What a day!

Lac de Joux and Sledding
Before Ryan and Nikki left they introduced us to their neighbors Pierre-Alain and Fabienne. They have two girls named Morgan and Alison who are 5 and 8. We enjoyed spending a few minutes with them and Pierre-Alain invited us to make tentative plans for Wednesday.
Well, Wednesday arrived and this was the case:

The forecast called for snow all day. As it snowed, and snowed, and snowed, the morning hours carried on. The girls did a little bit of school work, I did some laundry, and Jeff vacuumed. We said amongst ourselves, "I'm sure Pierre-Alain will cancel today. It is snowing. He can't possibly want to go outside! We will get together another day."
Well, that was not the case! Jeff went next door around 12:30 (we were supposed to meet at 1) and Pierre-Alain said, "Yes! Of course we are going! This is not a big deal."
OK. It looked like a blizzard to me...
So we scrambled to put on some snow gear and get ready! We went outside and Pierre-Alain was loading a bunch of sleds into the two cars. We packed up the boys (dogs) and away we went following Pierre-Alain, literally, over the mountains and through the woods. The snow kept coming and this was our first time driving in the snow! We told Pierre-Alain that we were a little nervous because the car was not ours and he was very patient with us. ;) We drove up the mountain roads where the snow banked 4-5' on either side of us! It was like Big Bear on steroids!
Eventually he pulled into the parking lot of a small hotel and restaurant. We voiced some concern about the snow to Pierre-Alain because we did not have any chains and the car did not belong to us. His reply was, "No problem. German car." (Oh My Goodness!) Surprisingly the car handles very well and had no problems with the snowy roads. I think that is because the Swiss are required to have snow tires on their vehicles. Anyhow, we unloaded the sleds and he showed us a run behind the hotel. The sled run was a mile long.
The kids got out and hopped on their sleds and down they went laughing the whole time! It was so much fun!! Even the dogs loved it! They chased us all down the hill sometimes even running just ahead of us! I wish I could have taken some video of the dogs running with the sleds but I was holding on for dear life!

Everyone getting onto the sleds at the top of the hill. It was so sweet of Pierre-Alain to bring sleds for all of us to ride!

Katelyn and Morgan. The two girls do not speak the same language but communicate very well teaching each other new words. Both are shy and reserved little girls so they have the same temperament.

GOING DOWN!!!

I was so nervous to take the boys. I thought it would be too cold for them, but they LOVED it! Afterwards I was so glad we did because they were running, jumping, and rolling everywhere and they loved being with all of the kids.

A smaller hill we found after the sled run. Here you can glimpse the area. It snowed the entire time.

Pierre-Alain and Jeff kindly hiked back up the hill (1mile) and brought the cars down to us. We got in exhausted and worn out, but Pierre still had plans for us. He wanted to take us to a nearby lake that was frozen over called Lac de Joux. So we agreed and followed him over.
The tiny lake is surrounded by a small picturesque village. In the winter when the lake freezes people ice skate and play on it.

Driving around the lake. There are shops and restaurants with the lake to the right. The lights strung around the lake give the place a Disney-like feel. It is truly stunning and makes you feel warm and at home.

Small church on the hill where Pierre's cousin got married. I am standing on the lake, you can see rocks/plants of the banks directly ahead.

Here is a link to the website for the area that has summer and winter pictures of the lake.
Because it had been snowing all day, the ice was covered with a couple of inches of snow. There was a group of people there clearing off spots to skate. Pierre-Alain brought ice skates for everyone and we had fun hanging out ON the lake! Even the dogs enjoyed running around because they did not have to wade through any snow and there were not many people so they had a lot of freedom. Soon the kids had figured out that Bailey and Copper could pull them along on the ice skates and the boys were mushing across the ice with children in tow. It was amazing fun!

Natalie's first time on ice skates and she LOVED it. She said, "Mom, can we ice skate in Riverside?"

(left to right) Bailey, Katelyn, Morgan, Copper, Natalie, Alison

Davidson Four

We left the lake pretty tired out by this point so we went to a local Creperie to get a bite and a drink. Unfortunately they were closing soon so we just had hot chocolates for the kids and a glass of wine for the adults. Pierre-Alain was not finished with his field trip yet though. He drove us over to a small local Fromagerie where we got to see and purchase some of the local cheeses. I'm not 100% sure about everything that happened there because between Pierre-Alain and the cheesemaker, there was a lot of French going on!! However, we did learn a little about the cheese and the cheesemaker joked about one that would put us in prison if we took it home. (The US FDA seems to be a running joke around here lol)
So we bought it.
It is a non-pasteurized cheese that you bake in the oven. Here is the Wikipedia link if you are interested. We left with a French bottle of white wine, the Vacherin Mont-D'Or, some Gruyere, and some meringue cookies-like things. MMMMMMM (on a side note, Fabienne made these for dessert later with double creme over the top and they were scrumptious!)

The cheesemaker and Pierre-Alain. He was a sweet guy who laughed when he found out we were from California. He even traipsed to a back room to pull out and show us a bottle of California Zin that he had stashed. haha

The sign in front of the Fromagerie in case you ever want to go :)

After our trip to the cheese shop, we finally made the trek back to the house. The kids were so tired that Natalie fell asleep in the car. We got home and Pierre-Alain and Fabienne invited us over for a Fondue dinner. We never had Fondue before so it was quite the experience. Jeff and Pierre-Alain cooked and it turned out so great!

Natalie and Alison don't speak the same language but they share the same pets! They had fun playing with Roxy the hamster.

Katelyn and Morgan were drawing animals and labeling them in French and English. They were surprised to see that many of the names are the similar.

Jeff in the kitchen. It's a rare sight, folks!

Jeff and Pierre-Alain cooking up some Fondue

We don't speak any French. Fabienne and her girls don't speak English and Pierre-Alain does a good bit, but we still had the greatest time. Somehow we were able to discuss American politics, Swiss geography, and French grammar over a delicious and filling dinner. They are the epitome of kindness and generosity and I'm not quite sure how we are going to repay them for the day that we had. All I know is that it was a day that we will never forget!!!!