fall, a time for... pumpkins,

fall is officially here. even here in Switzerland the days are shorter, the trees are brighter, the air is crisper and the nights are colder. pumpkins decorate almost every stoop and i pain an insane 7.80 CHF (that's almost $8!) for a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks in Bern (crazy, but so worth it). 

Amelie made a jack-o-lantern, making a funny `eww` face while taking out the seeds. of course the kids both loved the result, which made me realize how much fun fall decorating can be.

fall also means cooking up a storm using said pumpkins. through facebook, i found a great recipe from the pioneer woman for the perfect potato soup, and i must admit, it was perfect, the kids both loved it (gasp) and I'm sure I'll be making it again sometime soon,she has some really fun things on her website. go, check it out. i also found a great recipe for pumpkin pie on allrecipes.com. i love that website. there are so many seasonal recipes, which is great for a Swiss/American in Switzerland trying to instill some American culture (?) in her kids. 

i made pancakes for breakfast, again a recipe from allrecipes helped a long way, but Amelie went to get croissants with her dad, which means i now have a pancake or two left over. how is that possible?! pancakes are amazing. especially drenched with some amazing maple syrup from the US. sometimes i don't understand my family at all. Finn was the only one that really dug into them, but then again, i also only offered him the pancakes,

speaking of Finn. he took his first steps yesterday. what an amazing feat. i feel like as soon as he took his first step, he looked and acted older already. insane, i know, but there are some milestones that seem to change these little nuggets from babies to toddlers. this was definitely one of them. 

we go for a lot of walks. Amelie insists on wearing a dress and/or skirt whenever we go. she also insists on pushing the stroller, which means Finn goes on a pretty nice little (roller coaster) ride. she means well. 

today we're going 'into the wild'; enjoying the woods, making a little fire, roasting marshmallows and playing in the piles of leaves.

we're going to enjoy our 5 year anniversary weekend.

much love,

caroline. 

where has the time gone?!

i haven't actually written on here in ages.

time has come, and gone. and so much has happened since then.

i've moved,a few times. i now reside in the 'suburbs' of langenthal. a quiet 'city' with enough things to do that we're never actually bored. including a wonderful little tierpark that we visit quite often. the kids love feeding the animals there and the animals seems to tolerate them, as long as there is food in their hands, no food = being ignored, which disappoints our little man more than anyone can imagine.

i've had baby #2, a beautiful baby boy who has, just recently, turned 1. and again, time flies. amelie is turning 4 in december and entering 'little kindergaten' in august of 2016. its amazing how these little humans grow and develop so quickly. she's at a point in her life where she thinks she knows everything, and gets really upset when she realizes that mom's right. oh no! who would have thought?! she's turned into a little fashionista who's addicted to dresses, pink and veils. am i doing something wrong here?!? or is she just being a girl?

this year has been hard, yet wonderful. we lost a beloved grandmother, and will miss her every day, forever. there are times when the unexpected opens your eyes to the tragedies of the world. i am honored to have been able to have her by my side for as long as i did, i knew many who lost either one or all of their grandparents before we were in high school.

spring and summer brought lots of hot days and quiet evenings enjoying the sounds of the cowbells from the farms all around us. we were able to go to france for a short vacation. the lake was beautiful and the trips in the area made the days pass too quickly (Lac de Chalain). we were able to spend the days playing with the kids, climbing up sides of waterfalls, going into caves, and enjoying each others company. there are few things more wonderful than spending a week or two with family without all the outside influences. without daily arguments about whether amelie can watch tv or not. at the end of the day, the kids were tired and went to sleep without an argument. something that doesn't happen every evening at home, sadly.

i find it so wonderful that everything is so close here in europe. we drove 5 hours and were in another country, with other customs, and new and exciting things to discover.

that is what i love about europe.

what about the fall? well, the fall is notoriously gloomy here in switzerland. sadly, that is very accurate and i can already feel myself getting upset faster than during the summer months. does the lack of sun have anything to do with that? i don't know, but i'm starting to believe that people in southern countries are happier than people that reside in more gloomy weather. we'll see what the rest of this year brings.

until next time,
much love
caroline