The Ramsay Family

2012-02-14T06:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day 2012

James is as tall as the tree!

Dad has to make all the presents work!

Me and Tim

Lexy, me and Ben

Me and Moni.

2012-02-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2012

Christmas eve the kids opened up pajamas from Aunt Mindy, and some legos to race against each other to put together. We also watched a movie.

The dead christmas tree...

Opening presents!

Kids with their stockings.

2012-02-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

Swimming at the lake

Ben

Tim

George

James

All 4 monkeys

ski day!

2012-01-31T05:30:00.000-08:00

Skiing at Ibergeregg

Ben, Tim, Jonah and George (scary)!

Jacob, James and Henri ready to go!

Moni said its like riding a bike!

Watching from the sidelines...Julie, Julie and Iliana :)

Rapperswil

2012-01-26T05:41:00.000-08:00

Outting out to the beautiful city of Rapperswil

It offers a great old castle ruins and beautiful views

might even work up a thirst

James, George, Tim and Ben

Swiss Miniature

2012-01-24T05:35:00.000-08:00

Colin went with the kids to the Italian part of Switzerland to visit Swiss Minature in Melide. We love it there but hadn't been back in a long time.

George and Tim

Enjoying the train

Love these balls

Giving us a wink

That's all folks.

ode to George

2012-01-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

George is an old soul.

Very logical. Very rational.

Anyway for the last few months I've been REALLY on the ball. Every time I went to unload the dishwasher...I had already done it! aMAZing! Don't even remember doing it? But I must have because I live with a bunch of males and if I don't do it then it probably didn't get done. Anyway I had a friend stay over for a couple night and she's the one that filled me in that it was the phantom named George. He told her he likes to do it to make me happy. Such a sweet boy. Now I know I'm not losing my mind...it was always kind, sweet lovely George.

2012-01-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

Showing our love of LEGO

2012-01-16T04:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to George!

Took the boys sledding in Einsiedeln (behind this Monastery)

Here's a few photos of the big 9 year old George!

Group shot of the boys from his school class.

2012-01-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a park

we LOVE to go to

in Engleberg

2012-01-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

Planking

Its fun-----really.

2012-01-06T04:06:00.000-08:00

Nice Hike with the family...

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T03:18:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a wonderful 2012!!! Love, The Ramsay Family

Monica (15)

· Living with Aunt Mindy in West Virgina

· Learning to drive and loving High School!

· On the honor roll because of said Aunt & Uncle

· In the marching band (xylophone)

· On the swim team and LOVES IT!

James (13)

· A TEENAGER!!

· First class in American Boy Scouts

· Rifle shooting club

· Camping, biking, hiking, computer

George (9)

· Loves animals especially our dog Lexy

· Loves riding bikes, swimming, hiking, camping, computer

· Reading

Tim and Ben (6)

· Finally, finally, finally learning German!!!

· Learning to swim

· Learned to ride bikes

· Loosing teeth!

Car in the Garden

2011-09-22T02:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a visitor in the night. Lexy dog woke us around 5 am and upon investigation there were 2 drunk men and their car in our flower bed. Here's some photos...

So they hit the new curve at the intersection by our house, popped a tire, swerved onto the grass, over our mailbox (you can see flatted in the picture above), over a big rock and into the flower bed.
It was actually in the flower bed but they were trying to leave so after 10 minutes of spinning tires they got it over the curb when the police arrived....
Here you can see the blown tire and the airbags. Two shocked, very drunk men...but exciting nonetheless!

future missionaries

2011-07-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

After church on Sunday I noticed the twins wearing little missionary tags. Their Sunday school teacher came over and talked with me, "We had a class on missionary work today and I was supposed to help them get excited about one day serving a mission but they both started crying...I'm really sorry." So Colin and I asked them about it and instantly came the tears. I didn't get it but Colin figured it out...they had the tags and thought they had to leave immediately...apparently these two are ready to leave the nest yet....boo.

Later that night at a family bbq Ben came over and whispered, "Mom when's the end of the world?"....I answered that I didn't know. Wonder if that was in the lesson too? hee hee

Zurich Marathon April 2011

2011-06-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the Zurich Marathon I trained all through the winter. Luckily we had a pretty mild winter and I learned I actually prefer to run in cold than HOT and buggy. I had a horrible 16 and 18 mile runs and I hadn't even signed up for the race yet. Then in March I ran 20 miles on a wonderful, sunny day around the lake of Zurich. It was perfection. So I signed up and hoped for the best. I didn't have any running buddies so I was hoping to meet up with some. I ran too hard at the beginning of the race so I was on my own without the pacer group by the half way point. Then I met up with an 80 year old woman and ran with her for a few miles. We never spoke but we ran together for awhile. Then she stopped and I left her in the dust. My next running buddy was an injured 20 something male. He was cute but really injured. He hobbled along next to me for a couple miles. We were back in the city and a few miles to the finish...but then he gave up and I kept on going. By this point I had a lot of tummy cramps...Colin thinks I overdid it at the food tables...too many protein bars. I slowly made my way into the finish line at 4:57! It was faster than last time but not as fast as I wanted. I have no idea if I'll run anther marathon but the swim across the Zurich lake is coming up and the Greifensee half marathon is coming up in September. I have some buddies running with me so it should be fun!!

2010-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Ramsay Family

2010 has been a year full of changes. The children all changed to the local school which made life a little less hectic. Everyone can walk or ride their bike to school now which leaves me with nothing to do! J

Monica is in the secondary school and enjoys theatre club, swimming and babysitting. James is in year 5 and enjoys shooting club, letting off fireworks (yikees) and boy scouts. George is in year 1 and is taking swimming lessons and coming along on his German finally. Tim and Ben are in kindergarten and are also in swimming lessons. A couple german words or songs will pop out every now and then ...lebet wohl kommit gut hei......

Colin has been super busy with work. Travelling like crazy to all the eastern Euporean countries. When he has some free time then he travels to other countries J.

I’ve been running a bit, reading books, baking, and talking,

Wish you all a wonderful and happy New Year! Love you all,

Colin, Julie, Monica, James, George, Tim and Ben

family@ramsay.ch, facebook and

www.swissramsay.blogspot.com

my, how you've grown

2010-11-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

Over fall vacation we went to England to visit some dear friends. While we were there we tried to shoot some shots of the kids in their back garden....with varying success.

Tim and Ben were goof balls

George LOVED having his picture taken....Mom over here, look mom right here, I'm ready!

James was too cool to pose.

Here's Monica...the helpful child.

my 4 month experiment

2010-11-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

This summer I visited my sisters and parents all by myself for 10 days. We took walks, went running or swimming daily. One of my sisters has run a couple half marathons and I didn't think I had what it takes to do that! I've always enjoyed sprinting (I'm a sugar addict no doubt) but I've never thought it possible for me to run anything beyond a 200 meter dash! My knees often hurt me so my mom took me to an awesome running store where I walked across a pad which showed what kind of shoes I need. Since then I've not had any knee problems! Miracle! Right before I went home (July 3) I ran a 5k fun run with my sister and some friends. It was so much fun I hoped to keep it up when I returned home.

And so the running Experiment begins:

So the middle of July, after the swim across the lake of zurich my friends decided to start training for a half marathon....hmmmmm.....I wasn't sure I could commit to it. They all signed up but I didn't. I thought I'dsee how the training goes...my poor knees. So Amy and I started training. We needed to get ourselves up to at least 10 miles. Jenni took me out on a 7 mile run and I survived. That was the longest I had ever gone. I went home and slept 3 hours afterwards. Amy and I would get together weekly for our long run. After we hit 10 miles we felt very proud...it was raining buckets during the run as well. After the 10 I started training weekly with Jenni. She took me on a 14 mile run right before the half marathon. I signed up for the race and Jenni and I ran the Greifenseelauf halfmarathon in September using the run/walk method. I really loved the concept of as long as you do the mileage it doesn't matter how you get there. That made sense to me and it was something I could start with. The race was fine but my legs felt heavy and it was late in the day. I'm determined to redo that run to have a more positive run. Since I was already up to 14 miles I felt like going longer, farther. Jen and I decided to sign up for a marathon at the end of October in Lausanne and we started TRAINING! It was so much fun, addictive, empowering, time consuming, and weight reducing. My dog Lexy joined me up until 16 miles and I'm sure she could have gone farther but I didn't want to hurt her. We trained up until 20 miles and then ran the race on halloween. The weather was perfect, the views were spectaular and Jen and I had a great run. I loved it and I'll totally do another one...next year :).

Here is beautiful Lake Geneve at Lausanne, Switzerland where the marathon was held.

All the grape vines in the distance

Jen and I after the marathon!

Runaways

2010-08-09T03:42:00.000-07:00

Tim and Ben have started a new game:

"Mom, I want ice cream"!

"Sorry honey, I'm just making dinner. You can have some after dinner"

"Then I'm running away" he turns and runs away with his twin running after him crying and screaming "Mom, he's running away. Just give him ICE CREAM"....oh the trauma.

Then I hear them talking, "Where will you go"? "To the airport." "But you don't have any money....what will you do there"? "Just stand around."

Then they switch roles and repeat....oh what fun!

I do remember doing this to my own father when I was young. I would even grab a suitcase with nothing in it as a prop....dramatics run in my family :)

new facebook pictures

2010-07-10T05:31:00.001-07:00

Here's Jenny

Playing with dee's hair

Jodie's new hair color

Mindy's new highlights (with Julie)

Diane's pea pod lips

Mindy, Diane, me, Jenny and Jodie

We had so much fun seeing each other. We compared our hands, feet, grey hairs and other body parts :). We went on walks together every morning, ate frozen custard, and laughed so much. Great seeing all of you!xx

Hair Care 101

2010-07-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

Step one in the hair care process:

Buy a box of hair color at the store...any will do...

Smear on and wait...
wash out....
use the toilet before hand because you might laugh so hard when you're hair that should have been blond turns pinky/orange :)
P.S. You really should know what you're doing...don't let your sister talk you into anything...

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

The twins wrote some special things about me today....I've put their words with the mom's in my life. Happy Mother's day! Love you!

My Mommy is special because she helps shovel the snow.

My mom is special because mom's can get babies and get food babies.

My mom has the same skin and eyes as me.

My mom is as tall as a table.

My mom's favorite food is cereal, noodles and also all the food.

I love my mom because she is so pretty.

My mom loves to kiss me.

I love my mom because she wants to marry me and sometimes when i get out of my bed at night my mom get's angry. I love her.

2010-04-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

It's Party time---Carnival style!

We had Ben and Tim's 5th Birthday party on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and there were games, prizes and food galore.

So much food...yes, I admit I tend to go overboard when it comes to food. There was another table of food for the adults.

The piñata was a huge success! We're pretty sure that most of the kids didn't even realize there was candy inside the piñata. They were just so excited to be allowed to hit something with a stick. See how they are so patiently waiting in line for their turn?

One of the favorite games was shooting the bow and arrows at the target. Another popular game was throwing darts at water balloons. The kids also loved the magic show and story time.

Ben with some of his birthday party loot.

Whew! It's such a relief to have the party finished---until next year of course...

Special Thanks to Heidi, Illiana, Megan, Jeana, Amy, Mindy, Julie, and Rahel!

Once upon a time, not so long ago...

2010-03-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Two little, easy going, trouble makers were born. Tim and Ben are so excited to be 5 now! Finally they are BIG! (they think). We really love having them in our family and are very grateful for the happiness they bring into our lives. Happy Birthday guys!

girls

2010-01-30T00:55:00.000-08:00

I was driving in the car yesterday when I heard a conversation the twins were having...

Ben: I don't want to have a girlfriend

Tim: No Way they always want to kiss you right?

Ben: Oooo Gross

Tim: I don't want a girlfriend either

(They are 4...I don't think anyone is knocking down their door except their mother who smothers them with kisses...maybe I should give them some space)

Happy Birthday James!

2010-01-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Born with a full head of hair!

He adored Monica and would follow her anywhere....

Here he is in spain

Have no idae how old he is here...7?

Dear James has turned 11! I can't believe he's getting so old! He's still quiet and mischievious. (Although he doesn't get into lotion, makeup and the cupboards like he used to). Nowadays he's practicing his LOUD drums, playing with his brothers and out on his scooter. We sure love you BUD!

nativity play

2010-01-18T01:24:00.000-08:00

First of all I hope you won't get offended by the actors in this post. My creative brother in law set up the christmas play and here is who played the different parts:

Monica was Joseph, James was Mary, George was a sheep, Tim was a cowboy and Ben was a bunny. The other cousins were shepherds and an angel.

After the inital shock of the casting I sat down and enjoyed the show. Each played their part very seriously....

the chicken

2010-01-08T04:12:00.000-08:00

I was roasting a lovely chicken for dinner last night and as I was busy preparing the mashed potatoes, gravy and carrots little people flitted in and out of the kitchen. Tim came in and opened the freezer door...a frozen chicken fell out of the freezer (incidentally this often happens to me - I shove and close). He demanded to know who did this - pointing to the chicken on the ground. Of course it was me who did it but instead I asked....Why did you open that? His response was, I wanted to get some fresh air....

Happy 7th Birthday George!

2009-12-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

Here is Tiger our new cat (boots got hit by a car). George LOVES him!!!
George as a baby
George 3 and helping make waffles
Here he is with his bunny Snowflake in england (it didn't come with us)

My dear sweet George is 7 today and I can hardly believe it! He's quite the old soul and we love him. He adores cats and likes to be with the big kids. Dislikes ice skating we found out today but he's desperate to go skiing again. Very stubborn and very cuddly. He's a thinker and knows exactly what he wants.

girls trip to annecy, france

2009-12-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

My goodness I need to buy a camera! I can never seem to find one that works or can figure out how it works! Any way here are a couple of pictures I stole from Tanya's website from our girls trip. It was lovely to get away to France...shop and eat our hearts out!

sisters

2009-10-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-10-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-31T00:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

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!

familyphoto

2009-08-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

We got some family photos taken in Utah this month. Here is the crew up in the Provo mountains. You can see more on our website ramsay.ch

retro

2009-08-13T00:42:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some old photos and I came across this old photo of us going sledding. The twins were one or two so it was a couple years ago. Below is a picture with Colin's 2 brothers. Daniel on the left and Marcel on the right.

Here Kitty Kitty

2009-07-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

So here he or she is in all her glory. Her mom is above with the other kittens. My kids are in love and we have been visiting daily to torture the poor thing. My kids also really want a female kitty so we can breed and breed and breed. Yeah right....I'm not getting stuck with lots of little cats. I'm not a cat person so this cat will soon be living outside I hope! George is determined to name it kitty kitty but I think we'll find another name for it...maybe Boots? Off to the USA tomorrow!!! See ya!

the birds and the bees and other nonsense

2009-06-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

So as I was in the bathroom this morning my little boys came in and watched me using the toilet...Tim started out the conversation, "So you have 3 holes?" I thought we must be having the where do babies come from talk so I clarified and explained what the 3 holes were for and then I remembered that yesterday I had a wart lasered from my foot. they actually found 2 more little planter warts so in total I had 3 warts removed leaving you guessed it 3 holes. Finally my brain kicked in and I said, yes I have 3 holes on my heel. Yes! That's what we're talking about!!! Yikees! Save that talk for another day...

Watch out Pedestrians!

2009-06-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

The little boys have each gotten something new to ride (all hand me downs) but they were excited. We finally put the training wheels on bikes for the twins and put the seat down for George (he would like the whole bike down a bit more-oh well). (Yes they all got really short haircuts when we were in England last week).

As soon as I took this picture they went back to their old big wheels...oh well!

I highly recommend boys of this age to fix all the bikes! They worked really hard all afternoon. Thanks guys!

swiss german

2009-05-14T23:13:00.001-07:00

My husband speaks swiss german (which is an unwritten language similiar to German that the Swiss speak here). Anyway now that the twins are in preschool he was talking to them last night about whether they can speak swiss or not...

Ben can you speak swiss? Ben, "No, I can't"

Tim says, "I can speak Swiss!" Colin, "Really?" "What can you say?"

Tim, "Swiss, Swiss, Swiss"

Well he got us there! Perhaps German lessons wouldn't be a bad idea.

pardon?!?

2009-05-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

Would you like some ice cream boys? Yes, they scream at me. Would you like chocolate sauce on top? Ummmm no thanks says Ben. No thanks, says Tim. I want Ketchup on top! UEGH! Sorry that isn't served that way!

Pedicures anyone?

2009-04-12T13:14:00.001-07:00

My comatose, jetlagged husband took a short nap (6 hours) and woke up to this! The twins giving him a lovely pedicure. I wish I had a picture of the handfuls of lotion that they had. Monica was the photog and she did a brilliant job of capturing the event! My sister and I were at the spa getting a real pedicure (our cuticles look better...then his). Check out my sister Mindy's blog (Is anyone out there) at the side of my blog to see what other antics we've been up to. She's a better blogger than I am...more devoted and a fabulous writer!

happy birthday tim and ben

2009-03-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

2009-03-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

It was the twin's 4th birthday this month so here are a couple pictures of the monkeys...

A little privacy please...

2009-03-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Get Out!!! Shut the Door!!! These are phrases that we hear often at our house. Tim and Ben are taking care of all of their toiletry needs right now which is my dream come true. Accidents still occur and when you least expect it but today at least they have done very well indeed and we are doing happy dances, calling dad and eating chocolate treats! YaY! My diaper days are numbered...

horrible day for all the boys

2009-03-03T08:31:00.001-08:00

James, George, Tim and Ben each were immunized today. They all cried and were a very unhappy bunch. On the way out Ben said that this wasn't a nice doctor but he liked his toys.

Monica's horrible, terrible, worst day ever

2009-03-02T11:17:00.001-08:00

Poor Monica woke up this morning and the zipper on her coat broke. So she grabbed her raincoat as I shooed her off to school. We had planned she would be taking the train home later that day. At 4pm a friend's mom called to say that Monica forgot her train ticket and her phone (which were in her coat pocket) and would I pick her up. I hurried and called Monica's friend back but the friend had already left with the train so I had no way of telling Monica I was coming. I jumped in the car and flew over the mountain to the school. Unfortunately I showed up exactly at the same time as the train. I just knew she was getting onto the train at that moment. I couldn't see her but she could see me and she ran to the door to get off the train but it was too late. She didn't have a ticket but she wanted to come home. So I looked around the school and asked after Monica. One child (who I swear was a boy but Monica later told me was a girl-we need to pluck and do something to make you look more femine little lady) told me that Monica had gotten on the train so I jumped in my car and headed home. Poor Monica got off at the next stop, ran through the rain back to the school and asked that same girl/boy if she had seen me and she said that I'd just left. Monica started to cry and the girl/boy loaned her some money for a ticket and Monica got back on the train. When she got to the main train station she had just missed the train so she had to wait another half an hour. I think she cried most of the train ride home. Poor dear then took the bus up to our home. A normal journey is 2 trains and a bus. Total time 45min. Monica did it in double that time. I was very worried because of course James kept saying that she was kidnapped and gone for sure. She ran into my arms bawling when she finally got home. Swearing never to go to school again! (what did that have to do with it)? Anyway after a hot bath, hot chocolate and waffles for dinner she was back to her normal happy self.

irrational behaviour

2009-02-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

Why does a rational 34 year old woman dream of owning a snowblower??? There are so many other wonderful things to wish for: diamonds, going to a beach, curtains....but no this is all I think about. My snow shovel broke and we have had non stop snow this winter! One day....one day....

my plan for a sane week

2009-02-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

So I just mashed up a package of malteasers (choc covered malt balls) and added them to a mug of stratiatella (choc chip) ice cream and added a little milk to make it into a shake. It was delicious (I hid from my children). My husband is going to be gone all week so I plan to make a few more of these for myself this week...food makes me happy! Have a good week!

A Little Blog Fun!

2009-02-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

The deal:The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me for you! It will be my choice and made especially for you. Just so we’re on the same page, here are the details: No guarantees you will feel absolute true love, but possibly happiness, fervor, or chocolate. What I create will be just for you. It will be done sometime this year. You have no clue what it will be… cookies, a photograph, a piece of homemade jewelry. It may be some other random thing I am capable of making or doing that would be enjoyable to you! I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you! That’s for sure. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The fine print (which is actually the same size, but whatever): You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. When you get your lovely homemade goods from me, post a picture on your blog so I know my love arrived without a hitch.
(A couple of reasons I like this: 1) I have an entire year to do it, and 2) I can do something extremely strange if I want. Cool.)
I got this from my friend Amy's blog. I thought it could end up being really fun, plus give me a chance to use my imagination a bit more. Who wants to play?

weekend sledding at elm

2009-02-01T12:02:00.001-08:00

We spent a weekend up at Elm sledding with friends from church. It was beautfiul, sunny and warmish. The kids had a fabulous time. I forgot my camera and Colin took loads of pictures but didn't have a chip in his so I stole some pics off my friend's blog (thanks)! The sledding was 4km (2miles) long and took about 15 minutes. George cruised down so fast! Then we took the gondola back up the mountain. We stayed in a chalet up on the mountain. The food was delicious and the activities were amazing. What a wonderful weekend of beatiful sunshine, snow and friends!

calling in sick

2009-01-26T04:28:00.000-08:00

We heard from a friend that they were sick so my silly children all got it into their head that they too were sick (although they had no proof such as a fever or cough or anything). So this morning at six I had tears from everyone saying how sick they were with tears running down their faces. Their tummies hurt and oh yeah their throats hurt and their tummies were even bubbling??? Why oh why didn't I believe them????!! So I turned off the alarm and lights and went back to bed because suddenly my tummy felt unwell too. You see my husband is out of town and there is no one to be upset that they have to go off to work while we all stay home. I think in reality only Monica might have felt slightly ill. The other 4 are just enjoying a day off. Pajamas and cereal all day kids! Mom is reading a book!
(On the toilet training front we lasted about a day and a half...better luck next time)

Here we go again...

2009-01-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

Its day one of potty training. The two boys have both been willing to comply today so I feel as if the stars have aligned and maybe just maybe we can stop using diapers. I was at the grocery store yesterday and there was a 3 for 2 offer on huggies diapers. I reached for it and then my brain clicked...what am I doing???? Do I really want to go through that many more diapers???? I probably will but I don't want to! So the resolve has hit and I've pottied them every half an hour. No accidents yet but its still early!

2009-01-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here' s a picture of the house we rent. Our front door is on the side and a pic of our living room. i would add more pics but the rooms were all messy when I took the picture so I won't!

2009-01-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

James and Monica getting ready to ski on such a beautiful (cold) morning.

2009-01-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas day the cousins got together and put on a thrilling performance of the Christmas story. They loved doing it and we loved watching! My sister in law also served us a gourmet meal! Such a wonderful day!

All Moved In

2008-12-23T00:55:00.000-08:00

We just moved back to Switzerland this last week! The boxes are becoming less and less as is the snow. It snowed 3 times last week while we were unloading. Looks like we'll be having a green christmas. Just got the tree up last night and I still need to wrap presents. I just heard James explain to George that we are really Santa....another one gone. Here is our new address if you are a friend of ours (ha ha):
Stationstr. 26
8907 Wettswil
The kids are starting school back in Adliswil in January. They are nervous and nervous. German is scary!

Monica is 12 now and a new young woman at church. She is playing the piano and guitar. She loves to dress up, put on makeup and curl her hair. Such a girly girl (its nice to have one).

James loves to construct and build things. He helped me assemble some furniture with this move and also made my computer work??? He might end up a computer nerd??? He is playing the piano, recorder, and drums. I think he'll just keep up with the piano now that we've moved. He is looking forward to ice skating and skiing!

George was on his sled the whole first week we were here. He loves to sled! He doesn't remember German but thinks he can do anything. His teacher seems really nice and I think he'll learn quick.

Tim and Ben stick together most of everyday playing in their little world. They love cars, trains, planes and chocolate. They are happy little boys that bring a smile to our faces!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas! Thanks for your friendship! We hope you all have a Wonderful 2009!
Love,
The Ramsays
PS I will post pictures of the house....eventually (when I find, charge and empty my camera).

tea party

2008-11-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

George walked in from school, I offered him a snack. After a little contemplation he invited me to have a tea party with him! I agreed but insisted on washing the toy plates and cups quickly first. Then he arranged the table, dragged over the play kitchen and we sat down to a nice cup of water and a custard cream biscuit. It was lovely!

family pics

2008-11-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

Got some new family pics taken. See the rest on our website www.ramsay.ch

Monica

2008-11-11T05:42:00.000-08:00

Monica celebrated her 12th birthday party by taking her school class to the pool. They had a fun time! She also got to go to High School Musical 3 with her friends and loved it!

Boating

2008-11-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

James was able to go on a sailing course during the week of half term with a friend. (It snowed that week) but James loved it and went every day to the course and was outside for much of the day! He even got a prize for being the fastest one dressed after changing from wetsuits back into normal clothes.

Halloween

2008-11-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some halloween pics. The three little ones were clones, Monica was a red haired witch and yes James was death (with glow in the dark face paint). I let them choose for themselves... We trick or treated on our street and then ran over to the church for our spook party. It was super fun!

pumpkin carving

2008-11-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

Carved some Pumpkins!

bedtime routine

2008-10-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

What is that? Get to BED! Now!!! I wish I was better at reading to the children and slowing the bedtime routine down but I can't lately. I'm going crazy. So everyone went to bed quickly except my little Tim. Colin put them to bed and he came creaping out because he smelled cookies...well rightly so. So I gave him one and told him to go cuddle in my bed with me so he wouldn't disturb his brother. As I laid by him he looked at me with his big eyes and said...I'm thirsty. So I said...go get a drink out of the toilet (didn't really mean it but he understood me). He ran to the bathroom and looked at me and said...its dark. So I got up and helped him drink from the sink (too lazy to get a sippy cup), then we cuddled back in bed and he looked at me and said...I have to go to the toilet! (Its all mind games) so we rushed back to the bathroom, stripped off his clothes (he was doing a dance), and stripped off his diaper and sat him down...nothing came so I turned on the faucet to give him a clue what he should do and finally a little came. After redressing we laid back down cuddling and exhausted...he looked at me and said, I'm thirsty! So I ran down took more cookies out of the oven and filled up a sippy cup with water and brought it up to him. He looked at it and said this is a little cup (I think the translation would be that this is a yellow winnie the pooh cup and I'm too old for this) I glared and fell asleep next to him. Then I woke up as it was 8:30 and now I'm awake! Off to surf...

psche

2008-10-21T03:11:00.000-07:00

You were all right...they are just messing with my mind. We can't keep enough clean underwear in the house. Today as proof they smeared themselves up while they were trying to change their own diapers. They are waaaaay to helpful. I give up with potty training! Colin's turn!

crazy

2008-10-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

I am going crazy these days with the eminent moving coming... I'd decided to put off potty training until after the move, I've been christmas shopping like a maniac (I purchased 14 pairs of pajamas this morning...thinking it would be a fabulous gift for cousins) and I've been making ceramic nativity scenes out of plaster of paris for the relief society women. I've also been organizing my house in preparation for my last dejunk before the move. List after list...replacing anything broken, checking what goes where.
We flew to Switzerland on Friday for 2 nights. The little boys kept asking when we could go back home. The last thing on my mind was potty training but on Sunday we went to Colin's nephew's baby blessing and my twins wouldn't stop using the toilet...at the church, at the luncheon, airport, airplane. They loved every toilet! So know I'm not sure. I thought to myself...they'll forget and we can get back to normal. This morning they awoke with a dry diaper and ran to the toilet. After nursery school...dry diaper. Are they playing mind games with me??? I've just put underwear on them but I'm not expecting anything. Could it be this easy??? I'll blog later with the results!

Toilet Treasures

2008-10-14T06:41:00.001-07:00

When will the horribleness of toilet training be over???? Yes they can do it but will they do it? No. The last couple of days someone (s) has been putting things into my toilet. Because I don't want to clog the toilet I have to dig these things out....car keys, paper, and lots and lots of tampons. Its such a fun game! Maybe I should try it.

trip to cali

2008-09-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of my girls trip to California with the Smith ladies. I got to see my folks for a couple of days in Utah and then we flew to New Port Beach for 4 days of relaxtion, shopping and sun. I had so much fun!!! The picture with the trolley is after a day of shopping madness! The other was in the airport. Thanks guys!!!

What?

2008-09-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

I said to the twins over lunch, "we're moving to switzerland."
Ben said, "I'm eating lunch."
I said, "we're moving to switzerland" (still in a daze).
Tim said, "we're going to Legoland?"
We're moving.....I Hate Moving!!!

George aka the Boss

2008-08-29T05:08:00.000-07:00

The kids are still off school, my house is a mess but George has inspired me to blog about him. He is 5, our third child, our LOUD child. He has a lot of personality...in a good way but at times difficult... Here are a couple stories about him and how he makes me smile:
I had some friends over and George was desperate to watch television. I gave in because I always do just so they will leave me alone. He wanted to watch Tom and Jerry cartoons (its the only thing he's interested in). So I looked at my watch and told him his show would be on in 4 minutes to just watch these commercials until the show came on. He then whispered in my ear..."Does your watch answer all your questions?" I smiled.
Just now he called for me and begged me to come upstairs. I was making (burning) a grilled cheese sandwich so I couldn't run up at that second. I kept talking to him though and tried to get him to explain why I needed to come. He wanted me to look at something that he thought was a bug. He said it was orange with spots (I imagined lady bug)? He said he killed it and it popped. Ewww Gross. I said then its dead and I will come and look in a minute. After lunch was served I ran up with George. He kicked open his door and pointed to the area in which the thing was located. I cautiously walked over and asked him to come and point closer to where it was. In front of me was an old mandarin orange that was so old it was shriveled and it indeed had spots on it. The skin would crackle and pop if stepped on. I asked him if he thought it was a bug. He said yes. I said its an old orange and threw it in the trash. Now you understand how disgusting my house truly is!

peanuts

2008-08-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a difference I've experienced with raising boys instead of being around my zillion sisters growing up...
George taught the twins that their wee wee (we are potty training) is also called peanuts. I haven't corrected him because they all have lisps and it sounds really cute and I don't want to hear the real word over and over again because these twins and George say the word peanuts easily 500 times a day...well starting today at least. Its their favorite new word of the day!
Ow...you hurt my peanuts...
don't sit on my peanuts...
I've got to go wee wee...oh look here's my peanuts
You get the idea...over and over again. I've chuckled all day. Tomorrow I will ask them to stop and maybe correct George. Maybe tomorrow they will have forgotten!

bike

2008-08-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

George learned to ride his bike today. We've tried before but he wasn't interested before. He was interested a few days ago but I wasn't. So today James' took the training wheels off (in seconds) and he ran along side George in the backyard. Then we all headed down to the park where the flat surfaces were longer. He caught on quickly and a half an hour later he was an old pro.
I remember the neighbor boy teaching me to ride a bike in his backyard. Apparently none of my older brother or sisters or parents were interested in teaching me. No bitterness...at least I learned how!

As we were walking inside George told me that he taught himself and none of us helped him in the slightest...so I'm writing about it now as proof that I was there and ran beside him a little but James did most of the work!

Addictions?

2008-08-13T03:41:00.000-07:00

I've tried to stay away from most things that would make me addicted to them... I never knew what my genetic predispositions would be so I stayed clear of everything! There is one weakness I have had and which I force on my children...The pacifier. I still remember my own mother taking mine away and putting it in a drawer. You couldn't even count how many times I went to look in that drawer (mother...where did it disappear to)?!? So from that day on I became a thumbsucker. (Not anymore silly). So today is the momentous day that I too will take away my twins binkies and say no more.

They don't even seem to mind...no one has even asked where the hundred dee dees are (what is the matter with them?). I hope that they won't be tramatized...they are pretty old though (3.5 years old). My mother in law tied her son's nuki to a helium balloon and he let it go. My friend let her kid buy a bike in exchange for their dummy. With my oldest we tried cutting the tips off of the binkies (she started sucking her thumb). We're just going to go cold turkey!

Have I mentioned that they don't speak very well (from always having the thing in their mouth and their teeth are misshappen (which I find cute). They can't bite down on food from the front because their teeth don't close (the dentist said it would grow together as soon as they stopped using a binkie). What is the matter with me? Old addictions are hard to give up?!!

Do my children have superpowers?

2008-08-08T02:59:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of getting my children tested for super human power in destruction. Granted I haven't been "watching" my children during the summer because I have been engrossed in the twilight series (which I loved) and other books. A mother of eight once told me that children played better together without any adult interfering so I've taken this idea to the max. Anyway about the kids getting tested....they have been on a rampage lately. The twins have ripped a curtain rod out of the wall, Monica and james broke a door handle (not a knob but an L shaped door handle) in half...and it was metal, and they've been wresting with me to try and rip my books away from me and I really have to fight back hard to keep my books from getting hidden. I will keep my eyes open for more super human examples...how long til school starts again???? Oh a month from today!

2008-08-08T02:53:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the island Mainau. We went with Elsbeth and met Colin's counsin's family there. It was a gorgeous day!!! lovely gardens and a little exhausting.

2008-08-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my kids and the Aeschbachers at the Verkehrs (transportation) museum in Luzern. They had a blast!

These two pictures are of the kids at a city park about an hour away. We always love coming here!

Here are the kids with their second cousins at the Island Mainau in Germany.

2008-07-08T10:07:00.001-07:00

Today was our last day of school! Yeah! Finally!!! We gave the teachers' their presents this morning and school was out by noon. Then I took the kids out to a chinese restaurant for lunch with a friend and her kids. Afterwards I ran to give blood because I'm crazy. Then George had an afterschool party, then swimming lessons and then I ran Monica and James to their afterschool party (hosted at the school by the school). We will zoom down to Switzerland for a few weeks on Friday. Very excited to have nice, hot weather! Pool here we come!

Other news: Colin was ordained a high priest and called as second councillor in the Bishopbric at our church! I'm not being released as RS president so we will just juggle the kids. I will sit next to helpful people during sacrament meeting!! ha ha. We are very excited for this new experience for Colin!

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day to go to the beach! Here is my sister Mindy with the twins at Hayling Island by Portsbouth.
My husband told me recently that I could go to the beach with the 5 children every day in the summer....yeah right. I love the beach but I don't want to watch and rescue 5 children. I want to read and float on a tube. Also I hate the sandy mess. Its an hour and a half drive each way as well. So we may go once a week (if that) but this won't be a daily occurance. The twins loved getting soaked!
When we got home Tim ran out back and pooped in the garden. I hate potty training!!! Sorry no picture of that!

2008-06-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Stonehenge versus Avebury
Stonehenge gets a lot of hype but I prefer the small town of Avebury because: you don't have to pay to get in (except parking), you can get up close and personal with the rocks, the stones at Avebury are older (like 1000 years) and you can see interesting people worshipping the stones at Avebury. The gift shop is reasonably priced, there is an old creepy church there as well, a huge man made mound across the street at a white horse on the mountain! Totally better than stonehenge but advertising is everything I guess!
We went to both places today and here is stonehenge outside of the fence and my sister Mindy with the twins. (You aren't really supposed to climb on the rocks...) There are a lot less tourists there!

2008-06-01T12:34:00.001-07:00

We've had quite a few "episodes" happen this weekend. My husband has been in charge and now he can't mock me for "not" watching the kids (the twins imparticuarly). I took all the boys to the barber on Tuesday so they can look "Smart" when school starts back up next week. On Saturday while Mindy and I were in London they found the scissors. They now have BUZZ cuts as that was the best the Barber could do to rectify the situation. It'll grow. Now its a bit easier to tell the twins apart! Tim is bald and Ben has a big bald spot in the middle of his head (barber salvaged more of his hair). Tim was a lost cause apparently. At least they are boys and they can wear hats!!! (Other episodes that happened mostly have to do with toilet training and I won't bore you with the gory details). (We will have to replace all the carpet when we leave)!

How many ramsays can you stuff in a phone booth?

2008-05-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

My sister Mindy stuffed us all in a phone booth outside of Hampton Court Palace. The kids loved it! We're cheap entertainment!

2008-05-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

My sister Mindy is here visiting so we took her to Windsor Castle for the afternoon. We met some guards that we posed with. It was a fun day and it didn't rain the whole day!

2008-05-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the beautiful coast of wales. No good camping pictures...sorry!

2008-05-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here is James aka Bud

George aka The Boss

Here is Thing One and Thing Two aka Tim and Ben

and at least we had one beautiful girl...
Monica aka sissy

Ramsay Family Blog!

2008-05-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hello World! The Ramsays have finally entered the blogging world. Don't really know much about blogs but I do enjoy reading them! I'll try to keep you entertained with our hilarious life! Potty training is top of my to do list. ARGH!!! We've already been through a bunch of Thomas the Train underpants today and I still have a few spots to carpet spray (that is why I am here avoiding it). We're back in diapers now until tomorrow....
We went camping in Wales over the weekend and wow was it beautiful! Welsh is everywhere! I thought it was a dying language but it was alive and well over there! Its a crazy language and I couldn't understand it one bit. Such interesting cultures everywhere. Well it was a bit early to go camping and it was cold and rainy so after the three older kids fell into the lake and then after going to the beach we didn't have any dry clothes left that we came home a day early. I will post a picture if I find a good one. Most of the pictures I'm screaming I think!