Family Zoo

My dad came into town Wednesday night for the annual skiing trip/March Madness/guys trip. Tal joined them at my uncle's cabin in Eden on Thursday night. They skied and watched basketball and then came down to our house on Friday night. Meanwhile, my mom flew in on Friday at noon and she helped me run some errands with the kids until Tally and my dad came home. On Saturday, we went to the zoo. It looked like it was going to be warm but it ended up being REALLY cold and I was so glad I grabbed hats and mittens on my way out the door. One kid was there in shorts and a t-shirt!

It was pretty exciting to see chickens, turkeys and peacocks roaming around.

The peacock finally decided to turn around and pose for us. It went to one side of the crowd and then the other, as if it knew exactly what it was doing!

The kids loved these little monkeys who came right up to the glass. 

So did my dad after he reading this sign. It says that the male monkey's baldnes is a sign that he is a good father. That made my dad feel a sense of kinship with the Golden Lion Tamarins...he says that must be why he's bald. Now Tally WANTS to be bald! Or not.

Family photo op in front of the elephants. Aiden is the only one looking, though he's not happy about it!

OH! Look at the elephants!

The elephants were pretty entertaining for a long time

Especially 1.5 year old baby Zuri, who can do more tricks than Aiden

Mama doing tricks! They do this while feeding the elephants and checking their feet, teeth, etc. 

My kids LOVE the book Good Night Gorilla, but were a bit more intimidated seeing a gorilla up close. 

Our family isn't too much different from our primate friends

The kids are almost exactly the same size as a juvenile and infant gorilla! 

Aiden is TRYING to see the hawk from under his beanie

Kelsey LOVED the carousel and immediately picked the polar bear. 

I got to go too

A heart to heart with the rattlesnake

A BIG iguana

Could ALMOST reach the giraffe to feed him

After 2 hours of freezing our tails off, we decided to leave and get lunch. We stopped at Corner Bakery and got some yummy sandwiches and soup. The kids were so worn out they fell asleep in the car on the short ride home. That night, we watched the Cougs beat Gonzaga and took my dad to the airport. We got Cafe Rio for dinner on our way home. Sunday we went to church and hung out around the house. Monday, Kels went to preschool, my mom and I watched a few old family videos and went to Nordstrom Rack for a bit of shopping. Once Kels got back, we met Tal for lunch at Zupas and ran into Steve Carlson of all people. We went to Pottery Barn kids (b/c my kids love playing there and we were close). We went home for Aiden to take a nap. Allison Cirac came over with Kaitlyn and we had hot chocolate and chatted with my mom. Then it was already time to take her to the airport - so sad! It was really great to see both of them. When my dad was here, he read Kelsey about 10 books. My mom also read to Kelsey and let her sleep in her bed. I'm not sure she got a good night's rest that way! She kept waking up to put the sheets back on Kels. We loved having them here and can't wait until the next time we see them - HAWAII!!!

Zurich 4 Year Anniversary

It's hard to believe that four years ago today, we arrived in Zurich. It's amazing to think that in just four years how much our life has changed. We were so frugal then! We were kidless then! I was a working woman! We've doubled in size since then!

I wish I'd written more and taken more pictures of leaving, the plane ride, arriving, etc. I guess I was too sick and overwhelmed to think of these things at the time. Here's one of the first pictures of Tal and I in Zurich. We are on the Limmat with St. Peterskirche behind us.


We spent our first weeks and our last few days in hotels in the heart of Zurich. My head was spinning on the way in but I sure savored every glance out the window and piece of architecture on the way out. Man I miss those cobblestones...and about a million other things.

Right now I have the German song, "Das Hat Die Welt Noch Nicht Gesehen" or "the world not yet seen" playing on my computer. I must have heard it dozens of times while driving around Thalwil, running errands. Every time I think about our experience in Switzerland, I tear up and my heart gets warm. I feel gratitude for what we experienced together as a young little family. I feel gratitude for the opportunity to have lived in such a beautiful place and to have met so many wonderful people from so many walks of life, people I would have never gotten to know otherwise but have changed my life for the better. I feel extremely blessed to have two babies born there, and to have had such a wonderful experience with their deliveries. My mind was expanded, new ideas presented, and my point of view changed forever. Snails will always be schneklis to me.

Now, the song my John Mayer "Half of My Heart" is on and I can't help but think of how half of my heart will always be in Zurich. These are a few pictures out of MANY that have great meaning to me.

Our little 2 bedroom flat...the middle floor of the orange building

The view of the lake from our living room window. Across the street there was an empty lot on the lake

Our kitchen - I love the clean, sleek, OPENness of it.

The sailboats on the lake, the alps in the background, our daily breath of life

Now I'm going to go have a good cry and then go to bed. Bis spaeter, Zurich.

March

A few pictures from the month of March

BOTH kids asleep...TOGETHER...in Kelsey's bed! I put Aiden in after and left him there for the night. He woke up at some point in the night and started coming up the stairs when I heard him and picked him up. Think he's ready for a move downstairs?? J/k mom.

LOTS of SNOW!! The end of March

Eating snacks with the Munns kids

I try to be very organized. I LIKE to organize. I had this entire shoe box of pictures organized and labeled chronologically. I took a picture out, left in on the office desk and came back to find THIS: 

I was in shock. 

I stayed up the next night watching my favorite shows and re-organizing them best I could. Turns out I wasn't as good at labeling the individual pictures as I'd thought! 

Scarlet Fever!!!

The night before, Kelsey had been complaining that her tummy hurt and she said she was "a little bit sick." Since she says both of those things almost quite often, I didn't pay much attention to it. Not until she woke up and said her throat hurt. I gave her a Cold Ease cough drop and within seconds she broke out in this rash. I immediately made an appointment with the doctor and he diagnosed her with SCARLET FEVER!?!? I guess it is strep throat with a rash and high fever. I had it when I was 5 (hospitalized, I remember fighting the doctors/nurses/parents as they put me in a cold tub) and I guess my mom had it when she was little. Maybe something in our genes is prone to it. It's extremely contagious so the doc told us to stay "quarantined" inside the house. Great. Luckily, after 24 hours of antibiotics she was doing GREAT. Maybe even TOO great. She was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS! Much better to see her doing that than being miserable.

Poor baby isn't feeling well at all. And her FACE was even swollen!

Nothing like a pink smoothie to make you feel better

Luckily this little guy hasn't gotten it...yet. 

As I post this, I am on my first day of antibiotics (Keflex b/c I'm allergic to Penicillin) because I CAUGHT IT! Urgh...Tally had it too and I thought he was over it (didn't realize he had strep) and I kissed him. What a sucker! Kelsey started complaining tonight that she's sick again so I pulled out the unused Amoxicillin from the garbage can and gave it to her. Antibiotics and I have a love-hate relationship. My parents come to town this week and I don't want us all to be sick - or to get them sick - or my kids and myself to be miserable! I love and hate what they do to my body. It's our first full winter back in the US and we have a lot of new strains to be introduced to. I guess illness is inevitable, even if we're eating healthier.

Green Smoothies

We have a new habit, one that I hope we keep. Every morning, I make a blender full of green smoothies. Not only do I love them and crave them, but my KIDS love them and crave them. 

This one is more of a purple smoothie because there are WAY less greens and more fruit, but this is how we started out. Now I try to do 1/3 water or almond or rice milk, 1/3 green veggies, 1/3 fruit. For example, I'll do 3 cups rice milk, tablespoon of flax seed oil (great anti-depressant and helps your body absorb the nutrients), packed handful of spinach, 2 leaves of chard, 2 leaves of kale, bunch of alfalfa sprouts - blend that - frozen berries, apple, (oranges and pears are great - but make it more GREEN), BANANA. Now I even add Goji berries and Maca powder, bee pollen (to reduce allergies), etc. It's so easy, it only takes about 10 minutes every morning (sometimes every other day if I make my pink smoothie too).

We like to have contests in our house...who can finish their smoothie the fastest. 

Gotta love the smoothie mustaches! 

A binky-stache?

Sometimes smoothies can be quite messy. 

I have been learning about nutrition from a woman named Robyn Openshaw. She has the website greensmoothiegirl.com. I took the kids to her book signing. She wrote a kids book on nutrition since there aren't very many out there. It's ok, a little too black and white for my taste but good information.

Here's one of our favs, Pita Pizza!

Eating salad. Kelsey ate some and even said she liked it. We'll see if that lasts.

Aiden wouln't even try it. He threw the spinach out and ate the cottage cheese and Craisens. 

What'd I do?

I walked in to the kitchen to find Aiden sitting on the table eating an apple. How'd he get the apple and how'd he climb up on the table? I didn't even ask these questions because I KNOW. He's into everything and nothing is safe anymore!

Aiden saying Mmmmm

 Good to the last drop

 Aiden telling Kelsey it's Mmm

Does it taste better WITH or WITHOUT spaghetti noodles? I'll let you decide. 

There are many reasons to do this, but my main reasons are to teach my kids about nutrition, teach my family and myself about WHOLE foods and where food comes from, to help us feel better and gain more self control. We are reducing our intake of animal products and increasing our intake of greens and earthy foods. I'm excited about it and am feeling better already. I've also lost weight already, which is a great bonus. Next step, cutting out SUGAR. 

Church History Museum - Kids Exhibit

Tal and I decided it was time to buckle down and get a painting to go at the top of the stairs (i.e. the first thing you see when walk in the front door). We went to the Deseret Book by our house, then the one downtown, and then the Church History Museum. While at the museum, we took the kids to the new exhibit. It is SO well done and the kids loved it! It's all about celebrating the Lamanites/Latin culture.

Tal explaining to Kelsey what the golden plates are. Her favorite books are the "Golden Book" brand.

Riding on Nephi's ship. There was also a part where you can help build it. 

Aiden's turn!

Fishing off the ship proved a bit challenging for Kels, who got frustrated very quickly. 

A wood cut-out of Nephi

Magnetic puzzle

There was an interactive computer game that Kelsey enjoyed.

Dress-up and dance!

The kids could watch themselves in a mirror and try to do what the ladies were doing on the screens. 

We took a walk around Temple Square and a sister missionary took our picture.

Tally pointing out the temple to Kels

We hadn't planned this day out but it ended up being a really nice family day. With Tally in school, these days are few and far between! We are so lucky were able to spend today together! Here is the painting we bought. It's a Sandra Rast painting called "Eternal Reflections." It was originally $550 marked half off for a General Conference sale. Then I had some DB credit, DB points, and a $5 coupon. We paid $200 for it! 

I actually like the one that's called "Mountain of the Lord" better but it wasn't on sale.  I'm really happy with what we got, it helps me remember.