Schneyer's visit

Some very dear friends of ours, the Schneyer's, decided to spend their spring break in Switzerland with us.  They had a fantastic deal flying from Chicago to Paris and took the train into Lausanne.  They arrived late at night and I headed down to the train station to pick them up.  It was off to bed to start of our first day of exploring where else but the Callier chocolate factory.  That is one place the kids don't mind going over and over again.

Kids minus Aaron who was home with Randy, waiting for the tour to start.

Group shot after indulging in a ton of chocolate.

Afterwards we headed to Gruyere and took a quick trip before heading home.  This was the first time I had actually been up to Gruyere as I have only been to the cheese factory.  It is a cute little town where cars are not allowed.  The kids enjoyed running around and exploring.

The girls and Dane on the outside wall.

Kids in Gruyere center.

It was Kari's birthday while they were traveling so we celebrated with cake after dinner on their first day.  As you can see the kids were having a great time and Aaron was thrilled to have some boys to play with.

Kari and the kids getting ready to blow out the candles.

On Sunday it was Randy's turn to play tour guide while I stayed home with Sydney.  We only have one car and it is a 7 seater , which isn't quite big enough for a party of 9.  With Sydney's bad knee, sledding isn't the best activity for her to do just after getting off crutches.  The run they were going on was 7km and would take roughly 45 minutes to go down.  They had a beautiful day and it wasn't too wet since it was the end of the season.

Schneyer's with the sledge and ready for the chair lift.

Kari is a little scared of heights so the chair lift was a little nerve racking, but the kids helped calming the nerves and she made it to the top.

Matt taking a picture of Randy, who had Aaron with him, and Reid.

Lunch time was a good ole picnic with baguettes, meat, cheese, and other tasty stuff.  This was the second day for a picnic and wouldn't be our last.  By the last day Dane wondered if we picnicked from the back of the car everyday for lunch.

Kids enjoying their delicious lunch.

Aaron and Dane with their fuzzy hats to keep them warm.

Reid and Aaron taking a pit stop for a picture.

Aaron and his favorite salami stick.

On Monday we roamed around Lausanne as I had to take Sydney to the Dr for a knee follow up.  In the morning we went down by Ouchy to take in the sights before they headed into town while I took Sydney to the doctor where she got a thumbs up for her knee.  They went to the Cathedral and stopped at a cafe that serves fabulous hot chocolate drinks.  They serve it with a spoon since it is almost the consistency of pudding.

Reid (right) and Dane (left) along Lake Geneva.

The boys and their hot chocolate - Dane couldn't wait he was diving right in.

After grabbing lunch we headed to Chillon castle.  I loaded the iPods with the walking tour and they were off while I caught up on my to do list.

They got a kick out of the toilets that fed into the lake.

One night we made a traditional Swiss meal called Raclette.  It is boiled potatoes and then you melt cheese and can cook meat to eat as a meal.  We usually put our meat and cheese on our potatoes, but Hailey likes her cheese with pickles.  Pickled tiny onions and pickles are a common side dish when serving raclette.

Kids took their turn first with Raclette.

It was a fantastic long weekend with The Schneyer's and the adults enjoyed many bottles of wine while playing euchre into the early morning.  It was boys vs girls and we played to the best of five.  The girls had a excellent lead, but in the end the boys came from behind and won the 5th game.  Kari also learned that Swiss wine doesn't give her headaches!  They headed to Paris on Wednesday for a few days before heading home on Saturday.

ER, Crushed Ice, and Ice show

We made it back from a week of skiing and now it was time for Sydney to focus on her last skating competition, or so we thought.  She came home from school limping and complaining her knee hurt.  When is was worse on Saturday, it was back to the ER to get it checked out before her last competition.  Fortunately it wasn't anything serious, but they did want her to rest her knee for one week missing her last competition.  Thanks to Sydney we are getting the whole Swiss ER thing down.  Not something I want to master, but at least it hasn't been for anything serious.  They put a brace on her knee to keep it stable and crutches to use until it didn't hurt anymore.  The worst part was she was going to Les Martinets with school for 3 nights.  This is a chalet in the mountains they go to and while she was able to go, she was not able to participate in any of the outdoor activities such as snow shoeing and sledding.

Pretty big smile for a bad knee.

There was a skating event in Lausanne called Red Bull Crushed Ice where men with hockey skates skate down an ice track with jumps and curves.  The one to cross with the quickest time finishes first.  They have events all over the world and we learned about it from someone who watched it in St. Paul.  It was a crazy track working it's way through the streets and hills of Lausanne, which you can watch by searching "red bull crushed ice" on You Tube.  

A group just taking off from the starting line.

Not a great start for the skater on the far left.

Sydney was all healed up for her skating test and end of season show.  She passed her skating test with flying colors and I think that means she will move up a level, but I am not exactly sure so guess we will find out next season.  While my French has improved it is still pretty basic so comprehending what is being said in a meeting is a challenge.  Her skating show was a cabaret theme and they had a prop you would never see in the US.  However, it is very acceptable here and you can even buy candy cigarettes they had when I was a kid.

Sydney in the middle waiting for their music to start.

Sydney front middle with everyone from her group.

Sydney and her friend posing with their props.

It is hard to believe the show wraps up Sydney's second season of skating in Switzerland.  She has made some great friends and it has really helped with her French.  She will take off a month or two before going to camp for 2 weeks this summer.  Hailey will either go to a dance camp or circus camp again while Aaron will try out a soccer camp this summer.  Although it will need to get warmer to feel like summer since it has been unusually cold and rainy in Switzerland.

Ski week in Nendaz

After making it through Sydney's skating competition we were off to Nendaz for a week of skiing.  We rented a chalet in Nendaz and have the kids signed up for ski lessons Monday through Friday from 9-4.  I even signed myself up for a couple lessons so I can try to keep up with the girls.  After finding the chalet in the dark, which was no easy feat as they seem to be lacking street signs as well as street lights when you are off the main roads, we got settled and all the ski gear ready for the slopes.

One of the black runs that Randy went down while I watched from the cable car.

One of our views (Verbier) while Randy and I enjoyed a morning cappuccino.

Quick pic of St Bernard, which you see everyone on the slopes.

Randy and I getting some lunch on another beautiful day!

While I was off taking my lessons, Randy would venture out on his own taking on the more challenging runs.  On the first day he ventured off the map and the only way back was taking a bus that ran every 30 minutes.  He was fortunate there were people there and the bus would be there shortly.  Otherwise, we would have been waiting for a long time for him to get back so we could head back to the chalet.

We had beautiful weather and took full advantage of the kids being in lessons!

Cheers - time for lunch.

Before my second lesson could start I received a phone call from Sydney and Hailey's instructor saying Hailey was hurt and they called the Dr who was coming to take a look at her.  Her loving older sister informed the instructor she is probably ok as she is quite dramatic so it is probably nothing.  The instructor wanted to be safe and make sure she was looked over and it wasn't serious.  After she was brought down on a sled and the Dr examined her, it was more bumps and bruises and she was fine.  Randy stayed with the kids for lunch to see how she was doing while I headed off for my lesson.  By the end of lunch she was off and running around so she headed off for her afternoon lesson.

Aaron and his medal for passing blue prince.

The girls with some of the buddies from their class.

Randy bringing lunch on our last day.

Sunrise from our chalet - sun kissing just the top of the mountains.

Sunset from our chalet - sun kissing the other side of the mountains.

Looking up the mountain from our chalet.

The rest of the week was uneventful and even after skiing everyday all day, the girls still wanted to go skiing on Saturday.  We all skied as a family in the morning so they could show us there skills.  The girls officially passed my abilities and Aaron tries his best to keep up with his sisters.  Aaron and I headed back to the chalet for lunch while Randy and the girls went skiing for the afternoon.  They didn't get back to the chalet until 4:30 making great use of their passes.  All of them are wanting to go back next year taking lessons for the entire day again.  I don't think mom and dad can argue since that gives us plenty of couple time.

End of competitive skating season

The end of Sydney's second year skating in Switzerland is nearing and Sunday, Feb 17th we headed to Saignelégier for the Coupe Romande.  It is for all skaters in the French speaking part of Switzerland and according to Sydney the most important competition of the season.  She did not compete in this last year as she was not ready.  Each skater skates twice.  The first time the perform two spins and two jumps and the score from those elements determines when they skate their free program or with music.  The highest score skates last so is is important to do well on the spins and jumps.  Last year Sydney's spins and jumps were not strong enough, but that is another store this year.

Sydney and her coach Catia getting ready for her  spins and jumps.

Got her mid jump.

After the spins and jumps, Sydney was in 4th place and would skate in the last group.  While she skated strong, she seemed more nervous and was a little behind on her music.  She placed 5th in her free skate and finished 2nd overall.  We were so proud of her for working so hard to get to where she is today.

Coupe Romande podium - 2nd for Sydney and 3rd for her friend Elena

All the competitors from her group at Coupe Romande.

Sydney with her friends Elena and Lisa.

Below is her video, both computer and mobile version, from this competition.  Unfortunately we had issues with the camcorder so ended up having to use our iPhone, which didn't do too badly.

Computer version

Mobile version

Afterwards we headed straight home and loaded the car up for a weekend of skiing, which I will tell you all about in the next post.  Sydney did have one more competition, but unfortunately took a hard fall on the ice and had to take a week off to let her knee heal.  The Coupe Romande would be her last competition for this skating season.  It was now time to focus on the skating show and her test to move to the next level.

Winter fun and Art on Ice

On Sunday, February 3rd we took a family ski trip to Les Paccots, which is a short 30 minute drive.  Aaron was very nervous and did not want to go.  He sees the mountains and thinks we are going to the top.  Randy took Aaron on a harness to keep him safe and they figured out how to take a button lift together.  The girls and I took a couple runs before grabbing some lunch.  It was a beautiful day and gave us time to practice before heading to Nendaz for ski week at the end of February.

Aaron getting ready for another run with daddy.

Quick stop for a picture.

Randy and I decided to take each of the kids to an event.  Sydney's choice was Art on Ice with Stéphane Lambiel.  There was a piece of chocolate on each chair, which Sydney was very excited about.  She has a bit of a sweet tooth!  It was a fantastic show including a live performance by Leona Lewis.  Stéphane has started spending time at the rink giving lessons to the skaters that compete, which is a highlight for Sydney now that she knows who he is.

Sydney and her chocolate

Hailey had Brownies on Sunday, February 10 and the were going to Les Diablerets for a family day of sledging, or sledding back in the US.  Aaron and I stayed down below with Ava while the dad's took the older girls up the chair lift for a 7km (~5mile) sledge run.  I tried taking the younger two down, but was clearly an amateur when it comes to sledging as I used my heals as a brake and we ended up with snow filled faces.  Aaron was not a fan as it was very cold and wet.  I couldn't get him back up so we would walk up part of the way and they would go down by themselves.

Ava and Aaron ready for another sledging run.

After the dads and girls made it down, Hailey and Grace asked if they could go down the smaller one by themselves.  I agreed, but quickly became nervous when they were at the bottom and showed no signs of slowing down.  They barely missed taking out a couple of people from a group that was talking at the bottom.  They flew past the bottom without showing any signs of slowing down.  They ducked, fortunately, when going under the pole that pulls tubes around in a circle.  Needless to say that was their last run and we headed home.

Hailey and Grace with the famous pole.

Randy also has a work outing that week where they had meetings and then went dogsledding in the afternoon.  After some instruction, Randy was able to drive the sled himself and found it more difficult than it looked.  We may have to try it out next winter with the kids.

Randy trying out dogsledding.

As you can tell I am a little behind on the blog and need to spend some time getting it caught up as there is much to share!

Sydney - Bday and Skating

The kids were back into the swing of things with school and with the start of the new year also comes Sydney's birthday.  She was turning the big double digits on January 13th.  Sydney decided she wanted a birthday party with friends from both school and skating.  We found a place where the girls could make a chocolate design at Fleur de Pains in Crissier.  Time to put my French to the test with not only booking her party but managing the girls during the party since only half of the girls spoke English.

Sun rising on the day of Sydney's birthday party.

The girls are ready to make some chocolate.

Sydney working on her two bird chocolates design.

Hailey is all smiles!

Sydney and her scrumptious birthday cake!

The following weekend it was time to test out Sydney's new skating program.  She was very excited for her competition, which was a first since we arrived.  She loves her new music from Brave and program.  She had two competitions over three weekends.  The first competition was in Vallée de Joux which is also where she goes for skating camp in the summer.  We were so proud of her, she had a fantastic skate and she was so proud and beaming when we saw her.  At that time she was in first place and after all the other skater, she finished in third place out of 11 scoring 19.82 points.

Sydney ready to start her program.

Sydney placing 3rd at Championnats Vaudois.

Her next competition was on Friday in Neuchâtel where there were 22 skaters in her group.  She skated in the Poissin group and they broke it into 3 groups as there were over 60 skaters.  She had an excellent skate once again and finished 6th with 18.21 points.  I have included her skate from Neuchâtel.  She has another competition this weekend for all the skaters in the French speaking part of Switzerland.  This will be her first time competing in this competition.

The one above is the mobile version.

I have also included a large version, above, for those that want to view on their computer for various reason I won't go into. ; )