Middle School

Maisie got to have a "tester day" at the school she will attend next year.  She went with two other kids from her current class and they were able to experience a (shortened) day in the life of a middle schooler.  Her favorite parts were the science lab and the design and technology class but she's also excited about having a locker, changing classes and going to school with teenagers (yikes).  I went to a parent's introduction meeting last night and I can easily say that we are both very impressed with the new digs.  It's going to be a whole new world for us soon!

"Old" Building of Maisie's new school

Patio of the "new" classroom building (notice the abundance of foosball tables)

View of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) from the patio of the new building.

It was a rainy cloudy day so the photo is not great but I can imagine it will be beautiful in a few weeks (hurry up Spring).

ski season

Here are some photos from earlier this month when Michael took Maisie for a ski day in Siviez.  Maisie likes skiing at school but she likes skiing with her Dad more because "it's fun".

Gearing up

Maisie is a confident skier and manages all her own gear.  She's growing so fast so we rent skis, boots and poles for the season.  Notice our sweet parking space right in front of the ticket kiosk.

buying ski passes

We were there relatively early so the crowds weren't too bad but I was surprised by how many people were skiing there by the time we left.  Crazy!

hitting the slopes with Dad 

this was the last I saw of them, just before they got on the lift.

and finally, this photo is for Aunt Michelle and Uncle Gary who sent us these excellent North Face (and Spider for Michael) hats to keep us nice and toasty, THANKS, (even if I do look like a turtle in mine :) we love them!

Recycle

Last weekend I learned a lesson that my Dad taught me 30 years ago.   I remember after one (less than peaceful) evening at home venturing out to the back yard to find my Dad whole-heartedly smashing aluminum cans with an old brick.  And although I can't repeat the words I heard, or remember who was at fault for disturbing the family peace, the look on his face was one of satisfaction.  Now, I can't say that I have anything particularly frustrating in my life right now.  Let's be honest...I don't have a job, I have one (perfect) kid and live in a beautiful place...BUT (and there's always a big but) after a particularly difficult French lesson, Maisie and I headed down to our storage room and got physical with all the cardboard boxes that were cluttering up our space.  

I'm not usually superstitious but a little voice in the back of my head kept telling me not to cut up the moving boxes because the minute you do, you'll have to move, right?  So I saved a good share of them but the rest were reduced to recycling size.  I was amazed at how great I felt after mastering that tiny portion of my universe.  Thanks Dad for teaching me that recycling is good for the Earth and good for the soul.

Sledding!

We went sledding yesterday with our friends the Edmonds.  They're from Phoenix too, and the crazy thing is we probably would have never met them in the course of our lives there.  We had to come all the way to Switzerland to meet them and we're glad we did!  They are so much fun.

Here is a photo of Maisie and Noah after a good run.  We got these boogie board style sleds that can really fly down the hill.  The thing I like best about the style is that it can accommodate an adult-sized backside (although there will be no photographic evidence of it on this blog).

I had a couple of good video clips of the action but blogger is being weird about the upload so I'll try again later.  I just wanted you all to know that we're alive and well and loving the outdoor winter activities here in Switzerland.

The Perfect Gift

Have you ever received the perfect gift?  I'm talking about a gift so spot on it's mind blowing?  The gift that says "you" like no other thing on earth?  Something you didn't even know was missing from your life but now that it's yours you can't believe you lived without it?

Well, Maisie has!

And she's never going to take it off, ever!

Thank you to the best gift-giver I know; the giver I aspire to be, my brother Kevin.

We love you Uncle Bugis!

Ronchamp, France (Our Christmas Eve)

This is Notre Dame du Haut

It is a church designed by Le Corbusier and completed in 1954

It is amazing

It is practically impossible to say anything new or original about this place and talking about it hardly does it justice but visiting it is a moving experience.

It was pouring (very cold) rain the day we visited but it didn't dampen the spirit.  It just gave us a chance to see this modern "gargoyle" and landing pool in play.

And here is Maisie in play.  She did a great job tolerating the 2 hours this detour added to our road trip even though she wanted so desperately to be home getting ready for Santa to arrive.

Which he did, of course but you'll have to wait for those photos...

Christmas Eve Eve road trip

Nothing says Christmas like a road trip.

Our first stop was Colmar which is a small city in the Alsace region of France about 2 and a half hours away from us.  It was spared from destruction during the French Revolution and the World Wars and so has a great cohesive architectural style.  It also has a Christmas market and excellent restaurants.

 

Here is Maisie's arm trying to get the attention of a three week old pygmy goat.

And here is a delicious looking giant pretzel stand.

My personal favorite was the Chocolate Nativity

After a delicious meal and a glass of glühwein we were on our way to Strasbourg

This is a fantastic place with Rhineland black and white timber-framed architecture and this amazing sandstone Gothic Cathedral.  The Christmas market here was huge, delicious and crowded.

This is a local specialty of chicken wrapped in pastry.

Maisie found a couple of Santas.  One was slightly less creepy than the other...

 

Maisie also found some local wild life

The streets were decorated in fabulous style.  My favorite was strung with chandeliers.

We stayed the night at the Soffitel and then hit the market again the next morning (Christmas Eve day).  Here are Michael and Maisie enjoying a delicious cup of Italian style hot chocolate which is more like hot chocolate pudding (yum).  The weather was not as we hoped so after a couple of soggy hours we were back on the road.  This time we were headed for Ronchamp for an architectural pilgrimage.

To be continued....