Laowai

Claire had her two best friends over for a birthday sleepover celebration. I’m so glad she has these sweet friends they make a great little band of blondes.

I made plain white puppy stuffed animals so they could color them with fabric markers. Then they spent a long time making a little stage for a puppy show.

The cake – Claire really wanted a mirror glaze cake. I blame YouTube. I had a hard time converting the kind of powdered gelatin we have in US recipes to the sheet gelatin that is available here. Basically you make a sticky sweet gelatinous mixture and let it drip all over your cake. Also, I’ve been making this buttercream recipe and I love it! The glaze turned sort of dull after I put it in the fridge but it was fun to make and we were pleased.

Did you notice I only put seven candles on the cake? I didn’t realize until after she blew them out and I was taking them off. Oops. I guess my subconscious isn’t ready to believe she is eight.

We love to see you smile.

Pictures by Brian, GIF by Bea

The girls had a couple days off so we hopped on the train and went to Italy. We went to Sresa – it’s a historical resort town along Lake Maggiore. 

Here’s Brian braving a gondola ride up to nearby Monte Mottarone.

After we hiked around the top of the mountain for a while Bea and I rode an alpine roller coaster. It was my kind of a thrill – not scary at all, just fun. Bea would have liked to ride 30 times.

Here’s a picture I stole from the internet:

Back down the mountain and we took a boat to one of the mini islands that Stresa is known for. It was beautiful but the crowds got to me a bit. It felt like a busy day at Mackinac Island (without the horses).

Right after this photo was taken – the boat clumsily banged right into the metal dock, Claire fell down, scared of the loud noise. All I could think was – we’re not in Switzerland anymore. Actually, as much as I love Italy, I found myself comparing it to Switzerland all the time. You never see run down buildings or disorganized tourist destinations or abandoned buildings in Switzerland. It’s not a bad thing – it’s a little more real to see things that aren’t perfect. It’s just that you get used to the idea that everything is perfect and then you go to Italy and it’s strange to have these things stand out to you so much. Makes you realize how much time/money/effort/thought is invested in Switzerland. 

Here’s the famous Grand Hotel des Iles Barromees. It was the setting for some important diplomatic conferences in the 1930s and It was featured in Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms. Pretty, pretty, pretty.

Before we headed home we visited the gardens at The Villa Pallavicino. It’s a lovely old estate surrounded by beautiful gardens a charming petting zoo tucked into the landscape. So many blooming rhododendrons!

Those ribbons are for each baby animal born this Spring.

Here are some photos of the animals that Claire took:

Scroll, scroll, scroll. I took lots of photos!

They had a white peacock and a black swan.

I fell in love with this itty bitty mushroom house in the playground.

Good-bye Italy – thanks for the beautiful and fun trip!

found here

Our funny, freckled, spark of a girl just turned eight. Here she is blowing out her candles and loving her new ice cream softie.

How can she be eight? Just a couple minutes ago she was looking like this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAIRE WE LOVE YOU! 

For our eight year old!

Last weekend Brian ran his 14th marathon!

Claire and her friend received a medal for their magic show at their school’s talent show.

And Bea got the cutest balloon ever – a cow.