Colors

Today, Wren identified colors for the first time! She way playing with the clothespins (which are colored) and she brought me a blue one and told me it was blue and then she brought me two more blue ones. Then she brought me a red one and told me it was red and finally she brought me a yellow one when I asked her. Just little firsts but we are proud of her!

Driving through Germany & Switzerland

21 - 23 September, 2007

Over the weekend we needed to go to Munich to complete Wren's final homestudy. Since we were going to have to drive the 5.5 hours up there anyway, we decided to make a weekend trip out of it. Jason's had been wanting to go to Friedrichshafen, Germany for quite awhile. Friedrichshafen is best known for being where Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin built his Zeppelin airships. It is also located on Lake Constance so we spent some time driving through the pretty towns that are on the lake. The whole area is surrounded by apple orchards and this was a pretty time to be there as all the orchards were harvesting and it gave a nice autumn feel to everything.

We spent a night in St. Gallen, Switzerland because we wanted to go to the Abbey Library. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world.

On or way home, we stopped at a few churches and castles, a plant nursery where a multitude of beautiful dahlias were blooming, and some cow pastures to hear the clanging of some Swiss cow bells.















The shoreline of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance.


The Zeppelin Musem in Friedrichshafen


a Zeppelin


a Zeppelin cruising over Lake Constance


The Zeppelin hanger at the airfield


a cool Zeppelin playground in a piazza outside the museum


Wren in front of the Baroque style cathedral of the Convent of St. Gall


The interior of the cathedral which is decorated in Baroque style


The protestant Church of St.Laurenzen in St. Gallen


One of the 111 oriels which were built to demonstrate the wealth of the many merchants of the city.


An intersting window idecorated with books in the St. Gallen Library


The interior of the Roccoco style library of St. Gallen


Wren in front of some flowers in St. Gallen


The "city lounge" in St. Gallen. The "red carpet" is spread out between the downtown buildings.


Wren wants to know why we are humiliating her with a picture like this.




A defensive tower in Switzerland along the autostrada.


A little Swiss village among the corn fields.


a Swiss gorge in the mountains


An alpine meadow and Swiss cows


Church on top of a hill in Switzerland


Dahlias at a Swiss nursery


Jason and Wren among the dahlias























Lee Anne and Wren among the dahlias


Dahlia closeup


Happy Autumn!

A Visit from the Grandparents

7-19 September 2007


Grammy and Grampy Bryant came for a visit this month and boy were we happy to have them. Of course, I think Wren might have been the happiest of all. She really liked spending time with her grandparents!


Laveno - a town near where we live


Wren and Grammy on a taxi boat


Wren on some steps in Orta


Wren, Grammy and Grampy on another taxi boat.


view of Isola di San Guilio


another view of the island


and still another view of the island


and a view of the island from the Sacro Monte


Jason and Wren on the road coming down from the Sacro Monte

Around the house

I feel like I don't get the camera out enough when we are just hanging out around the house and I'm trying to better. I hope you enjoy these few photos and videos from the past week.

Wren wasn't too sure about the bubbles in the bathtub.





Wren, Clover and Kipper


Wren and Clover


Kisses for Kipper


Yes, this is a bucket on her head...she's a silly girl.


Lookin' cute!




Wren always thinks she's "coo" when she's wearing mom's sunglasses.


Future gymnast. Look how she gets up on those toes!

Miscellaneous Videos

Gettin' down to the They Might Be Giants CD, "Here Come the ABC's" in early August.


Eating delicious perogi in Krakow on Aug. 10, 2007


Having some down time in Krakow on Aug. 10, 2007


Wrenny Roo, Aug. 11, 2007

Referral Day Anniversary

One year ago, on the night ofFriday, 25 August 2006, we received the call that told us all about little Chong Si Hui. Shortly after, we received an email with a picture of her. Look how she's grown!
THEN
August 2006


NOW
August 2007

Poland

10 August - 20 August 2007

August is a traditional time to take vacations in Italy (and in many other European countries) and many businesses are closed during this time. As Jason's company was closed for two weeks, we took the opportunity to spend ten days in Poland. We landed in Krakow on Friday around lunch time and we spent the afternoon and the evening exploring the city. On Saturday, we saw more of Krakow and then took a bus out to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. We went there because it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We finished up our time in Krakow with a bus trip out to Auschwitz and Berkenau Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camps. We left Krakow and took the train to Warsaw. It was our least favorite city but we are still glad we got to see it. One really only needs a full day to see everything. After Warsaw, we took another train to Gdansk which is located in the north of Poland on the coast. It was very crowded there as it is a popular tourist destination. It was a very attractive town. Our final stop in Poland was Poznan. Even though it didn't have as many historical sites, it was our favorite town. It had a nice feel with pretty architecture and it really felt like we were in authentic Poland as opposed to a tourist destination. We ended our trip by taking a final train trip to Krakow and flying back out to Italy.

Krakow, Aug. 10-12

Wren at the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill in Krakow


Wren and Mommy on a Krakow street


The interior of St. Mary's Church in Krakow


Jason outside the yummy Krakow pierogi restaurant called Vincent's Palette


The Chapel of Saint Kinga in the Wielicska Salt Mine. Everything is carved out of the salt - even the chandeliers are salt!


A salt carving of the Last Supper in the salt mine


Auschwitz Concentration Camp


Auschwitz Concentration Camp


Berkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp


Warsaw, Aug. 13-14

The Old Market Square in Warsaw


Wren & Mommy in a Warsaw pierogi restaurant


Wren really got into carrying the backpack!


Jason in front of the Warsaw Tortilla Factory.

Gdansk, Aug. 15-16

The medieval port crane in Gdansk is the symbol of the city.


The Long Embankment in Gdansk is a very popular promenade.


Wren and Daddy in Gdansk


Pozan, Aug. 17-18

The picturesque square in Poznan as seen from our hotel window


Poznan Town Hall


These goats come out every day at noon at butt heads twelve times. It's a big attraction and crowds gather each day to watch them.


One of the four fountains in the Poznan town square.


Lee Anne's Angels