Maria and Steve Celebrate 16 Years

Our anniversary falls the day after Anna's birthday, so we always have lots to celebrate this week in August! This year, we went out for dinner at our favorite and local Crans restaurant: Cafe de L'Union. As always, the food and the service were wonderful. We go enough that we get welcomed like family. We had a lovely evening on the terrace-- the food and company was superb.  A lovely evening for us as a couple.... 

Anna Turns 11!

Yes, our beautiful daughter is 11 years old now and going into the 5th grade. We celebrated on her birthday with a crepe breakfast and presents. Maria took the girls to Aqua Park for the day. Then on the weekend, we celebrated as a family with a trip on Lake Geneva on the paddle boats. The hot summer was just perfect for these events. We love you, Anna and are so glad you have blessed our life! 

Kittens Join Our Family

Meet Minuit

And her brother, Cappacino (also know as Cappy)

We had our eye on two kittens before we left for the US this summer. They are a brother and sister pair- five  months old now. As luck would have it, they were waiting for us when we got back! So meet Minuit (midnight in French and a girl) and Cappuccino ('Cappi' and a boy). They are loads of fun. They enjoy playing with us, and are good company for each other.  

Summer in the USA 2012

The Vittone family - 3 generations.

Grandma Jeager being taught to play the card game trash, by none other than the Queen of Trash - Kate.

Lake fun at the Little House in Northern Wisconsin.

Cousin Hallie Marker and Auntie Jenn came to Beaver Creek.

We took the chair up for lunch of burgers and fries at Spruce Saddle.

Hiking Royal Elk path.

Beaver Lake.

Hiking Down from Beaver Lake.

At Beaver Creek mini-golf with Uncle Eric.

Settling in with cabin mate at Geneva Glen.

Anna and counselor at Geneva Glen.

Anna, Auntie Jenn and Grandma Jean at drop-off. Anna was a Crimson Cross this year.

A visit with Laurie, Jack and Tate. Nice they are so near by for an annual visit. Great to see Tate doing so well.

Happy cabin mates at pick-up. Amanda was with Kate this year.

Grandma picks-up the grandkids.

The next generation at the Marker's house. Pearl and Kevin posing with the kids.

Fun day out in Wisconsin.

Taking it easy in the shade. 

Proud hikers!

Old friends and new at Shadyview Lane!

As always, it is always so wonderful to head back to the good ole USA for a few weeks- actually six weeks for Maria and the girls. Steve's visit overlapped with the family for two weeks (although he did have the problem of a job, so we really only really saw him for one of those weeks.)

Our first week landed us at Grandma and Grandpa Jan/Gordie's home and little house in Northern Wisconsin. It was all lake time with tubing, swimming, and jet skiing. We also got to visit with Great Grandma Jaeger who turned 99 this year!

Colorado occupied our next three weeks, staying mainly in Beaver Creek. The four of us met Aunt Jenn and Uncle Erik there. Grandma Jean and cousin Amanda arrived later in the week. We hiked, biked, introduced the girls to LaCrosse, and just lazed around the village. Cousin Hallie from Denver joined the girls for a few days.

Then it was off to Geneva Glenn Camp for Anna and Kate and two of their cousins for two weeks. By that time, Steve was headed home (via Mexico), and Jean and Maria held down the fort in Beaver Creek. We hiked each day, and spent time with cousin Michelle and her family. Our two weeks was punctuated by a trip to Estes Park since we both have friends in the area. It was then time to picked up some pretty happy and slightly dirty kids by then! They made great friends and memories. We heard all about it on the 18 hour car ride home.

Once back from Colorado, the girls spent five days in Ripon with Grandma Jean and Grandpa Bill. Although Kate ended up with a case of strep throat and the weather was yucky Wisconsin summer hot, they managed some swimming, the movies, a trip to the Green Lake County Fair, Cookie Daze, and keeping up with the Olympics at night.

The girls finished off the summer back in the old neighborhood visiting with friends. It was a great way to cap off the summer! 

Luxembourg and Trier Germany with the Vierkes!

Trier Center

Porta Negra

Luxembourg 

Luxembourg from the Fortress

And the bunnies....

The month of May brought a couple of holidays for us (and we love those)! We took the opportunity to meet up with some of our German friends that we met in Dubai- Uli, Karsten, Lena-Marie, and Leonard. With them coming from Hamburg, we chose a halfway point: Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Trier, Germany. The cities are only 1/2 hour away from each other. We stayed in a very small German town on the boarder of the two countries. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Mosel Valley, it made for a quiet get-away after a busy day of sightseeing. There was plenty of space for the kids to run between our two holiday apartments. The owners kept bunnies which fascinated the kids between their soccer and running games.

Trier is one of Germany's oldest cities dating back to before 16 BC. The old Roman gate, called Porta Negra as well as the Roman baths and amphitheater still stand in good form, and were likely built at the end of the 1st century. The Vierkes and Woolleys toured the Porta Negra, took a city tour by train, and had a leisurely lunch in the main square.

Luxembourg is a small country (pop +500,00) bordering Germany, France, and Belgium. Like Switzerland, it is mostly known now for it's banking industry. Again, evidence of Roman architecture abounds.We toured the fortress- the remains carved into the cliffs along the river. There were some marvelous churches, the Grand Duke's palace, and a very upbeat feel to the town as we wandered the streets. Turns out, it was the day of the Marathon so we needed to get out of town before we couldn't!  (We even made a stop to see our Australian friends that we met on ski trip to Austria this year!) We were back to our apartments in the evening to watch a very important soccer game which sadly didn't turn out the way our German friends had hoped.

Before we drove back to Switzerland, we made a detour at the American Cemetery and Memorial- which was very moving for for the adults. The kids might have appreciated it a bit less, but Steve made sure to give them a lesson on it's importance in their life. We hope one day it will stick.

Did I mention the schnitzel? Steve would still be eating it if we hadn't left!

Our families are planning to meet again next May-- likely Munich. We love traveling with them and can't wait!