Kelsey's 3rd birthday

Brooklyn is starting to understand simple questions from our

neighbors- they are so nice.

We had a birthday party for Kelsey in front of the houses and the neighbor kids had fun playing pin the tail on the sheep (it seemed like new game to them- no one really knew how to do it) and then we had a pinata and cake and presents. We were sad not to have Colin, but the older

kids knew it was Kelsey's birthday and insisted on having a party on the day.

The next week Colin came and our two neighbors were anxious to take him cycling.

They were waiting for him all week and were excited to show him around the countryside. After 23 miles they headed back and were happy that Colin could keep up. After all one of them goes on 4 hour bike rides every other day and the other one is a triathlete.

So they plann

ed another ride for Friday. That time they went 40 miles and I was happy to see Colin a little worn out. It's nice that he has someone to exercise with here.

Chateau de Chillon and Interlaken area

Because the kids don't have school Wednesday afternoons wetry to go and do something fun if the weather is nice.

We were waiting for Colin to come so we could visit the

famous medieval castle of Chillon on the other side of the lake from where we are.

The kids loved running around

stairways from the 13th century and seeing real prisons where "witches" were held before being burned at the stake in the 15th century. The scariest part was the crypt under the chapel. I was even a little spooked. Their favorite part was the bathroom. Kelsey seemed a bit surprised at how far everything dropped.

Then on Saturday after all the chores and homework were done we decided to drive to the mountains. It was a late start but after two hours we were in the Swiss Alps and the village of Lauterbrunnen where we parked the car and headed to the tram.

Looking up the houses are on the sides of the mountains and cows roam around the hillsides.

Of course all the mountain villages are connected with rail

roads and gondolas and we got to take both to get to the small village of Murren. We had a picnic and ate on the park benches looking out over the mountains.

When you get thirsty its not

hard to find a public fountain with fresh mountain drinking water.

Our bonus for the day was watching the horn blowers (Swiss alphorn) practice their song out in the meadow.

School in Eysins

The idea is to have the kids learn French in a place where they are used to teaching languages quickly to a lot of foreigners. The bonus is they also get

to learn some German too.

So far we've been here two and a half weeks. The kids have been in school for two weeks and are settling in. They are picking up a few basic words and phrases but not too much. It's still pretty slow. Alek and Kelsey are learning the fastest though.

Brooklyn has had to jump into junior high school. She has a busy schedule and lots of different teachers. Not only does she have a gym class every week but swimming every Thursday afternoon. I'm so glad she can swim because she said everyone in her class is a good swimmer.

But the kids are really enjoying it here and still have a positive attitude. One of their favorite activities after school is to go grocery shopping in France (about 5 min away by car).

There is so much chocolate and delicious yogu

rt and chewy yummy bread. It's a feast every day.
We also had fun going to France by boat when Colin finally arrived. Every little village if full of flowers and looks like it belongs on a post card.

Another fun activity is the outdoor pools by the lake. They are unlike anything I've ever been to. One is lined with stainless steel to soak up the solar heat, another is a splash pool with fountains and the third is a deep pool for swimming lanes and they are all next to the lake- you can swim in that too.

We have some wonderful Swiss neighbors who are very welcoming and kind. The people are really nice and fun to get to know. There are so many rules in Switzerland: no noise after 8pm, mow lawn between 8am-7pm Mon-Sat (sunday yard work is against the law), virtually all stores are closed on Sunday, if you leave bikes in front of your house you can get a ticket.

But the nice thing here is everyone still trusts everyone else. Even if you buy something on the internet, you don't have to pay for it right then you can just get the bill in the mail. And if you say you will do something or be somewhere- then you will be because that is how everyone is.
We still can't believe we're here, but so far it has been lots of fun and we have made many new friends.
Of course we would love to have any visitors that can make it over.
We'll keep this post updated as we go.