A Short Jaunt to Switzerland

Garrett and I spent a few days away from the kids and work and went to, where else, Switzerland. The first picture is in Luzern--beautiful there. The Lion sculpture was carved out of the rock and reminded me of Aslan. It wouldn't be a Wood trip if we didn't spend atleast one night sleeping in the car, and we kept with tradition. The next morning we took a tram to Oeschinensee and then hiked to the top of Blümlisalp, which I have been told by expert opinion, is a dang far long. It was beautiful, complete with Swiss cows and cowbells, mountain goats, and old people atleast 30 years older than we are that left us in the dust. It looked like the geriatric hospital was having a field trip and they were all wasting us. It didn't help that I was unprepared, as usual, and had only brought 2 power bars and a package of mentos for an all day hike. By the time we reached the top our joints were killing us, but it was a gorgeous view. There was a restaurant right on the top of the mountain that is restocked by helicopter daily. We were so famished we spent about twenty dollars on 2 small cheese and pickle sandwiches and a bottle of apple juice, but it tasted delicious! The hike back down was really rough because Garrett's knees nearly gave out (his dad just had double knee surgery--something for him to look forward to in a few years), he was sunburned really badly and his allergies kicked in, full force. Little old grandmas were hiking down the mountain faster than we were. We almost hadn't bought the tram ticket round-trip, but were so grateful that we did as we hobbled towards it only 2 or 3 minutes before it shut down for the day. Hallelujah, we made it!

Grandma is Here! or Here Comes Santa Claus

My mom flew in to Stuttgart on July 19th, Sunday morning, and the kids were so excited they had a hard time sleeping the entire week before. We were so excited to see my mom. She is so wonderful. If we had stayed in our house the entire time she would have been as happy as can be, just to be with us. Her only request on coming here was that she could see a concentration camp. Don't worry, I've harrassed her plenty about the psychological implications of someone who only wants to see concentration camps when coming to Europe. Luckily, she sat by a psychologist on the plane and got to work a few of these issues out, free of charge I might add. Grandma stuffed her suitcase with surprises for all of us and it felt like Christmas. One of our favorites was the gum she brought. When Grandma used to visit in Iowa the first thing my kids would ask as she got off the plane was "Do you have any gum?" Apparently they've led a deprived childhood. The pictures here show some wood puzzles my mom bought for each of the boys to put together. Each piece edge was numbered up to about a kabillion, there was one small picture with numbers showing how each piece interlocked. We spent a few futile hours attempting to piece the puzzles together and finally came up with a better idea. The second picture is us burning the puzzles to make s'mores--a much more satisfying project. After a mere 24 hours in Europe, Garrett and I abandoned my mom with 4 kids and took off to Switzerland. Thanks mom!

First Things First--Happy B-day Mason!

Yes, I know you've all been on pins and needles for the past few months, waiting for my next blog and it's finally arrived. Mason had his birthday on July 13th, his very first one he had to be in school (German school got out on July 30th). If you think his cake looks disgusting, you're right. He wanted space legos fighting on the top and 1 chocolate, 1 ice cream and 1 strawberry layer with chocolate bars cut up on the top. I decided to add the strawberries, which actually made it taste worse. Mason made bank in the Bionicle department for his birthday. Sam gave Mason a turtle he had sewn in school and a Twix candybar (I'm so jealous--I think the turtle is adorable.) and Jacob bought him 2 lego sets--what good buddies.

Now I'm going to gush about Mason, so if you're not a grandma you can skip to the next post. When Mason was born I was so excited because I got to hold him. Sam and Jacob were immediately whisked away and I didn't get to see them again until the next day and holding them was also restricted. It was so wonderful to have a baby that I could hold and cuddle and I wasn't afraid to break. He's always been very easy going and my little social child. From the time he was a Sunbeam, he knew everyone's names in primary and would say "hi" to each person, by name, as they entered the primary room. Now in German school, he has made many friends because he's so good at reaching out to other people. When we lived in Logan his best friend was our neighbor Bob; they shared a special connection. Mason has also made good friends of our German neighbors here--Rose and Klaus, Oma and Opa. He has worked hard to learn German and does very well. Sometimes I wonder if Sam, Jacob and Mason were really supposed to be triplets because Mason is determined to do everything that his big brothers do. I decided to start my boys with piano when they turned 8, but Mason was begging to take lessons and I knew he was ready, so I started him when he was barely 7 and he is doing really well. Sometimes I forget Mason isn't as old as his twin brothers and I expect the same things from him, but he is determined he can do whatever they can. One of my favorite things about Mason is his loving heart. I can count of multiple hugs from him throughout the day and he will look up at me with his twinkley eyes and big smile and say "I love you mom. You are so beautiful". When music is playing he'll come up to me and ask me to dance in the kitchen. We make a great dance couple--Mason says we're like Hagrid and Madame Maxine, a truly stunning couple! We are so blessed to have Mason in our family. We love you Mason!