Warm Adventures: Alison's Big Weekend

We have been having so much fun since our return. The weather has been amazingly warm and we have been really enjoying getting out and doing things. This morning I had to turn down coffee and a play date with another mom and child as I was just exhausted. We have something going on basically everyday this week and I am thrilled but also recognize that I have limitations now. So what have we been up to? Well we had a great weekend that started last Friday.

A short video of our weekend adventures http://gallery.me.com/angela.warm#100216

Ali and Oliver at the zoo

Friday we visited a tiny zoo outside of Brugg called Hasel Zoo. It was small but what was nice about it was that the kids could get up close and pet several of the animals. They had a Shetland pony just wondering around the property and when you came up to the fences the animals literally came up to you instead of running away even as Alison squealed at them. Needless to say the kids loved it and Alison was very vocal about her happiness to pet the animals, although Oliver was a bit unsure. I think Alison is rubbing off on Oliver as his mom was saying that he has been a bit more brave including climbing steps and going down the slide.

Alison and the huge slide

On Saturday we went to Schaffhausen a great town right at the German, Austria, Swiss border where the largest waterfall in Europe is located. We had a great day, the weather was perfect and the town so enjoyable to walk around. We will definitely take visitors there. They had this amazing playground that Alison played at for hours. She climbed right up this huge slide and went down again and again all by herself. She is fearless. Of course Erik loved it also as it was quarry themed complete with a sandpit with boulders, a roller compactor and a sand scooper and conveyor belt. We then took a long leisurely walk along the Rhine river to the falls which are outside of the town. It was a beautiful walk and the falls were spectacular. Even Alison "oohed" and "aahhed" over its beauty.

Sunday morning was nice but we knew the weather was suppose to get cold and wet in the afternoon, so we ventured out in the morning to let Alison play on the playground. After lunch it got cold and grey and drizzly and I welcomed it for the first time as it was a good opportunity to get things done around the flat as well as take a much deserved afternoon nap. I was still recovering from our marathon day on Saturday. On Monday it was still rainy and cold but we did manage to venture out to playgroup in the morning. We spent the rest of the day inside and managed to undue all the cleaning and straightening we had accomplished the day before. On Tuesday the weather was much nicer and we met our friends Rachel and Oliver for a grocery excursion to Germany. We traveled by train which was good as it limits how much stuff I can buy but needless to say the stroller was packed down. The store is just huge and has so many more options than our grocery store here but also almost everything is significantly cheaper than just across the border.