Ski break in Austria

We took advantage of Parker's school ski break to...go skiing! Since it was only 7 hours away, we decided to drive and spent the night in Linz, Austria on the way there (and got to eat some traditional Austrian food at a restaurant called Klosterhof) and in Vienna, Austria on the way back (emergency stop after almost 10 hrs driving through snow storm and lots of crying and whining in back seat). For our ski week, we stayed at the Almhof hotel/resort in Gerlos, Austria. It's a kinderhotel, dedicated to families with children. A pretty cool concept....if your kids will stay in the kid's club! Lindsey decided against the kid's club so I didn't get to ski, but we still found some fun things to do. Glenn and Parker hit the ski slopes each day while Lindsey and I played at the hotel. The hotel had some pretty niffy indoor and outdoor play areas and a nice warm indoor pool that opened into an outdoor pool. Lindsey and Parker both enjoyed swimming outside surrounded by snow. Here's a few pics from our trip -

Almhof Kinder Hotel in Gerlos Austria

Glenn and Parker hitting the slopes

Parker took lessons everyday. Here he is posing with his instructor Mr. Vladmir.

Parker and all his ski gear

Mary Glenn and Lindsey "hitting the slopes"

Lindsey sledding

Lindsey enjoying the snow.
It was quite cold, we all wore long-johns, ski suits and several layers of clothing whenever we went outside.

Parker and Linds on the play equipment

They loved this big slide

Lindsey probably went down this slide over 50 times!

Parker and LRae ready for pool time.
We loved these robes so much we bought them to bring home. :)

Though some of us are cuter in the robe than others
Beautiful view from our room
Can you spot the three deer?

OK, that was more than a few pictures, but it was so hard to choose! We took over 500!

Happy Valentines!

Happy Valentines Day 2009, from Parker and Lindsey!!!
Looking outside at snow from last night

Lindsey made each of us our own special Valentine

And it opens to a keepsake handprint!

Lindsey is 21 months old

Lindsey is 21 months! I can't believe she'll be 2 in just 3 short months. She still seems so little to me and she surely hasn't grown enough hair to be 2! We had a fun month full of playing and good times. Lindsey is learning to say more words and be more expressive of her desires. We didn't have much routine in December while on holiday, so this month we've established new daily routines for work and weekend days. Lindsey and Ms. Andrea are going to play at parks or play centers most every morning. We're so excited about it because Lindsey is getting to meet other children, even some english speakers and she just loves being out and about with other people. She is enjoying lots of arts and crafts activities lately (see the pic of pasta clown she made!). Her favorite toys this month are her play kitchen, her vet hospital (she can ID her colors now and match the right color key with color door), her bus (pushing Parker is soooo fun), building blocks (she used to only knock them down, now she's building too!), her purse with camera and cell, and her baby doll (she loves to change baby's clothes and give her hugs and kisses).

Lindsey is 21 months

Last weekend we went out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Iguana's. Lindsey had a fun time. She blew bubbles in her water. And....
Took pictures with her barbie cam. Check out what she was photographing....
She was very curious about this man sitting up on the wall and took some pics of him. She was also interested in his "water".

Arts and Crafts time with baby
Also she's been wearing this bowl on her head...

Lindsey's pasta clown

Beautiful creations by Lindsey and Parker

Working hard in her kitchen

Pushing Parker on her bus

Playing at local play center

Looking for their pet "spider"
It lives under our kitchen cabinet. Lindsey has been spending alot of time over the past couple weeks laying on kitchen floor to watch him. If you are wondering how a baby girl gets so interested in a spider that it becomes her very first thought upon waking each morning (yep)...well...Parker did it.

Pics of new house....finally!

We used much of our Christmas holiday time unpacking, making (numerous) trips to IKEA and working with management company and carpenter to get house settled. We still have a few things left to do in Parker's room, but we feel very comfortable and everything is nicely organized. Now that life is running smoothly at home, we can start exploring Budapest and spending time with new friends!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Easy Photo Sharing

We're quite taken with a few features of our new house (these are common things here in Budapest) -

• underfloor heating
• individual heaters for each room (yes, each room has its own thermostat so we can all sleep at different temps!!!)
• electric shutters on windows and doors (nice for blocking out light and making me feel a bit safer)
• cool windows - all the windows open so easily with just a turn of wrist or you can open from top for breeze
• towel dryer in bathroom - nice toasty warm towels

Of course, there are things I'm not so taken with as well...but I'm all positive today so we won't mention those now!