A Different View

Finn and Millie are often in this pose as they take in the view out our front window. Very different from the mountains and lake we had for four years. Finn enjoys watching cars and trucks go by, especially on garbage day. I prefer the boats we used to see out our window when we lived in Switzerland.

Our Last Désalpe

We spent our last weekend in Switzerland with a very traditional festivity. We returned to the village of Saint-Cergue for the Désalpe (the return of the cows from the mountain pastures). We were spoiled the first time we went several years ago with a beautiful sunny day. This time we were not so lucky with the weather. It was cold and rainy but it didn’t stop us. Despite the weather we enjoyed a few rounds of cows parading through town.

We will miss these Swiss festivities. Where else in the world do you find cows with treetops and flowers decorating their heads and enormous bells around their necks being herded through town while people drink wine and eat cheese?

Goodbye Cain Girls

Finn had one last outing with his good pals, Eva and Zoe, before we moved. We spent a nice morning at the local zoo together. As they always do, the girls kept Finn thoroughly entertained.

We are missing our frequent playdates with Zoe and Eva’s babysitting skills. They could make Finn giggle like no one else. Sure wish we had them right next door again.

Hello, Mickey!

We took Finn to Disneyland Paris for a long weekend in September. It also happened to be Matt’s birthday that weekend so he got to celebrate with Mickey and the gang. We spent two full days at the park with our friends, James and Leona, and Leona’s brother’s family. Although Finn won’t remember the experience, we always will.

Some of our favorite rides were It’s a Small World and the Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin. We also went to a show at Mickey’s Clubhouse and several parades. There were lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from Finn as he watched the parades. He did great with the lines and crowds and even managed to stay up late for most of a light show.

I think the highlight for Matt was the one-liter beers he and the other guys enjoyed while the kids took a nap.

Chaos

Whew! The last month has been a bit of a blur. We packed a lot into our last month in Switzerland.

No matter how much we tried to prepare for the chaos of moving house, it was still overwhelming. We were physically and emotionally exhausted by the time we got on the airplane to return to Minnesota.

Fribourg

The other day my friend, Leona, and I ventured out with the babies to Fribourg for the day. Both of our hubbies were traveling for work that week so it was a perfect opportunity to get out and explore Switzerland together. It was about an hour drive there so just the right amount of time for the two babies to squeeze in a nice nap.

We spent the day walking around the city as well as viewing it aboard the P’tit Train. The ride provided headphones to listen to the history of the city, but we missed all that because we were too busy trying to keep two wiggly 13 month olds contained on the train. Not an easy feat but we managed to keep them both safely aboard. The babies also cooperated as we did some shopping and toured St. Nicolas Cathedral, dating from the 1200s.

Our only snafu for the day was getting Isobel’s carseat stuck in my car. Between the two of us we could not get the thing out. Luckily, Leona didn’t need it for a few days. Matt popped it out with no problem when he returned from his trip to the US. He made it look real easy, too, which I didn’t appreciate.

Four

That’s the answer to the question, “How many letters has it taken to terminate our housing lease?” I’m not sure what was wrong with the first, second or third letters. I’m hoping the fourth one does the trick.

Also on our to-do list for the move was to de-register with the city of Morges. Today we received our ‘Attestation de depart’ which is a document stating we need to leave Morges by the date we provided them.