Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Good times on the cul-de-sac...Happy birthday Tanman :)

Hello everyone! For those of you that don't know...today, December 15th, is my brother's 26th birthday! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER! (Who knows if he even takes the time to read my blog, haha). Its amazing how time has started to fly by the past couple of years. I have so many fond childhood memories of playing outside on our cul-de-sac...playing over the line, pickle, grass volleyball (making sure the ball didn't fly over the wall and into the riverbed haha), hide and seek, or having water balloon fights. Then there were all of those great weekends spent at our cabin in Big Bear...Even though us kids made it our job to complain about the (not so) long drive and the cold weather, I'm sure we all look back on those days and wish we could do them over again. And of course there was always "Game night," which the kids weren't allowed to partake in, but our parents always had wayyyyy too much fun playing cards and Pictionary. I never knew it then, but looking back on it all, our parents sure knew how to have a good time...you families know who you are :) Ok back to reality, sorry for getting all nostalgic on everyone. Being so far away from home and family during the holiday season has really made me recall some of those great childhood memories.

The infamous halloween photo of our parents in their prime haha...gotta love it!

Anyway, as I'm typing this, I am enjoying a nice cup of Dunkin' Donuts mocha mint coffee. It was sent in a Christmas package from my Mom which I received yesterday :) Since we live in such a small town, there certainly isn't a Starbucks nearby, so I haven't had the opportunity to enjoy a massive Christmas flavored coffee (which would normally cost around 10 francs for a venti size). Speaking of Christmas, this past week I went to 2 different Christmas markets here in Switzerland. Emily and I went to Bienne (about 40 minutes away) and walked around and did some shopping for our secret santas. There were decorations all over downtown, with lights, garland, and a big Christmas tree. We also went to the Christmas market in Montreux, which is a very pretty city on Lake Geneva. The market in Montreux was neat because it was set up along the lake. We walked around, looked at all of the booths, and enjoyed some vin chaud (hot wine), which I think is a traditional Swiss/European holiday treat.

Christmas market in Bienne

Tree in Bienne

Me, Kristin, and Tara in Montreux

Christmas market on the lake

Well, we won our match against Geneva pretty easily. We beat them in 3 straight games and then went out and stayed in Geneva for the night. There was another American that played on Geneva, so all 7 of us Americans stayed at her house. My teammate, Kristin and I, have a friend that plays on the men's team in Geneva. He played volleyball at UC Irvine also, so it was neat to see a friend from home...as I'm sure he was happy to see so many Americans too. Another exciting thing is that my friend and old teammate, Lauren, is officially a Swissy now!!! After helping her send out a mass email to all the teams in Switzerland, she got picked up by a team in the Italian region of Switzerland. She is playing for a team in Lugano, so we are hoping to meet up with her quite frequently...Especially since I have never had the chance to actually visit the Italian part of Switzerland ;)

The whole gang ready to go out in Geneva

Bri, Taylor, and me

Rip 'Em eaters! Kristin and I with our fellow UC Irvine volleyball player, Taylor.

What else...I am proud to say that I will be getting my hair done this Friday, woo-hoo! Right now, I am incredibly pale and have dark roots, not a great combination. But after Friday, I will just be incredibly pale haha. Well, my team is currently in 3rd place! We have 2 more matches this weekend, both against teams we have swept in previous matches. Then after this weekend, it will be Christmas break, YAY! Each day I get more and more excited for our travels to the United Kingdom. I just wish that I could spend the holidays with family and loved ones, but I'm quite lucky to have the opportunity to travel around Europe. I have been thinking of you all during this special time of year and wish that you all have a very happy holiday :)