This is one of the Advent Calendar items at Schmitt's. There are the little bags that each contain a treat for the children of the house to work up to Christmas. They had so many cute things there -- I want to go back and see what they have for Valentine's Day!

This crazy assortment of bird houses is at Schmitt's, in Germany. I loved the capricious construction and lively colors. I thought Shelby would love this!

This was my favorite among the carvings of Madonna and child. These were nearly life-sized. She has the most beautiful face - sweet eyes.

Beautiful little Colmar -- the quaint medieval town that has the BEST Christmas market! Everywhere you look it's charming and decorated and lively. It was chilly, so warm food was welcomed. We also stopped at an incredible museum with beautiful art and a whole level dedicated to the Savior and His crucifixion. There was one room of beautiful wood-carved, life-sized Madonnas. I'll post my favorite. This little town is a "no-miss" for Christmas Markets.

This cool walk down the mountain was really nice. We met a woman (American) who married an Italian and has lived in Locarno for the last 25 yrs. She was very nice and her daughter could speak English, but preferred Italian. The walk wasn't hard and the weather was pleasant - not too cold. We stopped at the monastery on the way down and wandered through it a little. It was closed for renovations (seems to be happening a lot for us) but it was still nice to wander around. When we got down to town we just wandered through the old town part and enjoyed the decorations and sweet shops.

Walking out to the lookout - suspended high above the mountain! Being "height-sensitive" this was an exciting little walk for me!

This amazing old castle at Locarno was originally built in the 800s. There have been additions, etc, over the years so it was great to walk around and enjoy. Locarno is right on the boarder of Italy and Switzerland -- runs right through the lake. We took the tram up to the top of the mountain and the view was amazing.

I took the girls Christmas shopping for their parents over at Stucki -- the decorations in the mall were beautiful and we had a really nice time, shopping for each other and Mom and Dad. We found some nice things and the girlies enjoyed playing on the giant toys near the escalator. The Swiss love hanging rows of things -- notice the strands of lights in the background, right. I love it!

The Giles Christmas Village -- Addie's, Scott's and Tayen's. Scott even had smoke coming out of the chimney and a little choo-choo train in front with smoke coming out of the stack. It made the others look unfinished. Everyone had a great time making these -- Eryn was feeling a little competitive with Scott -- but where is her house?

During Christmas vacation we pulled out the Ikea packages for Gingerbread houses and had at it! Scott was helping Lyvi and the other two girls had a fantastic time. Addie ended up with the medal for the most candies ... they were everywhere. Tayen was very organized and orderly. Lyvi just wanted to eat the candy. Imagine that!

This is Brixton Scott FitzBasel Emily Giles!! He was born 14 October 2011 in Basel, Switzerland and weighed 8#6oz ... and made is entrance in 35 minutes! No time for epi -- just au naturale!! We adore him; love his smile, his gurgles, his blue eyes and the fact that he has now learned to close his eyes and go to sleep, without protesting the fact as loud as possible. As a 3-month-old, he's 26+" tall and is wearing 9-12 months clothes. I guess he'll take after his papa in height -- let's hope he also adopts his nature. He is adored by one and all, and hangs with Scott on the bean bag, watching a little "foohball." Go Stanford!