O Cannonball, O Cannonball

Tonight for family home evening we rolled out the Christmas music (okay, so I've been playing this since Halloween -- I love it), Christmas decorations and put up our tree. This will be our fourth Christmas in Switzerland. (Actually, we are flying out to Russia on Christmas Eve.) The first Christmas here, we had just arrived, were living sans furniture in corporate housing and were only planning to stay one year. Moreover, I was 9 months pregnant and did not want to spend time vacuuming pine needles. So we purchased the cheapest fake tree available at IKEA, along with a few ornaments. Four Christmases later, we are still in Switzerland and we still have the same tree. Now it is hard to give up, because it holds too many wonderful memories. Plus, the girls can mostly decorate this tree themselves.

We began decorating to the music of "O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum". Mariah began singing loudly, "O Cannonball, O Cannonball. . ." I guess the German isn't sinking in is it?

A highlight of the evening was the kids nativity set. Mariah calls it the "Away in a Manger" because that's the music it plays when you push the angel. Tyler thinks this set is the greatest. As you can see, he can just reach it.

Anna Claire and her spinning hair, rockin' around the Christmas tree.

First Snow!

It started snowing this morning and by afternoon, we had enough snow to make snowballs and snowcones. The kids couldn't wake to get outside and dig in. I love the first snow of the year -- everything is washed clean and white. Here is Mariah playing in the garden with her friend, Charlie.

Talking Eggs

So, when I'm in a hurry, I give the kids a hard-boiled egg (picnic egg, they call it) for breakfast. Often I'll cut a little mouth in it and make it talk, "Eat me, please. Please, won't you just take a bite of me?" Well, this morning, I returned to find Mariah talking with her egg. Only she had given it eyes (from a "Cooties" game). Very clever. Below is a picture of it. Sorry, it's fuzzy. The camera was out of focus.

Back again

Before winter sets in, we had to take the family on a little walk (scooter ride for the girls) around Waegitaler Lake. We took a great family photo here last year, so we tried one again this year -- but just with the kids. It was soooo cold, we didn't last long!

When we returned, I found Tyler playing with Daddy's biking helmet and sunglasses. Hmmmm. What does he want to be when he grows up?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving. It's obviously not a holiday here, so nobody can get off work. But, this year, we decided, last minute, to throw together a dinner with our American friends and neighbors, the Plourdes. It was too late to order a whole turkey, so I bought some whole turkey breasts, marinated them, and voila -- we had our white meat turkey. Melanie and her friend Trina made delicious pumpkin and apple pies and some homemade stuffing. We added green bean salad and mashed potatoes and ended up with quite a nice dinner. It was fun to celebrate and go back to our American roots. I think living outside of America makes me appreciate my heritage even more. I am so grateful to be from a country founded on freedom, especially freedom of worship. Even though I get frustrated sometimes at things my country does, it is still MY country and I love it.

Below is the only picture of the event that I ended up taking -- Rob, Trina and Melanie.

Singing at Migros

Today, Mariah, Tyler and I walked down to Migros (the local grocery store) to watch Anna Claire sing with her kindergarten class. They were raising money for helping children in Africa. They sang lots of cute songs -- all in Swiss German. Anna's teacher played the accordion for them. It is so fun to watch Anna progress with the language.

Mariah got into the spirit too. She, of course, pushed through the crowd to "center stage" and began dancing and twirling for everyone. She thought the entire show was for her! This picture is a bit blurry, but it gives you an idea of her performance.

Zipline!

We've lived here for over a year and just today discovered this fabulous zipline just up the street. Mariah and Anna Claire couldn't get enough of it. I think they inherited my thrill-seeker gene. I tried it with Tyler, but I think I'm a bit too heavy because I dragged through the mud.

WHOOOOOOOSH!!!

Raebeliechtliumzug!

Every year in our town, they do something called a Raebeliechtliumzug. Essentially, this is a turnip light festival. All the kindergarteners hollow out turnips to make lanterns and carry them around town, singing festive songs. I went to the kindergarten with Anna Claire and learned how to properly carve and decorate a huge turnip. (It's quite a different skill than pumpkin carving.) That night, Anna's kindergarten class met at the school and then walked all through the town, stopping at various places to sing their little festive songs. (All in Swiss German.) We followed them along and ended up downtown at a community center, where we feasted on bread and bratwurst. It was so much fun to see! It was also to nice to feel like we were part of a local tradition.

Here is Anna Claire with her little Swiss friend Lisa, and our neighbors Ella and Charlie. (Sorry the reflectors are lit up. I could figure out how to get rid of my flash.)

I carved a turnip for Mariah too, so that she could participate.

Anna Claire with Ella, Mia and another classmate.

Gathering in a singing circle downtown. Anna Claire's teacher played the accordian while kids from multiple kindergartens gathered in a circle and sang songs. It was beautiful!

Tyler's new car

Aldi was selling sleds cheaply so I bought one. The kids discovered it and have turned it into a race car. Here is Tyler zooming along with our neighbor, Charlie.

A Walk in the Woods

The other day while walking with Tyler, we discovered a great hiking path in a huge forest area about a 10 min walk from our house. So today, I decided to take the whole family. It was really cold, so I bundled Tyler in this little thing. It's great because he can't wiggle out his hands! Below are some pictures of the girls on our way up. We took the scooters as far as we could and hiked the last mile or so in mud. Can't wait to do this in the summer!

Family Time in Kloental

We had to take advantage of today's perfect fall afternoon so we took the kids up to Kloental Lake. This is an area that Rob has been biking to all summer long and he was sad to realize that biking season is indeed over. (The nearby pass is now closed due to snow.)

Mom and the kids.

Zoom, zoom. Dad and Anna on bikes with Mariah not far behind on her scooter. We bought Anna Claire a bike last year, but she didn't show much interest in it because it was too big. In September, we finally bought Anna Claire a good pedalless bike that actually fit. She was balancing on it within a few days. A few weeks later, she was riding a neighbor's old bike without any problem. Basically, Anna Claire just completely skipped the training wheel stage. Now, she zooms around everywhere. In a few more weeks, she'll be biking the Alps with Daddy!

See ya Mommy!