its not a vacation..just a change of venue..

I slept through the night! Slowly becoming a real person again..

We have been very happy with our decision to gradually immerse our way into European life. Staying with Darcy and Kelly has been fantastique! It seems that everything is done just a wee bit different and in a different language to boot. I have looked to Kelly many times, in my jet lag induced coma, for help. The kids seem to be managing well. Olivia understands most and I find her conversing in french often. Max continues to sing. He has informed me many times that he "loves it here in Europe". I am hoping that once we actually start traveling he will figure out where we are in the grand scheme of things.

Geneva is a very beautiful city. Surrounded by mountains and water, nice cars and (very) well clad folk..it is almost perfect. It is also very clean. It reminds me of Vancouver, except that one wouldn't dare wear' workout gear' out and about. We have spent the majority of our time wandering le vielle ville ,the downtown area and waterfront. The kids have had their first taste of cobblestones streets, churches and all things old. We have climbed the 150 steps of St. Pierre Cathedral to view the city and Jet d'eau. Today we are going to the Museum of Anthropologie. So far there have been no complaints. I am sure the 12th church visit will bring about a different reaction!

We have also been very lucky to experience a bit of life after 6pm..without kids.(not to worry mom, I did not leave the kids by their lonesome in some foreign city!)We have met others from the UK, Russia and Australia...friends and aquaintances of Kelly and Darcy. A group of us went to a very upbeat wine bar on the river last night, "Le Rouge et Le Blanc". There was no shortage of wine, good food and great conversation. I did have to laugh at the assortment of 80's inspired music though!? That combined with a bunch of Aussie dinner companions and we felt right at home!

All in all, we have had a great start to our trip. We are slowly coming out of the fog. Worries about the kids adjusting, functioning in a different language and what Olivia is going to eat have slowly dissapated. As a group we will just figure it out as we go.....

safe and sound in switzerland..

We have arrived, a little worse for wear, but happy to finally be on the next chapter of doing vs. talking. The flight was long, but uneventful.No one complained...no one slept either. I cant decide if your own personal tv chockerblock full of tv shows, movies and visual stimulation is a good thing. We barely heard a peep out of the kids, but why sleep when there are movies to be seen?

You forget how much fun flying is until you have a childs perspective on it. They were thrilled to be waited on hand and foot.Even the "tv "dinner was fun served with child sized cutlery. Max was a little disgruntled that we were not in first class to begin with. " This is Awesome. Wheres the lounge?" The flight staff got a good laugh out of him. They even delivered him warm chocolate chip cookies from "the lounge" during the flight. There were no warm chocolate chip cookies for me.

For all those skeptics out there....I have had the kids complete their first "homeschool" lessons. They completed them sprawled on the floor at the Toronto Pearson Airport! I am only mentioning this because I need to be held accountable...108 days to go...

Today is our first "real" day in Geneva. Yesterday was a bit surreal. I remember being here, but I dont really remember what we did. We all have some serious jet lag. Olivia and I were up at 2am. I believe Liv had ulterior motives...there was definitely some facebook chatting going on. I have made her put B.C. time on her itouch so she doesnt accidentally text at inappropriate times.

A big thank you to Darcy and Kelly for looking after us!

Bienvenue à Genéve!

I have become a bit of a bag woman..

I have become a bit of a bag woman and I am enjoying it. It seems that everything that is near and dear to me can be fit into a plastic baggy. The added bonus is that everything is visible and therefore easy to find. Definitely a lot less expensive then my snazzy Coach wallet.

I also like to make lists..lots of them. I cant decide if they help or just add to the confusion.

Up next...Max.

We had a big laugh yesterday when Max received his "homeschooling "package. Two LARGE boxes over 30lbs. Apparently, Mike, Liv and I will be touring Europe...Max will be studying. Needless to say, we ditched half of it(sorry Ms. Mattu).He can always go to summer school.

Max's turn

My family was to busy packing that my mom forgot to take me skiing on Monday and Sunday..... WE ARE IN EUROPE NOW!!!!!!!JKJKJK.

We are are actually in the airport. From Max

We are off! Boarding in 15min....the milk run to Switzerland begins. xox

maybe I should rake the lawn before I leave...

I have the frantic feeling that comes with getting ready to leave.I find myself looking at things within the house that have needed to be done for years and thinking.. I need to do them now! ..the baseboards need to be touched up..the garage organized..and why do we still not have a dining chandelier?..I need to go online and find one...

I am very good at procrastinating. I am a very productive procrastinator. I can always squeeze a few more things in before I get around to the task at hand.I think it is an impressive trait.

I am off to take photos of my "piles" of things..

And so it ends..

Rumour has it that a certain Krasny has placed bets on whether or not we would actually get out of town. We watched in awe as he worked his Olympic gold medal hockey tickets..

Get ready to collect again! BA is striking and our flights have been cancelled...

And so it begins...

Someone please tell me British Airways is not really planning to strike on our departure date???