moitié-moitié

Timothy playing Tee Ball

2010-01-13T02:40:00.001+01:00

Timothy got a Tee Ball set for Christmas. Guess we need to start putting away the valuables...

We're running a marathon!

2009-08-04T22:37:00.004+02:00

We have both just registered for our first marathon! We will be running the Marine Corps Marathon (also known as "The People's Marathon") in Washington, DC on October 25th. We have both been working out all year to get in better shape and we can't think of a better finale.

In order to run our 26.2 miles, we have to raise $600 for our charity - the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Please visit our fundraising page to contribute if you can:

http://www.active.com/donate/teamsemperfi09/TeamPullin

It is a deserving cause.

Outer Banks vacation

2009-07-08T17:21:00.005+02:00

We're enjoying a nice family vacation, courtesy of Grandma and PopPop, at the Outer Banks. This was Timothy's first experience with the ocean and he loved it! However, seeing the moving water seemed to throw him off - he would shift his weight and fall off balance.

Timothy meets the ocean for the first time

and here is Timothy in the beach house, imitating his Aunt Laurie's dog...

Timothy imitating Mohawk

Some videos

2009-06-28T20:09:00.002+02:00

These two videos were actually taken a few weeks ago. Timothy is now walking and running all over the place, but this shows some of his first steps with Mommy and PopPop.

Timothy walking

Timothy playing with the camera

Timothy turns 1 year old!

2009-04-06T05:33:00.004+02:00

Timothy turned 1 year old last week. The past year has gone by so fast and we can't believe how much he has grown. Timothy is a very happy and curious little boy. Now that he can crawl, he loves to explore his surroundings. He is still laughing and smiling all the time, especially when he is chased and tickled. Timothy is not walking yet, but is able to stand still and balance unassisted, so we're sure it won't be long.

We've updated our online photo album (http://carolyn-and-brian.smugmug.com) with some recent pictures, but here are a few favorites:

Timothy riding his pony

2009-01-11T01:04:00.000+01:00

This was Timothy's favorite Christmas present...

Jonathan singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2009-01-11T01:03:00.003+01:00

This is Brian's second cousin, Jonathan, singing on Christmas day.

Separated at birth?

2008-08-31T17:47:00.002+02:00

Timothy laughing!

2008-07-24T22:18:00.002+02:00

For a few weeks now, Timothy has been doing little chuckles and coos when he is happy. However, today he really laughed for the first time. Daddy was holding him and blowing raspberries on his back when, to our surprise and delight, he just burst out laughing!

Timothy cooing

2008-06-04T01:05:00.000+02:00

Excuse me!

2008-05-19T21:07:00.002+02:00

Timothy smiles

2008-05-19T21:05:00.002+02:00

We're pretty sure this was a real smile and not just gas. Either way, it's cute.

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures

2008-04-14T23:35:00.003+02:00

We've had just over 2 weeks now to get to know our little guy. He doesn't let us sleep much, but other than that he hardly ever cries and is a very good baby. The nurse at the hospital said he's a good baby for beginners. It's hard to describe exactly how we feel about him, but needless to say we're overjoyed and in love with our son. We also think he's a pretty good looking baby, even if we are biased. We have loads and loads of pictures posted on our photo gallery here:

http://carolyn-and-brian.smugmug.com/Timothy

Or, here are some quick favorites:

the delivery

2008-04-14T23:18:00.003+02:00

Sorry we haven't posted in a while, but we've been rather busy with our new little bundle. So, first, the story of the delivery.

My dad was in town for a businees meeting on Wednesday and were hoping he would be here for Timothy's birth (Carolyn was due on Saturday). After we left the hospital as mentioned in our Getting closer? post, Carolyn's contractions continued all day. In the early evening, they started getting stronger and she had her bloody show at 8pm. The hospital had said we didn't need to come in until she couldn't talk through contractions, so we tried to wait longer. I was anxious and didn't want to eat, but Carolyn urged my dad and I to have some dinner, since it might be a long night. As we finished dinner, the contractions were getting pretty strong, so we called the hospital and they said to come in. So, Carolyn packed a few last minute things and I went to the bathroom and threw up my dinner (yup, think I was a little anxious?). By the time we got to the hospital around 11pm, Carolyn was already 7cm dilated! So much for waiting until you can't talk through the contractions. I was really shocked how far along she was because Carolyn was not letting on how much pain she was in up to that point. By the time they gave her the epidural, she was 9cm! After that, things slowed down a little until our wonderful midwife, Edith, decided it was time to go. Carolyn did a truly fantastic job through the whole thing. It took only about 30 minutes of pushing and Timothy arrived!

Welcome baby Timothy

2008-03-28T12:36:00.003+01:00

Timothy was born this Friday, March 28th at 3:53 AM. 6 lbs, 6 oz and 18 in long. We are so happy and excited to finally meet our perfect baby boy. We'll write more after we get some rest.

Getting closer?

2008-03-27T19:36:00.003+01:00

Carolyn had regular, mild contractions all last night and this morning. Even though they weren't strong, we decided to go get her checked at the hospital, just in case. She's still just 1cm dilated, but the nurse said they are "real" contractions. Probably just very early labor. She said we'll probably be back within a few days. We asked if it could be up to one week and she said, "I doubt it." The contractions have still continued throughout the day, but they're still only mild. Looks like he will be timely for his March 29th due date (fingers crossed).

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T17:40:00.003+01:00

Well, it is officially spring, though it doesn't seem that way here since it has snowed for 4 straight days. Luckily, it never sticks, so we shouldn't have any problems getting to the hospital. We're still waiting on our little guy to appear. The due date is this Saturday, but Carolyn is getting more and more uncomfortable, so we're hoping he's early.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

the waiting game

2008-03-15T04:54:00.003+01:00

Well, we are now at 38 weeks - full term. The doctor said on Thursday if our little guy doesn't come in the next 2 weeks, we'll discuss inducing. It seems so close now, but it's also a bit agonizing waiting for it to happen. As the last 8 months have gone by, I always felt like I just needed a little more time. Not to mention everyone telling us to enjoy a quiet home while we could. However, now that I think we're as ready as we can be, I'm getting really impatient. Kind of funny how I did a 180° on that.

Carolyn has been having a lot of contractions lately, but nothing regular or too strong. We'll post as soon as something happens, which hopefully won't be too much longer!

37 weeks

2008-03-10T00:44:00.005+01:00

Not much longer now and we can't wait!

32 weeks

2008-02-02T21:30:00.001+01:00

32 weeks along and baby and mother are doing well. He's a very active baby and likes to do somersaults for Mama, especially in the middle of the night. We had a nice visit with future Grandma and Grandpa after Christmas (who also brought tons of wonderful baby gifts). We traveled to the top of Les Diablerets and toured the Chateau du Chillon. Now, we're just trying to prepare everything for baby's arrival. We can't believe he's expected less than 2 months from now!

It's a boy!

2007-11-21T15:38:00.000+01:00

The ultrasound technician said "it's obvious" that we'll be having a boy! We would've been happy either way, but we're excited we'll be welcoming a new little guy into our family.

Carolyn is now over 21 weeks along and doing a great job. The baby is kicking her regularly and making it hard to sleep. She says it's a little painful sometimes, but she also misses feeling him move when he's more quiet.

3D baby

2007-11-16T00:45:00.000+01:00

We had the 3D ultrasound today and everything is perfect (all fingers and toes present and organs developing normally). Mom is now 21 weeks along and just beginning to show. The baby was a little camera shy, so the doctor had to give it a little nudge to get the hands away from the face. Now the debate begins as to who it resembles more.

As for the big question: Boy or Girl? Can you guess? The answer to come...

By the way, the left arm is ok. It didn't look like that live, it's just an artifact of the image.

Coming in March...

2007-10-18T20:32:00.001+02:00

Congratulations to Laurie & Jay

2007-10-07T19:50:00.000+02:00

Congratulations to Brian's sister, Laurie, and her husband Jay who were married on September 22. It was a beautiful ceremony at Christ Church in Olde Town Alexandria, VA. Christ Church was the home church of both George Washington and Robert E. Lee, so it is a really neat historic site.

Wedding Photo Album

Congratulations Dr. Yong!

2007-08-30T20:11:00.000+02:00

I'm very proud to say that my wife successfully defended her PhD thesis and can now be called a doctor.

The Farmer

2007-06-22T22:44:00.000+02:00

Paris - L'Amour!

2007-04-13T15:26:00.000+02:00

After 3.5 years of being in Europe, Brian and I have finally managed to go to Paris! It's one of those, 'it's so close -we'll go another time...' (I did the same thing in Chicago hence, I never went to the Shedd Aquarium, Sears Tower, John Hancock building, planetarium to name a few tusk tusk) Anyhow, we had a lovely Easter weekend there, with the most beautiful weather you could ever imagine!

On Good Friday, we took the high speed train, "TGV" or Train à Grande Vitesse from Lausanne to Paris - about 4 hours. We checked into our hotel and went immediately to the Louvre for the entire evening. This is the largest museum in the world and needless to say, we only hit a couple of sections in 2 of the 3 wings - this trip was mainly to sneak a peak at the 'must-sees': Da Vinci's 'Madonna of the Rocks', 'Mona Lisa' or 'La Joconde', Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo just to name a few. I was thrilled to scour the Egyptian wings - I can never get enough of Egyptian religion and mythology.

La Louvre	Arc de Triomphe

Unfortunately we slept in Saturday and arrived at the Musee d'Orsay only to find a ridculously long admission line had already formed. Next time. So we checked out Chinatown and feasted on some dim sum and went Asian grocery shopping! I love big cities. We spent the rest of the wonderful day walking the Grande Axes of Paris from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysées, past the obelisk, down to the courtyard of the Louvre.

After a rewarding Starbucks Coffee, we walked around the Opera district of Paris (1st and 2nd arrondisement) and ate at a wonderful little French restaurant. Afterwards, we hopped over to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up Paris at night. Neither of us was particularly keen on heading up to the top of a structure that was only supposed to be temporary when it was built, so we stayed on the ground.

We spent Easter Sunday on the Ile de la Cité, a small island in the middle of the Seine, where Notre Dame is located. Across Europe, you see a lot of churches, but this is definitely one of our favorites (2nd only to St. Peter's in Rome). It's a beautiful medieval cathedral, though not overdone like many others. We arrived a little late for the 10am mass, so we walked around the Ile and came back for the next mass. It was really special to celebrate a French mass in Notre Dame on Easter.

Eiffel Tower	Notre Dame

After mass, we had lunch at a small restaurant near Notre Dame. Eating French cuisine, at sidewalk table, on a small side street, in clear sunny weather really made us feel like we had the full Parisian experience and was the perfect end to our trip.

Barcelona, Spain - Viva Catalunya!

2007-03-26T14:13:00.000+02:00

Brian had yet another conference, so I met up with him at the tail end of it. We stayed through the weekend and made a whirlwind tour of the city!

First, Barcelona is NOT Spain! It is the 'capitol' of the Catalan province which prides itself on not being 'Spanish'. The language and fare seem to be closer to French than Spanish (to me at least who regularly gets the two mixed up). Furthermore, this region of Spain is obviously more well-off than the rest of the country. While under dictatorship, the region of Catalunya was forbidden to speak Catalan, Spanish was forced in schools and any other expressions of individuality were oppressed. Nowadays, children learn Catalan first and then are taught Spanish as a second language. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed that my first trip to Spain wasn't typically 'Spanish', but what little I retained did come in handy while we were there.

We only had about 2 full days, but managed to see a lot - vowing to return...1) Picasso Museum: Picasso spent a lot of time in Barcelona and donated most of his private collection to the museum in his honor. Arranged chronologically, youcan follow the boy wonder through art school, developing cubism, and then ultimately to his late years experimenting in ceramics. Despite the absence of 'famous' works, this museum is astounding!

2) Gaudi and La Sagrada Familia: Barcelona is also the Mecca for fans of the famous modern architect, Antoni Gaudi. Examples of his pioneering work are scattered throughout Barcelona. Truly amazing is his unfinished masterpiece, the cathedral La Sagrada Familia, or 'The Sacred Family' - started in 1882, this massive cathedral is still under construction - completely financed through charitable donation! It is anticipated to be finished in some 50-60 years! We definitely plan on going back to see the (hopefully) finished work of art!

Most importantly, Brian and I enjoyed lovely tapas, local paella dishes, and unbelievably fresh seafood! Also, we luckily didn't have any encounters (or at least that we are aware of) with pick-pocketers. Barcelona is apparently the worse place in Europe for this, and everyone we know who has visited has had (unsuccessful) attempts at their purses!

Welcome 2007 in London

2007-03-26T13:34:00.000+02:00

Brian and I rang in the new year (and celebrated an early 1st anniversary) London style! We got in early the 29th and stayed until late afternoon the 1st.

It was already a while back, but I remember having a wonderful time even though the weather was quite horrendous (torrential downpours everyday). We kicked off our trip by seeing Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables'!

The following day we took it easy and walked around London, enjoying fresh Krispy Kreme donuts at Harrod's.

New Year's Eve, we visited the British Museums and were able to see Van Gogh's Sunflowers, among many other fantastic collections. The weather was so bad, that we decided to see 'Flags of our Fathers' at a theatre and enjoy the New Year's festivities indoors. London was at least able to celebrate...Edinburgh and Glasgow had such terrible winds and rain, everything was cancelled!

New Year's Day, we went to service at St. Paul's Cathedral and made our last rounds of good eats. Here's a picture of Brian at Picadilly Circus, where we saw some of the New Year's Day Parade. We had plenty of Dim Sum, Vietnamese, Indian and Starbucks throughout our stay! mmmmmmm. Can't wait to go back!

Crete

2006-10-05T05:31:00.000+02:00

I had another conference this past weekend - so Carolyn and I suffered for 4 days in Crete. Unfortunately, the conference prevented us from doing much the first 2 days, but we spent Saturday and Sunday at a hotel on the beach. The 80°F weather was a nice change from Lausanne's 58°F.

Some things we learned in Crete:

1. 90% of the tourists there are German and that's all you hear spoken (even more than Greek). Also, there is a stereotype in Europe that German tourists wake up early, place a towel over a chair by the pool to "reserve" it, and then leave for hours at a time. We can confirm that from 8am-5pm all the pool chairs were taken, but only about 25% actually had people in them at any given time.
2. Watch out for those Greek men! Any time Carolyn was not with me, men would pull their cars over just to hollar at her. Either that, or they would just stare.
3. Keep your money guarded at all times. A guy on a scooter tried to grab Carolyn's purse as he rode by. Luckily he missed, but he managed to grab her arm and yank her back before he realized he wasn't getting it and let go.
4. There are stray cats and dogs everywhere. If weren't for the fact that we flew to Crete, I think Carolyn would've brought at least 2 or 3 stray dogs home with us. It's funny to see how dogs really do crave human attention. If someone was sitting in the park, a dog would often just lay down next to them (not begging for food, just wanting to be close).
5. There is a kind of grappa liquor that they have with dessert in Crete. If you go to a restaurant, they just automatically give it to you after your meal (but that doesn't mean it's free). This happened to us twice, but we only had a little since the stuff is 100 proof.
6. The food is excellent, assuming you like lots of olive oil.
7. The beaches were very nice and a welcome relaxation from work and the cold weather in Lausanne. We hope we can go back and spend some more time there (preferably on the south side of the island).

Tour de Gourze

2006-08-29T23:11:00.000+02:00

A bit early in the season, (wrong season technically, but we went from summer to winter here at the beginning of August!) but the day was perfect for cheese fondue at a very Swiss establishment way way up on the mountainside at the 'Tour de Gourze'. Our friends, Eleonora and Sylvain and their two children, Laetitia and Yann treated us to a very nice early evening dinner here finished off with ice cream and meringue.

Eleonora is from the Rome area of Italy and is a senior scientist in Brian's lab.

Normandie, France Day 5

2006-08-11T18:40:00.000+02:00

Sadly, our last day in Normandie! Although we had seen a lot, there was certainly a lot more to see. Based on my previous postings, it seems like we just ran from one monument to another, but we actually had a relaxing holiday: sleeping in, walks on the beach, lovely dinners, and best of all, time with each other and Addison! I don't have any pictures from our last day, but I'm posting some pics of my attempt at being artistic ;)

Pictures (click on them to enlarge): Beautiful roses in full bloom at the American Cemetary 'Wall of the Missing' garden, a tiny hummingbird in St. Come (see if you can find it!), and headstone of an 'unknown soldier' - one of 307 placed throughout the American Cemetary at Colleville.

Unfortunately, our 9 hour drive back home brought us to a cold, rainy Lausanne and apparently the end of summer here! It has not been above 75F since we've been back :(

Normandie, France Day 4

2006-08-11T13:17:00.000+02:00

	Last full day in Normandie! We used this day to hit the important sights we didn't have time to see the previous days. This included the very moving American Cemetary at Omaha Beach. Situated on 172.5 acres next to Omaha Beach, 9387 marble crosses and Stars of David are aligned in perfect rows. Although sad, the site was incredibly beautiful, and it is impressive how many non-Americans come to visit and pay their respects. It was a beautiful, blustery day, and the waters of the Atlantic were bluer than I've ever seen on the East coast of the US.
We spent quite a bit of time at the American Cemetary before moving on to the Bayeux Memorial Museum. We ended the day with a nice seafood dinner in the lovely Port-en-Bessin followed by some churros and a dark-chocolate crepe, folded and wrapped into the shape of an ice cream cone, filled with whipped cream (YUMMY!)

Normandie, France Day 3: English & Canadian Beaches

2006-08-11T09:57:00.000+02:00

The next day we set out to visit Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. First, we went to the Longues Battery. 4 huge German guns here hindered the Gold and Omaha landings - you can see Brian peeking out of one of the well-preserved casemates with original gun.

We had planned to visit Arromanches and the Mulberry Harbor Museum, but we couldn't find parking so we proceeded to the 360degree cinema at Gold Beach. Up the road was the Juno Beach Memorial. Here's a picture with Brian and Addison at the Churchill tank that has never left the beach.

Already exhausted, we had a tunafish sandwich lunch in the back of the stationwagon and tried to go to the American cemetary, but it had just closed.

To see more pics from our trip, visit http://carolyn-and-brian.smugmug.com/travel

Normandie, France Day 2

2006-08-09T14:29:00.000+02:00

Day 2: American Tour

Brian, Addison and I began our ambitious 'American Tour' at the Iron Mike monument located near St. Mere Eglise. This beautiful monument pays hommage to the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions that were dropped around the area early D-Day morning.

We focused a lot of our sightseeing around the 101st Airborne 'Screaming Eagles' made famous by the HBO series 'Band of Brothers'. We really enjoyed the series and are planning some of our future trips around their missions during WWII.

Next, we hit St. Mere Eglise, one of the 1st French towns to be liberated, and it's famous church. Every summer the town hangs a paratrooper from its steeple - an effigy of an American paratrooper who got hung up on the steeple and had to 'play dead' to survive! The church has since dedicated a large stained glass window to the paratroopers. We then visited the Airborne museum across the street from the church.

Afterwards, we went to the Azeville battery (4 large gun casemates or pillboxes), Utah Beach museum, German cemetary and finally the Pointe du Hoc/Ranger Memorial (whew!). Unfortunately, we didn't have time to spend in St. Marie du Mont and Carentan, both key towns in Easy Company's European tour, along with the multitude of other museums and monuments in the area. All in all, we were very satisfied with our day, not to mention exhausted!

Normandie, France Day 1

2006-08-07T01:08:00.000+02:00

Finally...a post from Carolyn! Brian, Addison and I just spent a very nice (and educational) holiday (July 29-Aug 2) in the Normandie Basse region of France. Americans recognize this area as 'Normandy' or the infamous D-Day Landing beaches.

The very beautiful medieval town of Bayeux which miraculously went unscathed during WWII served as our 'home base', from where we drove literally all over the place to see...well, everything! We arrived at 1am on Saturday after an exhausting 9 hour drive, which included a cheap glance of the Eiffel Tower in Paris due to Brian's sensational navigational skills. I'm being sarcastic.

Day 1: Omaha Beach. We decided to use day one as a 'relaxing day at the beach' - especially since weather forecasts pretty much said this was the only day we'd get for this. Addison had her first swim (sort of)! We'll post as soon as we get the pics developed. BTW, we're still trying to use up the pics on the disposable cameras from the wedding! hee hee

Day 2 coming soon!

World Cup!

2006-06-23T19:31:00.000+02:00

We were able to get tickets to the Spain vs. Tunisia match at the World Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. Our seats were in the 2nd to last row, but we had a blast. It was a great experience seeing the fans singing the whole time: starting on the train on the way to the stadium, during the game, and again after the match all the way home . If you haven't been following it, Spain won 3-1. Unfortunately though, after a pathetic performance, the US is going home with 2 losses and 1 draw.

London

2006-06-01T20:35:00.000+02:00

After Scotland, we headed down to London for 3 days. With several delayed flights, we were pretty exhausted. So, we decided to take it easy and not force the touristy things. Instead, we enjoyed the culinary delights we can't get in Switzerland (Chinese dim sum, Indian food, Krispy Kreme, and more dim sum). For the Indian food we visited "Curry Mile" - a street lined with Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants, all competing for your business. They practically harass you on the street as you walk buy - offering drink discounts to one-up the guy next door.
We also got to spend a day with our former priest from Geneva, Fr. Hugh - who is always good for a laugh and a good time. We visited Westminster Cathedral (not the Abbey) and took a nice walk around the city - seeing the outside of Buckingham Palace, Parliament, and the Horse Guards. Carolyn also had her Fish & Chips while I enjoyed Bangers & Mash (sausages & mashed potatoes). On our last day, we visited the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels.

more pictures

Scotland

2006-06-01T20:18:00.000+02:00

We took advantage of a long holiday weekend to travel to Scotland & London. The weather was less than optimal (50°F and intermittently rainy), but we enjoyed the trip. In Scotland, we stayed in Edinburgh where we did the obligatory double-decker bus tour around town. The main attraction is the castle, which sits high above the city on an extinct volcano. Actually, the rock underneath one side of the castle fell off before we arrived, so they had to re-route the bus tour. This picture was taken outside of the castle - the guy was collecting donations for Leukemia research - and the weapons were actual props in the movie Braveheart.
We also had a chance to drive (on the wrong side of the road) down to Auchinleck in Ayrshire, Scotland to visit my grandmother's cousin and her family. They were very kind and we hope to go back to visit them again. Driving on the left was awkward and I made Carolyn carsick, but I managed not to crash. Oh yeah, and before leaving I bravely ordered a plate of haggis, neeps and tatties (haggis, turnips and potatoes). It was actually very good, but I got the feeling the restaurant didn't prepare them the traditional way (and I skipped the whiskey that should go with it) - maybe next time.

Edinburgh Castle (click to enlarge)
more pictures

"In Birae Predestinas"

2006-05-08T12:34:00.000+02:00

This Saturday, Carolyn and I went to a friend's party and while I was standing chatting, something on the drink table caught my eye - a 6-pack of beer called Calvinus, with a 16th century looking face on the front. I picked it up to confirm my suspicions - someone has named a beer after the Protestant Reformist John Calvin - the hero to the Puritans. The little blurb on the side of the case claims Calvin tried to make his own home brew, but died before he was able to get it right. So, they dutifully picked up where he left off. I guess I should find this somewhat blasphemous, but I can't deny that it is pretty hilarious too. For those of you at home, sorry, but it is only available in Geneva (where Calvin preached) - and actually, the 6-pack was finished so I haven't tasted it either. The website is in French only, but it has an amusing Monty Python-esque flash intro (make sure you have the sound on).

a star among us

2006-03-31T15:09:00.000+02:00

We would like to congratulate our friend YunSuk, who recently won the award for best pop single at the Korean Music Awards. You may remember YunSuk (who's stage name is Lucid Fall) played a few songs at our wedding reception.

You can also look at his albums here if you're interested. The song that won is called Oh, Love and is track 3 on his second album, Lucid Fall - Oh, Love. It is also track 5 on the compilation of the Korean Music Awards nominees. He was actually nominated for 4 awards(!), but obviously he was robbed in the other three categories.

More photos

2006-03-29T17:02:00.000+02:00

We finally got the pictures developed from the disposable cameras at the wedding (well most of the cameras). They are now uploaded onto our photo album website: carolyn-and-brian.smugmug.com. There are also some more pictures uploaded by other guests. If you have some nice photos, please upload them also. Thanks!

Porto, Portugal

2006-02-09T16:42:00.000+01:00

So, only 3 days after returning from the chalet, I had to travel to Portugal for work. My new wife convinced me not to bring a camera, so I couldn't take any pictures (sorry), but I just stole this one from the web. I only got to walk around for a few hours, but it's an interesting city. You can see that it was once an empire in colonial times, but it is far from that now. They have some beautiful old buildings and cathedrals, but obviously don't have the money to maintain them, so they are just falling into ruin. Also, the streets are narrow and old apartment buildings are packed closely together. Each apartment also seems to have clothing hanging outside of it somewhere. Still, the people were very friendly and the weather was a nice change from Switzerland.

Wedding Photos

2006-01-24T18:13:00.000+01:00

Ok, now that I'm back from Portugal (more on that later), I've set up a website through smugmug.com for the wedding/chalet photos. It's located at http://carolyn-and-brian.smugmug.com. We're adding more pictures daily and we should have the professional photos soon. We have also set up a guest password for any wedding guests to upload their own photos to share also. The amount and size of pictures is unlimited! So, if you haven't received your guest password, please email me (you don't need a password to browse/download pictures).

Also, my sister Laurie has created a slideshow with music that you can see here.

We did it!

2006-01-21T01:13:00.004+01:00

We did it! Ok, almost 2 weeks ago, but it's still new to us! This is the first free minute I've had since the wedding, but I promise that Brian and I will keep posting as the pics come in....

We hope all of our guests had a wonderful time and had a safe return home! Brian and I would like to thank all of you again for coming all the way out here to share this momentous occasion with us! We couldn't have had a better honeymoon! We miss all of you already!

Things are almost back to normal...except for the fact that Brian has been in Porto, Portugal since Wednesday! I'll be picking up my husband (I love saying that!) Saturday afternoon, after which we'll hopefully be able to have some time to relax together.

We're in the process of testing out a site that all of us can access to up- and download pics - we'll keep you informed!

The final countdown

2006-01-04T01:11:00.000+01:00

Only a few more days left. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We can't wait to see all of you! You should've received some info via email, so check your inbox for important last minute information.

Wedding Gifts

2005-11-13T00:10:00.000+01:00

Several of you have asked where we are registered for gifts or what we may need. As we said before, your presence at our wedding is enough (especially with the travel involved). However, for those who still wish to give, we have registered with the I Do Foundation. In lieu of wedding gifts, you may make a donation to charity in our name. Furthermore, if you book your flights through Orbitz, a portion of the money will go to our charity.

If you would like to donate or purchase a flight, please click the Wedding Gifts for Charity link on the right.

Flight Details

2005-11-04T01:51:00.000+01:00

Just a reminder: once you book your flights, please send us a copy of your itinerary. We plan to rent a van/minibus to take everyone from the airport to the chalet. However, we need your flight details so that we know when and where to meet you (especially if you are delayed).

Wedding - Travel essentials

2005-10-02T01:38:00.000+02:00

Here are a few things you need to know about packing for the trip:
1. Money - Switzerland uses the Swiss Franc (CHF or SFr.). However, we will be staying on the French side of Portes du Soleil, which uses the Euro (€). Many places in Switzerland accept Euros, but will give you change in CHF. While you will need Euros for lunches and other things, credit cards usually give the best exchange rate (info), but may charge a 1-3% fee. You will only need a small amount of CHF.
2. Electricity - Europe runs on 230V, not 120V as in the U.S. If you bring any electrical appliances, you will need a converter. Check the wattage on the converter as heating appliances (hair dryers, curling irons) require a higher capacity. Also, you may need an additional plug adapter as the plug shapes vary throughout Europe.
3. Skiing - The ski resorts are a little different here. There is no central lodge and there will most likely be no lockers available. We will change clothes at the chalet, but you may want to bring a small backpack for carrying your essentials while skiing. Also, there will be some spectacular views from the slopes, so bring a camera that you can carry while skiing.
4. Chalet - You will need to bring your own towels to the chalet (linens are provided). Also, the chalet has a sauna, so bring your bathing suit.

Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

2005-08-16T17:33:00.000+02:00

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful, awesome fiancée. I have been blessed with you as a wonderful gift, so I hope you receive whatever you wish today (except for me to remove this post/picture) .

Poor Addison

2005-08-04T11:27:00.000+02:00

Unfortunately, while we were enjoying our time at the beach, Addison was being traumatized at the kennel. We picked her up from the kennel only to find that her ear was bleeding and missing a large piece at the tip (about 1 & 1/2" by 3/4"). We were able to stop the bleeding, but while we were cleaning her she shook her head, spraying blood all over the wall and our faces. It looked like something out of a horror movie. We took her to the vet and all they could do was give her anitbiotics to prevent infection. Luckily, she doesn't seem to be in any pain, but her mother still gets upset every time she looks at her ear. Needless to say, we will never use that kennel again (who still cannot provide an explanation for the injury).

La Grande Motte, France

2005-08-04T11:08:00.000+02:00

August 1st is a holiday here in Swizerland, so we drove to the Mediterranean coast of France for the long weekend. We decided to go further west to avoid the crowds of the French Riviera. Carolyn and I had a really nice weekend, even though I got a little sunburned trying to even out my farmer's tan. The Mediterranean was nice and calm and the weather was sunny and 80-90ºF all weekend.

Wedding Date/Time set

2005-08-03T11:41:00.000+02:00

The Basilica of Notre Dame in Geneva has been reserved for the wedding. It will be Monday, January 9th at 3pm. Afterwards, we will have dinner at a Korean restaurant in Geneva. The cocktail hour will start at 5pm, so you should have a short time to walk around downtown Geneva.

Isn't it so pretty?

2005-07-22T01:56:00.000+02:00

This pic was taken in Valais on the way back to Lausanne from Chatel. Isn't it purty?...and I'm not just talkin' 'bout the mountains!

Passports

2005-07-19T15:33:00.000+02:00

If you do not have a passport (or need to renew), please do not forget to apply at least 2-3 months before you leave (click for info). If you are not a US Citizen, you may need to apply for a visa for Switzerland and/or France.

Flight Info

2005-06-23T15:56:00.000+02:00

The easiest and closest airport to fly into is Geneva (GVA). However, if your flights are too expensive from your departure city or you want to explore more of Europe, you may consider flying somewhere else and taking a train to Geneva.
1. Lyon, France (LYS) ~ 2 hour train ride, $50 round trip
2. Zürich, Switzerland (ZRH) ~ 3 hour train ride, $125 round trip
3. Milan, Italy (MXP) ~ 4 hour train ride, $200 round trip
4. Paris, France (CDG) ~ 4 hours on the high speed train (TGV), $300 round trip

If you want to search train fares, you can use www.rail.ch for trains within Switzerland and www.raileurope.com for those outside the country.

If possible, we recommend avoiding transfers at Paris - Charles de Gaule and London - Heathrow. If you do transfer at one of these airports, give yourself a lot of time to get to your connecting flight.

Most flights from the USA are overnight (i.e. you leave Friday evening and arrive early Saturday). Return flights usually depart in the morning and arrive in the afternoon in the US (Geneva is 6 hours ahead of New York). The flight time from New York to Geneva is ~8 hours.

Chalet Avalanche - Jan 7-14, 2006

2005-06-12T17:50:00.000+02:00

We have found a chalet for our winter retreat! Check-in is Saturday, Jan 7th and check out is Sat, Jan 14th (7 nights). You can view some images by following the link above. (Note, the chalet is currently under rennovation and will be furnished with new comfy leather sofas, etc.) It also includes an industrial kitchen and a sauna - so bring your bathing suits! The chalet is conveniently located within walking distance of the lifts and across the street from the ski rentals. It is also above an internet pub for those of you who can't live without email. After a day of skiing, we can enjoy the "aprés ski" (after ski) in the pub and then move upstairs for dinner.
The chalet is located in Châtel, France, which is just across the border from Switzerland. If you take the lift to the top of the mountain from Châtel, you can ski down the other side into Morgins, Switzerland. It is located in the center of Portes du Soleil, allowing for easy access to any of the 14 towns that make up this resort.

Chateau D'Oex

2005-05-22T01:12:00.000+02:00

This picture is from the town Chateau D'Oex, which is about a one hour drive from where we live. We drove up there one Saturday to check out the beautiful views. Every January, they have a large hot air balloon festival.

8mai2005 Chateau D'Oex

very belated engagement photo

2005-05-22T00:55:00.000+02:00

Brian no longer has a beard - it was just an experiment (failed)