PwC weekend in Davos

This weekend PwC sponsored a family event in Davos, Switzerland with about 200 in attendance altogether. (Davos is a place we spent a lot of time in winters past snowboarding). Thank goodness I am pregnant and could almost feel like we weren't the only one without kids - you would not have believed how many small children (and strollers) there were at this thing! The hotel (the Schatzalp) was set high up on the side of the mountain, so we had to take a gondola up into the hills to get there. The setting was so beautiful!

The all-day Saturday event was kind of a team building exercise. We split into groups of 12 and set out with a map into the mountain trails (stroller friendly trails I should mention). All in all there were about 10 different stations with various activities (some ropes course type stuff, some competitions to see who could throw (or spit) various objects the farthest, some hammerschlager - a typical swiss bar game that Andy and I are both practiced at from all our time spent at apres-ski :)

It was so good to be outside and get some fresh air. And of course Andy had a "hoot and a holler" giving the PwC boys a run for their money at anything and everything that had to do with hand-eye coordination. One of the senior partners in our office especially enjoyed Andy's competitive side :)

Anyhow, it was lots of fun - I'll just include some pictures as its kind of tough to explain all of it!

Andy starting out strong on the balancing ropes:
Starting to go down:
Being rescued:Me looking like an apple on a stick:
Andy going over the edge to repel:The wood sawing competition:

And last but not least, our favorite...the summer toboggan run!:
I was much slower than Andy :)Ready:
Up up and away:
Faster than a speeding bullet:
The third and final run:

Pictures from home.

I'm a little bummed about how few pictures we got while we were home! I know Loren has a bunch from our time in Anacortes and Dia got all the shower pictures...so I'll hold out for those and for now will post what I got!

Mariners Game with my Mom, Nick & Ange:
Robin's Bachelorette Party!:
Adorable Baby Shower cake (thanks, Mom!):
Gorgeous wedding flowers:
Robin & me enjoying some cake:
Andy and me at the wedding:
The Greens:
Honeymooners Getaway:

Last trip home for a long while....

At the moment I am sitting in the Seattle airport killing time before my flight. Andy and I are unfortunately flying home separately so I had to get here a little early to get him sent off.

It is hard to describe how hard it is for me to leave Seattle right now! Knowing that this is the last time we will see family and best friends (especially my mom!!)until we are parents is a little overwhelming.

This trip home was as always packed with visits and of course, a wedding :) Robin and Chris, friends of mine (ours) for a long time finally tied the knot in a beautiful and extremely touching ceremony in Bellingham this past weekend. It was so great to see their families and spend some quality time with them before their big day. The wedding was an absolute blast.

In the week-ish leading up to the wedding we really made the most of our time! Andy's family from Walla Walla all drove over and threw us a family baby shower at Bill & Lea's (Seahawks game and beer for the boys). Everyone was soo generous and it is official that our little girl will be the best dressed baby on the block. We were able to pack up all our awesome gifts (play-yards, bouncers, breast pumps galore) and all are successfully checked in as I type :) But man, it's tough sharing your suitcase with another woman! We even bit the bullet and bought the infamous Bugaboo stroller and have that on its way to Zurich as well. Fun, fun!

Caitlin and Alice also threw us a super cute shower with some of my girlfriends (and their husbands) from high school. Simmon whipped up his scrumptious enchiladas and we were again spoiled with adorable baby clothes. This kid has a nicer wardrobe than either of her parents, that is for sure!

We also had the most relaxing two-day visit with my Mom & Loren - it is always so wonderful spending time with them, our little foursome. It feels like no time has gone by between visits. Their house is just beautiful and it is so zen sitting in their living room looking out on the water and San Juan islands. We always cook my favorite dinners and of course, enjoy lots of wine :) We were finally able to christen their new gazebo with a magnum (yes, magnum) of champagne split between the three of them (poor me) and big King Crab legs fresh from Pike's Place Market. It was so hard to say good-bye until next March when they'll be coming to Zurich to help Andy and I with the baby.

Well, that (just about) sums up the highlights.

Thanks so much to EVERYone for the beautiful gifts for baby, she is one lucky little girl already, and she's got about 20 weeks left in the cooker!

I will post some pictures once I get back to Switzerland...I already miss you all so much!

Think Pink

It is official...we are having a girl!

Krakow...Sardinia...and Pete & Amy :)

This past week was all pretty random and very much came together at the last minute. We found a good deal to Krakow, Poland so we jumped at the chance for that -and since we also had the entire following week off we made the most of it and took 6days of beach relaxing in Sardinia, Italy. We flew back just in time to meet Pete & Amy at the airport and spend two days in Zurich with them before they left for Croatia / Montenegro and Istanbul. Such fun!

First things first - KRAKOW.
What can I say about this city....so beautiful. Very eastern europe and not at all crowded with tourists. We basically just strolled around, took a carriage ride through the old town, and enjoyed the people watching...

Some views of the main square in Krakow:


We also visited the famous Welychka salt mines (Bruce, we thought you might like that we actually went to a salt mine :) which was a pretty cool tour. The caves were enormous and every single thing was carved from salt blocks (statues, entire churches etc.) In particular, we got to visit the largest underground church in the world (or something like that). Everything right down to the crystals on the chandeliers are made of salt...it was incredible! There was even a huge replica of the Last Supper carved from salt...you get the idea.

The underground church:
Entrance to one of the many underground lakes:

Krakow is also home of Auschwitz. The visit to the two concentration camps was extremely moving and very sad. We were walked through the barracks, work rooms, even the gas chambers and creamtorium. It is tough to really process all that information especially when standing in the exact spot that it all happened.
Nevertheless, we are glad we went.

Auschwitz:


From Krakow we flew to Milan, spent the night (which gave me a chance to finally see the famous church there, which somehow I had never seen):


From Milan, we were finally on our way to Sardinia. It was really an amazing island - it reminded me of Lake Tahoe (dry, pine trees, hot) on the inside but once we hit the coastal roads in our little rental it was all white sandy beaches and emerald water. We spent 5 wonderful days just realxing on the beach under an umbrella, swimming in the Med and eating yummy seafood :) Very highly recommended!

Andy strolling :)


Our favorite beach, Pula:


Us in front of Chia beach:


Andy having his third strawberry tequila popper:


Me in the town of Pula - getting bigger by the minute:


We flew back into Zurich just in time to meet Pete & Amy at the airport! Our visit was too short but lots of fun. We showed them Zurich, took them to a few of our favorite restaurants and even did a full day in Lucern complete with mini-golf and a visit with an old Swiss friend of Pete's. We were also able to throw Amy a little birthday party with a bunch of our friends! She was pretty popular - of course, the waitresses did give out free tequila shots for her birthday :)

Pete, Amy & Andy:


And one last photo...just so everyone can see how big this kid is getting (16 weeks) with my friend Kacey who is due in December:


Well that is all for now I suppose. Next up, we'll be flying home for a quick visit and Robin and Chris' wedding! Cannot wait :)