Last night at dinner, instead of Nathan or myself praying, we asked Bethany to say the prayer that they say before snack time at school. It goes like this:
(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
God our Father, God our Father
Once again, once again
We thank You for our blessings, we thank You for our blessings
Amen, Amen.
After she finished she said, "When we pray, do we close our eyes so we can see Jesus in our hearts?"
Gasp...tears...(a little choked)"Yes, we do".
She takes my breath away.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
cravings
So, I've been on a big chocolate milk kick here the last week or so. Only, I have to buy like the Publix chocolate milk. It's not the same as making it myself. I don't know why. Bethany saw it, though, so she wanted some. I mixed it half and half with plain milk. Tonight she was drinking plain milk and she says, "I LOVE plain milk. And I also love chocolate milk. But I wanted plain milk this time."
When we dropped Nathan off to teach his class this evening Bethany asked where he was going. I told her that he had to go teach the students in his class. B says, "Is Daddy a teacher?" "Yes" "Is he going to teach them how to walk in a line?" Uh... "And how to play on the playground?" Um, sure... :)
When we dropped Nathan off to teach his class this evening Bethany asked where he was going. I told her that he had to go teach the students in his class. B says, "Is Daddy a teacher?" "Yes" "Is he going to teach them how to walk in a line?" Uh... "And how to play on the playground?" Um, sure... :)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
spiders
So yesterday afternoon when Nathan came home, he took Bethany outside to pick up sticks, one of her favorite Father/Daughter activities. Nathan found a spider and web while they were working and used a big twig to remove it from its location.
Last night B woke up about 10:00 crying. At first she told me that there was a spider in her dream. Then she was sure that there was a spider on her wall. She was laying as far over in the bed as she could to stay away from it. Of course, nothing was there. However, my "squahing" it and throwing in the garbage did not convince her. So, I stole an idea from Melissa. I got our bottle of odor neutralizer and "sprayed" it all around her bed. Some spray did come out of the bottle; just enough to be able to smell it but not make us sneeze. It worked! (Thanks, Melissa!) Plus a prayer to Jesus to keep her safe and to keep the spiders outside. All told, it was about a 30-minute process.
Let's all pray for no spiders tonight!
Last night B woke up about 10:00 crying. At first she told me that there was a spider in her dream. Then she was sure that there was a spider on her wall. She was laying as far over in the bed as she could to stay away from it. Of course, nothing was there. However, my "squahing" it and throwing in the garbage did not convince her. So, I stole an idea from Melissa. I got our bottle of odor neutralizer and "sprayed" it all around her bed. Some spray did come out of the bottle; just enough to be able to smell it but not make us sneeze. It worked! (Thanks, Melissa!) Plus a prayer to Jesus to keep her safe and to keep the spiders outside. All told, it was about a 30-minute process.
Let's all pray for no spiders tonight!
big words
Yesterday, B and I went to the mall. We took a break from our shopping to grab a slice of pizza. She was eating very slowly and was constantly distracted by one of those Chinese cats (at the chinese food stand) that waves its arm. So I told her that we couldn't go to the Disney Store until she finished her pizza. Here's her response: "You can't go without me. Otherwise you have to come back and get me!"
Yes, "otherwise". I called Nathan and told him what she said. He busted out laughing!
Yes, "otherwise". I called Nathan and told him what she said. He busted out laughing!
Monday, August 27, 2007
1st week of school!
Well, B had a great first week of school! She has been so excited about going and the big day finally arrived! This is how she looked when I got her up:
Then after she woke up a bit we got her dressed and her bag packed and she was ready to go!
She went right in to the class and had no problem with us leaving her there. We started to say our good-bye's and instead of big hugs and kisses we got, "BYE!!!" We talked her into at least a LITTLE hug and kiss, though!
The rest of the week was about the same. She did keep me informed of what her teacher wore from day to day. And so far she's been pretty good about telling me what they did at school each day. Sometimes she'll start up with a random song and I'll say, "Where did you learn that?" and she'll say, "At my school".
I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon!
PS - you can click on either of those pics to see a few more from the first day.
Then after she woke up a bit we got her dressed and her bag packed and she was ready to go!
She went right in to the class and had no problem with us leaving her there. We started to say our good-bye's and instead of big hugs and kisses we got, "BYE!!!" We talked her into at least a LITTLE hug and kiss, though!
The rest of the week was about the same. She did keep me informed of what her teacher wore from day to day. And so far she's been pretty good about telling me what they did at school each day. Sometimes she'll start up with a random song and I'll say, "Where did you learn that?" and she'll say, "At my school".
I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon!
PS - you can click on either of those pics to see a few more from the first day.
Monday, August 13, 2007
vacuum help!
Okay, I think that I would like a new vacuum for Christmas. I've never been big on researching the best ones. We lived in Chicago for 4 years and just needed a little floor vac as we didn't have carpet. Then we bought a bagless vac when we moved to Hawaii. Now, our carpet in the faculty apartments I don't know if you could even call carpet. It was exactly like my dorm room carpet at Stetson. So we didn't need anything really heavy duty as most dirt could never make it through the astro-turf-like fibers of the carpet.
Now this same vacuum we've had for 3 years. I has about 4 different types of filters on it that are IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere in order to replace. I'm also thinking about going to a bagged vacuum because I HATE cleaning out the canister. It's disgusting.
So, anybody out there have a vacuum that they just LOVE? What are your thoughts? Then, I'm going to put that new vacuum on my Christmas wish list.
Now this same vacuum we've had for 3 years. I has about 4 different types of filters on it that are IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere in order to replace. I'm also thinking about going to a bagged vacuum because I HATE cleaning out the canister. It's disgusting.
So, anybody out there have a vacuum that they just LOVE? What are your thoughts? Then, I'm going to put that new vacuum on my Christmas wish list.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Potty in the Louvre
I haven't had the chance to sit down and tell this story. Some of you may recall that I promised to tell it in an earlier post. Well hear it goes...
The Louvre is big. I know people tell you that, but until you actually visit it is hard to appreciate the enormity of it. I know I certainly did not.
We were walking in the large hall with works by the Italian Renaissance masters. There were plenty of pictures of noblemen in formal poses, religious scenes, etc. all done in rich browns and reddish tones. During the long walk along the 200 yards or so, i was asking B things about the paintings to keep her engaged. "What color is her dress? What instrument is he playing? Do you see the doggie?" Somewhere along the way though, B fell asleep.
B sleeping was a to become a reoccurring theme at the various museums we would visit. Amy and I learned to appreciate it because it meant we could take our time and not worry about her getting restless.
So with her down for a stroller nap, we wandered through some more areas: Gallerie d'Apollon where you can see crowns used by the French monarchy, and Egyptian artifacts from the New Kingdom.
After about an hour and a half, B wakes up among the mummies and sphinxes. We immediately ask her if she needs to go potty. Bleary eyed, she insists that she does not. This concerns us, because it has been at least 3 hours since she last went. We have only just before the trip stopped using pull-ups at naptime. We asked again and she confirms earlier answer.
Mom and I decide to check the map anyway start heading back. As I started this story by saying, the Louvre is big. It is also old, which means that bathrooms have been added during various expansions. They never seem to be nearby. The age also means that you may need to traverse several stairways to reach your destination. Not an easy thing to do when you have a little girl in a stroller.
So we started meandering to what looks the nearest bathroom, back toward the Gallerie d'Apollon. All of the sudden, B turned to us with an urgent look in her eyes. "I need to go potty!"
We quicked the pace and arrived at our destination. Our expectation was that we would find his and hers rooms with multiple stalls, you know...a bathroom. We expected too much. There was a closet that had a single toilet inside. The door had been cut into the wall so that unless you were looking for the sign, you might miss that it was there. It was a secret bathroom.
But that was not our problem that day. Outside stood a line 6 people deep. We turned to B and asked, "Sweety there is a line, can you hold it?"
Her face quickly soured. "NO! I...NEED...TO...GO...POTTY...NOW!"
I will never forget the look on the people's faces. They turned slowly to look at us, unmoved by her impassioned plea. Perhaps it was the language barrier, but then some things are universal. I knew immediately that we would get no favors from them.
I scooped B out of the stroller and started jogging back toward the large stairway we had passed. As I left I shouted back to Amy where I was going and to take her time catching up. The map showed a bathroom at the base of these stairs we had passed. We had ruled it out earlier because of the stoller, but now the situation had changed.
"Just wait for us at the top."
B was upset and confused. Upset about her full bladder. Confused that she was being carried like a football as daddy shuttled past priceless artifacts from King Ramesses or Amenhotep or whoever.
"Are you gonna hold the peepees for daddy?"
"Yes daddy."
On the way downstairs B asks, "Are we going down steps?"
"Yes, sweetie and if you hold it until we get to a pottie, I will let you walk back up."
At the bottom of the long stairway, tucked around the corner we found a more traditional bathroom setup. I hurried into the men's room, only to find that the toilet seat was missing in the stall!
What do I do? What do I do?
Pants down. One arm under the knees. One arm around the shoulders. B hovered over the toilet.
"Go ahead sweetie."
"Are your holding me?"
"Yes, sweetie. Go peepee."
After she was done and had washed her hands, we headed back to the stairs. There were a lot of them. Big, wide, marble ones that took her two steps to traverse before stepping up again. We made our way up slowly and deliberately. As we rounded the landing at the halfway mark, we saw Amy at the top looking down.
"I was wondering what was taking you guys so long," she called out smiling.
A minute or two later I was close enough to explain my promise on the way down. Like I said, there were a lot of steps. But I didn't count them, because it didn't matter. B had made it to the potty.
The Louvre is big. I know people tell you that, but until you actually visit it is hard to appreciate the enormity of it. I know I certainly did not.
We were walking in the large hall with works by the Italian Renaissance masters. There were plenty of pictures of noblemen in formal poses, religious scenes, etc. all done in rich browns and reddish tones. During the long walk along the 200 yards or so, i was asking B things about the paintings to keep her engaged. "What color is her dress? What instrument is he playing? Do you see the doggie?" Somewhere along the way though, B fell asleep.
B sleeping was a to become a reoccurring theme at the various museums we would visit. Amy and I learned to appreciate it because it meant we could take our time and not worry about her getting restless.
So with her down for a stroller nap, we wandered through some more areas: Gallerie d'Apollon where you can see crowns used by the French monarchy, and Egyptian artifacts from the New Kingdom.
After about an hour and a half, B wakes up among the mummies and sphinxes. We immediately ask her if she needs to go potty. Bleary eyed, she insists that she does not. This concerns us, because it has been at least 3 hours since she last went. We have only just before the trip stopped using pull-ups at naptime. We asked again and she confirms earlier answer.
Mom and I decide to check the map anyway start heading back. As I started this story by saying, the Louvre is big. It is also old, which means that bathrooms have been added during various expansions. They never seem to be nearby. The age also means that you may need to traverse several stairways to reach your destination. Not an easy thing to do when you have a little girl in a stroller.
So we started meandering to what looks the nearest bathroom, back toward the Gallerie d'Apollon. All of the sudden, B turned to us with an urgent look in her eyes. "I need to go potty!"
We quicked the pace and arrived at our destination. Our expectation was that we would find his and hers rooms with multiple stalls, you know...a bathroom. We expected too much. There was a closet that had a single toilet inside. The door had been cut into the wall so that unless you were looking for the sign, you might miss that it was there. It was a secret bathroom.
But that was not our problem that day. Outside stood a line 6 people deep. We turned to B and asked, "Sweety there is a line, can you hold it?"
Her face quickly soured. "NO! I...NEED...TO...GO...POTTY...NOW!"
I will never forget the look on the people's faces. They turned slowly to look at us, unmoved by her impassioned plea. Perhaps it was the language barrier, but then some things are universal. I knew immediately that we would get no favors from them.
I scooped B out of the stroller and started jogging back toward the large stairway we had passed. As I left I shouted back to Amy where I was going and to take her time catching up. The map showed a bathroom at the base of these stairs we had passed. We had ruled it out earlier because of the stoller, but now the situation had changed.
"Just wait for us at the top."
B was upset and confused. Upset about her full bladder. Confused that she was being carried like a football as daddy shuttled past priceless artifacts from King Ramesses or Amenhotep or whoever.
"Are you gonna hold the peepees for daddy?"
"Yes daddy."
On the way downstairs B asks, "Are we going down steps?"
"Yes, sweetie and if you hold it until we get to a pottie, I will let you walk back up."
At the bottom of the long stairway, tucked around the corner we found a more traditional bathroom setup. I hurried into the men's room, only to find that the toilet seat was missing in the stall!
What do I do? What do I do?
Pants down. One arm under the knees. One arm around the shoulders. B hovered over the toilet.
"Go ahead sweetie."
"Are your holding me?"
"Yes, sweetie. Go peepee."
After she was done and had washed her hands, we headed back to the stairs. There were a lot of them. Big, wide, marble ones that took her two steps to traverse before stepping up again. We made our way up slowly and deliberately. As we rounded the landing at the halfway mark, we saw Amy at the top looking down.
"I was wondering what was taking you guys so long," she called out smiling.
A minute or two later I was close enough to explain my promise on the way down. Like I said, there were a lot of steps. But I didn't count them, because it didn't matter. B had made it to the potty.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Care to take a guess?
Well, we found out at the doctor today what we are having. Take a look at this first pic and see if you can figure it out:
There is a white arrow in the middle (it looks more like a spot on here) that points to where you should look. You are looking at the rear end and the legs are wide open!
Well, if you haven't guessed....It's a girl!!!! You can tell by the absence of boy parts! Okay here are a couple more pics. I call this "skeletor" (we had a skeletor pic of B, too):
And here is one that the sonographer outlined her eyes and nose. You can also see her waving at you (the baby, not the sonographer!):
So Bethany is pretty happy to be getting a little sister. She's told us all along that she wanted the baby to be a girl. She was simply not interested in having a brother.
So that's it! No more suspense. And we can finally start saying "she" and "her" instead of "it". I hate the "it" stage. And when we decide for sure on a name, we can start calling her by her name.
----------------------
We plan on moving Bethany to a twin bed before the baby comes. She is currently in the day bed stage of her crib. So since we'll need the crib again, we'll be moving her to a twin. Bethany has the CUTEST curtains (made by Nahna) in her room, but they are really hard to match stuff to.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw these sheets at Target:
And I fell in love with them! Which is hard for me because I am really picky. So, even though we don't have a mattress yet, or the bed painted (it's Nathan's old bed, dark stain, I want to paint it white) I went ahead and bought them because I like them so much! Bethany likes them, too, it wasn't just me deciding! :) I plan on getting a solid color comforter (probably pink or purple) to go with it. We also need to paint her walls still. Again, hard to decide on a color with so many to choose from in the curtains.
I don't think I've made a post this long in quite awhile!
Don't get used to it. :)
There is a white arrow in the middle (it looks more like a spot on here) that points to where you should look. You are looking at the rear end and the legs are wide open!
Well, if you haven't guessed....It's a girl!!!! You can tell by the absence of boy parts! Okay here are a couple more pics. I call this "skeletor" (we had a skeletor pic of B, too):
And here is one that the sonographer outlined her eyes and nose. You can also see her waving at you (the baby, not the sonographer!):
So Bethany is pretty happy to be getting a little sister. She's told us all along that she wanted the baby to be a girl. She was simply not interested in having a brother.
So that's it! No more suspense. And we can finally start saying "she" and "her" instead of "it". I hate the "it" stage. And when we decide for sure on a name, we can start calling her by her name.
----------------------
We plan on moving Bethany to a twin bed before the baby comes. She is currently in the day bed stage of her crib. So since we'll need the crib again, we'll be moving her to a twin. Bethany has the CUTEST curtains (made by Nahna) in her room, but they are really hard to match stuff to.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw these sheets at Target:
And I fell in love with them! Which is hard for me because I am really picky. So, even though we don't have a mattress yet, or the bed painted (it's Nathan's old bed, dark stain, I want to paint it white) I went ahead and bought them because I like them so much! Bethany likes them, too, it wasn't just me deciding! :) I plan on getting a solid color comforter (probably pink or purple) to go with it. We also need to paint her walls still. Again, hard to decide on a color with so many to choose from in the curtains.
I don't think I've made a post this long in quite awhile!
Don't get used to it. :)
"Dear God,..."
Bethany has been discovering the meaning of "missing" someone. It really started to become evident toward the end of our vacation when she started talking about people she missed. Today in the car she says, "I love God".
Me: God loves you, too.
B: Does Jesus love me, too?
M: Yes.
B: Oh. I miss God and Jesus.
M: Well, they're always with us, even though you can't see them. You can talk to them whenever you want.
B: Dear God, thank you for the trees and the car, and thank you for the street and the sticks that we pick up, and thank you for dresses that I can wear, and thank you for bugs that bite me (a child's understanding of Grace?), and thank you for fruit and thank you for making us. Amen.
This is the first prayer I've heard her say. I don't know if they ask the kids if they want to pray in Sunday School or not. We've asked her on occasion when we pray at dinner if she would like to say something and she always says no.
Then inside before we did naptime:
Dear God, thank you for our house that you made, and thank you for my frog (a stuffed animal) and thank you for Oscar (our cat) that you made and thank you for Miss Sharla and Michael J that you made. Amen.
*Sigh*
Me: God loves you, too.
B: Does Jesus love me, too?
M: Yes.
B: Oh. I miss God and Jesus.
M: Well, they're always with us, even though you can't see them. You can talk to them whenever you want.
B: Dear God, thank you for the trees and the car, and thank you for the street and the sticks that we pick up, and thank you for dresses that I can wear, and thank you for bugs that bite me (a child's understanding of Grace?), and thank you for fruit and thank you for making us. Amen.
This is the first prayer I've heard her say. I don't know if they ask the kids if they want to pray in Sunday School or not. We've asked her on occasion when we pray at dinner if she would like to say something and she always says no.
Then inside before we did naptime:
Dear God, thank you for our house that you made, and thank you for my frog (a stuffed animal) and thank you for Oscar (our cat) that you made and thank you for Miss Sharla and Michael J that you made. Amen.
*Sigh*
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Amy's thoughts
I had a lot of random thoughts during this trip so to sum up everything, I thought I'd record them here.
Things I will eat when we get back (not necessarily in order):
-Chick-Fil-A (Sharla, Michael J??)
-popcorn
-red velvet soup at Cook's (Heather, Sharla??)
-a REAL breakfast ie. First Watch trifecta (Cissy??); shoot, I'd settle for IHOP or Perkins
-and I will drink LOTS of purified water (explanation on this in a minute)
Things I have learned from this trip:
-In the future, we will invest in REALLY GOOD luggage. The cobblestones all over the place ate up the wheels on our suitcase. (We also started noticing that many people here have like TIRES on their luggage AND their strollers!)
-I will never think that those rain covers for strollers are silly again. I always thought, "Why wouldn't you just stay home if it's raining?" That's the Floridian in me speaking. We can set our watch by the weather. We were in the rain so much here, I'm surprised B isn't coming home with a cold.
-Mineral water makes me nauseous. This would explain a lot about when I was feeling nauseous in my first trimester and I tried drinking Pellegrino, for instance, that it made me feel worse. All of the bottles of water here are mineral water and every time I drank water, I felt sick. Most cities, thankfully, had very good tap water and that was much better!
-Nathan is my hero. Most of the time, he was carrying a really heavy bag and pushing Bethany in the stroller just so I could keep up. Then, he sometimes would pick up the entire stroller (with B in it) to carry it up or down stairs (what else could we do?). All the while, being very patient with me, dealing with Bethany when I was too tired to do it. Dealing with me being hungry for REAL food all the time (this may not have been such a problem had I been not-pregnant). I love you, honey. This was a trip I will never forget. You did an amazing job planning everything for us to do and making it all happen. Let's promise not to groan at the credit card bill for at least two weeks when we get back! :)
I know that I'm forgetting some stuff here, but I'll have to add things as I remember them. Can't wait to be home and see you all and tell you of our adventures in person!
Things I will eat when we get back (not necessarily in order):
-Chick-Fil-A (Sharla, Michael J??)
-popcorn
-red velvet soup at Cook's (Heather, Sharla??)
-a REAL breakfast ie. First Watch trifecta (Cissy??); shoot, I'd settle for IHOP or Perkins
-and I will drink LOTS of purified water (explanation on this in a minute)
Things I have learned from this trip:
-In the future, we will invest in REALLY GOOD luggage. The cobblestones all over the place ate up the wheels on our suitcase. (We also started noticing that many people here have like TIRES on their luggage AND their strollers!)
-I will never think that those rain covers for strollers are silly again. I always thought, "Why wouldn't you just stay home if it's raining?" That's the Floridian in me speaking. We can set our watch by the weather. We were in the rain so much here, I'm surprised B isn't coming home with a cold.
-Mineral water makes me nauseous. This would explain a lot about when I was feeling nauseous in my first trimester and I tried drinking Pellegrino, for instance, that it made me feel worse. All of the bottles of water here are mineral water and every time I drank water, I felt sick. Most cities, thankfully, had very good tap water and that was much better!
-Nathan is my hero. Most of the time, he was carrying a really heavy bag and pushing Bethany in the stroller just so I could keep up. Then, he sometimes would pick up the entire stroller (with B in it) to carry it up or down stairs (what else could we do?). All the while, being very patient with me, dealing with Bethany when I was too tired to do it. Dealing with me being hungry for REAL food all the time (this may not have been such a problem had I been not-pregnant). I love you, honey. This was a trip I will never forget. You did an amazing job planning everything for us to do and making it all happen. Let's promise not to groan at the credit card bill for at least two weeks when we get back! :)
I know that I'm forgetting some stuff here, but I'll have to add things as I remember them. Can't wait to be home and see you all and tell you of our adventures in person!
Day 21, Zurich (3)
Today was another Bethany day. We headed for the Zurich Zoo. It was a pretty nice zoo. Bethany had a great time running all over the place. It was good. She really needed to do that. Nathan is working on pictures right now so they'll be up soon. One of the highlights was the Tiger. We searched all over for him and never saw him. Then, on the way to another exhibit, we saw another viewing area and decided to see what was in it. Lo and behold, the tiger was there, laying in a pond! The best part was that the pond was right in front of the window so the tiger was very close! She saw all kinds of birds and snakes and fish (and tons of other stuff, of course). There was this cool exhibit of llamas and a big slide to come back down. Bethany thought that was cool.
Well, we head out in the morning. We'll be back late Monday night. This has been a good trip. I am exhausted, though. I don't think I could go one more day! See you all soon!
Well, we head out in the morning. We'll be back late Monday night. This has been a good trip. I am exhausted, though. I don't think I could go one more day! See you all soon!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
On another note...
I have started to feel the baby move! It started happening right around the 17-week mark (which was this past Tuesday). It will only be a few more weeks before we (hopefully!) can see what we're having. I get tired of calling it "It". Bethany asks me quite frequently, "Mommy, what's the baby saying?" I can't wait until we can start feeling "it" move from the outside. I think that will be really neat for her.
I decided today that if I had been any more pregnant when we started this trip that I would not have made it to the end here. I am getting so tired so quickly the last several days. Don't worry; we've been taking it slow and stopping whenever I need to. Luckily, there are plenty of places to sit in the churches and the museums usually have a chair or a bench in each room!
I decided today that if I had been any more pregnant when we started this trip that I would not have made it to the end here. I am getting so tired so quickly the last several days. Don't worry; we've been taking it slow and stopping whenever I need to. Luckily, there are plenty of places to sit in the churches and the museums usually have a chair or a bench in each room!
Day 20, Zurich (2)
Today we went to another cafe for breakfast. We decided that this one was even better than yesterday's. They had a "mini-breakfast" for 4.80 FR that included a croissant, slice of bread and jam and butter. Nathan and I both ordered it and I had planned on sharing my bread with Bethany. However, the waiter brought her a slice all her own! How nice! We also ordered a half liter of OJ. Now, OJ has not been great here (anywhere that we've been). But, I didn't feel like hot tea today so that's what we got to share. Turns out, it was a really good decision. They squeeze their own juice at this place! It was SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!! We decided we'd eat there again tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow we were off to see the museums. We started at the Swiss History museum. They had a lot of religious art and we also spent some time in the money museum. They had a neat interactive display with a computer set up. You could type in the number of a coin in the display and it would come up on the screen with information about it. Bethany loved picking different ones. There was also an interesting exhibit on people with Swiss lineage who emigrated to the US.
After lunch we went to the art museum. This was a pretty neat museum. Thankfully, B finally fell asleep so Nathan and I were able to take our time inside. I still think that small art museums are more my style. I love feeling like I can get through the entire collection and still have time to do something else with my day.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo! Shh, don't tell Bethany. She doesn't know yet. :)
Tomorrow we were off to see the museums. We started at the Swiss History museum. They had a lot of religious art and we also spent some time in the money museum. They had a neat interactive display with a computer set up. You could type in the number of a coin in the display and it would come up on the screen with information about it. Bethany loved picking different ones. There was also an interesting exhibit on people with Swiss lineage who emigrated to the US.
After lunch we went to the art museum. This was a pretty neat museum. Thankfully, B finally fell asleep so Nathan and I were able to take our time inside. I still think that small art museums are more my style. I love feeling like I can get through the entire collection and still have time to do something else with my day.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo! Shh, don't tell Bethany. She doesn't know yet. :)
Day 19, Zurich (1)
Today we got up and decided to look for breakfast outside of the hotel. This hotel doesn't have free breakfast like all but one other we've stayed at and they charge 15 FR. per person. I might feel differently about paying that much if I was used to eating a breakfast of cereal, bread, cold cuts and cheese. I think in the US you would get scrambled eggs, bacon and/or sausage, maybe a place to make waffles (or at least the frozen kind that you can put in a toaster). So we found a little place and each got something different to eat (still just breads and pastries, but we all ate for the price of one of us).
We headed into the city to check out a few churches. In between churches, we hopped a boat to cruise around Lake Zurich. We've been telling B practically the whole trip that we would take a boat ride and we finally did! It took about 1 1/2 hours but it was a lot of fun. We started out sitting outside but it didn't take long to realize that the sun was really intense! So we moved inside for the remainder of the trip. Good thing, too. Nathan and I are both pretty red today!
We found another one of those Manora restaurants. Yum. Another good dinner. We even got ice cream for dessert!
Bethany read us bedtime stories tonight. She insisted that it was a show and that we clap for her at the end of each book. It's amazing how quickly children can memorize books.
We headed into the city to check out a few churches. In between churches, we hopped a boat to cruise around Lake Zurich. We've been telling B practically the whole trip that we would take a boat ride and we finally did! It took about 1 1/2 hours but it was a lot of fun. We started out sitting outside but it didn't take long to realize that the sun was really intense! So we moved inside for the remainder of the trip. Good thing, too. Nathan and I are both pretty red today!
We found another one of those Manora restaurants. Yum. Another good dinner. We even got ice cream for dessert!
Bethany read us bedtime stories tonight. She insisted that it was a show and that we clap for her at the end of each book. It's amazing how quickly children can memorize books.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Day 18, Chur to Zurich
Today was our last day in Chur and then we were off to Zurich. We went to another small museum in town this morning (LOVING these small ones!). There was an exhibit of art by Geiger, which Nathan can go into more detail on. They had a great little place at the front of the museum for kids to sit and do art. Bethany loved this. She drew a flag (basically, horizontal stripes with one vertical one on the left, pretty good, I thought) and some rain.
Once we got to Zurich, B was out for almost 2 1/2 hours and so we just chilled in the room, watching more CNN. Now Nathan is out getting food to bring back up. I'm kind of looking forward to eating in rather than sitting in another restaurant with the B-meister. More tomorrow!
Once we got to Zurich, B was out for almost 2 1/2 hours and so we just chilled in the room, watching more CNN. Now Nathan is out getting food to bring back up. I'm kind of looking forward to eating in rather than sitting in another restaurant with the B-meister. More tomorrow!
Day 13, Birthday!
07 July 2007
First we must say, "Happy Birthday to Bethany!" Our little girl turns 3 today and it seems as though she is acting older already. Well, at least until nap time! We were very impressed all through breakfast and during the trip to our next destination, Martigny. Then she got tired and started acting like her old self!
So here we are in Martigny. There is no internet at this hotel, so this will be a few days behind as well. Not much is planned for today. Bethany and I are resting while Nathan is out taking care of our reservations for the Glacier Express, which will take us to our next stop, Chur. Tomorrow we are going to visit some of the local museums, including the St. Bernard Museum. This is a new museum in town all about the history of raising the dogs and they even have some dogs there to see. We were going to take a train up to the place where they breed and train the dogs until we learned of this local museum. Now we can just stay and do this as well as the other museums.
Well, since I've taken so long to post this, you've already read all about what we did in Martigny. But I just wanted to make sure that this birthday message got on!
First we must say, "Happy Birthday to Bethany!" Our little girl turns 3 today and it seems as though she is acting older already. Well, at least until nap time! We were very impressed all through breakfast and during the trip to our next destination, Martigny. Then she got tired and started acting like her old self!
So here we are in Martigny. There is no internet at this hotel, so this will be a few days behind as well. Not much is planned for today. Bethany and I are resting while Nathan is out taking care of our reservations for the Glacier Express, which will take us to our next stop, Chur. Tomorrow we are going to visit some of the local museums, including the St. Bernard Museum. This is a new museum in town all about the history of raising the dogs and they even have some dogs there to see. We were going to take a train up to the place where they breed and train the dogs until we learned of this local museum. Now we can just stay and do this as well as the other museums.
Well, since I've taken so long to post this, you've already read all about what we did in Martigny. But I just wanted to make sure that this birthday message got on!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Day 17, Chur (2)
Today was a Bethany day. We found a place on the outskirts of town that is an animal park (I can't remember the actual name of it right now). The weirdest part was that everything was "do-it-yourself". To get in (it was 4 FR) you put in your money and out comes a token. You put your token in another machine (kind of like at a subway station) and the gate lets you in. We walked around looking at the animals and then we came upon a pretty good sized playground. Finally, a place for B to just run around! She spent a lot of time playing there. There was a really cool rappel line that she sat on and Daddy ran behind her (just in case). She loved it!
Next we came upon little bumper cars (again, self serve). B and Daddy went three times! Bethany told me she even drove it and "hit the side!".
We saw a few more animals and then we hit the snack bar for lunch. They serve hot dogs here in baguettes. Bethany has never like eating a got dog on a bun, but she likes pulling off the bread of these, eating the HD alone first, then the bread.
Next we went to the Nature Museum in town. There were tons of cut-out wooden cows (don't know how else to describe it) with tons of information about what they do for us as far as what we eat. (I'm assuming all of this because everything was in German and I don't think even Nathan read everything)
Next to all of the cows were stuffed animals of all kinds. They also had out different animal furs so you could compare what they felt like. Next floor was stuffed birds and lots of butterflies and bugs. Bethany has been a tad obsessed recently with stag beetles because of a book in the current rotation, The Grouchy Ladybug. Well, she found a whole display of them and was so excited! The top floor was all about rocks/minerals. Bethany likes rocks, too, so she also found this fascinating. One more stop downstairs to touch the furs again and we were ready to get back to the hotel.
Rest time for everybody. After B woke up she said, "What's next?" Daddy: "Well, do you have a plan?" "I'm ready to go." "Go where?" "To the next hotel." You can see she's gotten used to the routine!
Pictures are coming soon. Nathan has a couple of day's worth to get through.
Next we came upon little bumper cars (again, self serve). B and Daddy went three times! Bethany told me she even drove it and "hit the side!".
We saw a few more animals and then we hit the snack bar for lunch. They serve hot dogs here in baguettes. Bethany has never like eating a got dog on a bun, but she likes pulling off the bread of these, eating the HD alone first, then the bread.
Next we went to the Nature Museum in town. There were tons of cut-out wooden cows (don't know how else to describe it) with tons of information about what they do for us as far as what we eat. (I'm assuming all of this because everything was in German and I don't think even Nathan read everything)
Next to all of the cows were stuffed animals of all kinds. They also had out different animal furs so you could compare what they felt like. Next floor was stuffed birds and lots of butterflies and bugs. Bethany has been a tad obsessed recently with stag beetles because of a book in the current rotation, The Grouchy Ladybug. Well, she found a whole display of them and was so excited! The top floor was all about rocks/minerals. Bethany likes rocks, too, so she also found this fascinating. One more stop downstairs to touch the furs again and we were ready to get back to the hotel.
Rest time for everybody. After B woke up she said, "What's next?" Daddy: "Well, do you have a plan?" "I'm ready to go." "Go where?" "To the next hotel." You can see she's gotten used to the routine!
Pictures are coming soon. Nathan has a couple of day's worth to get through.
Day 16, Chur (1)
Today we explored the old town of Chur. It's really a neat city. We visited a couple of churches (one evangelical, one cathollic). Then we walked around and looked in a few shops and then stopped for lunch. This turned out to be a bit of a problem. Lunch was really great. One of the best meals so far. Turns out, though, they don't accept credit cards! Nathan ended up having to go down the street to the ATM because we didn't have enough cash on us!
After lunch we came back and B and I took a nap while Daddy took our clothes to the laundry. Yeah! Clean clothes!
Here in Chur we've been enjoying simple dinners in our room while catching up on the day's news on CNN (ick). It's the only English channel!
After lunch we came back and B and I took a nap while Daddy took our clothes to the laundry. Yeah! Clean clothes!
Here in Chur we've been enjoying simple dinners in our room while catching up on the day's news on CNN (ick). It's the only English channel!
Day 15, to Chur
Today we rode on a really neat train called the Glacier Express. They called it a panoramic train. The windows are really big and there are even windows on the top so you can see above you. The only drawback was that it has been pretty rainy and cloudy these days. So a lot of the view was blocked. :( On the other hand, it was absolutely beautiful, as you may have seen in the pictures.
The highlight (for me, anyway!) was lunch in the dining car. I had potato noodles in a cream sauce with mushrooms. I think that I already nominated a meal for the best since we've been here, but this may actually have been it. And it was cooked on a train! Nathan had a yummy piece of pork (which, twice, he has had with a side of garlic butter - he's declared he will always eat pork this way now). I've never seen these potato noodle things before, but I need to either find a way to make them, or find a store that sells them!
We made it into Chur (where it was really raining) and got to our hotel. It is a pretty neat place. More free WiFi! We pretty much just relaxed tonight and we'll head out tomorrow for more fun adventures!
The highlight (for me, anyway!) was lunch in the dining car. I had potato noodles in a cream sauce with mushrooms. I think that I already nominated a meal for the best since we've been here, but this may actually have been it. And it was cooked on a train! Nathan had a yummy piece of pork (which, twice, he has had with a side of garlic butter - he's declared he will always eat pork this way now). I've never seen these potato noodle things before, but I need to either find a way to make them, or find a store that sells them!
We made it into Chur (where it was really raining) and got to our hotel. It is a pretty neat place. More free WiFi! We pretty much just relaxed tonight and we'll head out tomorrow for more fun adventures!
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