I am backtracking big time. Somehow I forgot to put up some pics of our 4th of July festivities. We had a VERY low key celebration this year. Seth had to work a fancy work party for the Swiss but when he got home we grilled and had a homemade cherry pie. We tried to make it as American as possible! It was kind of a homesick day. Since Swiss National Day is coming up Seth was able to find some mini fireworks. The only funny thing about the fireworks is that they were silent….I guess so as not to disturb your neighbors.

when I asked Jackson why he thought I was cutting a star in the top he replied with great enthusiasm “because Daddy is a rockstar?!” We have been out of the US way too long apparently when our child is this confused on the 4th. Not that Seth isn’t a rockstar, because he is but he doesn’t have a National holiday for being one…yet.

Owen held Jenny’s hand during our mini fireworks show. He wasn’t so sure.

Jackson of course loved it!

Looking forward to spending our next 4th in the US of A!

We said goodbye yesterday to my cousin Jenny. She spent a month with us here in Switzerland! It was so fun having her around and getting to visit parts of Switzerland with her.  She survived having two adopted siblings (mostly thanks to our baby gate that at least allowed her to occasionally escape) and I think even had a little fun with them.  The boys loved following her around so much that they are still looking for her even after she is gone. Jenny, we hope you made lots of fun memories and enjoyed the break from Indiana!! Come visit anytime.

Here are some picture highlights from her time here with us!

“Bye Jenny, we’ll miss you!”

I am betting I have already posted this but it is worth posting again.  My cousin Nathan made these for us when Jackson was born. He brought them over to our apt and we ate them with vanilla ice cream.  Or rather we ate a little vanilla ice cream with tons of the peaches. The name butterscotch kind of scared me at first because I don’t think butterscotch is my fav but it’s basically a buttery, caramely sauce. Trust me! It’s good.

Nathan got the recipe from the New York Times. You can find the recipe here.

The recipe looks intimidating but it is not as hard as it looks. It isn’t a quick, whip up dessert kind of thing but it is worth it.  The beginning part of boiling the peaches is to make them easy to peel…check the peaches first, if they are easy to peel don’t bother boiling them. I always use vanilla but I bet the other extracts would be good as well!

ps-don’t worry, we didn’t eat a whole batch in one serving. I quickly popped most of the batch into the freezer to use when we have visitors! I have no idea if it will freeze well but I figured it was worth a try……for the sake of our visitors and my waistline!

Before we jump into vacation pictures we wanted to let you know that Seth’s grandmother passed away this past week while we were away. Mimi was a sweet lady and she will be missed. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. Although we are very sad she is not with us any more, we are glad for her to be free from her ailing body!

Last time we were in Houston we took Jackson and Owen to visit Mimi at the assisted living home she was in. We took her a drink from Sonic and Jackson to this day talks about it. He reminds us how old Mimi is and how we helped her with her straw. We talked to Jackson about Mimi’s death and he had sweet things to say. He was sad for her that she passed away just a couple of months before her birthday. We told her she was going to turn 90 in August and he said “how sad, she’s going to miss her birthday party”. He sat quietly thinking. He was sad about the news and then he tried to lighten the mood. He cracked a grin and said, “I wonder how she got up there?”…when Seth and I said we weren’t sure he thought a little more, giggled a little and said “I bet they got there on a big bus”. Seth and I asked who “they” was and he said he thought “other old people probably went up there with her”. After a few more minutes of trying to think things through he said “did she take that walker thing with wheels to help her get around up there?”. He has had other questions since.

Mimi, you will be missed! We will think of you often when we use your Fostoria and make all of your great recipes!!!