Jucker Farm--October 28, 2006

Sorry that I have let so much time pass between posts on the blog. We have, as usual, been quite busy enjoying our time here which has made finding time to post very difficult. Anyway......

We have been so blessed to have a beautiful autumn this year, and we've tried to make the most of the wonderful weather by getting out as much as possible. Today's adventure led us to the Jucker Farm in Seegraben, a small little town not too far outside of Zurich. Jucker Farm is known around here for their huge pumpkin selection and their "farm-art". We had a great time just being outside checking out the produce and sculptures, and Mea loved jumping on the trampoline, climbing haystacks and just playing in the leaves. Here are a few pictures........

Fun with Honey

Jared's mom, known around here as 'Honey', is staying with us for about three weeks, and to get her trip off to a good start we decided to take a Saturday daytrip to Colmar, France. Beautiful little town in the Alsace region of France only about 2 hours by train from Zurich. We were blessed with wonderful weather, good food, and for the most part, happy little girls. Enjoy the pictures and check back often to see where else we visit with Honey.

Ballerina Doll

When I was a little girl, I had a battery operated ballerina doll that would kick out one leg and spin on her tip-toes (or on point or whatever) when you pressed the knob on the top of her head. Now I have a real ballerina doll who loves to dance and spin and show off her new found skills. (Too bad I can't take out her batteries when I need a rest!!) Anyway, Mea is loving her dance class and enjoys the time with the other little girls while I get to enjoy watching her grow and mature on so many levels. How sweet!

Busy Days

Now that we are all settled into our new apartment in Horgen, our days have starting filling up with all sorts of fun things. For example, just last week we had Mea's dance class on Tuesday, Bambino's Indoor playroom with Moms-N-Tots on Wednesday morning, dinner with Kacey and the Coys Wednesday night, a housewarming on Thursday evening, Predigerkirche Vespers and dinner on Friday night and a Saturday morning breakfast picnic in Einsiedeln. Whew!!! Even though it was a great week, I can honestly say that too many days jammed that full of activities can really wear a mommy out! Anyway, here are some pictures from our Saturday morning breakfast picnic. I hope you enjoy! And, yes, Lily was there too, we just didn't get too many pictures of her out of the stroller!

More Prague Pictures

Test Post

Please do not adjust your computer screen.

This is a test post to the Great Un-Gnome.

Seven months old

It is hard for me to believe that Lily turned 7 months old yesterday. She is such a delight to have and she brings much joy to our family. It is fun to see how she interacts with Mea.....her face and eyes light up when Mea comes into the room. The downside of that is that Lily is at the stage where she grabs whatever is within reach, and all too often it is Mea's hair that she gets hold of. Ouch! Anyway, having two girls is a fun yet exhausting job.

Prague--August 10-14, 2006

One of the greatest privileges of living in Europe is having the ability to travel to so many neat, exciting places. However, since Lily's birth in January, we had wondered if we were realistically going to be able to take two small children to all the cities WE wanted to visit. Well we finally accepted the challenge.........on August 10th, we were on the train to the Zurich airport at 5:30 a.m. to catch our flight to Prague. I have to say that the girls were great little travelers! I know the four days of sightseeing and touring was exhausting for them (and us) but we had a wonderful time.

Once we arrived in Prague, we spent most of Thursday just walking around the Old Towne Square and Wenceslas Square areas. We did stop for a few pictures of the Charles Bridge with the Prague Castle in the background.

Friday we took a guided tour of the city and then just made our way around to various other sites of interest. After our tour that morning, we made our way to a little restaurant which served 'authentic' Czech cuisine---a lot like German and Swiss food. Very meaty with heavy potato side dishes. Anyway, the best part of the lunch experience was the little accordian man who, much to Mea's delight, played right next to our table.

He had a very sweet grandfatherly look, and the more Mea seemed to enjoy the music the more he enjoyed playing.

Saturday we strolled across Charles Bridge and checked out all the artists and craftsmen and their stands as we made our way back to Prague castle. It was nice to be able to ramble through the castle and grounds at our own pace. On Sunday, we took a guided tour of the old Jewish ghetto. There was another young, American couple in our group who were from New Orleans but living in Brussels for a work rotation. We enjoyed talking to them and hearing about their experience in Belgium. As you can see from the pictures, Jared had to keep his head covered in the synagogues and the Jewish cemetary. The yarmulka cap kept falling off of his head though because they didn't have any hair clips and Mea had lost all of hers.

Sunday after the tour of the Jewish town, we made time for naps and a playground. Mea had a wonderful time running around and being freed from the stroller, and, of course, she was quick to make friends with a Czech girl named Natalia. They had a great time sliding down the slide together and playing on the playset/ship-thingy. It was a great way to wind down a fun family weekend away. (I will try to post more Prague pictures soon.)

Gnomes

A Gnome get together in Appenzell. Aren't they great?

Up and running?

Here we are! Thanks to the help of a great friend, we have set up a blog of our own so that we can try to keep family and friends informed as to our goings and comings. I can't promise that we will post new info on a daily basis, but I will do my best to keep as up to date as possible.

As for the blog name "The Great Un-Gnome", you would have to understand Mandy's odd attraction to gnomes. Everywhere we visit in Switzerland, we see them. In gardens. In windows. On postcards. On our patio. I think they are great! So as we continue on our European adventure, we hope you'll enjoy discovering the great 'un-gnome' with us.