Another adventure is about to begin

Luke's two year contract in Switzerland is up and he has just accepted a new job in England. We will be packing our bags and getting ready for another international move this summer. I'll be sad to leave behind all the friends we've made... and the Swiss Alps... and the cheese, but I'm already looking forward to new adventures in England as well as some more specific things

1. ENGLISH! - I think I have forgotten what it is like to be able to talk to people again without stumbling over my words or (worse yet) just smiling blankly without having any idea what someone is saying to me.

2. My own washing machine - It is typical for families in England to have their own machine! This means no more sharing with 6 other apartments, no more having to wait a whole week before being able to wash our stuff.

3. Eating out - It will be nice to be able to enjoy a meal out with friends again! We never eat out here because it is too expensive. I have already decided that we will eat out for dinner one night a week. Yippee!

So these next few months are going to be crazy, and I can't promise that I'll be blogging much...but stay tuned for a whole new set of adventures as we start over in England.

A walk to our waterfall

We have some friends from Colorado who have moved to Switzerland on a 5 month work contract. This past weekend we were able to show off our cute town and take them on a walk to the waterfall. 

Walking through the town center

Jack running with his new friend 

Love these buildings!

Jack and his new friends

Hiking up to the waterfall

Everyone enjoying the sunny weather

The whole group enjoying a raclette dinner

One last ski day

We were able to take Jack skiing one last time for the season. This time we went ahead and got Jack an hours worth of private lessons. He did really good and was able to go down the kiddie hill all by himself

 After his lessons, we had a fondue lunch with our friends

 Then Jack went back up the mountain a few more times with his friend Anik and her mom and dad.

Luke and I had some time alone with Lily to snap some cute pictures

As a side note. getting out of the house is always a little hectic with two kids. Jack is usually running around like a madman while I'm trying to get Lily ready to go. I've discovered a great game that has solved all our problems with those last 15 minutes before we leave the house. The game is that I tell Jack the exact time we are leaving i.e. 11:10 and then I tell him to stare at the clock until it is 11:10. He will stand there and stare at the clock for 15 minutes straight, watching very carefully as it changes from minute to minute. This game has been a lifesaver for me, I just hope it works for a long, long time. 

Jack watching the clock

 I have seen this sign to Florida several times, so last weekend we decided to check it out and see what Florida was all about.

 Our drive to Florida

 Welcome to Florida!

 It turns out that Florida was a mini golf place.

The Swiss Alps

It's been a while since we made a trip to visit the Alps, so we decided to drive up and get some of our favorite Rosti in Switzerland. 

It took us and hour and a half to reach the Alps by car, then another hour train ride up to our favorite restaurant. But is was worth it!

View from the restaurant

Unfortunately we didn't plan well enough for the weather and we had to head back early as we were all freezing

Luke and Jack trying to stay warm

 It's hard to believe this background is even real

My favorite thing about the ski slopes in Switzerland is that they are open to everyone... skiers and non skiers. You will find people snow shoeing, sledding, walking or just sitting and enjoying the restaurants at almost all of the resorts. The resorts I visited in California and Colorado seemed to cater just to skiers, but here you are welcome even if you don't ski/snowboard.

The Alps in the background and a lucky family ready
to ski right down the mountain

Too cold for Jack

Waiting for our train

Halfway down the mountain we got off the train at the town of Wengen. We stayed here last summer and really liked the town. It's just as amazing in the winter

Luke waiting for an important phone call

Luke, still waiting for his phone call

Jack wanted a picture of him by the wall too

Our train down the mountain

 This is such a scenic train, but it's hard to enjoy when you're trying to keep two little ones happy.

Jack doesn't appreciate the scenery

The mind of a three year old

Jack has been cracking us up with some of his thoughts lately.

Jack regularly makes up names we need to call him. He'll say "Don't call me Jack, call me Doctor" or "call me Monster" etc. Today he came up with a name for me. He said "Mom, I'm going to call you "Pretty Mommy'"

After watching Shrek for the first time, he was telling me all about it "Mom, there was a dragon and a castle and a princess...just like Lily is  a princess"

Tonight he was having a sad moment (after Luke beat him at a game) and he turns to me and says "Mom, can you make me happy again?"

Jack and I were walking home the other day and a group of neighborhood friends came up to him and one of the boys shook his hand. I was walking behind Jack at this point, so when I got up to him I asked what the kids said. Jack said "They didn't say anything, Nico (the friend) just gave me his hand and we wiggled hands together."

And the other day after a few minutes of silent, deep thinking:
"Mom, do talking pigs fart?"

Seeteufel Zoo

We are enjoying the beautiful weather here as winter turns to spring. It is one of my favorite times of the years as it is still really crisp in the morning but warm enough in the afternoon to take off your jacket. 

Last weekend we drove up to the local town of Studen to visit the zoo. This is a small zoo, but really kid friendly. You can buy a bag of popcorn at the entrance and use it to feed all the animals

Jack feeding the goats

Our little animal lover

 This zoo also has tons of other fun things for kids to do

Luke pushing Jack on the big monster cars

 And they have a good selection of animals

My favorite are the otters

 One thing I love about Switzerland is that it still has all the fun (but dangerous) rides that the US got rid of long ago

Coin operated swing ride
(with no seat belt)

 View of the zoo from the entrance

 We were able to watch several of the animals be fed, but the penguins were our favorite.

Lily passed out in her stroller

 Another fun ride I don't think you'd find at many US playgrounds.

Jack on the zip line

 This was the first time I have seen a kangaroo close enough to touch

Jack trying to feed the kangaroo

Porcupine

Luke and Lily

We took a small train around the zoo and found several turtles sunning themselves on the tree. Seems we weren't the only ones enjoying the nice day