Mason's First Haircut

It only took just under two years, but Mason's hair was finally long enough for us to take him for his first haircut today. With promises of a "special treat," Mason was willing to give the new experience a try - for about 2 seconds. After wetting down his hair, Mason's tears started to flow, and pretty much didn't let up until the very end. After finishing this traumatic event, Mason was rewarded with his "'pecial tweat" - a piece of chocolate. Looking at himself in the mirror, he told the rest of the salon that "I cute." Walking out of the salon, enjoying his spoils, Mason commented that his haircut was a "fun ouchie" and said he would like "anoder one."

Venice

Let me start this post by saying that I'm not bitter about the fact that Nicole, Mason, Joe and Cheryl took off last week for Venice while I stayed here and worked. Sure, it would be easy to be jealous of the opportunity to see one of the most unique and beautiful cities in the world. But, someone has to pay the bills you know - and I am glad to do it. Plus, I am very excited that Nicole and her parents were able to fully immerse themselves in the history and culture that is Venice. I can tell this trip had a profound effect on Nicole - in just a few days, she became distinctly more cultured and worldly. For example, after they had returned, as we all looked at the pictures they had taken, I asked Nicole about each of the centuries old cathedrals and palaces, wondering if she could tell me something about them. In response, Nicole would silently squint at each picture, before point to a corner of the photo and saying, "I'm not sure, but there was great shopping in this street over there." Again, I'm not bitter.
Other than shopping, the subject of most of the stories that returned from Venice was Mason (surprise, surprise). One evening, after a several course Italian dinner, desserts were delivered to the table. Mason, standing on his chair and performing for the restaurant, received a large bowl of chocolate ice cream. With wide-eyes, Mason grinned widely and said, "ooooh, big one. A big one." Unfortunately for Mason, he had been standing on his chair for a reason, and that reason also prevented him from comfortably sitting back down again. A recognizable odor soon enveloped the table, leaving little doubt about what Mason had been doing the last few minutes. Visibly agitated, Mason seemed to have an internal battle raging over whether the ice cream was worth sitting down. Mason then decided to consult the table behind him for advice. He turned and began saying "Poopie! Pooopie!" before Nicole was able to grab him and take him to the restroom.
Another interesting Mason story occurred on the train ride back to Lausanne from the Geneva airport. Before the train left, another boy near Mason's age sat down with his mother in the seats across the aisle. The boy wanted to play with Mason, and so he approached Mason's seat. Nicole reminded Mason he needed to say "bonjour" to his new friend. Mason then turned to the boy and said "Bonjour...boy." During the train ride, the boy decided to lift his shirt and show Mason that his tank top underneath featured a picture of Spiderman. Mason looked at the shirt and, clearly impressed, began saying "Spiderman! Spiderman!" while the boy pretended to shoot webs out of his wrists. Not to be outdone, however, Mason lifted his own shirt for the boy and pointed to his pale belly and said, "Belly butt. Belly butt." We are so proud.

Luzern and the Berner-Oberland

Nicole's parents were visiting, and we wanted to show them a little slice of Switzerland and so we decided to head to Luzern and then the mountainous region called the Berner-Oberland. Luzern is supposed to be the most beautiful city in Switzerland. Unfortunately, we cannot verify this claim because (as luck would have it), the day we visited Luzern, it was completely fogged in. We didn't let that stop our fun however. The city was worth visiting, even with the fog. Mason loved all of the street performers, and the old-town area with its 700-year old wooden bridges is pretty amazing. After spending the day walking around the parts of the city we could see, Joe went to the liquor store and bought a few bottles of wine. After polishing those bottles off in the hotel room, we headed to a restuarant recommended by our trusty travel companion, Rick Steves. We wanted to taste a traditional Swiss dish called Rosti, which is basically hash-browns, smothered with cheese and topped with an egg, sunny side up. Though we all liked the Rosti, I think to Nicole, this dish is pretty much manna from the heavens.
The next day we headed into the Berner-Oberland, where we were greated with much better weather. We drove up through a stunningly narrow valley, surround closely on both sides by 3,000 foot cliffs and numerous waterfalls. At the end of the road, there is a small town with one industry - operating a lift that carries tourists up to the other towns built into the mountainside. We took the lifts 10,000 feet up to the Schilthorn station (the site of Telly Savalas' mountain lair in the James Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and enjoyed a spectacular view and a short hike away from the station. On the way back down, we stopped at the town of Murren, which is perched at the top of a cliff overlooking the valley. There are no cars, doctors, or police in Murren - it is the quintessential Swiss village. You can only reach the town by ski lift or train. Ski cottages and small hotels and restaurants serving Fondue is pretty much all you can find in Murren. Mason found the town to be a little sleepy (he napped through most of it), but I think the rest of us thought it was pretty amazing.