Random Moments Wednesday

1. "It's a NAKED GIRL!!!"

My boys are currently obsessed with "naked girls". I'm not sure if it is the age, or simply a result of living in Europe. I should note that I don't think either has seen an actual "naked girl", but those two giggle like school girls at the sight any female showing a little skin. Do you see the picture below? It is from the packaging of my nylons. So far I have found it in their room 5 times. 5 times! I keep throwing it away, and yet it keeps magically reappearing under their pillows. When I last took it away they informed me that they are "really good lookers", so I basically shouldn't even bother taking it away.

2. Gardening Lesson #1: variety is a must.
My first gardening experience has taught me that 4 cucumber plants yield WAY more cucumbers than one family can consume.



3. "You're Fired!"
This is the latest phrase Luke says when he is upset with either me or Andrew. And he is dead serious when he says it. I think I've been fired about 2o times in the last few days. At one point I told him that if it were possible for me to be fired, I would have fired myself a long, long time ago.

4. Lost kid at the Zoo
Onto more Luke news- I lost Luke at the Basel zoo last week. Actually, I maintain that I didn't lose him, but that he lost himself by running ahead. Either way, after yelling and running around like a crazy woman for about 5 minutes, I found him walking away from the barnyard section. He didn't seem too concerned about being separated, and when I later asked him how he felt while lost he replied, "I was sad...BUT THE PIGS MADE ME FEEL BETTER!" He then proceeded to laugh. The fact that Luke was cluelessly enjoying himself while lost is basically all you need to know about my second child.

5. Older Brothers

She insists on wearing dresses everyday, daydreams about princesses kissing princes, prefers the color pink, and dances around in a constant twirl. And yet... she is trained in the art of Lightsaber fighting, enjoys pretending to be the "bad guy", adores slimy bugs, and loves to climb trees.

I have to say, its fun to watch Afton's "inner girl" blend with the influence of two older brothers.


Afton in her mini-climbing tree

6. European Camping
Our most recent trip taught us that "tenting" in Europe means going to campgrounds with plots right on top of each other. Lots of the plots come with electricity, which is pointless since the campgrounds have cafes, pools, laundry rooms, showers and blow-dryers. The best part? Seeing all of the European campers sitting in front of their tents and RV's at night sipping wine. We asked a Swiss friend if you can do the good old fashioned camping here (you know- camp fires, outhouses, the works), and he said that you can, but you just have to go the mountains and do it illegally. Hmmm.

7. Black Eye Guilt
Whenever I'm in the kitchen with Sam I go into broken record mode. He ALWAYS tips back in his chair which results in me constantly saying, "Do not tip back your chair!" Of course he never listens, and a couple of days ago Sam finally fell out of his chair. He hit his face on the door handle on the way down, which resulted in a pretty bad black eye. Rather than comforting the kid, I got really angry. Didn't I tell him this would happen?!? Oh, I was mad. This happened right before bedtime, and Sam went to bed physically hurt and embarrassed.

Do you know what happened as soon as he fell asleep? The guilt of my reaction set in. I spent the entire night feeling crappy for rubbing Sam's mistake into his already bruised face and ego.

Parenting can be really hard sometimes, but I'm so grateful for kids who easily forgive and forget.


Sam's healing black eye and Luke growling at the camera.

Provence

I became enamored with Provence while studying Vincent Van Gogh in college. Van Gogh spent two years towards the end of his life there, and it was the inspiration behind his most well loved paintings, including The Starry Night, Sunflowers, and Night Cafe.

Last week we spent 5 days in Provence and with sunflowers fields around every bend and the sun shinning bright, I felt like I walked right into a Van Gogh painting. Provence is an extremely diverse area, and prior to our trip I had no idea that it had so much Roman History. Roman ruins (many over 2,000 years old) can be found everywhere, and are some of the best preserved in the world. There was so much too see, and while we didn't see it all, we made a valiant effort to see as much as we could. We loved it, the kids loved it... it was a definite highlight of our European experience.

*Disclaimer: this is a LONG one.

Pont Du Gard
The first stop on our trip was to a Roman aqueduct built in 19 B.C. If you can't tell from the pictures below, this thing was massive, perfectly preserved, and absolutely jaw dropping. We loved hiking above it, swimming in the river below, and the boys loved sporting their new "European" swim shorts. We also thought the terrain was pretty cool.





Arles, France
We loved Arles with it's Roman ruins (including a massive arena- once home to gladiator fights), laid back atmosphere, and Van Gogh history. This city was heavily destroyed during WWII, but you would never know it today (don't judge that statement by the ruin pictures below- the rest of the city was intact).




Arles's Roman arena still hosts bull flights and I was really excited to go to one- until I discovered that they actually kill the bull. I think that may have been traumatic for the kids...and me.



The actual "Cafe La Nuit" alongside Van Gogh's version



The Camargue
40 minutes south of Arles, along the Mediterranean Sea, is The Camargue. This is a preserve where wild horses, bulls, boars and flamingos roam freely. It was a bit windy, but lovely.



Avignon, France
Avignon felt a little like Paris to me, only much more intimate. Surrounded by a massive wall, it is also larger and slightly busier than Arles. At first we thought we preferred Arles, but by the end of the day Avignon may have won us over.



The Palace of the Popes
Did you know that from 1309-1403 the Pope lived in Avignon? And that in 1378 the Italians demanded that the Pope live in Rome, so for about 40 years there were two popes? Me neither.

Well, the Pope did live in Avignon for a period and during that time he lived in the Palace of the Popes. He also had that massive wall I mentioned built around the entire city.





The view of Avignon from a bridge on the Rhone.



Provence is famous for it's cuisine, which largely consists of garlic, olives, herbs and tomatoes. With the kids we weren't able to experience any really nice restaurants, but Sam kept commenting on how much he loved the "fancy" outdoor cafes where we ate. Yes, it was an upgrade to the brot and schnitzel stands we frequent in Germany. Andrew also did try the local bull- hopefully the meat source was not the loser of a bullfight.



Les Baux- "The Dead City"
Les Baux is an abandoned Medieval village and castle set atop of the Alpilles Mountains. The location was used by the Celts in the 2nd century B.C., but beginning in the Middle Ages it was built up and ruled by the Lords of Baux- notorious warriors who controlled much of the surrounding region. The Lords were eventually taken out of power in the 12th century, and in the 17th century Les Baux unsuccessfully revolted against the French Crown, which led to it's demolition in 1632. Still, with what is left of the castle and village you can easily imagine what a force this place was while it was up and thriving.

Bet you didn't know you would be getting a history lesson. You. Are. Welcome.







Annecy, France
We ended our trip by driving halfway home and stopping in Annecy to spend the night camping. This location allowed us to go to an English speaking church in Geneva the next day- which was lovely. I'll have to do another post on European camping- Andrew is convinced this is what caused the Europeans to become "soft". We loved Annecy and since it is only 3 hours away, we will be heading back there in the future.





Lake Annecy

10 Years Later

I married someone who makes me laugh every day, whose face lights up when he sees me, and who makes me smile ear to ear when I see him. Someone who shares the same faith and the same goals as me. Someone who makes me want to be a better person, especially when he so patiently puts up with my temper...even my pregnant fits of rage. A guy who my children will be forever grateful to me for choosing because he is such an awesome dad.

10 years have gone by in the blink of an eye, and I'm more head over heals for this man than ever.

Celebrating our anniversary in Provence...with the 3 (1/2) little tag-alongs.

Summer Holiday Begins

Sam and Ms. Patricksen, Luke and Frau Taksauoi

Sam- The International School Basel

Now that school is over Sam is in mourning- that kid is crazy for school. This year Sam had a fantastic teacher and a great class. He thrived at the International School, and while I don't think that the academics were as advanced as the US (or at least Montgomery County), we saw a huge growth in Sam. He seemed to gain a sense of identity as he became much more confident and outgoing. I think that the International School also did a great job at encouraging independence. Sam made some fantastic friends, and we are really looking forward to another year at the ISB.

Luke- Rainenweg Kindergarten

I loved seeing the cultural experience Luke received at his Swiss kindergarten. I marveled each time I went and saw his teacher and classmates speak to him in Swiss German- it never seemed to phase Luke at all. On the last day of school Luke's teacher even told me that he was starting to speak back in Swiss German. What a shame school ended when it did! The children were wonderful to Luke and always included him in their playing. Luke also made a couple of great friends and I think this really helped with his confidence as well. In the end, I credit this school for making Luke feel like he had a place in Switzerland. I'm so proud of that little boy!!

On the last day of school the kids did a play of"Snow White". I couldn't follow along too well, but it seemed to be a little darker than the Disney version. The best part? When Afton yelled out, "This is STUPID! I going bye-bye! (Anyone who personally knows Afton knows she has two sound controls- loud and louder. This was said in the "louder".) Luke played the Prince's assistant- he was adorable.