Check It Out

I've decided to try and do a separate blog for some of my more creative efforts. Head on over and check it out. It is a little sparse now, but hopefully will fill up soon.

The Zoo

One of our favorite things to do when we still lived in Oklahoma was to go to the zoo. It was pretty close to our house and we had a season pass. Abby and I loved going with friends for play dates or by ourselves for a Mommy and Abby day. Vienna has a great zoo, too. I've heard it described as a modern zoo in an imperial setting. I think that is a great description. There are several great new animal places, like the new elephant house which Abby loves, but you can't forget where you are by looking around you. Here are a few pictures from a recent family trip day.

Road Warrior

Today, our child finally joined the ranks of children with a bicycle. That's right folks we just got our kid a bike. We had talked about getting her one in the States, but decided not to for two reasons basically 1)she was borderline ready for one before we left 2) we would just have to ship it and we weren't sure about storage. So, today we headed off to the bike store and Abby picked one out she liked. In Europe, many children start riding a bike with out pedals, its called a laufrad. See Ira and Kari's blog for description. Well, Abby was dead set against a bike with pedals, and told us she would not be using them. Well, it took only a few minutes before she got the hang of it. She looks so cute riding around with her helmet and everything.

In other news, you may have noticed a new look to the blog. Don't feel hurt if you don't see your name in the "Blogs We Read" section. I'm working on getting everyone up there. You have to understand how little patience I have for this tech stuff, so it might take a bit. In the mean time, Summer, if you see like 50 hits a day on your blog from Vienna, don't worry I'm not stalking you. I'm just going to your blog to get everyone I want on mine. I'm sure there's an easier way, but this is what is working for me.

Busy Summer So Far Part 1

Like everyone else, I'm sure, our summer is just flying by. We've had no shortage of things to do and people visiting. Here is a brief summary with pictures of all we have been up to.

We began the summer with quick trip to Croatia to get our passports stamped. Going down was no problem, but coming back we got stuck in the line to cross the border. We sat in this traffic for over an hour. Good times!!!





I made jam with my neighbor again. Apricot this time and it is sooooo good.



Jake and I went on a bowling date. It had been a long time since we'd bowled, but we had fun all the same. Here is the one pic I got from the night.



Eight students from the OC Vienna Studies Program stayed after the rest of the group left to do mission work. We and 3 other families hosted them in our homes during their 1 week stay. Our family hosted 2 girls. It was so fun being around college kids again. It reminded us of our own glory days. Abby got totally spoiled with the constant attention and play companions who of course played whatever she wanted.



Before they left the team had a BBQ for all the students. It was a nice lazy evening sitting around eating, talking and playing games.

Fun Kids Site

I just found this site. It has lots of fun ideas to do with your kids.

On a separate note, we are enjoying a visit from our friends Clyde and Gwen Antwine these next few days. It is so nice to see familiar faces from home.

Have I Failed

Today, I was loading up the DVD player with a movie for Abby because, well, because I needed some quiet time. Anyway, there was a picture of Walt Disney standing in front of a globe on the inside cover. Here's the conversation that followed:

Abby: "Mommy, is that God?"
Me: "No, that's Walt Disney."
Abby: "Who's Walp Dibiney?"
Me: "Well, he was a man who made movies, like Snow White."
Abby: "Then he's like God because we have a lot of movies."

Hope your parenting day is filled with more affirming moments than mine.

Critics

I recently, once again, received a criticism about my frequency of posting to the blog. So, in order to satisfy those who can't get enough of us here is an update in list form:

-We have been in Vienna for over a year now. This is unbelievable. This means I haven't had a Sonic drink in over a year. A YEAR people. It also means lots of other things, but I'll save those for a later post.

-Jake has finished his intensive German courses. So, of course, he speaks perfect Deutsch now :)

-Abby and I are learning how to be home together during the day again.

-I've got a tentative date with my neighbor to make more jam, apricot this time.

-We recently learned we won't be getting our visas this year. Oh well, maybe next year.

-This week we have 2 OC students staying with us. They are staying over from the Summer Vienna Studies Progam. Abby is loving the constant attention and Jake and I are enjoying reliving some of our memories through them. Ahhh....the early days.

-As a team, we are getting ready to begin a new phase of our work here in Vienna. This is both excting and a little scary. We are once again entering unchartered territory.

-Finally, since the same critic mentioned above said "I really don't read blogs without pictures." Here is on just for fun.