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Swiss Family Opheim Blog Note: This page shows older blog entries. The most current, are listed on the homepage.

	Grandpa Kevin and Uncle Dustin visit Zoe! Zoe got her second set of family visitors and this time it was Grandpa Kevin and Uncle Dustin! They arrived on Friday morning while Zoe was still sleeping, but it wasn't long before we woke her up and get some hugs in. That weekend the guys went skiing in Flumserberg to show Grandpa the Swiss Alps. It was great having them in Zurich and little Zoe had fun hangin' with the boys! Click here for pictures.

	Zoe - 2nd Month Zoe is now in her 2nd month and growing fast. She now weighs 9 lbs. 7 oz. and is getting some chubby cheeks and legs, but is still so damn cute! She likes her walks in the stroller and Kelly also took her out in the ergo-baby carrier. She slept really good. Keep coming back to this entry for more photos of Zoe in month 2! Click here for pictures.

	Skiing in Andermatt and Sedrun Travis took advantage of having the grandparents in town to sneak away for a day of skiing. He went to Andermatt and Sedrun, which he had not been to before. The weather was perfect with 30 degrees F, blue skies and no wind. The lift lines were short and the snow was hard packed for some fast, fun skiing. We sure will miss the Alps! Click here for pictures.

	Grandma & Grandpa Puls come to visit Zoe! Zoe had her first family visitors...it was a Grandma and Grandpa Puls! They visited for a week and spent plenty of time holding and playing with Zoe. They went for walks around Zurich and even visited the Body World exhibit. It was a really nice time and can't wait to move home to be closer to them when we move back in March. Click here for pictures.

	Zoe's Photo Shoot The same photographer that took the baby bump photos came over to our apartment to take some photos of Zoe on 7-January. They turned out really nice and now we have great pictures of our baby girl! Click here for pictures.

	Zoe - 1st Month Since Christmas we have taken tons of photos of Zoe and we don't plan on stopping! So, keep checking back to the photo link below for new photo's of our little Zoe-Cakes. Click here for pictures.

	Zoe's First Christmas The Opheim's were still in the hospital, of course, for Christmas this year. It was a really nice day out, but no white Christmas for Zoe this year. Zoe "opened" presents on Christmas Eve in her cute Santa outfit and gave Daddy a nice full diaper to change! The family watched the Christmas Story, Skype'd with family, and enjoyed a nice quite day to celebrate Zoe's first Christmas. Click here for pictures.

	Zoe Jane Opheim has arrived!!! That's right...she's here!!! Zoe Jane Opheim was born at 2:49 PM in Zurich's Hirslanden Klinik. She weighs 6 pounds, 12 ounces (3.07 kg) and is 19.5 inches long (50 cm). Zoe and her mom are recovering well. We are so excited that she is finally here and cute as can be. I don't know what else to say other than enjoy the pictures! Click here for pictures.

	Proper Christmas Dinner at The Long's Richie and Katy are heading back to the UK for Christmas, so they invited us over a weekend before for a proper British holiday feast...and I do mean feast! All the food was beautifully prepared with a huge turkey. Kelly and Travis were amazed at the spread and the fact that they were able to find and cook a full turkey in Switzerland...quite the feat! We stayed for hours having great conversation about our upcoming family addition and life abroad. It was a fantastic time with fantastic friends! Click here for pictures.

	Kraft Christmas Party 2009 Kelly rested all day to make sure she had enough energy to go to the Kraft Christmas party with Travis and see all the people. She looked great and stayed for over 4 hours. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and their reaction to the over 9 month baby bump. It was held at the same place as last year and was a really good time. Click here for pictures.

	Burgers at Joe's As part of a fund raiser in the Kraft office, Kelly, Travis, Tara, Kirsten, and Laura put in a bid for a night of American-style burgers at Joe's house. It was worth every rappen as the food was delicious, the drinks were cold and the conversation hilarious. Our hosts Joe and Silvia were great and hope we get the chance to have some more of those burgers soon! Click here for pictures.

	Baby Shower in Zurich Our little one will be with us soon, but it was time for one last baby shower...this time in Zurich. Tara hosted a really nice shower and was attended by Kirsten, her daughter Bea, Andrea, and Kathy. It was a relaxing afternoon while we grazed on snacks, opened gifts, and chatted. By adding these gifts, we are now 100% ready for our Baby Girl to arrive. Or, at least we hope so because we don't have room for anything else! Click here for pictures.

	Thanksgiving at Marriott Hotel in Zurich Each year the Marriott hotel in Zurich has a Turkey Day feast, but we'd never gone. This year no one wanted to cook so the Opheim's, Meskill's, Baur's, Bill and Maja booked some spots at the event. It was setup similar to a wedding with 8-person tables setup, a buffet style dinner, even a band played. The food was excellent with all the American stuff...turkey, stuffing, potatoes, beans, pumpkin pie and tons more! All that was missing was a big screen TV showing the NFL games! Click here for pictures.

	Saturday Night Party at Kathy's Kathy's husband was in town still, so they hosted a party at her place out near the Kraft office. It was a fun night with Tara, Laura, Helder, Andrea, Kathy, Mike, and us. We swapped stories of our travels around Europe, especially Paris and watched some of the Moulin Rouge act Kathy and Mike had just been to. We had pizzas delivered too...well, most of them made it but the driver confessed that 4 of the 6 had spilled all over the road on the way over! Oops! Kathy also gave her team gifts from her recent travels. The girls got robes from Singapore and Helder got a Hard Rock t-shirt from Amsterdam. It was a really fun Saturday night!

	Kelly's Going Away with T4G Team As Kelly is getting close to going out on maternity leave, her T4G project team members decided to go out to dinner at the favorite fondue spot, Le Delazey in Zurich. It was a fun night with her new co-workers, but sad that she'll be leaving work at the Lightcube. The team gave her a very nice gift - a bracelet from Thomas Sabo with a baby stroller and birthstone charms. One birthstone for Kelly and one for our upcoming arrival Baby Girl. It was a great send off! Click here for pictures.

	Tara's Birthday Party in Schiffbau It was our friend Tara's birthday so we decided to have a group dinner on Saturday night at LaSalle Restaurant, which was in the Schiffbau - an old warehouse where boats were assembled years ago. It was a great atmosphere and a fun night out with some friends. Click here for pictures.

	Weekend in Zermatt Travis and Kelly had booked a hotel room in Zermatt for when their friends Tim and Andrea came to visit; however, they never did make the trip, but Travis and Kelly went anyway. The hotel they stayed at was designed by the same guy from their first visit to Zermatt so they had high expectations that did not disappoint. Their room had a view of the Matterhorn peak, large sitting area and a deck also facing Matty. They arrived on Friday night to a welcome drink at the bar and called it an early night. The next day they walked around the town, did some shopping, had a nice lunch, got a couple of massages, and relaxed by the pool. On Saturday night they headed into the town for some cheese fondue. The weather was off and on, but there was always a view of the Matterhorn. It was nice to relax next to the Swiss iconic peak for our Babymoon #3. Click here for pictures.

	Baby Bump Photo Shoot Travis thought it would be great to get some photos of Kelly and her baby bump, so they researched a photographer in Zurich to have some done. After the first meeting with Karl they thought he would be fun and do a nice job. They spent about an hour doing the different photos. They turned out great! Karl will also be doing some photos when our Baby Girl arrives later in December. Click here for pictures.

	Glacier Skiing at Laax Travis got his first ski day in of the year by heading to the glacier at Laax. He went with a few friends from work - Jan, Nikolay, Andrea and Kathy's husband Mike. It was a long trip to the 3100 meter ski area, but there was fresh snow and even some powder up to the top of their boots. Although there were only a couple of runs it was nice to be back in the Alps and to try out the new equipment for the year. Just wish Kelly could be there too. Click here for pictures.

	Spa Weekend in Bad Ragaz Kelly had won a free hotel stay from the P1E project, so they both chose to go to the Grand Hotel Bad Ragaz. It is a very luxurious spa hotel about an hour from Zurich. They checked-in, enjoyed a welcome drink and then went to the spa area for massages and some relaxing in the different pools. That night they had a great dinner in the hotel, which was included in the gift certificate Kelly had. After a long night's sleep, they got up and went to the newly renovated thermal bath area of the hotel. It is natural thermal waters piped in to very nice indoor and outdoor areas. They had a nice time relaxing and a nap in the quiet area before having lunch and heading back to Zurich. It was a great Babymoon #2! Click here for pictures.

	Back to India and the Taj Mahal Another 6 months had passed, so it was time for Travis to head back to India to visit with the IBM team. The trip started with some sightseeing to Agra and the Taj Mahal again. It was Travis' turn to play tour guide and make sure things went smoothly. Overall, it was successful but HOT again...go figure! The trip after the Taj was short, but many cities to visit. The group drove from Agra back to Delhi to get flights to Hyderabad for a couple days. Then off to Bangalore for a day but Travis got a cold so missed most of the visit. Then it was off to Pune for a day or so before heading back to Zurich. Whoa! Lots of moving around, so it was good to relax at home on Friday! Click here for pictures.

	Oktoberfest 2009 Dustin and Travis left for Munich on Friday morning. They arrived just in time for lunch, so they headed towards the city center and grabbed some Doner Kebabs before going to Hofbrauhaus for a beer. After a couple, the boys went to a department store to purchase the necessary lederhosen and accessories for the big Saturday event. That night they decided to go to the Oktoberfest grounds to ride some of the rides and even checked out the HB tent. It was pretty wild they were definitely "behind" the rest of the tent that late at night. They rode a few more rides and called it a night. Saturday morning came quickly, so they threw on their 'hosen and grabbed some breakfast on the way to the grounds by 8 AM. The plan was to go to the original Spaten tent, Ochsenbrateri. They got seated no problem next to some Italians and Germans who were really cool. The tent was just as exciting as other years with thousands of people, great beer, good food, amazing band and drunken good times! The boys lasted until about 3 PM when they had to move because the table was reserved. Afterward, they grabbed some food and nap! The train ride was a long one on the way back to Zurich as usual, but it was a great time and fun to share with Travis' brother. Now that they both are proud owners of Lederhosen, I am sure that future trip will be planned. On Monday, Dustin headed back to the US. What a great trip! Click here for pictures.

	Dustin comes to visit!!! Travis' brother Dustin came to visit us for a little over a week. He arrived on a Friday and we took him to the usual Zeughauskeller for dinner, which didn't disappoint. That first weekend, we all decided to head to Interlaken for some outdoor adventure. Well, Kelly went to the spa, of course! First was paragliding next to the alps while overlooking the two lakes on either side of Interlaken. It was great, but not as extreme as we'd thought. We celebrated our "flight" with some beers and food at Hooter's (what else when you're in Interlaken?) On Sunday morning we went canyoning. Yes, Travis went again, but no injuries this time! They had fun jumping off cliffs and sliding down waterfalls for a few hours before heading back to Zurich. On Monday Dustin relaxed in Zurich and did some sightseeing. Tuesday he headed down to the Ticino region and rented a bike to explore. Funny thing was he ended up biking into Italy by mistake...oops! On Wednesday, Travis took off from work to head to Zermatt so the two of them could do some skiing on the glaciers. It was a perfect day for skiing and to see the Matterhorn. After a few runs, they both explored the glacier and took some photos before having lunch in the town. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday afternoon in Switzerland. On Thursday, it was Dustin's birthday! He spent the day at the Rhinefalls near the German-border and Travis and Kelly took him to Le Delazey for a fondue dinner, both cheese and some meats. It was a relaxing day before the trip to Munich for Oktoberfest to round out his vacation. Click here for pictures.

	Travis in Madrid Travis headed to Spain for a week for work. He started in Barcelona where he'd been before, but the two days in Madrid were his first to the country's capital. Although it was mostly work, Travis did get the chance to see a couple of things. The top on the list was a trip to the Museo del Prado. This museum has a great collection of paintings by Diego Velazquez, including the famous Las Meninas. It is Travis' favorite painting mostly because he did some research on the topic during his Spanish courses in college. After touring the museum to see other great works by El Greco and Goya, Travis walked around the Prado area and found a great place for tapas. The food lived up to the legend of Spanish tapas and the weather was great for exploring the streets. Hopefully someday we'll have time to explore more of the city and more of Spain! Click here for pictures.

	Long Night at the Museums in Zurich Travis and Kelly had always wanted to go to the Long Night at the Museum in Zurich and since they won't be around next year they took advantage. It is an event held every fall where all the Zurich Museums are open until 5 AM. They started the night by having dinner and drinks over at their friends Kate and Alan's place. It was great food and fun but at about 11 PM, Travis and Kelly left to go to the Kunsthaus, Zurich's best museum. It has some great paintings by the masters (Picasso, Dali, Klee, etc.) and we were surprised how big it was. After touring the Kunsthaus, they decided to grab the Museum bus to check out another couple of places, including the Helmhaus (right next to their apartment). It has a very weird video art setup with different projectors showing war, fruit flies, and other strange things in the various rooms. Overall, it was a good night and we're happy we got to experience it.

	We're having a baby!!! Yes, for those who don't know...the Swiss Family Opheim is growing. We are looking forward to welcoming our baby girl (name to be determined) on or around January 2nd, 2010. So, to prepare for such an occasion we went back to the US after our trip to Italy for a week to see friends, family and have baby showers, of course. We also converted our spare bedroom/office into the baby room. After arriving in Chicago we drove up to John and Mandy's to see them and the boys, Jack and Charlie. Jack and Kelly formed quite the bond and we all had fun catching up. Sunday it was time to go to Slinger for the shower where tons of people showed up. It was great to see everyone. We certainly got more pink clothes than we ever thought possible! On Monday we headed back to Evanston to get the baby room setup. It was 2.5 days of running around to get everything that was needed like changing table, book case, toy box, crib matress, etc. In the end it turned out way better than we thought it would. Special thanks to Trav's mom for painting the room! Once the baby room was done it was time to head to Mason City to see more of Travis' family. Friday was spent with Travis' dad and Grandma O with some races in Britt that night. Saturday was a long day starting with a baby shower that the Fredin-side Aunts threw in Swaledale. It was very nice we all had fun. That night was cousin Kyle's wedding and reception. Travis, Kelly, his mom and Dustin stayed for a bit but then headed back to Naperville so we could catch the flight on Sunday. It was the last trip home before the BIG MOVE home next spring...and it won't be just Travis, Kelly and the Meh...Baby Opheim will be there too! Click here for pictures.

	Traveling around Italy! It was always "on the list", but Travis and Kelly hadn't seen the main sights in Italy. So, they planned it for their big summer vacation. On the agenda was Venice, Florence (and the Tuscany region), Rome, Positano (on the south-west coast of Italy). They even did a day trip to the Island of Capri, but didn't get to Pompeii as they'd hoped. The weather was gorgeous each day, but also very hot! About 95 each day. The first part of the trip was to be for sightseeing and the rest for relaxing. First stop was Venice, so they took the train from Zurich. Venice was a favorite of the trip due to how beautiful the town was and the water ways for streets were great! It was not dirty or smelly like some people had mentioned. We only wish we had more time to explore, but next it was on to Florence. Florence was a much more big and touristy city. We saw the main sights including the Michaelangelo's David that was incredible. The last sightseeing part of the trip was in Rome. We had 3 days and we saw most of the biggies (Trevi Fountain, Piazza Novona, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum with Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, Forum, Catacombs). We even saw the Pope's summer residence out of the city. A great city that you could spend weeks at and not see everything. The rest of the trip we relaxed at a gorgeous hotel overlooking the ocean in Positano. We read by the pool, got a tan, went to the beach one day, a day trip to Capri one of the 4 days we were there. It was Kelly's birthday the second day, so we went to eat at a Michelin-star restaurant. Food was excellent, as were the views. The trip was amazing and we are happy we got the chance to see so much in Italy. It is now one of the favorites for sure! Click here for pictures.

	Two nights at the Orange Cinema Travis and Kelly had never been to the Orange Cinema, which is an outdoor movie screen that is on the lake of Zurich. This year they got tickets with Jeremy and Davilynn for the "Last Chance Harvey" and "The Big Lebowski". Both nights had perfect weather. It was amazing to see the big screen flip up from out on the water with the Alps in the background. We didn't have a camera the first night, but we did for the Big Lebowski. Travis and Bomber had some White Russians to celebrate. Good times! Click here for pictures.

	Last Party at the Erickson's Our good friends, Jeremy and Davilynn are moving back to Minneapolis at the end of August, but before they packed up the apartment they had some of us over for one last party. We had a lot of great memories at their place. This night was no excpetion. There was tons of food and drink (partyly because they were trying to unload everything before the move). It was delicious as usual. We even had some fun with the Wii. The usual games were played...Guitar Hero, Cow Racing, and Tennis. It's truly the end of an era! Click here for pictures.

	Jerry and Rosann Come to Visit Travis’ Uncle Jerry and Aunt Rosann were on a 2-week trip around Europe and came to stay with Kelly and Travis for a weekend in Zurich. They all went to Zeughauskeller their first night in town with friends Richie and Katy. The next day was spent touring Zurich in the morning and a quick trip to Luzern in the afternoon. Top on the list was the Lion Monument and the old bridge. Luzern was also celebrating its first annual Old Town Festival with stages setup all over the city. They had a great time exploring and even found a break-dancing group along the way! Click here for pictures.

	Charlie, Weddings and Beach House It was time for another trip back to the States. On the agenda this time were 2 Weddings (Kelly’s cousin Kim and our friends Ryan and Saramarie), relax in between the weddings a beach house they rented on Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin, and hopefully meet our new nephew Charlie! First wedding was Kim and Ryan’s wedding, which was held outside on a beautiful day near Kelly’s hometown. We had a great time at the reception, while catching up with all of the family. During the week, Travis and Kelly had Travis_ mom, Aunt Janet, brother, and Kelly’s parents all staying at the beach house. It was a nice time to relax, grill some food, have campfires, and do some kayaking on the lake. One of the days they even all went out on Ryan and Saramarie’s pontoon boat...lots of fun! John and Mandy’s second son, Charlie, was born during the week too, so Travis and Kelly were able to head to the hospital to welcome the new addition to the family. It was so nice to have everyone together. The trip ended with a bang for Ryan and Saramarie’s wedding. It was a beautiful day for the church wedding and some amazing pictures around Door County. Travis was in the wedding party, so got to ride the trolley around. What a great trip home! Click here for pictures.

	Day trip to the Rhinefalls Travis and Kelly joined their friends Davilynn, Jeremy and Andrea for a Sunday afternoon trip to the Rhinefalls, located near the border of Germany. It was a short train ride away to see Europe’s largest waterfall (in terms of volume of water that runs through it). It was a nice day for the trip and the group enjoyed a quick boat ride that took them right up to the falls. They also got a good seat for lunch overlooking the waterfall. A really fun day with good friends. Click here for pictures.

	Trip to Cairo, Egypt Since Travis and Kelly had a 4-day weekend, they booked a trip to Cairo, Egypt to see the only surviving Ancient Wonder of the World...the Pyramids of Giza! We arrived in Cairo on Thursday afternoon and enjoyed the nice pool at the Conrad Hotel. It was a great location and we had access to the Executive Lounge, which had free drinks! Friday was the big day for the Pyramids, so we hired a car to drive us and stopped off to buy some papyrus (paper) and lotus (fragrance) before getting our camels! That's right, we both rode a camel in the Sahara desert to see the 9 pyramids (3 large, 6 "Queen" pyramids) and the Sphinx (protector of the Great Pyramid). Our guide was very nice and let us explore the area and even climb on the Great Pyramid. It was a powerful and unforgetable experience. On Saturday, we visited the Egyptian Museum where there are hundreds of Egyptian artifacts, but the most intriguing are the collection of real mummies and the treasures (including the death mask) of King Tut! Sunday we relaxed by the pool before heading to the airport, only to be turned away because the flight was overbooked. We eventually made it back on Monday with some great memories (and pictures) of us riding camels next to one of the Wonders of the World. Click here for pictures.

	Kelly Hiking at Uetliberg Kelly went for an afternoon hike with her friends Tara and Andrea. It was the first time Kelly had been up to see Uetliberg, which is the highest point in Zurich with some great views over looking the city and the lake. Just another day in Zurich! Click here for pictures.

	Chloe comes to visit with Mouser Travis and Kelly’s friends, Richie and Katy, brought their daughter Chloe over one afternoon. They didn’t have much of a choice to be honest after a storm hit us all quickly while eating at _Beer Island_. It was fun to see how Mouser reacted to Chloe. Mouser would not step on Chloe’s blanket, but did do some sniffing around to make sure she wasn’t up to any funny business. Click here for pictures.

	Travis' Birthday in Beaune, France For Travis' 31st birthday, Travis, Kelly, Jeremy and Davilynn took a road trip to the Burgundy wine region in France. They stayed in the town of Beaune, which was a nice relaxing place to start the wine tasting. The first day included some wine tasting, sight-seeing and our first time going to a Michelin Star rated restaurant. It was amazing (except for the mustard ice cream)! On Saturday we all went on an organized wine tour and visited 3 different wine growers. The guide was good at explaining the wines, how the vines grew, etc. The best part, of course, was the 30 different wines we ended up tasting. We ended our trip on Sunday with our second trip to our favorite eauclarie shop. Damn those things were good! Click here for pictures.

	Richie and Bomber in the Zurich Marathon Our friends Richie and Bomber decided back in December that they wanted to run in the Zurich Marathon in April. After a lot of training the day finally arrived. We joined Katy and Davilynn to cheer on the boys as they ran along the course. We got to see them 4 different times during the course of the day. It was perfect weather and a lot of fun. Click here for pictures.

	Easter in Istanbul Since we had 4 days off for the Easter weekend, Travis and Kelly headed to Istanbul, Turkey. It is considered the gateway city to Asia as part of the city is in Europe and the other in Asia. We started off with drinks until 3 AM at a bar near our hotel. Great music and we made friends with some "kiwis". Friday was used for recovery and some shopping along the main streets. Saturday was the highlight as we had a private tour of the main sights of Istanbul. We toured the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, and more all in one day! On Sunday we did a 1-hour cruise on the Bosphorus and got to see the Bosphorus Bridge up close and personal. We also spent some time in a small area near the bridge to check out the local market. Before we left on Monday we also got the full Turkish Hamam experience at our hotel. It was nicer than the big places because it was private. Overall we really enjoyed the feel of the Turkish capital and hope to go back soon. Click here for pictures.

	Last Ski Day of Season On our second trip back to St. Anton, we went with Jeremy and Davilynn and this time stayed at a ski-in/ski-out hotel near the Mooserwirt (aka - apres-ski heaven)! Since it was later in the season, there was some good skiing in the morning and lots of time for the sun chairs in the afternoon. We started by skiing over a couple of peaks to go to the restaurant with a slide down to the toilets. Very helpful when wearing ski boots! Then we made our way back towards our hotel and started our apres-ski at Taps and Krazy Kangaroo. Luckily they had open sun chairs so we took advantage. We then skied down a 100 meters to the next set of bars by Mooserwirt. A great, live rock band was playing so we hung out there for a while. At the end of the day we hiked back up the hill to our hotel. It was the prefect way to end the ski season. Click here for pictures.

	Skiing in Gstaad After a weekend off from skiing in the heat of India and Dubai, we headed to Gstaad in southwest Switzerland with Jeremy and Davilynn. Unfortunately, the first day's weather was not cooperating. It was a bit rainy in the afternoon so we decided to head back to our hotel by 2 pm. Luckily the hotel had a very nice spa area so we all relaxed there after lunch. We headed into town for dinner that night and found a nice pub serving Belgian beers...can't beat that! Skiing on Sunday was much better as the rain had turned to some fresh powder overnight! We skied quite a few runs in the morning. Afterward, we all headed back to the hotel to get changed and caught the train back to Zurich. It was another great weekend in the Alps! Click here for pictures.

	Kelly goes to Dubai for work Kelly was asked to go to a training course in Dubai at the end of March. Although most of the time was spent in a training room or the hotel, she was able to sneak away to see some of the sights around this booming city in the middle of the desert. She was glad she was able to see Dubai, but wasn't all that impressed as there is a lot of construction and it seemed like most large cities. Guess we won't make it a big priority for us to go back together. Unless, we decide we want to go to Ski Dubai! Click here for pictures.

	Travis heads back to India Travis headed back to India for his second business trip since October. This trip was much shorter and not much time for sight-seeing. Landing on Sunday morning allowed for some time to relax by the swimming pool at the Leela Palace (very nice 5-star hotel). Also, some new experiences this trip was to visit the Bangalore Palace, the Parliment building, an auto-rickshaw ride to the hotel and to see how Indian carpets were made. The rest of the trip was all business, but Travis did get to see some familiar faces and reconnect with IBM and Infosys partners. The food was always amazing during the meals at each company and the group dinners at night. Can't wait to go back! Click here for pictures.

	Kraft Ski Day in Hoch Joch, Austria The Kraft Ski Day was held in Austria again this year, but was at different mountain called Hoch Joch. Unlike the year before, the weather was gorgeous! Sunny, warm and perfect for relaxing at the outside bar. Travis entered the race again this year and did much better than the year before, placing 4th in the visitor's class. The reception was nice and food very good. We did the usual raffle and got the standard things again this year, like Milka products, shirts, etc. But, when the big prizes were announced we won Milka skis!!! They are a nice pair of Elan skis with the Milka purple cows on them. They are just the right size for Kelly. Looks like we'll need a matching purple outfit for next year...haha! Click here for pictures.

	First Trip to St. Anton, Austria Kelly and Travis were really excited to check-out the St. Anton ski resort as it is famous for its apres-ski. Tara and her friend David from New York City joined us for the weekend trip. Our hotel was very nice with 4-course dinner included in the traditional Austrian style. On Saturday, the ski conditions were perfect so David and Travis spent most of the day off-piste playing in the powder. It was amazing to work down through the trees with snow flying over your head! If powder skiing wasn't good enough, we found the best apres-ski bar yet called Mooserwirt. There were people all over the place having a good time and dancing to the music. On Sunday the weather was good, but still spent a good amount of time in the off-piste powder. On our way back to Zurich on the train we knew we had found our new favorite ski resort. Click here for pictures.

	Wii Party at Tara's Tara had a big party over at her place for when her friend David came to visit. Travis and Kelly brought along the Wii and the Guitar Hero equipment for the entertainment. It was a lot of fun with the two guitars, lots of food, and even more booze. Towards the end of the night the other games, like bowling and tennis go going an quite competitive. Travis got whooped by our friend Jim in tennis. Good thing he is better at the Guitar Hero to redeem himself! Click here for pictures.

	Meet Baby Chloe Long!!! Our really good friends Richie and Katy Long have welcomed their first child, Baby Chloe. Kelly and Travis went to see the new addition at the hospital when she was just 3 days old. She was so adorable and stayed awake to say hello at least for a little while. Katy was recovering nicely and enjoying the super nice Hirslanden hospital, which was more like a hotel! Congratulations to the new parents!!! Click here for pictures.

	Ski Weekend to Saas Fee It was back to the slopes of Switzerland as Travis and Kelly headed to Saas Fee. We went with our usual partners in crime, Jeremy and Davilynn. Jeff and Clarie also were there, but Claire didn't participate much considering she was 7 months pregnant. The first night we spent in a hotel just outside of the main village, but on the second night we switched to a fancy hotel that we used a voucher for that Kelly had received from work. It was great to take advantage of the spa area. The skiing itself was pretty good. It was up on a glacier so the snow was in good condition. Although the runs were a lot of fun, the lift system was a bit strange. Lots of cable cars, but not many ski lifts, which meant you had to take off the skis and do a lot of walking. In the end we enjoyed the trip and were glad we didn't have to pay for the 2nd night's hotel charges! Click here for pictures.

	Big Group goes to Ski in Austria There was a big group of us that went to ski in the Austrian Alps for a weekend. It included Travis, Kelly, Tara, Andrea, Peter, Camilla, Claudia, and some other friends of Andrea's. We stayed at the Montafonerhof in a big condo-like room. The first ski day was spent at Silvretta, the biggest of the resorts in Montafon. There was fresh snow on Saturday so that meant lots of people and lots of moguls. It was a fun day but certainly more people that we'd hoped for. The next day of skiing was better as we went to Golm. This is the same place as the Kraft Ski Day in 2008. But, this time we had perfect weather and groomed trails. There weren't nearly as many people as the day before so we cruised all over the mountain. We also met up with Chantal and her boyfriend Silvan. Best part was Andrea took our skis back for us so the train ride was easy! Click here for pictures.

	Last Ski Trip with Helen and Mark It was a great final day of skiing in Lenzerheide for our friends Helen and Mark before they headed back to the US. After the going away party, we decided to have one last day in the Swiss Alps (at least last day for now). The Opheim's and the Erickson's were in attendance. The skiing conditions were great and we even got Kelly to go down all the black runs in the afternoon. Not only did she get down them with no problems, she never fell and went pretty fast. Looks like Travis needs to get some lessons to stay better than the wife. Click here for pictures.

	Going away party for Helen and Mark As the expression goes, all good things must come to an end. Helen and Mark were leaving for the US in a week so Bomber and Davilynn threw them a going away party with a raclette dinner. It was a great night with lots of wine and cheese. Funniest part was when we had made so much noise that the lady in the apartment below walked into Jeremy and Davilynn's place and asked Mark (in Swiss-German) to please be more quiet. Oops! It was a good send off anyway. Click here for pictures.

	Ski Weekend in Davos Travis, Kelly, Jeremy, Davilynn, Davilynn's friend Amy, Helen, Mark, Laura and Tara all headed to Davos for another weekend of skiing. We all stayed at the same place as last year, Sunstar. The conditions were really good so we spent the first day at Parsenn. We all split up to ski all over the mountain, but somehow we all ran into each other in the afternoon for some lunch. On Sunday, the weather changed and we didn't get to do much skiing due to visibility at Jakobshorn. But, Jeremy, Mark, and Travis made up for it by doing a really hard and mogul filled black run. It took us quite a while to make it down that first one. Then, at the end of the day, Travis braved the half-pipe in front of the main apres-ski bar. The first few turns went ok, but then fell at the end. Good thing we got it on film...thanks Bomber! Click here for pictures.

	New Year's Eve in Lenzerheide Travis and Kelly joined Jeremy and Davilynn for New Year's Eve in Lenzerheide last minute. Our friend Jason from college was in town with is girlfriend Melita, who is from Switzerland. Jason's parent's were also in town for the holiday so there was a big dinner at Melita's mothers. It was a cool experience to spend New Years in a Swiss home. We started with dinner and drinks. Then at midnight we lit some fireworks in the backyard. After all that we went to the New Year's Eve party at a bar in town. The group included the Opheim's, Erickson's, Jason, Melita, Melita's mother and brothers, and family friends...the Doctor and his wife. We stayed up until 5 am! Let's just say we didn't get much skiing done on New Year's Day and it was a long train ride home. Click here for pictures.

	A few days in Budapest Travis and Kelly decided on Christmas Day to plan a trip...somewhere. After looking at flight prices and hotel deals, we ended up deciding on the Four Seasons Hotel in Budapest! We rarely splurge on such luxury, but there was a buy 2 nights and get the 3rd free deal going on. We enjoyed nice dinners with foie gras, a concert in the cathedral, a tour of the caves, and a night cruise on the river. We also made it to the thermal baths for some relaxing. However, the main attraction was the hotel itself. The spa area, room service and views of the Chain Bridge were all we needed. It was a very relaxing few days in Budapest. Click here for pictures.

	Christmas in Zurich! It was our first Christmas we have spent in Zurich and away from our families. It was definitely different, but we wanted to stay in the Christmas spirit so we decorated our apartment using the small tree we brought from the US. This year we didn't have any smoking converter issues! We were able to decorate the tree with ornaments we have collected in our many travels over the years. It was fun to remember all the places we've gone. We also invited our friend Tara over to exchange gifts. It was fun to have a mini-Christmas in our Zurich home. Click here for pictures.

	Skiing in Samnaun / Ischgl To start our Christmas vacation off right, Kelly and Travis joined Bomber and Davilynn on a ski trip to Samnaun for 4 days. It is right on the Swiss / Austrian border, so we stayed in Samnaun (Switzerland), but also skied into Ischgl (Austria). The resort was fantastic with long runs and lots of different terrain. It gets our vote for the best place we've skied yet! Saturday we all took it easy to get our "ski legs" back. After going to a good dinner, we stopped by a few bars on the way home. After along night at the Why Not bar, we decided not to ski on Sunday...oops! So, we did a spa day and got some fondue that night to prepare for a killer Monday of skiing. We all did over 10 long runs and we were beat by the end of the day. We finished our trip with some skiing in the morning and headed back to Zurich. It was a great way to start the ski season! Click here for pictures.

	Germany Christmas Markets The Erickson's and the Opheim's rented a car and headed up to Germany for a weekend of Christmas markets. First, we went and stayed in Rothenburg, which is famous for its remaining medieval old town and making of christmas ornaments. Our friends, Jeff and Claire, and a few more of their friends also came along. We all had a good time exploring the Christmas markets and went out to a good dinner on Saturday night. The next day we swung through the most famous place for Christmas markets in Germany...Nuremberg. It was a huge square with hundreds of Christmas stands. After walking around for a couple hours, sampling the gluhwein (hot, spiced wine) and marzipan, we headed back to Zurich. It was a fun weekend with some great friends. Click here for pictures.

	1st Ski Day of Season It is that glorious time of year again! Travis snuck away for the first ski day in early December with Bomber and Jeff at Flumserberg. Visibility wasn't the greatest at times, but it was good to be back on the slopes! Click here for pictures.

	Thankgiving back in the US Travis and Kelly went back for Thanksgiving this year for a full week. Since they weren't coming back for Christmas, we packed that in too! Oh, and some birthdays too! The first few days were spent in Evanston relaxing "at home". We also met up with Ryan and Sara for dinner and got to see the Bushaw's too. Next it was off to Slinger to celebrate Dan's birthday, Jack's 1st birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving! We had such a nice time and it actually felt a lot like Christmas when we were opening gifts. Thanksgiving Day we spent at Pat at Ken's house...food was delicious as always! Then it was back to Chicago to meet up with Travis' family. Dad and bro made the long trip so we didn't have to travel too much! We had some dinner and played games a Dave and Buster's. We also celebrated both Mom and Dad's birthday and surprised them with some small Christmas gifts too. It was another quick trip, but it is always nice to see family and friends. Click here for pictures.

	Julie comes to visit! Our friend Julie came to Zurich for work in November and stayed the weekend with us! It was really nice having her stay with us. Since Kelly was behind on some school work, only Travis and Julie went to do some sightseeing in Zurich. This was perfect since Travis never gets the chance to see the sights. They walked around both the Old Town and Niederdorf areas. It was a really nice, sunny, although a bit chilly day. They discovered a nice park near the Lindenhof area and got some nice photos there. Overall, it was just nice to catch-up and stroll around Zurich. Click here for pictures.

	Travis goes to India for work For Travis's new role at Kraft, he manages the relationship with the IBM off-shored resources in India. So, he had the opportunity to go to India for 2 weeks with some of the other Kraft team. The first week was spent in Hyderabad and Bangalore having various meetings. During the weekend, a big group went to Agra (via Delhi) to see the Taj Mahal. It was an amazing experience to drive from Delhi to Agra with the contrast of people, cars, trucks, cows, camels, etc. The Taj Mahal itself is truely a wonder of the world. Perfectly proportioned, it seemed like a dream even standing in front of it. Travis was even able to see it 3 different times (during the day, the sunset, the sunrise). Because of the marble used, the Taj seems to change colors in different lighting. The second week was spent in back in Hyderabad. His colleagues at IBM were nice enough to show him around during the evenings. India is the most unique culture Travis has ever experienced. Touring is an overload to the senses. Most importantly, Travis was able to see a real life snake charmer. That's right...maybe I've met my match! Click here for pictures.

	Back to Oktoberfest! It was that glorious time of year again...Oktoberfest in Munich! Travis and Kelly headed by train again on Friday to meet up with Jeremy and Davilynn, who were already in Munich. Friday night was spent at the Augustiner Bierhalle to get warmed up for the big day! This year it was a different group of friends, but the same lederhosen and drindl were worn! We had a group of 16...Travis, Kelly, Bomber, Davilynn, Mark, Helen, Todd and 9 other mutual friends. We went to the same Spaten tent as last year since we knew it was a good time and how to get a table. After standing in line from 7:30 AM, we were able to enjoy the table from 9 AM to 4 PM. That was plenty of time to put down the liters of beer and enjoy the local "cuisine". As usual it is the best time we can almost remember...haha! Click here for pictures.

	Freestyle 2008 in Zurich Freestyle is Europe's largest freestyle sports event where skiers, snowboarders, skaters, and motocross riders compete against each other. Think X-Games! Kelly and Travis went this year to check out the action on Saturday night. It was amazing to see the events in person! Click here for pictures.

	Travis' Mom comes to visit! Travis' mom, Debbie, came to visit for almost 2 full weeks in September. The first weekend we toured 4 countries in 2 days! Starting in Switzerland, we rented a car and drove to Germany to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. The weather did not cooperate, but we were able to see enough of this famous castle. Next we drove to Innsbruck, Austria which had a very nice Old Town. On the way back from Austria we went through the tiny country of Liechtenstein and got a passport stamp...because we could! During the week, Debbie explored the Zurich area, but the big trip over a long weekend was to Italy! We took the train this time down to Milan to see the Duomo Church and the amazing Last Supper painting by DaVinci. The weekend was spent hiking in Cinque Terra, which is a series of 5 towns on the Italian coast. The views were amazing and luckily the weather was great for hiking! The trip ended with a short trip to Switzerland's capital, Bern. Here we saw the home where Einstein lived when he discovered his Theory of Relativity. Overall, we had an amazing time with memories to last a lifetime! Click here for pictures.

	Canyoning in Interlaken Travis went with a group of friends to Interlaken to go canyoning. This is where you wear nothing but a helmet and wetsuit and make your way through a canyon. How, you ask? By jumping off of 30 foot cliffs, riding down 50 miles per hour waterfalls and repelling from the rocks, of course!!! It was quite the adrenaline rush to say the least and all of us survived...kind of. Travis' knees were pretty sore after the fast waterslide and wasn't walking so great the next few days, but it was well worth the trip. The photos look pretty amazing, but there is a video on YouTube of the exact canyoning trip that we did. Even our guide is in the video talking about the 50 mph waterslide. Check in out by clicking here. Click here for pictures.

	Travis goes to see the Pandas in Vienna Travis made another business trip to Bratislava in Slovakia, but this time he decided to make a small detour to go see the pandas at the zoo in Vienna, Austria. Pandas are his favorite animal and didn't want to miss his chance to see them. Click here for pictures.

	Kelly's Parents, Aunt and Uncle come to visit! It was Kelly's mom and dad's first trip to Europe and we all had a blast! The first weekend they were here we all made a trip to St. Moritz for a day before taking the Glacier Express to Zermatt. The Glacier Express is a 7.5 hour train ride through Switzerland and we saw some amazing mountains, lakes, waterfalls and country-side. With only one day planned in Zermatt, we were not sure if we would see the famous Matterhorn peak, but "Matty" cooperated and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect day in the perfect Swiss town. The following weekend we went to the Italian side of Switzerland to see Locarno and Bellinzona. Although the forecast was 80% rain, we had blue skies again and got to see the lakes from above and the castles in Bellinzona. Besides the great sights, we also had some fun with the Wii and going out to some traditoinal Swiss dinners. It was an amazing trip for all of us and we were very happy they all were able to visit. Click here for pictures.

	Streetparade 2008 That's right! It was time for Streetparade again and this year we were prepared. A bunch of our friends met up at Bill's house to get dressed up and start drinking for some social lubrication. Everyone had a really good time getting on the outfits and then hitting the streets. It was a gorgeous day for the parade, so we headed down to the Bellevue area to check out the action. There were tons of "freaks" like us out having a fun and dancing to the techno music. Travis really enjoyed his bloody mary drinks too. That is probably the main reason he we home in bed before 9 PM! Click here for pictures.

	Exploring the French Riviera For Kelly's actual birthday (August 2) we booked a 3.5 day trip to the south of France, namely the French Riviera. We flew from Basel to Nice on Thursday night. We stayed in a small town north of Nice called St. Paul de Vence. It was the perfect little hotel in a great old town. We spent the night exploring St. Paul and having dinner. On Friday we spent the day in Cannes (where the film festival is each May) on its sandy beaches. Now typically the beaches in France are rocky, but Cannes has imported all the sand from some place else! That night we had dinner in Mougins and had excellent Foie Gras! On Kelly's birthday we went to a "locals" beach near Monaco called Plage Mala. It was down in a small cove with amazing views. That night we went into Monaco to check-out the Monte Carlo Casino and the hundreds of luxury cars! We had a really nice dinner near the ocean where we saw all the rich people get out of their Bentley's, Lambo's, and Rolls Royce's! Sunday we didn't fly back until late at night, so we were able to spend our day on the beach in Nice. We also took a small tour of the city on a miniture train car. We got to see great views from the palace grounds, but unfortunately our camera was out of battery power! But, the weather was great the entire time and was a perfect way to end the long weekend. Click here for pictures.

	Kelly's Mexican themed Birthday Party Our friend Laura was kind enough to host a party at her place after the Greece trip to share pictures and stories. Well, it turned into a fun filled night of eating authentic Mexican food (can't find it here in Switzerland) and Kelly's birthday party! The group enjoyed the food, tequila shots and margaritas while playing games. The favorite game ended up being charades and we played for hours. It was a great time and we can't wait for the next party at Laura's Mexican Cantina! Click here for pictures.

	Sailing the Greek Islands and Athens Where to even begin!?! This was one of the best vacations Travis or Kelly have ever been on. Travis, Kelly and 6 other ladies (Tara, Laura, Karen, Sarah, Liz, Michelle) chartered a private sailboat for 7 days to sail the Greek Islands. It was a 54 foot long sail boat named Assos...that's right Assos! We had 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms to share among us. The Skipper, Jorgos (who was awesome), had his own "room" that was more a hole than anything. We all met in Athens, unfortunately Travis and Kelly's luggage wasn't as lucky...after stressing for 12 hours and running to the ferry, they were finally able to relax on the ferry ride from Athens to Syros to pickup the boat and start sailing. Unfortunately, Gale Force Winds prevented us from sailing for a couple of days! Once we did start sailing we made it from Syros to Mykonos for one night, then to Paros for 3 nights and headed back to Syros at the end of a fun filled week. Although that wasn't the end of the trip! We headed back to Athens to relax for a couple of days and go see the Acropolis where the Pantheon is located. What a fantastic vacation! There are a TON of pictures to tell the story. Click here for pictures.

	Radiohead in Amsterdam This past Christmas Travis got Kelly tickets for the Radiohead concert in Amsterdam. It is Kelly's favorite band and there isn't a much better place to see Radiohead than Amsterdam at the Westerpark openair stage. The concert lived up to its expectations with a great set of songs and a fantastic light show. The concert was on a Tuesday night so we did a quick trip from Monday night to Wednesday afternoon. Click here for pictures.

	St. Gallen Openair Festival Since we couldn't go to Summerfest in Milwaukee this year, we decided to check out one of the openair festivals in Switzerland this summer at St. Gallen. They had a great lineup so Kelly and Travis got some tickets and headed to the Saturday show, which called for ZuriWest (local rockband), The Kooks (band from UK we really like) and Beck (one of our favorites). While there, we ran into a friend and co-worker Maria. She'd been there the day before so showed us around the grounds. It wasn't as big as Summerfest, but a similar atmosphere. It was much easier to get close to the stage for the big acts apparently because we ended up front and center for Beck! It was a great day and the bands all rocked! Click here for pictures.

	Hiking and Euro 2008 in Basel We decided that it would be good to enjoy the Switzerland outdoors (even if there isn't much snow anymore). So, we went hiking with our friends Mark and Helen near the Switzerland, Germany, France border. It was an easy hike and were able to see a castle (Burg Rotteln), wine vineyards, and beautiful country-side. The second big reason to go to Basel was that Holland was playing Russia in the Euro 2008 tournament at the stadium in Basel. The Holland fans wear bright orange and are always fun to party with, so we wanted to be part of the atmosphere. We weren't disappointed, but Holland was as they lost in the semi-final 1-3. Maybe next time! Click here for pictures.

	Football Fever in Zurich for Euro 2008 That's right...the fans of Europe's biggest football (soccer) tournament filled the city of Zurich with excitement. Austria and Switzerland were the Euro 2008 host countries, so there were lots of events going on the entire month of June. We made it back from the US in time for the final game played in Zurich to joing in the fun. We also spent a good number of nights in the FanZone, which was literally outside our door watching the other games. Although we enjoyed being close to the action, it was also difficult to get some sleep at night as the Coyote Ugly bar was setup outside our bedroom window. Let's just say we enjoyed our experience, but are glad it is now over! Click here for pictures.

	Wedding, Floods, Friends and Family We went back to the United States for about a week for our friend's wedding, ran into the big floods in Iowa, and caught up with friends and family. It started with Cody and Maureen's wedding, which was an absolute blast. Two words...BEAR FIGHT! We were happy to visit friends we hadn't seen in a long time. Then we went to see Travis' family in Mason City. The area was heavily flooded, so no getting to see Travis' dad race. As we checked into the hotel, we were informed the city would be shutting the water off! Guess no showers either! We did get to see both of Travis' grandmas but spent most of the time bailing water out of Grandma Opheim's basement. The highlight of the trip was seeing our Nephew and Godson Jack! He's gotten so cute (and big) since Christmas and we both had a ton of fun hanging out with the whole family. We rounded out the trip with a visit to Slinger to see Kelly's parents, Northfield to meet up with friends and Naperville to visit with Travis' mom and brother. What a great visit! Click here for pictures.

	Baby Shower for the Stone's Kelly helped plan a baby shower for friends and co-workers Richard and Kathy Stone. The party was at Tara's home and there was really big turnout. People brought food from their home countries and it was a hit! After the party, Kelly, Tara, Laura and Kirsten had planned on going to the Sex and the City movie. So, they got their party hats, fancy shoes and some cosmopolitans and went to the show. They all had a great time. Click here for pictures.

	Big Beer at Zeughauskeller One of our favorite places to eat in Zurich is an ammunition cellar turned restaurant and beer hall. It is called Zeughauskeller and we've been there tons of times. This time we went with Richie, Katy, and Mark. We also met a guy in line visiting from the US so he joined us as well. We hadn't heard about it before, but Mark ordered the table a 5 LITER BEER! It was enormous and hard to drink. As you'll see from the pictures, the girls had to use straws since it was so heavy. Seems there is always something new to learn! Click here for pictures.

	Sand Volleyball Fridays A group of us from Kraft decided that we wanted to play some volleyball at the nearby sand courts, so Jyotin setup the first Friday volleyball game. We had a pretty good turn out and were able to play 5 on 5. The games were good so we played around 6 games total. Our arms were a bit sore the next couple of days as a result. Afterward, we went to have a beer at Jyotin's place just around the corner. It turned out to be a few more beers and we all ended up ordering some pizza. It was a great way to end the work week! Click here for pictures.

	Random Weekend in Zurich This past weekend we didn't have any trips planned so we decided to enjoy Zurich for once. The weather was great so we headed over to the beer garden on the water to meet up with Helen and Mark early Saturday evening. To our surprise, we ran into some of Kelly's family! It was her cousin Erika, Aunt Judy, Uncle Gary and Erika's husband Chris. It doesn't get much more random than that! Also that night we went to Mike's for the Eurovision Song Contest, which is where European countries submit an original song and perform it on TV. 25 of them make it to the finals. Although we were late due to the surprise family visitors, Kelly won the bet by picking Greece, who got third. No one picked Russia who got first. Then on Sunday we decided to walk around the Old Town to some places we hadn't been yet. We had some great views of the mountains and city from a park up on a hill near our apartment. This is where we live! Click here for pictures.

	Trip to Lake Garda in Italy Since we had a 3-day weekend, Mike organized a trip to Torri del Bonaco, which is located on Lake Garda in the lake region of Italy. Joining the trip was Travis, Kelly, Tara, Laura and Bill. The 6 of us jumped into a rental mini-van and made the 6+ hour drive down to Italy. It was Travis' first trip to Italy and Kelly's second, but the first time was for work. Saturday was great weather, so Travis, Kelly and Tara hung out by the pool all day, while the others went to explore the area. That night we found a great little restaurant and the pasta was amazing, of course. Sunday the crew went to the nearby town of Verona. It was very nice with open markets and we found a nice lunch spot. We also went into the Anfiteatro Arena, which is an open-air opera house originally built in Roman times. Click here for pictures.

	Birthday trip to Barcelona...finally! The morning of Travis' actual 30th birthday, we flew to Barcelona. It is the one place Travis would have picked to go to in Europe should he have only one choice. For some reason it just never made it into the many trips that we have taken so far. We stayed near Las Ramblas (a famous street that has a lot nearby). For the birthday dinner, we went to the Speakeasy restaurant. To get to the dining area you had to walk to the hidden room behind the kitchen. The rest of the time was spent seeing the usual sights (Sagrada Familia church, Parc Guell, etc.) and adjusting our eating habits. Restaurants don't usually open until 9 PM and take reservations until after midnight! Click here for pictures.

	Travis turns 30! Well, actually we celebrated Travis' BIG 3-0 the Friday before because we would be in Barcelona. We had a big turn out with 24 people going to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant and those that were brave enough made it out to Paddy's for some late night dancing and drinking. As you can see from the pictures...it was a really good time! Travis was also surprised by some birthday cards and decorations that his mom sent along. It was really nice touch and made Travis' day! Click here for pictures.

	Monica's back in town! Our friend Monica came back to see stay with us for a couple of weekends. She was traveling for work and we were happy to have her back. We didn't do too much this time other than go out for dinners and catch up. Although, we did get the chance to get out on Lake Zurich when the weather was perfect on Saturday. Click here for pictures.

	Parades and burning snowman in Zurich The holiday is known as Sechselauten in Zurich and it the celebration of the coming of Summer. There is a parade on Sunday for the Children who get all dressed up in old fashioned outfits. Then on Monday the grown-ups get their turn. The whole event ends with the burning of a snowman or Boogg. There are fireworks in the Boogg that start to go off once the flames reach its head. The whole idea is that the longer the Boogg burns, the better the Summer will be. Also, the night after the Boogg blows up, there are parades of people going up and down the streets...including ours! The pictures we took were from out our window...crazy stuff! Click here for pictures.

	Final Ski Day in Engelberg That's right...the party is over! For the last ski day out after a fantastic season, Travis went without the usual crew and teamed up with a friend from work, Jan. We headed to the Engelberg ski area, which is where Mt. Titlis is...the place we visited last Fall with John, Mandy, Cody and Maureen. To our surprise there was tons of powder, so we went off the trails (off-piste) and had a great day. Unfortunately, Travis didn't have much experience and held Jan up most of the day (who is Swiss and been snowboarding for many years). Only 6 months until next ski season! Click here for pictures.

	Kelly goes to Athens for work Kelly had the chance to sample Athens before our big Greece trip this July by going for a work meeting. She took some pictures of the hotel and crystal blue water. Now we are really excited for our sailing trip! Click here for pictures.

	Cassi comes to visit! Kelly and I had some more visitors. This time it was my cousin Cassi and her friend Kim. We had a great time showing them around Zurich and directing them on their journey through Europe (Paris, Munich, Milan, Interlaken, and Zurich). Even in their busy schedule we were able to get them out for some drinks in Zurich, including the fancy whiskey bar (Widder Bar) for Cassi's birthday drink. We also made the trip to Interlaken, but unfortunately it was too cloudy to see much. Oh well, we know how to make our own fun! Click here for pictures.

	Nice, warm day in Laax/Flims As the ski season is coming to a close, we decided to hit the slopes yet again. This time it was to Flims/Laax and we had a great day with warm temperatures (50 degrees in the sun) and amazing views. This time we were joined by Richie, Katy, Bomber and Davilynn. Actually Richie and Katy drove us in their RAV-4, which saved us from dragging the skis to the train! Click here for pictures.

	Easter Weekend in Davos Since Kraft was so nice to let us off of work the Friday before and Monday after Easter, we decided to take advantage by going to Davos for a 3-day ski weekend. Since we'd been to Davos a few times already, we knew we would not be disappointed...and we weren't! We went with Jeremy, Davilynn, Helen, Mark, Jeff and Claire. Friday it was snow which was good for ski conditions, but not so much for visibility. However, Saturday was a gift from above as we had over almost 2 feet of new snow and bright sunny skies! Sunday brought a bit more new snow and a great way to end the best ski weekend ever! Click here for pictures.

	Kraft Ski Day at Golm in Austria The Kraft plant in Bludenz, Austria has an annual ski event at a nearby resort called Golm. The Zurich office was invited along, so we all got in a bus early Saturday morning and headed to Austria to join in the fun. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad but we had some fun activities to keep us busy. Travis entered the Ski Race against the Swiss and Austrians. The good news was that he survived. The bad news was that the winner was twice as fast! Travis, Kelly, Richie and Katy also participated in a snowtube relay race, which we got about 8th place in...maybe next year! We made the best of the day and won some Milka chocolate...can't complain! Click here for pictures.

	Cirque du Soleil's Delirium The world famous Cirque du Soleil, known for its amazing acrobatic shows in Las Vegas, has a show touring Europe called Delirium. Erick organized for a group of us from Kraft to go see it at Zurich's Hallenstadion. It was a really good show, but unfortunately pictures were not allowed. The picture to the left is the curtain before the show. I can't wait to see the even bigger shows in Vegas!

	Davos...here we come again Davos was a great time the weekend before (with the exception of the big wipeout), so we went back for some more fun. The group was much smaller...only Travis, Kelly, Davilynn and Tara. After a great morning of skiing we stopped for some lunch. It got so warm in the afternoon that most of it was spent on getting a tan in the sun chairs, listening to music and watching the paragliders circle above us. Click here for pictures.

	Bremen, Germany for business trip Travis spent a week at training course in Bremen, Germany where Kraft has its German head office. The town was very nice and had a lot to see. Although there are no pictures of it, he went to the Beck's Brewery Tour, which is made in only in Bremen. Click here for pictures.

	Davos (Jakobshorn) for the first time After a weekend in Paris, it was time to get back to the slopes. This time we decided to try Davos! A very well known ski area as the British Royal family often go here for their ski holiday. It was easy to see why they liked it so much. The views were some of the best we've seen yet! Joining us this time was a BIG crew of 14 - Kelly, Travis, Richie, Katy, their friend Mel, Bomber, Davilynn, Tara, Lauren, Kate and her two friends, Deanie and daughter Delanie. This was also the day that Travis had his BIG wipeout! Other than some big bruises he was fine. Too bad the same couldn't be said about his ski! A piece of the binding had broken and he spent the rest of the day on rental skis. It was a good thing that Davos had the best apres-ski scene to drown the pain and embarrassment. Click here for pictures.

	Six Nations Rugby in Paris! Kelly and I went to Paris with our friends Richie, Katy, Bomber and Davilynn. But, this was not your typically "romantic" weekend in Paris...it was time for Ireland vs France in a Six Nations Rugby showdown! Richie was able able to get us great seats to the game, which he refers to as the "Super Bowl" of rugby, and it did not disappoint. We ended up staying at the same hotel as the France team. We had to push our way past the France fans to get into the hotel to change for the game. This meant, of course, that we had to walk out of the hotel wearing green! I certainly got some looks from the fans, as I was wearing an Ireland jersey that Richie had given me! In the end, Ireland lost 26-21 but it was a great game and we enjoyed sampling the Irish Pubs in Paris! Click here for pictures.

	Small, but nice Hoch-Ybrig To switch up the routine a small group of us tried Hoch-Ybrig. We don't know how to pronounce it so we just called it Yogurt! Joining us on this trip was Tara, Laura, Bomber and Davilynn. Overall, we were impressed with the resort. It is definitely smaller than the other places we've skied, but with wide open runs and short lift lines we really enjoyed it. Click here for pictures.

	Meh wants to ski too! Each time we come home from skiing we put our skis and other gear out to dry. Well, it looks like Mouser (aka "The Meh") wants in on the Swiss Alp action too!

	Flumserberg...again and again Because its so close to Zurich, we ended up going to Flumserberg a couple of times in late January and early February. First, was with Erick, Grettel, Laura, Kirsten, Christian, and Tara. It was the first time for Erick, Grettel and Laura so they spent a lot of time "by the penguins" in ski school. The second trip was on a Friday with Richie, Katy, their friends Steve, Anna, and Lucy. Janina, Karsten and their little boy made it out that day too. As always, Flumserberg delivered some fun days out on the slopes. Click here for pictures.

	First full weekend of skiing! Since we liked Lenzerheide so much the weekend before, we decided to go back for a full weekend. We had a total of 9 people go...Kelly and me, Richie and Katy, Bomber and Davilynn, Helen and Mark, and Ralph. We all had a great time both days on nice snow and warm (approx. 40 degrees F) conditions. We stayed over at Hotel Staenzerhorn in Parpan, which was comfortable and convenient for the area. Saturday night we did some apres-ski in the hotel lobby and had dinner down the street. Very fun time with everyone who made it out!!! Click here for pictures. Click here for videos.

	Perfect Snow in Lenzerheide After a late night of rockin' out on the Wii...Kelly, me, Mike, Tara and Kate made it to Lenzerheide for a perfect day of skiing. It was blue skies, 35 degrees, and the most important part...2 feet of fresh snow! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to ski. The resort was very big compared to Flumserberg and we made tracks on as many runs as we could before the day was over. It was truly one of those, "We Live Here", moments! Click here for pictures. Click here for videos.

	Beware of the Wii When Kelly and I were back home for Christmas we got addicted to the Nintendo Wii game system. There are the sports games, like bowling, that Alison and Corey hooked us on. Then there is the Guitar Hero III that Ryan and Saramarie got us hooked on. Well, as soon as we came back to Zurich we bought both the Wii and the guitar and haven't stopped playing since. So, to spread the wealth...we invited Mike, Tara, and Kate over for a Wii party. It started with some friendly games of bowling, but we ended up playing the Guitar Hero game until 1 AM. That would have been fine if we didn't have to get up to ski at 5:30 AM!!! Anyway, we caught some of the action on our new camcorder. Some of the videos got too big to put online, but click here to see our friend Kate putting on a show!

	Christmas Back in the US When Kelly and I were back home for Christmas and were able to almost everyone. We hope so as we put on over 1,800 miles on the rental car!!! We started with a couple days in Naperville to see Travis' mom and brother. Then it was up to Whitelaw to see our new nephew Jack! After spending Christmas Eve and Day in Slinger visiting with Kelly's parents and extended family, we headed to Iowa to see Travis' dad and extended families. Then it was back to Wisconsin to visit with our friends Alison and Corey. We spent New Year's Eve in Evanston together at a nice dinner at Quince. The rest of the week was for visiting with friends and their babies! Click here for pictures.

	Skiing in Flumserberg That's right...the ski season is upon us! Our first weekend of skiing was in Flumserberg, which is a quick and easy 60 minute train ride from Zurich. The forecast was crappy, but we decide to give it a try anyway. It turns out we had 8 inches of new snow and most of the mountain to ourselves! It was the perfect first day out. I also went to Flumserberg the following weekend without Kelly, but joined up with Kate (my new ski buddy) and Bomber and his wife Davilynn. We had a great time and since it was earlier in the season...not too crowded. Click here for pictures.

	Thanksgiving in Zurich Our friend, Tara, hosted an American-style Thanksgiving feast at her place here in Zurich. There were about 15 of us in all from all over the world. Everyone brought something from their home country. But don't worry, we had our traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. as well! Click here for pictures.

	Kloten Flyers Hockey Game Kelly and I were invited to go to hockey game by a friend from work, Helen, and her husband Mark. We all had a great time watching the Kloten Flyers beat the SCL Tigers. It was Kelly's first hockey game ever! The energy of the crowd was amazing as they chanted, screamed, played drums, and sang songs the ENTIRE game. Be sure to check out the video to get a taste of the action. Click here for pictures. Click here for videos.

	Christmas in Prague Ok, so it wasn't quite Christmas when we were in Prague, Czech Republic, but it was the opening weekend of the Christmas Market and we were able to see the lighting of the big Christmas tree in the Old Town Square. Other than seeing the Christmas stuff, we enjoyed the old buildings and amazing architecture! Prague was spared during the World Wars so many of the buildings are orginal and as you will see in the pictures very cool. We also tried (and enjoyed) many different types of Czech beers at varoius beer halls, did some shopping (much cheaper than Zurich), and toured the churches and Castles. Click here for pictures. Click here for videos.

	First Christmas Tree in Zurich So, we decided to put up a Christmas tree in Zurich even though we won't be here. Problem was that we brought a 4.5 feet tall with the lights already built-in. Since the electricity is different here, we ran into a small problem. We tried to use a power adapter and at first the tree lit up just fine. Wouldn't you know it? Just after we get the entire tree decorated the lights began to flicker and something smelled like burning! That would be the power adapter...oops! But, as you can see we got some new lights here in Zurich and it all worked out.

	Zurich Restaurant Fire Right near our apartment in Zurich, one of the most famous Zurich restaurants burnt down! It was along the river just on the other side of the Grossmunster (big church). Kelly and I woke up in the morning and could smell the smoke, but only thought it was someone's cooking. The pictures I took on my way home from work. The firefighters worked on containing the fire and putting out all the ashes for over 24 hours. In case you were wondering, yes...we do have insurance! Click here for pictures.

	Wine Boats Every year in November, the wine boats come to Zurich. Since Kelly and I really like our wines, we had to go. Ok, Kelly went a total of 3 times, but who's counting!?! The way it works is there are about a half dozen boats that area wine shops have tasting booths in. For about $15 US dollars, you can sample all the wine you can handle. This of course helps with their wine sales as you can imagine. (sorry, but we didn't take any photos while on the boats...too busy drinking!)

	Introducing Mr. and Mrs. John and Mandy Puls!!! Kelly's brother John and Mandy got married on October 27th, 2007 in Whitelaw, WI. Congratualtions Mr. and Mrs. Puls! Kelly and I made the trip back and we are very happy that we did! It turned out to be a beautiful fall day and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was a small ceremony with immediate family only. Everyone went back to the newly married couple's home for a drink or two before going to a great dinner in Mannitowoc. Click here for pictures.

	Three's Company Kelly and I had our next visitor come to town...Monica! Monica also works for Kraft and has been working in the Paris, France office for the past 6 months. She stayed with us from Wednesday to Sunday and we all had a great time. The three of us had a great time exploring Zurich during the week. On Saturday, we took a tour bus to the city of Luzern. We also took cable cars to get to the top of Mt. Pilatus to see unbelievable views of the Alps. Then we took the world's steepest cog train back down the mountain and finished the day with a boat ride back to Luzern. Click here for pictures.

	One word...OKTOBERFEST!!! Kelly and I went to Munich, Germany a day earlier than the rest of our group for Oktoberfest. After a beer or two at the world famous Hofbrauhaus we stumbled across a store selling lederhosen and drindls. We ended up buying not only the outfits for ourselves, but our friends who were on the train behind us. On Saturday, we got up at 6:30 am to be sure we got to the tents in time to get a table. The whole day was a great experience being in the tent, singing, dancing, drinking and, yes, wearing our traditional Oktoberfest outfits...we can't wait for next year! Prost! Click here for pictures. And, if you dare...click here for videos.

	Building a Home in Zurich So, Kelly and I thought it would be a good idea to furnish our new apartment with IKEA furniture because it would be cheaper. Well, after building over 20 pieces of furniture (from wardrobes to lamps) we have a different perspective! Although, we must admit that now our apartment feels very much like home. It is amazing what a few familiar items will do to make you feel comfortable. Click here for pictures.

	Trip to Lugano Kelly and I took a trip with John and Mandy down to the Italian-side of the Switzerland. The town we visited was called Lugano. Lugano's architecture, sights and pizza were amazing. We spent the day exploring this very Italian city's small shops on cobblestone streets, taking the funicular train to the top of the mountain, etc. Click here for pictures.

	Trip to Mt. Titlis and Luzern The Crew (Me, Kelly, John, Mandy, Cody, Maureen) took a day trip to the top of the Alps. Our destination was Mt. Titlis (yes, it is pronounced how it looks!). Our day consisted of taking the train from Zurich to Luzern, which we stopped at on the way home for some fondue, and then took a cog train to the town of Engelberg. From there it was up a few gondolas and cable cars to some amazing views of the Swiss Alps. Click here for pictures.

	Our First Visitors!!! Kelly and I had our first visitor at the beginning of September. First to arrive was her brother John and his fiance Mandy. They stayed with us for a week and a half...we had a blast! Next to arrive was Travis' good friend from college, Cody and his fiance Maureen. They were on a trip to Greece and flew to Zurich for the weekend. The Fun Squad has gone GLOBAL! Click here for pictures.

	Streetparade 2007 Streetparade is the world's largest techno music festival and takes place in the heart of Zurich (aka - outside our front door). For one day the city is transformed into a huge night club with crazy outfits, body paint, wigs, fishnet stockings, and high-heels (and that's just what the GUYS wear!) Click here for pictures. If you're even more curious, here is the official website: www.streetparade.ch

	Working in the Lightcube The reason for our move is, of course, the new European Headquarters of Kraft Foods being opened in Zurich. The building is a brand new 8 story building that is being called The Lightcube. It is an exciting time in the building as they are still in the process of construction. Each day we come to work more and more is completed. Click here for pictures.

	Our Move Across the Pond Our flight to Zurich left on July 30th from Chicago O'Hare Airport. Although, with the time difference, we didn't land until 11 AM on July31st. Our first day in Zurich was not an easy going one. We had to check Kelly out of her temporary apartment, take ownership of our new apartment, register with the city that we were residents, get our temporary furniture delivered, and get some food in the house. Oh, and we had to transport our cat Mouser with us the entire time! Overall the day was a great success though. It all went very fast, but in less than 24 hours the Opheim's had left Chicago and ended up in our furnished apartment. Click here for pictures.

	Zurifascht and Apartment Hunting Our second time in Zurich together was to find an apartment. It is apparently very difficult to find a good place in the Zurich area, so we were a bit nervous about what we would find. We looked at a lot of very nice places but they were located outside of the city center. After I left, Kelly went to see an apartment in our ideal locationÖthat is where we live now! This trip was around the 4th of July and luckily there was Zurichfest going on. A festival that only happens once every 3 years! The fireworks show was the most amazing either of us had ever seen! Click here for pictures.

	Our Wedding Anniversary in Zurich Our first time together in Zurich was during our 1-year wedding anniversary on June 10th, 2007. Kelly was living there already for her short-term assignment with Kraft and we had just found out that we were moving there. We stayed at a nice hotel in Thawil along the coast of Lake Zurich and enjoyed the views of the water, mountains, and city. Click here for pictures.