In the good ole' Summertime. . .

This summer we've been having lots of fun. The back garden of our apartment building is great for just running around. Especially when the sprinklers are on (which is a rare occasion in Switzerland because we usually get enough rain). Here is Anna running through the sprinklers with her neighbor friends, Sarah and Oliver.
Hanging out on the grass with Daddy.

Anna Claire with her little twin Mael (friend from church).
My little virtuosos. Rob finally bought me my birthday gift -- a keyboard. This one is great and plays lots of tunes. I just wish I had it this whole past year since I've been the primary chorister.

Day Trip to Annecy, France

Back to Annecy! It's been 19 months since I was last here -- but it's such a beautiful place and we just had to show KaRynn. The place is the perfect, flowery medieval town, surrounded by a lake and charming canals.

Just for comparison, below is the picture that we took the last time we were in Annecy. Actually, both Anna and Mariah are in this picture too. Mariah was just inside of me -- this was 1 week before she was born. So, I guess I'm pregnant in both pictures.
Hanging out on the castle walls overlooking Annecy.
Although very medieval looking from the outside, the inside of the castle is now a modern art museum. With high vaulted ceilings, it's the perfect place to host giant art exhibits. Anna is chasing after KaRynn and Mariah here. Poor KaRynn got quite the workout after pushing both Anna and Mariah up the steep climb to the castle!
Isn't this dreamy?
Anna Claire couldn't help but stop to smell the flowers.
Aside from the gelato, the girls' favorite part was the carousel in the park. Hi Mariah!

Day Trips to Geneva and Lausanne

This month KaRynn and the kids and I did some great day trips to Geneva and Lausanne. I was much more motivated to do this because I have KaRynn to help me right now. In Geneva, we wandered the old town until we finally found the Reformation Museum. It was really interesting. So many things from that pivotal period in history happened right here in Geneva. Calvin preached in the cathedral next door. The Geneva Bible was printed here (the early English translation of the Bible, upon which much of the King James was based). I wish I had discovered this earlier so that I could have taken all of our guests here. We also toured the archeological site of a 6th century Christian church, which was built under the current cathedral. Here is Anna. She looks great as John Calvin.
We also did a day trip to Lausanne to check out the Lausanne Cathedral.

Inside the cathedral. Needless to say, the inside was stripped bare by the Calvinists.

Fortunately, the Calvinists preserved the beautiful rose window.
The view of Lake Geneva from the top of Lausanne.

A Trip to Zürich Area and Bern

Rob is already working in Zürich during the week (actually, in a town called Horgen, right on Lake Zürich) so we decided to visit him. His apartment is in a darling town called Thalwil.

After buying groceries and restocking Rob's bachelor pad, we headed out to the Knies Kinderzoo in the quaint little town of Rapperswil, which is right on the lake. The zoo is a petting and feeding zoo so the girls had the time of their lives. Mariah and Anna even petted this giraffe.

Feeding the ponies.

Anna surprised everyone by riding this pony -- over and over -- she didn't want to get off.

Look at me!

Petting the rhinocerous. Yes, we really got to do this! They had a big brush that we used to brush his horn. The rhino loved it.

Feeding the goats!

Zoom down the slide. The zoo had a big playground too!

Can we come here again Mommy? Anna particularly loved the sea lion show. It was like a miniature Sea World.

Down the slide with Mariah. I think I'm a little too big for this slide.

Feeding the ducks and swans in Rapperswil.

On the way back from Zurich, we stopped in Bern for lunch. It's the capital of Switzerland, but also has a charming old town. Here are KaRynn and the girls.

The big town clock in Bern. (Every Swiss town has to have a big clock!) We arrived just as the clock struck twelve and little figures came out and danced. Just like the cuckoo clock!

Anna at one of the many fun fountains lining the streets.

The Bern Cathedral. It's my favorite in Switzerland so far.

I really loved the decor on the front doors of the cathedral. Surprisingly extravagant, given the Calvinism in this country.

The grand interior.

At the Park. . .

Switzerland has the best parks for kids. Loads of fountains and water toys, huge slides and great swings and merry-go-rounds -- all the things that they don't build anymore in the U.S. because of litigation fears (those darn lawyers). Here we are at Park Milan in Lausanne. The girls got excited about the fountain and stripped down so that they could wade in.

Swinging, swinging.

A really cool water pump.

Yet another water pump.

Anna plays in the water while Mariah tastes it. Yes, I let my kids run around in just diapers and underwear. It's what all the Swiss kids do -- and we forgot to bring swim clothes. Also, this is Europe -- everyone is topless anyhow.

Mariah sneaking a snack from the stroller.

Got it!

Yummy, yummy!

WE'RE MOVING TO ZÜRICH!

Okay, so after a long and grueling decisionmaking process, Rob decided to leave Medtronic and take a job with his old company, Dow, at their European headquarters just outside Zürich. It's been a hard decision for us, especially me. The job opportunity is great for Rob. But it means leaving our wonderful community here AND changing languages -- from French to German (and Swiss German, at that). Zürich is only 2 1/2 hours from here -- but, in many ways, it feels like an entirely different country. It's still Switzerland, but a bit more German-y than French-y. I'm sure that we'll love it once we get settled in.

I have started taking a beginning German class in Lausanne. One night I came home from it with my head spinning. Then I realized that the source of my exhaustion was that I had spoken FIVE languages during the two-hour class period. The class is taught in French, so I had to ask all my questions in French, but also speak the new German words I was learning. Then I conversed during the break with two Spanish-speaking women in the class. I also walked backed to the train with a Ukrainian woman who speaks Russian. Finally, when not trying to converse in four other languages, I was thinking in English. I guess I'm truly becoming a multi-lingual European, except I just speak a LITTLE bit of a LOT of languages.

Dance with Me

Here are a few more pictures of my girls' favorite pasttime -- dancing! Mariah is wearing her little Madeline dress she got from Grandma Tia (based on the Madeline book series) -- Grandma had the name changed to Madeleine, which is how Mariah's middle name is spelled (more original French).
Twirly, twirly, twirly.

Here is Anna Claire's favorite twirling dress. We picked it up in Provence -- hence, the bright patterns and colors. She has decided she won't wear any dresses except those that "twirl".

KaRynn dancing with the girls. They love dancing with her! Those little skirts wouldn't fit me -- except maybe around my thigh.

Biking the Marmotte!

The day after we returned from Paris, we drove to Alpe d'Huez so that my biking fanatic husband could ride in the Marmotte. This is a grueling 174km cyclo sportive that starts in Bourg d’Oisans and covers four epic "Tour de France" climbs: the Col du Glandon, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and, finally, the 21 hairpin bend climb to the ski station of L’Alpe d’Huez.

Here is a close-up of Rob's expression as he crossed the finish line after 8 horrific hours. He's thinking "Why on earth did I do that?" Rob has biked the 200 mile LOTOJA race 5 times now, but he claims this one was the most painful. (Nonetheless, he wants to do it again next year. Crazy!!!)

Here is Rob with his proud family. I don't think Rob was very conscious at this point. He just needed some food and rest. (I picked up some take-out pizza and as I carried it back to our hotel, every cyclist nearby sniffed at it longingly.)
While Rob was suffering up steep climbs all day, the girls, KaRynn and I had a great time hanging out in Alpe d'Huez. I actually biked up Alpe d'Huez that morning. (I took my time as I'm THREE MONTHS PREGNANT -- fortunately all the expert cyclists that normally crowd the climb were gone doing the Marmotte.) And the Alpe d'Huez finish line was loaded with fun activities for the kids -- including this huge beach volleyball sandpit.

Here Mommy, do you want to try some sand? It's delicious.

The girls also found a bouncy castle. As a veteran LOTOJA supporter, I must say that this is the way they SHOULD do LOTOJA. No need to drive from station to station to feed your cyclist -- the food was all provided. And no need to find things to entertain your kids while you wait at the finish line -- free entertainment everywhere!

The view from our hotel at the top of Alpe d'Huez. Beautiful, isn't it?!