Happy Swissgiving!

While our families spent much of yesterday scurrying about the kitchen and putting final touches on their Thanksgiving feast, the same can hardly be said for us. Aside from popping some pie in the oven and mashing a bit of potatoes, we got off easy.

The Stewarts (aka the holiday miracle workers) worked their buns off to put on a traditional and tasty Thanksgiving lunch. In an all-star performance, Ashley and Andrew prepped, cooked, baked and hosted their way through the most wonderful afternoon.

 100% homemade pumpkin pie - Ashley, you're a star!

 Sweet potatoes and dressing.

Rookie carving at it's finest.

 The spread.

Self-timer attempt one.

Our happy family.

The boys had practice that evening but afterward we continued the celebration with a traditional Swiss meal - cheese fondue and wine.

 The spread - part two.

 Slingbox provided the mealtime entertainment. What's Thanksgiving without football, anyway?

Evan's failed attempt at opening the wine.

All in all, a wonderfully memorable day. We absolutely can't complain.

on to the next one...

thankful for...(andy edition)

My Swiss Miss (the love of my life and P-I-C for everything).

Living in such an amazing location for the first time ever.

 My health, the ability to play the sport I love, and playing with 2 other Americans.

 These peeps (best family ever!)

 These dudes (B, D, T, E, J, J, J = the best)

Oh yeah...this little dude.

There are so many more things that I'm thankful for, but these are the biggest by far. This year has been an amazing year for me and I can't thank the people (and dog) in these pictures enough for the support and love they've given me. Most of all, though, I'm thankful for God's love, patience, mercy, and guidance during this year. I'm looking forward to this next year and the new experiences awaiting me. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

thankful for... (kate edition)

My silly, loving, handsome and very weird husband.

All of these wonderful people.

The best little travel companion.

Three of my biggest life cheerleaders.

Technology. Being able to watch my niece grow up from 5,000 miles away is priceless.

That my mom and I are kindred spirits.

There is so much more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving than just what's mentioned above - traveling the world with the love of my life, meeting new friends and sharing unforgettable life experiences with them, my health and the health of those I love, to name a few.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a kick butt start to this holiday season!

on to the next one...

Zermatt(erhorn)

It's safe to say the view of the Disneyland's Matterhorn ride pales in comparison to the real thing. Largely in thanks to our donkey neighbors, we were up and at 'em early yesterday morning to hit to road to Zermatt. A few hours and picture breaks later, we found ourselves at the station to head into town.

We drove through the town of St. Niklaus - I couldn't resist.

Naturally, we had to fuel up before hitting the town.

You can't actually drive into Zermatt so we hitched a ride onboard the Matterhorn Gotthard train. Without the hustle and bustle of Fiats and Peugots, we found the city to be perfectly peaceful. A quick jaunt through town and a few photo shoots later, we were looking up at the most impressively beautiful mountain of life. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't exactly cooperating but we managed to enjoy our visit.

Dance posin' my way through Europe.

Famery.

We definitely have Zermatt(erhorn) on our to-do list for a repeat visit, hopefully this time with better weather.

on to the next one...

Happy Birthday Johanna!

Saturday evening, the Stewarts invited the Heimero and Patchell families over to help their little princess celebrate her first birthday. The food was tasty (Ashley, I need that dressing recipe!), the cake was delicious and the company was perfection. We're very thankful to have a group of wonderful people to spend time with this season - what a blessing!

Our American crew.

Harry + Johanna = Love.

Eyes on the prize.

What a beautiful family!

on to the next one...

Room with a view

The sunset from our living room window this evening was okay I guess...

Adventuring on Monday because the boys have the day off. Zermatt, here we come!

on to the next one...

Happy birthday, Kawika!

The Heimero family hosted our dear Hawaiian/German friend, Kawika, this past weekend. We drank, we fondued, we birthday celebrated, we watched volleyball (twice), we adventured and we thoroughly enjoyed a great weekend with wonderful company.

On Friday, we hit the city to see the sights and shared in Kawika's first fondue experience.

Le boys.

The Centre - can't help but see the San Francisco resemblance.  

The Organ at the Cathedral

 Ouchy.

The Olympic Museum.

Birthday brownies with Nutella frosting, of course. Nice outfit, Romero.

LUC had a tough match (and subsequent loss) Saturday night but we managed to kick up our spirits just enough make a wizard staff and head back into town for a night of birthday shenanigans.

Sunday we headed up north to cheer Kari Pestolesi and her team to victory. Following the match, we dined at a local pizzeria and played a little King's Cup at the girls' apartment before heading home for the night.

All in all, a wonderful weekend and we were sad to see Kawika go this morning. Safe travels back to Berlin!

on to the next one...