Lugano

The next day we headed to Lugano on another corner of the lake to pick up Daniel. He got to enjoy one of Rick Steve's recommended train trips through Switzerland; however he was looking at his computer more than out the window unfortunately.

We spent the morning walking through the town and the lake, enjoying the modern art works which decorated the lake front.

Another head matching the one we say in Krakow a couple years ago.

The kids were able to crash some of the Easter activities organiyed in the Lugano old town.

And then we were able to enjoy a nice street show

 

On the funicular saying goodbye to Lugano

Easter weekend in Tocino

For Easter weekend this year we decided to head down to Ticino, the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, and the Como region of Italy.We were plannning on leaving the Thursday before Easter, as the kids were already on vacation, but unfortunately Daniel found out last minute that he would not be able to leave until Saturday. So...I  packed the car up with the kids and headed out on Thursday and Daniel bought train tickets to meet us on Saturday. The drive started out great as we headed through the Alps to our destination and everything was going smooth, until we noticed the sign warning 'Stau' and hit the notorious 2-lane tunnel. As the hordes slowly made their way our direction, we were stopped on the highway for 2.5 hours. So our 4 hour trip because closer to 8. luckily the kids were champs. When we finally arrived, we were rewarded with this astounding view from our apartement

The next day we spent wandering around Porlezza, the sleepy Italian village we were staying in.

So smug

The apartment where we were staying had a swimming pool. I wasn't sure how much we would use it given that the pool wasn't heated and that it was pretty chilly outside. But Jonas wasn't deterred. And Jaxon wasn't going to be shown up. They became quite the spectacle.

And of course a nice warm bath to warm up.

Just going to the grocery store is such a treat. Each day we picked out different types of pastas (gnocci, ravioli, tortelli, etc.) for the fresh pasta bar and prepared exquisite easy meals in the apartment.

During Evaëlle's nap, I worked on the balcony overlooking the beach and the plyground where the boys were playing.

Treating ourselves in Porlezza

Jaxon stealing left-over bits of chocolate from Evaëlle's fingers.

And what perfect day doesn't end with an ice cream mustache and goatee?

Winter 2014

We had an incredibly mild winter this year. We decided to enjoy a January barbeque by the lake after we returned from Turkey. Eva loved the swans.

Winter walks by the steam

My birthday- 33!

Ski season finally started toward the end of January. Daniel and I took turns hanging out with Evaëlle. She loved doing some sledding in the morning and then would pass out. We spent a whole lot of time hanging out in the restaurant with her like this.

Just because she is so stinkin' sweet

We signed the kids up for ski school during their February vacation this year. Every morning they hopped on the bus and spent the day skiing and enjoyed a hot lunch (which they were very excited about for some reason...). Then I picked them up in the afternoon. They loved it! And they learned a lot!

My amazing girl. This is her stacking blocks at 17 months with no help. She is just growing so fast and thinks that she is just as big as her brothers and that she can do everything that they can do.

The boys loved doing the ski jump this year.