Cow Beauty Pagent

Another thing we decided to attend in August was the annual St. Cergue Cow Beauty Pagent.  It was fun.  The cows got all gussied up and put on their best hats and strutted their stuff.  They even awarded an enormous cow bell to the winning cow. 

The kids had fun seeing and petting the cows, playing on the playground, watching the pig race, eating the food and watching the mountain horns be played.  It was a nice day together as a family.

Zermatt and the Matterhorn

Back in August Brian decided we should head up to Zermatt and see the Matterhorn.  I got us a room at the International Youth Hostel there (totally recommend for families since dinner and breakfast are included and you can request a family room and crib if needed).  We drove up to the farthest town that allows cars (can't remember the name of it right now) and then took a train up to Zermatt.  Regular cars are not allowed as they would never be able to make it around the tiny and very twisty streets.
We decided to go Friday afternoon and made it to the hotel just in time for dinner and to check out the sun setting behind the Matterhorn.  The next morning we had breakfast and took our bags to the train station to put them in a locker for the day.  Then we decided to take 2 different lifts up various mountains to get different views of the mountain.  The first lift was further away but had a better view of the mountain.  At the top of the lift there was a lake with a playground there for the kids to play with.  We stayed there for a couple of hours and let the kids play while we enjoyed the view and the beautiful weather. 

Zermatt (and the Matterhorn) are notoriously prone to overcast weather but we were blessed to have the most clear day ever!  It seems to happen to us most places we go.  We bring the awesome weather with us.  After the first lift we descended again to Zermatt, had some lunch and found another park to let the kids play in.  After that we put the in their backpacks and they promptly fell asleep.
Then we took a second lift that took us right up under the Matterhorn for a close up view.  The kids woke up and played at the lake that was up there.  We spent about an hour up there then came back down and slowly headed through town on our way back to the train station.  We bought a few souvenirs to take home and caught a train back down to our car and made it home late that evening. 

It was a super quick trip and we ended up missing church the next day because the kids didn't wake up in time (we had decided to come back Saturday just so we could make it to church but it ended up being too much for the kids anyway).  We had lots of fun and (if the weather looks good) we totally recommend it to everyone.  Can you get over that beautiful blue sky?  It was amazing!!

Summer in Geneva

We got home from Utah and fell back into a lazy Summer life.  Just an afternoon at the park around the corner from our house.

We went to the Swiss Vapeur Park on the other side of the lake.  It is an amusement park of mini trains that you can ride around.  The kids loved it!  We met some friends there too and enjoyed a great time.

We accidentally stumbled onto a carousel down by the lake one Sunday afternoon and decided to take a ride.  The view was amazing.

My friend Harmony recommended that we try blackberry and raspberry picking at a farm in a nearby city.  The kids loved it.  I tried to pay extra for the large amount that Johnny clearly enjoyed but they said that is normal.  We ended up doing this several times and my kids still LOVE blackberries and will eat them whenever they have the chance.

James did not like this swing.

James  also learned to climb a tree this summer. He thinks he is so big.

My boys.

Happy little Johnny playing peek-a-boo.

All these pictures were taken between July 15th and August 6th, 2010. 

Johnny's 1 year photos (and the family too)!

Way back last summer, I had my super talented friend Harmony take our pics again in honor of Johnny's 1 year birthday.  We decided to head down to Lake Geneva (Lac Leman if you are a local) and take advantage of the beautiful views there and at Park des Eaux Vives.  It was truly a beautiful day.  I have to give credit to Harmony for getting these great photos because we didn't even start until 6 pm and Johnny was not exactly into getting his picture taken.  James, of course, is always good for some smiles.  Here is a sampling of what we got.
This was probably my favorite picture of us all since you can see how beautiful the day was and the lake and Geneva in the background.

Me and my Bubba!

A few family by the lake.  Between these two pictures we could have gotten a good one if everyone was actually looking at the camera at the same time.

On the boardwalk by the lake.

In the gazebo at Park des Eaux Vives.

 A collection of James.  He is really such a character and we are sure glad he is ours.

 Johnny and parents on the beach.

We resorted to feeding Johnny after a while.

Watching the fountain.

Still watching.

Him and Her!  Isn't He just so darn handsome? 

Us again.

A collection of Johnny on the beach.  He is such an angel boy!  I really do constantly have people tell me now smiley and happy he is.  More than one person has (seriously) offered to keep him (including my dad which is really saying something).

Daddy and his boys.

Johnny at Parc des Eaux Vives.

The end.

Important: Updates

Just letting y'all know that I will be updating a lot to try and catch up on my blogging/journaling.  Now that school is done--Wahoo!!--I can focus on other things.  What have I been focusing on?  Well, mostly I was in the states until Feb.11th and I have been reading like crazy!  I have a HUGE (seriously HUGE) list of books from the last couple of years that I want to read but couldn't because of school.  Thank heaven I got a Kindle for graduation so that I don't have to lug all those books around with me everywhere.  So, stay tuned for lots of updating while I get myself caught up.