Hello!
Eric had a hernia surgery last Wednesday and he is doing really well. The surgeon fixed it orthoscopically which helps his recovery time. He is walking well now and back at work. The hospital experience was interesting -- tested our German language skills (luckily most spoke English when necessary!) and gave us a glimpse into socialized medicine in a public hospital. We could have waited a few weeks for the surgery and been in a private hospital, but Eric wanted to do the surgery quicker as he was in a lot of pain and unable to run etc... You know him, not high maintenance and has a great attitude - so he though the hospital experience was a nice glimpse into Austria life. (I thought it was gross!:))
He was back home after a night in the hospital (and fainting on me once after going to the bathroom - turns out I cannot hold up a 6'6" man by myself!) and a few quiet days on the couch. He was doing well enough to take our 2 kids and my running friend's two kids downtown to watch us run the 1/2 Marathon on Sunday morning. I am so thankful that Eric could do that as we loved seeing them and it was a fantastic morning.
The race was fun and a well run HUGE (over 33,000 runners!) spectacle. The weather was beautiful and I felt great the entire run. Good to check that off my list. Ida and I are enjoying the training - keeping us motivated and 'sane' so we will continue to look at future things to train for. I still have a thorn in my side to check a full marathon off my bucket list - but not sure I want to invest that much time to be honest. I'll think it over a bit. I'm thinking Destination Marathon sounds like a blast -- saw one Nice to Cannes on the French Riveria - wouldn't that be fun?!!
The kids are doing great. Julia's latest funniest story is on Sunday. Believe it or not, people just strip down and change after the race wherever they are. After seeing like 6 naked men Julia says "Boy, we sure have seen a lot of worldwide tallywackers since moving here!" I about died laughing.
Evan has a field trip tomorrow to the Natural History Museum, The Parliment and the Globe Museum. So glad he gets to do these things. Unfortunately I don't think the school does a great job tying in all the cultural things that are possible in Vienna to their curriculum much. Seems like the field trips are 'after thoughts' and depend on how hard the teachers want to work. Julia hasn't even gone on one yet this year. Another thing I would love to see improved at the school. Big news from 4th grade too... the AIS 4th Grade was asked to sing at the Hofburg Palace (the main residence of the Hapsburg royal family for 100's of years) for the opening ceremonies for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Science and Technology 2011 Conference. Parents cannot attend (doesn't that SUCK) but they are trying to set up a live feed for us to watch it via our computers. I am going to see of Eric can go 'for work' so he can see them!
We leave on Friday morning for Turkey. I have been trying to arrange last minute details, but I still have more to work on. It is fun though! We will be seeing Istanbul and Cappadocia and we are all really excited. Count on a blog after our return! :)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
New Experiences...
We had a fabulous weekend! Friday night we set aside as Evan's celebration night. We continue to be so proud of how he has handled himself during all of the trials and tribulations of fussball (soccer) here and celebrated him being on the U11 team. He decided he wanted to go up to the school to see the High School musical/play and eat at the Boosters booth - hotdogs, hamburgers and chips. Even though it was a 'taste of America' it wasn't that great! I do look forward to a good hamburger when we get back though! :)
The play/musical was The Drowsy Chaperone and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It had quite a bit of adult humor and we laughed a lot. It also had some Rated R lines that I was glad Evan wasn't really paying attention to and they went over Julia's head. We were amazed at the quality of the production for the small size of the school - excellent talent.
Saturday brought Evan playing a soccer game and having loads of fun. Julia and I missed the game as we headed downtown to go to her friend's birthday party at the Spanish Riding School (Spanisch Hofreitschule) to see the Lipizzaner Stallions. This was an amazing party that I will have trouble describing. First of all, the parents had invited siblings and parents if anyone wanted... so nice. I couldn't pass this one up! So we all went to the show for an hour and then got a tour into the stable area (you can't usually go into the stables. The history of the riding school is over 430 years old and royaly used to sit in this same arena. Not easy for these 7 year olds to understand how cool this all was, but it wasn't lost on me :)!
We then headed into the palace for a luncheon. The kids were served smoothies (as many as they wanted) and 3 course meal. Parents were served wine, mimosas, etc.. and a 3 course meal. Can you honestly believe this? So amazing! We left and Julia says "That was awesome! I am SO having my party there next year!" Obviously she doesn't think in Euros like Mom and Dad have to!
After the party, Julia went to play at a friends house for a few hours. This is a great family that just moved here from Colorado in January. They are so nice and the kids all get along. Hopefully we will see more of them. Julia got to eat dinner with them and had a great day all together!
Evan had a good friend spend the night on Saturday night and they had so much fun. So great to see Evan having a good time! we took the boys out to Sushi - the 3 boys (Eric included) love Sushi. They played a ton of soccer and WII, watched a movie, ate junk food and didn't sleep much.
Sunday we went to one of the Easter markets at Schonbrunn Palace. There are about 3 Easter markets in Vienna. It was a beautiful day and it was fun to browse the market and then we walked about the beautiful grounds. There are painted eggs everywhere here. They blow out the eggs and then paint them and have ribbons hanging from them. The Austrians put pussy willows in a vase and then hang the eggs from the branches. I plan to come back with at least enough to carry on this tradition when we return home. So pretty and fun!
We had to head back to meet our Ski group at a restaurant for our Ski Week Family Reunion. One of the Dad's put together an incredible movie picture slide show of our week and we watched it and had shared desserts at their house. What a blessing that Scott put that together for us - talk about a memory keeper!
Eric heads in tomorrow for another new experience -- surgery at an Austrian hospital. He has to have a hernia repaired tomorrow. He will spend at least one night - a requirement in Austria no matter what surgery you are having. It is a routine surgery and we are hoping for a quick recovery for him. All prayers are welcome! :)
Another new experience... I will do my first 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Ida and I have been training and we are really excited. Over 35,000 runners are registered for the marathon, marathon relay and 1/2 marathon... Wow!
I am really really enjoying learning more about different cultures as I meet people here. Last week a friend of mine from Pakistan had me over for lunch. She cooked traditional foods, which I LOVED and I so enjoy asking her questions and learning more. I have also been able to begin nice conversations with a young girl from Iran in my German course. She just moved to Vienna a few months ago and is a newlywed -- has lived all her life in Iran until now. I was asking her about women in Iran, 'dating', marriage etc.. and she started by saying "In America you meet, have a baby then get married - this is right?" I was like in America Hollywood!! :) She was surprised to hear that isn't the "Norm" and it is still not necessarily looked upon very nicely to not follow the "traditional" pattern. I look foward to coffee meetings with her - I think it would be fascinating.
Hope all is good with those reading this!
The play/musical was The Drowsy Chaperone and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It had quite a bit of adult humor and we laughed a lot. It also had some Rated R lines that I was glad Evan wasn't really paying attention to and they went over Julia's head. We were amazed at the quality of the production for the small size of the school - excellent talent.
Saturday brought Evan playing a soccer game and having loads of fun. Julia and I missed the game as we headed downtown to go to her friend's birthday party at the Spanish Riding School (Spanisch Hofreitschule) to see the Lipizzaner Stallions. This was an amazing party that I will have trouble describing. First of all, the parents had invited siblings and parents if anyone wanted... so nice. I couldn't pass this one up! So we all went to the show for an hour and then got a tour into the stable area (you can't usually go into the stables. The history of the riding school is over 430 years old and royaly used to sit in this same arena. Not easy for these 7 year olds to understand how cool this all was, but it wasn't lost on me :)!
We then headed into the palace for a luncheon. The kids were served smoothies (as many as they wanted) and 3 course meal. Parents were served wine, mimosas, etc.. and a 3 course meal. Can you honestly believe this? So amazing! We left and Julia says "That was awesome! I am SO having my party there next year!" Obviously she doesn't think in Euros like Mom and Dad have to!
After the party, Julia went to play at a friends house for a few hours. This is a great family that just moved here from Colorado in January. They are so nice and the kids all get along. Hopefully we will see more of them. Julia got to eat dinner with them and had a great day all together!
Evan had a good friend spend the night on Saturday night and they had so much fun. So great to see Evan having a good time! we took the boys out to Sushi - the 3 boys (Eric included) love Sushi. They played a ton of soccer and WII, watched a movie, ate junk food and didn't sleep much.
Sunday we went to one of the Easter markets at Schonbrunn Palace. There are about 3 Easter markets in Vienna. It was a beautiful day and it was fun to browse the market and then we walked about the beautiful grounds. There are painted eggs everywhere here. They blow out the eggs and then paint them and have ribbons hanging from them. The Austrians put pussy willows in a vase and then hang the eggs from the branches. I plan to come back with at least enough to carry on this tradition when we return home. So pretty and fun!
We had to head back to meet our Ski group at a restaurant for our Ski Week Family Reunion. One of the Dad's put together an incredible movie picture slide show of our week and we watched it and had shared desserts at their house. What a blessing that Scott put that together for us - talk about a memory keeper!
Eric heads in tomorrow for another new experience -- surgery at an Austrian hospital. He has to have a hernia repaired tomorrow. He will spend at least one night - a requirement in Austria no matter what surgery you are having. It is a routine surgery and we are hoping for a quick recovery for him. All prayers are welcome! :)
Another new experience... I will do my first 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Ida and I have been training and we are really excited. Over 35,000 runners are registered for the marathon, marathon relay and 1/2 marathon... Wow!
I am really really enjoying learning more about different cultures as I meet people here. Last week a friend of mine from Pakistan had me over for lunch. She cooked traditional foods, which I LOVED and I so enjoy asking her questions and learning more. I have also been able to begin nice conversations with a young girl from Iran in my German course. She just moved to Vienna a few months ago and is a newlywed -- has lived all her life in Iran until now. I was asking her about women in Iran, 'dating', marriage etc.. and she started by saying "In America you meet, have a baby then get married - this is right?" I was like in America Hollywood!! :) She was surprised to hear that isn't the "Norm" and it is still not necessarily looked upon very nicely to not follow the "traditional" pattern. I look foward to coffee meetings with her - I think it would be fascinating.
Hope all is good with those reading this!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Spring is here
Well, I think it is safe to say that spring has arrived in Vienna. The trees are budding out, the forsythias are bloomed, the tulips are coming up and the weather has been pretty darn nice. (yeah)
We had a fun April Fool's morning as Eric and I stayed up late trying to think of something funny to do to the kids. It isn't easy as they begin talking about April Fool's jokes on March 27th! Well, we got them. Long story short, Eric 'pretend' threw up at the table (milk, cereal, etc...) while we were all eating breakfast. I swear I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard. Evan was like "That was AWESOME! You totally got me!" and Julia ran crying from the room cuz she was sad that she thought Daddy was sick. So funny! Hope you all have a great day.
Eric had a good trip to Kazahstan --I think I spelled that right. It was interesting for him and always super cool to experience other cultures. Luckily he had plenty of translators around him as he doesn't speak any Russian or Kasah.
We have been waiting on Evan's player card for the Fortuna soccer team - it is now in so he is officially part of the team as of right now. He may not get much game time yet as he has to 'earn' his time, but that is okay - practices are good and he is getting excellent play time with very good players.
We just got back from going 'downstairs' for dinner. The 1st floor (they call it ground floor here) family are from Denmark and very nice. They moved in a few weeks ago and they have a 1 year old and 3 year old. They are fun, kind, funny, great conversationalists, wonderful parents, and easy neighbors so far. We all had a blast down there tonight and I think it will become fast family friends.
Julia had a party tomorrow and we are going on Sunday to the Bike Festival downtown at the Rathaus. They have trucked in TONS of dirt and made a jump course for bmx bikes... right in front of the Rathaus - you have probably seen us send pictures of this place where the ice skating was and several other events. As Evan said today "They don't go more than a few weeks without doing something HUGE at the Rathaus!" www.bikefestival.at I think they have a bike ride around downtown at 11am on Sunday - so maybe we'll just bike down there.
Been running with my running buddy Ida a lot training for our 1/2 marathon. The Vienna Marathon and 1/2 is April 17th and there are over 35,000 people already registered - this is by far the BIGGEST race I have ever been a part of. We ran about 12.5 on Tuesday so I think we are okay to do it, but I a may be a little slower than I would have wished. I just didn't put in the weekly total run miles that I should have... but on the other hand, if I run too many miles I think my body will break down. We are pumped and it will be really fun. My first 1/2 marathon. I have to say a full is still on my bucket list, but I would really have to have a buddy to do it with. Ida and I were thinking about going for it and seeking a cool destination to do it -- what fun would that be! Or maybe we'll just do a cool destination with another 1/2!
Headed to bed... supposed to be sunny and 70 both weekend days- YEAH!
We had a fun April Fool's morning as Eric and I stayed up late trying to think of something funny to do to the kids. It isn't easy as they begin talking about April Fool's jokes on March 27th! Well, we got them. Long story short, Eric 'pretend' threw up at the table (milk, cereal, etc...) while we were all eating breakfast. I swear I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard. Evan was like "That was AWESOME! You totally got me!" and Julia ran crying from the room cuz she was sad that she thought Daddy was sick. So funny! Hope you all have a great day.
Eric had a good trip to Kazahstan --I think I spelled that right. It was interesting for him and always super cool to experience other cultures. Luckily he had plenty of translators around him as he doesn't speak any Russian or Kasah.
We have been waiting on Evan's player card for the Fortuna soccer team - it is now in so he is officially part of the team as of right now. He may not get much game time yet as he has to 'earn' his time, but that is okay - practices are good and he is getting excellent play time with very good players.
We just got back from going 'downstairs' for dinner. The 1st floor (they call it ground floor here) family are from Denmark and very nice. They moved in a few weeks ago and they have a 1 year old and 3 year old. They are fun, kind, funny, great conversationalists, wonderful parents, and easy neighbors so far. We all had a blast down there tonight and I think it will become fast family friends.
Julia had a party tomorrow and we are going on Sunday to the Bike Festival downtown at the Rathaus. They have trucked in TONS of dirt and made a jump course for bmx bikes... right in front of the Rathaus - you have probably seen us send pictures of this place where the ice skating was and several other events. As Evan said today "They don't go more than a few weeks without doing something HUGE at the Rathaus!" www.bikefestival.at I think they have a bike ride around downtown at 11am on Sunday - so maybe we'll just bike down there.
Been running with my running buddy Ida a lot training for our 1/2 marathon. The Vienna Marathon and 1/2 is April 17th and there are over 35,000 people already registered - this is by far the BIGGEST race I have ever been a part of. We ran about 12.5 on Tuesday so I think we are okay to do it, but I a may be a little slower than I would have wished. I just didn't put in the weekly total run miles that I should have... but on the other hand, if I run too many miles I think my body will break down. We are pumped and it will be really fun. My first 1/2 marathon. I have to say a full is still on my bucket list, but I would really have to have a buddy to do it with. Ida and I were thinking about going for it and seeking a cool destination to do it -- what fun would that be! Or maybe we'll just do a cool destination with another 1/2!
Headed to bed... supposed to be sunny and 70 both weekend days- YEAH!
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