sisters

I have 4 sisters...3 older and 1 younger. (also have a brother who is the oldest but this post isn't about him). I love my sisters! Adore them really! They are beautiful, wise and they love to laugh (at me, with me, whenever).

I was driving home from the grocery store last week and I saw a mini van with a woman inside that looked like one of my sisters! It made my heart hurt because I knew it couldn't be her. But I wanted it to be her! I wanted to pull over, have a chat, and take her kids to play with mine while she shopped. Its hard living far apart from all my sisters. I always get sentimental like this when I know they are all getting together.

So girls here's the deal: when we are old and gray I want us all to try and live within 30 minutes of each other. And if you can't swing that then we have to get together at least 4 times a year!

Rocks for Sale....

Colin drove down this winding road to the Binnon Valley in Wallis to look for Pyrite (Fool's Gold) with Monica and James. They LOVE rocks and had soooo much fun.

Mineraliengrube Lengenbach

Beautiful clean blue lake

Typical Wallis

Happy Birthday Little Girl

13 years ago I rushed to the hospital with a groggy husband who didn't believe I was really going into labor (3 weeks early). I proved to be right as usual and we brought a beautiful little girl into the world. 13 years later we are still marvelling at her...

miracle

I had the craziest thing happen yesterday on my anniversary. A year and a half ago I lost the diamond from my wedding ring (while we were living in the UK). I looked everywhere! but eventually determined to get a bigger diamond :). We kept doing other things with our extra money so I've just been wearing a russian wedding band that I picked up at a car boot sale in England. Anyway late last night after I got home from parents night (colin is in Poland for work) I was cleaning out the filter from the dryer and I spotted what I thought was one of Monica's earrings. I picked it up and thought that it must have come out of her earring as it was just the stone. But the stone looked very familiar to me...so I scratched it against the glass door of the washer to see if it was real. It scratched back! I was very shocked! So I rushed up to my jewlery box to see if it would fit....it did! How did that diamond travel back to switzerland and let me find it a year and a half later in a different country?! Amazing!

In other happenings school started up 3 weeks ago....making my life CRAZY! We've finally started all of the other things up as well (after taking a 6 month break for the children to readjust to german). George is in swimming, James is taking kumon, piano, drums, trumpet (from his uncle and a friend) and scouts (in zurich there is an american troop), Monica is taking piano, guitar, YW's and kumon. Just makes life busier when you add these elements plus a kitty that insists on being played with!:)

I also haven't been able to put this book down!!! So if you like the Jane Austen time period then grab a copy! I'm still thinking about it!

15 years goes by so quickly

Today is our wedding anniversary! HaPPy 15th AniVerSaRY Darling!!!

Here's the family at Terramitica theme park in Spain

Our family this year in Utah

Colin when we were dating...

On his mission in Detroit

Our wedding Day

Engagement pic

up in the hills here in switzerland

Daddy and Georgie (they had a special bond)

Dad and the twins

Boots

We got a new kitty on Sunday evening (Thanks Rahel)! The first night she meowed a lot but finally settled down by Colin's feet. The kids are loving her to bits and I'm trying to control that love:) She's a good little kitty and has been eating, drinking and sleeping well. She loves to play with the kids and hide from them. Here are a couple pictures...

family reunion

So I forgot to take any pictures during my summer vacation....OOPS! But my dear sister in law took a bunch and here are a few from our time at Lake McCall, Idaho:

Monica loved everything! Water skiing, tubing, ski doos, fishing, playing with cousins!

George loved the tube and going slowly on the skidoos.

James enjoyed the tube, ski doos and the knee board.

This as close as the twins got to the water....chickens! But it made watching them pretty easy!