Back a week from our wondeful ski vacation. The kids weren't thrilled to go back to school and I am pretty sure Eric felt the same way about work.
I tried to load some video from the camera onto this blog but it doesn't work. I have to figure out a way to share video clips easier via internet with family et.c.. If anyone is reading this and knows how, please ring in! I have some great skiing videos of the kids and a wonderful video from Evan's violin recital yesterday.
His first recital was yesterday and he did an amazing job. Eric accompanied him on piano which was very cool and so sweet. They put in a lot of practice time for about 3 days as Evan and his teacher switched songs as of Thursday. He did two songs and really nailed them! Even when Eric faltered a bit on the first piece, Evan kept composed and right on going. It was great!
Julia's was preparing her outfit for the recital and I heard her say, "Dad, do you think this will be okay for the big recital?" And I heard Eric say, "You look beautiful, but I think the crown may be too much" She is SO funny! So that day when she dressed, she instead had a hot pink headband with a veil. I said that I thought that wasn't appropriate for the recital and she said "It is the crown or the veil, pick one" Luckily I convinced her to wear the sparkly glittery black headband instead. She is the best combination of Fancy Nancy and Tom Boy... the best!
Did I tell you that Evan is trying out again for the U11 Fortuna team that he didn't make in the fall? He has been attending those practices with the hope of getting on "Max's team" this spring and going forward. I tell you, this kid has guts. I LOVE that he will go in there again with confidence and try again. We are hopeful but guarded as the coach is not very nice and the dynamics are quite strange in general. So - prayers for Evan, he really wants on that team. He played on Saturday for 10 min in their game, so that is a good start.
More soon...
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Holy snow!
It startes snowing yesterday and snowed all night. we woke up to about 20 inches (i should be using centimeters but can't quite switch to metric yet:)) of fresh snow.... so gorgeous!! You can hear the snow machines grooming the slopes all night. The deep snow made skiing a bit different and harder, but it was so great! Hurts less to fall too!! :). Evan did a 5th day of 7 plus hours of sking... that kid does not stop and Eric is loving the afternooons skiing with Ev! Julia is skiing till about 130 each day, which is quite amAzing!
the meals here are amazing! dinner tonight was 5 courses! my fave dessert this week as it was fruit and a chocolate fondue fountain!!
Last day of skiing tomorrow.... wow what a week!
the meals here are amazing! dinner tonight was 5 courses! my fave dessert this week as it was fruit and a chocolate fondue fountain!!
Last day of skiing tomorrow.... wow what a week!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Still on the slopes....
Well today is Day 4 on the slopes and I have never been skiing this much in a row! I made it until almost 1pm today and we all usually meet up at 1:30 here for a free lunch buffet. Julia has not wanted to go out in the afternoons, we will see what today brings She is only 7 and skiing HARD with all of the adults/older kids for 4.5 hours each day - so I am 'letting her' :) stop at 1:30 if she wants. Yesterday she then hit the pool for 3 hours -- needless to say she almost feel asleep in her dinner. As most of you can imagine, Evan would rather take NO breaks or lunch and ski from 9am until mountain closes at 4:30! It is snowing today - much needed snow! The visibility isn't great, but it is beautiful and the slopes needed it big time. It is supposed to snow hard today and tonight - so I am excited to see what it feels like to ski in that kind of snow tomorrow.
I have been mostly skiing with my Swedish friend Ulrika as her and I are pretty slow. This works out very well and is fun. The only thing I don't like is that I don't get to see the kids ski. Eric said he would try to take some camera video for me so I can see them. Ulrika and I take more cafe latte breaks!
So the Sauna... saunas are huge in Austria and clothes are "not allowed" and no one seems to mind. In fact all the changing rooms at public pools and such are co-ed. Yesterday a lady was at the indoor hotel pool topless and then got up to swim with her kids and first wiggled into her bikini top. It is still SO strange to me. I have decided I can't begin to understand this nudity thing because it is just something that they grow up with and it just isn't an issue at all. There are like 6 sauna rooms here and this room that i Love that has 3 waterbeds with headphones that have soft music playing. So relaxing. I have done the sauna a few times but just go in with a towel around me. I also try to enter only saunas that have no one in them. It is fine to be in a sauna and have people come in but I HATE walking into one with already naked people in it.
We are here with 3 other families... another American family that is from DC but has lived in Vienna 3.5 years, a Swedish family and an Italian/Scottish family. It makes for fun dinner converstaion about how different countries handle health care, education, nudity :), language learning in school, business etc.. Combined the people at the table have seen SOOOOO much of the world - it is so facinating and such a nice learning experience for me. Of course, I am usually the doof of the crowd :)!
We leave on Saturday so 2 more days of skiing after this.
I have been mostly skiing with my Swedish friend Ulrika as her and I are pretty slow. This works out very well and is fun. The only thing I don't like is that I don't get to see the kids ski. Eric said he would try to take some camera video for me so I can see them. Ulrika and I take more cafe latte breaks!
So the Sauna... saunas are huge in Austria and clothes are "not allowed" and no one seems to mind. In fact all the changing rooms at public pools and such are co-ed. Yesterday a lady was at the indoor hotel pool topless and then got up to swim with her kids and first wiggled into her bikini top. It is still SO strange to me. I have decided I can't begin to understand this nudity thing because it is just something that they grow up with and it just isn't an issue at all. There are like 6 sauna rooms here and this room that i Love that has 3 waterbeds with headphones that have soft music playing. So relaxing. I have done the sauna a few times but just go in with a towel around me. I also try to enter only saunas that have no one in them. It is fine to be in a sauna and have people come in but I HATE walking into one with already naked people in it.
We are here with 3 other families... another American family that is from DC but has lived in Vienna 3.5 years, a Swedish family and an Italian/Scottish family. It makes for fun dinner converstaion about how different countries handle health care, education, nudity :), language learning in school, business etc.. Combined the people at the table have seen SOOOOO much of the world - it is so facinating and such a nice learning experience for me. Of course, I am usually the doof of the crowd :)!
We leave on Saturday so 2 more days of skiing after this.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Ski Break
We arrived yesterday at Nassfeld in Austria for our ski week holiday. It is on the Italian border in the Alps and it is fantastic. The weather in Austria has been too warm and not enough snow, but after skiing today it wasn't bad at all. (my standards are fairly low though!)
The hotel is great and we have "half board" which means we get breakfast and dinner here, which is very fun and nice. There are 3 other families here that we know so that is fun. The pool area is great for the kids and everyone is having a great time.
Julia and I made it till 1:30 or so today and then came in fora little nap...she was tired. (okay, I was too!) Tomorrow I booked a massage (Happy Valentines Day to me!) and then will do the Sauna as it is woman's only for a few hours in the afternoon. I will soon do a whole blog on Austrian Saunas ... a crazy and interesting experience all in itself. (you can't wear clothes and it is men and women all the time... SO NOT American! :)) I did go in tonight with a towel around me but don't really like all the fat old men and their junk hanging out everywhere...yuck!
The food is good, the company is good, the skiing is good, the wine is good and I don't have to cook/do dishes/clean up -- I am in heaven. Hee hee
The hotel is great and we have "half board" which means we get breakfast and dinner here, which is very fun and nice. There are 3 other families here that we know so that is fun. The pool area is great for the kids and everyone is having a great time.
Julia and I made it till 1:30 or so today and then came in fora little nap...she was tired. (okay, I was too!) Tomorrow I booked a massage (Happy Valentines Day to me!) and then will do the Sauna as it is woman's only for a few hours in the afternoon. I will soon do a whole blog on Austrian Saunas ... a crazy and interesting experience all in itself. (you can't wear clothes and it is men and women all the time... SO NOT American! :)) I did go in tonight with a towel around me but don't really like all the fat old men and their junk hanging out everywhere...yuck!
The food is good, the company is good, the skiing is good, the wine is good and I don't have to cook/do dishes/clean up -- I am in heaven. Hee hee
Sunday, February 6, 2011
IAEA Ball
Pictures: Evan and Julia over Christmas break on top of the Danube tower with Eric's work buildings in the back ground (the restaurant rotates) Eric and some of his colleagues at the ball. Kara and Bill Stott, our good friends from California that we went to the ball with.
Wow, I took a few weeks off from blogging. Had a great adventure last Saturday night attending the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency: Eric's work) Ball... it is Ball season in Vienna and this is a good one to attend we hear. We headed to dinner first with 2 other couples and had a wonderful Austrian food feast. It was amazing to be in the Hofburg Palace... the parties that must have happened in that place since the mid 1400's!! There were many kinds of music ... I think 10 different music rooms. Reggae, Latin, Disco, Symphony, etc... I believe over 3,000 people attend. In the "main" ballroom there was a show to start everything off with african dancers, ballet and accapello singers and lots of other stuff. Oh, then I don't quite understand all of this yet, but then the 'kick off' is all of the debutants (sp?) in their white dresses doing a waltz. It was just so much fun, an amazing experience.
We also went last Monday to our first opera, La Boheme, at the famous Vienna Opera House. It was really neat to experience that also. Apparently I have gained a few lbs cuz my skirt was so tight which was good because it prevented me from falling asleep. I'm kinda kidding - it was really neat, but I don't think I am going to become a huge opera fan. LOVED the experience though.
Eric got a day of skiing in last weekend with Bill Stott...they had a nice day up on the mountain.
Big news in the Smith Family - Eric's little brother Kirk is engaged - YEAH! We adore Cherish and are excited about their wedding in July in Idaho.
Austrians have a ski holiday week (I think most Europeans do actually) - isn't this funny? Anyway, ours is next week so we depart for Nassfeld on Saturday for the week. We are all excited and looking forward to a week away and more new experiences. I am kinda more excited about the snow shoeing and saunas then the skiing, but I will do some of that too :) There are a few other families that we know going, so that makes it even more fun for the kids...especially Evan as each familiy has a boy his age going. Julia just can't wait to hit the slopes again - she is adorable!
There is a new family that just moved here from Colorado and they are similiar to us in that her husband came here to work at the IAEA also. They are a very nice family and it is so interesting to see them go through some of the same stuff and be a few months removed from it. They are awaiting their boat shipment and so their apartment is empty; they are sleeping on our air matresses and have our card table and chairs. I have to say I don't miss that! Oh, and the no car thing... geez that kinda sucked! I have tried to take her grocery shopping etc... it is nice to remember what others helped me with and then 'pay it forward'. They have kids Evan and Julia's age, so that is really fun too.
Until later...
Monday, January 17, 2011
Great Ski Weekend
Should be studying for my German Final Exam (German 1) right now as it is in one hour, but I figure if I don't have it by now, I'm not getting it! Talk about pressure: I have to pass in order to move on to German 2. Yikes. I am enjoying the process of learning another language although it is fairly difficult for me.
We had a wonderful weekend. Drove up to Schladming on Friday and arrived at our Gasthof (kinda like a bed and breakfast type place). Eric has found some great Gasthofs and we feel they are the best way to go. They are owned by locals...nothing fancy, a bit more affordable usually. Biggest plus, you really feel like you have 'experienced' an area as you are among locals.
This one had a wonderful young couple with a 6 year old daughter that Julia became fast friends with. We had 2 breakfasts there and Saturday night dinner. We were able to use/try our German quite a bit as the couple was VERY nice and slowed down/used small grammar and we all had fun with it. (They could speak English which always helps when you get in a bind!) Julia and Evan also got to see the stables and all the animals (horses, rabbits, goats, ponies) so that was really fun. Kyia couldn't speak much English so Julia used her German and bit.
It is also a nice relaxed environment to meet other guests. Two people were from the Czech Republic and very friendly and nice to talk to. He brought out some Czech liquor at the end of the evening for everyone to try. He also told us he owns a Gasthof in Czech, so another place to visit where we now have 'friends' to show us around. Fun!
The Alps are amazing and we couldn't believe just 3 hours away we were in serious mountains... unbelievable. The skiing was like nothing we had seen before. This area has a bunch of mountains all linked together. In two days we only saw 2 of them - and not even in entire mountains. The kids are SO fun to watch ski, they are having a blast. They are SO much better than me and I am holding them all back a bit, so I break off and do my easy runs or go in for a coffee and then meet them again. That makes us all happy I think.
There was one area that had jumps and then a kids slalom (sp?) course... we spent a few hours here as the kids LOVED it. Oh, Eric loved the jumps too. I asked Julia how I was supposed to do those hills with all the bumps (kinda soft moguls at the end of the day) She said "Mom, you just go down and jump them all" Talk about daring!
The crazy part was the end of Saturday. The Austrians ski hard a few hours (like 10am-3pm) and then they begin to party. By the time we finished at 4pm the huts at the bottom of the hill were rockin'! People dancing, music playing, people doing shots of who knows what everywhere. We decided to join the party! The kids thought it was so funny and we were all dancing. Honestly they were all having so much fun too and this is just a 'normal' thing I think!
Am now finishing this Monday evening as I take a break from trying to find airline tickets back to the States this summer. (Geez Louise, someone is getting rich off those tickets!) Anyway.. took my exam and I am pretty sure I passed. 2nd 1/2 on Wed and then I find out my scores on Friday.
On to Tuesday....
We had a wonderful weekend. Drove up to Schladming on Friday and arrived at our Gasthof (kinda like a bed and breakfast type place). Eric has found some great Gasthofs and we feel they are the best way to go. They are owned by locals...nothing fancy, a bit more affordable usually. Biggest plus, you really feel like you have 'experienced' an area as you are among locals.
This one had a wonderful young couple with a 6 year old daughter that Julia became fast friends with. We had 2 breakfasts there and Saturday night dinner. We were able to use/try our German quite a bit as the couple was VERY nice and slowed down/used small grammar and we all had fun with it. (They could speak English which always helps when you get in a bind!) Julia and Evan also got to see the stables and all the animals (horses, rabbits, goats, ponies) so that was really fun. Kyia couldn't speak much English so Julia used her German and bit.
It is also a nice relaxed environment to meet other guests. Two people were from the Czech Republic and very friendly and nice to talk to. He brought out some Czech liquor at the end of the evening for everyone to try. He also told us he owns a Gasthof in Czech, so another place to visit where we now have 'friends' to show us around. Fun!
The Alps are amazing and we couldn't believe just 3 hours away we were in serious mountains... unbelievable. The skiing was like nothing we had seen before. This area has a bunch of mountains all linked together. In two days we only saw 2 of them - and not even in entire mountains. The kids are SO fun to watch ski, they are having a blast. They are SO much better than me and I am holding them all back a bit, so I break off and do my easy runs or go in for a coffee and then meet them again. That makes us all happy I think.
There was one area that had jumps and then a kids slalom (sp?) course... we spent a few hours here as the kids LOVED it. Oh, Eric loved the jumps too. I asked Julia how I was supposed to do those hills with all the bumps (kinda soft moguls at the end of the day) She said "Mom, you just go down and jump them all" Talk about daring!
The crazy part was the end of Saturday. The Austrians ski hard a few hours (like 10am-3pm) and then they begin to party. By the time we finished at 4pm the huts at the bottom of the hill were rockin'! People dancing, music playing, people doing shots of who knows what everywhere. We decided to join the party! The kids thought it was so funny and we were all dancing. Honestly they were all having so much fun too and this is just a 'normal' thing I think!
Am now finishing this Monday evening as I take a break from trying to find airline tickets back to the States this summer. (Geez Louise, someone is getting rich off those tickets!) Anyway.. took my exam and I am pretty sure I passed. 2nd 1/2 on Wed and then I find out my scores on Friday.
On to Tuesday....
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
1-11-11 (we think this is so cool!)
So, we think we bought the right car for resale value in a few years! That is the bright side of finding your car broken into - window smashed and GPS/Stereo/CD Player console and airbags all stolen. Apparently our car is fairly popular for spare parts. Irony: we had finally gotten our butts in gear and found a possible church to try -- we were parked right outside the church. Darn those non-believing criminals! :)
Funny how you hold yourself together when your kids fall apart. Poor little Julia was so shocked, frightened, etc... that I held it together fine. Eric as always is calm cool and collected. What rattles this man of mine? (let's not find out)
We had met a few VERY nice people in the church that didn't expect us to take them up on their offer "to help anytime" just 5 minutes after leaving. The Polizei came, car is in shop and we have a short term rental. We should be back to normal by Friday or Monday.
So that was our Sunday excitement. Monday was back to school for the kids and they did well with getting back into routine. A rough spot was Julia's teacher was NOT back from maternity leave as expected. We aren't sure what is going on, but we think they were delayed in travel and hopefully will be back by Friday. Julia was more than a bit disappointed, but in Julia fashion - she rises to the occasion.
A few friends of mine that I really enjoy are back from the States after Christmas vacation there. They also arrived when we did (or after) - so I was a tiny jealous they got to go 'home'... but that is life. They did bring me back some nice goodies. Ida brought back a magazine (I forgot how much I love to read magazines!) and junior mints - YUM!!!!!! And a few other things too. I made a list for my dear friend Kara and she just shopped for me. Top of the list: She said I needed SPANX for my ball gown. A true friend. :) She brought some back for me. Oh - and mint M&M's ---- YUMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are going to the IAEA ball on Feb 5th. Have I talked about "Ball Season"?? -- it is truely old Vienna - they have many balls here over the next few months and we will be going to the big one sponsored by Eric's work. It is at the Hofburg Palace. Should be amazing.
Julia had a friend, Ayra, over to play after school today. The "after school" activities that the kids join don't start up until next week so leaves a few easy days for after school playdates. Julia signed up for Arts and Crafts and Swimming this next semester. Evan will continue with Basketball, hopefully start up soccer again in late Feb and he wanted to join Choir, which is Tuesdays after school. I am still not sure if he did it for fun or to torture the girls. He is continuing with Violin lessons and I think is joining the orchestra now which meets during school hours a few days per week. I think we are sufficiently busy with activities to keep everyone happy and hopping.
We are planning a ski weekend on Friday for 2 nights - 2 days of skiing. The kids are PUMPED.
Oh funny story - have been trying to talk to the man that cleans our building's stairs on Tuesdays. Using my limited German... it hasn't been working. I found out from the landlord he speaks polish. I felt so much better as I didn't think my German was THAT bad! :)
I think that is about the update for now....
Funny how you hold yourself together when your kids fall apart. Poor little Julia was so shocked, frightened, etc... that I held it together fine. Eric as always is calm cool and collected. What rattles this man of mine? (let's not find out)
We had met a few VERY nice people in the church that didn't expect us to take them up on their offer "to help anytime" just 5 minutes after leaving. The Polizei came, car is in shop and we have a short term rental. We should be back to normal by Friday or Monday.
So that was our Sunday excitement. Monday was back to school for the kids and they did well with getting back into routine. A rough spot was Julia's teacher was NOT back from maternity leave as expected. We aren't sure what is going on, but we think they were delayed in travel and hopefully will be back by Friday. Julia was more than a bit disappointed, but in Julia fashion - she rises to the occasion.
A few friends of mine that I really enjoy are back from the States after Christmas vacation there. They also arrived when we did (or after) - so I was a tiny jealous they got to go 'home'... but that is life. They did bring me back some nice goodies. Ida brought back a magazine (I forgot how much I love to read magazines!) and junior mints - YUM!!!!!! And a few other things too. I made a list for my dear friend Kara and she just shopped for me. Top of the list: She said I needed SPANX for my ball gown. A true friend. :) She brought some back for me. Oh - and mint M&M's ---- YUMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are going to the IAEA ball on Feb 5th. Have I talked about "Ball Season"?? -- it is truely old Vienna - they have many balls here over the next few months and we will be going to the big one sponsored by Eric's work. It is at the Hofburg Palace. Should be amazing.
Julia had a friend, Ayra, over to play after school today. The "after school" activities that the kids join don't start up until next week so leaves a few easy days for after school playdates. Julia signed up for Arts and Crafts and Swimming this next semester. Evan will continue with Basketball, hopefully start up soccer again in late Feb and he wanted to join Choir, which is Tuesdays after school. I am still not sure if he did it for fun or to torture the girls. He is continuing with Violin lessons and I think is joining the orchestra now which meets during school hours a few days per week. I think we are sufficiently busy with activities to keep everyone happy and hopping.
We are planning a ski weekend on Friday for 2 nights - 2 days of skiing. The kids are PUMPED.
Oh funny story - have been trying to talk to the man that cleans our building's stairs on Tuesdays. Using my limited German... it hasn't been working. I found out from the landlord he speaks polish. I felt so much better as I didn't think my German was THAT bad! :)
I think that is about the update for now....
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