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.