While the cat is away, the mice will play!

So what were the kids doing while we were away...

First, we had made a cake for my dad before we left so that the kids could help him celebrate his 60th birthday! Whoa! The Big 60, how 'bout that!!!







I used to think that was really old. But, you can't do this if you're really old! :)



After a day spent at the lake, cousin Ellie came for a week.





And they played and played and played.







Kyler and Kavan were still playing baseball.



Kavan finished up his season. And my mom emailed us in Europe with details of Kavan's awesome double play. We hated to miss that, but loved hearing the excitement of it through email and telephone calls.



My dad took the kids to see movies, took them fishing, and got Kyler hooked on golfing! My mom taught the kids how to crosstitch and did some sewing with them! And in between all that, they took care of all the household duties and they left my house better organized than it was! They are so wonderful! We love them so much!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you did!






And the hen, she mothered her babies.







Hey, Dad! Nice tie!!! :)

Triberg, Heidelberg, and home

On the final leg of our trip we drove from Switzerland through the black forest of Germany and stopped in a little town called Triberg. It was everything Germany, especially cuckoo clocks!











After Triberg we made it back to Heidelberg in time for a fun dinner with a couple from Kim's work (nice couple) and our friend Emma Patterson. (We forgot our camera - who would have thought, huh!?!) It was really great to see Emma, we miss her! (And she just happens to be the best piano teacher - ever!)

What an amazing trip we had! It was great to catch up with the Christiansen's. We sure appreciate all that they did for us! They even got up at o'dark thirty to take us to the airport in Frankfurt.

And on occasion you get really lucky when you fly stand-by...we got to fly home in first class on a non-stop flight. Seriously, it was awesome! And it just so happened that it was our 17 year wedding anniversary. What a fabulous way to celebrate 17 happy, happy years of marriage - an unbelievable trip with so many great memories!

Luzern

After 3 relaxing nights at Camp Darby we were ready for our next stop. So, we drove through Northern Italy and the Swiss Alps. It was beautiful!











We arrived in Luzern, Switzerland at about 2:00 that afternoon. And it was beautiful! We decided to walk through town. Unfortunately, most everything was closed because it was a holiday - imagine that! We did find some chocolate, though! :)



The swans were beautiful swimming in the lake.



The water fountain was a little quirky but kind of cool!



There are cool doors everywhere in Europe!!



The Chapel Bridge and Water Tower dating back to the 14th century. The oldest wooden bridge in Switzerland.



The water tower was used as a dungeon until the 19th century.



Just really a pretty city!



The Lion Monument commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. It's pretty neat!



After seeing some of the city, we went back to the hotel. Then Layne and I decided to go for a walk. Our hotel seemed to be more in the "country" than the "city." It was so peaceful. If you looked to the left you saw sheep,



and cows - with bells. These cows were so funny. It was like they were playing tag, so you could hear their bells everywhere!



Then if you looked to the right you could see the magnificent mountains and lake.





And here is where we stayed for the night. Switzerland is pretty expensive compared to every other place we had been. So, it was probably a good thing we were only there for one night! :)

Cinque Terre

I don't really know how to even describe Cinque Terre, other than it is BEAUTIFUL! So here is a brief description from Wikepedia... :)

"The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. "The Five Lands" comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The Cinque Terre is noted for its beauty. Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible "modern" development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach it from the outside."



We missed the boat that takes you to the villages, so we decided to drive into the area, park and walk into Monterosso.

On the way we stopped...



and this is what we saw over our shoulders.



It was harder to find a parking space than we thought it would be (It ended up being an Italian holiday). So Kent dropped us off at the opening of the village (nice guy)and we waited while he parked.



Then we started walking and it was so, so pretty.











I loved seeing the flowers and lemon trees.





The lemons smell soooo good! Check out Kim's lemon!



Italians seem to wear a lot of beautiful scarves and light "flow-ey" clothes that I find really simple and pretty. So, I really enjoyed looking through their little shops. They had a lot of unique jewelry, bags, and clothes. Most of the prices were pretty high. Though, I did end up finding a "flow-ey," gauze-like, purple shirt and a cute beaded ring, which was kind of fun (and I felt a little lucky)! :)



Cinque Terre is also known for their seafood (especially anchovies on Monterosso), grapes, olives, and pesto. We ate in a beautiful spot and we ate some really yummy food. I had pasta with pesto. It was really, really so good! I wish I could have brought some home! I've never tasted pesto quite like this - so good, really!



While we ate, we watched what seemed to be some local boys jumping the cliffs. Some of them were brave right off the bat, others worked up to it! :)



What a beautiful day!