Christmas Time 2011

What a crazy, yet wonderful trip we had back the USA! Clara and George headed back to Utah 6 days before us. George dropped Clara off at Grandma Gourley's and then headed to Canada for some work. Clara had a wonderful time with her grandma! She just loved the one on one attention she got. They ate at all her favorite places...Chick-fil-A and played and read stories and to top it off they even got to sleep in the same bed. It was a real treat for Clara. The rest of us joined them on the 17th (George flew in from Canada a few hours early). We had an eventful time getting there, but we made it. Our luggage on the other hand did not. However, it arrived the next day. Luckily, grandma Gourley anticipated this and had tooth brushes waiting for us. She's great. Now let the fun begin...

First night there. We had a great time with the Gourley side. The Broderick girls are a blast to play with! Poor Alex in that group of girls...luckily the girls got some nerf guns for Christmas and they had a great time shooting each other.

Next was haircuts and dentist appointments and the first person to get strep...Sammy. Not to mention some pretty brutal jet lag for Allison. But we didn't let that stop us!

Christmas Eve party at Nikki's house! Such yummy food, fun games, & great entertainment!




George hates that I do this...I promise I don't do it every year, but I couldn't help getting us matching pajamas! Everyone is a little tired as you can see and ready for Santa to come.


Christmas morning....
Sammy got her Ipod Touch...she was thrilled!

Alex can't wait to put together his legos, but he'll have to because they don't fit on the plane all put together:)

Clara got her Barbie car and tons of Barbies! She just loves Barbies and can play with them for hours!

Allison got her own baby doll. No more having to share with her sister!

It was very special to have Christmas on Sunday! An excellent way to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The picture was taken after church and everyone was itching to get to play with their new toys, so it was the best we could do.



Our next strep victim was me and actually I had it all through Christmas, but didn't realize it until it hit hard on Christmas night. Monday morning we went straight to get me some medicine. The mask is suppose to prevent the spreading of this nasty bug...it didn't work.


Our trip would not be complete without an accident. Luckily, the car was parked on the side of the road and no one was in the rental SUV. Not so lucky for the old man in the other car. It was a huge hassle, but at least no one was hurt.


A trip would not be complete without some family pictures. We took family pictures with the Gourley side, with the Hobbs side, & with just our family. By the end we were all pictured out. But I love how the all turned out!

After Gourley family pictures we went bowling. We hadn't bowled in years and had a great time. I was the low scorer and actually found that I bowl better doing in backwards & between my legs...stikes 2 times in a row and 1 spare! Clara just loved it...her first time ever!


Our next strep victim was Clara. She just hated to stay home and miss playing with her cousins. While she was home recovering with George, we headed to Grand America for a fun little Christmas hunt with the Hobbs cousins. And then they played on the the lawn for a hour. Nice to see that kids don't always need entertainment that costs.


After take care of all of us, George was bound to be the next victim of strep throat and he got it bad! He was out for days feeling lousy. But life goes on...

It was time for a Hobbs Family Reunion! We started off with a fun ride on Trax to Salt Lake City and Temple Square. I am always so impressed with the lights! After having attempted to string lights on a tree I know that is hard and tedious work. :)
The girl cousins posing for a quick pictures.

The handsome boys. Alex is not a lone boy on the Hobbs side....yeah!

Clara found a new BFF...Abbey! They had so much fun playing with each other! Unfortunately, the loved each other a little too much on this trip and Clara feel and hit her head on the granite floor...it left a huge goose egg.


The reunion continued with dinner at Bucco de Pepo...so yummy! The next day was family pictures and Kangaroo Zoo. I honestly love that place! The kids can play for hours and I even snuck in a couple runs down the slides. Ohhh, to be a kid again.

That night was New Year's Eve. We had a great party at Ryan & Steph's home with a 50's dinner to honor the era our mother was born in. After all it was her birthday! The kids played, cousins exchanged gifts, & BINGO.

Happy 60th Birthday mom/grandma Hobbs!


The next day was church & one last big gathering. I brought out the rest of the Swiss chocolates we brought and these 3 girls ate them up! So cute to see them all together!

Allison had a great time getting to know her grandpa Hobbs. He was sweet to always be helping out!

The two BFFs in matching pajamas! Aren't they cute?!


At the end of the reunion, both grandma & grandpa Hobbs got sick, a few others had gotten strep throat, & the stomach flu was now going around. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Those are memories to last a life time!


We finally got to meet up with grandpa Gourley and grandma Cindy. The kids just loved their two dogs and we had a great time being with them!

Nothing like sitting at great grandma Gourleys player piano and watching the girls sing along. They had a great time! She is always so generous and kind. We love our visits with her.

A trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without heading to great grandma Hobbs' house. Even though she came over for Christmas, we still had to go over. There is just something special about her home! The kids just adore her!

We tried to entice grandpa Hobbs into swimming one last time, but the poor man was too sick! It was wonderful to spend some time with him!

We couldn't resist one last swimming trip before heading back and were happy that the Brodericks joined in!


As you can see it was a whirlwind of a trip and there was lots that we didn't take pictures of. And of course there was loads of shopping! We came with 8 suit cases and left with 11. :)

December Happenings

Only half of December has come and gone, but the Gourley family has been busy!

Alex's class was in charge of an assembly. Alex was a shepherd in the story of Jesus' birth. He was so cute!


Clara was my little helper with decorating the tree!



I just love Christmas markets. This is the Christmas market in Thalwil. Such a fun night. Of course we can't pass by a merry-go-round without hopping on.



Happy birthday George! Another year older and wiser too.


Off to another Christmas market...this time in Einsiedeln. It was freezing and poor Alex was sick, so we didn't stay long. Next year we are heading here first because it was beautiful.



Sammy had a choir performance at school. She has such a beautiful voice and loves performing.

Can't forget to make gingerbread men. Thanks to our good friends, the Dublins. We had a wonderful time. The kids of course didn't eat the actually cookie, but devoured the frosting.

Allison and I went to one last Christmas market. This time in Zurich. We rode the train in, walked around, grabbed lunch, & then headed home. It was very nice. These Christmas markets are a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Clara's 4th Birthday!

Hard to believe my Miss Clara is 4! She has been waiting to turn 4 since she turned 3. Clara has had an interesting year! She was uprooted from her beloved Florida and moved to a place where no one can understand her. And for a girl who loves to talk and make friends that is really hard. But she has stuck it out and is fitting in well here in Switzerland. I am so proud of her and love her to pieces!

For breakfast Clara requested pink pancakes...perfect!

This is Clara's first time being able to celebrate her birthday at school. She was the leader for the day. We brought in cupcakes, which were a hit because you can't get them here. They put 4 candles on them and even a sparkler. She felt very special!





For dinner we served her favorites...tacos. These days it is hard to find something Clara likes to eat, so we are happy she chose tacos.

We celebrated as a family with delicious cupcakes as well and then she opened her presents that she has been dying to see. I had to keep them hidden or else she would have unwrapped them early.

Her last gift was hidden in the elevator. She opened the door and took right off on her new bike all around the house.


Clara had a wonderful princess birthday party the next day. She invited some of her friends, Vivi, Natalie, Annie, Caroline, & Chloe. They made tiaras, played princesses, dance to music, ate lunch, & cake.

Clara's princess cake. Thank goodness for frosting because underneath the dress the cake was falling apart.

Zurich Santa Claus Parade

We started off the Holiday season with a festive Santa Claus parade in Zurich. We rode the train into the city and found it all lit up with lights & full of festivities.

There were gigantic presents to look into to see how toys were made years ago. The kids loved it.



Such a beautiful & huge Christmas tree.

They were selling roasted chestnuts...we just had to try them after all the years singing "chestnuts roasting on an open fire". Alex was the only ones who really liked them. The kinda taste like chicken.

It was pretty cold, so we brought along some hot chocolate to keep warm.

Our little bundle was as warm as can be.

The parade was full of Swiss Santas (hooded, skinny & not very jolly either). Each Santa has a Schmutzli-the black Santa who takes the children who are bad & puts them in his sack. He either beats them with a stick or throws them into the river. Not such a happy tradition. So glad we only give our naughty kids cole.

November Fun

We had a lot of F-U-N in November...have a look!

The kids school, ISZL, celebrated Thanksgiving and Guy Fawkes Day (British holiday). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, the boys played american football, the girls did crafts & painted faces, we had a bonfire (to burn the Guy Fawkes that were made...kinda weird), ate carmel apples & watched a fabulous fireworks display. It was an amazing event!





Clara started at an English preschool-HAPPY SNAIL! She loves her new school and I love that she loves it! We tried a German speaking one, but poor Clara didn't like that she couldn't talk to everyone. She really loves to talk!




George went to London on a business trip...looks like he is working hard don't you think? :)




George Sr./Grandpa came to visit! We had a great time with him. He was our first visitor so we had a few mishaps...we learned that everything closes in the winter time, it is very foggy, and some places only trains can take you. But we did get to see Lucern & eat some yummy food. Clara loved every minute she got to spend with him.







We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at the Jeppsons with the Bergs & the Reeves! There were definitely more kids than adults. Nice to spend the Holiday with friends!




We ended November celebrating my birthday (sorry no pictures). It was a great day spent shopping in France. Who knows what next month will hold.