Moitie Suisse, Half American

Love, the Swiss way

zestnzen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:20:17 +0000

Leaving my cousins was hard, but coming home to my uncle Julien made it easier

From January 2012

The magic show our neighbor Patrick put on for us helped too! And of course the delicious pizza he let us bake in the pizza oven he built in his yard.

I got hugs from everyone I know

we told funny stories

that not everyone thought were that funny

One afternoon, we rode

into town

to share the apéro with the awesome Annelise

and, surprise guest, grandma!

We brought everyone home and let the chefs battle it out in the kitchen

Fondue night was delicious, down to the last bite!

There is no denying it, fondue makes everyone happy

happy

happy!

Next morning we got a special treat, Lucas on the phone! He is coming back to Switzerland for a bit, but we were going to miss each other, so it was good to catch up with him.

and since our days were winding down, we made every moment count

There is nothing like family love

Seems like Mom feels the same way

And I could never get enough of Uncle Juien

or anyone who loves me!

I made sure no one felt left out, I know Yoda would agree with me

And after all that I wasn’t quite ready to hear it was time to leave

Mom and I had a wonderful time in Switzerland, I can’t wait to go back again!

To the valley we descended

zestnzen — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:57:44 +0000

Then end of our week in Montana brought even more snow, so we left surrounded by a world of white… It warmed up quite a bit in the valley as we left the snow behind us, but we happily pushed forward as our destination was just as exciting as the one we’d just left… A royal reunion was in order for us three cousins!

From January 2012

We shared our stories

From January 2012

Exchanged memories

Marveled at the world

From January 2012

And let the goodnight fairy sprinkle some magic dust on our night

From January 2012

It must have worked because we woke up in an ice world

From January 2012

Which put a smile on everyone’s face

From January 2012

From there, we boarded the iceland train

From January 2012

And our destination, were invited to soak and relax

and get ready

for the princess ball

It swept me off my feet! Time with my cousin is a precious treasure.

Breaking the rule

zestnzen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:31:13 +0000

Mom: “Elana, what was your favorite moment today?”
Elana: “When we decorated the cookies and we could eat them before dinner”

From February 2012

A week in the Alps, the Swiss Alps!

zestnzen — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:30:38 +0000

The world belong to those who get up early. Easy to do on January first! My first ride was fantastic

From January 2012

Mom got me back in the groove

From January 2012

and of course we honored the après-ski tradition – don’t worry they said no when I asked for champagne…

From January 2012

Game night of course

From January 2012

we hit the slopes every day

From January 2012

It’s fun no matter what!

From January 2012

The view from our place was just as I remembered it

From January 2012

and the company just as fabulous

From January 2012

They were cute

From January 2012

We were tough

From January 2012

And we all agreed when it was time for a break (still no champagne for me)

From January 2012

Look what Uncle Julien made for me

From January 2012

Champions on the slopes

From January 2012

and a decent team in the kitchen too!

From January 2012

Towards the end of the week a huge storm kept us off the mountain but we weren’t giving up on the fun

From January 2012

Some went small

From January 2012

We decided to go big!

From January 2012

I found the special doll and got to be the princess for a day

From January 2012

Which meant, I could pick who read me a story that night

From January 2012

while others played dangerous games

From January 2012

It was still too dangerous to get on the mountain so we had a huge snowball fight!

From January 2012

made cake – heh, someone’s gotta make sure it taste good!

From January 2012

and organised a photo shoot

From January 2012

We wrapped up the week with a fairy tale evening in snow covered Montana w dinner

From January 2012

drinks – don’t worry still no champagne for me

From January 2012

and silly faces

From January 2012

Awesome week! When do we go back???

Wrapping up the year in Switzerland

zestnzen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:51:27 +0000

After celebrating Xmas w Mom and Dad in Boston, Mom and I jumped on the plane and headed to Switzerland where I quickly found a much more comfortable ride: My awesome uncle Julien

From December 2011

It was as if we’d seen each other the previous week…
We rediscovered Porrentruy

From December 2011

and enjoyed the colorful old details

From December 2011

But lost no time getting ready for Xmas

From December 2011

This year we decided small was better

From December 2011

and of course when you cook with a 5-star chef, you need to be ready for just about anything

From December 2011

but overall we got along fabulously

From December 2011

More snow

From December 2011

meant more work, and I did my fair share!

From December 2011

Flo helped us finish up our Xmas shopping at the Christmas Light holiday Market in near by France. It was beautiful and very tasty

From December 2011

Hey look, this is where my eyes come from!

From December 2011

Back to business with our gingerbread house, an American tradition I was eager to share

From December 2011

Well worth a day’s work

From December 2011

and just like they say: work hard, play hard

From December 2011

After a few laughs back to work we went.

Preparing for Christmas at Uncle Julien’s place.

From December 2011

It had to be very special!

From December 2011

I got a headstart

From December 2011

while others enjoyed their own pot of gold

From December 2011

and got a decadent menu ready

From December 2011

This was just one of many fabulous dishes we tasted that evening

From December 2011

I, myself, am starting to be quite the little chef in the kitchen too. Check out my design style

From December 2011

Like they say, another day, another Chrismas right? Don’t believe me? Come to my house next year!

From December 2011

More yummy food, more grown up bubbles,

From December 2011

more Christmas trees, more family, more fun, more presents…

From December 2011

What a night

From December 2011

The next morning was a bit chilly

From December 2011

but nothing another family Christmas couldn’t warm up!

From December 2011

After all that it was time for a quiet evening, enjoying town

From December 2011

and friends

From December 2011

And even later came the time mom met her friends without me

From December 2011

She made it up to me by promising a chocolate cake

From December 2011

Which we got to decorate too

From December 2011

Some said it goes really well w Champagne

From December 2011

and necessitated a nice long digestive walk…

From December 2011

But back to my uncle and I

From December 2011

He’s the best playdate ever!

From December 2011

Especially when mom is having her own fun!

From December 2011

And suddenly it was New Year’s Eve! We were up in the Alps and ready to end the year in style

From December 2011

with a show

From December 2011

and my first pop!

From December 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

From December 2011

Don’t laugh, unlike others I did not wake up in 2012 w a hang over!

From December 2011

And for all our fun pictures, click on the album below

December 2011

Early December

zestnzen — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:27:53 +0000

Where to start!
We made, yes you read correctly, we made our Christmas tree… It was a fun family night!

From December 2011

And I started skating lessons at Frog Pond. The class is early and it’s pretty chilly out there.

From December 2011

I met Santa, he spoke French!

From December 2011

And later, in the middle of town

From December 2011

we saw many not very dressed santas!!!! What were they thinking! Is charity really a good reason to do this!

From December 2011

Papa and I doubted their sanity, but had fun cheering them on

From December 2011

And of course, December means the Nutcracker ballet is in town! I got to go with Mom

From December 2011

Thanksgiving weekend

zestnzen — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:51:34 +0000

I am starting to understand why Mom likes Thanksgiving so much. It is a fun day! With lots of food and a visit from grandma and your friends sitting at the table with you.
I made sure the table was decorated

From November 2011

Mom conquered the turkey, a pretty big deal for her!

From November 2011

And Papa had a very important job

From November 2011

And we all shared the most important job: Eating

From November 2011

cheers!

From November 2011

Friday morning, Grandma surprised me with tickets to the puppet show in Brookline. We say Jack and the bean stock and I loved it! Afterwards, we drove down to Plymouth to show Grandma and Uncle Scott the Mayflower II

From November 2011

Grandma and I learned a lot of things on the boat

From November 201

We couldn’t skip on the Plimoth plantation, a hands-on visit!

From November 2011

We ended the day by getting into the Christmas spirit at Edaville USA

From November 2011

Saturday morning, my little friend Mathilde turned one! She doesn’t speak yet, but I know she loved the cake!

From November 2011

We stopped at Faneuil hall for the annual Christams Tuba concert, there were 150 of them! What a show!

From November 2011

Sunday came too fast! Even more so, because I can ride my bike now

From November 2011

It was hard to say goodbye, but taking Mom and Dad to the new playground on the Esplanade helped easy my sadness, and once I found my classmate there, I was having a great day all over again!

From November 2011

Pretty nice weekend, I know! I hope yours was just as fabulous. Wanna see more of my adventures?
Click on the album below:

November 2011

Fashion Début

zestnzen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:09:39 +0000

I’ve heard it many times, I have a good sense of fashion, now was the time to show it off! School organized a fashion show for which we could wear whatever we wanted. There was music and a live audience, I just had to give it my all!

From November 2011

Mom then accompany me to Knucklebones and I showed her how we learn to stretch and workout with all kinds of equipment

From November 2011

No surprise then that after such a great workout I have such great style when playing ball!

From November 2011

and without losing an ounce of fashion!

From November 2011

colors colors and more colors!

zestnzen — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:42:30 +0000

We’d given up on fall this year! After temperature record breaking in mid-october and the record snow fall at the end of last month, fall seemed to have decided it wasn’t going to dress up this year.

Well never count nature out! One morning we walk up to this view:

From November 2011

We decided to go check out the view at the Arnold Arboretum. I showed Uncle Scott the way to Peter’s Hill

From November 2011

We could almost see his house from up there. And do you recognize the Hancock bldg? I did!

From November 2011

Our Pedestrian corridor is looking good too

From November 2011

The next day we saw this at the corner of our street

From November 2011

and decided to take another local walk,

From November 2011