Spring 2011 in Collex: babies, backyards and birthdays

Ok...this post is simply an excuse to put up a bunch of pics of my kids. Feel free to move to the next post: Rome!

We took a lot of trips in Spring of 2011 but we also had some great times at home, hanging with the kiddos, going to the park or to the lake. We enjoy our backyard quite a bit - having collected various kiddy items such as a sandbox, and a slide/climbing structure from friends whose kids have moved on. Faithful readers will also remember that we put up a swing set in February. Our backyard is now the place to be (if you are under 5)! It helps that it has felt like summer since mid-March.

Sam and buddy Raphael digging in the sandbox

Backyard picnic - a.k.a. excuse to not have to cook anything for dinner

Rhys is getting bigger everyday, and can now hang out in his high chair and exersaucer. This makes us both happy - he can see the world from a new vantage point and I get to have my hands free. He had started cooing at his toys - like Sam, one of his favorites is a ladybug that hangs from his playmat. Sam used to squeal when he saw it. Rhys is a bit more reserved. Sam continues to be nice to his brother, who cannot yet make a move for any of the beloved toys.

Rhys in high chair - taken to try out cool new camera feature

Brothers

Enjoying being vertical

Swinging

The gorgeous weather has meant that we have been able to enjoy the crappy little blow-up pool we bought. Sam liked it for about a day and then the water got gross and I wouldn't let him back in and was too lazy to refill it (where to empty it was also an issue).

'swimming' in his undies

Neighbours Julie and Darren had a better pool...

Cedric, Nadia and Sam

And then there are the wading pools at the Bois de la Batie - another cool Geneva parc with a mini-zoo, climbing structures and these pools. Free. Geneva IS great for families.

Fishy fishy

Can't talk about spring in Collex without talking about the cherries. Lots of cherry trees here in Collex and they are loaded with cherries. Crazy. We had some kind neighbours who gave us some from their gardens, and I'll admit I helped myself from another neighbour's tree since the house was vacant. Was great until I had to pit them all (very messy job). It was worth it though: We made jam, black forest cake and cherry scones in May and June. I still have a bunch frozen downstairs.

Bing Cherries

Rainier Cherries

Aaron's birthday and Father's day both came in June. Liverpool jerseys for everyone. The boys also go their dad a tie. And a new hat (see pic below). Aaron was happy with it, I think. Sam wanted to help make Aaron's cake - he is quite the little sous-chef. We put the cherries to good use and made a Black Forest Cake. yum!

Rhys, you'll never drool alone.

Whipping the cream

Ta-Daaaa!

Placing the candles

Blowing out the candles

Aaron's wasn't the only birthday. Sam's buddy Cedric turned 4 in June and Sam was invited to the party. It was a hot day, but Julie - true to self - had an action packed afternoon planned and the kids had a blast.

Waiting for their turn at the pinata

Party animal

Ooooooooooooooh!

All in all it was a gorgeous spring in Switzerland. Kind of made us feel sad that we would be leaving it all behind to go home for 2 months.

The boys

Lac Leman, with Mont Blanc in the background

Hiking at Mont Mussy

Spring has spring, and what says springtime and childhood more than kites? With the regular winds in the Geneva area, we thought it would be a great idea to get Sam a kite. He also thought it was a great idea, and was keen to head out to the fields surrounding Collex to try it out with Aaron. He was a natural, and was holding the string within minutes. He still talks about his green kite even though it has been weeks since he has had it out.

Sam and kite

Sam in the pea field

Before we headed to Geneva, many colleagues who had had the pleasure of living in the area shared their favourite little corners with us. One colleague told us about 'the best pies', available from a farm with no electricity on a hill above Divonne-les-bains, France. Thanks to the internet (what did we do before?) we figured out that the pies were likely from the 'Farm at Mont Mussey'. We tried to get this famous pie a few times. The first attempt, we learned you couldn't just buy a pie (what were we thinking!) and that we would need to e

ither order ahead, or better yet, make a reservation and have lunch.

It took us weeks to get a reservation, as the amount of food that can be prepared without electrical appliances is limited, and because it is popular. But we finally managed to book a spot and headed up with friends Julie, Darren and their kids. Mont Mussey has a number of hiking trails, so we decided to work up an appetite prior to wolfin

g down what promised to be delicious grub based on the smell. Unfortunately, we are still learning that a 45 minute hike actually takes over 1 and a half hours with toddlers in tow. It didn't help that there wasn't anything to look at - not a single vista. We didn't make it to the 'end' before we just decided to turn back. We did, however, find some interesting orange slugs on the trail.

On the trail to...nowhere?

Ooooh....slug!

If the hike wasn't impressive, the food made up for it. Delicious homemade homefries, salad with perfectly fried lardons, and of course, the pie! They had apple, strawberry-rhubarbe and blueberry that day. Between us we sampled them all. They were all fabulous, but the apple was the best.

Excited to finally taste the pie

The restaurant also had a great big lawn for the kids to run around on while we ate. They sat us in the 'outbuilding' still under construction (as we had reserved an outdoor table but then it started to rain'. The walls were primed drywall, the floors were bare, there was no finishing anywhere and the furniture was basic. In many ways it made me feel like I was back in the Ottawa Valley at one of my Dad's friends' places eating something delicious cooked over a wood stove. A very pleasant experience. We will definitely go back, although maybe not to hike.

Hiking wasn't enough exercise for Sam - burning off the pie on the lawn of the restaurant