Cowboy party

Bea was at a friends "cowboy themed" 8th birthday party all day today — he had a ball!! Ili, Papa and I spent it at the garden working on our new little pond (no tadpoles in the house this year, please!) and planting up our strawberry patch (but forgot to take pics).

Sunday morning biking

While Ili and I had a very lazy morning . . .  Papa and Bea went for an early Sunday morning bike ride in the woods to the mountain bike track.

Solar eclipse

No pics of the kids (although I've asked the teacher), but Bea's class had the special specs and were outside watching the solar eclipse in the playground. There was a clear blue sky so he had a good viewing. Ili's Kindergarden stayed inside. I was, perhaps foolishly, in my German class!

School garden club begins

Bea had his first day at the School Garden club on a Tuesday afternoon. He loved it and stayed late to prepare his little patch!

Open Days at school

There were three "Open days" for Bea and Ili's school/kindergarten this week (Mon-Weds). Always nice to see what they are up to! Here's a couple of pics of Ili having her extra German tuition on a Monday morning, and her Gym on Wednesday.

Happy Mothers Day!

Click here for a little Mother's Day message!

Mountains again, and Ili on skis for the first time — Elm, Glarus Valley!!

Day out on the slopes today. Weather beautiful. Views great. Few people around and Ili had her first time on skis — only for about half an hour, but enough to start. We sledged for the rest of the time, or took the chair lifts up and down to follow Bea and Papa best we could. Bea also had a lesson with an instructor to boost his confidence and improve his technique, which was a great success. Really cool day in the mountains!!

Going up to Schabell at Elm.

Bea up at Schabell, Elm, at the beginning of the run.

They are tiny dots, but it's Bea and Papa coming down (in the middle).

Top of the chairlift station.
Ili and I took the easy way back down.

Ili trying on her skis in the children's area.

Getting her balance. . . .

Ili on skis with Papa.

She actually preferred the skis off her feet!!

Going up again!!

Nice views of the Glarus valley (UNESCO site).

Day off school = Papa-Day!

A teacher training day today — no school —so the kids spent the morning lounging in the thermal baths with their Papa (German lessons for lucky ol' me!). We had planned to take the opportunity to get Bea on skis again, but conditions not good enough in the mountains (too wet).

Ili did great going under water!

On the piste!

It was the first time this year that Bea has been on skis, so we opted for a small ski resort that had lots of easy runs for him to get back in the swing of things. And Ili and I got to sledge which was great fun!! The little sledge run was only 3.5 km but very steep so we had lots of giggles and bumps on the way down!

Sushi selfies

As we had a wee something to celebrate tonight (am I now really that old!!!) we hit the town for dinner out! Here's our sushi selfies.

Trip to the Masoala Project

I took Bea, Ili and her friend up to the Masoala project up at the zoo this afternoon. The canopy walkway is a still a firm favourite and quickly reaches 31 degrees as you climb to the top. Feels like the tropics and we could almost forget there was snow outside. We found the chameleon, geckos, fruit bats, lemurs, and lots of Madagascan birds. Haven't been there for a while with Bea, so he was pretty excited!

Outside the Masoala project.

Ili climbing up to the canopy walkway.

Hot at the top!

New dance class

Ili started a dance class again today. After not wanted to go for ages, she was soon into the swing of it. Ili's in dark blue — the one without the tutu!