Ich bin dreiunddreißig Jahre alt!

My turn! My turn for a birthday!

Alex took this one of our Candy Land bonanza

It was a quiet one: I'm easing gently into my next third of a century.  Although, if I were three years old, I probably would have thought my birthday was unbelievably cool: I got to play endless games of Candy Land, I got to go on a super-long scooter ride, and my favorite person gave me pretty flowers and a liter of my favorite ice cream.  Actually, from a thirty-three-year-old perspective, it doesn't sound so bad, either.

We actually had bigger plans, to spend a day in the sunshine at the lake, and then have piles of Chinese take-out for dinner.  But the sun didn't get the invitation to my birthday party.

Alex's Schmetterling

I did sneak out, just with Alex, when Dennis came home early, and he and I took a ride around the neighborhood. We ended at his school, where he was delighted to find that the butterfly his class released this morning was still in the same spot, probably trying to stay out of the rain.  He told me, in great length, all about the butterfly life cycle.  I now know that the German word for "cocoon" is "Kokon." And so do you.

When we got back home, we tried to figure out something to do for dinner that that wouldn't involve cooking.  We tried a neighborhood restaurant next to a kid-friendly playground.  Unfortunately, they didn't actually serve much food. Since we didn't feel like giving the kids muffins for dinner, we tromped around looking for other options, eventually ending at an Italian restaurant.  And although it was kind of drizzly, we decided to eat outside,under the awning, trading warmth for a more relaxed atmosphere.  And you know, relaxing while others were rushing for their trams, holding a glass of wine and watching the mist, eating risotto: it was really nice.

I must say, I really loved the birthday wishes that came in from all of you, all day long.  And my friend Susannah surprised me with cupcakes during this morning's integration class.  (We learned about Swiss Government: I'll spare you the history lesson this week, but I may hit you extra hard next Wednesday.) And I still can't get over incredibly cute gift I received from Alex's preschool friends in Kirkland, which they took at their end-of-school picnic:

And, after some thought, I figured out what I want for my birthday.  It seems a real shame to live in Switzerland for a year and to come home without a cuckoo clock to hang over the fireplace.  (Granted, the Swiss don't actually seem to own cuckoo clocks, but still.) So I've commissioned Dennis to take the kids to pick out something that they can always associate with this year.

And I gave myself a little gift, too, spending a good chunk of today in one of my favorite activities, planning a weekend trip.  We'll be heading to Lausanne this weekend, having discovered that Monday is another school holiday, this time for Pfingstmontag, or Pentecost Monday.

Just when I almost managed to catch up on writing...