Ready for Christmas

Randy and the girls skiing trip last weekend was cancelled since there was not enough snow and the pistes (ski slopes) weren't open.  We took advantage of the day and brought out our Christmas decorations and ornaments while Randy went out to get a tree.  We bought a real tree and went with a 1/2 log that was fit perfectly to the tree for the stand.  My engineer husband came up with the great idea of drilling a hole at an angle into the hole so we could water it.

Our tree stand, which doesn't need to be stored when Christmas is over!

Kids before the tree is decorated.

Tree is decorated and presents are wrapped.

We finished the day off with a sitter for the kids while Randy and I went out for dinner.  I had sushi for the first time in over 6 months and boy did it taste good!!  On Friday, the kids had their Christmas programs at school so we spent the day at Champittet since they started at 9:15 and finished at 3:30 with a break for lunch.  The pictures didn't turn because the chapel was too dark and we weren't close enough.  Here is some video from each of their programs.

We are getting our first snowfall.  Randy took the girls skiing yesterday and it was snowing as we were heading to the car to take them to the bus.  We joined the Nestle ski club so we can sign up to ski every Saturday if we wish and will hit several different ski resorts.  They were suppose to go to Grimetz, but the weather was too bad.  They ended up in Villars where the weather wasn't the best in the morning, but it cleared up in the afternoon.  They seemed to have a good time and ended up sleeping on the bus on the way home.  It snowed more overnight so the kids were out to make their first snowman in Switzerland.

This is was our viewing when we woke up this morning.

Kids ready with a snowball!!

Ready, aim, and throw!!!

The girls and their hairy snowman.

Aaron wasn't too interested.  Thank goodness for our jardin (yard)!

I am guessing the snow won't stick around for long since it is suppose to be in the mid 30's by Wednesday, which is the kids last day of school until January 9th.  We are hoping to check out a Christmas market before the are done for the year.  There are outdoor Christmas markets everywhere and we are wanting to get to Bern or Basel to check out a bigger one.  Lausanne has one, but it quite small compared to other cities.  They have small wooden sheds that a vendor has to sell their goods, from cheese to candles, and hats and mittens.  I will definitely post more details when we make it to one, hopefully it is this year.  Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, happy holiday and new year!!  I am not sure if I will blog again before Christmas and we are off to Rome next Monday where I will have lots to blog when we return.

2011 Cup du Rhône

Sydney's first skating competition was Sunday in Monthey, Switzerland, which is 35 minutes from Lausanne.  We had been talking all week about the differences here and that she would be skating against 14 other girls, which is more than the typical 3-4 she is used to back in the states.  As I have mentioned before, they also use the IJS and the competition is ran much like Nationals.  This may be the case in other parts of the US, but it is new for us.  All the skaters greet the crowd before getting in their starting position and end would a bow or curtsy to the crowd before gathering the flowers and stuffed animals off the ice from family and friends.

Even though she did her program in the wrong direction, she had a great skate and scored 15.19 for 8th place.  The scores ranged from 11.16 to 19.28 and there was definitely a difference in the elements and degree of difficulty.  It will be interesting to see if her elements have changed in her program at the end of the year.  Her flip and loop-loop were not added until the last week or two.  We turned in a sheet with her elements listed with spots for execution and comments so it will be great to get feedback.  Here is her program, hope you enjoy!!

Next weekend Randy and the girls hope to go skiing for the first time this season if there is enough snow.  Aaron has been pretty adamant about staying home and that skiing scares him.  We hope to get him up on the slopes a few times since we did rent him skis.  Probably won't post again until after next weekend.  They weeks are pretty uneventful with the kids in school, my French a couple times a week, and running Sydney to the skating rink.  This week I also need to finish planning our trip to Rome the day after Christmas.  We decided against El Gouna, Egypt with all the protests.  Who would have ever thought a year ago we would be planning trips to Rome over Christmas holiday!

Randy's home and Hailey's bday

Sunday, November 13th had finally arrived and it was time to head to Genève with the kids to pick up Randy and all the stuff he was bringing back.  The kids were very excited to see what he brought home, most of which will have to wait for birthdays or Christmas.  It was a very long two weeks without daddy and we were very glad to see him!  We haven't been on any big outings so I don't have a lot of pictures to post.

Fall has arrived.

We did go down to our neighbors for fondue.  All their children were home so we were looking forward to the kids working on French with them.  It wasn't until we were getting close to leaving and the parents weren't around they started to talk to each other.  I think over time they will talk more and more.  We had some wonderful fondue and feel very fortunate to have such friendly and welcoming Swiss neighbors!  Most people have told us it takes a long time to get invited to their house, if it ever happens.  Some have shared they barely say "hello", they are very private people.

Simon from downstairs even helped us when Randy and his dad were putting up light fixtures and blew a circuit.  It was late Saturday and most everyone was on holiday, so finding a english speaking electrician was a little tricky, let alone one that was willing to come over.  Randy had been using the main power switch in the cave, or basement storage, so we had no electricity and couldn't get it on unless we could reset the breaker.  Ironically, we found someone and Simon translated to only walk upstairs and find the circuit breaker in the storage room next to Hailey's room.  Oops!!  Fortunately he didn't charge us for the trip since he lived just down the street.

Wednesday, November 30th, Hailey turned 7 and there was no school so the teachers could discuss the students and prepare their report cards.  We celebrated the night before since Randy and I were going out for a work dinner.  She has been planning her birthday party for months now and we are having two friends spend the night Friday night.

Cupcakes with Strawberry frosting courtesy of a care package from home!

Hailey received a box full of craft supplies!

On Thursday, I went with Sydney's class and the rest of 3P on a field trip to the skating rink.  I was able to practice some of my french and tie a lot of skates.  It was great to meet the other kids in her class and see more of the school and the teachers.  The rink is about 1/2 mile from school and we lined up all the kids and walked to the rink, it was quite a line with around 60 kids.  It was an absolutely beautiful day with blue skies and sun shining.  I have been told it has been unseasonable warm this November and they hope it doesn't interfere with the ski season.  Last year there was very little snow, which meant there wasn't a lot options for skiing.

Sydney has her first competition on Sunday.  I will definitely post video in my next posting.  I am very curious to see how it works here.  I do know the use IJS, so she will receive an actual score, much like Nationals and she will only skate one 2 minute program.  I think this is considered her short program and she won't skate her long program until later in the season.

Chillon Castle

What better place to go on a milestone birthday than Chillon Castle, which dates back to the 1100's.  It is one of the best preserved castles.  We opted for the audio tour and brought along a splitter so we only needed to purchase one tour.  However, that meant we were literally connected at the hip!  We only had a few zigs when the other zagged and the audio tour is highly recommended.

Kari in the vineyard.  We made one stop on the way to take some pictures.

Looking back up the mountain at the vineyards.

Chillon Castle which is surrounded by water.

In the basement where they were fermenting wine.

This was a drawing of Jesus hanging on the cross etched into wall by a prisoner.

We were there shortly after Halloween and we didn't see anyone else while we were on our tour, especially when we were in the basement.  It was a little creepy, especially when we walked into one room where we saw someone moving and thought we were the only ones down there!  It ended up being projections of people from the middle ages.  I will have to see what they do over Halloween as there were signs that looked like they had some sort of event.  You could have lots of fun giving people a scare!!

There were projection images that moved, which gave us a little scare!

Picture of castle from the inside courtyard.

Courtyard outside the castle.

Sydney had skating that night and the kids surprised me with a little party when I arrived home.  We then made dinner for the kids and then Kari made sushi for us.  She was a pro by the third roll and it tasted great!!  One of the many foods I miss back in the US.  Randy keeps joking that we should open a Chipotle with all the expats that live here.  I don't think I will be tackling that one any time soon!!  We then enjoyed a chocolate cake the girls made with Kari.  It was a great day considering Randy was back in the states!!

Me and my kiddos!!

Wednesday, November 9th was Kari's last full day so after Aaron was on the bus we packed lunch loaded it up in my handy caddy and headed out.  We walked through the market in city center, took in the clock at top of the hour, and then made our way down to the school to pick up the kids at lunch.  Every Wednesday, the kids are off school at noon.  The clock tells a story, in French, every hour and there were tons of children from school eating their morning snack while waiting for the story to begin, it was adorable.

Down at the market with tons of fresh food from the vendors.

School children waiting for the story the clock tells at top of the hour.

The kids at the chess set at school.

One of the buildings at school.  The chapel is on the top floor.

Aaron fell asleep on the way home and I tried to wake him by standing him up. 

We had a great time with Kari and it was a bittersweet day when it was time for her to go home.  I planted many seeds of what we could do when she returns with the boys!!  Hopefully we will see the whole Schneyer family in Switzerland before we return to the states!!!  Oh yeah, and for those of you debating a trip of your own, she gave us a 5 star rating and said "The guest room as the most amazing views!".

Callier Chocolate Factory

We were off to Callier Chocolate factory for some yummy chocolate!  It was a short 5 minute drive from the Gruyere cheese factory. We purchased tickets for the 1 hour tour where you walk through several different rooms that tell the history of Callier chocolate.  Some of the rooms were very dark and a tad scary for Aaron so was carried through most of it, that is until we entered the tasting room!  As much as he wanted to walk and I wanted him to walk, I did not trust him to wander in the room by himself.  He would end up touching far more than he could and should eat and could totally see him taking the entire tray.

Sydney and her Godmother, Kari, at Callier. 

At the playground outside the factory.

Just one of many samples in the tasting room!

Yes, this is a two lane road!!  I waited my turn : )

Monday, November 7th, Kari and I were heading for Annecy for some shopping when the school called to let me know Aaron wasn't feeling well.  So we ended up having to turn back around, but made the best of the day.  We headed to Coop, which is a grocery store, and loaded up on all sort of Swiss food to sample.  We tried this little bread with different varieties, meat pate, and some other things we weren't quite sure of, but you can rest assured nothing smelled like a barn.  I wasn't going to repeat our cow stomach episode when we first arrived!!

Sauvabelin and Gruyere cheese factory

On Saturday, November 5th Sydney had skating and then we did some things around the house until we headed to Sauvabelin so the kids could scooter around and we could enjoy some of the fall colors.  I am slowly expanding my reaches via the buses and prefer taking the bus where possible so I don't have to deal with parking.  It is so much more relaxing!  Randy took the kids to Sauvabelin this summer so they showed us around.

The kids strike a pose.

A picture from the top of the tower.  The lake is covered by the fog.

On Sunday it was off to the Gruyere area to tour the Gruyere cheese factory and then head to the Callier chocolate factory for dessert after our picnic lunch.  It was a short 45 minute drive and we arrived just as they were getting ready to pour the cheese into the molds.  It was a short tour, but very interesting to see the process.

Finished product aging with a machine in the background flipping and treating.

Testing to see if the cheese is ready to be transferred to the molds on the left.

The cheese is ready for the molds.

Labels and lids are added and aged for 4 months before they are ready.

Checking out the smelling posts where we had some interesting reactions!

A quick picture with the cow before lunch.

It was a little chilly, but we enjoyed our picnic lunch before heading to Callier chocolate factory.

Gruyere castle in the background.

I will post Callier chocolate factory in a separate blog so this one doesn't get too big.  We have also hit the 5 month mark and I think we are getting into a groove now that the kids are back in school.  It was a long second week on holiday and the kids were down in the dump and missing everyone back in CR.  If asked what they like about living here they would respond with "NOTHING".  Now that we are back in school, I think everyone has climbed out of their hole and seem to be complaining a little less about school and the language barrier.  Although, they are still complaining about the amount of homework they have, but that may be the same if we were still in the states!  Sydney has just completed her third written report!  I don't think I ever did anything like that in 3rd grade.

Down time...

Papa and Nana left on Sunday, October 23rd and the kids didn't go back to school until November 1st, so we all enjoyed some down time before school started again.  Randy was also getting ready for his first trip back to the states since we moved.  This was all after he ran the 1/2 marathon in Lausanne.  It was a beautiful day for the run and we met up with the Horton's to cheer on both dad's.  Randy had a long list of items to pick up to fill two empty suitcases he brought over with him.  We will see if he can fit them all in!!  While he is in the states for 2 weeks, my friend, Kari, came over to visit for 9 days.  Time to put my travel agent skills to work again : )

Kari arrived on Wednesday and we took a tour of grocery stores on Thursday and then headed to the Olympic Museum on Friday and saw the sights of Lausanne.  The weather was overcast and it rained a little, but that didn't stop us from exploring.

Olympic Flame

Olympic rings clock tower.

Entrance to the Olympic Museum.

The museum was pretty interesting and had the torches and all the medals on display from all the Olympics.  There were also two areas dedicated to the winter and summer games which included the outfits and shoes worn by some of the athletes.  After the Olympic Museum we headed to the cathedral and walked around the old town center.

Flower boxes on hotel next to the lake.

Picture looking down towards the lake gives you some idea of how steep the city is.

Will post the our trip to Gruyere cheese and Callier chocolate factory shortly.  With school and visitors I have fallen a little behind on the blog.

Goldenpass to Luzern

On Wednesday we were up early to take the Goldenpass train to Luzern.  This is a special panoramic train that goes through the mountains to Luzern.  We had to change trains twice as the train went from a standard track to a narrow one.  On the way back we took the regular train that goes through the rolling hills between the mountains.  It was overcast and rained off and on, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the fall colors.

Couple of pictures from the Goldenpass train.

The first time Aaron saw the large bales of hay wrapped in white plastic, he said, "mom, look at the big marshmallows, can we get some!".

We finally arrived in Luzern and walked through the rain to our hotel.  After we were settled and a little dried off we headed out for dinner at Valentine's, which had great Italian food.  We were also in the part of Switzerland that speaks German, so the little French I know wasn't going to do much good here.  Over half of Switzerland in German speaking, but with its own dialect that may as well be a different language than the German language.

Famous walking bridge in Luzern.

We were off to the transportation museum since it was still overcast and raining.  Annie and I only stayed until lunch and then we were off to explore Luzern and the shops thanks to the guys!  It was more window shopping, but fun to look around.  The kids had a great time at the museum going inside trains, planes, and checking out all the hands on activities in the center court.  The kids could ride on bikes, scooter, pedal cars.  They also went to a movie on Alaska, which Aaron slept through and the girls didn't care for since they had a hard time listening through the headphones that translated it into English.

Aaron taking a look under the train.

The girls checking out the front of the train.

All in all it was great to have Papa and Nana here to show them our home and the surrounding areas.  Friday and Saturday we took it easy as they got ready for their trip back home.  Well, I should say we stayed home while Sydney was at skating camp and Annie and I were busy in the kitchen getting dinner and cake ready to celebrate Aaron's 4th birthday.  Wow, we are officially through the baby/toddler phase and diapers are a thing of the past!  He pretty much skipped the preschool phase with our move to Switzerland.

Aaron blowing out his candles.

Saturday the guys took the kids to get their skis for the season.  It is very reasonable, yes, we have found one thing that is reasonable, to rent skis for the season.  Of course, it doesn't include the lift ticket, but we will take what we can get.  Their winter season is much like summer in Minnesota, but instead of heading to the cabin in the summer, they head to an apartment in the winter.  Next year we hope to rent someplace for the winter so we can leave all our ski gear and just drive their for the weekend.  We plan on exploring the slopes around us to figure out where we want to rent next year.  So I have a shopping cart when I walk to the grocery store, I am expanding my scarf collection, and we are geared up for the season - I guess we are adopting the "when in Rome...".  Oh yeah, we also made fondue and raclette for dinner so Papa and Nana could experience some traditional swiss food.  I think with the 5 month mark around the corner we are starting to feel more settled and at home.

While the guys were off with the kids, Annie and I headed down to the market and walked along the lake to the Olympic Museum.  We didn't go in as we were killing time until a souvenir shop opened after lunch, but Annie was able to enjoy the scenery and sculptures along the lake.  It was a great last day before they headed back home on Sunday.  I think the kids were looking forward to some down time as much as they were looking forward to being back in their own bed.