Zurich at Christmastime

This evening, we took the train into Zurich to check out the festivities. Right after we hopped on the crowded train, Mariah found herself a seat and promptly fell asleep. I couldn't resist taking this photo.

Anna Claire, on the other hand, just wanted to get to town as quickly as possible.

Every year, they put up a giant Christmas tree in the main train station in Zurich. The tree is covered in Swarovski crystals. Apparently, it is so valuable, that armed guards watch it 24/7. This is my attempt to get a picture above the crowds. The market in the train station was packed. If I let go of the kids for a second, I lost them in the crowd.

Pink sisters in front of the giant tree.

Check out all those crystals. It's a wonder the tree doesn't sag with all the weight.

Zurich lit up for Christmas.

Christmastime and Samichlaus!

The season of Christmas gatherings is here. Yesterday, Rob had his work party. Of course, spouses were not invited. Why are all companies cutting out the spouses from the holiday parties? I mean, is a party with just your co-workers really that fun? You really need the spouses. And it's a chance for us to meet our spouses co-workers. Feeling left out, a bunch of the company spouses decided to do a parallel party. But, this one also included kids. My friend Nancy had a bunch of us over for dinner, cookie and Christmas tree decorating. We had a great time!

Here is Tyler playing with his little neighbor girlfriend, Hala.

The next morning, we went to the company Christmas party for kids. Again, more cookies to decorate. Anna Claire and Mariah were in heaven!

Then, Santa's elf read the kids a story.

Finally, a visit from Samichlaus himself. Samichlaus does not come on Christmas Eve to deliver goodies and presents. He comes on December 6 and brings nuts, candies and fruit. The Christkind (an angel) brings the gifts on Christmas Eve.

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!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to everyone! You would think that, living in Switzerland, we don't have a real Halloween. (Rob would prefer it this way. He does not like the "pagan" tradition.) But that was not the case this year. Last Saturday, the girls dressed up for the annual Stake Halloween Carnival (put on by the Americans, mostly). I was busy running a booth most of the time, but Rob took the girls around to do lots of games and crafts and they had a great time. Here they are with their friend Kelsey (the cute little Dora). Mariah is Tinkerbell and Anna Claire is Ariel the Mermaid. Interestingly, Mariah decided to cut herself some bangs to look even more like Tinkerbell just before the carnival. Surprisingly, bangs look cute on her and she didn't cut too much, so no harm done. (I just hope she doesn't try this again.)

Anna Claire and her best friend Ella both decided to be mermaids for Halloween. This is Anna Claire doing "Aaaa--aaa--aaaahh!" just like the Little Mermaid did when she gave up her voice.

My two cute Halloween girls -- Tinkerbell and the Little Mermaid. This was taken in our yard. Aren't the leaves beautiful?

Tyler was our little "Woolley Lamb". He looked so adorable in his costume -- but it was a bit too hot so it didn't last long.

Mariah can't help smooching this chubby little lamb.

On Halloween afternoon, we celebrated a bit at a friends' house. We tried to gather all the kids for a picture, but Tyler wasn't too thrilled at being nearly dropped.

"Trick or Treat"

We live near a bunch of international people, so last year I bought candy, hoping some kids would come trick or treat. We waited all night and nobody came. It turns out that kids did trick or treat in our neighborhood, but they skipped our house. This year, I took initiative and sent flyers to all our neighbors with a pumpkin drawing they could hang on their door if they wanted to give out candy. It worked well. Lots of the neighborhood participated and it turned out to be a wonderful mini-version of the American trick or treat tradition. Afterwards, everyone came over to our place for pumpkin cookies and spiced cider.

Handing out candy this year! Hooray, lots of kids participated!

Heaven

Today, Mariah and Anna Claire had an interesting conversation on the way to church. Mariah announced to all of us, "I'm going to heaven." Anna Claire told her, "Heaven is really far away, it's way up in the sky." Undeterred, Mariah responded, "Well, then I'll jump!"

Roman Polanski -- the Swiss got it right.

Okay, so I really need to update this blog. But I can't help but add my two cents to the whole Roman Polanski arrest scandal. People here in Europe -- even here in Switzerland where he was arrested -- are aghast that America has the audacity to extradite an internationally acclaimed figure for a crime he committed three decades ago. The French Culture Minister said, "There's an America we love and an America that scares us, and it's that latter America that has just shown it's face." What? It scares the French to see the American justice system treat everyone equally -- rather than giving preferential treatment to those who are internationally acclaimed directors? Frankly, it scares me that the French think that a person can be "excused" from past crimes just by being a famous director.

Maybe in France famous figures are above the law, but not in America. If we exempt people from our justice system just because they are "famous" or because they committed a crime long ago, we would be violating the blind justice upon which our system is based. Polanski broke the law. He drugged a 13-year-old girl and raped her. It doesn't matter how long ago it was or even whether the girl has now forgiven him. Would Roman Polanski want Charles Manson to be allowed to remain a fugitive after killing his wife and unborn child -- just because he happened to be famous? I presume not.

Obviously, the fact that Roman Polanski has lived a decent life after his crime (and the fact that there may have been judicial misconduct) can be examined in his sentencing hearing. But he must face the justice system before that determination can be made. Thankfully, Switzerland is finally making Polanski face the consequences of his crime.

I had thought the French believed in equality under the law -- Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

But that legacy of the French Revolution seems to have been forgotten here. Fortunately, America has not forgotten.

Another thumbs up for Switzerland and the good ole' USA.

First Day of Kindergarten!

Anna Claire went to her first day of kindergarten today. (They start here at age 4.) It was sort of bittersweet for me. I'm so excited for her to begin this new phase of her life. However, I found myself feeling all the stress I felt everytime I went back to school. I thought that phase of my life was over. Am I going to feel stressed again for the next 18 years?

Anyhow, getting Anna Claire into school this year was a major coup. She missed the kindergarten cutoff in Canton Zurich by 8 days. (It's different in every canton.) However, she fell within the alloted 2 month period where parents are allowed to petition to request early admission. I went through the petition process, which included filling out a questionnaire, passing a doctor's exam and going to a meeting where they asked me why I wanted my daughter to be admitted to kindergarten this year. I was told that all they were interested in was her size and motor skills -- and she passed these exams with flying colors. (If your child is a genius, that doesn't matter.) Anyhow, I received a letter informing me that Anna's petition was denied, but giving me no reasons for her denial. Well, being the feisty American that I am, I was not going to accept no without an explanation.

I returned to the school office, this time with a translator, so that I could make myself very clear. When I asked them why she was denied, despite her good doctor's exam, they hummed and haahed and didn't really respond. Then I asked them if any Swiss children born in May were denied. Well, the answer to this was no -- only foreigners had been denied. They had clearly denied my daughter because she was a foreigner and they assumed she couldn't speak Swiss German. Well, I told them what I thought of that -- "This is dicrimination against foreigners." "You never even evaluated her Swiss German, you just assumed that she understands nothing because she is foreign, and ignored the fact that she has been attending a Swiss German pre-school. Moreover, nothing in your regulations says anything about required language abilities." And finally, "We pay just as much tax as everyone else in this town and we deserve equal treatment." (A little play on the American 'no taxation without representation.')

Well, most likely due to the shock that someone actually dared question their decision (which most Swiss would never do), the school officials finally gave in and agreed to re-examine Anna's case. The compromise is that Anna gets to go to school on a 6-week trial basis. I'm crossing my fingers that everything will work out well.

The moral of the story is that one should never underestimate a feisty American. We don't just sit back and let things happen -- we fight for our rights. That's why people either love us or hate us.

Ciao for now.