Emma had a fantastic cross season this year.  She improved drastically from last year and was one of the fastest girls on her middle school team right behind Bethany (7th grade) and Lauren (8th grade).  All of the courses were 1.5 miles.  I wasn't able to be there for her first meet at Elizabeth HS since I was still in Switzerland but Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz were there.  This is the only meet I don't actually have her finish time.  Luckily, I was able to be there for all the other meets and I was so impressed every time with how strong she looked.  She ended up being ahead of girls that had passed her last year like her friend Mikayla and her Kokopelli teammate Eliza. Madeline loved being able to go and watch Emma run.  She would say, "Go Emma Go." It was the cutest thing ever.  Emma started her second meet with a time of 11:35 and finished her season with a time of 10:21.  Her fastest time was during the 4th meet with a time of 10:12.  I can't wait to see how fast she continues to get as she matures and puts in more time into her training.

Meet 1 at Elizabeth HS - Time unknown
Meet 2 at D20 Stadium - 11:35 (4th place for 7th grade girls)
Meet 3 at Palmer Lake - 10:44 (7th place for 7th grade girls)
Meet 4 at Air Academy HS - 10:12 (4th place for 7th grade girls)
Meet 5 at Ute Valley Park - 10:21 (3rd place for 7th grade girls)

Photo Above: Emma, Bethany, Lauren, Eliza​

Photo Above: Avery, Ava, Niah, Emma, Mikalya

Photo Above: Mikalya, Niah, Bethany, Emma, Eliza

Photo Above: Emma, Mikayla, Avery, Niah

The leaves in our neighborhood just started to turn colors this last week and so we thought we would head up to our traditional spot at Mueller State Park to see the fall colors.  It was kind of a hectic morning but we finally made it to the park around lunchtime.  We took our normal route along the Outlook Ridge trail to the Raven Ridge Overlook where we laid out our blanket and had a nice lunch on the rocks overlooking the valley.  There were some trees that had already turned colors but most of them were still light green.  Even though the colors weren't as dramatic as when we were at this spot last year it was still a beautiful day to be together as a family.  Madeline walked the entire trail to the overlook.  She was so fast that some of us had to walk quickly to keep up with her.  Peter found her the perfect walking stick that she faithfully carried the entire way. The rest of the crew played frisbee along the trail.  For lunch we had hoagie sandwiches, grapes, cheese, cookies and Capri suns.  Since Madeline was walking this year it was so fun to watch her explore after lunch.  She loved to walk up and down the rock formations and through the little grassy sections.  The teepee the girls had built last year with the fallen tree branches was surprisingly still standing.  We weren't sure if some of it had fallen during the winter but it seemed to be right where we had left it.  Madeline had fun sitting inside of the teepee and Abby spent most of her time playing in it.  The boys walked down the mountain a bit to where they normally explore and Peter had loads of fun hitting dead branches with an enormously large stick.  Andrew spent his time sitting on a big rock overlooking the views.  It was a little hotter than normal and so we didn't do the Grouse Mountain Overlook this year.  Still, it was fun to spend a few hours out of our day being together.  

We decided to do a kitty cat cake for Madeline's birthday this year.  Since Myisha was still here visiting I was able to have extra help in figure out how to make this adorable cake we saw online.  Since Madeline just loves cats I figured she would really like a cat cake.  We went to work making the fondant and coloring the icing to make a pretty good replica of the cake we were trying to copy.  When we were all ready to sing Happy Birthday to her she was kind of in a mood and didn't really want to smile.  I think she did like the cake but was a little unsure of all the balloons and festivities that were going on around her. We tried giving her a little cake but decided that we should try and open presents first to see if we could get her to be happy.  This year we decided to get Madeline her first pretend kitchen with some new pretend food to go with it.  She LOVED the kitchen and the accessories she got from Grandma Ann and Grandpa Franz.  They gave her a pretend waffle maker set, pretend past set, and some pretend cans of food.  After a little bit of playing with her new toys she was finally ready to come back and eat some of her cake.  She LOVED the cake and so did everyone else. They loved the marshmallow fondant and the yummy icing I made this time.  Everyone said it was the best cake I had ever made.

​Loves bath time after dinner.  Latest is playing with the bath crayons. Then she likes to wipe it clean with her washcloths.  She still loves playing with her bath cups and foam letters. 

After bath time Madeline loves to have playtime before bed.  She will usually play with her kitchen or play duck duck goose.  She loves it when we all play with her. She just giggles after she says goose and runs around her room squealing in delight.  

She loves to play with her new kitchen.  She loves the cupcakes and ice cream the best.  She also loves playing with her pasta set and putting the food in the shopping cart.  She still enjoys cutting up the wooden fruit.  

She loves to scare the kids when they come in her room.  She hides behind the door says “got you” when they come in her room. 

Madeline loves to iPad way too much.  Her favorite movies are: Big Hero 6, Charlie Brown, Kung Fu Panda 3, Piglet Movie and all the Winnie the Pooh movies.  Her favorite TV show is still Little Einsteins.  

Madeline talks ALL the time and can say so many things.  She says phrases like:
I do it
I got it
I get it
I have it
I help
I mic (I mix)
Mommy help 
Mommy do it
iPad watch 
I fic (I fix)
What time it is (What time is it)
Mommy play with you (Mommy play with me)

She can tell us pretty much what she wants and we can understand her most of the time. One of the cutest things she does is every time she sees a bus she says, “Abby’s bus.”  The other day we went to drop something off at Emma’s school.  The next day as we passed the school while driving home from errands I heard Madeline say, “Emma’s school.” She is so smart.  

I often hear Madeline counting to 10 without any help and singing her ABCs.  She can get through half the alphabet without any help.  She loves to read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and sing her ABCs at the end of the book.  She also learned the Do Re Mi song from Emma.  She loves to sing songs and knows quite a few.  She loves to point at the music in her little children’s hymn book and sing the words to the song.  Her favorite songs are: I am a Child of God, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, Temple Song, Little Purple Pansies, Daddy’s Homecoming, and the Snowman Song.
 
Madeline is great at following instructions.  She has been really good about prayer time and folding her arms and then shouting Amen at the end.  She has even prayed a few times with our help.  One Sunday after the opening prayer she looked at me and my arms were still folded.  She then said, “No mom…Amen.”  She couldn’t figure out why I would have my arms folded when the prayer was over.  It was hilarious.  
 
Madeline is so predictable when it comes to potty time. I can always tell when Madeline has to go to the bathroom.  It is usually after she eats lunch.  When I see her concentrate I will usually ask her if she want to sit on the potty.  She will usually say no and then she will say, “I hide.”  She will run behind the couch or a chair and do her business.  When I do go and change her diaper she is usually pretty good about laying down.  Then she says, “Oh no,” as I am changing her diaper.  I will usually be pretty silly with her and say, “Stinky” or “Grouse” and then she just laughs.
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We were up early and packed for the airport.  We set out to explore Zurich.  We walked down the main banking street and found the most amazing little souvenir store.  Too bad everything was so expensive!  You could blow some serious money in a place like that.  We then grabbed an Uber and headed to the Lindt factory for some chocolate indulgence.  When we stepped out of the car, the air was heavy with the smell of chocolate.  Sara was instantly in heaven and freckles started jumping off her arm and heading directly for the chocolate store.  It’s hard to explain how wonderful Lindt chocolate is in Switzerland, but they must feed the cows cocaine because it is magical stuff.  Magical. After spending unreasonable amounts of money on chocolate, we headed back to old town.  We wound our way through back alleys and little shops.  We walked along the river.  We heard an amazing string quartet and heard the church bells chime one last time.  The bells heralded the end of our Swiss adventure.  We grabbed an Uber to the airport.  We got our passports stamped and indulged ourselves in the Priority Pass lounge.  We hopped on our Edelweiss Air flight.  There were empty rows in economy plus, and because we had upgraded we each got our own row to ourselves, away from the noisy family and their kids screaming in economy.  The service was impeccable.  The direct flight was easy.  We arrived in Denver and breezed through customs with our global entry cards. Traveling right is the only way to travel.  Myisha greeted us at the airport and soon enough we were back in the minivan heading down the highway.  We were excited to see our kids.  Excited to be back home, but a piece of us will always long to sit in the crisp mountain air, eating chocolate and croissants and talking about nothing in particular while the mountains stand silently above us.

It’s easy to get up in the morning when you know that bread, cheese, jam, fresh juices and other wonderful goodies await you.  We were up early because we wanted to be out on the trail and up the mountain early on the train in case we had some good weather. We weren’t prepared for what we saw after breakfast.  We finished packing our bags to drop in the lobby, had our day packs ready to go, when we walked out onto our veranda and were completely dumbstruck by the site of the Matterhorn.  It was giant and majestic as it towered over Zermatt with a commanding presence.  It was hard to believe that the mountain had been there this whole time, shrouded from our vision by the clouds.  It was immense.  It was regal.  It was the perfect finish to our long journey.  
 
We rushed out of the hotel and over to the cog railroad to make our way up to the Gornergratt.  The views from the train up the mountain were outstanding. With each turn of the cog the views grew more immense.  More peaks. More glaciers.  More expansive views!  Soon we were above the clouds and the majesty of Zermatt was on full display. Any of the views along our hike were worth the trip, but this place blew them all away.  It’s hard to even begin to describe the immensity and the grandeur that surrounded us.  To be able to see this on a perfectly clear day was a great blessing.  We road the train with a wonderful older couple from Palo Alto.  It was fun to see how blown away they were by the views as well.  We arrived at the top of the Gornegratt and ran like giddy kids on Christmas morning around the top of the mountain to take pictures and take in the panoramas.  We were on top of the world and witnesses to the immensity of God’s creation. Everywhere we looked, we could hardly believe what we were seeing.  The Matterhorn was just one majestic peak among the glaciers and precipices that culminate in this part of the Alps.  It was awesome.  
 
After spending time taking it all in, we hiked back down the Gornegratt to Riffelsee, where there are 2 lakes that reflect the Matterhorn. Picture time for Sara!  Yelling at people to get out of the picture for Sara and getting a picture with a Toblerone in front of the Matterhorn was priceless.  After a morning of visual delight, we headed back down the cog to our hotel.   We gathered our belongings and headed to the train station.  Riding first class is the way to go.  We headed down to Visp, and then got on the bullet train to Zurich. It passed through the mountains, by Interlaken, and then to Bern.  Soon enough, we had left the Alps, the pastoral side of Switzerland and were in the banking capital of Europe.  It’s hard to believe that in 2 hours we were suddenly somewhere so far away. 
 
We walked from the Zurich Central train station along the river to our hotel.  The front desk clerk was from Portugal and was amazed that Mike spoke fluent Portuguese. It’s worth noting that everywhere we went, the service in Switzerland was amazing.  It blows the service in America out of the water.   The hotel overlooked lake Zurich and the old town. Dinner was a traditional Cordon Bleu and ridiculously tasty apple filled crepe with ice cream.  How were we going to go back to America and eat normal food again?

​Of all the places that you don't want it to be rainy, Zermatt is one of them.  Fortunately, this was a down day with no traveling needed, so we enjoyed a nice breakfast (hooray for bread and cheese and fresh juice!). After breakfast we hiked through Zermatt and went shopping.  It was fun to spend time in each store and find something unique for each of our children. We hiked through to the top of the town to the chair lift that takes you up to the glacier.  There were people going skiing.  Zermatt is one of the few places you can ski year round because they ski down the glacier.  We ate lunch at a little coffee shop in a back alley and had Lindt hot chocolate and a Brie sandwich.  It was pretty decadent.  After a day of shopping, we went back to the spa and just sat around in the hot tubs and lounged around in the spa.  It was great to have time to just do nothing.   Too much of life is spent in doing too much.  Sometimes, you have to just take time to do nothing.  
 
After an afternoon of doing nothing, we headed out and had pizza at an Italian brick oven pizza place. Since Italy is just a short cable car away, the Italian food is pretty authentic and pretty good.  After dinner, we ate crepes and talked with the guy who worked there who was from Germany, but came to Zermatt to work and to snowboard since you can board all year long.  Sounds reasonable to me.  We strolled back to the hotel in the rain and enjoyed a great nights sleep.