Morning
Dan usually gets up with Julia, but today I could tell that her calling was going on longer than usual with out me hearing Dan get up. I got up. It was 7:03 and for the next hour or so Julia and I had peaceful quiet time together. I tried to get her to go back to sleep, but she had none of that. She handed me her clothes and then tugged my arm to the door - that kid was ready to start the day.
Dan slept 'till about 9:30, really late for him. By that time both kids were up and fed and ready for the day. When Dan got up I took Sara out to the market to get some breakfast stuff. We filled a hand held basket and got 76 CF worth of stuff - goodies like bacon, dried meat, beef, bread, milk, eggs, and a lot of nice vegetables. Sara is independent in stores these days, leaving my side to bring back various things. Today she used two hands to bring over a chunk of cheese about the size of a foot ball (and she was serious that we should buy it), and she also wanted some tape, since we use tape for everything at home. I didn't have my backpack, so I had to lug the groceries back in the thin plastic bags they provide (grocery stores in Switzerland expect that you'll bring your own bags, and they do not bag for you, so I bagged as carefully as I could so the bags didn't burst open.) Sara was a good helper in the store - and we had a nice time together before returning to Julia and Dan.
Back at the apartment Dan and I cooked up breakfast while the girls played. It was yummy. We did 5 slices of bacon and we adults got 1/2 piece. They ate the rest!
Pre-Afternoon/Afternoon
By 11:00 we were in our snow clothes headed out for our daily adventure. Storms on the ski mountain (and here in town!) kept the lifts closed, so Dan did not ski today. (This seemed to be fine with him, he had some work things to do all day and he has skied each day since we've gotten here.)
I headed out into the windy snow squall street with Julia. She winced at the wind, but did not slow her pace as she lead me up the street. She was in her pink snow suit and purple knit leg warmers. She is so cute walking down the street that she turns heads and makes everyone smile - even other parents!
We walked into the first shop and rented a sled. We were not going to go "sledding" I was just planning to use the sled to pull Sara/Julia around town - like everyone else. 99% of people do not use strollers on these snowy streets, most people pull their kids around on sleds. It makes for a festive sight - seeing kids all over town sledding down the street. If you walk for about 1 minute in town, you'll probably see 10 adults and 5 sleds. Sleds come in various sizes - some are huge and sophisticated - with steering and braking - and some are very simple - like the one we rented. Some kids are bundled into their sleds in cocoon style bags - and they sleep as their parents tug them around town. It is both practical (to get kids around this way) and it is fun for the kids.
There were 5 kinds of sleds at the shop Julia and I went to. They were on display outside. The wind blew snow across them as I tried to decide which one to pick. I needed one for 2 kids, so that left one big wooden one and one plastic one with a nice back rest. Which to choose? The back rest would be good for Julia I thought, but it was 5 CF extra, and though that is not a ton of money, I wasn't sure how successful the sled would be, so I stuck with the big wooden one. With just my name I walked out of the store with our sled for the day. (No money or credit card as deposit, just my name.)
Julia got onto the sled and smiled. She looked up at me with a glowing look of approval - she said "weeeeeee!" as I tugged her to get started - back to the apartment to get Sara.
Sara jumped on the sled and within moments we were going back up the hill - with both kids on the sled.
The snow kept falling. I kept pulling. Sara and Julia spent their time enjoying the view from the sled and changing positions. They tried with Sara in front - then Julia in front. They tried Sara on her belly and Julia sitting on her back. They tried sitting to the side - with their legs dangling down to the snow. They tried sitting backwards - basically if you could try a position, they did. Their favorite was sitting sideways, with their feet skimming the snow as we went a long. Julia would say "weeeeee haha!" as we hit bumps. And at one point we hopped on the town "train" (a train with wheels like a car) and it took us all the way to the other end of town - up the hill! So I got to bring the kids back down the hill - using gravity instead of my muscles to pull them forward! This was a nice change - I was already with my coat unzipped and feeling like it was 90 degrees in the wind and snow - because of the effort to pull them along. Naturally, we loved every minute.
Walking around a Swiss ski town pulling Sara and Julia on a huge wooden sled while snow is falling and they are giggling is fun. Around 1:00 I spotted Dan walking up the hill to meet us. Though it was Julia's nap time, instead of going back to the apartment for her to sleep, we were going to try to have a restaurant lunch all together (only the second one since we got here). We went to the place where we had our other pizza meal, figureing why mess with success. We ate at the same table and it was lovely - the table overlooks town and it was nice to be behind glass and looking at the storm/snow and be having a nice meal. We kept it simple - one pizza for Dan and I and then one for the girls. We ate every morsel. Julia did fine at the meal even though it was nap time - but when I did get her to her crib around 2:30 she went to sleep right away - great!
Dinner/Evening
We had some beef for dinner, and green beans, and gnocchi. It was still snowing and we talked about taking a walk after dinner. So, around 6:00 I was back outside with Sara and Julia - head to toe in their snow clothes -- and Dan was back at the apartment telecommuting. Our evening walk was lovely. It was dusk. The village lights took on a magical feeling, making the wooden buildings glow. Snow poured down from the sky. Our hats and mittens were white within minutes. Sara sat on the sled, Julia walked. Julia likes walking -- and leading. Julia marched up the street with a true spring to her step. As people passed on the narrow street she waved and said "hi!" - which made everyone smile. (She loves saying hi to people.) So there we were, Julia and I walking side by side with Sara behind us on the sled (I was pulling her, she was on her belly on the sled). It was a still night - no wind. Music pulled us along - coming from apre ski places. Julie was attracted to the music and tried to walk right into the places it was coming from. She danced in the street several times - that kid can really boogie! (And it is very, very, funny to watch her dance!)
Evening turned to night. The sky grew black. The village lights surrounded us, with a cozy feeling. Sara loved her sled ride. Julia loved walking. (And she wore her gloves!) I loved sharing the night ambience with them - day is lovely - but isn't there just something wondrous about night? We were only out for maybe an hour, but it was a lovely hour of lights, snow, and fresh air. After a while Sara was independent on the sled so I wasn't pulling her - she moved it along herself. That left me to saunter with Julia, who was looking at everything with wonder and wide eyes, swooshing along in her pink snow suit.
The church bell tolled 7:00 and it was time to go back. Sara and Julia were perfect, helping each other into the door and up the 2 flights of stairs to get inside. I gave them a quick bath and our day was done. They both ate some bakery bread for a quick snack then they headed to dream land.
Great day. We sledded all over town and capped off the day with an evening walk.
Quotes of the day
(at dinner Sara was being a goof-goof)
Dan: "Sara, after dinner you are going to sit in a 5 minutes time out."
Sara: "Dad, after dinner, I will take the dishes to the kitchen, clean the table, and sweep the floor a little bit, that will make my time out shorter." (way to negotiate Sara!)
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(out on our night walk)
Julia: "echo! echo!" (Just like Sara did at her age, Julia says "echo!" in tunnels. With the night sky black, she thought we were in a tunnel as we walked down a side street and so she said, "echo!" and everyone near by grinned. It was cute.)
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Good night.
END
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