Charlie Alan Cook

Charlie Alan Cook was born on March 26 at 7:07 AM in St. Gallen Switzerland. He weighed in at 9lbs 2oz and was 22 inches long. He was named by his sister Madison two years ago when she announced to everyone that Emily was pregnant with "baby Charlie". We thought you might want to see some pictures.

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

We had a Mexican Fiesta for Ellie's third birthday. A lot of our American expat friends were able to come and share some yummy Mexican food!


Ellie really wanted a pinata for her birthday, but they don't sell them here in Switzerland! So, in my NEW domestic style, I made her a Mickey Mouse pinata (brought back grade school memories!). Unfortunately, some of the younger kids couldn't understand why we were asking them to beat up Mickey Mouse. Pretty traumatic!


Ellie's favorite gift came from her "favorite brother," Danny. I think she calls him her brother so she can get away with kissing on him!




All in all, the party was a great "hit."

Our New Year's Eve trip to Paris

We drove to Paris for New Year's Eve, and had a great time visiting the sites in the city. We watched "Ratatouille" in the car on the way there, and they kept singing, "Paireeee holds the keeeey to my hearrrrrt!!!".

Ellie enjoyed entertaining strangers outside the Versailles castle with her "pull down the hat" routine.

EuroDisney was a reward for the girls after following us to Versailles and the Louvre.

Emily and Madison in front of Disney.

"Thumbs up" from Ellie.

Madison helped Emily and I get a picture at the Louvre.

Ellie is prone to spontaneous falling over, so this was as high as we dared let her climb.

I thought this was a cool picture.

The girls sailed some boats in a reflection pool in Paris on a windy day.

Sail boat day...

Ellie at the fountains.

Ellies photographic view of the world.

The girls outside the Louvre.

The girls inside the Louvre.

Mona Lisa. Still smiling... kind of.

Madison and her new favorite pink "parasol".

Kent and Madison just before going up the Eiffle Tower. (Note that Lake Shore was well represented in Paris.)

A cold night at the Eiffel Tower.

The Tower was beautiful at night.

Ellie's "parasol".

Christmas 2008

A few pictures from Christmas. We had a wonderful morning... the kids slept late, which was nice, and there is nothing like the magic of watching the face of a four year old and a two year old when they see that Santa paid a visit. It was a blast!

The Christmas tree... day and night.


Troy and Gabriella (High School Musical) were a perfect gift for Madison from the Rowbotham family. The look on her face says it all!

We tried to get Ellie to relax and enjoy the morning... not too tough to do.


Ellie and Madison enjoyed playing with each others' presents.


The "Little Mermaid" was another favorite on Christmas morning.


Madison practiced on her scooter in the hallways. This is her new mode of transportation to school.

Santa left a swing handing from the balcony in the family room.


Ellie loved her new movies. (She has a healthy media addiction.)


Decorating cookies on Christmas Eve. Lots of fun.


Ellie probably ate more frosting than actually made it to her cookies.


A picture of the girls patiently waiting to open presents on Christmas morning.


Madison absolutely enjoyed the whole morning.

Skiing in the Swiss Alps

We spent our first official day skiing in the Swiss Alps for Kent's birthday. Kent and Madison hit the slopes while Emily and Ellie played in the snow.



















Madison was pretty excited about the helmet and goggles.


















The view from the top was amazing!!!




Nothing like a hot chocolate break at mid-day.

The tram ride up was fantastic.

The resort is called "Flims" if you want to Google it, and it takes a little over an hour to drive there from our house.

Ellie the Photographer!