Saying Good-byes

Here is a picture of Kacey, me and Amanda at a going away apero for Amanda and her husband, Aaron. Seeing this picture made me reflect on what it is to live in a different country and to appreciate the friendships I have made................

One of the hardest parts of living an expat lifestyle is having to say "Good-bye" to friends who have played such a crucial role in my Swiss experience. However, a huge part of living so far away from family and all the friends back home means that your new friends become your 'family'. You jump right into these new relationships because your time is limited and there's no point wasting what little time you have on small talk and mindless chatter. They are the ones who throw surprise baby showers for you, who come and cook supper and take care of your kids when you are sick, who help you look at apartments--- with two children in tow while your husband is out of the country--- in the thick summer heat AND while using public transportation. These friends become your lunch buddies, movie buddies, recipe advisers, therapists, free referral services and so much more. Sometimes they even brave the unknown and spend their Christmas holidays with you (and your children) in another country............pretty amazing!!

Our family has been in Zurich for almost 2 years now, and the 3 ladies that befriended me my first week in town have now all moved on to new places: Susan, my very first friend, is back in the NYC area; Shannon is now in Hong Kong; and now Amanda has moved to Munich. Thanks ladies for the friendships and love.

Arosa

Here are some pictures from our KPMG TS weekend in Arosa in early March. We had a great time getting to know many of the other families in Jared's group. Mea and Jared were able to get out on the slopes on Saturday for Mea's first ski lesson. (Mandy hung out at the hotel and read books and napped while Lily caught up on her sleep.)

Happy Baby

Since I was a bad mommy and didn't take many close up pictures of Lily at her birthday party, I decided to try and snap a few shots during lunch earlier this week. She is smiling just enough to show some of her teeth and the slight dimple in her left cheek. I think Lily is a doll, but then again I am very biased.

Saying Good-bye to Jacqui

On January 11th, we treated our Kiwi babysitter, Jacqui Dibley, to a "good-bye" lunch in Zurich. We met at the Bellevue Brat stand, ordered lunch and then walked to the lake to eat and feed the ducks.

Jacqui was in Zurich for a year both living and working with a family in our church and she came out at least once a week to take care of the girls while I ran errands. The girls loved her very much which made it even more difficult to see her go. The upside is that now we have a friend in New Zealand whenever we want to go visit! Thank you, Jacqui!!!

Lily's First Birthday

Hard to believe that it has been one full year since Lily arrived on the Kelso scene. She is such a sweet girl with the most beautiful smile. It is fun to see her individual personality developing and to watch as she interacts more and more with Mea.

For her birthday, we had a joint party with Charlie Little who also turned one on January 21st. There were 22 guests (8 of those were kids aged 3 and under!!!) at our house and we enjoyed an evening of hamburgers, baked beans, salads, cupcakes and cake. Enjoy the pictures.

Winter's First Snow

It finally snowed last Tuesday night, January 23rd. Mea was so delighted to wake up and find snow on the ground. I didn't get a lot of pictures of our house or surroundings, but I did get a few of Mea in the backyard playing and building a snow.....creature?? (Blue potato eyes and a carrot nose...not a handsome fellow for sure.) As much as she HATED snow last year, she seems to love it this year. She even got to go sledding at the Uetliberg on Saturday with Jared and that is all she has talked about this week. Since the snow has almost completely melted away, she asked this morning, "When is the snow coming back?"

Where do I begin???

I have to apologize for letting so much time pass in between posts. We have had so much happen since the Jucker Farm posting and to get up to date, the best thing I can think of is to start with the most recent happenings and then work backwards. Please hang in there with me and enjoy this series of random postings.

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.