It actually started out with me going on a girl's day trip to Zurich (3 hours away). My friend, Jessi, used to live there and graciously organized our trip and showed us around. Even though it's Switzerland's largest city, and I know so many people who rave about it, I haven't spent any time there in my grown-up life. I fell in love with it as a city (so clean, well-preserved old buildings and sleek modern buildings, fun shopping street, cool restaurants, great parks, and picturesque setting) and if it weren't for the Swiss German language barrier, I think I'd be trying to figure out how we could live there. Our day included several food and chocolate stops, a boat ride, strolling the streets, and some shopping. It was a gorgeous day and so memorable to experience such a beautiful city with good friends.
So pretty, right?
All of us.
Irresistible sausages.
We had a couple parties to celebrate Tom turning 30. Here's the kids with Tom. Asia was so giddy about the giant cupcake cake we made for the kid-at-heart birthday boy.
A few days after Tom's birthday, it was a holiday. So we spent the night at the chalet then drove to St. Bernard's Pass. It's a historical pass that once was the only way to connect southern Europe to the North. There's still a hospice there, where St. Bernard originally took care of travelers rescued by the dogs. We drove to the top of the pass and visited the dogs they have there. The kids were excited about seeing the "big dogs" until we got there and they only dared to get so close. We drove over the pass into Italy and visited the town of Aosta. After getting gelato, we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel into France, and then back home.
For a fun thing to do at the end of the summer, we met Michael and Carvie down town and enjoyed fondue at an outdoor restaurant on the lake. On our way there, we found these fun rental bikes that we had to try.
Fall means the start of ludotheque season. A ludotheque is a toy library. Every community has one and they're great for an activity when it's cold out. They have indoor areas packed with toys for the kids to play with. And you can become a member and borrow as many toys as you want, for 3 weeks at a time. I've never been tempted to do it because who wants to keep track of borrowed toys? But I thought we'd give it a try this year. And my life as a mom has changed. The kids are so happy to have toys rotated through at home, and the novelty of the toys keeps them busy and delighted at home. It's so great!
One toy each the first time we went.
Next time we went, it was "load up kids!"
Checking out another town's ludotheque. This one has an indoor tree house.
