Transit Pictures

Checking in the luggage. Can you see how the other business class fliers might not have appreciated the amount of time it took to process us?



Lucky saying good-bye at the oversized luggage check-in and TSA security screening.




























C.J. and Brendan getting comfortable.












Abbie and Marci getting comfortable.










Marci with her birthday delivery -- champagne, a rose, and a "First Class" toiletry kit.

Wir sind angekommen.

Departing from the Bay Area, we had:

• 2 adults
  
• 3 kids
  
• 10 checked bags of luggage
  
• 1 checked booster seat
  
• 1 dog crate with labradoodle
  
• 2 carry on rolling suitcases
  
• 2 backpacks
  
• 3 laptop bags
  
• 1 tote bag
  
• and many explanations of "We're moving – we don't normally pack this way!"
  

  
   

We said our tearful goodbyes to parents/grandparents and had a smooth shuttle ride to the airport – patting ourselves on the back that we fit in one van, until the driver mentioned that he needed a commercial license to haul our lot. We were just thankful that the steering column worked given our recent experience with Super Shuttle. At the airport, we managed to get the luggage inside with the use of just 4 luggage carts (2 bags were wheeled separately). We checked in as quickly as you can with 11 bags to check, 1 crate, and a dog. Since it did take just a few minutes to process (not helped by the missing mileage numbers in the system), we got just a few stares from the business class patrons waiting to check in behind us. I'm sure the stares were accompanied by quiet prayers that they weren't on our flight.

 

We were given 45 minutes to spend with Lucky, and told we could walk her around. In an efficient attempt to wear out both the dog and the children, we sent them all outside the airport to pace in front of the check in area. Their mapped route consisted of one spin around the revolving door, a short walk to the next revolving door, another spin, and a return to the first revolving door. Repeat 50 times. Apparently, it was just a wee bit entertaining, as we noticed a few Japanese businessmen taking pictures of the site. Alas it was time to take Lucky to the "oversized baggage" check in area where her crate was searched. Lucky was calm throughout the process, unlike the rather large, continuously barking dog who we prayed wasn't destined for the same flight as Lucky. Even the TSA guy commented that the dog would make the flight miserable for all the other dogs. There were 4 dogs slated for our flight.

 

Next stop was the business class lounge. I'm sure they were thrilled to see us walk in with the kids, raid the soda and cracker station, and boot up Skype. John calmly explained to C.J. that he wouldn't be able to get free internet service, but C.J. figured out a way. I think Macs make it easier, as I have never gotten a connection on my PC. Just another reason to go with Mac. John brought back 2 margaritas which helped with the comments. Instead of glares at the kids, people said, "I didn't know they'd make margaritas for you!" See how helpful we are?

 

On to the boarding gate. The kids were on great behavior, but it didn't stop the people behind us to ask "Do you know this is the First/Business Class line?" We smiled and said, "Sure do!" I'm sure they prayed we were far away. We quickly found our seats and settled. C.J. and Brendan sat by the windows, John, Abbie and I were in the middle. We all had the bulkhead seats, so there was lots of room. The downside – the darn family next to us with a baby who cried throughout the take-off process. Abbie progressed from asking, "Was I like that?" to "Could you help me put in these earplugs?" I cheerfully said to John, "I doubt anyone is worried about our 3 anymore!"

 

Small problem. C.J.'s headphones didn't work. The flight attendant swapped them out 6 times before she got a working pair. I'm pretty sure he got extra attention for being a kid. John or I would have been told to suck it up and read a book. The boys each watched one movie. Abbie watched the Hanna Montana movie twice. John watched an alien movie, and I got to see some chick flicks – Confessions of a Shopaholic and 17 Again. Okay, 17 Again wasn't a chick flick, but it was funny. 2 out of 3 kids got kids meals. Not sure what happened with the 3^rd kid. I guess that request got filed with our mileage numbers. After eating and movie time, all 3 kids went to sleep and did John and I. We had to wake Abbie for pancakes, knowing that she would be furious about missing a meal. Brendan was allowed to sleep until we landed. Ha! Take that worried business class travelers – you barely noticed our brood. The crying baby did eventually stop and actually slept most of the trip.

 

We arrived in Frankfort to terrorize another Business Class lounge. This time, they had a jar of german candy and I spent my time digging through it, picking out the favored gummy bears. The kids loaded up on soda, and C.J. complained that there was no place to charge his dying laptop. Guess he didn't sleep the whole time John and I did afterall.

 

Second flight was short and easy. C.J. and John both saw Lucky get loaded, so we knew that all would be good. No one sat next to each other, but all survived.

 

We landed in Zurich and quickly retrieved our luggage and went on to pick up the dog. This time we used 5 luggage carts since the price was right. (SFO at $4 a cart is ridiculous!) Lucky was happy to see us, but a bit disgruntled over the 3 meowing cats she had with her on the second leg of the flight. She didn't comment about the barking dog, so we don't know if it was on the first leg or not. We presented Lucky's papers, paid the entrance tax, and rushed her outside to a nice patch of weeds so that she could do her business. We had 2 shuttle vans for us and the luggage. Lucky was thrilled to be reunited with us and laid at our feet.

 

Hauling the luggage up to the 3^rd floor temporary apartment was fun. One shuttle driver had a bad hip, so John got quite the workout. I did my share – especially considering I'm still not supposed to be lifting anything over 20 pounds.

 

The kids fought over room allocations. We knew all was normal in the universe. Lucky got another walk, and we picked up some essentials from the store (milk, yogurt, Frosted Flakes, soda, chips).

 

We went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. John really outdid himself trying to make the day nice for my birthday. I got champagne, a rose, and a "First Class" toiletry bag delivered on the flight. There were roses waiting for in the temporary apartment. He had given me a Kindle before we left the States, but he followed it up with a purse and wallet at dinner. After dinner, the waiters brought me a brownie complete with sparklers.

 

Pictures to follow as everyone is asleep and I'm thinking that I should join them.

 

 

Packing: Day 2

Day 2 brought 5 packers. A lot was accomplished today! It's strange to see the house empty. I almost forgot how big it looks without all of our stuff in it. It's also a bit scary to see just how big some of the dust bunnies are.

Day 1!

Day 1: Air shipment, dining room, living room.

It's quite strange to see all of our furniture "boxed". I'm used to seeing movers use blankets, etc.

The day was a lot less hectic than I had imagined. Three packers worked all day and it was easy to keep track of what was happening. So, far I think everything is headed in the right place. They took the air shipment last night, so we know exactly what went by air -- way too much to fit in our tiny temporary housing! I walked the job supervisor through the house in the morning and she remembered everything I said and really kept on top of her "crew" to make sure they were doing everything correctly. My favorite is being told about every pre-existing scratch on my furniture and chip in the antique china. When she showed me the very faint scratches on the dining room table, I resisted the urge to argue that it looked darn good for a house with 3 kids, a dog, and previous cats! I keep reminding myself that they aren't personal comments -- it's business documentation. Of course, when I said that I knew the china was chipped and that I'd only be worried if the plates were broken in half by the move, the packing supervisor had her turn to take things personally. She assured me that her plates have never broken -- she knows how to wrap. Good thing!

Today will bring a crew of 6 people, so I imagine things will get a little busier. I'll probably lose "our" internet connection as well, but I have plans to "borrow" from a neighbor.

San Jose Family Camp

A quick break from our regularly scheduled, "Moving to Zurich" program... the family (minus John, plus Uncle Craig) spent 3 nights at San Jose Family Camp. We've been going for years with our good friends, the Heckmans. While it may not the four star accommodations the parents prefer, the kids have an absolute blast. They get the run of the camp and enjoy engineering a river rapids ride, organized games and activities, ice cream cones, and jumping from cliffs.

You know it's a good camping experience when you can get a picture of C.J. actually smiling!

Uncle Craig and Brendan take a break from dam building to smile for the camera.

It's a little easier to catch Abbie smiling, but obviously she had fun too.

Our cliff jumper, Brendan.

The always prepared Uncle Craig brought a watermelon to Rainbow Falls. Mmmm.

T -12 hours

In less than 12 hours, the packers will arrive to air freight, ship, or store the contents of our house. As I say with each major moving milestone, "Wow, I think we're really going to be moving to Switzerland!"

In the next week and a half we still need to...

1. Pack the house.
2. Remove gallbladder.
3. Obtain work permit
4. Sell the cars.
5. 1,000,000 other small to-do items.

I think I need a vacation.

Dance Class

Abbie has been begging for dance class for months. She finally got to attend her first class -- on her birthday no less! She had a blast! As much fun as she had, I think Nana and I had just as much fun watching her. There's nothing like seeing a 4 year old radiate happiness. She'd like to go "every day!" but I think we'll be sticking to the weekly class for now.

Completed yard

The backyard project is wrapping up. Here are the post-project photos. We're still waiting on the edge tile and light for the Sport Court, and the concrete patio needs to be sealed -- nothing major. Well, we also need to do some planting. The dirt behind the Sport Court retaining walls is looking a bit barren. Any ideas?? We're not sure if it isn't better to wait until the Fall at this point.

Note that I posted out of order, and the blog post after this one is more recent. It includes the coffee table / fire pit set that we got.

Marshmallows - Not Just for Family Camp Anymore!

We bought a coffee table / fire pit set last night and the kids had fun roasting marshmallows tonight while we tried it out. While you're looking at the pictures, check to see if you can find what is "missing." (Clue: check back two posts... for the first "step") Oh, in the background of the picture with John and Abbie you can spy the water fountain that we recently installed. While it looks quite simple, it still managed to take this construction-challenged pair a good afternoon to get it up and running.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you were able to celebrate your mom and/or be celebrated! C.J. gave me a precious written quilt with thank yous for things I do for him. It had everything from making him a baby blanket to holding his hand at the dentist. It was especially meaningful, because I know how he struggles to write these ideas! Getting him to write a teacher appreciation card was like pulling teeth, and he adores his teacher! So a quilt with NINE thank yous... wow! Brendan invited me to school for a morning and we had lots of mother/son time. He sang songs about mom, served me muffins and juice, made a bracelet, read books about mothers with me, and planted a flower in a hand painted flowerpot. I thought would be it, but he made me a card to open this morning as well! It continued the flower theme and said that his love for me grows and grows. Aww. Abbie is learning. She made a cute flower for me at school, but she still claims that it is "her" flower.

I was lucky enough to get to spend part of the day with my mom today!

What's Missing?

Brendan got hit by a ball this evening and finally lost the tooth that has been dangling by a thread. I was quite excited that I didn't have to look at the loose tooth anymore, but Brendan was rather concerned about the blood gushing from his mouth. I did assure him that blood loss goes hand in hand with tooth loss. Well, usually. Toothfairy, we have a pick-up request!!

Thanks Uncle Craig & Aunt Ginny!

C.J. had a great birthday, and he especially had fun playing with the gifts that arrived from Uncle Craig & Aunt Ginny.

Here he is at TGIF's eating the glow worms. C.J. was nice enough to share some with Brendan and Abbie!



Next up, he's learning to fly the helicopter. It doesn't *quite* fly like the one seen on tv, but it's been a lot of fun for all three of my boys to fly. I keep hearing whirring noises even after the younger boys have gone to bed. Hmmm.



Finally, C.J. practices his dunk shot with the new basketball.



C.J. also enjoyed Animal Crossing from Nana and Gramps but we don't have any action shots to share of that gift. In the second picture, you can see his new bike from Grandma and Grandpa. He's quite excited to have gears! Another added bonus is the jealous younger brother. Mom and Dad gave him Guitar Hero, but there was a delay with the purchase (okay, okay, Mom screwed up) and it isn't arriving until tomorrow.

And, just so that you don't think I'm teasing... here are a couple photos with more inclusive pictures of the pool and sport court progress to date.



I know, I know... they aren't the best pictures. I'll try to get some more photos later this week. The pool gets its caulking (although the pool company has a fancy name for it) so we are practically done. Yeah!

Progress: Sport Court

We are redoing a big chunk of the backyard. We flattened the back left of the property, put in a retaining wall, and installed a sport court. The court is basically done except for some edging pieces and the painting of the lines. We're missing a couple parts for one of the hoops and the net.



In addition, we are redoing the patio outside the house and around the pool. It gets poured on Monday. Whew! The pool is being resurfaced. So far, the tile has been replaced. After the patio is done, they'll come back to sandblast the old surface away and install Pebbletech, the new surface we chose.

The final piece of the project, a new driveway, is not pictured. It looks amazing -- except for the mailman's footsteps when he chose to walk across the wet concrete.

And to answer everyone's favorite question, "Why do you have a hole in your fence?" The workers opted to use the orchard in the back of our house for "breaks."

Easter

We headed to Tahoe for the official Easter Sunday. (We had a fantastic brunch and Easter egg with my parents on Easter Saturday.) Here's my attempt at a photo of the three kids in the morning. Can you tell which of three was interested in taking pictures and who woke up on the wrong side of the bed?



After mass in the morning (well, most of it... we had to leave after an hour and forty minutes when they still hadn't done communion), we headed to brunch at Edgewood. The kids fared better for pictures here:





John even got a rare shot of ME!

Opening Day

Yesterday was opening day of baseball.



Brendan is playing on a Farm team. This year, they are representing minor league teams, and he is playing for the Storm. We love the uniform, as it has two eyes on the hat. Brendan got a couple runs today and had a fun time playing.




C.J. is playing for the AA Angels team. He made it to 3rd base twice today, but his team wasn't able to bring him home. This year, he decided to bat right handed (he was previously left handed). He thought about switching back once today when he had a sore thumb, but stuck it out with the right hand.

Sheep!

The orchard behind our house is being mowed -- by a flock of sheep! The kids had a lot of fun hanging out yesterday watching the work in progress. Of course, they are now asking (begging?) for a pet sheep in addition to the ever popular puppy. As for Brendan's shirt -- I was not in charge of dressing the child!

Celebrating the Cat in the Hat

It's Dr. Seuss' birthday! Brendan celebrated in school yesterday and came home wearing this hat. His teacher said that she can read The Cat in the Hat with her eyes closed, and Brendan wondered how that could be done. Should I tell him that he'll figure it out when he has kids? I think I can still make it most of the way through Chicka Chicka Boom Boom with my eyes closed!

Guest Photographer: Brendan

Brendan decided Mom should have a spot on the blog. He took this picture with his own camera (a gift from Uncle Craig and Aunt Ginny). He was fascinated with the process of downloading to the computer, editing, uploading to a photo hosting site, and finally posting on the blog. I imagine it isn't the last picture of his that we'll see on this site.

Lest we not forget C.J., he came home singing the loveliest of songs today:

There once was a genie who had a 7 foot wienie
He showed it to the girl next door
Who thought it was a snake
So she whacked it with a rake
Now it's only 6 foot 4

I imagine I have a lot more of this humor to experience in the years to come. Nothing like something making you chuckle and groan at the same time. He's so excited about his song that he's sharing it with everyone -- I imagine we just corrupted the 7 year old across the street as he was quite taken with the song as well after hearing it from C.J.

Valentine's Day

I realized that since everyone has received their valentines from us, I could post the pictures. Here's what we made this year! C.J. made the rockets with the saying "You're a Blast!" written on them. Brendan made the dogs. The group (myself, C.J., Brendan, and Abbie) worked on the Love Bug notes. I cut carrots into the shape of hearts and we used them as stampers. It's not a technique that I'd recommend, but it was fun for the experience. You can see that some of us were a bit more proficient than others at getting the heart shape to paint.

And Ginny, we did make fingerprint hearts! Brendan and I used our fingerpaints and the stamper you gave Abbie to decorate his box that he had to take to school for Valentine's Day!

Abbie Messing around

It's been a tough few weeks with Abbie. She's been wheezing quite a bit. In order to get it under control, she was on multiple medications, and they all made her hyper. So, we had a hyped up girl who couldn't sleep -- not a good combination. She was finally pretty calm today (she's now off most of the meds) and we were having a bit of fun before bedtime. I had her try on a new spring outfit that I got from a friend, but she was having the most fun bouncing on the bed. Here she is during one of her "landings."