Fun In the Sun!

We were really lucky with the weather during the month of June. It was hot (85 + humidity = perfect for swimming), which I don't mind. We bought a season's pass to a "beach" that is a 5 minute walk from our house. It has a sandbox, toys, a shallow part for Kelsey plus diving boards, floating log, and floating decks for Tally and me when we switch of holding Munch. The water was  a little cold at the beginning of the month but has warmed up since. That hasn't stopped Kelsey from wanting to run right in. 

Family Photo

Whether on land or at sea, I love my floatie!

Look mom, no hands!

>

I wonder how this stuff tastes?

Uh, not so good actually. It's kind of sandy.

The only time I sleep at the beach is if I fall asleep on the way there!

The zoo proved to be a popular place despite the heat. We went to the Rapperswil Zoo and  then the Zuerich Zooh! within a few days of each other. It was fun to hang out with our friends and see lots of animals. I was surprised how much Kelsey LOVED it. 

Kinderzoo

Kelsey loved watching the Sea Lion show. She couldn't take her eyes off them (except when I made her for the pic).

She looks like she's ready for a camel ride

Monkey see monkey do

Even though she can't walk yet, she can stand and she was wishing she could run after this rooster!

Miniature Pony was just her size

Take that giraffes

"That's my friend!" Wilma & Kelsey

A babe with the babes

Niina, now can you imagine having twins?

Zooh!

The Zuerich zoo is huge, as Aubrey can tell you and it was super hot, but with enough breaks, we made it though in FOUR HOURS! It was fun to be with so many of our friends. Kelsey loved watching the fish. Maybe she'll get to know them like her daddy does and we can have a tank someday. 

The penguins were lucky they weren't out in the heat

Two little bears watching two real little bears play

Emily and Kelsey watching the monkeys swing around

Here we are watching the gorillas...that is until the daddy gorilla decided it was time to make more baby gorillas. We hurried to get the kids out but I had to get a few shots (not posted of course!). It was hilarious because all the other monkeys gathered around to watch!

Rhino was cool, poor guy would just go around in circles

Church primary kids activity 

I wasn't even planning on going since Kelsey isn't even in nursery yet. However, the primary president asked me to bring something and Tally had to work all day Saturday so we went and had a great time in all the kiddie pools. 

Yucker Farm

Our friends, the Bittings, invited us to go to Yucker Farm with the Todds. It was a scorcher but so cool. The kids and adults enjoyed picking strawberries. We also had ice cream to cool us down. There were animals there too so Kelsey was in heaven. My camera was "broken" so these are courtesy of Thu. I'm still waiting for Jenna's. Thanks for showing us this cool place! We can't wait to go back this fall for the pumpkins!

Horgen Waterfall

Our friend Alea showed us this cool trail down to a waterfall not far from our house. 

(This is why you don't go out of the house dressed like a hobo. You might actually do something where a picture will be taken.)

The surroundings on the way there weren't so bad either.

One of my favorite parts about being a mother is watching her reactions to new things. That's half the fun of the zoo and swimming for me now. It's amazing to watch her little personality come out when she's in different situations. I can't wait to see what she thinks of the cruise in a less than two weeks!!

Euro 2008

The famous soccer tournament, Euro 2008 hosted by Switzerland & Austria was fun, but I'm sure glad it's over. I'm glad Spain won, even if the Southern half doesn't seem to care. Today I decided to drive up to Zurich to my German lesson thinking it wont be too crazy now that the tourney is over. Whoops. It was full of oversized trucks taking all the Fan Zone equipment, decorations and displays down. Tons of parking places were marked no parking from June 6th to June 30th. Why couldn't my lesson have been tomorrow? I was stuck in traffic and only made it to about 20 minutes of a 40 minute lesson. Nevertheless, the tourney was fun while it lasted.

There were people dressed up everywhere, horns honking after games and nightly fussbol game watching in our home. Romania had some of the craziest fans - they were covered from head to toe in their colors! Behind them was the Dutch. My friend Dianne sprayed her hair orange for one of the games. I really thought they'd be a contender but they were out in the quarter finals.







In the Zurich train station, there was a giant display of one soccer player from almost every Euro team in a huddle. It was cool to see. Italy was disgruntled they were not included! I wish I had gotten a picture of the Spanish guy since they won and all, but who saw that one coming?




We got Kelsey her own soccer ball (the final game ball) and she loves it! Maybe she'll grow up to be a soccer player like her daddy. Don't you dare try to take it from her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TALLY!

On Wednesday we celebrated Tally's 27th birthday. He wouldn't let me do a party or even take him out to dinner. He said his ideal would be spending it at home with me and Kelsey. So, we grilled up some pork and wieners, cut up some watermelon, and had a nice dinner on the balcony.


We talked to friends and family and Tally opened his present from me and Kels - Rainbow sandals and gummy bears. We're going to Italy/Croatia next week so that will be BOTH of our birthday celebrations.

And as a side note, Tal keeps a few pairs of shoes at work and I guess he must have been in a hurry to come home because he left in the morning with the same shoes but came home with two different ones!
We love you and hope to celebrate many, MANY more birthdays with you!

Top Ten Reasons to Visit Us in Switzerland

1. You love us and want to see our baby, or just us. Either way we love you too.

2. Zuerich was voted The World's Best Places to Live, once again (thanks April for the link). Bern & Geneva are in the top ten as well and they both within a couple hours from us.


3. The Euro Cup 2008 will be over by the time you come, and trust me, that's a good thing. Tickets are too outrageous to buy and there are way too many crazily dressed fans all over the place. At night for about an hour after whichever game has just ended, we hear people honking down the street as they drive by. When we look, it's usually a car decorated in flags of some country.


4. We live by beautiful Lake Zurich with a view of the Alps.

And close still close enough to the city.


5. We have a few upcoming trips planned and we would love to spend them with you.
September - Prague, maybe Poland
December - Zermatt (Matterhorn)
Next Summer - Spain
We still need to plan France (Paris, Normandy, & Riviera), Austria (Vienna & Salzburg), Italy (Rome), Greece, and anywhere else cool.

6. Germany, Austria, France, Italy & Lichtenstein are all only a short train ride away.

7. You can frolic in the hills and pretend your name is Heidi. There's even a place we could take you called Heidiland. It's not touristy or anything. ;)


8. It would be a great place to practice your Swiss German. Oh they don't teach that in America? Don't worry, they don't teach it here either. It's a spoken language, not written. Oh well, you could try to practice your German, French, or Italian and if you're lucky, Spanish.


9. Health care is rated number one in the world. Not that you'll need it, but it's good to know just in case.


10. This may be our last full year in Switzerland. You never know where the road will take us next.