Today is Friday; it feels festive. Even the snow flakes falling from the sky seem to dance with the wind in the air rather than fall straight down.
Dan made homemade crepes for breakfast, complete with some Swiss strawberry jam to top them. He made Sara’s crepe in the shape of a heart. Julia ate crapes faster than he could make them. I had my first coffee of the trip. Normally I shun caffeine, but it is hard to resist a hot cup of coffee on a snowy day. Every window shows a winter wonderland, so we got ready and headed outside all together.
We had Sara’s skis, Julia’s skis, Dan’s skis, and two pairs of skates. Sara wanted to ski right away. We had her walk ‘till we got to the church in the center of town, then I put her skis on. She proudly skied forward. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow. It was Dan’s first time seeing her “ski.” He walked next to her, and they looked cute as a Father-Daughter team.
Dan tried having her hold onto an end on a ski pole and then pulling her forward. That ended in a splat to Sara’s butt, and when she got up she admonished Papa for going to fast, using her finger to point our the spots, she said, “I’m hurt here, here, and a little bit over here.” It was hard not to laugh at how seriously she explained her “hurts.” We knew she was okay, Dan wasn’t even walking a normal pace when she fell. That was the end to the pulling, and Sara went back to skiing herself down the road towards the sports complex.
When we got there Sara skiied up the hill (a lot of effort but she just forged ahead like a little cog train) and then we all went into the ski school area for kids that was not in use - so it was all ours to use.
Sara did several runs with Dan (they are about 10 meters long) - and then he put his own skis on and they skied together - with Sara’s legs on the inside and Dan’s on the outside. That got her to feel forward motion - and she had a look of wonder on her face. They did that for several runs. I was busy with Julia, who decided to walk up and down the ski magic carpet - waving to me with a big smile on her face. (Very cute.) She looked like the Queen walking around on parade - she looked like she felt she was having a grand time. Julia will not wear gloves so her hands get red. No matter how I try she just will not wear them.
It was snowing, and the whole scene was festive. Up on the ski hill to our right the ski school was doing their end of week display, with kids careening down the hill to collect a medal and a hug from their waiting parents. Motion was every where. Ski lifts, ski gondolas, skaters, skiers, kids, parents, sledders, and walkers swirled around in perfect harmony. The sun came out even while it was snowing (puffy white light flakes) and it glistened off the Alps in a huge semi-circle above us.
Dan left to go skiing around 12:30 and Sara, Julia, and I ate some bread from the bakery as our lunch, and then we returned the ice skates. We did a town walk, which lead us far to the East, before circling us back to the apartment. I got us two pizzas for 5 CF each, and we put them in the oven for a second lunch.
Dan got back to the apartment while Julia was trying to nap. She ended up just goofing around in her crib and not sleeping, but at least she got some “rest” in a warm cozy spot for the first time this week.
It snowed, snowed, and snowed today. Off and on. Even while the sky is blue! It is like someone is standing up high over our heads and using a shaker of powder sugar - just big flakes that are light and puffy.
We went out for an evening walk. Sara noticed a few lasers and light displays from store fronts - they added to the quaint white lights, the wooden chalets, and the folks walking around town. I was going to go to the fish market but we had some meat balls to cook so I skipped it.
Back at the apartment I made dinner while Dan telecommuted. Julia and Sara are *very* eager kitchen helpers. So much so that I sometimes end up holding Julia in my arms and giving Sara little jobs (she loves to pour water from the green ceramic pitcher they have here). But to really cook I let them watch a bit of Peter Pan on the iPad. Our dinner turned out nice, with Julia eating about 8 meat balls (they were small, but that kid can eat!) and Sara eating a lot of salad (a new thing for her, she just loves it!).
Julia went to sleep very easily and Sara is about to get ready for bed, though she doesn’t know it yet!
It was a fun day.
Quotes of the day:
(last night) Sara: “We should have salad for breakfast Mom. Keep it a secret. Only tell Papa and Julia.”
(at breakfast) Sara: “Mama, some people in Switzerland put juice on their cereal. It makes it nummier.”
(at breakfast) Sara: “Papa, please do stop tickling me. I’m trying to work and eat at the same time.” (she was trying to do addition, with her favorite sum being 4+5=9)
(mid-day) Sara: “Sometimes I don’t know what to say, so my brain tells me what to say.”
(at lunch when I was singing along to music) Sara: “Mama, don’t sing. Let your brain sing the song. You can hear the song that way. It is happening to me.” (I think she was telling me to sing “in my head” and not out loud! I won’t take it personally.)
No comments:
Post a Comment