Singing Christmas Tree

As part of the primary singers, Abbie had her first three performances yesterday! She did a fantastic job singing a selection of Christmas songs.

Her first event was the school's Holiday Market.


Then, we rushed home, added layers of clothes for the two night-time performances, and hopped on a train into the city.


Abbie met a friend on the train, so it was a fun, easy ride. Fortunately, the other mom knew the secret location for the costumes/dressing room. Even though I had the address, it would have taken me much longer to find it on my own.

Abbie had to don a cape, scarf, and hat. She looked adorable! The look would have been even more special for me had the other mothers not mentioned the dreaded l-word, but I was able to put it out of mind and appreciate the sheer cute-ness factor of matching hats and scarves.


The group sang in the city's Singing Christmas Tree. We saw it last year and earlier this year, but it is so much more fun to know all the singers!

Here Abbie is with some friends before the performance:




You can tell that Brendan was excited about the event. He was really cute, keeping an eye on Abbie as she wandered the streets of Zurich on her way from the dressing area to the tree (a good 5-6 block walk).

An empty tree:


A full tree:


Abbie is the second row up from the bottom, fourth in from the left.





It was -8 (celcius) last night. We were freezing! As cold as I was with smart wool socks and winter boots, I can only imagine poor John in dress socks and shoes. That's fatherly dedication for you! I appreciate every pair of long johns I own! We all enjoyed some Starbucks hot chocolate on the way home. Zurich pricing: 5 small hot chocolates, $34. Somehow we got out of McDonalds cheap, though -- 2 cheeseburgers, 2 whoppers, and 2 fries for $25. If you're wondering about the burger count, C.J. was content with the raclette and crepes we snacked upon between performances.

Stockholm

This year, we got to see the San Jose Sharks Opening Night -- in Stockholm! That's not a claim many season ticket holders can make. It almost makes up for only being able to see 2-3 regular season games. Ok, not really, but it was still fun. My parents were visiting, so we dragged them along (one willingly, one kicking and screaming). Would you believe my brother came all the way from Atlanta to watch the kids for the weekend? How cool is that?!?

My parents started the trip by checking out the competition:

Obviously, if they need any financial assistance in the future -- they should look for support from their KPMG fan club. They wouldn't want to accept any of our "tainted" money, right?

On our way to explore old town and the royal palace, we ran into one of the assistant coaches' fathers. He introduced himself. I think John's bright teal, Sharks logo sweatshirt had something to do with it. I tried to get the guys to pose *with* one of the guards, but this is as close as they were willing to get.



On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the Absolut Ice Bar. We were turned away on our last trip to Stockholm, but we were able to walk right in this time. The absence of cruise tour buses made a big impact! The bar is made entirely of ice, including the glasses. It's not the type of place you'd hang out all night over a few drinks, but it makes a good photo stop.







We dropped my dad off at the hotel to rest for a bit, while the rest of us did a bit more exploring.







The it was game time! We managed to get on the right train, which dropped us off right at the stadium. We sure love the public transportation systems in Europe!

Sharkie even made the trip!


Entertainment included a live-band:


Local players introduced the Sharks' players.


The two mascots socialized during the game:


Right before the game, we had realized that the Sharks' players were staying at our hotel. We ran into Todd McLellan before the game. John was very impressed, as he came over to us in the lobby, introduced himself, and thanked us for traveling "all the way from San Jose." We explained that our travel time was a bit shorter, but he was still impressed. After the game, John ran into his favorite player:



We had camera issues, so it wasn't the best picture. Joe was really nice about it.

The next day was full on sightseeing where my parents learned, that, yes, in fact, we would make them post for stupid tourist pictures.







One of things we didn't do on our last visit, but really wanted to do, was a boat ride, so that was our first stop after a Swedish pastry and coffee/danish fueling break. The boat ride was informative and beautiful. John will claim that he's the only one who stayed awake for the entire ride, but we all enjoyed it.







One of the more interesting parts for me was going through the locks.



After the boat ride, my dad wandered back to the hotel, while my mom, John, and I walked over to the Vasa. This museum houses a Viking Ship that sunk on its maiden voyage. The museum is well worth seeing and is a must-see for any visitor to Stockholm!



When we returned to the hotel, the players were checking out and boarding the bus for the game. One great thing about no automatic checkout in European hotels -- they all spent a fair amount of time in the lobby and we got a chance to meet many players. John was a bit concerned that the almost the entire starting line was in the same cab, but they made it safely to the game, so all was good.

Filzbach

To celebrate Brendan's birthday, we headed to Filzbach. MySwitzerland.com does a good job of describing the experience of toboggan and scooter fun:

The wind whistles through your ears as you glide down the 1300-meter run. After this highlight the adrenaline rush continues as you go on a totally cool scooter ride along a 4 kilometer long road. The Kerenzer Mountain is a place that brings back childhood memories and awakens dreams.

We were lucky enough to celebrate with my mom and my brother, visiting, respectively, from California and Georgia. We had a gorgeous day to be out and about!

The view from the tram:


You can see that the Fall colors were just starting to show.

There was a great restaurant at the top with a typical Swiss playground -- the visitors were impressed with the zip line that ended next to a post and over a boulder. Apparently, Swiss kids are taught to hold on and avoid concussions vs. American kids who are taught about litigation. In any case, the kids had a blast, but we quickly whisked them away to start the toboggan run.



The start was self-monitored with a traffic light system. The poster quickly explained the braking system.





The ride itself was a blast. Even my dare-devil brother admitted that parts of it were a bit scary. We agreed that a brake failure could easily result in death or permanent injury. Fortunately, Abbie rode with her scared-y-cat mom, and the boys were smart enough to brake!



After the toboggan ride, we grabbed some scooters for the rest of the ride back to the bottom of the mountain. Abbie upgraded to ride with her Uncle for this portion of the trip.

Perspective

Kids teach you about perspective. Abbie came home earlier this week excitedly babbling about her afternoon adventures. Her class went on a hike in the woods, and she had a grand time -- even finding her very own stick. (In the woods no less! And, she wants to take the family to visit it.) But prior to the adventurous hike, she got to make another trip -- to the school's Lost and Found department. It would appear her teacher didn't think she had a warm enough jacket for the excursion, so Abbie was instructed to rifle through Lost and Found and "borrow" a coat for the afternoon.

And therein lies the problem. You see, I'm not a neglectful mother. I'm well aware that sweatshirts aren't warm enough for 40 degree weather. But, I choose to pick my battles. The child is 7. I thought by now she could determine whether she was cold or not, learn a lesson, and choose appropriate clothing for the future. Or not, and suffer the consequences. Like many parenting lessons, the joke is on me. I'm embarrassed to be perceived as the parent who can't dress her child appropriately, while my child is perfectly delighted. Shopping in school! She can't wait for an opportunity to do it again.

And the irony is that more than likely, she would have been absolutely fine in her sweatshirt. I usually wear 1-2 more layers than she does. I complain that I'm cold. She complains that she's hot. So as embarrassed as I am to have a child inappropriately dressed, I still have to believe that she's the better judge of whether she is hot or cold at this point. But once it starts snowing -- full snow gear will be sent whether she wants it or not!

50 Years

The school celebrated its 50th anniversary today, so they hosted a birthday party.

This afternoon was the kids party. They served a BBQ lunch (bratwurst, hamburger, or veggie burger)and hosted games ranging from pony rides and face painting to 3 legged races and relays. All the kids from preschool to high school attended. Since the school wanted them all to show school spirit and be color coordinated for pictures, every child got a free t-shirt. They even learned a song -- "It's Gonna be a Good Year", a spin off from "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyes Peas, for the occasion. Oh, and of course, they sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes. They even counted "Are you 1? Are you 2?... all the way up to Are you 50?" The Head of School gave a little speech and talked about how birthdays aren't any fun without presents -- so he told the kids that he had decided to give them all a day off from school this year. The only catch is that the students, administration, and parents' association all have to come to a consensus on which day. Brendan said he's going to lobby for a day off when Uncle Craig visits, but those days are already holidays. (That's good for Brendan as I think it could be a hard sell to all the non-related kids at the school -- not that Uncle Craig isn't a cool guy and all.)

Tonight was a cocktail party (Apero) for the adults. They passed wine, beer, and appetizers all night. We even had a champagne toast and mini cupcakes. It was fun to see everyone dressed up and socializing without kids. We hired a babysitter, but if you didn't have a sitter -- no problem -- the parents' association organized group babysitting in another building. And the total cost for the events? Nothing out of pocket for us. I'd say "free" but the politically correct term over here is "included" as the funds do come from our tuition.

Soccer Fans

Soccer fans come in all shapes and sizes over here in Switzerland. Here's a particular cutie who showed up to watch C.J.'s game yesterday:



And just in case you don't believe how close they were to the field:



C.J. was number 6 for this game.