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.

Summer Nights

Soccer Players

More Robots

You can find these painted fire hydrants all over here. Our kids run right up to the "robots" and start chatting away like they are great friends. And why not? They are just their size!!

The distant future

Robot Helmets (another great use for unlimited diaper boxes)
The robot obsession continues at our house. The most played on our iPod right now: Intergalactic (Beastie Boys), Robots (Flight of the Conchords), and Rocketman (Elton John)

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! As the Swiss aren't too big on celebrating America's independence, we were a little worried we wouldn't be able to find fireworks. Luckily, on the night of the 4th our local store started stocking its shelves with fireworks for August 1st, Swiss National Day. We climbed a local hill, lit sparklers, and celebrated "the flag's birthday". We can sort out which flag in a couple of years.

Backyard Black & Whites

Most of our summer days are being spent right in our backyard. We have never had a backyard before and I have never before been so enamored. It doubles the size of our house and quadruples the hours of entertainment. The next posts show a small glimpse of how much we enjoy our outdoors.


Scheming...always scheming.

Does anyone else see T. Bowring in this boy?

My Green Thumb

I think it must be impossible to kill anything in Switzerland, because I've never had a green thumb before...ever.

To each his own

I love that all three of my kids have such distinct personalities and yet they all play very well together.


Princess Brooke
Brooke is a little mommy, always taking care of everyone and adopting a new lovey each day. She's fast and crazy, loves to laugh and sings a mean Gwen Stefani.

Mr. Messy
Andrew is all boy, loving all robots, pirates, soldiers, knights and superheros. He can destroy a clean house in a matter of seconds, loves to wrestle and be tickled and freely gives out hugs and kisses. His robot dance rivals the professionals.

Little Bear
Matthew is becoming more opinionated everyday. He knows what he wants and is not afraid to screech and let you know. He is a keen observer, always watching and learning from others in our family. He knows exactly what is a "no-no" but he will still do it and laugh right in your face. He is happy all the time, loves to snuggle and still crawls at warp speed.

I want to ride my bicycle

We bought some wooden Like-A-Bikes for the kiddos this week. Andrew took to it quite fast, but is still working on getting some speed.

Brooke didn't like it as much (her feet don't quite reach the ground yet), but have I ever mentioned what an awesome runner and dancer she is?

Grandma Marlene

Anthony's mom arrived on the 6th for her first trip to Europe. We tried to take advantage and show her as much as we could:

7.06.08 Luzern, Switzerland

Chapel Bridge, Mill Bridge, Lion Monument, street markets, train rides

8.06.08 Fussen, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

9.06.08-10.06.08 Salzburg, AustriaHohensalzburg Fortress, Mirabell Garderns, St. Peter's Cemetary, Mozart's Home...

Hellbrunn Palace, trick fountains and Sound of Music gazebo



11.06.08-12.06.08 Venice, Italy
Beach on Lido


Brooke's favorite activity: terrorizing pigeons


Venice at day


Venice at night (and raining)


Day two Venice


Day two Lido



13.06.08 Verona, Italy
Gladiators, Roman Amphitheater, Piazza Bra



13.06.08 Ascona, Switzerland



14.06.08 Valle Verzasca, Switzerland
Lavertezzo, Ponte “dei salti” (Bridge "of the leaps"), Rimarchevole (the church)


Finally, we stopped in Locarno for a picnic and playground break before heading home. As we walked back to the car, we noticed this orange Lamborghini and said, "Look, guys, a super fast race car!" They ran to get a closer look and laughed, "It's Lightning McQueen!" pointing to the little red hatchback parked right next to the real sports car.

It was such a wonderful vacation, and we loved being able to share it with Grandma Marlene. Thank you for making the long journey out to visit us Grandma!

Daddy's big bandaid

Anthony separated his shoulder playing soccer with some work friends this week. He called us about 9:30pm from the emergency room on Monday asking us to pick him up. Since we've had to bid farewell to the Hemmerts, our beloved neighbors (and babysitters), I woke up Matthew, loaded all three pajama'ed kiddos in the car for what I thought would be a quick pickup. 3 hours later we headed home with a broken daddy, a big "band-aid" and lots of pain killers! This makes four visits to the emergency room in the last three months!!! On a positive note, Anthony says it made for a relaxing vacation (post coming soon) as his mom and I had to carry all the kids and bags.

Water Water Everywhere

The gradual progression of Andrew and Brooke playing in a water fountain. First just toys, then fingers and hands. Next thing you know they're completely soaked.