Klosters Davos

The girls are currently on week two of their two week sport holiday. The schools are currently closed and kids all over Switzerland are honing their skiing skills. The first week we visited friends and went skiing at Oberiberg. The girls continued taking lessons with Swiss Snow League instructors and this weekend we went to Klosters Davos for a long weekend.

Helvti Diner

We are always on the hunt for a good burger in Zürich and I know it may seem odd to be so preoccupied with burgers but when you live so far away from home, the little things like burgers and the convenience of same-day dry cleaning mean a lot.

With the help of The Burger Club we can see restaurants that have been ranked according to their burgers, price, and kreis (neighborhood).  Last night we took the girls to Helvti Diner. Normally we would hire a babysitter but at CHF 24 ($27.00) an hour for a babysitter (to get burgers) we figured we'd bring the girls along. And I am glad we did. Not only does Helvti Diner have the best burger I've had in Zürich and the U.S., it's also kid-friendly. We brought along our story cubes to pass the time but we didn't have to wait long for our meal.

Fastnacht

It's carnival time and Ally's playgroup celebrated with their own mini Fastnacht parade. We marched down our town's main street and into our local grocery store. The kids had noise makers and the butcher gave each child a piece of turkey. Afterwards the children sang a couple of songs in front of the Migros at the delight of those passing by and each child received a small piece of chocolate for all their hard work.

Group photo of Ally and her preschool class --

More skiing

Today was the last day of skiing classes for the girls. We're happy to report that both advanced to the next level in the Swiss Snow League. Grace knows how to use a t-bar and had her first run down a mountain that didn't require a magic carpet to get her to the top. We are looking forward to skiing together next weekend!

My friend Laura joined us today and I took a couple of photos of us at the top of the mountain. The view is really pretty. Halfway down the mountain there was a small barn with a few goats inside. We stopped to say hello. How could you not?

For lunch we decided to skip the crowded cafe at the slopes and made our way to the hotel next door. Lunch was delicious. Fantastic pizzas and the best Caesar salad! Sundays are the best in Switzerland.

Numbers Pyramid & Tea

Grace made a number pyramid at school today. She's been doing these as homework on sheets with some numbers already filled it but today she made her own in school. They are really easy and fun to do! Just take small post it notes and think of a large number. Then add and subtract down. Grace decided to make a letter pyramid for her sister with letters that spell M-A-M-A and P-A-P-A. I think she was trying to work her own name in there too.

The kids have also been enjoying cups of tea at school. Because so many kids have colds and coughs this time of year the teacher thought a nice cup of hot tea might help make them feel better. An email was sent inviting parents to send kids to school with their own tea cups so that disposable cups didn't have to be used. Less unnecessary waste. Grace visited a nearby recycling plant as a field trip in Kindergarten and I think the school here does a fantastic job reinforcing green practices.