The Swiss stack their wood straight

This goes way back to our first stint in Switzerland; a good friend and her sister who had lived in England for several years and traveled extensively through Europe had only one (totally loaded) thing to say:

The Swiss stack their wood straight.

Dead on Whit and EB.

SPEEDOS......

Trav refuses to wear one.

However we did participate in a game of volleyball w/ 8 'old' men wearing nothing but speedos and confidence.

I couldn't help thinking of my brothers and brothers-in-law and what they would be doing if they were wearing speedos and were offered a volleyball.....


......wishing I had a picture of the volleyball game.......however, it's burned into our memories, which is much better for all involved.

Mercedes and Money

Our car - the only time in our lives we'll ever drive one of these.










I have 4 currencies in my wallet - 5 if you count the Chuck E Cheese coin I found. I have no idea where it came from - the last time I was at Chuck E Cheese was 20 years ago.

1. USD
2. ChF
3. Euro
4. Canadian dime
5. Chuck E Cheese token

...... this one's for Scott Purves

h - "Did you see their cereal? It all has chocolate in it!! Sheesh! All I wanted was All Bran or Grape Nuts."

That's my girl....

Old comp, silent play, and a monument

Yes. This is really where they live.

The tiny specks in the middle are the kids - this is their backyard.

-the tiny specks up close - heading into their hide-out

friends at last

that's how they ride in France

the girls LOVED jumprope

Over the weekend we took a trip to see Laurent Jubault and his family (an old mission companion and dear friend of T's). They live in Lachassagne, a tiny mountain village on the outskirts of Lyon. -don't you just love that name....Lachassagne.

The kids got along well; the first two (Julie and Clara) matched up to h and R in age. The first day their play was completely silent, some giggling, but absolutely no talking with each other. The second day they had figured out their "comme ca's" and "like this" w/ a LOT of charades.

Katherine, the mother, though French spoke Spanish (served her mission in Barcelona)- the kids spoke w/ her, she spoke w/ her own children and then back. Hannah and Rock thought it was pretty cool! It was a weekend of linguistic chaos.

By Sunday, they had had enough experiences with each other they could use hand signals and a few newly learned words to relive and refer to funny moments they've shared. It was intriguing and fun to watch this display of linguistic frustration play out.

T seemed to be loving this reunion with Laurent and finally having the two families meet.

We stopped in a tiny town in the Jura and Hannah walked into a boulangerie and bought a baguette, again, by herself. She thinks it's the greatest. "Bonjour. Une baguette, s'il vous plait? Merci."

We took a side road for a quick picnic and found ourselves in a large field w/ a monument marking the place as a spot where the French Resistance would receive Allied supply drops. The monument was honoring the men and women who had died there. Moving. Such courage and strength they had to defy the occupation and work toward restoring their freedom .

growing up....

Last Friday the kids walked to our local boulangerie alone and bought a baguette, solo. They've since done it multiple times - working their French, and picking up a few bon-bons gratuit.

Crouix Rouge - Red Cross Museum

One of the things I wanted to visit while we are here this summer was the Red Cross Museum. Fortunately I checked into it just in the nick of time. They closed this past weekend for a two-year renovation. If I had waited, I would have had to make T promise to bring me back to Geneva, again! That wouldn't have been too bad, he always keeps his promises.

Last Thursday I took the kids to the museum. It was fascinating. We learned how the Red Cross was founded, (h can tell you all about it); what it's governing principles were/are; which countries it's in; who it serves; why there's a Cross, a Crescent and a Crystal for symbols; and how it has changed over time. For example: Originally the Red Cross only helped the armed forces during times of combat/war. Until WWII. When the Germans put Jews into concentration camps, they refused the Red Cross access to them, claiming they (the Jews) were not prisoners of war, but criminals. The great thing is, the Red Cross found loop holes in their argument. The Germans would not release any information (names, cities of origin, dates, children, etc) to the Red Cross. However if the Red Cross (after doing some digging) could present the correct information to the Germans, they wouldn't deny it's accuracy, thereby allowing the Red Cross to confirm their info and report back to families of missing loved ones. You'll have to go to the Museum in two years to learn more. One thing the Germans conceded to was allowing Red Cross workers into the concentration camps to help - the catch? - they had to STAY there until the war was over. There were 10 volunteers. What courage!

M3
R - it was boring; except the room about Land Mines, that bothered me. Oh and the room with all the kids pictures (a room full of photos of orphaned children during the genocide in Rwanda), that was sad.

h - sad; it was interesting how they helped people; and it was good that they helped people.

me - it was a profoundly educational experience. I never knew how it began, a touching act of humanity on one man's part; I was moved by the push and courage of the organization during WWII; listening to clips of RC workers and their experiences visiting prisoners, and seeing a concrete block cell (10x8) where up to 17 prisoners would be detained; the intense push of RC workers to reunite orphaned Rwandan children w/ families or friends that incredibly escaped the genocide. Educational, moving & inspiring.

A must see on your next trip to the area.....in two years.