Snowtime fun!

We returned home from our Easter vacation to a Winter Wonderland. The kids were thrilled to get to play in real snow in our backyard. I was thrilled that the snow was actually sticky. Growing up in Utah, the stuff was so dry that I could barely make a snowball.
Mariah is testing out her snow walking skills.

Anna is checking out her snowman.

Our fort -- which was already melting by the end of the day. Note the green grass underneath. None of the dry, brown stuff we had in Utah.

Easter in Italy: Firenze

On Easter Sunday, we headed into Florence. It was the least crowded I have ever seen the place. (And I spent 5 weeks studying there during law school.) We arrived just in time to see the parade of different trade groups all dressed in colorful costumes. By the afternoon, though, it was pouring rain and the girls were exhausted, so we cut our trip short.

I'm back, 11 years later, after studying here. Check out the Ponte Vecchio.

Here are Rob and the girls on the Ponte Vecchio. Can you believe it? No people!

Anna Claire marched right along with the parade!

Doesn't David look great surrounded by colorful flags and costumes? This must have been what it was like when Michelangelo first unveiled it.

In the main Piazza with my girls!

Mariah is jamming to the band music!
Check out the flag throwing!

By the time we made it to the Duomo, the girls were tuckered out.

At the fountain in the train station. Right after this photo, Mariah tried to climb in and fell in face first. I got soaked reaching in to catch her.

Here is the view as we returned back to Switzerland. Beautiful first snow -- in March!!

Easter in Italy: A Day in Siena

We planned an Easter trip to Italy, hoping that we would find sunny weather and good biking. Instead, we woke up Friday morning on the day we were to leave to a huge snowstorm. Unbelievable! It's the first time that it's snowed this year in Morges! Anyhow, we finally decided to brave the storm about noon and drive to Italy. Unfortunately, Italy was hitwith snow and storms too, so all our biking and swimming plans dissipated quickly. But, hey, it's still Italy, so we still had fun.

I must mention our lovely accommodations. We found nice, cheap "trailor park" lodging just outside of Florence. It looked okay on the website. But I realized something was fishy when I discovered (fortunately just before we left) that we needed to bring all our own linens. Anyhow, it was freezing and the trailer's gas stove barely heated a 2-foot radius, which meant that the girls slept in our tiny kitchen and Rob and I shivered all night in our tiny bedroom, complete with a lovely rock-hard mattress. By the way, the place was four-star -- camping, that is!

The next day we made a trip to the old town of Siena. The town is surrounded by a fortress and cars are not allowed inside, so we had a tough time trying to find close parking. But getting to the main Piazza was worth it. The place is huge (big enough to have a famous horse race around it) and perfect for little kids to run around. Chasing pigeons seemed to be the favorite pasttime for Anna Claire and Mariah.

On the steps of the Duomo.

Good Times!

The weather was beautiful the other day so we decided to walk along the lake and hit the beach. The girls dug around with sticks while I basked in the newfound sunshine.

Anna Claire strikes a pose.

Reading time on the rocking chair. . .

Bathtime. We're finally reaping the benefits of having two girls close in age. They have loads of fun together. Mariah wants to do everything her big sister does.

MORGES TULIP FESTIVAL TIME!

It's been a late spring so the tulips haven't bloomed much yet. But the girls still had fun running around it.

A Day at the Park

Happy Ides of March! The weather this morning was gorgeous so we took a little family trip to this gigantic park called Signal de Bougy. It's got loads of play structures (the fun, risky ones that they don't build in the U.S. anymore for liability reasons), a miniature zoo, and bumper boats and cars -- my favorites.

At the duck pond -- but where are the ducks?

The bumper car section was not open when we arrived, so Daddy got to push the girls.

Again, Daddy, again!

Okay, Daddy, this is a little bit scary but it's okay.

("It's okay is one of Anna's favorite phrases. She often says it to me when I'm stressed out -- "It's okay, Mommy.")