Geno and Mommy's Trip to Jukerfarmart

Geno and I decided to drive about an hour away to take a look at the Jucker Farm outside of Zurich. We have been told that they sell many pumpkins, gourds, squashes, and have a theme where they create statues out of pumpkins for all to see. This years theme was dinosaurs. Throughout the farm, you could see very intricate designs of dinosaurs made out of all sizes of pumpkins and they even had a pumpkin throne you could sit on.

Geno specifically liked the croissants and apple cider as well as playing in the hay maze created. Above is a slideshow of pictures from our day at the farm where I brought home pumpkins and pumpkin beer.

Family Trip to Bescanon France

Besacon France was a great trip. We spent time shopping as well as touring the Citadel where we saw several museums such as the most visited one, The French Resistance Museum. It is here where we saw actual Nazi regime china, original swastikas and stars of david as well as ration cards and several other memorabillia. To date, this was the best exhibit I have seen on the Holocaust and if you have the chance to see it, it is worth the stop.

Come in Star Commander!

Geno latest fixation is on Toy Story movies. He loves all of the characters and can recite the lines word for word. His favorite character is Buzz Light Year who is a space ranger whose catchphrase is "to infinity and beyond." Buzz Light Year is given to a young kid as a present, and the other toys are worried that they will be replaced if the toy is more special. This makes the cowboy toy named Woody nervous and tries to make Buzz Light go away. The other side note is that all of the toys realize they are toys, except for Buzz Light Year who really thinks he is a space ranger.

Geno will walk around the house pretending that he, too, is a superhero like Buzz Light Year. Today I bought him some pajamas with Buzz Light Year and he couldn't wait to get them on. When we were at the store last week, he saw the life size action figure of Buzz Light Year and this has become a great reward to dangle in front of him to be good until his birthday.

School is going well for him at Children's World which is a montessori based preschool in a bilingual environment. He is well liked and has several friends. His teacher has told me that he understands everything said to him in German and it will be just a matter of time until he speaks German as well.

He is still in speech therapy, but the focus has shifted away from speech and more on his fine motor skills. He still has some difficulty in cutting and holding a pencil, but in time that will come around too.

Overall, he is just a well rounded, secure, physical three and a half year old boy.

Coretta's New Haircut

Since Coretta has had the last week off from school, we decided to have a Mom/Daughter Day in Zug. That would include starting our morning at Starbucks, getting her hair done, shopping, and having lunch. Coretta bought a Snoopy t-shirt, a winter hat, and some leather boots. I love being able to have this time alone with my special girl. It can be hard when the weeks get busier and busier, but such a priority. By next year when she is in middle school, I will have to pencil in time to spend with her. I cherish this time more than she realizes. I love you Coretta.

Family Trip to Annecy France

Last week, the family and I went to Annecy France for the weekend. Annecy is supposed to be the "Venice" of France and it did bnot disappoint. It had the same quaintness and charm with the canals and bridges connecting the city together. The first day, was quite rainy, and in genuine Bieter style, no one brough an umbrella. We must have walked around the city for a good five hours and were soak and wet. A little rain wasn't going to get us down or dampen our mood. We spent time down by the lake, shopping, and taking in the architecture and beauty.

That night, we ate at the Novotel Cafe which was located in our hotel and we were pleasantly surprised. Coretta had the pesto penne that was delicious, Geno had his favorite German sausages, and Nick and I had the hamburger served with roasted tomatoes and cheese placed in the middle of what resembled the texture and appearance of a potato pancake. The thai curry chicken soup was good and the kids loved the dessert. While we waited for our food, Geno was able to go out in the lobby and play XBOX 360 with some friends he made at the hotel.The best thing about playing this video game was that the game they were featuring was from Toy Story 3 and featured Geno's new idol, Buzz Light Year.

The next day, we had breakfast in the cafe, and headed back into the old cobblestoned streets of the old town looking for the Chateau we read about. We found the chateau, but sadly they didn't open until 2 pm, so we opted to walk around some more and take pictures.

Although this wasn't the typical type of vacation we take, it was thoroughly enjoyable by all and must needed escape from reality. Below are some photos from our trip.

Coretta's Presentation on Peace and Conflict

Coretta had her fifth grade dinner presentation at school, and we all attended this event. It was called a "dinner party" but they didn't actually serve food. Thank goodness Coretta informed me of this ahead of time, because many families thought that food was going to be served and didn't eat.

Once there, the teachers explained how the fifth graders unit of inquiry this past month was on peace and conflict. There assignment was to find a world leader that falls into that category and write information about them. Thy then created a placemat that highlighted symbols that would represent that leader. It was then the parents job to guess which world leader they had picked. This was an interesting assignment where we saw projects on Theodore Roosevelt, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Florence Nightingale, and Martin Luther King just to name a few.

Coretta chose to do hers on Martin Luther King. Recently Coretta also had school conferences and her teacher Ms. Graham stated that she is a natural leader. She stated that Coretta works hard in school and is very mature for her age. Coretta is currently the student council representative, in martial arts, campus choir, piano, and guitar. Amazingly enough, she still has time to hang out with friends and doesn't seem overwhelmed.

Keep up the good work Coretta! We are so proud of you!

Geno and Cameron's Play Date

Geno had an early play date with Cameron this morning because Cameron's Mom was going to Paris. Cameron arrived at 6:30 am and they have been going strong ever since. They have been riding bike, playing with cars, play-dough, and watching movies.