Bootcamp for Kids

The girls are loving their new bootcamp classes at my gym. Their burpee and Russian twist form are pretty impressive.

Mario (1925 - 2015)

Rob’s grandfather, Mario, passed away last month at the age of 90. After several months of deteriorating health, he died quietly at home. Mario was one of the most colorful and interesting people one could ever hope to meet. He could light up any room with his stories and jokes. He served as Rob’s best man at our wedding and was one of the closest people to him throughout his life. Rob’s love of soccer, games and fascinating personal stories comes largely from Mario. He is missed greatly in our family.

Mario was buried next to Rob’s grandmother, Olga, in their home city of La Paz. His personality lives on in the way Rob and Grace love spending time playing games, joking with one another and watching soccer.

Zumiker Lauf

Rob and the girls ran in the Zumiker Lauf today. It's the first competitive race for both girls and they did great! Ally had been benched by her doc at the Kinderspital but when we got there we decided she could walk/skip her way to the finish line. We wanted her to feel good about competing and she really wanted her medal for finishing the race. So Ally completed 500m with a cast and Grace ran 1.2km in 5.45 seconds!  Rob then raced in the 11.2km run. It was hot day today and I'm taking bets that they are all fast asleep by 9:00. But not before Rob makes us his awesome hamburgers as the celebratory meal!

The next race will be in September. Grace is training for a triathlon and now that Ally can bike and swim she may join her big sister. Stay tuned...

Pics from the event via zuerilaufcup.ch -

Rob running in the middle of the pack.

Can you spot Grace?

Our pics from the day-

Lake Como, Italy

The girls had a short break from school a couple of weeks ago so we decided to head to Lake Como in Italy. The drive was 3.5 hours form our place to the B&B in Mandello del Lario we'd booked. Our navsat took us up and over the Alps by way of the Splügen Pass instead of through the San Bernardino pass. Rob navigated some scary switchbacks for over an hour so for the return trip we took a car ferry from Verna to Menaggio to drive home through Lugano, Switzerland. This time we made sure to take the San Bernardino pass and the views were nothing short of spectacular. 

We ate well in Italy! Lots of pasta and gelato. And enjoyed visiting several towns including Bellagio. The highlight in Bellagio was a large botanical garden. The easiest way to see the towns along Lake Como is to take water boats/taxis and they are pretty easy to come by. 

The end of the school year is five weeks away. Rob has a business trip to Japan and China coming up and then we are headed to the States to spend lazy days at the beach with the Weber clan. It's a family reunion and we are so excited to see everyone. 

Maybe Judo wasn't such a good idea after all.

Paris

We had an amazing time in Paris! And I have just whittled down 200+ pics to show you just how much fun we had during our stay. Our trip started in Zürich and four hours later on a bullet (fast) train we were in Paris. The weather couldn't have been better! We ate escargot (Ally liked it!) and took a harrowing bike tour around the city. Grace did a great job navigating the streets on a bike but I was a mess worrying about her!

Our apartment was just outside the Luxembourg Gardens in the St. Germain neighborhood. There was a fantastic playground inside the the Gardens and we made this a daily ritual for the girls. Because our apartment was so well located we were able to walk to most must-see sites. The Louvre and Notre Dame were less than a ten minute (with kids) and the Eiffel Tower took us about 45 minutes. Kids were a little grumpier doing this trek but bad moods were easily remedied with a break at an outdoor cafe. We took many of these breaks.

I have added pics in sections and groups. It made them more manageable. I want to remember every bit about this trip. It was that much fun!

Ally working for her escargot. She hauled that suitcase for over a kilometer. That's Notre Dame and the Seine river.

I might have to start an instagram account with just pictures of all the great doors we see when we visit different cities.

Great restaurant we had lunch at before heading to the train station and back to Zürich. Fields of gold from the train.

We bought Grace an artist kit in Paris and she painted Pont de Notre Dame when she returned home. She really loved seeing all the artists honing their craft on the streets of Paris. 

Paris Apartment

I have a love affair with airbnb. Honestly, I have only had great experiences with this platform. Finding the right place takes time. A lot of time. I will spend a minimum of one week finding a few places I think we'll like. Location is usually at the top of the list but then there's so many other important factors to consider, reviews to read and re-read and hours spent scrutinizing the photos listed, etc. I have missed out on my top choices because I spent too much time looking around.

The apartment we stayed in for our Paris trip was in the 6th arrondissement. The St. Germain neighborhood. This neighbourhood felt posh. We only walked through it to get to other places and had a quick bite to eat at a local tapas bar. There were art galleries and restaurants. Cute little cafes and a few independent boutiques. There was a nice open market and we picked up a great Italian dinner to make at home from one of the vendors. I felt completely safe here and the location was perfect for seeing just about everything. 

The apartments on airbnb are only half of what makes the site so great in my opinion. You get to meet some very interesting people as well! Philipe in Amsterdam is a filmographer and Bill works at the UN office in Brussels. Weibke is a German actress based in Munich. Diana is currently a grad student in Vienna. Charlotte is an awesome Mom in Denmark with two adorable kids and Marie in Florence is a semi-retired yoga teacher.

The highlights of the apartment were:

Rob: the location

Ally: the red "princess carpet" lining the four flights of stairs

Grace: the master bathroom! 

Me: the personality and finishes  (knoll table, graphic kitchen floor, design books)

More pics from airbnb: