Christmas Market Weekend

The first weekend in December I was lucky enough to go on a girls trip to Basel, Switzerland , to go to a European Christmas Market. I honestly didn't know anything about Christmas Markets, but when Angie invited me to go on a girls weekend trip - I didn't much care what we were doing or where we were going- I just wanted in. I needed a weekend out of Rome and some time to be with and chat with other women. Girls nights out are pretty much non-existent  for me- so I was very much looking forward to a weekend away. Oh, and the fact that the whole point was to eat yummy food and go shopping. Pretty much perfect, right?!
Angie organized the whole thing- bought plane tickets, booked the hotel and planned out the weekend- so all I had to do was show up. Yes, she's pretty much the best friend ever. Angie lived in London before moving to Rome, so some of her friends from England met up with us in Switzerland.
It was such a fun weekend! I hope to be able to go to another Christmas Market next year.

The streets in downtown Basel were lined with shops of just about everything. 

I loved how cute everything was decorated. This was an shop with hundreds of different Christmas tree ornaments.  

Christmas villages!

Entrance to the Christmas Market

Loved this huge windmill

Angie is the best friend ever!

This is a church in the town center. 

This is the river that ran right through Basel. And yes- it was as cold as it looks!

We took a little ferry boat across the river. 

These guys were dressed up as the Three Wisemen and would bang their staffs really hard on the ground when people would put money in their basket. 

One night while we were walking through downtown we noticed everyone lined up along one street. We thought for sure there must be a reason- so we hung around to find out what it was. Turns out it was a "Santas on harleys" parade! It was awesome!!

Crepes!! 

This little water fountain park behind us had frozen water!

Michelle, Allison, Angie, Louise, Me, Michelle and Christina

Michelle wanted a picture of her with her food, but since we were sitting so close together, there was no way for me to be out of her picture- so I just joined in!

Racclette! 

It was freezing, so we decided to buy some warmer beanies- just so happens that we have similar taste and ended up being twins!

Chocolate covered strawberries!!

Thanksgiving

We had much to be thankful for this year. Our little group of LDS expats grew exponentially this last year and we were able to have a big, traditional Thanksgiving with lots of food and lots of friends.  Although it can be hard to recreate the "feeling" of the holidays away from family- living in Italy is feeling more and more like home. The kids made Thanksgiving placemats, pilgrim hats and other Thanksgiving crafts at school and we did our traditional 'blintzes' for breakfast.

I love to see the change of seasons! This tree is in our driveway and I love how the vine that grows all over it changes to bright orange and red. 

This year the Woods' family hosted dinner for all the expats. There was a TON of food! I made this turkey. We got it fresh from the butcher a few days before Thanksgiving. It barely fit in my tiny oven!

Some of the older girls organized skits for the little ones, and we all enjoyed a night of food and friends! I feel more and more grateful for this experience and for all the amazing people we have become friends with.

October

By October, we were back into the schedule of life with school, homework and swim lessons. I made the executive decision to put everyone in swim lessons through the school year for a few reasons. One, everyone could do a sport at the same time and in the same place, two, Kate wanted to get back into synchro so we found a sports center with synchronized swimming team and swim lessons, and three, I really want Charly and JR to be independent swimmers by next summer.  As just a little side note- swim lessons here is quite a bit different than we are used to. In Arizona you show up at the pool wearing your swimsuit and sandals with a towel over your shoulder, and usually only during the summer. Here it is a bit more formal - all of the kids have to wear a robe, sandals and wear a cap. It also runs the length of the school year. We swim on Mondays and Thursdays and those have become the busiest days of the week. I have to make sure dinner is made before I leave the house at 3pm to pick up the kids from school, because  we go straight to the pool from school, and by the time everyone is done - we don't get home until 6:30pm. Kate's synchro practice starts after Charly, JR and Clark start their lessons, and goes for about 45 minutes after they finish. So we shower, change,  blow dry hair, eat snacks and do homework while we wait for Kate. (little side note here - Italians NEVER leave the pool with wet hair- even in the dead of summer. You will get sick. :)  When it was still warm outside I didn't blow dry Charly's hair and received many looks of disgust and disbelief from Italian moms.  However, with the cold temperatures and high humidity, I have conformed to the social norm and blow dry Charly's hair.)

October 4th my baby boy had his "golden birthday" and turned 4. He had anxiously awaited his birthday for weeks, and for weeks afterward was convinced that it was still his birthday. I made rice crispy treats for his preschool class - which is a treat totally foreign here. Some kids liked it, some wouldn't even touch it. JR also asked for pumpkin pie for his birthday cake. How could I say no to that cute face?!

Mid October the school had the United Nations concert. Where all the kids performed songs from all over the world. Charly sang "It's a Musical World" and Kate and Clark sang "Shosalosa"- a famous South African song. 

October 23rd Kate and Clark turned 10!! Seems a bit crazy to me that they are 10, but don't get me wrong- I'm glad the days of twin babies are over! We celebrated by having a movie night at home. It was was a full house in our little apartment with 12 extra kids!

Halloween! Lucky for us, Auntie Nancy bought Charly and JR costumes from Costco , and I ordered the other two from Amazon - AND Ryan just happened to make a quick trip to the US and brought them back for us. This year AOSR did their first Trunk or Treat in addition to the Halloween Parade. The kids had a great time, and it was fun for me to observe the difference between the 'Italian cars' and the 'American cars'. The Italians did it in their Italian way with handing out cups of popcorn, cupcakes and other homemade goods. The Americans waited for the kids to say "Trick or Treat" while the Italians just put the bowl of candy out and let the kids go for it!      

Gabrielle, Kate and Didar

Charly, JR and Guiseppe

Ahmad, Benj, Clark, Goni, Leo and Carl

Charly and Charli!

 We were even lucky enough to get invited to the Trunk or Treat at the American Embassy- so the kids got to go Trick or Treating on Halloween- and receive American candy.  Its a big deal!

 

I tried to take a picture at the door of the embassy ( as I couldn't have my phone inside)  and everyone was a bit pictured out!