Last Day of School

We finally made it to our last day of school on Wednesday, June 27th.  Although, they do have a promotion program on Friday with lunch at the school afterwards.  It has been quite a year, from Aaron walking off campus by himself to Sydney passing her Delph A2 test and Hailey receiving an award.  In case you aren't familiar the Delph A2 it is a test to determine ones proficiency with a foreign language.  She went to Geneva for 2 days to take this test and passed with flying colors.  Sydney and Hailey had great years and let's just say Aaron had a year of adjustment.  I can't expect too much when he started school at 3yrs and was thrown into a truly academic program in a foreign language.  They expect him to sit at his desk and complete his work without disturbing his neighbors.  That is hard for a 5year old to do at times let alone a 3-4 year old boy.

He did make progress and by the end of the school year he wasn't disturbing his neighbors and seemed to be in less time outs.  He was also interacting with other kids and the bus driver in French.  Wow, we were finally getting into a groove, or so I thought.  When I picked him up on the last day of school I realized the reason he wasn't disturbing his neighbors was because his desk was next to the white board and he didn't have any neighbors.  Oh, sometimes ignorance is bliss : )  I am confident he will have a better year next year when he is a little older and more familiar with the school.

At the promotion ceremony they announce three prizes.  One for the highest GPA of the class, another for merit (motivation, hard work, and progress), and lastly for camaraderie or friendship.  The merit prizes is decided by the teachers and the camaraderie by the students.  We were very proud to learn that Hailey received the merit prize for all her hard work and progress.  She worked very hard all year and by the end of the year had caught up with her classmates with the exception of grammar.  Each grade also performs a dance.

This year it was like the Oscars when there were different films nominated and they performed a song from the winning film.  Aaron danced to Rio, Hailey to a French film called Cloclo, and Sydney to another French film Le Petit Nicholas.  I have included video clips from each one.

Our niece, Shelby took a break from her studies in Spain and came to visit for the weekend.  It was a great weekend with the kids program, exploring Lausanne, and spending a day at the pool.  She brought the warm weather with her just for a couple days.  It has been unusually cool here, but it is suppose to warm up for our visitors in July and then we are off to Spain for a week!

Survived our first year

June 1st marked our first year and we have come a long way and all survived! We enjoyed a day on the lake and pizza at the same restaurant we ate at when we first arrived.  It is hard to believe we have been here one year and it is amazing how far we have come.  We arrived in a complete fog and no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. We didn't know the language, what the rules were for parking, or how to manage everyday shopping.  This all provided quite a few laughs along the way and I am sure there will be more to come!

We rented a boat and the kids enjoyed a swim in the lake, which is still pretty cold.  Here are a few pictures.

Afterwards we had pizza and ice cream before heading home for the day.  The kids had school until the end of June, so summer vacation was still a ways off.

Venice

Randy and the kids had a couple days off for Ascension so we decided to head out and explore another destination.  We were originally going to go to Munich, but decided against it since we were having a hard time finding lodging and I wanted to wait to go to Lego land since we just did Disney.  When we found out there was a big football (soccer) match we officially switched gears and set our sights on Venice.  We tried out VRBO or Vacation Rental by Owner, which is cheaper than hotel for a family of 5.  Hotels do not have rooms to accommodate a family of 5 and you can't put 5 in one room so you end up getting 2 rooms.  VRBO has a great selection of apartments and houses available all over the world.  We settled on a 3 bedroom apartment between Rialto bridge and San Marco square, a great location!!

Kids on Rialto bridge.

This would also be our first road trip since I dragged my feet at making train reservations.  Randy was wanting to go a road trip, but not sure if this one was on top of the list.  While it was cool to take in the scenes and go through St Bernard tunnel, it was a bit stressful getting used to driving in Italy.  Let's just say they are a little more aggressive than what you would expect in Minnesota.  We arrived at the parking garage, grabbed our luggage, and were off to the Vaparetto, or boat to get to the apartment.  We were finally settled and ready to head out for a bite to eat right after Randy got his phone connected to wireless internet.  That didn't go as planned and Randy ended up cutting his hand on the glass table he was "gently" sitting on.  He cut himself pretty good, but my non-MD opinion was a big bandaid and we would be good to go.  We would avoid a trip to the hospital and head off for some yummy Italian food.

Our first full day was a busy one with mask painting in the morning and a private walking tour in the evening.  The kids were very excited for both, but the mask painting definitely topped the list.  We went to Ca' Macana where they have a store and a workshop for mask painting.  We learned a little about the history of the Venetian masks, but the kids were very excited to get started on their masks so we got straight to work.  They could each paint 2 and mom and dad even got to paint one while the other took pictures and helped Aaron.  Here are some pictures from our mask painting.

Aaron and I painting our mask.  Aaron had his own vision while I was getting instruction on a specific technique.

Hailey painting her first mask, which was a little dark, but very cool.

Sydney putting on the final touches to her first mask.

Randy even gave mask painting a try.

The kids with one of their finished products.

We took our time walking back to the apartment to rest before our evening "Ghost Tour".  The kids were very curious what this tour would entail and while it wasn't really a ghost tour, we did get to see parts of Venice we wouldn't have seen or noticed otherwise.  We learned about why all the corners had cement or marble shelves in them, which werent' really shelves.  They were used to prevent thief's from hiding around a corner and robbing someone walking in the streets.  They were built such that you couldn't sit or stand on them, and the kids tried to on practically every one we saw.  We learned about how it was built and how the wells were used in the middle of most squares.  Our guide was wonderful and would have taken the kids home if we let her.  The kids loved her and we just walked behind and she held their hands or they would run ahead and she would yell "stop", which they promptly did.  How come that never works for mom and dad???

We stopped by the Ferrari shop to get a quick picture.  Aaron thought the store was awesome!

Picture of Grand Canal

The kids, or should I say Hailey and Aaron, having fun at the water fountain!

On our tour we stopped at a wood shop where they were making oars and other parts for the gondolas.

Randy and the kids on Rialto bridge.

Saturday was our relaxing day where we took in some shopping and finally took a gondola ride.  The kids were most excited for this part of the trip after seeing them in the canals.  It was a very relaxing ride and it was sad to see it end.  As I mentioned early we decided against Munich because of the soccer tournament only to learn the Venice was hosting the America's Cup.  We did go down before they were starting and took a few pictures, but it was time to get back since Randy had arranged a sitter so we could go out for dinner without the kids.  The kids had a great time with the sitter and we had a wonderful meal.  I had the best tiramisu I have ever had, it was delicious!!!

Quick picture for the end of our gondola ride.

Waiting for the start of America's Cup.

Hailey with her Venice purchases - purse and hat.

Bridge of Sighs - part of the old prison that connected it to the interrogation rooms.

Saturday morning Randy and I woke to the apartment shaking and we couldn't figure out what was going on.  Randy thought there was a big truck or something, but that was clearly not possible since there aren't motor vehicles in Venice.  In the morning I asked Randy if Italy has earthquakes.  We weren't sure so I googled to only learn that there was an earthquake that had killed 7 people.  Fortunately the kids slept through it and there wasn't any damage to Venice because of how far away we were from the epicenter.  We made it safely home and am looking forward to some time at home, so I can plan our next vacation : )

Newest addition and Parc Adventure

Well, we finally caved and Randy and the girls were off to the animal shelter to rescue a cat.  Sydney has shed many tears over the loss of her cats that we left behind when we moved.  Sydney learned that her teacher was giving her pet to the shelter and she was insistent that we needed to rescue and welcome it to the Rude family.  Here is a picture of our rambunctious cat named Saucisse, which is sausage in french.  The girls wanted to keep his given name.  I am sensing a trend with our animal names...  We had two guinea pigs named Fudge and Cheese and now we have Saucisse, hmmmm.

Our newest addition, Saucisse.

Sydney had a birthday part at Parc Adventure with is a tree climbing obstacle course.  We all gave it a try even mom and dad and now the kids are wondering when we are going back.  The kids were out among the trees tackling difference obstacles to get from tree to tree for almost 3 hours.  We all had a blast and will definitely add it to our destination list for visitors as it is something I have never seen in the US.  I am not sure if they even exist given the potential risk and liability.  There were a number of zip lines and one very long one where you finished on a platform you had to jump from and then were slower lowered by another line.  The zip line was a blast, but I had a very hard time jumping and ended up sitting and slowly lowering myself off the platform.

Aaron on a wire towards the next tree.

Hailey on the boards towards the zip line.

Sydney making her way to the tree.

Randy on the long zip line that starts at the tree in the background.

Casey and I getting ready for the swing obstacle, yikes!

It was a great day and we will definitely be checking out the other ones that are nearby!  We also finished our last step in our move.  We finally have our Swiss drivers license so we don't have to worry about taking the exam in French, which is required if you wait more than 1 year from your arrival.  I can hardly believe it will be 1 year next year.

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.