Europa Park!

This past weekend Maisie and I went to Europa Park in Rust, Germany.  We had to go to Basel to pick up her new harp (rental) and Europa park was just another hour north so we decided to make a weekend out of it.  This is now my favorite amusement Park of all time and puts Disney to shame.  We met the Edmonds (Noah's family who are from Phoenix too) and had a total BLAST!

We rode the water coaster

Lost every game on the midway (go figure),

Joked around (Maisie and Noah are not actually being eaten by shark, it's not real),

did some white water rafting.

and nearly died of anxiety when Maisie decided to ride this beast.  I must admit I was impressed but she had to ride this one with Noah and his Mom and Dad.  NO WAY was I getting on that sucker.

My favorite part though was the fact that Maisie is old enough to venture out with her friends a bit and go on the rides without me.  I love that she's growing up but wish I could pause here at 10 for a while.  I know I'm going to have my hands full in a few more years.

Cloudy with the chance of a nap

Today was a beautiful but cloudy Sunday.

Aren't these hydrangeas beautiful?  I've never seen this color before.

Maisie wasn't feeling well (and still isn't) so we just stayed home and took it easy.

I made blueberry cinnamon muffins and burned a loaf of bread (while putting this blog together).

I also did my French homework (good girl).

Tomorrow is a Holiday here Jeûne fédéral which gives Maisie an extra day to get well before going back to school.

As if she weren't angelic enough....

Maisie had her first harp lesson today.

The teacher is letting us borrow this harp until we can rent our own from a store in Basel which is a mere 3 hours away (unless someone wants to send us one from Milano's!)  If all goes well we'll post some video of her actually playing in the not too distant future.

So far the biggest challenge is the language difference but the teacher's English is better than our combined French so hopefully we'll all improve our language skills and the music will speak for itself.

Go Maisie!!

First Day of 5th Grade

Maisie is officially a 5th Grader!  Well, actually she's in the Year 6 class at her school; the oldest kids on campus.  Here is a photo of her waiting for the bus on the first day, getting ready to rule the school.  

Join me in wishing her all the best for another successful school year.  Go get 'em Maisie! 

Summer is almost over!

It's the last weekend before school starts.  We've had an amazing summer full of visitors and days spent relaxing by the Villeneuve pool with Maisie's school friends.  The cool thing about the VN pool is that you can swim in the normal swimming pool or you can swim in Lake Geneva.  Jumping off the diving platform lands you in the Lake.  It's a bit brisk but the pool is colder.  I was brave enough to jump from the middle platform (once) but didn't have much luck getting Maisie to jump - and I'm not so sure I really wanted her to.

 Below is a photo of Maisie and her best friend Noah.  He's the only other American in her class and is a cheeseburger connoisseur, as well as a Club Penguin fanatic oh, and they both like pie.

Definitely a summer to remember!

Alizabeth!

When Alizabeth came to visit we visited G3K and then decided to take the train to Zurich. It was my first visit too and it was really spectacular. It was a real cosmopolitan city surrounded by the beauty of Switzerland. I am smitten and not only want to return for another visit but hope to live there someday (negotiations with Maisie are in progress).

Alizabeth and the Glacier

On our way up to 9000 feet!

The girls having a tea party in our Zurich hotel courtyard above and

A in front of Lake Z below.

My favorite part of her visit by far was getting to know what a cool kid she is. Thanks for hanging with us Alizabeth!!

Be Our Guest

We've had a great summer full of family and friends. Our first guests were my Sister Jennifer and niece Annie. They helped me iron out the kinks in my hostess duties and we discovered the do's and don'ts of Swiss sightseeing.

Here is Annie posing with some moose antlers in a chalet shop.

The highlight of the Boyster visit was Glacier 3000.

Nothing like playing in the snow in June!

Enjoying the view from the lift.

Maisie and Annie at Gruyere Castle

The day we drove the Boysters to the airport was the day we got to pick up Kevin!! We spent two days exploring Basel and the rest of the days lounging around.

On the streets of Basel

Cruising the Montreux Jazz Festival

Next, we had the Hood Family come to stay with us. This was definitely the happiest day Maisie has had in the past year. I can't tell you how grateful I am to the Hoods for this gift to her. The highlight of their visit was our visit to Parc Aventure although I have no photographic evidence but here is a photo of our visit to Annecy, France

Maisie and Madison

The Hood Family in Sion above and

our rainy hiking day in Les Paccots below

My niece Alizabeth came to stay with us too but somehow she managed to get away with all of the photographic evidence! We truly loved each and every visit and will cherish the memories always. Now we're looking forward to the start of another school year. I can't believe the summer went by so quickly.