Adalyn started school on Wednesday, and she was super excited! One thing different from the US is the school supply list. She needs four pairs of shoes; shoes she wears to school, slippers to wear during school, a special pair of shoes for music class, and then a pair of gym shoes that stay at school. She also has a gym uniform that she will change into for gym class which they have once a week. They will have music twice a week and a french teacher come in twice a week. Another diference is the amount of time they get outside and for lunch. Every morning they go outside for half an hour. Then, lunch is one hour, which they eat in the classroom at her age, and then they play outside for another 45 minutes- rain or shine.
She picked out her dress, it said "Je Suis (I am) a Cutie, Meet me in Paris."
Still wants to be a princess when she grows up, just not a "Princess Baker" like last year... must have realized Princess' get a baker who bakes for them!!
Her teacher - Sara Beth
So excited!
The "drop off" went great- no tears from Adalyn, Chris, or me! Eliza missed her sister so much while she was away-they are rarely apart, so Eliza kept asking for Ady and looking around the house for her that first morning. Thankfully, I discovered a great place near us that is perfect for the kids. They have open play times where you can play, and then they also allow you to borrow toys for three weeks. So, you can always have a new toy at home to play with! They also have bikes, scooters, ice skates, etc. to borrow. Eliza and I went there Wednesday morning and she had a blast. She loves playing kitchen and taking care of babies! She entertained herself for a whole hour just playing with the different toys.
Then, it was time to pick up Adalyn- I was anxious to hear how her first day went. She came out of the room with a huge smile! She informed me right away that she made a new friend, which I thought was great. The other girl came out and quickly told her mother that she met someone new too, Adalyn. Then, what happened next I could have never predicted... it was this girl's birthday and she wanted Adalyn to go to her party that afternoon. Oh my, a birthday party the first day??? When I know nobody and now I will be attending a party- seriously??? I knew this would be a great way for Adalyn to make more friends, and possibly I could meet my second emergency contact, but I was still feeling a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing. Three hours later... we were at the girl's house celebrating her birthday. I guess you really do whatever is best for your kids! I did end up meeting some very nice ladies, but still felt out of place the entire time, and still don't have my second emergency contact.
Adalyn after her first day!
Eliza LOVES wearing Adalyn's backpack!
Eliza also started "school" this week. I found a "garderie" which is basically a drop off daycare/learning center for toddlers. They have free play, music time, and craft time. She will be going Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons. Her first day was this past Thursday, and she really seemed to like it. Since it is the first week for the kids, it is transition week, so they go for a shorter time to get used to it. She did great so I am hoping next week I can escape for a little longer! I am really happy that I was able to fnd her a place to play with kids her age. The three teachers speak French, so hopefully she will learn some French and not be completely confused!
Friday afternoon, I took the girls to the Circus Knie Zoo. Circus Knie is the largest circus in Switzerland- they travel throughout Switzerland and are currently in a nearby neighborhood. In connection with the circus they also have a zoo, where you can walk around and see the animals that are part of the show. The girls and I spent the afternoon visiting the zoo and seeing horses, zebras, camels, elephants, monkeys, llamas, and baby goats.
Pony Ride-
On Saturday, we woke up early and didn't have much of an agenda but knew we wanted to visit Interlaken and Thun, which are both about a 2 1/2 hour drive from our house. This adventure was a bit longer than others, and Eliza let us know... much easier to travel during nap times! She apparently is not entertained by the views like we are. We arrived in Interlaken and walked around for a bit and then had a picnic in the town center and enjoyed the ambience of Interlaken. Then, we headed down the lake road that led to Thun, which is also where we wanted to visit. It was absolutely MAGNIFICIENT- driving along the cliff looking down at the lake. At times, it was a bit scary being so close to the cliff and making sure that Chris had his eyes on the road and not the views around us. We stumbled upon one of the most beautiful spots we have ever seen, St. Beatus-Hohlen. We walked up to the top and the views were incredible- they also have a cave tour that you can take, but it takes an hour and we weren't sure how the girls would hold up- we will definitely be back to take the cave tour someday. We continued along the rode and ended up in Thun. It is a cute little city with outdoor restaurants and shops. They also happened to be celebrating their 750th year of being established, so it was extra busy and entertaining. We walked around there for awhile and then headed back to Geneva. For not having a set plan, we had an awesome Saturday adventure day!
The winding road along the cliff-
The walk we took up the side of the mountain.
Lake Thun
Our first family photo
Thun
On Sunday, we focused on house stuff in the morning- thankfully Sebastian (Chris' co-workers son), our new handy man, came over and was able to put up some pictures, a baby gate, and helped build our bookcase for us. The walls of our house are all made of cement, so you need a heavy duty drill, which we don't have with a swiss outlet, so he came to our rescue! The weather was wonderful again, so we headed to the lake in the afternoon and walked around. Now, as I am writing we are watching the Vikings game- the noon games are perfect, because that means 7 pm for us!
We look forward to a great week- Au revoir!
This is my favorite update yet! I'm so happy Adalyn had a great first week of school and that you found a great spot for Eliza too! Thun looks incredible - what a fun adventure!
ReplyDelete