnasium at Ramibuhl. Parents were expected at school on the first day for a meeting with the teacher. I came home with enough homework to last me two weeks. Literally, it took me that long to get it all translated and understood, assuming of course, that I actually understand, which is a HUGE assumption! Of course, no pictures of the first day of school were allowed by Maggie. :(

It is a very tough year for both of them.

With it being sixth grade, Bella has the opportunity to take the entrance exam for Langzeitgymi like Maggie did. She is also taking a preparation course, like Maggie did, only her's started the end of August. The test has been moved earlier to March of next year, (Mags' was in May), so the prep courses also start earlier. There is also a math prep class given once a week at school. Additionally Bella goes to extra German once a week provided by school and once a week for private lessons. So she now has five sources of homework - school, school gymi prep, school German, private gymi prep, and private German. For a child for whom school is more of a social exercise than that of academics, it is really tough on her and she tries to skate by anyway she can. She is not fond of the constant homework, BUT she has been VERY happy when she has done better on tests - from the standpoint of her own benchmark as well as doing better than others in her class with which she competes. She has inherited Connor's propensity to answer questions in such a way that you must ask exactly the right question in exactly the right manner in order to get the information that you need/want. Luckily we've had so much practice with her big brother that we are making some headway with her. It keeps us on our toes. Exhausting. But, this child is pure sunshine! All of the frustrations felt in dealing with trying to help her stay on top of her academic world, melt away with the pure sweetness of her disposition and loving ways.

Now, Miss Maighdlin, on the other hand has gifts other than pure sweetness and loving ways, especially now that the teen years have settled upon us. She still gifts us with her beautiful smile and kind words and kisses once in a while, thankfully. She is in the midst of Probezeit - probation time - in Langzeitgymi. From the beginning of school until the end of November, the new first graders (7th grade in American speak) are tested and exhausted with tons of work in order to weed out the 25-33% of them who will be sent packing back to secondary school. They begin school at 7:40 and end just before 4:00. Lunch time has been cut shorter. They have 22 hours a week of German, English, French, and Latin. They are introduced to formal science and history for the first time. Two hours per week of world religion, plus other things like art, music, gym, etc. It is exhausting thinking about it. Maggie also has one extra hour of private German lessons on Mondays. She has had between three and four tests per week, plus tons of homework. And, so far, she is doing well! Plus, she is happy and has made friends.

She has done very well on her tests, but has come home with many tales of kids in her class who have broken down in tears after receiving tests back. One boy has already decided to cut his losses and go to secondary school after the upcoming midterm break. Another boy has mentioned to her and a couple of friends that he feels like doing that as well. They are trying to encourage him to stick it out, which is very nice, but given what Maggie has told me about his test scores, it might be a realistic thing to do.

Their teacher met with them on Friday and told them that as a class they are doing better than the other six first grade classes. I hope that wasn't a bad thing to tell them - we don't want them feeling too secure and easing up during the second half of the Probezeit and blowing it. We also don't know if that message was given to every class in hopes of encouraging them.

But, the new reality in our household is that weekends are for catching up on homework and preparing for tests. They still have fussball games on Saturdays for another month, but other than that, most of our time on Saturdays and Sundays are busy with school work. Next week begins our two week midterm break. Maggie has a couple of projects to work on and tests to study for during that time, but we are all looking forward to a break.

Hair today....

2011-10-05T09:24:00.000+02:00

Bella desperately wanted a haircut before school started. Maggie desperately needed a haircut before school started. Bella got her wish. She could not decide whether she wanted bangs or not, so she finally settled on long side swept bangs that she could pull back if she wanted. She looks adorable, of course, but way too old for my baby!

I took the opportunity to thin out her hair when I cut off some of the length. She has a ton of hair and it is thick. It was weighing her down and quite frankly, I was wondering if it was the source of her more often headaches.

She has not complained of one headache since. It is sooooo much lighter!

I finally did get to cut Maggie's scraggly ends two weeks ago. Hers also looks much better, but she is not enthused with having pictures taken.

Back in the land of cheese and chocolate...and construction

2011-09-30T06:37:00.000+02:00

Ah yes, home sweet home. The sound of jackhammers, the perpetual cloud of dust, the life threatening walk to the corner...

Our street was closed a couple of weeks before we left. The good news is that construction helps keep unemployment down, and water and sewer problems at bay.

I do love how they take the time to place all these metal guards on the sides of the digs to prevent cave-ins.

They've now starting laying the pipes in the holes. That means two things. First that there is more heavy equipment roaming up and down the street, not paying any attention to the pedestrian residents trying to get in and out of their houses. It is dangerous out there!

Second - it means there is light at the end of the tunnel. It extends as far as the eye can see on our street.

So, we get away from that sight and roam up to the path with the watering holes and take a nice 6K hike up the road. It is hard to believe that this scene is about a mile from the one above.

All along this trail there are lots of little whimsical things carved out of wood, like this snail on this rock...

...and this sculpture at the end of the trail.

It is hard to really fathom the age of a place like Zurich and almost beyond comprehension when you see a sign like the one at this restaurant which is on the site of an old mill. Since 946, really?!

The old water wheel at the mill....

It was a nice walk to get us back into the time zone and out in the fresh Swiss air and away from the terrible view currently seen from our apartment window.

American History According to Connor - Installment I: Philadelphia

2011-09-20T08:23:00.000+02:00

It bothers Connor immensely that the girls are not getting proper American History lessons in the Swiss local school system. While it would be great if I homeschooled them in that, plus English, in addition to Religion, quite frankly that is expectly a lot of them after a full week (plus) of school. So, Connor has taken it upon himself to educate the girls in American History with lessons planned around field trips to major historical areas. This year: Philadelphia.

Arriving in Philly. Independence Hall in background.

As part of the Philadelphia experience, Connor felt one educational requirement was the sampling of authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches.

A walk through St. Peter's church cemetery.

Gray squirrel!!! I never could have predicted that we would get excited about seeing one of these, but as far as we know there aren't any in CH. There are red ones but they are not very plentiful and people will congregate under trees when one is spotted, just to get a peek.

Inside the Federal Courthouse.

Everyone was hot and the humidity wass taking a toll on energy levels. Hmmm...something is missing here...

Ah...that's what was missing. (Although we really did miss Manda the whole day!!!!)

There was a breeze blowing at times. It was great to see the American Flag flying in the courtyard of Independence Hall.

Everyone listening intentively to the very entertaining Independence Hall guide.

Inside Independene Hall...it is hard to fathom the history which took place here.

Of course, we had to see the Liberty Bell...

...and Chinatown.

When Connor was planning this adventure he asked me what he should include. I answered that he should include things the girls were familiar with having seen National Treasure. Of course, this had to include the

where we partook of some wonderful ice cream!

We ventured over to Board Gane Art Park for some typical photo opps.

And on to Love Park for a similar purpose...

We had a great day in the City of Brotherly Love...

2011-09-20T07:37:00.000+02:00

An unexpected free morning gave us time to hit the bank in PA and meet up with Aunt Janie for lunch at Friendly's. It was great to see her, but the saying goodbye part was, once again, very hard for Maggie.

We met up with Lisa and crew at her Mom's house for an afternoon of swimming.

Ana jumping in.

Maggie's creative raft relaxation design.

The twins with identical nose guards.

Ben's raft creation included a roof to keep out the hot sun.

After an afternoon in the sun and water, Ana and Lilly still had to spend two hours at cheer practice. Lisa and I enjoyed the chit chat time, though.

The next day was time to say goodbye to them, too. We took a short hike to see the views out over the Susquehanna.

The best view!

Sometimes our pictures in PA and MD are similar to those we've taken in CH. In CH, though, the mountains are simply bigger.

Granddaughter's Luncheon

2011-09-19T16:17:00.000+02:00

David's sisters planned an Ivy Jane Gebhardt Patterson Granddaughter's Luncheon while we were visiting. Unfortunately not all of the granddaughters could attend, but most were able.

Ivy set up a table with mementos including Mom's wedding dress, some items Dad had sent her when he was stationed in the Pacific during the war, some of his military uniform pieces, and pictures.

There was also a tray of Mom's jewelry for each granddaughter to pick an item. Maggie chose a gold chain and a cross necklace (how she ended up with two is unknown to me LOL). Bella chose a bangle bracelet which she now wears daily.

Ivy and Peggy planned a wonderful lunch which was served on the Sloan china with heirloom utensils. Ivy, the ultimate librarian and storyteller, narrated the history of everything.

This is the Sloan china produced in France. Sloan was Mom's mother's side of the family.

The history of the silverware was also told. If you look at the spoon next to the knife you can faintly make out a cursive G on the handle - that is the Gebhardt (Mom's father's side of the family) silver.

Ivy's resident family of deer came for their own lunch while we were there.

Magge tried on the kimono Dad sent Mom during the war.

Tina models the parachute hula outfit also sent from the Pacific.

Bella's turn in the kimono.

Bella and Erin each model one of the pagoda platform shoes. I should have taken a side view of the shoes. Picture a platform heel with the center open and inside a carved pagoda scene. Very cool shoes - also very uncomfortable.

Meg in Mom's wedding dress with Tina in Dad's military uniform.

Maggie tries on Granddad's hat.

One exception to the granddaughters luncheon was the great-grandson. It was nice to get some extra Hunter time before having to say goodbye.

Mini reunion

2011-09-18T22:27:00.000+02:00

It is nearly impossible to see everyone you would like to see when visiting. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with some of my school and work friends, and some were able to plan to meet up one night at Prigel Family Creamery.

First of all, if you have not been to Prigel Family Creamery in Long Green - you must go! Hands down, the best ice cream ever! I am not an ice cream person - have always been able to take it or leave it. This ice cream is so good though! The cappacino chip was my favorite flavor until I tried the lemon. I can vouch for the chocolate cherry as well.

Lansdowne Class of 79ers: me, Jackie, Carol, Barbara, and Rich

With Micki, a work friend from Maryland National Bank and Maryland Casualty Company.

My four beautiful daughters.

Amanda and Andy - so sweet.

Earlier in my trip I had the pleasure of meeting my 7th/8th grade English/homeroom teacher for lunch. As students way back when, we didn't realize how close Kathy was to our own age. She was a great teacher and I have lots of fond memories from her class. Not just the teaching kind, either. I do remember our class giving her a kitten which I think one of the janitors found. We claimed it from him, knowing Mrs. Anderson loved cats. LOL - and she actually took it home. If memory serves me correctly, she lost some curtains in that situation. She forgave us though. It is nice, now, to count her among friends.

Glassblowing

2011-09-18T22:09:00.000+02:00

While we were visiting at Christmas, we simply could not fit in the glassblowing lesson which Maggie's Godfather David gifted her with for Christmas. David is a very talented glassblower and has made some absolutely beautiful works of art. He has shared his hobbies so generously with Maggie, introducing her to wall climbing and now glassblowing. Summer time, especially those with record breaking temperatures, are not ideal for the heat of glassblowing, but off the two of them went to give it a whirl. These are pictures which David took during the class. (In other words, I have no idea what is technically going on.)

Heating up the blob of glass.

Very hot blob of glass.

Cutting off either the catepillar or the double balled thingamajiggy.

Shaping her tumbler.

Rolling the hot glass in metal shavings and colors.

Cutting off one of her first works of art.

David also took video of the time Maggie managed to set the floor on fire.

And her finished works of art....

The smiling caterpillar.

Beautiful!!

Back home at the convent

2011-09-14T18:05:00.000+02:00

Before we moved, my family was as much at home at St. Rose of Lima as at our own house. The girls especially, as they went to work with me and spent lots of special time with Aunt Janie. Each year we've carved out some time to stay at the convent and visit with Jane and the other Sisters. Some years there has been a housefull with new Sisters to meet, and other times, like this year, the three of us increase the household by 100%. Through all the changes, though, the core family of Jane, Sr. Dolores, and Sr. Jean, have welcomed us with open arms and hearts of love. It is truly like coming home.

While Jane is Maggie's Godmother, she holds a special place in all of our hearts. When we moved, the goal was always for us to be back in the US to celebrate her birthday with her on July 1st. Now that the girls are in the local school, which doesn't end until mid-July, that goal is no longer attainable. So, we have to celebrate her birthday again when we get there.

The girls couldn't wait to give Aunt Janie an apron they brought back from Amsterdam for her. They loved the Delft tile look of it.

We have tried in past years to take in one of the shows at Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster. This year, Connor's friend Jane (yes another Jane), was able to give us a great behind the scenes tour. We first did the tour that is open to everyone. If you ever have a chance to do it - do it. It is very interesting! Afterwards, however, we were REALLY treated when Jane was able to take us to other parts of the complex. She is a seamstress, specializing in the costumes. It was a phenomenal experience for the girls! They both love to sew and it really made them stop and think how you can parley something you love into a profession. The costumes were amazing!! We were also able to see some of the set pieces which Jane had helped create for the next show.

After all the touring, we were actually able to sit and enjoy the show, Joseph. It was very well done and as always very uplifting.

Connor treated us to a tour of the church where he works as the Praise and Worship leader, then we enjoyed a wonderful dinner out. Olive Garden's Chicken Scampi - ummmm...how I'd missed it.

While we were visiting, we were invited to the Iati's pool to catch up with some of my friends and some of the girls' old school friends. It was great to see everyone! I feel so humbled by these good people who, despite not having seen us for a few years, made time to get together with us.

Back at the convent we enjoyed our typical convent activities - lots of games, some movies, and puzzles! Maggie and Sr. Dolores are the puzzle people. Sr. D was having problems with a mystery puzzle and challenged Maggie to have it finished before we left. Darn if that kid didn't get it done! (With help, of course!) It was difficult because there was no picture to follow - putting the puzzle together solved the mystery which came with it. It turned out we were missing a piece. :)

It was while we were there that homesickness set in for Bella. This is the first year she has gotten homesick for Zurich. It is a good thing, I suppose, as this is home for now.

Maggie was doing okay until it was time to say goodbye to Aunt Janie. Goodbyes are hard - some harder than others. For Bella, saying goodbye to Lilly is hardest. For Maggie, it is Aunt Janie.

We interrupt this Blog for ....

2011-09-11T19:11:00.000+02:00

A simple Statement.

My Kimberly is very great and I am glad she chose me.

Meeting HRH

2011-09-06T21:39:00.000+02:00

On March 11th, our first great nephew, Hunter, was born to our neice Jesse and her hubby Cameron. At somepoint early in the pregnancy and before they revealed his intended name, I referred to him as HRH and it stuck.

We could not wait to meet him!

So, finally, we got our Hunter fix! YAY!

Isn't he a cutie!? I already have expectations of a match between him and our great neice on my side. I hope he likes older women though because Peyton was born in December.

He is so big, already weighing more than I weighed at a year old. But, granted he is not of pygmy stock and has tall parents. :)

I finally gave Uncle David a turn.

Doing John Denver Proud

2011-09-06T06:42:00.000+02:00

On the road again...

Yes, I know that is Willie Nelson. But what I was thinking of was John Denver's Country Road, with his love for West Virginia where we were heading for a few days to visit my dad and stepmother.

We were lucky to be able to match calendars with my aunt and cousins to meet them in Virginia for lunch on our way down. Obviously my cousin Tracey inherited the tall genes in the family. I'd not seen her daughter, Taylor, since she was very little and here she is entering her final stages of high school. It is amazing how quickly time flies by.

Maggie, Tracey, Kimberly, Bella, Aunt Nancy, Taylor

Granny is a tradionalist, taking great joy in teaching the girls new things done the old fashioned way. They love to weave rugs on her loom and spin wool on the spinning wheel.

Domino likes the weaving loom, too.

This visit we learned how to make sauerkraut. We enjoyed some of last year's harvest when we visited at Christmas. From cutting the heads of cabbage out of their garden, to putting the crock in the basement and covering to ferment, we experienced it all.

The girls quickly realized that using the old fashioned shredder requires a lot of muscle power.

Bella was in charge of tamping down the cabbage in the crock to create enough juices to lightly cover it.

Towards the end, David had to lend muscle to the shredding process.

We play a lot of games on our visits, with the favorites being Skipbo and Sorry, which is usually a challenge keeping Pop from sliding on his own color. The girls like to set up the badmitton set (with some help from Daddy or Pop) and play. This was the inspiration for their wanting to take lessons a couple of years ago. They've much improved their game.

Bella loves to cuddle with the kitties, and Domino seems very happy to oblige.

David and I celebrated our 20th anniversary with a trip into Lewisburg to walk around. On our way we saw a sign for a covered bridge so we detoured there on our way back.

The girls wanted to commemorate our special day so they baked brownies with Granny then decorated them for us. Sweet!

So, after some more tough goodbyes, we were singing that Willie Nelson song again.

USA Home Base

2011-09-05T15:53:00.000+02:00

Our second stop was Baltimore, where we stayed at my parents' house in Catonsville. It was nice to have a place to spread out and come back to in our travels during our four weeks in the US.

We pretty much take over the lower level of the house so there is plenty of room. The girls love to be able to spend time in the pool.

Maggie trying to catch the frisbee off the diving board.

Bella trying also - good form!

It has always been a gathering place for the family and this time was no different - enjoying crabs and celebrating birthdays.

David was able to join us after a week. It was good to see him relax a little bit,

USA First Stop Deep Creek MD

2011-09-05T06:06:00.001+02:00

The girls' last day of school was July 15th, so July 16th we were on the plane to the US. My friend, Lisa, invited us to spend time with them in the mountains of Deep Creek. The girls and I spent our first night in a hotel near Dulles as I did not have a 3.5 hour drive in me after 9 hours on the plane and a 6 hour time change. We were all up bright and early though, checking out at 4 a.m. and arriving at DC nice and early to enjoy a full day.

We rented a pantoon boat which could hold all 14 of us, and cruised around the lake for about 4 hours. The scenery was beautiful! It was perfect weather.

We also rented a raft with the idea to ski along behind the pantoon boat. We did realize that a pantoon boat with 14 people in it probably wouldn't be going fast enough for any major thrills on the raft, but...ya gotta make your own fun!

Maggie and Connor were the first raft riders.

Look, Ma, no hands!!

They did have fun. Connor realized that he could bounce the raft into and over the wake of the boat, adding a little more excitement to the ride.

A swim in the lake provided some relaxing time. Here are the "twins" happily together again. Bella and Lilly do not remember a time when they were not together. Whenever Lisa or I would have them out people always asked if they were twins, so that became their nickname. They are inseparable when we are together.

Day 2 found us on a one hour horseback ride. Lisa had a horse for years and riding was one of her favorite things to do, bc (before children). My Goddaughter, Ana, looks very relaxed up high on that horse!

Bella and Maggie were very comfortable and confident. Those lessons last October paid off on this trip!

And this is my horse, Goldie.

This picture does not give an accurate perspective on how tall Goldie really was and how high up off the ground I was! I had never been on a horse before, and let me tell you, it was both terrifying and exhilerating! Oh yeah-it was also painful - for days!

Now I was assured that Goldie was too old to do anything rash and crazy, so I relaxed a little ... for about two minutes. It seems Goldie had two annoying tricks that she decided to inflict on me. The first was her penchant for throwing up her backend, which threw me forward and I felt like I was going right over her head. The excuse given was that she was trying to get a fly off her stomach. Yeah, right! Then, she would also take her nose and kick my foot out of the right stirrup. The damn horse did this three times!!! The first two times, I stopped and the helper put my foot back in. The last time, I just said Hell with it, until my other foot came out all on its own (after that whole leg seemed to have fallen asleep).

We went up a hill (lean up and forward) and down a hill (lean back). Loved that part!

In the afternoon we went to the park to swim at the beach. The younger two were happy to play in the sand.

The older four were happy for a while, but the water was not very deep in the roped off swimming area, so they soon were bored. LOL.

The restaurant we ate at that night had a wonderful area behind in which to play or just relax. This elephant presented quite a challenge to the kids - they all wanted to get up on it. With some help, they managed, although in that short skirt, I don't think I've ever seen Bella more uncomfortable.

These huge chairs presented a nice photo opp.

I find it funny when a picture depicts the very different personalities of Maggie and Bella. Bella is posed so diva model like, while Maggie is just her casual here-I-am-deal-with-it self. LOL!

Day 3's weather started out pretty lame, so we decided on the fun land activities. We played a great game of mini golf, but I think the race cars were the hit. Lilly was phenomenal and should consider it as a profession - she was fearless and whipped all their butts!

A home grown wiffleball game is always fun! Girls vs. boys and of course, girls rule and boys drool!

The next day was our day to head to our next port-of-call. Saying goodbyes are so hard! Bella was very sad to leave Lilly.

Maggie, however, was looking forward to the next episode.

School Daze

2011-08-30T06:43:00.000+02:00

This often overused turn of a phrase aptly describes our state for the last week.

Bella returned to school last Monday. She was none too happy about Maggie still having off for two days, but was slightly appeased by the fact that Maggie was sick so she could not enjoy those days too much. Paybacks are hell, though, since Maggie shared her virus with Bella beginning on Wednesday. Happily, they are both on the road to recovery now.

Bella settled back into school easily, with the same school, teacher, classroom, and friends. She has shown some real initiative with homework and studying, so we will encourage her to continue that. This is a big year for her! She will begin a course on Wednesday to prepare her for the langgymi test which will be held in March this year, instead of May when Maggie took it. She has to up her game in school to get her grades up if she wants to go to langgymi. I'm not sure she wants to, but she will be given every opportunity her sister had to go if that is what she wants.

Maggie's start at Realgymnasium was good. Parents were invited to the classroom at 9:35, so I got a glimpse of her as she was heading off to a tour of her classrooms. She was smiling and seemed happy, so I was relieved. She roams between three buildings, with one of them being off campus, so it was good that the older students showed them where everything was.

Luckily the parent meeting came with a whole packet of information which I could bring home to translate. I recorded the hour long meeting on my cell phone, but I think I got the gist of most everything. I am still translating said materials, which leads to brain daze, but I am getting there. My wonderful husband showed me a new feature in Word which helps in that respect, so he is my hero yet again!

Maggie is adjusting to this new school life. She is struggling with getting an organization system in place which has led to some panic, and opportunities for Mom and Dad to step up to the plate and show we are still useful. :) Nothing big, just forgotten supplies, but when you are in a new school those are big deals.

She doesn't seem nervous about the school work and the fact that she is on Probation with a failure rate in the class of at least 25%. In fact, I would feel a little more comfortable if she were a little more nervous. It would help me to see that she understands the situation. But, Mags has never worried about the academic side of life, so I'm not sure she even knows how.

She is worried about the social side, though. On the first day she despaired that everyone in the class knew at least one other person except for she and two other girls. Maggie said she tried to strike up a conversation with these girls, but they really were not good conversationalists. I couldn't help myself - I literally laughted outloud. I never thought I'd hear Maggie complain about someone not being a good conversationalist. This is the yes/no girl, herself! She was also slightly grossed out by the one girl wearing her retainer case on a necklace and playing with it constantly. I think she's made some strides on the new friends front, but that has always been a slow process for her.

Our weeks are filling up. Mondays are Maggie's private German lessons. Tuesdays are Bella's private German lessons. Wednesdays are Bella's gymi prep course in the afternoon, then both have fussball training in the evening. Thursdays are more German lessons for Bella (given by school) and in October will be more fussball training, and Fridays for now are fussball training, but will switch to Thursdays. In the past the girls have also signed up for an additional sport offered by the city, but this semester we are doing nothing extra except fussball.

So that is life for now.

Jiggity Jig

2011-08-17T05:34:00.000+02:00

Home again, Home again...

Happy to report that I only gained 1/2 kilo during 4 weeks of US foods! YAY for me! And it is already gone! Double YAY!

Dealing with jet lag - nodding off during the day and awake much of the night. Luckily the girls adjusted back into the time zone already. They head out tonight for 3 days of fussball training with a tournament on Saturday.

I will be posting about our US trip soon!

Eating better

2011-07-12T09:25:00.000+02:00

About seven weeks ago we undertook a new way of eating. The objective was twofold - to lose some weight and to boost health. I am so tired of battling with my body, so I am resolved to take control of this once and for all. Basically the rules are simple
       no sugar
       no wheat except spelt
       no preservatives
The last rule is the hardest as so many meats have nitrates in them. I tend to ignore that piece of it as there is only so much you can do without obsessing.

It has not been a hard change for me. David misses his wine and bread. Maggie has done really well with it. Bella, not so much. She is having the toughest time of us. We are much more relaxed with the girls - they still have ready made cereal in the mornings at times. Maggie can hack having eggs most mornings but Bella only once or twice a week. The biggest change for the girls is not having store made snacks like cookies, chips, etc. Snacks for us these days consist of nuts, fruit, hard boiled eggs, and rye crackers. They do have Bella's lactose free ice cream occassionally - it is gluten free too.

The girls get the weekends off (but not going overboard). David and I are suppose to have one day a week off. I find though that eating off plan now ends up making me sick, so I stick to it pretty much. The funniest thing about this change though is my cravings. The ONLY thing I crave is ice cream - and that has always been something that I could always pass up with no problem. I was never an ice cream eater except for the Burger King vanilla shakes I craved when I was pregnant with Manda. Strange, huh!

David has relaxed his strictness on wine. But he can as he is doing much better on the weight loss than I am. He is down 7.2 kilos (just under 16 pounds) while I am at 5 kilos (11 pounds).

So I lose weight just like I run...slow and steady. I'll take it...it is progress.

Lenk - The rest of the hike

2011-07-11T12:05:00.001+02:00

We got an early start knowing we had to get our hike completed and leave time for the train ride back home. We decided to take advantage of the bus transport to the start of the hike up to Siebenbrunnen, passing Simmenfalle on the way.

It was really humid which combined with the altitude and incline led to an early asthma attack. I am so glad we carry my inhalers when we are hiking! The humidity also led to someone deciding to shorten his pants.

Very silly boy!

Siebenbrunnen translates to seven fountains or seven wells. The greatest thing about hiking up to this source is the amazing waterfalls we saw the entire way up.

The three amigos were much faster going up hill than us older folks, so every once in a while they would stop and wait. As I stood in the road, this was the view to my left,

and this was my view to the right. :)

I think we stopped to take advantage of every beautiful view. Surprisingly we still managed to complete the hike in the one hour posted time.

A stream running along the side of the path was a good excuse for Connor to attempt to baptize the girls with water.

And here it is - Siebenbrunnen! Well worth the hike up yet another bloody mountain.

We spent some time basking in the ambience and then began the hike back down the mountain. It took us significantly less time to get down than what it took us to go up. We stopped to admire Simmenfalle on the way down.

Intending to relax during a lunch at the restaurant near the bus stop, we were bummed to find out two things - it was closed and the bus to return to town was not returning for two hours. So, off we set to walk the 8-10K back into Lenk. It was actually a nice walk.

Lenk - The walk we came to do!

2011-07-10T21:27:00.001+02:00

Despite some lingering rain, we set off for our 6 hour hike on time.

The plan was to hike 2 hours to Iffigenfall,

then 2.5 hours to Siebenbrunnen, then the one hour hike down to Simmenfalle. I know I've lost a half hour in there somewhere, but I forget the exact details.

After a 40 minute detour in which we made a wrong turn and found a dead end at a cheese making facility, we were once again on the correct path. Well, we are assuming it was the correct path. Supposedly the path is very well signed, but we didn't see any. But, we made it there, albeit two hours late. We seemed to be moving along at the pace of this little guy...

Along the way, the sun finally made an appearance. We were also treated to some beautiful views and, finally, a wealth of mountain wildflowers.

Along the road we began to hear bells, cow bells, and they seemed to be getting closer and closer, and quite quickly at that. Mountain trails zigzag for two main reasons. First it is easier to walk up or down a steep hill by making long sweeping sideways tracks than trying to trudge straight up or down, The other reason has to do with maintenance and preserving the paths in torrential rains. Cows, however, pay no attention to where a path leads. These cows were RUNNING (I did not know cows ever ran) down the hill behind us. When I exclaimed that I wasn't quite sure what to do in this particular situation, (which is very difficult for a card carrying Scout to admit to), my son in all his wisdom simply said, "Walk faster!"

We managed to get over and out of their way, but we need not have worried. Once they reached the path they slowed to a normal gait. They were checking us out as they walked past though.

They were not alone. It seems herding is done by vehicle at times these days.

FINALLY! A sign!

We walked down the side of the bloody mountain and now we need to walk up another one? But, we were on the right path! :) It was within sight! (OK, yes, I know it has been within sight since our ride up the gondola yesterday - it is just closer sight now!)

It didn't take us too long to make it up to the falls. It was magnificent!

We were all feeling a little tired and a little warm. A well earned rest was needed.

We once again began our hike only to find that this part was at times straight up! Connor and Bella were blazing the trail, with Maggiei n the middle tyring to ensure that David and I didn't get too far behind as we brought up the rear. At times the two leaders would shout back to grab sticks if we could; we knew at those times that a steep incline was coming up. They were tough, I will admit. It was nice to have some company in the rear, though.

The views along the way gave us wonderful excuses to stop and rest...errrr...enjoy the views.

Knowing that we had a 5:00 time deadline to catch the last gondola back up to our hotel, we decided to hike up to Iffigenalp and save Siebenbrunnen and Simmenfalle for the next morning.

Our knight in shining armour which rode us back down the bloody mountain!

Lenk - the Mountain Flowers trail

2011-07-05T09:17:00.000+02:00

A circular trail with many species of mountain wildflowers was located next to our hotel. Our first issue was deciding which way to begin, and of course, we got it backwards.

So, after walking for a while with hardly any flower sightings to show for it, we come to a sign marking the end of the path. Like many things, we ended up doing this backwards.

The weather was predicted to be pretty bad the next day (when we were planning our six hour hike, of course) and you could see the storm clouds rolling in as we walked...

The walk didn't pose many opportunities to view wildflowers, but the other views were spectacular!

Connor kept wanting to play "Braveheart" but he succeeded more with the "Sound of Music".

And finally, towards the end, (which was really the beginning), a flower....

Lenk - the Marmot trail

2011-07-04T13:57:00.000+02:00

Two very easy trails started near our hotel. The Marmot trail leads you down the mountain to the middle gondola station with activities along the way to teach you about the Marmots.

And the walk begins....

A closeup of Maggie is in order as she is making such a great Marmot face...

The first activity was crawling through a Marmot type home. The first question was whether Connor would fit...

and indeed he did!

Maggie discovered that Marmot's can be nasty animals who will poo in their tunnels...YUCK! A big shout out of THANKS to Uncle Herb and Aunt Lynn for the portable handiwipes they gave us...

Another activity had to do with balance, but I have no idea why. I really cannot imagine Marmots crossing many swinging log bridges. Maybe it has to do with them finding the balance in the innerds of cars to chew on all the warm rubber they can find and destroy.

Say HI to the nice Marmot!

How much does a Marmot weigh? Well - the whole colony plus Maggie weighs about 210 pounds. LOL.

OR, to make it simple, Maggie pretty much weighs the same as all the "Marmot" blocks, so about 53 Kilos.

All three had to try their hand at the zip line. Again - cannot see Marmots swinging through the trees, so I am not sure what the signifiance was.

And this was nearly a big OUCH!

At the very end was a Labrynth play area on which all had fun!