A Little Taste of November

It’s just past Thanksgiving and we’re now 17 months into our European adventure (WOW, only seven months left!?).  After a busy couple of months, we’ve finally been able to catch our collective breath and enjoy some down time in Geneva.  Well, almost.  Not long after our September wedding tour in the U.S., we were delighted to head back for another wedding – this time, our cousin Justin (and our new cousin Sheianne!) on Ang’s side of the family.

While our trip in September was a well-rounded two weeks, this trip was just a quick four days.  Although short (looking back we wish we could have extended it), it was a great time to see family briefly, and of course catch up with Kamryn’s new antics since two months prior (hard to believe she’s 19 months old!).  Our favorite memory this time around may have been walking with her (while she held both of our hands) and counting “One…two…threeeeee!” as we picked her up and swung her on “three”.  We played this game back in September but this time she actually started to count “One…two…” on her own!  It’s amazing to see her growing up so fast even if we only get to catch glimpses. 

 

Of course the wedding was fantastic!  We both had the honor to stand up for the bride and groom in the wedding party, which was really awesome.  They are a perfect match and we’re looking forward to spending lots of time with them when we move back next year.

The reception was particularly stunning – the family spent the entire week decorating the reception site with dozens of freshly cut trees and a handful of stuffed game—it looked like a hunting lodge in the forest, it was amazing.  You have to see it to get the whole experience (see a couple photos here—although still doesn’t do the whole atmosphere justice).  What a perfect expression of the newlywed couple and their personalities – it was great! :)  

Additionally it was such a treat to spend time with Justin and Sheianne’s close friends and meet Sheianne’s family.  We can’t wait to visit Waterville (WA) when we return this next summer and catch up with new friends and family that we felt like we’ve known for years.  But before then, however, we are needed back in Geneva… :)

Part of our decompression process this month was to see a couple of our favorite bands that just happened to be in town.  First was one of Ang’s favorites – Scorpions!  Yes, those Scorpions: Songs like “Holiday,” “Wind of Change,” “The Zoo,” and “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” among others.  Dave actually wasn’t too familiar with the Scorpions but after a conversation of “who would you like to see in concert before you (or they) die” that we had at the Spirit of Rock tour earlier this year, he knew that this was toward the top of Ang’s list.  Dave can safely say that he’s a true fan now – they put on an awesome show.  Some songs below...

“The Zoo”

“Wind of Change”

“Send Me an Angel”

“Rock You Like a Hurricane”

A couple weeks later, it was Dave’s turn for one of his favorite bands – Fleet Foxes (a band that’s a little more modern than the Scorpions… as in, formed this century) :).  Unlike the Scorpions who played right here in Geneva, the Fleet Foxes concert was actually a 1.5-hour drive away, in Fribourg, Switzerland.  Two of our co-worker friends, Peter and Jana, are also fans so we invited them along and the four of us headed out after work.  This time Ang was the one less familiar with the band and she agreed afterward that they sounded pretty awesome live.  On a side note, it was particularly special to see a great Seattle band playing near our Swiss home.   

“Your Protector”

“Blue Spotted Tail”

“White Winter Hymnal”

Of course we had to celebrate Thanksgiving again this year, even away from the States.  Since there are so many expats in the office, this year we decided to form teams and have our very own TurkeyBowl!  Aside from our shoddy play, the most hilarious part of the day were the strange looks we got from the neighborhood residents walking through the park that afternoon (who we’re sure have never seen an American Football game in their lives).  And it wouldn’t be Geneva without a little class – here is our group photo in front of the park’s mansion… hmmm, maybe we weren’t supposed to play on that lawn after all. :)

Speaking of Thanksgiving, our final event of the month was a repeat of Swissgiving dinner at Jaime and Sarah’s house in Veyrier.  Last year was a hit with the amazing food and fun game time.  The gathering this year was a little larger and a little more international - out of the 15 of us, about half were not American (we had Indian, Scottish, Polish, French, and Swiss represented).  It was a fun way for us Americans to introduce them to our holiday of thanks and overeating. :)  After the crowd went home, the two of us spent a couple of hours visiting with Jaime and Sarah as they wound down after the hectic evening.  Thanks guys for another great evening (and send us a picture if you have one)! :)   

Overall, it was a nice and relaxing month.  Good thing, too, as we’re ready to start our crazy travel schedule again in 2012 (not to mention our three trips still planned in December)… more on those later.  God continues to bless us, we have so much to be thankful for and we know all of our readers do, too. 

And now that Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas season has officially entered...!  We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season – we will miss those of you we would normally see back home during the holidays!  At the same time, we are excited to have our very own Christmas adventure in Geneva, just the two of us.  Rest assured we are getting our fill of the Christmas spirit – we just pulled out the few decorations we brought over here with us and Ang had this place looking festive in no time.  We’ll leave you with a little taste – just imagine the smell of Cinnamon spice candles and you’ll be right here with us! :)