Favorite Tree on a Hill

Take 2: Summer, with cows no less. Now, everytime we drive by our kids say, "Look, Mom, that's your favorite tree on a hill!" I love it.

A thank you note...

Dear family and friends,
I was so overwhelmed by all the posts on my Birthday Blog. It made me feel so good to hear from so many loved ones on my big 30th, especially when I am so far away.
Thank you thank you Holly, Anthony and Jenn for putting the whole thing together. You guys are the best.
We're planning to print the blog into a book, so if you are still interested in posting, I'd love to have you on there! Just leave a comment if you need more info.
Thank you so much for making my 30th so memorable. Grey hairs, achy bones and baggy eyes here I come!!!
I miss and love you all so much,
Ashley

Birthday Surprise!

Happy 30th Birthday to Ashley! Thanks to Holly for coordinating, Jenn for artistic direction, and to all our friends who contributed to a great birthday surprise for Ashley:

http://happy30thashley.blogspot.com/

A little bit of catching up to do....

We have been doing everything but blogging this last month, and now that summer is almost over we're realizing how much catching up we have to do. For now, we'll leave you with a few randoms (clockwise from top left): 1)Andrew reading stories to his Darth Vader action figure, 2)how we've had sand all over our house all summer, 3)Brooke's perfect push-up form, and 4)our now 14-month-old Matthew always bruised, dirty and happy.

New Neighbors

Our good friends from Kellogg, Peng and Yi Zhao, moved in next door this week. We're so excited to have neighbors again and Emma has become a fast favorite friend.
(ps...anyone notice Brooke's undies?!?!!)

Hiking in Sattel

One Year Anniversary

One year ago today we started our Swiss adventure. Happy Anniversary to us!
(Picture taken in Engleberg, Switzerland)

London, England

Day 1:

1) Shakespeare's Globe Theater: We saw the Merry Wives of Windsor and laughed to tears. It was so great seeing Shakespeare the way it was supposed to be. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
2-3) Portobello Road Market: We found a few treasures here rubbing shoulders with the locals (thanks Hol for the GREAT tip).
4) We got such a kick out of this wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral: the wedding party transported through the city in double deckers with tea and finger sandwiches and all the old women in fancy hats.
5) View from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral.
6) The Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. At first we thought, "no way we're waiting in that line in the rain just to see some fancy stones," but then we walked around the corner and slipped in through the exit door. Talk about if-y security for the most important jewels in the world. They were pretty spectacular though.
7 & 9) The Tower Bridge
8) A classic tourist shot


Day2:

We took our Hop-on-hop-off bus tour this day. The morning couldn't have been more gorgeous, and we jumped off at a few famous stops (National Gallery and Trafalgar Square). But when we hopped back on, we got stuck in traffic and a rain storm:
The pictures just don't do justice for how hilarious our situation was. We were laughing so much we couldn't even listen to the tour guide, which was probably okay since he was so flustered with the amount of people crowding down below that all he could say were things like, "Today is Sunday and it's raining." He said this over and over again until traffic finally lead us through the next road. We ditched the lame guide and the umbrella blocked view and warmed up with fish and chips. The next bus we caught had a wonderful guide and the rain had stopped so we got views like these:
Big Ben, Westminster Abby, and a Mary Poppin's view of the rooftops of London.


Day 3:
Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard: We were more amazed by the masses of people gathered to watch. More Big Ben and Westminster Abby. (Fun activities not pictured: Mama Mia. Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden and a lot of shopping).

Overall we LOVED London. It was a great city, it was great to be just the two of us, and it was great to speak English again. I would love to incorporate the words "brilliant" and "cheers" more in my vocabulary, but it just doesn't sound as good without the accent. We will definitely be visiting again, spit spot.

Sunday Evening Picnic

The Great Swap

So the reason we were able to tackle London all by ourselves was a genius swap with the Mascaro Family. We watched Sienna and Emeri the first weekend while Tony and Rach hit London, and we followed suit the next weekend.
The swap was a blast. Add our new Swiss neighbors in the mix and Erin Jackson + kidlets and you have a pure madhouse. Anthony organized a soccer night at the pitch down the street so they could all run wild. Every kid fell into bed that night without a peep.