Week by week 43

(April 18-24). This was a huge week. We went on a lot of outings and a weekend trip. We started with a day trip to Annecy, France (it is about an hour away in car). It is a beautiful little city that is right on a beautiful lake. We took a boat ride and then wandered along the canal in the old town. The flowers were out and the lake was beautiful but a bit hazy. James was so excited to be on a boat. He could not resist ringing the bell on the boat over and over again.We also headed out to Yvoire, France via boat from Nyon (on lake Geneva about 30 min. drive). The kids loved getting to see the boat and Wu loved seeing the town. We kinda got stuck as the posted boat schedule was for the weekends and we went during the week so we missed one boat and had to wait almost 2 hours for the next one. Overall, it was another beautiful day.
I also decided it would be a great idea to take Wu to see Gruyere. This is the most charming little town that sits upon the top of a hill surrounded by some amazing scenery. And it has an old castle fortress to boot. I let Britt take a look at the castle all alone and I took the kids on a walk and down to see the old church and cemetery. James wants to live in a bell tower really bad (he pretends that he does) and so he wanted to get into the bell tower of the church really badly. Unfortunately, we have yet to find a bell tower that is open to the public. Poor kid.
Gruyere is well known (world known) for its cheese that is used heavily in fondue. True Gruyere cheese is only made in this area of the world. They are very proud of it. They are also known for their "Creme double de la Gruyere" (Gruyere double cream). It is the thickest cream I have ever seen. It is poured over meringue and fruit is added on top. My sister said it is the BEST dessert she has ever had. I have to say that it really rocks and if you get the chance to try it, do not say no! We got all the fixings to go and made it that evening after the kids were in bed. It was a tiring but great day.
On Friday, we headed to Luzern (in the German speaking part of Switzerland) for a night. Brian and James took the train and Wu, me and the two babes took the car. It was super fun! The weather could not have been better. We took a trip on a boat around the lake and took a train up one of the mountains to get a great view. The kids also enjoyed a huge lakeside playground and feeding the birds in the water.
Luzern is known for its charming little town and for its super old (dating from the 13th century) bridge that is still standing today. I totally recommend checking out this lovely little Swiss city.
At Bois de la Batie park near my house.
On Sunday (after church) we decided to head out to Jardin Botanique and to the lake for the afternoon. We took the bus to the garden and hung out there for a while (it was totally packed as the day was nice and the flowers were lovely). After chilling in the garden for a while, we crossed the street to the lake and walked along the side like many other people. Then we took another boat across the lake and took another bus home from that side of the lake. The Jet d'Eau (jet of water) was on and the lake was very beautiful.
We also played at the park when we had some small amounts of free time. This is the smile of the week!
Phew! What a week! No wonder it took me so long to get this post together!

Yvoire with my mom

On September 28th my mom and I decided to take a little day trip. It is a day trip that I have done once before with some friends here. Basically, we drove to Nyon, Switzerland and got on a boat (Barely made it. Had to buy the tickets on the boat.) to Yvoire, France. Yvoire is across the lake from Nyon and so it is only a 20 minute boat ride. It was a perfect day! Here we are on the boat. My attempt at a "self-portrait" with James. An even worse attempt with my mom in the picture. Do you like the view up my nose? At least my mom looks good.
Lukey-Lu is just happy to be alive and along for the ride. Seriously, he was very good the whole time. I was shocked!
James and my mom looking at Yvoire as the boat is about to dock. James loved exploring the boat. He loved the horn and the huge ropes. And the French and Swiss flags.
Just off the boat and James is already straining to get out of his stroller. The flowers were just beautiful. Yvoire is known for having amazing flowers/gardens.
More flowers.
Just outside the mideval city. Inside the walls it is a pedestrian only area (exept for locals). The wall was originally built in the 1300's.
Just an example of what the village looks like. Beautiful old buildings (I mean really old) and lots of flowers.
We got to Yvoire at about 10:45 and just looked around for a bit (and shopped a bit). Then we bought some bread and cheese at a little shop and had that for lunch. It was good. J-L decided he would be kind enough to sleep for a while during lunch so that we could all eat.
James trying to climb a tree like the "big" kids.
After lunch we wandered some more and checked out the churchwhich was my first time. There is a map inside that you can put a sticker on to say where you are from. We were not the first from SLC or Dallas on the map. Then we wandered down to the lake where James and my mom fed some swans and I fed John-Luke.
More feeding the swans.
My mom and the lake. The shoreline in the background is Switzerland.
Me and my boys.
My mom with the chateau which dates back to the 1300's and is still a private residence. Not open to the public. When it comes up for sale I'm going to buy it. Unfortunately it has been in the same family for almost 400 years. Figures.
James having a refreshing drink of eau potable.
More flowers.
Please, do not disturb.
Waiting at the dock for the boat.
A particularly bad attempt at a "self-portrait."
We took the 1:45 boat back across the lake. The view as we were leaving.
It was a bit windy on the boat ride back.
After we got back to the car, James was asleep before we even made our first turn. J-L did great and it was an awesome day! Oh, and Thanks, Mom, for the great souvenir! Come back soon!

Our first official visitor!

Last weekend we had our first official visitor. Brian's brother Geoff just happened to have a business trip scheduled to Milan, Italy so he decided to fly out a bit early and rented a car and drove 3.5 hours to Geneva for a couple days. It was fun to have someone to "entertain". I can't wait for more of y'all to come and visit. The only bad thing is that we are still in the hotel so Geoff got the couch to sleep on. (We are moving into our appartment today and tomorrow but that is for another post later.) We took Geoff to a couple of local areas in interest but we didn't even scratch the surface. We drove about 10 min. and crossed into France and rode the gondola up Mount Saleve (also the name of our ward here). This is the view looking down from the top of right where the gondola comes up. See how steep it is? It was really nice cuz we had a great view of all of the Geneva are and even more. It was a bit chilly at the top but it was fun anyway. Poor Geoff kept saying that he was so excited for cooler weather here but when came right down to it, he was cold here. He has truly become a Texan. Brian, of course, got a popsicle while we were up at the top. Here he is with James, as James tries to take th popsicle stick out of his mouth. The next day, after church, we went to Annecy, France and walked around the lake. It was beautiful and not even an hour drive from Geneva. The lake was amazing looking and I can't wait to go back in the Summer. James even got to ride the carousel with Brian. He kept having a hard time figuring out where I was as I called to him while he zipped by. It was funny. On Monday, we headed out to the U.N. so Geoff could check it out. Then we walked the 2 blocks to the Geneva Botanical Garden where we walked around in the sun so Geoff could stay warm. James really liked "drinking" out of the water fountain. (It is drinkable water). After that we went downtown and got sandwitches and headed to the lake to eat. I took James home to nap but Brian and Geoff went walking around the lake and even walked all the way out to the Jet d'eau (Jet of water) that, unfortunately, was not working at all while Geoff was here. He will just have to see it next time he comes to visit. Hint, hint! Geoff was also kind enough to stuff his suitcase full of stuff for us from home. Mostly things that I forgot to get. And a few treats too! Thanks, Geoff! So, as y'all can see we are super-fun to visit. When you come we will pack your days full of fun and sights and whatever you want. So, don't be strangers! Hope to see you soon. Right after Geoff left, James decided to have a "Who can open their mouth the widest?" contest. I think he won. What do you think?