Sunday.
With.
The.
Boys.

Mason is sitting up now and feeling rather cool about it........

Well, I am really on a roll of late. Mania taught me the trick of how to 'borrow' photos from somebody's blog and still keep the large format. Here a few photos from Dick and Szilvia from our Scuol weekend.

Well, I am on fire now. There is no stopping me from posting more photos. This is only a mini-batch, but there is nothing to be ashamed of in a mini-batch. Some of the best batches are I have ever seen have been minis.

Boy did I ever have some catching up to do with our photos. There is kind of an interesting one of Zack and Mason paired up at roughly the same age (each at about 8 months), a rare photo of Shaka Khan (I currently have it up on Ebay), and then a few taken from our weekend in Scuol.

Here are a few photos from last Saturday. Mamu and Pia were sweet enough and brave enough to take the Zackary and Mason for the day. We missed the boys but it was quite a treat for us I must admit. Many thanks M&P! We owe you a brunch!

Getting caught up on some new photos here. Most of Zack, but a really nice one of Mason in his fancy robe. We got that robe 'free' from our health insurance provider and all we had to do was pay 455 ChF per month for the special privilege.

I finally have some new photos up! It has been a little while. Lots of shots of the boys doing their thing, but not so many of Jana and I. I will see if I can fix that for the next bunch. All is well in Chur these days. Jana returns to work next week which means Mason will join his big brother at 'school' three days a week. Cross your fingers!

I have taken the liberty of entitling this photo ''Two Studs sitting on a damaged IKEA black imitation leather arm chair''. Thanks to Szilvia for sending me the photo for a nominal fee of $1.49 plus applicable taxes and standard upload costs!

Well, here are a few new photos since we have come back from Canada. I think that my favourite is the one of Zack and Mason together although the photo of Zack in the kitchen with his muscle shirt on and newly acquired winter hat is a close second.

July 2009 ~ Home Sweet Home

In the comfort of our 2008 four door Chrysler Sebring rental, guided, on most occasions accurately, by Ed Tavener's Sesna 143-A GPS system, we, to quote Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap, ''Toured the World and Elsewhere''. It was so great to be home again and it was so nice to finally introduce everyone to our newest and undoubtedly loudest family member Mason. Our thanks and love to all. It was a great trip.

Matt and Stacey arrive! Oh, what an honour to have Nutbars du Canucks regular season and playoff champion Matt Jackson visit. I made every effort to intoxicate him and orchestrate a blockbuster deal involving Ovechkin and Gilbert, alas, he was gaurded and he was alert and he was crafty.

Well, it is a dream come true for young Zack. They are tearing up the road directly outside our apartment and the work will continue right on into September. There is a steady stream of dump trucks, back loaders, top loaders, bottom planers, side skidders, loose wranglers and heavy haulers flowing across our doorstep. We have officially removed Zack from the daycare. It is clearly time for him to move on and start focussing on his career working with heavy machinery. The experience that he is gaining this summer is going directly onto his CV and should pay handsome dividends in the near future.

Zack, Nico and Ella taking a little breather.........

It was a dream come true for young Zackary. The Chur Tractor Show 2009. He tested everything from the New Holland TK100-C to the Valtra N80 finally concluding that his favourite model was the Blizzard Snowplow LT8000 with removable shamblers and rotating carbonated sizzlers. We could not get him out of that particular model I assure you all.

Photo of Zack taken at school not long after the Easter Bunny paid a visit. They informed us that Zack set the new school record for most chocolate eggs eaten in a single afternoon. For 904 ChF per month we have told Zackary to get his money's worth any way he can!

Mission Accomplished! New sandbox located.

Well, it is with great sadness that I report that these photos will be the last ever to be taken of this particular sandbox. On Saturday at approximately 11:33am, Zack and I were thrown out of the park by an angry Swiss woman stating that we were indeed playing in a private park and that it was not intended for strangers. She would rather it sit empty than have it violated by filthy outsiders from the poor quarters of Calandastrasse who have no private sandbox of their own. Zack and I will begin our search for a new sandbox starting Wednesday at 10am sharp and we will do so with great fervor and crispness. We can do no more at this time than wait and hope.

Well, I thought that it might be fun to compare Zack and Mason at roughly the same age. People had been asking whether Mason looked a lot like Zack or not. I really could not remember to be honest. See if you can guess who is who.........

PS Special thanks to The Malla's for the bouncy chair. It has gotten good use.

A very special thanks goes out to Mamu, who came all the way out from Ilanz in the middle of the night (in the pouring rain I might add) to look after Zackary. She got Zack ready for school the next morning, cooked him a proper English breakfast, drove him to school and even picked him up at the end of the day. I suspect that she may even have helped him with his homework. Without her we would have been in a rather tight spot I must admit, so lotsa love goes out to her from all of us.

***March 24th, 2009. We Welcome Mason Noah Chapler***

Home for an early Christmas

Our last visit before we have to pay full fare for Big Z! We snuck it in just under the wire, flying back home a couple of days before his second birthday. Our trip home was upended when Jana broke her ankle going down a children's spiral slide in ski pants with Zack on her lap and a baby in her belly. Let that be a lesson to you all. It is a bad combination. Her ankle snapped like hot organic popcorn on a freshly buttered spring roll. 6-8 weeks in a cast is the report. Anyhow, we made the best of a bad situation and had a really good time seeing our family and friends. Unfortunately, we could not get visit everyone we wanted to, but we promise to make up for that on our next trip home.

The Alpine Pass Route

Well, it was with great pleasure, and to be honest a touch of sadness to finally finish the elusive Alpine Pass Route. 340km in total, crossing 16 mountain passes with 19500m of total ascent and 19600m of total descent. The guide book suggests doing it in 21 days. We rattled it off in just under five and a half years. As far as I can tell, that qualifies us as the slowest group ever to complete the Alpine Pass Route. We challenge any other group to do it slower in fact. It is not easy! Jana and I consider ourselves very lucky to have found ourselves in such good company and we will never forget the ups and downs along the way.

With Big Z sleeping soundly I thought that I would post a few of our latest photos. As I look outside it is snowing. Yes, snowing and quite a bit at that!

Mamu and Pia were sweet and brave enough to take Zackary from us last weekend as J and I met with Shaka,Dick, Szilvia,Harald, and Patrick to finish the last leg of the Alpine Pass Route. It should be said that without Mamu and Pia's help it would likely have taken us 15 years to finish the route rather than the peppy 6 years that we rattled it off in. Thanks for the photos M&P and thanks for everything!

Wild Horses

Well, we have been having some crazy weather here in Switzerland over the last few weeks. The last three photos in this batch were taken about two weeks ago during our Department Weekend Getaway. Full winter. I mean, people were building snowmen. Then, last week summer returned blasting us with full sun and 20°C temperatures. Very confusing for us really.

Mom and Dad were kind enough to treat us to a Baltic Cruise this September. We were spoiled rotten and nobody more so than Zackary. He made a love connection on board with a girl named Tatiana. Unfortunately with an age difference of almost 23 years, the relationship was doomed from the get go. Jana also made a love connection on board. Unfortunately it was not with me, but rather the chocolate chip cookies at the Horizon Food Court.

Before the cruise we got to spend 3 days with Deborah, Peter and Dexter in Copenhagen. It was really great to see them again and we were relieved to have escaped without Zackary causing any major structural damage to their beautiful home.

If one were to look closely, it would be impossible to overlook the fact that Jana, although sitting upright, is sound asleep on the bench.

Zack working out a new method of eating pretzels. Step one, load 4 pretzels between the toes. Step two, bring foot up to the mouth. Step three, eat the pretzels.

A visit from Nico, our next door neighbours son, produced an ever so slight disorder at Calandastrasse 32. This photo was taken ten minutes after his arrival. There are two boys in this photo. See if you can find them both.

Zackary preparing for his upcoming Baltic Cruise at the Caumasee with Dick and Szilvia providing some much needed support.

Hello to all! Here is a new batch of photos from the last little while. We have been catching Zack on YouTube lately looking at videos of various farming equipment, excavators and the like. A quick reference in The Baby Book by Dr Sears did not mention this as potential behaviour in a 20 month old boy.

Tensions flared late on Friday evening as an emergency team meeting was called in order to discuss the functional feasibility of an all out cancellation of our hike. Weather conditions were purportedly perilous with several alleged lightning strikes in the surrounding area. After hours of protracted, heated deliberation we decided to push forward with the penultimate leg of the fabled Alpine Pass Route.

Photo taken in Chàteau-d'Oex just prior to our arrival late on Friday evening. Our hotel was located between the funnel cloud and the lightning strike a mere 3.5km from the train station.

WEEKEND WITH ZACK
A very kind and a very brave Mamu & Pia, took over the reigns at Calandastrasse 32 for the weekend while J and I went off hiking. When we returned we expected to see at the bare minimum dark circles under their eyes and some additional signs of exhaustion such as greasy hair or large amounts of wax in their ears. Instead, the house was cleaner than ever, Big Z was happy and there was homemade pizza prepared. I have suggested that they immediately quit their jobs and open up a daycare!

Yoga at Calandastrasse 32: Truth be told, Zack maintains a slight flexibility edge at this point in time

Little P & Big Z--Video shot by E.Tavener

Home for our Holiday's

Great for J,Z and I to be home for three weeks. No alarms ringing at 5:45am, no make or break exams at school for Big Z, no work for J and I. Lots of time for family, some time to catch up with friends, and even a getaway to Niagara on the Lake for J and I thanks to Kari and Eugene. Many thanks as well to Ed and my Mom for the photos!

Zack has made it clear to us from an early age that he expects to dedicate his life to dance. Specifically ballroom dance. In order to support him as best we can, we watch Dancing with the Stars twice weekly breaking down each routine into its base intricacies and working on the steps day and night until he has them down pat.

Lunch in Ilanz with Manuela and Pia! It would have been quite an enjoyable lunch overall had it not been for their small and rather dark and desolate apartment.

Mania and I had a great tour on Sunday. Beautiful weather with poofy deep snow. The Eggberg was our goal and by God we nailed the bastard. In the guide book it describes the tour as ''ideal for seniors''. Very flattering. I want to thank Mania for her photos and I want to thank Jana for looking after Big Z.

Big Z working on his truck.

Birds eye view of Zack and his antique highchair valued at just over 8 ChF.

Jana and Big Z on their way to Ilanz to visit Manu & Co.

A Blast from the Past. Suz sent us this photo of her beautiful girls with Big Z taken at Gord and Anissa's wedding in August 2007. It is amazing to me how much Zack has changed in that time period.

Katie arrives to spend Easter 2008 with us. These photos are from a walk up the Mittenberg that we took with our good friend Manu. It was just great to see Katie again and we leave our door open for her should she ever want to return.

Selun with Friends

We dimmed the lights slightly, put The Best of the 80's on and let Zackary take it from there. Pure magic.

Potluck at Michelle & Janki's

Many thanks to MnJ for hosting and many thanks to Brigitte for sending us all of her beautiful photos. She is wasting her time working for Varian and should immediately resign and start working for National Geographic or Playgirl....

Fasnacht in Chur! Zack went with his daycare around the corner to the Seniors Centre for a party. We were told from a reliable source that he was absolutely on fire during the festivities.

Home for the Holidays

Here are some of our favourites from our whirlwind Canadian tour. Lots of great, lasting memories from this trip for us, not the least of which is our flabby bellies. Compliments of our 5000 calorie per day holiday diet!

17.12.2007......Zack turns one year old! Hard to believe that it is already here. What a year!! What follows are a few photos from Zack's Birthday weekend.

Jason McElway

We are hoping very much that this photo shoot experience won't do any permanent damage to Zackary. In case something odd pops up later in adulthood with him, I take this opportunity to make it clearly known that this was his mothers idea all the way. To be truthful, she even wanted to take his diaper off.

Another of Zackary's new duties around the house is the daily loading, unloading and general maintenance of the dishwasher. Here he can be seen celebrating the first successful upper tier Tupperware load.

In an effort to foster a sense of responsibility in young Zackary, we have started to give him some simple duties around the house. He can be seen here paying our bills online. Perhaps next week we will capture him dusting the house.

''Meet the Chapler's''
Mom and Dad arrive in Chur!!

Mobility up a Notch

A Tale of Three Passes

In a monumental Alpine Style effort from the Alpine Pass Route Team, the fabled Hahnenmoospass, the lofty Trütlisbergpass, and the legendary Krinnenpass all fall within 24 hours. This leaves the Team a mere 2 passes distant from what once was a very, very distant Montreux.

The boys fueling up on Cheerios prior to the start of the final pass.

Some first class stretching on the long, long road home.

A few new shots of Zackary from ''behind bars''.

A few photos from our most recent trip home.

Straight off the cover of Wedding Bells, Gord and Anissa. August 25th 2007.

After only one glass of Ed's home brewed red wine, Zack is out.

Zack looking extremely devilish.

Kari and Eugene's youngest, Little P.

Jana's Gramma Suzie. 99 and still on the go.

The Lyre Bird

9th and 10th Stage of the Alpine Pass Route
Griesalp to Kandersteg & Kandersteg to Adelboden

We dedicate these two routes to Jerome Krayenbühl and Axelle Tapponnier who were kind enough, and brave enough to look after Zackary for us for the entire weekend. Without getting over emotional, they have given us the Key which has opened the door to the end of the Alpine Pass Route which was once rumoured to be closed for Infinity and Beyond.

In what can only be described as a ''gift from above'', we had the luck, no, the honour to be in the Postbus driven by Ernst Rumpf, 62 and driver of the steepest Postbus stretch in Europe. By all accounts he is indeed as crabby as he appears in this photo.

If you want my body and you think Im sexy
Come on honey tell me so
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
Come on sugar let me know

Sugar, sugar


Rod stewart / Carmine appice

In this seemingly harmless photo on the H0htürli Pass, I discovered something far more sinister than I ever would have expected. Let your eyes drift from the three subjects in the foreground to the woman that is between Shaka and I in the background. At the exact time this photo was taken Harald was not accountable for. It is our estimation that he manipulated this hiker into taking her top off whilst he shamelessly photographed her Swiss boobies.

Sexbomb sexbomb youre a sexbomb
You can give it to me when I need to come along
Sexbomb sexbomb youre my sexbomb
And baby you can turn me on turn me on darlin
Sexbomb sexbomb youre my sexbomb sexbomb
You can give it to me when I need to come along
Sexbomb sexbomb yourre my sexbomb
And baby you can turn me on

Tom Jones.

In perhaps my favourite photo of the weekend, Harald is captured plowing up towards Blümllisalphütte in search of drinkable water. We did indeed find water and all it required was 14ChF for a cute little 1.5L bottle. I was too cheap to buy it, but Harald pulled the trigger perhaps ensuring his Application for Membership to the Alpine Pass Route Team.

Harald, in an obvious effort to impress the Team, in light of his recent Application for Membership, sports his pro Canada T-Shirt. A very clever strategic move that may pay off huge for him in the long run.

What, exactly Dick is doing with his walking stick in this photo has yet to be confirmed. We did notice throughout the hike that Dick was indeed periodically placing his walking stick in or around his anus. He remains, despite this questionable behaviour, a good friend and a valued member of the Alpine