First trip to US

I haven't forgotten about the blog, it has just taken me over 2 weeks to recover from our first trip back to the US!!  I figured I better get caught up before I get too far behind.

The kids were finally off school for 2 1/2 weeks for April vacation and we were heading back to the states.  Bags were packed, including two empty suitcases packed into each other and we were on the bus heading to the train station.  We arrived just before midnight on Thursday and the kids were exhausted.  They went straight asleep and slept all night.  That was much easier than I thought, although they did hit their wall late in the afternoon!  We had a great first couple of days with Papa, Nana, Chelle, Shelby, and Lizzy in Fort Myers.

Chelle, Shelby, and Lizzy flew in to see us for a few days before we headed off to Orlando where we met up with my dad, step mom, aunt, and brothers.  It was great to see everyone greet us at the airport even if we were exhausted!  My first order of business was a massage and pedicure while Randy was getting his hair cut on Friday.  Exciting stuff we had on our list of "must do's"!!  On Saturday, we enjoyed a day at the beach while Randy and his dad golfed.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and we all had a great day playing in the sand and ocean.  Although Aaron got a little carried away and threw a couple handfuls of sand in the air where the wind blew it onto this lady relaxing in her chair.  Oops : (

Aaron on the beach trying to stay out of trouble.

Easter egg hunt with Lizzy and Nana.

We spend Easter Sunday with Randy's family and friends before heading off to Orlando for the week.  The kids had a great time on their Easter egg hunt and some more swimming in the afternoon.  We then packed up the car and were off to Orlando.  This trip was going to be a challenge with our luggage and the fact we only had a car vs a van.  It would definitely be a problem if my shopping got out of hand!!  We managed to get everything in both ways, but it wasn't easy.

On Monday, everyone headed off to Universal Studios while we were off to Animal Kingdom where we met up with Sydney's friend from skating and her family.  It was a wonderful day and the kids had a great time with Maeva and Elena and I even got to hear them use their french!  I was exhausted by the end of the day with keeping up with the kids and having to use french all day, but it was worth every minute.  What better way to practice what you have learned!

Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom

Maeva, Sydney, Aaron, Elena, and Hailey waiting for Wild Rapid ride.

The skating trio after getting their faces painted.

Tuesday, the girls went shopping for Randy birthday.  Hailey decided to stay back and swim with all the boys.  Our last stop was Target and Sydney was like a kid in a huge candy store.  It was so funny to see the stuff that jumped out at her and suddenly had to have because we can't get it in Switzerland!!  She totally worked it and Grandma Jan and Bette were more than willing to play along ; )  Wednesday we were off to Blizzard Beach while Bette and Jan did some more shopping.  We found a spot in a sandy part so the kids could dig in the side while we took a break from the water.

On Thursday I headed over to Tampa to meet up with my friend Niki who was there on business.  We spent the evening shopping and getting things crossed off my shopping list.  It was great to catch up and shop at the same time.  It was sad to say good bye again, but hopefully I have planted the seed to come visit and we will see each other on my side of the pond next.  It was a very successful trip and I was back on the road early the next morning to celebrate Randy's 40th birthday.  Everyone was heading to Magic Kingdom for our last day where we planned to stay for the parade and fireworks at the end of the day.

Aaron getting to visit his favorite character.

Getting ready to go down Splash Mountain.

And down they go....

We said our good byes and were on our way back to Ft Myers on Saturday before flying out on Thursday.  Randy and I got away for one night to Hollywood Hard Rock Casino while the kids stayed back with Papa and Nana.  We finished off the rest of our shopping list, packed up our bags before saying our last good byes.  The kids seemed ok with heading back for the most part.  There were some tears, but after a week we were all back into our normal routine.  We had a great visit and are still trying to decide if and when we will come back before it is time to move back.  We may use that time to see other parts of the world, stay tuned.

Spring and skiing

It has finally warmed up enough to pack a picnic lunch and play for awhile before heading home on Wednesday afternoons.  As you may recall, the kids get out of school at noon on Wednesdays, which has been helpful since they usually need a little more down time as they are exhausted with a long day of school in french.  I packed a picnic and threw the scooters in the car and parked next to the lake rather than the chaotic parking lot.  The school is about 2 blocks from the lake and quite a few parents park next to the lake to avoid the parking lot.  The kids were very excited and had a great time riding around.  Here is a clip of Aaron finally getting to take his new bike from Christmas outside.  He now prefers this over his scooter because he can go faster.  Last Saturday at the open house at school he found a hill he would ride down.  Here is a video with Hailey on her scooter and Aaron on his bike.  You can hear Sydney in the background wondering why I wasn't taping her.  Oh to be the oldest child!

The next two weekends we went back to Nendaz for a little more skiing before the season was over.  I decided to enroll Aaron in a private lesson in hopes of getting him excited about skiing.  He had a great time and we went with a 2 hour lesson the following week.  The first weekend we had someone showing us around, which was wonderful and proved to be invaluable when we were on the own the following weekend, which was quite comical.  Here is some video from our first weekend in Nendaz.  Hailey is the first one in bright coral, Sydney is in pink and white, and then Aaron.

So, our second weekend didn't go quite as smoothly, but we tried to make the best of it.  We arrived without a hitch on Friday and had everybody up and ready to go in great time.  I was my usual, everyone needs to go to the bathroom with everyone responding I don't have to go.  I only made Aaron and decided to let them go as I wasn't taking on that battle today.  They are old enough.  On the drive over there was mention of having to use the restroom, but they all decided they wanted to go down one run and then they would go.  I was staying back with Aaron to get him to his lesson.  Well, you guessed, I was in the bathroom trying to dry off long johns well enough so we could hit the slopes again.  Randy was off getting Aaron to his lesson and when we finally met up, Aaron was crying and there was confusion as to how long his lesson was.  We settled on 2 hours and off we went with Aaron crying about his glove.  Not sure what it was, but we could see from the lift all was well.

Randy decided to take us up toward Verbier for something different and Hailey had a hard time on one of the slopes last weekend.  We finally made it up to Verbier where they had a freeride competition so there were tons of people.  It was absolutely beautiful with the sun shining and we finally made it to the top of our first slope.  OMGoodness, we seriously have to go down this.  Keep in mind, I am very much a beginner and this slope was way past Hailey and my ability.  Randy quickly realized that we would not make it back in time for Aaron so I told him to head toward Aaron and we would meet up at some point when we made it down, hopefully in one piece.  We were almost past the hardest part and Hailey falls and starts sliding down the hill.  I was finally at a good stopping point and with my beginner abilities could not help her.  Some nice gentlemen were finally able to get her to the spot where her ski slide to and told me this slope was to hard for us.  I totally agreed with him and if there were some other way of the mountain I would have signed us up.

The girls and I enjoyed lunch with a great view and I looked at the map to try and figure out where we were and how we were going to get back on easy slopes.  The ski school called asking where we were since the instructor was waiting was Aaron.  Yikes, I hope Randy is ok and close to getting Aaron.  We finally connected on the phone and Randy was with Aaron and they were going to get lunch and would wait for us while we made our way back.  Two hours later we finally made it back we were exhausted.

We enjoyed the hot tub and sauna before eating dinner and packing up for our trip home.  Nendaz is about 1 1/2 hours from Lausanne.  On our way down, the low tire pressure light came on in addition to check your stop lamp.  We got down the mountain and stopped at a service station to realize it isn't just low, it is FLAT!  Ugh, you have to be kidding me, now what do we do and do service stations have air compressors.  Tomorrow is Sunday and Randy is leaving for Turkey, so I am on my own with the kids.  Time to give Volvo roadside assistance to the test.  I called them on Sunday and was very happy to hear they spoke english.  Someone would be out in 50 minutes, wow, really on a Sunday, that is wonderful news.  So the mechanic calls looking for our place and I am doing my best with French.  We manage pretty well, but there was a point I went to get Sydney to help translate.  He filled the tire and put on the spare and it will be off to the garage first thing Monday.  We all survived and I now know where to take the car for service.

We are in our final countdown for our first trip back to the states.  We leave on Thursday, April 5 and will be there for 2 weeks.  The kids are so excited since we will be going to Disndeyworld and have a long list of foods they want while we are there.  It is quite funny what they think of - watermelon, licorice, cheese puffs, fruit loops, fruit snacks, etc.  Some of the items they sell here, but it tastes different or too expensive to buy all the time when it is in season.  I will leave you with a picture looking back at the valley from the apartment we stayed in at Nendaz.  Wishing everyone a Happy Easter with family and friends!!!

Budapest

I had my first girls only weekend March 9-11 to Budapest, Hungary.  Easy Jet is a Europe's version of Allegiant Air or other budget airlines.  I was able to fly round trip for under $150 as long as I didn't check any luggage.  Knowing how much Switzerland is for following rules, I looked at what size suitcase they allowed, measured and checked with Angie, who I was traveling with.  She has flown Easy Jet and just brought a carry on and never checked the dimensions.  Well, I must have been back luck, because we were checked on both flights.  Fortunately, hers fit and ours were the same size, so I didn't have to shove mine in on the way there.  There is more to this, but will save it when we are heading back.

We had planned this back in November and wouldn't you know it, Sydney has her skating show the same weekend.  Oh well, guess it will put Randy to the test on managing three kids and Sydney's skating.  We left early Friday afternoon, so Randy had to get the kids off the bus, get them loaded up and head to the rink.  She also skated on Saturday and had to be at the rink at 8am on Sunday.  Fortunately Sydney's skating friend's mom was going to be there and could help her if needed.  Here is a picture and some video from the show.

Group picture - The ugly duckling and the swan.

Sydney spreading her wings.

The ugly duckling was Sydney's piece and then they joined the swans for the finale.  She is the middle egg and usually third from front of line.

We finally made it to Budapest and found a ATM to get some Hungarian money and then a cab to the hotel. We arrived later than expected so got checked in and asked for a recommendation for dinner.  We ate at a Hungarian restaurant that served us some sort of shot/drink in a shot sized wine glass with a lid.  It was very strong but went down pretty well.  Angie tried another one back at the bar in our hotel and that one didn't go down as well, so must have been on the cheap side.

We had a leisure morning and slowly made our way to the market in Budapest.  We totally took advantage of no kids and just strolled along taking in the sites.  The market was in a massive building with food vendors on the first floor and goods on the second floor.  We headed for the second floor and wandered around in search of some nesting dolls for the kids.  My aunt bought me one from Russia and the kids absolutely loved it and unfortunately one broke.  I wanted to get one for the kids and one for our house.  Randy and I like to buy things for the house when we travel, but we have been a little slow since arriving in Switzerland.  We are finding it a bit of a challenge to find souvenirs for the house when we have a limited time and typically have the kids.  After the mission was accomplished we found a restaurant along the river and plotted out our afternoon.

Danube River and Buda side with castle hill and bridge at night.

Market on Pest side

Buda and castle hill during the day.

It was time to cross the bridge and head up a funicular to Castle Hill.  The views were just spectacular at night and we were both looking forward to getting up there and really getting a view of Budapest and Parliament.  We had done a ton of walking and our feet were a little sore so we took a stop at the hotel before heading out to another Hungarian restaurant for dinner.  We had great luck with restaurants and enjoyed some tasty food.  We had a very late flight the next day so went to the Széchenyi thermal bath, which are not only relaxing but therapeutic because of the water composition.

One of the bridges connecting Buda and Pest, we walked across to funicular.

At top of funicular looking back down at river and bridge.

Castle hill with awesome views of Pest and Parliament.

Parliament through the pillars.

Parliament - it is a massive building.

Angie and I with Parliament in the background on our way back to the hotel.

Szécheny is a massive complex with several different pools and saunas on the inside and a few on the outside.  They were all different temperatures and it was a maze to get outside and felt very institutional.  There was white everywhere with all tile on the floors and lockers and even the people working there wore white smocks.  Every time we turned a corner or walked through a door we were afraid we would walk into the mens changing room.  Not that they would care, but it would definitely be a shock to us "Americans".  Once we made our way outside, it was a beautiful courtyard in the center with 3 different pools.  We stayed in one after realizing one was much colder and the other required a swimming cap, which we did not have.  It was time to head back to the hotel and get cleaned up before heading home.

Courtyard with 3 pools.  The one closest was the warm one.

We made our way to the airport and after having to wait in another area after a bag was left unattended we were finally able to check in.  The asked if we wanted to check our bag for free since it was a full flight and I declined since I had only 15 minutes to catch the train to Lausanne and the last bus home.  He asked to see our bags and then asked that I put mine in the metal frame to make sure it would fit.  I finally shoved it in and then had one heck of a time getting it out!  Ugh, what a pain and after several minutes it was finally free and I was begrudgingly checking my bag!  It took a couple extra hands and muscled and I was so hot to only have to wait in a huge security line.  We ended up leaving late so checking the bag didn't make a difference.  I made it home safely and was quickly off to bed since 6am would come too quickly in the morning.

Rude Plague

I haven't forgotten about the blog, we just haven't had anything fun and exciting to post since someone in the house has been sick for the last two to three weeks!  Although I am not sure we would have had anything to post if we were healthy???  With the kids in school and the extremely cold weather, we haven't been out and about much.  Aaron was the first to get sick and he was some from school for 5 days.  Hailey joined him for 2 of those 5 days.  I had one full day with all kids in school before Sydney and I were in bed with fevers on Friday.  Randy had the joy of coming home from traveling to sick wife and kids two Fridays in a row!!

The kids are off school this week and we haven't left the house all week, except Tuesday, since Sydney and I are still sick.  Although we did finally get a pediatrician so the kids officially have a Dr that is just a few bus stops away!  We met him on Tuesday and had to stop at the pharmacy for prescriptions for the girls.  That is the only time we have been out of the house all week!!  Apparently you need a prescription for ibuprofen, but you can get codeine without one.  That does not make sense to me, but I am not complaining since I have been able to sleep for the past two nights after Randy picked some up for me!

Amazing sunset!

The last weekend of break we all went on a short road trip to Basel.  We stayed at a hotel that was next to a water park, which was big for Europe, but small by US standards.  On Saturday we went to the Basel Zoo before swimming.  They had a great variety of animals and we quickly realized we forgot something upon entry.  There was a young group of guys that were having a great time at the zoo all while carrying around a 6-pack of beer around with them.  Another one of those, "only in Europe" : )

Kids stopping for a quick picture.

Heading to the zoo.  Randy and girls on lower bridge while I stay with pokey Aaron.

Pelicans - quite the wing span!

Elephants - notice the leaning one in the background!

Standing guard on the rock.

This week the kids are all back in school and I am getting the house back in order before I leave for Budapest on Friday with a girlfriend.  Unfortunately it is also the weekend of Sydney skating show, which I will miss since my trip was planned before we even knew of the show.  I am bummed to miss and hope to hear all about it when I get back.  Hopefully Randy can get some video so I can see a little of the show.  Only four weeks from tomorrow and we will be heading to Florida for our first visit to the US since we left last May.  Wow, we will have been here a year before you know it.  We definitely need to pick up the pace of our travel plans because before too long we will be heading back!

Championship Vaudois

We had one weekend between Sydney's skating competitions so Randy and Hailey went skiing with Nestle ski club while the other two and I headed to the ice rink for Sydney's lesson.  I don't think I have mentioned it has been extremely cold here, which is one thing I have not been missing!  We took the bus since Randy and Hailey had the car, so we endured the elements to sit for over an hour in a freezing ice rink.  Aaron was not happy and kept asking to go home!  I was wondering how the other two were managing since they were on the slopes.  Well, despite the cold weather they had a good time and I think some solo time with daddy was good for Hailey.  Here are a couple pictures from Versoix I nabbed from a friend.  Everything next to Lake Geneva is covered in ice from the water blowing from the lake and then freezing.  Good luck to those car owners on getting their cars out before spring!

After spending Monday-Thursday at Les Martinet with school, Sydney had her last competition for the season on Saturday in Yverdon.  Not that it really ends, it just winds down and there aren't any competitions again until next fall.  I think it goes to one time a week in May and June, a week in July, and then picks back up in August.  I am still trying to figure it all out as well as IJS.  Here is her video and a picture from the results.  Here score was the same (15.95) and she received 8th place.  Her friend, Maeva, received first place and landed two axels, bravo!

While Sydney was at Les Martinet, she enjoyed some sledding and was even able to go snow shoeing at night during the full moon.  I think I need to see if anybody wants to join me during the next full moon!  It sounded like they had a great time and she was definitely looking a little tired.

Putting French to the test

After getting Bette off to the airport it was time to get back into our routine.  Sydney has a new teacher at school, so she is going through another adjustment.  Sydney says she doesn't speak much english, which will help with her French.  She isn't quite comfortable speaking, but can comprehend most things.  We were at the skating store and she was translating what we needed and able to respond in french.  She clearly just needs to be in a position where she has to use it, because she is able to when she is helping mom!  I can appreciate her hesitancy since we are so much alike and I too need to force myself into situations and use the little french I know.  Little did we know, a perfect opportunity would arise on Friday.

After finishing another week at school, Sydney missed most of Friday for a competition in Neuchâtel.  This is her second of three competitions this season.  She skated late in the afternoon and her friend was also skating in her group.  Her skating friends only speak french so it really helps Sydney with her french and she manages just fine.  I often see them out there laughing and having a good time when practicing spins or jumps together.  She did great and skated much more strongly than the first time round.  Sydney will say she didn't do well because she received second from last.  Her elements were more difficult, which was a challenge for her, but her overall skating improved, which improved her score!  I will post video again from her final competition next week.

Sydney's sit spin.

While waiting for the scores we met her friend's parents.  She doesn't speak english, but her husband does.  They invited us out for a bite to eat with another family that skates at the rink.  Time to put that french to work!  The conversation was in both french and english and they would translate to make sure everyone understood.  It was great to finally meet some other parents from the rink.  Although, I could have just sat there and watched Sydney interact with the other kids.  Coincidently enough, we also found out that Sydney's friend is going to Florida the same time we will be there.  We may try to see if we can get together!

Enjoying a beautiful sunset from Hailey's room!

Oddly enough, we don't have any vacations planned until we head to Florida over Easter for 2 weeks.  The kids are off school the last week of February, didn't they just go back after Christmas break.  We plan on sticking around here since Randy will be taking 2 weeks for Florida and he only has so much vacation.  Sydney will go to skating camp and the other two will go to ski school.  It is hard to believe that when we head to Florida we will have been here 10 months.  Boy is time flying!!

Girls trip to Milan!

My Aunt Bette arrived on Wednesday, Jan 4th and we hung out with the kids until they headed back to school on January 9th.  It was a very busy Christmas holiday and we were all ready to get back to our routine.  On Saturday before the kids went back, Randy, the girls, and I went with the Nestle ski club to Grimentz while Aaron stayed back with Bette.  This was my first chance at getting a lesson and skiing on the Swiss Alps.  It started out being a nice day, but the conditions deteriorated in the afternoon.  My legs were so sore after skiing for 6 hours and the last run was a killer.  I think I fell every 10 feet or so and was so glad to get to the bottom and get some shoes on.  It was great to see the girls out there skiing, there was even a time I saw Sydney skiing down backwards for her lesson.

Quick pic on the slopes with the bad weather moving in.

I think our active vacation caught up with Aaron since he slept in until 10:15.  The girls were looking forward to sleeping in the next day as well.  When the kids were off to school on Monday, it was off to the grocer stores to give Bette a little taste of life in Switzerland.  There is no such thing as one stop shopping.  To get everything you need, it isn't unheard to go to 2-3 different stores.  The stores all carry different items and brands so you can't avoid going to more than 1 store.

Sydney's 9th birthday was on Friday, January 13th, so we celebrated before Bette and I headed off to Milan on Saturday.  She brought cupcakes into to school for her class and we also made a cake for home.

Bette and Sydney in her new skating dress from Bette and Grandpa and Grandma Jan.

Sydney blowing out her candles that would re-lite themselves.  The kids got a kick out of them!

Bette and I were up early to catch an 8am train to Milan.  There were 10 of us with 5 going the night before to get in a little more shopping in the morning.  It was a beautiful day so Bette had some great views of the mountains and lakes as we made our way to Milano.  I still feel like I have to pinch myself at times!  I can't believe I am hopping on a train for a day trip to Milan for shopping and to see The Last Supper by Leanardo da Vinci.  We also had some wonderful food and gelato.  We had reservations to see The Last Supper and had to wait in a coupe rooms to dehumidify before being allowed to see the painting for 15 minutes.  We read up on the painting and some of the controversy, which made the viewing that much more interesting.

Bette and I outside the church with The Last Supper.

I had boots and a purse on my list and was successful on finding boots only to realize I had a huge problem!  I pulled out my passport to add it to a form to get the tax back on my purchase only to realize that is wasn't mine, it was Sydney's!!  Ugh and this is on the heels of Randy not having his when we were coming back from Rome.  Great, my luck passport control will get on the train and I will be stuck in Italy.  What is the worse that can happen??  Maybe my permit B will work??  Well, we are on the train and coming up to the border when there was an announcement, which I couldn't understand and thought it must be passport control, why else would there be an announcement.

Moments later, some men in uniforms went to the back and started checking all the passengers.  I put Sydney's passport on the table and was going to play the surprised, I can't believe I have my daughters passport.  Or, maybe they won't notice since she does look a lot like me.  Or, it has been a really tough year for me and my aging process isn't going so well!  Bette and I were in deep conversation looking at photos on my iPhone when it was our turn.  They asked if we had anything to declare and before I had a chance to respond, Bette said "no" and they moved on.  Boy did I breath a huge sigh of relief and all the passports are clearly labelled on the outside now!!! : )