it’s here. Spring is in full swing in Bern. People keep saying it could snow until Easter but the plants and flowers (and me) are choosing to ignore that. We have tons of daffodils and tulips blooming around our home. The tree in our atrium has turned from giant pussy-willow looking buds to beautiful white flowers. Talk about a fresh of breath air after the long winter. The winter wasn’t particularly harsh just long and grey.

We have been in the atrium and yard eating lunches and playing as much as possible. On the weekend we have been getting lots of outside time with hikes to the woods and river and riding bikes on our sidewalk. Owen is exploring his new world with the assistance of his brother. I have been working on potting herbs and flowers over the last couple of weeks. Here is a funny progression of pictures to see what I caught Owen doing….

“What do you mean I can’t undig the flowers???? I am HELPING!”

And some pretty Spring shots. The tulips are just opening up today so I will post some pictures of those soon.

Last week my dear friend Bonnie graced us with a quick visit! I have been begging her since we got here to come on over and amazingly she did! Bonnie used her week of vacation to go to Germany and she, Leigh and Katy Jo popped over to Bern for 3 of the days.

We packed in the fun. Seth graciously took 2 afternoons off so that we girls could run around without napless boys. The weather wasn’t the best but we made the most of it. We went to a couple of brocantes when they first arrived in town. Bonnie is the Goodwill queen so I knew she could enjoy it! She found a few little treasures to take back with her. After getting the boys settled at home we drove to Gruyere where we went to the Callier chocolate factory and saw some great mountain views. I had heard multiple people talk of the all you can eat tasting room and we were all geared up for it. It was so fun to do it with Bonnie and Leigh because we all were on board with the “taste as many as you can handle mentality”. (I think Seth would have had his fill after a couple…but where is the fun in that? and don’t you want to get your moneys worth?!) Some strategic planner for the factory made sure there was no water fountain in the room which slowed us down but I imagine by the end we had each eaten nearly a box of chocolates. Don’t worry folks, none of us ate more than one of the same kind. We kept it classy and slowly attempted to try one of most. By the end we were about to die from the richness and gave up before having total success. This is NOT something that will be repeated on a regular basis.  Or ever again. But it was so fun!!!

luckily Leigh had a baby bottle of water.

And as if the chocolate didn’t almost kill us from richness we came home and made a traditional Swiss fondue dinner!

this is blurry but still cute of the girls dipping!

Katy Jo and Owen had some good bonding time. KJ is standing at the play table and showing him who’s boss! The boys love having KJ around. She is so happy and sweet-natured. Jackson often talks in a high “baby” voice with Katy Jo which is cute to watch.

On the second day we hit up the Salvation Army store and in the afternoon we drove around Thun and towards Interlaken. The weather was so gloomy! Bonnie has to come back to be able to see those mountains in their full glory!

On Friday morning before the girls had to head back to Germany we went into old town Bern. They got to see the bear pits and we stopped in a cafe for some hot chocolate. We are still trying to forget about me getting yelled at by a Swiss man for the way I parked (which happened to be within the lines and fine by US standards). But it is only right for Bonnie to see the whole picture of my daily life here

The trip was all too short but so fun! Come again soon Bonnie!

Last week was the annual Fasnacht festival here in Bern. Lots of confetti and costumes and marching bands! You can google it to hear about the history. For us it meant heading downtown Friday afternoon for the kinder parade. We went with some of our new Swiss friends from Jackson’s school. That was fun to hear about how they went as children. The kids had so much fun seeing all of the other kids dressed up. We marched with the bands through the old cobblestone streets and ended at an area near the cathedral where they had games set up for the kids.

Here are a few photos. We avoided the “grown-up fasnacht” knowing that it would likely be scary for our kiddos. The kinder parade was just enough for us! The boys came home EXHAUSTED! They both crashed early that night after skipped naps and so much excitement.

my super hero….the theme was Zoo animals but he wanted to be a super hero

and our little dino just could not make sense of being taken out of his bed early to get a costume on!

Jackson and Ella..she is Swiss but her family lived in Houston. Such a sweet family.

superhero reunion

only in Switzerland…(this may be the name of an upcoming blog series. I am working through some culture shock before I launch it. I don’t want to get myself sent out of the country!

we saw at least 50 Pippy long stockings during the afternoon….brings back so many fun slumber party memories. I had no idea the Swiss loved her so much!

not a great picture but the only one of the 3 of us! Should have gotten one pre-parade. My super hero and dinosaur were fading!

We got our fill of confetti until next yr!!

Spring is still taunting us in this neck of the woods and we are taking advantage. Saturday I hiked up the Gurten with 2 girls from church and the boys met us at the top to play at the park. Yesterday we met friends at the Rosengarten overlooking Bern for a picnic. We have had lots of outside time! In a few minutes when Owen gets up we are heading out again. Going to enjoy it until my allergy-fogged contacts start screaming!!

Bonnie, Leigh and Katie Jo arrive on Wednesday morning and I can’t wait! I last saw Bonnie in July of last year. Too long! We are going to make a big pot of Swiss fondue for Bonnie and I may just have to make a trip to the chocolate factory so she can get a good taste of Swiss chocolate and get a good view of the mountains.

Not sure what we will do next year when all of our near and dears have already visited us here. I have SO enjoyed having so many guests and it has made this house feel more like home.  We may have to build a budget line in so I can hop “home” now and again. I am still holding out hope to go to my cousins wedding in July but with tickets a whopping $1700 a piece my hope is dwindling.

I need to post on the fastnacht parade from Friday but the camera and the computer seem to be in opposite ends of the house so that will have to wait! We had big fun and were completely wiped out! Stay tuned!