Bad News Bears

Mom and Dad finally got here and we couldn't be more excited! We've been eating out, walking around town, shopping and trying to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow we are going to Austria to walk around and do a little shopping there and then Sunday we leave for Rome!! There is one hitch in our perfect little plan......the charger we ordered and Mom and Dad brought....doesn't work for our camera. Talk about a HUGE disappointment! We went out and bought a disposable camera and then we'll get them developed onto a cd and put them on the blog. We couldn't be more bummed about our stupid camera situation! Hopefully we'll find a store that will have what we need and we'll get our camera back up and running soon.

No pictures is boring.

I know I'm not being great about keeping up with the blog, but without any pictures it is not nearly as interesting. I was able to download one picture before the camera died. Maybe this will liven things up a little bit. Not much has been going on here. We have our second lesson today and we are looking forward to it. This weekend we went hiking and shopping. We bought a few things for the flat. Nothing exciting. We are mostly getting ready for Mom and Dad to come. Pretty soon we'll have pictures from Rome on the blog. Only two more days before we get our camera charger and more exciting, only two more days before Mom and Dad get here!

Only one picture

June 22, 2007

Our very first German class was today. Chris and I are very frustrated and overwhelmed and ready to move back....okay.....maybe it wasn't that bad. We learned some of the basics and worked on some grammar. It was very overwhelming, but Chris and I are going to try and practice a lot and hopefully we'll get a better handle on it.
Today was Reed's first day (alone) at the daycare. They said he did great, played with the other kids and refused to nap. They felt really bad and said that they tried. It didn't surprise me at all with all the kids and the noises and all the fun stuff going on. Since we've moved here, he really hasn't had any interaction with other kids. He'll get used to it and be begging me to go in no time.
We also went out to dinner tonight at Don Camarillo. It's obviously Italian and very good. Too bad we had to take Reed. About 30 seconds in he was screaming and people were staring. It was great. We tried giving him food and he just threw it on the ground. We gave our server an extra big tip. I don't think we'll be welcome back there anytime soon.

June 18, 2007

Today was a very important day for Reed. He actually ate an entire meal on his own! It is a little odd because we kept trying to encourage him to feed himself and he would just throw food on the floor. Loki of course loved it but it was very frustrating for Chris and I and Reed would get really fussy too and then refuse to eat. It's just bizarre because he just suddenly decided that today was the day that he was ready to eat on his own. Of course it didn't hurt that we were having pizza for dinner, but it worked and he ate more than I had ever seen him eat before! He's such a big boy now! Hopefully he can keep it up.

June 17, 2007

Today was United States Father's Day and we celebrated by going to the pool with Reed. Chris had a great time watching him splash in the pool, I really wish we had a charger for our camera! We ate lunch at the pool and relaxed. After that we went home and it wasn't much fun for Chris. I made him help me clean out the guest bedroom and he made dinner for us. I didn't even get him a gift either. I tried, but I don't feel too bad, he forgot Mother's Day. Starting next year we are going to start celebrating Vatertag and Muttertag. Anyway, hopefully the next time the three of us go to the pool, we'll be able to take tons of pictures!

June 14, 2007

Today was a hectic day. I got up and went shopping at Rheinpark. I got a couple of things for the flat and was too tired to do much else. I went home, ate lunch with Reed and put him down for a nap. Then I decided to do the same and dozed for a little bit. When he got up, I realized I had to go grocery shopping so I went to Coop. I got home and felt really bad for Loki who had been in his crate all day so I took him and Reed for a nice walk. Luckily, since it's in the 90's, it didn't take long for Loki to get tired out. Once I got home, I was so tired and decided I wanted to do something fun and relaxing, so I took Reed to the pool. I'm so disappointed that I didn't have my camera. He was the cutest ever. He had so much fun and is starting to really like it. After that, we went home, made dinner, gave Reed a bath and went to bed. I think we'll all sleep well.

Cheese Journal

As per Mandy's request, our cheese journal so far.......

1. Appenzeller - We both liked this one. It has a little bit of kick to it, but not too strong. Good.

2. W?.............. - Sorry, we forgot the name, when we figure it out we will let you know and this was also my favorite. Chris said it's not as strong and didn't like it as much.

3. Walliser Bergkase - This one was really bland. Neither of us really liked it because it didn't really have any flavor. It wasn't bad, just okay.

4. Klosterkase - This one has some flavor. It seemed almost creamy when you taste it. We both like this one. It's not too strong and not too weak.

That's all we've got so far. I'm buying another block when I go grocery shopping tomorrow.

June 13, 2007

So far this week has been pretty uneventful. It's been pretty rainy so I haven't gotten out much, but today, Chris and I went to the daycare we're going to use to check it out, fill out paperwork and see how Reed likes it.
The only reason we need a daycare is so Reed has somewhere to go while we take our German lessons. We went in, filled out the paperwork and then let Reed play with the other kids for a bit. He loved it! It did take him a good half an hour to warm up though. At first, I set him down and he just sat and stared at all the other kids. It was pretty funny. They would come up and talk to him and laugh and he would just stare.
I felt bad, of course I'm the one with kid who's personality is as fun as staring at a wall. At least the daycare provider said that it's good that he's not clingy. She said that most kids won't leave there parents side the first time, but that he was doing well. He ended up having a great time and eventually played with all the kids.
We were very happy with our decision because the daycare provider is absolutely wonderful. She seems to genuinely enjoy children and she seems very organized. We can't wait for him to start!
I also want to apologize for not having pictures. We lost the charger to our camera. We ordered a new one and had it shipped to my parents house and they are bringing it when they come in 2 short weeks. We will be able to update our pictures then. We will also have the camera charged in time for our trip to ROME!!! No worries!

June 10, 2007

Well, our babysitter was right. When we got home last night, she said that she thought his teeth were hurting and so he had trouble going to bed. This morning we woke up and Reed had another tooth! He got his left, front one on top. It looks like the right one will be soon to follow. We spent the day putting together our wardrobe (it's still not done), then we went for a hike. It's been a little rainy the past few days so the bugs were out. We ended up running through the trail to get to the vineyards (where there are roads). We were sweating like crazy and the sun was just beating down on us. Once we got to the roads, we slowed down and took our time, it was kind of ironic that it wasn't until we got to the vineyards that I got stung by something. It hurt like crazy and I jumped a mile. It swelled up really big and just itched. It's doing better now, but after that I stated that our hike was officially over and we headed home. Darn bugs, they ruin everything. Before we left I even coated myself in bug spray. We're gonna start eating dinner now.

June 9, 2007

Today was very eventful! We got up and went to Rheinpark, which is a mall that is only a 15 minute bus ride away! We bought some light fixtures and some curtains. It was a lot of fun. We also bought a hiking map for our area. We looked at cell phones, but still haven't purchased one. That will be next on our list. After the mall, we went home, relaxed for a bit and then got ready for our big night out! Our babysitter got here at around 6, we gave her directions and talked to her for a bit. She was really nice and we were both really comfortable with her. We left and the whole time we were walking to the restaurant, we were talking about her and how she was doing with Reed and what if he was crying for us.... then we got to the restaurant, got a beer and got over it. We had a nice long 2 1/2 hour dinner, had dessert and talked some more. We went to our favorite restaurant, Lowen. It's a German restaurant and we've eaten there several times and have never had a meal we didn't like. We were going to order a bottle of wine and then realized that it's pretty expensive, so we had beer instead. We still got out a little early, so we stopped by a bar on our street and had another beer. Then we got home because she's young and had to ride her bike home so we were home by ten. You wouldn't believe how cheap babysitting is here!!! It's only 5chf (chf stands for Swiss Franks) and that is only like 4 American dollars an hour!! We'll have a babysitter every weekend at this rate! Unfortunately, she said he didn't go to bed until 9, but I think she probably put him down and every time she heard him talking went and got him. We'll have to explain it better to her next time, but she did great for her first time here!!

June 7, 2007

Today a lot happened. We got our furniture from Ikea and Reed and I went to the pool. We were only there for about 1 1/2 hours, but only because it started raining. Reed loved swimming and was mesmerized by the other kids. The water was pretty chilly, but after getting used to the water, he was splashing and laughing and loving it. We'll go again another day when it doesn't rain and take more pictures. It was no fun running home in the rain!

June 7, 2007

June 6, 2007

Today, Chris called from work and asked if we wanted to go to Lindenhof Restaurant for dinner with some coworkers. They weren't going until 730 and that's hard with Reed, but it's so seldom we get to go to dinner with other people so we went. It's a great restaurant, we had been there before and they have the best cordon bleu in town! It was a nice night, so we ate in the garden. It was a fun time and Reed did surprisingly well, until about 930 or 10. It went downhill fast. I felt bad for the people with us, especially because one of the guys has a pregnant wife at home and it's their first. I bet he went home second guessing that decision.

Weekend!

Omigosh! We actually have a babysitter for Saturday night! Chris and I get to go out to dinner alone! She came very highly recommended by a friend and is actually her babysitter that I'm stealing from her. I can't wait!

June 5, 2007

Mandy insists that I try and do a journal every day so today, I went for a walk with Loki and Reed. I also did laundry. Exciting. Actually, we decided today to start a cheese journal. We're getting different cheeses all the time, but we can never remember the names of the ones we like. So this way, when we have company, we'll remember which ones the good ones are. I've also decided to go to the public pool on Thursday. I haven't had a chance to go, but I'll take tons of pictures and put them on the blog!

Katie

Recent pictures

Here are some recent pictures. Some of Reed and some of us hiking.

Hiking and Reed pic's

Old lady

A couple of days ago, Chris and I were sitting on our balcony, drinking a beer and crazy old lady started hollering at us. We look around and see her on her balcony on the top floor, on the other side of the building. For those of you who don't know about the old lady, she is a very nice little old lady in our building that always stops and talks to me. The first time we spoke, I asked her if she spoke English and she said no, then she asked me if I spoke German and I said no and so she continued on with her conversation. I had no idea what she was talking about so I just smiled and nodded and looked like a fool. Now, every time I see her, she starts talking and I just smile and nod. Well, this time, she was hollering to us from her balcony to ours. I have no idea what she was yelling, but she seemed happy and waved. I waved back and went back to reading my book. She kept yelling and I don't know what to do so I pretend not to hear her. She kept saying the same thing over and over again. I have no idea what to do with this crazy old lady. You would think she would realize by now that we don't speak a word of German.

June 3, 2007

Today we got up and took a bus to Gais. We then went hiking and stopped for lunch at a restaurant at the top of the mountain. It was absolutely amazing. We ended up in St. Anton and the entire hike was about 5 hours. Loki went with us and had a blast! It was a little disappointing because it was so cloudy and we couldn't get any really great pictures. We got back and realized our whole bodies ached. We plan on doing the hike again in a few months when it's not so cloudy, hopefully we'll get better pictures then.

Katie

Gais to St. Anton June 07