Christmas Market

One of our favorite Christmas traditions in Switzerland / Germany are the markets. At minus 8 degrees C we didn't last long, but still enjoyed it.

Sledding

Our favorite sledding hill on the Albis pass. The sledding alone made the trip to Switzerland worth the effort.

Smiling

Will, now 3 months old is fully capable of smiling.

Long Day

Long day playing in the snow. More of the same tomorrow, why bother with PJs?

Knonau

We loved seeing old friends and familiar places. Emma, we'll miss you, good luck with your move back to China!

Switzerland!

Good to be back for the holidays. You can see why above.

Mommy Brooke

Brooke loves Will. She is always caring for him, holding his hands, talking to him, etc. She even reprimands him when he sucks on his hands. Not because she doesn't want him to form habits, but because she wants him to always use her thumb as a pacifier.

Christmas Tree

Even though we will spend the holidays in Switzerland, we set up a small tree in the UK. We used our U.S. lights (120 volt instead of 240v). The tree was brilliant for about ten minutes until the top lights blew out. A few minutes after the photo above the bottom lights blew as well.

British Museum

Anthony's good friend Darren came to visit, so we thought we would take advantage of the extra hands to venture into the city. Overall it was a successful outing, considering Brooke got sick and threw up all over the museum and restaurant (hence the shirtless photo above). Good parenting prep for Darren, who had a baby strapped to him most of the day and will get his own in a few months.

Cookies

Mmmmm, can't wait!

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!