I've never had such interest in my grocery shopping habits before. Oddly enough one of the most common questions I've been asked on this trip -- "So what food are you bringing back to Switzerland?" So without further ado, my shopping list:
100% Fruit Roll-Ups
Beef Jerky (impulse buy at Costco)
Instant Oatmeal
Cream of Mushroom/Cream of Chicken Soup
Pam
Crisco
Brown Sugar
Enchilada Sauce packets
Sloppy Joe mix packets
Taco Bell Taco Sauce
Maple Syrup
Pancake Mix
Trader Joe's cookies - chocolate chip dippers and animal crackers
Chocolate chips
After I pack tomorrow night and assess the available luggage space, I may add:
Granola Bars
Raisin Bran
Chex Cereals
I would normally also buy baking soda and baking powder, but a friend gave me some when she got Costco sized deliveries from the US.
I have extra luggage space this time. Not only does summer make for lighter packing, but a friend taught me a great trick. I packed all small and/or stained clothes for the kids so that I could leave them behind for recycling/Goodwill and gain all that luggage space for the return trip!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Godparents
I could have used Brendan's Godmother a few minutes ago. You see, Brendan is my thinker. Before bed every night, he always asks me 1-2 questions. And, they are usually really good questions.
Today, he had his questions early, and religion was on his mind. His first question to me: "Mom, how did all these religions come to be if there is only one correct religion?" So, I did a quick explanation of the Old Testament, Judaism, Jesus Christ, the New Testament, Christianity, the Catholic Church, and the Protestant faiths. Brendan listened attentively, seemed to digest it all, and even had a few brief follow-up questions. First, I had neglected to explain Buddhism and other religions not based on the Bible. I explained it away as a matter of geography and pointed out that while these religions may not have the exact same beliefs the general idea of living a good life exists across all religions. And then came the kicker, "Can you believe in the Big-Bang Theory and the Bible at the same time?" My response? "Wow, Brendan. That's a good question, and something that many people have spent years debating." Of course, he didn't buy that as an answer, so I went on to say that, yes, there are many religious physicists in this world. Then I tried to explain that some people use a literal interpretation of the Bible, while others believe that the Bible uses stories as allegories. He seemed content with this answer, but I think he's pretty much exhausted my ability to explain world religions and reconcile differences in religious theology and scientific fact. I may just have to defer future questions to his Godmother. Now where did I put her cell phone number? Oh, and as I know that Brendan's Godfather is a regular blog reader -- here's a heads up to start preparing your answers to these questions.
Today, he had his questions early, and religion was on his mind. His first question to me: "Mom, how did all these religions come to be if there is only one correct religion?" So, I did a quick explanation of the Old Testament, Judaism, Jesus Christ, the New Testament, Christianity, the Catholic Church, and the Protestant faiths. Brendan listened attentively, seemed to digest it all, and even had a few brief follow-up questions. First, I had neglected to explain Buddhism and other religions not based on the Bible. I explained it away as a matter of geography and pointed out that while these religions may not have the exact same beliefs the general idea of living a good life exists across all religions. And then came the kicker, "Can you believe in the Big-Bang Theory and the Bible at the same time?" My response? "Wow, Brendan. That's a good question, and something that many people have spent years debating." Of course, he didn't buy that as an answer, so I went on to say that, yes, there are many religious physicists in this world. Then I tried to explain that some people use a literal interpretation of the Bible, while others believe that the Bible uses stories as allegories. He seemed content with this answer, but I think he's pretty much exhausted my ability to explain world religions and reconcile differences in religious theology and scientific fact. I may just have to defer future questions to his Godmother. Now where did I put her cell phone number? Oh, and as I know that Brendan's Godfather is a regular blog reader -- here's a heads up to start preparing your answers to these questions.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Rose and Aidan Visit
Rose and Aidan returned home with us after the cruise. We're having a lot of fun showing them Switzerland. It's been hot and sunny. We'd almost forgotten that there was such a thing as sun here. (Rumor has it that it came out as soon as we left -- go figure.) It's been a bit hazy, but they have actually caught glimpses of the Alps, which is more than our last few visitors can say.
Our first outing was to the town of Rapperswil. You've seen it on the blog before as it's an easy outing -- relatively close with some good scenery. We made Aidan climb the steps to the top of the old castle/monastery, but he agreed that the view was worth the effort! Phew. We didn't want to kill him off on one of the first outings!
We stopped for pizza, drinks, and ice cream and then headed over to explore the old wooden bridge. The kids complained that they had been on the bridge "a thousand times", until I reminded them that we'd actually only walked on it with Uncle Craig and Aunt Ginny. We've just mentioned it in passing to the other visitors. With all their complaints, I forgot to get a picture.
That night, we attended the End of Season BBQ for C.J.'s soccer (football) team. We learned that C.J. will have the same coach next year, which is very good news as we love this coach! John even talked to the coach about joining the "old men's" team for those players over 40.
John took Friday off so we headed over to Basel, a city near the France border on the Rhine River. Some of the buildings date back to the early 15th century. It was a pretty city, but it was hot and no one wanted to walk around too much. There were pleas to return to the air conditioned car! I tried to take a more scenic drive home which unintentionally doubled the time, but at least it was cool in the car.
Yesterday, we decided to show them the Swiss countryside. We headed back to Atzmaennig, where we had skied over the winter. The resort is open in the summer with summer some well marked trails. It was Lucky's first chair lift ride, and she did quite well.
It was also Aidan's first time on a chair lift. We're happy to report that neither Aidan nor Lucky tried to jump off halfway up the mountain, and they even managed to walk off the chair without any injury. I think the sound of the cowbells ringing helped calm them down.
We had drinks and some pomme-frites at the top of the mountain and then headed out for about a one hour hike back down to the bottom.
We were actually on the "kids" hike, so there were stops along the way to provide entertainment.
The kids said this last stop was an ear scratch-er!
We rewarded the kids at the end with a toboggan ride. We even talked Rose into riding with us.
We missed seeing it, but the resort was hosting a World Cup Grass Skiing event. It looked crazy! The actual event happened when we were off hiking.
The resort (?) opened a ropes course at the end of June, and the entire family wants to try it out. It seems like the type of place Uncle Craig would enjoy. (Hint. Hint.)
Today we did our traditional hike from our house to Lake Zurich with a boat ride on the water and then the train home.
Our first outing was to the town of Rapperswil. You've seen it on the blog before as it's an easy outing -- relatively close with some good scenery. We made Aidan climb the steps to the top of the old castle/monastery, but he agreed that the view was worth the effort! Phew. We didn't want to kill him off on one of the first outings!
We stopped for pizza, drinks, and ice cream and then headed over to explore the old wooden bridge. The kids complained that they had been on the bridge "a thousand times", until I reminded them that we'd actually only walked on it with Uncle Craig and Aunt Ginny. We've just mentioned it in passing to the other visitors. With all their complaints, I forgot to get a picture.
That night, we attended the End of Season BBQ for C.J.'s soccer (football) team. We learned that C.J. will have the same coach next year, which is very good news as we love this coach! John even talked to the coach about joining the "old men's" team for those players over 40.
John took Friday off so we headed over to Basel, a city near the France border on the Rhine River. Some of the buildings date back to the early 15th century. It was a pretty city, but it was hot and no one wanted to walk around too much. There were pleas to return to the air conditioned car! I tried to take a more scenic drive home which unintentionally doubled the time, but at least it was cool in the car.
Yesterday, we decided to show them the Swiss countryside. We headed back to Atzmaennig, where we had skied over the winter. The resort is open in the summer with summer some well marked trails. It was Lucky's first chair lift ride, and she did quite well.
It was also Aidan's first time on a chair lift. We're happy to report that neither Aidan nor Lucky tried to jump off halfway up the mountain, and they even managed to walk off the chair without any injury. I think the sound of the cowbells ringing helped calm them down.
We had drinks and some pomme-frites at the top of the mountain and then headed out for about a one hour hike back down to the bottom.
We were actually on the "kids" hike, so there were stops along the way to provide entertainment.
The kids said this last stop was an ear scratch-er!
We rewarded the kids at the end with a toboggan ride. We even talked Rose into riding with us.
We missed seeing it, but the resort was hosting a World Cup Grass Skiing event. It looked crazy! The actual event happened when we were off hiking.
The resort (?) opened a ropes course at the end of June, and the entire family wants to try it out. It seems like the type of place Uncle Craig would enjoy. (Hint. Hint.)
Today we did our traditional hike from our house to Lake Zurich with a boat ride on the water and then the train home.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Pictures from Marci - Disney Cruise
Click here to view these pictures larger
We just got back from our 12-night Magic Baltic Cruise where we visited Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, St. Petersberg, Tallin, and Stockholm. We had a wonderful time! There were 14 family members on the cruise including our immediate family, John's parents, John's cousin's family, and John's aunt and uncle (the cousin's parents and Aidan's brother). We had a wonderful time. I have a 1,000+ pictures to edit and sort as well as many loads of laundry, but I thought these pictures from the Disney Photographers would be a good start! We bought the CD, so we got copies and rights to all the pictures they took of us during the cruise.
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