Our Swiss friends have been telling us about their apartment in the mountains since we arrived. It is in Grindelwald where we went with my brother Graham and my sister-in-law Tina. This past weekend they lent us their place for a few days. I kept it a secret from Seth until his birthday so he only knew about it for a couple of days before we went. I was actually hesitant to go at all considering it would require all of the packing of snow gear and resettling of kids with sleep. But we decided to give it a go and thought it might be a the perfect break from the house hunt stresses. Turns out the kids slept relatively well but the house craziness continued with numerous interactions with the bank and our realtor, i.e. messages in the night and wee hours of the morning. We still haven’t heard the final word on our counter offer but we are hoping for news tomorrow when the bank is back to work.
After a relatively snow free winter here in Bern it was fun to have some really snowy days! We left Bern Friday around lunch time and started with lunch at the Trucker Bar…sounds delightful huh. Seth had read they have the best burgers in Bern….after which I decided it’s just better to wait until the US for burgers. It looked good but was a bit scary. But then again it might have been the atmosphere that threw me. We hit the rode, arrived in the afternoon and geared up to sled and play in the snow. The next morning we went sledding at a place around the corner where they offer ski lessons and lots of winter sports. Seth and Jackson got sled passes and rode the automatic ramp up and the sled down. That afternoon we went to the indoor pool at the sports center. On Sunday we woke up to big beautiful snowflakes. We played in the snow with some oh so grumpy Kolb boys and had a big pot of fondue before packing up and heading back home. The boys slept like champs last night once they were back cuddled up in their own beds. The trip might have been just what Owen needed to jolt him back to being a sleeper.
Here are some pictures from the weekend.
Grindelwald
view from balcony
(not sure if you can tell but it appeared a bird landed in the snow and left his wing markings)
a bit deep for snow angels
happy boy
rosy cheeks
Heidi was our main read of the weekend
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Disclaimer: Readers may want to secure a Starbucks Peppermint mocha before sitting down to look at this post…oh no, I forgot those are only a holiday special. I totally understand if you don’t make it to the end. The good news is if you make it through this new things are on the horizon!
After our busy first week in Friendswood and the farm we headed on to Ft. Worth. We arrived on the 23rd of December just in time for the Christmas festivities. We spent Christmas Eve at a candle light service and then went on to my sister-in-law Tina’s family celebration. Tina’s mom, Lisa, had a wonderful spread and when Santa lit firecrackers on the front door step the boys found gifts just like the rest of the family. They included us like family. The next morning we got up early and did Christmas morning with the boys, my parents, and my brother Graham and his wife, Tina. It was a fun week and a half of time together….with way too much food!
Owen was SO tired and kept raiding the goodie table at Craig and Lisa’s. Here he is playing it cool with his 4th sugar cookie!
Santa brought Jackson his much asked for cowboy boots!!
my dad had hand surgery so Tina was sweet enough to cut his prime rib for him!
dance lessons from the family’s best dancer
Owen’s name has been added to my parents will…Bogie will go to Owen if necessary! They were besties!
antipasto platter at Nona Tata….a fun little place in Ft. Worth. Graham and Tina took us out for a fun dinner while my mom and dad had a night with the kiddos! Thanks, mom and dad!
post hair cute curl horns
We missed having my brother Ryan and my sister-in-law Stephanie and their kiddos around! So we swung by DC on our way to Bern…
Whew. And if we didn’t look busy enough we slipped in a meeting with a realtor in DC to begin the process of house hunting…more on that to come in the New Year! Not even ready to talk about that yet!
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We headed to Texas on the 15th of December and arrived relatively unscathed despite running through both the Zurich and Dulles International Airports. A complication with our luggage and then a delayed plane just added a little excitement to the journey. The boys had some jetlag but nothing too major beyond the first couple of days. We hit the ground running with Kolb family Christmas, Owen’s second birthday, a trip to the farm and then made our way to Ft. Worth for part 2 of our “Texas Tour”. Don’t worry this post will only be the first part. I will give you a breather before Part 2! After visiting my parents we went back to Houston for a few days, on to DC for 24 hours and then on to Bern. So, before the week is up you are likely to be sick of our pictures and journeys. But I promise the blog will get more interesting soon!
cousin teeth brushing time
closing eyes for stockings…clearly Owen missed the memo!
Seth’s mom has a reputation for needing a bib with spaghetti…just so happens that I found these one of a kind hand embroidered jumbo bibs at a thrift shop here in Switzerland!! And there was even a matching one for my father-in-law. Some gifts are just meant to be!
not sure if this is just something they do in Texas but Santa came around on a fire engine and threw candy to the kids
Seth and I snuck out one afternoon to celebrate our 6th Anniversary! We headed over to Taste Of Texas. It was so much fun but a bit sad being over in my old stomping ground and not having any time to catch up with so many dear friends!! Next time! As you can see above they must have known Seth was deprived of good red meat because this was his cowboy steak!
The Kolb’s have a tradition of having sword fights after Christmas using the tubes from wrapping paper…it was the first time for the boys and I to participate. The boys loved it!
whataburger evidence
We headed to the farm to spend a few days of peace and quiet…or rather Owen learning to climb out of his crib, the addition of kids pepto to our traveling medicine cabinet and some fun things like s’mores by the fire and beautiful fall leaves in December!
(interject Part 2 in Ft. Worth coming soon)….oh wait…
On our way back to Houston we took a detour to meet this little lady, Annabelle, and to have a quick lunch and visit with her parents, Bo and Leigh, along with her big sis Katy Jo.
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Owen and KatyJo catching up…Owen told her she’s “preeeti”
…back to Houston
Our time in Houston with family was so much fun. It could have only been better with the addition of Seth’s sister Claire, her husband Donnie and our nephew Benjamin! We missed you guys!
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Posted by Kristen on Sep 26, 2011 in Friendship, Travel | 0 comments
Many of you know that I headed home a few weeks ago for my grandfather’s memorial service. I feel weird saying it was a wonderful time because it was for a sad occasion, but it was it was celebratory of my grandfather’s life and it was a sweet time of visiting with relatives that I see far too rarely. We shared meals, long talks, walks, laughter and tears. We all flew in for the weekend coming from our own stresses and realities but for those few days we were able to reconnect and share each others burdens. Here are some photos from the time.
my brothers
my aunts, I wish I lived close enough for weekly coffee dates with them! I admire them both so much.
the whole family….missing our cousin Ethan and spouses and children!
Uncle Fred and my mom doing morning yoga by the bay…one of those laughable moments from the weekend.
For the few days before the Memorial I spent some time with my “sisterfriends”…we have been friends since 7th grade so they are long time friends but really more like my sisters. Leigh flew in from Texas and surprised me and we stayed at Bonnie’s place in Tampa. We spent our days together shopping, eating out, getting pedicures and relaxing at the beach. Seth told me to take the days and to have an early 30th birthday celebration since I wouldn’t be able to celebrate with these girls in January. Bonnie was a wonderful hostess and it was so nice to be able to see her home and have her take us around Tampa.
One night we spent a night on Anna Maria Island. I got up early the next morning to walk on the beach and find some shells. I lucked out and found a seahorse and a sand dollar.
It was so tough to leave Seth and the boys but it was so special to have some time with friends and family. I am so thankful Seth not only held down the fort but encouraged me to go!
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