Bratislava

We hit the road this weekend for a quick 2 hour drive to Bratislava, Slovakia.  Why Bratislava? It is close and we hadn't yet been there, so why not? We stayed at a nice, small hotel about a 5 minute walk from Old Town.  We were a little afraid when we drove into the "parking garage" and found 4 spaces. Hmm.

                                       
But, the hotel turned out to be lovely and modern and spacious...we had a huge room with a king size bed and a pull out couch, plus a sitting area. There were 3 TV's and a computer in the room.  I would recommend Danubia Gate for anyone travelling to Bratislava. It also had a small children's play area.
                                     
Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived, so we bundled up and headed out in search of lunch. We saw the usual McD's and KFC, but were on the hunt for something a little more authentic. But, when we turned a corner and saw a sign for Sbarro, I couldn't resist. It was across from an ice rink and for a brief moment I felt like I was at the Houston Galleria.
                                       
After lunch, we strolled though Old Town. The Old Town was picturesque..and a bit deserted.
                               
The picture above is the "Main Square". On a Saturday. In the middle of the day. Where, oh where, are the people? It was strange. It was also great, because the kids could run freely up and down the streets.
                                        

They enjoyed pretending to shoot the cannon and posing with random statues. 

                                        

           

This is St Martin's Cathedral, where several Hungarian kings were crowned during the almost 1000 years that Bratislava was part of Hungary. On the top of the steeple is a replica of the Hungarian crown. 

Across from the church was a wonderful children's museum, Bibiana.  I would recommend it for anyone with small kids. They had many rooms with different projects or play things in each room. 

                                             

Fun baking room

Pretend snow

 Mister man likes to use "skissors"

Under the Sea

Painting glass tiles

                           After our time there, we stopped for some coffee and dessert to warm up.

Option 1

Option 2

We are not so mean as to eat dessert and only allow our kids to have fruit...instead, Cade refused to try the cake and begged for an orange that he saw on the counter. Alrighty, then. 

Next up - the Bratislava Zoo...it needs a post to itself!

A Whole Lot of Nothing

 So, the blog has been quiet as of late. Cade has been sick on and off since we got back to Budapest, first with an ear infection and then with upper respiratory junk. That means I have been home. A lot. Doing a lot of nothing except cuddling with my sweet boy who just wants to "snuggle mama." That is quite possibly my favorite phrase of his.

Yesterday, I needed a little extra entertainment so I let Chelsea skip school and stay home and play with us. While she was here, she practiced for her future cosmetology career and used her brother as her model. He was a willing participant, contrary to the picture.

Mom, why do you let her do these things to me?

We also made the "melt your broken crayons" project off of Pinterest. It was a fun and easy way to make rainbow crayons.

This weekend, we are taking a quick trip to Slovakia. So hopefully more exciting things on the blog soon!

Let it Snow!

Winter has looked quite different this year than last. We have lots of blue sky and barely any snow. 

We love snow and we have relished the little bits of snow that have fallen this week!

                        So far, Cade proclaims he likes the snow...much different than last year!
                                                        Hopefully this trend will continue!

Cade poses by the Christmas tree. 

It has moved to a new home outside and we will strive to keep it alive until next year. 

                                                                Our best snowman.
                                             Hopefully bigger and better snowmen to come!

Houston, Round 2

After leaving Harlingen, we arrived back in Houston for more Christmas with my family. 

 Apparently, we were having such fun that I hardly took any pictures. 

Sweet cousins - these 5 love each other and love being together! 

More presents

We have a drum set...he is a happy boy! 

The ping pong gun was a big hit.

We took Chelsea to her first Aggie game as they played a bowl game in Houston.  She liked it - possibly because of the popcorn and cotton candy.  The next day, we went to a Texans game. We got our fill of football!

Our time in Houston is always a bit of a whirlwind.  It's a fun whirlwind, but a whirlwind nevertheless.  In addition to my family, we love spending time with old friends and with our kids' birth families -- who we also consider part of our family. That is always a joy to us, and while I don't post pics on the blog out of respect for their privacy, we treasure our time with them and we are thankful for the visits we have. Our kids are loved by so many people and are blessed to know not only their birth parents, but also birth grandparents, great grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc.  Such a blessing.

Speaking of adoption, we are always happy to answer questions about open adoption...leave a comment and we will do our best to answer any questions.

Now we are back in Hungary...more Budapest adventures to come!

Christmas in South Texas

We started our 3 week Texas trip in South Texas with Larry's family. We had a great time and our kids thoroughly enjoyed time with everyone.  Cade loved his uncles and renamed them "Bunkle Jeff" and "Uncle Candy (Kenny)." Jeff increased Cade's linguistic ability and taught him to say "No mas!" 

Bass Pro Shop Santa visit

Ice skating!  

Loved these penguins the kids could skate with to keep their balance 

Chelsea and Emma Grace 

Hunter and Cade 

Motorcycle man

Motorcycle girl got to go for a ride

The whole crew!

Really Really Big Christmas Show!

We were excited that our time in Houston corresponded to the Really Really Big Christmas Show at Second Baptist. It is indeed a really big show and we all loved it!

Texas Time!

We have had a busy week! We wrapped up our Hungary Christmas festivities last week with Chelsea's winter concert and class party. 

The next day, we flew to Texas. Well, that was the plan anyway. After arriving in Frankfurt, we learned the plane to TX had broken bathrooms and therefore the FAA limits the amount of people that it can carry. Never heard that one before!! So, we spent some extra hours in Frankfurt.

                                    This was supposed to happen on the plane, not in the airport.

There were some tears of frustration by me as we learned we would be going to Washington then TX. Chelsea then begin crying, "I don't want to go to Washington, I just want to go to America!" A geography lesson ensued. After a few hours, we got on the plane to Washington and then sat on the runway for over an hour.  The flight was fine, but we arrived in Washington late and missed our connection to Houston. By this point, it was midnight and we had been travelling for over 24 hours. We went to a hotel for 5 hours and then returned to the airport to finish our trip to Houston.

We are thankful to be in Texas and are hoping we never have a trip that long again!

A Visit from Mikulas

In Hungary, children have an extended Christmas celebration. Traditionally, Szent Mikulas visits on December 6th. Children polish their boots and leave them in the windowsill the evening before. Good children receive fruit, candy and small toys. Bad children receive a virgacs, or wooden switches.

Mikulas and his angel 

Larry's office hosted a Mikulas party last Saturday. We learned Mikulas is accompanied by an angel and a devil to decide who was good or bad. Yikes. Mikulas was a little thinner than Santa...no cookies for him, I guess. He was bilingual, so that was a plus. My kids started blankly at him as he spoke to them in Hungarian.  Chelsea spoke up and said, "Nem beszelek magyarul." He then switched to English.

Chelsea wanted a hug. Cade just wanted the candy.

Mikulas also visited Chelsea's class at school. There, they each got candy and a virgacs. Chelsea was excited about the virgacs.

Chelsea and her virgacs                                              

On Christmas Eve, there is no Santa visit. Instead, it is said that baby Jesus delivers the presents.  Interesting, huh? I guess no crazier than saying Santa delivers them... and at least keeps the focus on Christ.  When our kids realize that we're providing the gifts, it will be easier to tell them that Santa isn't real versus explaining that Jesus is real, but baby Jesus bringing gifts isn't...to each their own.  While we're here, we'll enjoy the celebrations of both our American and Hungarian cultures.

Our Many Faces

Cade now loves to make faces...and have his picture taken. Chelsea doesn't miss an opportunity, either. Next time, I should brush their hair and clean their faces first. Oh well.

Cheese!

Scary...

and scared.

So sad.

Surprise!

Love them!!!