Emergency Hat

I picked Jackson up from school on friday and Jutta handed me something that Jackson made. She referred to it as his "emergency hat" to keep the sun out of his eyes and cool him off. Good thing to know if I ever forget his hat he will always have this as a backup! ;-)

New Stripe

Jackson got a new stripe on his belt and is one step closer to getting his yellow belt. He got the stripe because he was doing his kick/punches in the right form. He is testing for his yellow belt in three weeks. He is so excited to soon be a yellow belt in karate!

Grace's 3rd Birthday

Hard to believe Grace is already 3!

With the princess party decorations (her choice), and the sun shining we enjoyed having our friends over to celebrate with us.

The kids enjoyed playing soccer in the backyard, jumping on the trampoline and a easter egg hunt after the cake. We are so thankful for the wonderful friends we have made here!

The birthday girl

Action shot...Grace loves to jump!
The girls played their own game of soccer...
while the boys played the real thing in the grass.

Jason grilling burgers and brats.

Cute Ella Bella
Birthday cake fit for a princess. (Yes, it is lopsided. I tried my best at a tiered cake. ;-) It tasted great, though!
Grace was so excited when it came time to sing to her.
But she was a little shy when it came time to blow out the candles, so I had to help her out.
Easter egg hunt time!


Present time!


After everyone left we took Emma on a walk while the kids rode their bikes. Here is Grace on her balance bike. It is typical to see kids learning to ride a bike on these instead of training wheels.


We feel truly blessed to have our Grace and look forward to the many more birthdays we are going to celebrate in the years to come.

Meeting Cooper Christian Yost

We had the privilege of taking the Yosts dinner the other night and getting to meet their newest addition, Cooper.

It was so much fun to finally see him! He is such a sweet heart who looks like 100% boy. Ella is very proud of her little brother. She couldn't wait to take us over and show him to us. It's fun to think of the great times we are going to have with the little slugger in the years to come.

Laura got him undressed to wake up and eat. He didn't like at all!

The girls loving on Cooper.
One proud Mama!
And one very proud Papa!
Look at that handsome little face.
Yay! I got his eyes open!
For some reason the kids thought it would be fun to run around in their underwear. And the parents thought it would be a great photo memory.

Switzerland, Pt 4, Lucerne

First off, there are a lot of pictures from Lucerne. I absolutely loved this place!

We intended to go on a bike ride around the town and walk around a bit, but it wasn't the best place to ride with young kids. So we took a short ride into the city and parked our bikes for a few hours while we strolled the main street and had lunch.

The bike path into the city. (Sorry for the crooked picture. I was taking it while riding my bike.)

Grace and Aubrey all snuggled up and ready to ride.
Jackson's hands got cold, so he wore Jason's riding gloves.
Gotta love Europe! Here is one of the many places to park your bike in the city.
I love all the moss over the bridge.
Inside the bridge.
Here is the famous Chapel Bridge. It is 607 feet long that crosses the Reuss River. It was constructed in 1333 and is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. The water tower that is connected served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury in the past. Today the tower is used as a guild hall of the artillery association.
Lunch time! Switzerland is quite expensive. Our lunch which consisted of 2 adult meals, the kids shared a meal and I had a beer...the total was $65.00. Yikes! Good thing we only ate out one meal thanks to our kitchen in the apartment.

Famous Switzerland cow bell. The cows all wear bells around their necks and you can hear them clanking all around. It was such a relaxing sound to hear. On a side note here is the history of the cow bell:

In the spring, when the snowmelt is finished, villages send the cows with the cowherds to high alpine meadows to graze during the summer months. The event, called "Alp Aufzug", is celebrated in each village with a procession through the village into the high pastures. The cows are decorated with floral wreaths woven through the horns, and the best milk produced cow in the village leads the procession wearing the largest bell. In the fall, the event is repeated as the animals return from the high meadow. The best cows (called the Kranzkuh) from each herd lead the procession through the village. The traditional festival is called the Viehschied in Southern Germany.

Jason and I would really like to go to one of these festivals in the future. What a sight that would be to see.
The girls taking a nap while we walked the city streets.
Swiss chocolate!


Jackson was very curious about this bike. He must of asked 100 questions in a two minute time period.

Tulips are in bloom all around. I was trying to get photo fancy here.
Jeremy and his girls.
This trip will definitely go into the record books as one of our favorite. We loved traveling with the Sheppards and all got along great. Seven days was not enough to see this beautiful country. Guess we have to go back!

Switzerland, Pt 3, Brunnen

The resort we stayed at was just above the village of Brunnen. We enjoyed a bike ride, feeding the ducks and just hanging out for the afternoon at the playground.

A view of Brunnen from our resort.
Four adorable kiddos!

The kids loved to feed the ducks.





Up next, Lucerne...