6 Weeks Old

Fun with Baby Will

Halloween!

Trunk or Treat followed by a chili dinner for adults and a candy dinner for kids

The Pumpkins: the carving, the lighting and the next day's search for them


The Costumes: A Dragon (and a self-invented Bad-guy Superhero Spy the night before), a Bat and Spiderman.

Trick or Treating: at first a little timid, these guys caught on quickly and had no problem filling their bags.

It was so nice to celebrate Halloween again! It may not be as big here as in the States, but it was a close second! We live in an ideal trick-or-treating neighborhood so the kids didn't have to walk far to ring the next doorbell. And they loved handing out the candy almost as much as eating it. Highlights: finally being able to wear their dress-ups outside, having Mom and Dad say yes all night to opening the candy wrappers, playing with their new fun friends, and sharing the whole experience with Grandma and Grandpa.

4th Birthday

The Presents:

The Food:

A day full of balloons, cupcakes, presents and family: a complete success. Where have the last four years gone? These guys just get more and more fun every year.

Baby Blessing

We've been so fortunate to have my parents at every one of our kid's baby blessings. And now it's official: William Anthony Shontz. Welcome to the family.

St Andrews, Scotland

The Old Course at St Andrews

Kingsbarns

Gleneagles, King's Course

St Andrews Links, The New Course

Baby Will

And We're Back!

Well, it has taken us a full, crazy 7 weeks to adjust to our new house, home and country, but here we are! The kids are finally back to their fun selves (with just the occasional 4 year old/2 year old meltdowns), finally loving school and primary, friends and neighbors. Anthony's got his commute mastered (see collage #3) and Ashley's nesting hit it's maximum limit.

The movers are finally here! (August 10th)

Some purchases were more important than unpacking: a "tramperleen" and a grill


A new addition to our family, making Anthony's commute much easier and Saturday rides that are better than Disneyland.

Backyard camping: Anthony was so happy to see his gear again, and the kids LOVED it!


Coldplay at Wembley: A nice last minute surprise, since baby #4 has yet to arrive.


PS...Ashley is still pregnant, now in her 40th week (the longest she's ever been pregnant before). We're hoping for a baby any day now!

Switzerland A - Z

We're making an ABC book for our kids to remember Switzerland. Here's a quick sample. If you're interested in getting a copy without the letters cut off, I'm sure it will be available in Barnes & Noble soon.

Choo Choo!!!

After living in Europe for 2 years, we finally made our first train trip! A quick stop in Montreux, then on to Geneva to submit our UK VISA applications. The kids loved looking out the windows, and having both Mom & Dad's full attention the whole way. Matthew has not stopped playing with his toy trains since we got back.