(In case you're interested, this is what wikipedia has to say about the history of Krampus and Perchtenlaufen.)

So some new friends of ours invited us to go with them to a little village called Bad Vöslau - a place they visit every year to experience a traditional Perchtenlauf. We took a train about 30 minutes south of Vienna and met up with them in a nice little cafe up on the hill of this quaint town. After enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, we made our way down to the beginning of the parade. We saw about 25 to 30 people dressed up in big furry animal skins and coats of wool
with large loud cowbells fastened about their waist to make lots of noise
and with big baskets on their back (in which to put naughty children).
From behind, I was reminded of "the Wild Things." "Let the Wild Rumpus start!"

One thing I noticed immediately was the smell. It smelled like a barn. Like stinky Goats. These costumes looked like they came straight from the animal - and they left all that animal smell on them on purpose. Krampus is supposed to be half goat - half demon, and the smell is all part of the act.

At the sound of the bell, they began to meander down the road... and we kind of just followed them! (Picture a small town parade - but with less crowds.)

This guy with the super tall horns is wearing a mask that weighs over 40lbs!

As they walked slowly through the village, they would stop and come to "greet" the onlookers or whip them gently (or Cooper would say not so gently!) with their whips. Some would try to get a scare out of the kids, but for the most part - these were friendly Perchten...
At the very beginning of the parade, one of the Perchten came right up to Tyler, crouched down and just looked at him. Tyler held still like a brave boy... but as more and more started to approach him, he got scared and cried.

Here's a video of the beginning of the parade, just before Tyler got upset:

They continued on down the road, making lots of noise with their chains, cowbells and drums.

Every once in a while they would stop and pose for a picture.
Their masks were amazing. They are all hand carved from wood and hand painted. Apparently these beauties are worth a lot of money.

Are you feeling the Christmas spirit yet?

After a short march down the road, we came to a Christmas market. They had a nice fairy tale theme, with lots of booths set up for kids to visit fairy tale characters. It was nicely decorated with Christmas lights and christmas trees. Small booths of hand-made goods and treats lined the walkways. We had a nice time walking around - but unfortunately it was getting too dark to get good pictures by this time.
But after a few minutes in the Christmas Market, an announcement was made that Saint Nicholas was coming!
And who accompanied him? Of course! More Perchten!

And this time they added some fire blowers. They would blow fire high into the air!
At one point a fire blower was so close, that I thought I may catch on fire! Ironically enough, as I was filming with my phone, the fire blower himself caught his own beard on fire! It was quite scary to see!

Toward the end of the parade, most of the kids were brave enough to take pictures with the Perchten.
Even Tyler chose one to pose with!
And he wanted to shake all of their hands and offered lots of high fives!
Is it weird to feel proud that my 4-year old son was brave enough to shake hands with the devil? :/

Overall, it was fun to experience a cultural tradition that is so far from our own. Rather than jingle bells and Christmas elves, we got Demons and doom with a stink... but it's all about perspective right?

I guess the idea here is that as the true spirit of Christmas comes into these towns, they chase away all of the dark evil of the Perchten. And in many ways, I can relate to that. Christmas time is always a time where people can finally put aside their differences, forget about the hate and anger in this world and find ways to honor Christ by showing love and kindness to each other. These days, the world is filled with a lot of loud ugliness - like these demons, but with the Light of Christ, we can overcome the darkness and experience the true love of Christ.

Light the World, y'all!

Merry Christmas!

A couple weeks ago, over Halloween weekend, we took our kids to Legoland in Germany. Halloween is still a very new holiday in Europe, and there isn't much fun to be had for the kids here, so instead of dressing up this year, we went to go have our own fun elsewhere.

The kids had no idea we were planning this trip. Since I love surprises, I decided to create a series of clues for them to find before they could discover what the big surprise was. (I also used these clues as a way to highlight their accomplishments and let them know we are proud of them.) When they arrived home from school around lunchtime on Thursday afternoon, I asked them if they wanted to do a treasure hunt... and really, who doesn't like a treasure hunt? Here's the whole video if you're interested (approx 10 mins):

I had already packed for our trip, and Eric had come home early from work - so as soon as the kids found out the big surprise, Eric went and picked up the rental car, we threw our bags in, buckled up, and we were off!

The kids were super excited, to say the least. They were all giggles and excitement on our way out of town - but given that it was just after lunch, during regular naptime, it wasn't too long after we got on the road, the urge to sleep overcame them...

The 6 hour car ride was nice. The countrysides in Austria and Germany are absolutely breathtaking during this time of year. Picturesque, really, with all the trees full of rich fall colors, rolling green fields, and quaint little villages with homes that look like they've come straight out of a Thomas Kinkaid painting.

With plenty of snacks, and a couple potty stops, we didn't have much trouble at all - except for three minor hiccups...

1) The traffic at the german border. With the refugee crisis in full swing, and mandatory border checks in play, we sat in traffic for a good long while (about 45 minutes) before making our way into Germany. We had heard that crossing the border was slow going... but for that type of thing of well - we can't go under it, can't go over it, can't go around it, so we just had to go through it.
2) After we finally made it through the border crossing, I wanted to get out and stretch our legs, get a breath of fresh air, and take a short walk in the countryside. We decided to pull off at a public rest stop where the foliage was especially nice. I figured we could find a path into the trees, and walk for a bit in the nearby woods. Little did I know that these pretty little nature stops are often used for people who don't want to pay to use a public toilet. I learned very quickly, that the little path just beyond the trees, out of the view of the road, is full of man-poop.... and my boot got a double dose. Yuck
3) We booked a holiday apartment in a little village about 15 minutes away from Legoland. When we arrived into town, it was well past dark, and we had to navigate through the windy roads of the tiny neighborhood before we found the place. Exactly five minutes before we pulled into the driveway, Tucker got a sudden wave of motion sickness and threw up all over himself and the car. And, well, there's just nothing good about throw-up.

But in the end, we made it. The place we stayed was very nice. We all slept well, and the next morning we headed to Legoland. We spent Friday and Saturday there - rode all the rides, saw all the cool stuff, and had plenty of fun.

We started our morning out right with Krapfen - The European version of jelly-filled donuts.
The buddy system comes natural to these two...
...and these two. I think Eric had as much fun as the kids!
There were lots of rides for the little kids...

...and the big kids

Everyone had fun...

The life-sized lego statues were amazing. The kids (including Eric) especially liked the Star wars characters.
R2D2 and Tyler
May the force be with you.
Addie made some friends as well.
These two...
There was a really cool aquarium there too.
Who wins the trophy?
The kids played for a long time in this room full of giant, rubberized, lego bricks. They were so much fun! Eric and I thought it would be fun Christmas present... until we saw the price tag! (over $500 for 80 blocks!)
This giant giraffe was constructed out of Duplos!
Dinner time after our second day of Legoland... this little guy just couldn't quite make it.

So, in the end - we had a very untraditional Halloween. We didn't dress up in costumes, we didn't Trick-or-Treat (did you know there isn't even a word for Trick-or-Treat in German?), and the kids didn't come home with bags full of candy... But I'd say it was probably one of most fun-filled Halloween's we have had thus far.

Eric and I took turns going in for a temple session. I went on Thursday evening with a friend of mine who attended my Temple preparation class. Eric went to a session on Friday morning. While we were taking turns, the kids had a good time enjoying the temple grounds.

We stayed in a little town called Bad Nauheim, Germany just about 10 minutes away from where the Temple is located. It was a quiet, relaxing, green country town, and you could walk the whole town by foot. The place was beautiful - like one giant park - full of green trees, streams, natural springs, and lots of cool play areas for the kids. We thouroughly enjoyed walking down cool shaded paths, watching the fish and ducks in the streams, and enjoying the nice weather there. It was really nice to be out of the big city for a change.

One cool thing we discovered while exploring were these giant structures called graduation towers. Picture a football field, cut in half lengthwise, and then errected into a long tower consisting of tightly stacked sticks, and held up by a row of huge diagonal posts. From the top of the tower, mineral water trickles down through the sticks and creates a cool mist that comes away from the wall. People go there to breath the healthy, natural, moist air. I had never heard of anything like it, but there were several of these in this little town. And they really were cool.

Just near one of the graduation towers, the kids had a blast playing at a natural water park. It consisted of a couple of wading pools, connected with fun, metal water features, a stone trickle wall, and a giant sand pit with water pumps all around. The kids stayed here for hours.

What strikes me about parks like this (like many parks in this part of the world) is how natural they are. There are no plastic slides or plastic play structures (or anything plastic, really). There are no brightly colored squirty features or cartoon themed character statues. There are no motion sensored sprinklers spraying up from a rubberized ground covering. It's just stone, wood, water, sand, and rocks, with some old fashioned water pumps, and some rudimentary metal features that require all physical effort in order to work... And the kids absolutely love it. They could have stayed there all day long exploring, 'gold digging', rock collecting, mud making, climbing, and splashing. It was awesome.

The drive home took about 8 hours, but it was well worth the trip. We opted to rent a van instead of taking the train this trip, so we got to enjoy a bit of different scenery. I snapped a few photos as we were driving down the Autobahn, but the pictures don't do it justice. We realized that road trips are quite beautiful in these parts, and we hope to take many more.

One interesting fact about the German highway system - unless a speed limit sign is posted, there is no speed limit. People can drive as fast as they can, and believe me - they do!! Eric drove around 150kmh most of the way, and we were definitely going much slower than most drivers on the road. He got up to 165kmh at one point, and felt that was the fastest he could responsibly drive, and we were still getting passed - cars zooming by us at incredible speeds. It wasn't until we got home and did the math that we realized we were driving over 100mph!! Crazy!

Here are the highlights:

At Stephansdom. No photo will ever capture how large this church really is.

Inside Peterskirche. One of my personal favorites. Amazing.

Enjoying some super yummy gelato on a perfectly sunny day.

Leyla treated us to yummy krapfen. The kids were super excited.

In front of the horse fountain at Schoenbrunn.

A visit to the zoo. Sleepy lions.

An adorably photogenic red panda.

And a super playful, swimming polar bear!

The kids really loved having Leyla here. It was a quick, but super fun visit!! Come again soon, Leyla!

It was Saturday evening. Our babysitter, arrived about 6:30 and we planned on leaving about 7:00 because the opening show didn't begin until about 8:00 and the Hofburg Palace, where the ball was located isn't too far away from our house at all. So, after a pizza dinner with the kiddos, and after the babysitter was all settled in, we were off...

I already felt like a princess - mostly because my daughter, Addie told me that with my blue dress I looked like Elsa, and my sisters told me I looked liked Cinderella. Elsa or Cinderella - I felt like I was in a Disney movie, heading off happily to dance with my handsome Prince (in a tuxedo!). My hair was curled (which never happens, and took over an hour and a whole can of hairspray to make happen), I had sparkly jewelry (thanks to a birthday present from my friend, Natalie), and I was wearing a pretty, blue gown and high heels (which I fully regretted later, but that's besides the point). I think maybe for this reason alone, they should make Fancy Balls a 'thing' in the States... because I think every worn out mom should feel like a princess every once in a while. It was a great feeling.

We took public transportation to get the Ball, because... well, that's just how we get around everywhere here, and we didn't think to do anything differently. But when the straßenbahn dropped us off about two blocks from the entrance of the Palace, and we began our trek to the door, I realized that maybe - just maybe, in the event that one is wearing four inch high heels (in which she is expected to stand and dance for the next several hours) and a ball gown (that's so long it causes her to trip every few steps), and the weather involves cold, harsh, wind gusts (did I mention my hair was curled?), that maybe it would have been a smarter idea to take a Taxi. This seemed to be the main mode of transportation to the Ball, as we saw a giant continuous line of Taxis dropping off all the other princesses with curled hair and high heels right at the red carpet of the door. How nice. (Lesson learned for next time.)

But we survived, and made it to the Hoffburg Palace. Upon entering, I was already in awe of the magnificent building. It was simply grand, with magnificent paintings, gold leafing, detailed carvings and statues, and huge sparkling chandeliers all around. Giant and ornate. And absolutely incredible to think that (parts of) it was built over 700 years ago! I wish that I could have taken more pictures of just the building itself, but it was absolutely packed with people... but here is a nice photo of one of the many halls, when it's not packed with people...

Upon entry, the staff was checking to make sure everyone had proper tickets and were wearing the proper attire. The dress code was very strict. Men had to wear tuxedos, and ladies had to wear either floor length ball gowns or a formal, National costume, which I saw a lot of as well.

After we checked in our coats, we set off to find the main ballroom or 'Festaal.' It was packed with people, and the opening show was about to begin. The tables and chairs in the main ballroom were all reserved seats. We found out later that in order to purchase tickets for such desireable seats, you have to camp out the night before tickets go on sale. Needless to say, we did not have a reserved seat in the main ballroom. So when we walked in, and saw some people sitting on the steps near the stage, we sat down next to them. Later, just before the show began, we were asked to clear that section of steps for the perfomers' use. Eric and I thought we would have to leave the ballroom and miss the show, but we got really lucky and found another open seat on a step just in front of the reserved tables, and sat down. It ended up being prime seating for the show. Lucky us!

I had no idea what the opening show would entail. There was some talk, some announcements, and some thank you's... I learned that this, the IAEA Staff & Assocition Ball is the biggest and most well-attended ball in Vienna (and there are a LOT of balls in Vienna). There were over 3,000 people in attendance! Also, I didn't realize that this particular ball is a charity event, and all of the proceeds were donated to cancer research.

After the opening remarks, as series of performance began. They were all great. Eric got most of it on video, and combined them all into one reel... So I will simply list the order of the performers, and you can see for yourself!

1. An awesome band of Bagpipes came marching in. I will probably never understand how that instrument is actually played, but I can tell from watching that it takes a lot of talent. So cool!
2. The Ochestra Victoria. A professional orchestra from Argentina that specializes in Tango music. Consisting of violinists, a bassist, a brilliant pianist, and two people playing the bandonean, a type of accoridan. It was pretty spectacular.
3. And three pairs of profressional Tango dancers. (Wow! I tell you what, Wow!)
4. A soprano and tenor performed a song from a popular opperetta.(not included in video)
5. The debutantes from the Premier Dancing School of Vienna performed twice. This is one of the Viennese traditions that I find interesting. Learning how to walz and dance at balls is still very much a part of the culture here. Around the age of 18 (or older if you didn't get around to it), you attend ballroom classes and learn the tradional ballroom dances. As part of graduation from that class, you are required to perform at a ball. Traditionally, the ladies wear white gowns and carry a boquet of flowers - much like a bride. The men all wore matching tuxedos. It was really neat... like something from a movie.

After all the performances were over, they enthusiastically announced "Alles Waltze!" meaning, Everyone Walz! And seriously, everyone listened. Everyone in the room crowded the dancfloor, the mucic began, and chaos ensued. They were so eager to get in on the opening waltz, that it didn't seem to bother them that it was like trying to dance in a crowded elevator. Eric and I decided to hold off until the dance floor was a little less crowded.

Here is a peak of the opening show, and what it was like in the main ballroom:

We went to meet up with our friends that arrived late, and weren't able to get lucky seats like us. We decided to check out the other rooms. Did I mentione the Palace was enormous? It seemed like we roamed the inter-connected rooms and hallways for ever, and I'm pretty sure we only scractched the surface of seeing the entire place. In many of the large ballrooms they had different live music playing. Each room had a theme, with different types of music and dancing... I don't think we saw them all - but here is the list, that I got straight from the program.

Festsaal (Main ballroom): A combination of the best of Viennese tradition and "Big Band" Music
Zeremoniensaal: Contemporary pop, R&B, and rock
Metternichsaal: Strictly Salsa!
Redoutensaal: Reggae/Caribbean music
Rittersaal: A mix of pop, rock & roll and soul
Radetzky App. II: Chanson, jazz and swing
Gartensaal: Rock’n Roll, Pop and Soul
Heuriger: Viennese Heuriger Music
Forum: Disco
Maria Theresien App. II: Music Lounge / Buffet

So essentially it was like going to 10 different dances. The music was great, everyone was dancing in every room (they just don't hold back here!), and having a great time. There were also plenty of waiters and waitresses always nearby and lots of alcohol being consumed. Eric and I enjoyed a €10 bottle of sparkling water. (Good thing proceeds are going to a good cause!).

We danced a bit in the Reggae room, the Salsa room, and checked out a couple of the other rooms as well. By 11:00, my feet were screaming. I ditched the heels at one point and danced freely without them. That was nice.

Some points of this ball reminded me of my high school Prom... I loved seeing the pretty dresses, and the fancy hair do's, and there was a professional photographer there taking pictures of all the couples posing in awkward poses in front of a fancy backdrop... those things felt like prom. Here's a sneak peak from our photo shoot... you can tell that we were laughing... especially when the photographer instructed us to touch noses! (Touch noses!!)

But it was so much cooler than prom in so many ways... I loved all of the different national costumes too. I loved that there was such a mix of people there... people from all parts of the world. So many languages, so many different cultures, all brought together at a fancy, formal event. It was a really cool feeling. And there were people of ALL ages there. The young debutantes that looked like they were still in high school, and elderly people too, and all in between. There is nothing cuter than seeing an old, gray couple, all dressed up, ditch their canes and waltz on the ballroom floor. So cute! And not just the old people danced. Not just the debutantes either. And not just the super talented people danced either. Everyone was dancing. Nobody seemed to have any inhibitions about how they looked or what other people thought... they just let go and danced!
Personal note: I think one of the reasons this ball was so cool for me, is because I have always thought that I stink at dancing. (I've always thought that my sister, Jenn has much better moves than I do.) I always picture myself looking cool, or having good rythym, but then if I catch myself in a mirror or, heaven forbid - on video, I am embarrased by how awkward I look. I think my husband shares similar feelings, and has always solved the problem by simply refusing to dance. But on Saturday night at the ball, on the other side of the world where we don't know anyone, and we are foreigners anyway - it seemed to be all the more reason to say, "Who cares?!" Eric and I both let go of those fears, and just danced. Not just waltz either... we danced in the latin and pop rooms too. It was so much fun!

When the sad day came that every last bit of Peter's Plum Jam had been scrupulously scraped out of the jar with a rubber spatula, I went on a search to see if there was anything like it that was sold in the grocery stores. Lucky for me, I found one brand of jam that strayed away from the typcial strawberry, apricot, and red currant flavors of jam here, and offered Plum Jam! It isn't nearly as good as Peter's homeade jam, but it still had a unique sweetness to it that our whole family loves... so naturally, we go through at least one jar a week. No other flavors of jam are ever requested anymore. Nope, we are purely Plum Jam people now. Add it to the vast array of yummy fresh breads availalbe here, and you just can't go wrong. And all too often, our Plum Jam supply looks like this:

Then the other day at my go-to grocery store, as I was putting our weekly ration of plum jam in my basket, I discovered a new brand of jam there, with a big read sign that said "Neu!" I noticed that they offered a few unique flavors of jam, like ginger, and blood orange - and then I saw it - PLUM JAM! A new brand of Plum Jam! Could it be that this brand tastes a little more like Peter's? A little more homeade? It was slightly more expensive, and made in a different part of the country - so I thought it was well worth a try. I bought it, with every intention to have a side by side Plum Jam taste test.

I waited for the timing to be just right. Typically at breakfast time, I don't ever get to sit down at the table, because I am usually on my feet more like a busy waitress, answering request after request like,
"Mom, I dropped my spoon on the floor, can I please have another one?"
"Mom, can I have more milk?"
"Mom, I spilled!"
"Mom, can you make a smoothie?"
"Mom, can you get me a yogurt?"
"Mom, I need a napkin."
"Mom, are there any more eggs?"
"Mom, I spilled again!"
"Mom, can you make some toast with Plum Jam, please?"

Anyone who is a "Mom" gets what I mean.

No, I wanted to be able to enjoy my Plum Jam taste test in peace, with no interruptions, so I waited. I didn't eat breakfast with the kids that morning. After I returned home from dropping all of them off at school, I went straight to the kitchen for Plum Jam.

I toasted a peice of bread, and carefully spread one half with my regular brand of Plum Jam, and the other half with the new Plum Jam. I was surprised to see even the vast color difference between the two. The original Plum Jam, like Peter's Plum Jame, had a deep, almost black, purple color. The new jam was more red and translucent. Different! Hmm, maybe better?! This should be good. This should be very good.

I took a bite of the original Plum Jam first, because I wanted to get the 'normal' flavor in my mouth before I tasted then new one, so that I could notice any slight difference in taste. As I took a bite, I relished the flavor, loving the sweet tanginess of it. Mmm, Plum Jam... it just never gets old.

And then I took a bite of the new jam...

I nearly puked. I spat it out right on my plate. It tasted like poison! It tasted horrible! It tasted like rotten garbage!
"Is this a mean trick?!" I thought.
"Have I just been poisoned?!"
"Did something die in this Jar of Plum jam?"
I picked up the jar to look for an expiration date. Surely this jar is defective. Surely no Plum Jam could ever taste this bad on purpose! I found the date - 03.12.2016. Nope, not expired. Did I just get really unlucky and get a rotten batch? I started scanning the label, naturally written in German, looking for any clues as to why this jam tasted so badly, and simultaneously searching my brain for the translation of "disgusting" in German.

And then I saw it. The fine print. At the bottom of the label that so beautifully displayed the delictable purple plums, and the appetizing Plum Jam title, "Zwetschke" printed in fancy cursive.... there it was, in smallish letters...

"Mit Jamaica Rum."

With Rum? RUM?! Who puts RUM in their PLUM JAM?! For the love, people! It's JAM! It's supposed to be sweet! It's not supposed to taste like rotten garbage! It's supposed to taste like sugary plums and tangy goodness! Not RUM! Rum is NASTY! And believe me, Rum from Jamaica doesn't taste any better! This is no ryhming game here! Leave the RUM out of my PLUM Jam!

So, yeah... maybe I should have read the label better. But honestly... would you have ever guessed that there would be Rum in your Plum Jam? I think not. It's Garbage. And that is exactly where that jar went.

I'm done venting now.

I think I'll go have a piece of toast with Plum Jam.

Since we moved here to Vienna, Eric and I have received new callings in our new ward. Eric has been called to the youth program to serve as Young Men's president, and he is already enjoying it immensly. Although I am somewhat jealous that he is serving with the youth (I miss my Young Women dearly!), I am also very excited about my calling. I was called to teach the Temple Preparation class for about 7 young adults who will be going to the temple for the first time very soon. I have a great love and appreciation for the temple and the blessings that it brings to my life, so I am more than excited to help these young people prepare to go there themselves. Also, since we meet in our home once a week, it allows me the great oppurtunity to cook yummy food for them and enjoy the company of these people that I have already grown to love.

Recently, our class has been discussing the Plan of Slavation, which are some of the most basic fundamentals of our beliefs. In discussing the Plan that Heavenly Father prepared of all of His children, we can answer the questions, "Where did we come from?", "Why are we here?", and "Where are we going after we die?" In preparation for my lesson, I decided it might be fun to ask my own children these big questions, and see what they had to say. I made a video of their responses, and the results were quite cute, if I do say so myself.

I showed the video to my class before we began our discussion about God's Plan for us. They enjoyed it very much - so I thought I would post it here and let you enjoy it as well.

I think it's a beautful thing that God has implemented such a simple, yet beautiful Plan for us to be born into this life and learn of Him, accept our Savior, Jesus Christ, and return to Him after this life to live eternally with our families.

I really do enjoy writing. I love being able to express my thoughts in an organized manner, that tells a story, and helps me make the mundane, stressful, or not so entertaining parts of life a little more... entertaining. It helps me see things from 'outside of the box.' It's as if, when I sit down and write about things that are going on, I am reexamining my life from a totally different perspective. It's a good thing. So I was not surprised to read that expressive writing is actually linked to improved mental health. More than anything - it was a kick in the pants to start writing again.

So why has it been three months since I've written anything? Well... life happens. During the last few months, we have gotten more settled in, and the regular busy-ness of life has also settled in. Believe it or not, even when you're living a 'dream life' in the beautiful city of Vienna, the typical business of work, family issues, discipline struggles, homework, and the neverending mommyhood chores still exist! I suppose I have gotten bogged down with the constant flurry of our 'regular' life, that I have failed to make extra time to sit down and write about it...

So I suppose today I will write about the one thing that has actually afforded me this kid-free time right now to sit down and add to my blog. That is, that the little boys started attending Kindergarten! After a long search and checking out many, many kindergartens, and being super wishy washy about the whole notion of sending my two youngest to someplace other than their toyroom, and after many prayers, and a small miracle, we found a great fit. The boys began at a public (German speaking) Kindergarten that is just around the corner from our house on Jauary 7th. It has taken some adjustment, and a few days of warming up - but I think it is safe to say now that I love it, and the boys love it - so it's a win-win!

"Are you sure about this, Mom?"

Their kindergarten class conists of about 20 children from the ages of 3-6, and three very, very sweet female teachers. (The fact that Tyler does not turn three until February, and the director of the school was able to talk the city magistrate into letting him go ahead and begin with his older brother, and closest buddy was the small miracle that I mentioned.)

In case you're interested, here is what the boys' kindergarten schedule looks like:

Around 8am, we walk a 5-minute walk to the kindergarten.

When we arrive, I help the boys get unbundled, and change their shoes. All school children here wear houseshoes while inside the classrooms. My kids wear crocs.

From 8-9am they have free play time. Tyler loves the train set. Tucker really likes the magnetic building blocks.

At 9am the kids are served "Frühstück" or breakfast. Since my kids eat breakfast at 7am, this is a perfect "snacktime" for them. The children are invited about 6 at a time to come to the breakfast table, where they get their own (glass) plate and cup and silverware, and are encouraged to properly set it on their placemat. Then they help themselves to the food that is on the table - usually consisting of a variety of breads, fruit, vegtables, meat and cheese slices. Also there are miniature glass pitchers of milk, juice and water that the kids are expected to pour themselves. When they are finished, they take their dishes to the dish cart and clean up after themselves. It's amazing to see how independant these little ones are. My boys are learning quickly.

After breakfast, the teacher reads stories, sings songs, or leads the kids in some motion activities. Some of the kids color pictures.

Around 10:30 it's time to go out. Each week, the class goes on at least one field trip to a museum, park, ice skating rink, the zoo, the cinema, or any number of interesting things to see around the city. They all get bundled up, and these brave teachers take out 20 little kids, hand-in-hand by twos, out into the city on public transportation to fun places all over the city. My boys were sick last week, when the class went to a hand-puppet theater. I was sad they missed it. I am super excited for my littles to experience Vienna this way. I'm also looking forward to learning about all kinds of new things to go and do and see with my other kids.

Notice how nice and neat the children walk two by two in a straight line... Then notice my two in the back... still trying to get the hang of it and often veering off the path... all in time, I guess.

On Thursdays at 10am, the kids go to a nearby highschool gym, where they have a reserved time slot to use the facility. I went with the boys the first time and got to see what it's like. Gyms here are equipped with all kinds of cool stuff. Giant climbing ropes hang from the ceiling, ladders on the walls, blance beams, spring boards, landing mats, crawl-through tubes, cones, balls, and everything that you need to make awesome movement activities for kids.
After walking to the gym, the kids get changed out of their street clothes and into their gym clothes. They all take off their Strumpfhose (thick waist to toe tights that ALL kids (expect mine) wear under their trousers in the winter here.) They all change into simple stretchy pants, a tshirt or tank top, and go barefoot to the gym. When I was there, there was one boy that had forgotten his gym clothes. He was wearing strumpfhose and ski pants to school that day (very typical for Austrian kids to wear skipants to school). And since neither of those would be suitable for gym time, he simply went to the gym in his underpants. No one even blinked. Gym time in your underware? No big deal!
The class began gym time by sitting around in a circle and singing some fun songs with actions motions. They the teachers prepared some fun relay activities for them. Between each activity they ran around the gym, each time enacting a different animal. Lastly they created a giant obstacle course with the massive supply of cool stuff there, and the kids took turns going through it. It looked so fun, that I wanted to do it!
My boys sat on the sidelines and observed the first time to the gym, I figured they needed some time to get an idea of what this was all about... but they have since joined in and love it.

Just in the last couple weeks of kindergarten, there have been at least three birthdays as well. Those are always special days in the class. They all circle around and the teacher plays the guitar and they sing about 6 different birthday songs (including "Happy Birthday" in English which is very common here). The kids get way into it and sing and dance and clap. They light REAL (gasp!) candles on a puffed pastry, and the birthday kid gets to blow it out. The birthday kid also gets a small gift from the teacher. The whole party takes a good 30 minutes of time, and the kids obviously have a blast.

Around 11:00 every day, the kids get bundled up again and head out to the playground. It is a huge playground with a giant tube slide, a huge hammock swing, a giant sand pit equipped with every digging tool possible, and a giant (adult-sized) playhouse. The boys love the playground. One of the best parts about it is the dozens of sturdy ride on toys and trikes that are there and the big, smooth space they have to ride around. They never want to leave when it's time to go. :)
At noon, they head back to the classroom, and the kids who stay for the full day are served a hot lunch. Since we opted for half-day kindergarten, I pick my boys up at noon and we have lunch at home. However, I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with the food I have seen (and smelled) being served there.

If you didn't notice, there wasn't any part of the kindergarten schedule that is set aside for structured academic lessons. There is none of that there. The Austrian mentality is that at this age, the kids learn best through play and experiences. So they allow lots of opportunities for learning through a variety of play options and fieldtrips. While I agree with this philosophy to an extent and I see that the kids are truly learning - I still make sure to teach the boys colors, numbers, shapes, and reading at home. :)

So - overall the kindergarten report is - So far, so good. The boys are having a good time, making new friends, and learning a little bit of German. (How could they not, right?). And while at times I feel sad that they are spending their mornings away from me (and that's just... wierd!) I realize that they are growing and learning and experiencing new things - and that's a good thing. And as I write this, I am realizing that for the first time in nine years, I now have regular, uninterrupted, kid-free time most week days! How cool is that?! Now, that's not to say that I don't still have gobs of laundry to do, cluttered corners to clean out, a stack of ironing, floors to clean, and dirty dishes in the sink. There will always be other chores calling my name, but for now, I'm choosing to take a mental health break. :)
I sure love these boys!

It really is a difficult language to learn - and it sounds 'hard' too, when you speak it. I remember laughing at this youtube video before we moved here, and I still have to giggle when I learn new German words that sound... well, harsh.

But all jokes aside, harsh or not, we live here, and we will be living here for a while, so we all need to learn this language. So - Wir lernen. (We are learning.)

Cooper and Addie attend a bilingual school where they have lessons in German and English, but most of their day they are instructed in German. Addie loves school, and has picked up the language quite naturally. She has actually surprised me a lot - she understands a lot and can speak more and more everyday. She can retain vocabulary way better than I can! And, quite honestly, when she speaks German, it sounds a lot cuter than the guy in the video that you just watched.

Cooper doesn't LOVE school. He has struggled at times, and doesn't always want to go. Afterall, learning German is HARD! He would much prefer to have a personal translator by his side all day. But we know we can do hard things - and I think he is improving every day. He is a smart kid. I also think that when his communication in German improves, he will like school a little bit more.

We hired a private tutor a few weeks ago to come to the house and help Cooper and Addie. She is a nice lady, and the kids like her. However, her experience in tutoring has been mainly with teenagers who speak German natively, and this is her first time working with young kids who are learning German as a second language. While she is nice, and I'm sure she has helped the kids somewhat - We're not sure she is the best fit for what the kids really need, so we are having another tutor/speech pathologist come to have an assesment tomorrow. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

As for Eric and I, we are both taking German courses. Eric takes German courses right at his workplace. How convenient, right? He signed up for two consecutive courses and is taking them at the same time (alternating days of the week) 4 days a week. He's a smart guy, and has a passion for languages. He is reading the Book of Mormon in Slovak and German everyday (because he doesn't want to lose his Slovak skills while learning German), listens to podcasts in both languages, and reads and listens to Harry Potter in German in his spare time. He simply devours it. He wishes he had more oppurtunities to speak to native German speakers more throughout the week, but he gets by. He's kind of a genius, I think.

I had my official first day of school on October 14th. I am attending a German course at the University of Vienna. I go on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It felt weird at first, to go 'back to school' and be surrounded by students and professionals, but I am enjoying it now. My class is made up of people from all over the world. Only one other guy is from the U.S. I have made friends from Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, China, England, and Russia. So that part is fun. I am learning the ins and outs of the language, and I have gotten to the point where I can usually understand the jist of what people are saying to me - but responding in any coherent way in German, is usually beyond me. I feel toungue tied a lot of the time. Usually, after five or ten minutes after being removed from the stituation at hand, I can formulate a basic response - but I need more practice before those responses will come naturally. Little by little... I think I can! I think I can!

Tyler and Tucker even join in on the German learning at times. Tucker knows most of his colors, numbers, how to ask "What is that?" He also knows how to say "Exit right" and "Exit left" because he hears those phrases so often on the Ubahn. He loves to repeat what he knows, and is always curious to learn more. He's a funny kid.

Tyler is still learning English - and is actually saying more and more words everyday. He surprises me sometimes though, and says a word that is definitely more German than English. Altogether, I'm pretty sure he'll speak his own version of Germanglish soon enough.

All in all, we are trying to learn this language together as a family. We have set goals during Family Home Evening and we try to help each other out in accomplishing those goals. We try to speak German sometimes during mealtimes, we try to tell jokes in German, laugh when nobody gets it, and we laugh a lot at all of our mistakes. It is really cool that we are all pretty much in the same boat doing this together. Cooper's German homework today looked a lot like my own homework - learning the past tense of basic verbs, and we sat at the table together working on it. I'm pretty sure his assignment was more advanced than mine! It's a humbling experience to know that my kids are probably way better at German than I am - but it's super cool at the same time.

Here is a clip of Cooper and Addie singing "I am a child of God" in German with the stake primary at our Stake Conference a couple weeks ago. Cooper is on the far left. And if you are looking for Addie (like Tucker is - listen for his voice in the video) - just know that she really is there - she just happens to be standing behind somebody that is just a little too tall.

Isn't it nice to know that God will lead, guide and walk beside us nomatter where we are and nomatter what language we're speaking? I sure think so.

Before we moved to Vienna, we were told by a few different people that Halloween isn't celebrated here. I wasn't too sad, actually, that for the next few years, we wouldn't have to deal with the loads of candy (and tummyaches) that come with a successful evening of Halloween Trick or Treating. I've never been a huge Halloween fan - even though dressing up can be fun at times.

However, just about the time the weather starting getting cooler, and October was fast approaching, people around here started talking about Halloween. Confused, I asked several Austrians if they really do celebrate Halloween, and I got mixed messages. Some of them answered positively - with an attitude of, "Of course we celebrate Halloween! Why woulnd't we?" Others said, "Nah. Halloween is too American. We don't do that here."

All in all, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was very curious to find out. So naturally, when I found out that Addie's class was going to have a Halloween Party, I signed up to be a volunteer to see just how an Austrian second grade class celebrates Halloween. (Unfortuneatly Cooper's teacher is not a fan of Halloween, so they did not get a party. This was the case in about half of the classrooms at the school. Can you imagine, the injustice?!)

Addie's class party was very well done. The teachers had gone to great extents and put up elaborate decorations, and set up about 7 different Halloween activity stations between three different classrooms! They turned out the lights, lit candles and told spooky stories. Then they made bats out of socks, painted treat bags, made jack-o-lantern paper dolls and balloon ghosts, and played mummy bowling. I was in charge of the Spooky "Feel and Squeal" room - where they had to put their hands in mystery boxes and try to guess what spooky item was hidden inside. There was also more halloween treats than anyone could eat, and Halloween candy to boot. The party whent for about 2 and half hours! Judging from this class party alone, I would say Vienna for sure knows how to celebrate Halloween.

Now - here's a difference I noticed. Out of all the kids (and teachers) that dressed up, Addie was one of 2 kids that didn't have a "spooky" costume on. She dressed up as a ballerina, and one of her American friends was dressed up as Elsa. Everyone else was either a skeleton (I counted at least 10), a zombie, or a witch of some sort. A definite difference from the world of superheros and princesses that I am accustomed to.

Okay - so fastforward a couple days after the party, and now it's Halloween. The kids were in the middle of a four-day weekend, and they had spent time at the Zoo and the Aquarium - but not much had been said about Halloween. I glanced online to see if I could find any Halloween activities for kids in Vienna, but the only thing that I could find is a long list of adult clubs that were hosting late night "get smashed" Halloween parties. I really didn't have any plans, and Eric was in charge of helping out with the Youth Halloween Dance at the church for the whole evening. Part of me felt kind of guilty that I didn't have any plans for a fun Halloween night for the kids (because for sure, Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood doesn't exist), but part of me felt relieved at the same time.

About 3:00 in the afternoon, however, a friend from the ward emailed me and invited us up to her neighborhood to go trick or treating. This friend lives in the 19th district, very near the American International School (AIS), on the outskirts of Vienna, along with probably 90% of all the Americans that live in Vienna. In other words, the 19th district, is essentially little America. It sounded fun, so I asked my kids - "Kids, do you want to go trick or treating tonight?" ... I'm sure you can guess how they responded...

"YAAAAAAY!!!"

Now that we officially had trick or treating plans, we had to come up with some costumes! Addie was easy, she pulled out a Rapunzel dress-up dress, and grabbed the long braids princess hat that Grandma Kathy made her a few years back. Cooper decided he wanted to be a pencil - a costume that I bought at a garage sale a few years ago (I wore it last year, actually) - so we just had to make him a pencil tip hat. Easy. Tucker decided he wanted to be a ghost. I found a white body pillow case, and made an adorable ghost costume in no time flat, but after a few minutes of walking around looking out of two little holes cut in the case, he decided he didn't want to be a ghost anymore. With not many options left, we turned to the pajama drawer. Thank goodness for superhero pajamas! Tucker dressed up like Superman, and Tyler made an adorable Batman. It's amazing how much more "costume-like" superhero pajamas can be when you add snow boots and a cape! Voila! We were ready to go Trick-or-Treating!

We made the hour-long journey out to the 19th district first by street train, then U-bahn (subway), followed by a long bus ride. At first, we didn't see anyone dressed up, and Cooper the Pencil started feeling a little sheepish in his cone hat. We got lots of looks, for sure. But as soon as we arrived in the 19th district, we saw hoards and hoards of trick-or-treaters walking up and down the streets. Little kids, all dressed-up walking with their parents, being coaxed along to each door. And bigger kids, with scary masks on running from house to house with pillowcases full of candy... It felt just like home. The kids squealed with delight. We had finally found Halloween!

We made our way up the hill, trick-or-treating a long the way, until we met up with our friend. She said she was about to go to the AIS Halloween Party and invited us to come along. When we walked onto the school grounds, it seriously felt (and sounded) like we were at a school in back in the States. It was surreal to hear that much American English all in one place! And the place was packed!

They had a huge trunk or treat, with amazingly decorated trunks. Tyler got the hang of it really quickly and went to each car and held open his bag to the person handing out candy. Being one of the smallest people there, he got lots of attention. He was most exccited when he recieved lollipops, and would stop and excitedly show me whenever he got one. Cooper, Addie and Tucker made their way easily throught the crowd of Trunk-or-treaters, and each pulled in a decent haul of candy.

We made our way up the hill to the giant indoor gymnasium. Inside was every typical Halloween activity you could think of - Face painting, Haunted House, Bouncy House, pumpkin bowling, bean bag toss, and more... Each one associated with a candy prize. The kids had a blast. Tyler danced to the music the whole time. Cooper and Addie got sufficiently scared in the Haunted House. Tucker was surprised that his buddy Ezra showed up. I saw several other people from the ward, and enjoyed speaking and listening so easily to perfect strangers in my own language. It was a great way to spend Halloween. The "American" way.

On the way home, we saw a lot more people dressed up - Adults, that is, dressed like skeletons, zombies, and gouhls... headed out to clubs to party and get smashed. So, I guess Vienna does celebrate Halloween... just a little different that we are used to. No worries though, we know how to party, hardy, the good ole fashion way...

Happy Hallo-Wien 2014!!

The move-in

The moving company arrived with all of our stuff on Thursday, October 9th. They arrived with not one but TWO moving trucks, and a team of about 10 men. They planned on taking two days to unpack, but luckily they were able to finish in one day! I didn't realize this, but part of their services included actually unpacking each of the boxes and putting the items away. However, I almost had a heart attack when I saw them unpacking so many boxes knowing that I didn't yet have places to put all the stuff! (We hadn't bought any storage furniture yet.) So after they set up all the beds, I thanked them, tipped them, and sent them on their merry way. They said they would happily come back to pick up all the boxes and packing supplies when I was done unpacking. I happily agreed. Yay! Our stuff is here!

Eric and I have already made two trips to IKEA and have plans for more. We have a love/hate relationship with IKEA, and both times we’ve gone, one of us has come out feeling sick. Too many people, to many decisions, too many language barriers. We have purchased some of the storage furniture that we need, but still are lacking some key pieces - like a master bedroom closet, bookshelves, entrance way wardrobe and organization (since winter clothing is a real thing here - and totally takes up a lot of space), and bathroom storage. We will also need window coverings and light fixtures - but, to be perfectly honest, I’ve gotten quite used to bare lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling and bed sheets hanging in the windows… I think I’ll start a new trend.

The neighbors

Even without being completely unpacked and organized, this place is really starting to feel like home. We like it here a lot. Unfortunately, the people below us do not like us very much. Our apartment building houses several businesses as well as residences, and directly below us is a business of some sort. They came up and knocked on our door two days in a row to politely tell us that our children running up and down the hallway was much too loud for them downstairs. After the second day, I started to worry that this may be a reoccurring thing - because, well frankly, my kids reocurring-ly run and play… and tiptoeing isn’t really an option with a 2 and 4 year old.

Eric decided to take matters into his own hands and went downstairs and knocked on their door. He introduced himself and asked them if any of them have kids. No, none of them do, of course. He briefly explained that kids run and play, and typically without any regard to how loud their feet are. And as politely as he could, he told them to discontinue coming upstairs to ask us to be quiet. Poor guys, they have been used to complete silence for the last year while this apartment has remained vacant. Now they have a loud family of six living above them, stomping around like giant trolls, and making such a ruckus. I feel for them, I do - but not enough to make my kids sit on the couch all day and enforce silence. Sorry, Charlie. Maybe I’ll make the poor guys cookies instead…

We have been lucky enough to be living in this small, furnished apartment for the last 6 or so weeks. We seriously lucked out with how friendly and generous the owners have been, and how nicely this little apartment has suited our needs. It really has begun to feel like home here - but that said, we are really excited to be able to get into a bigger place, spread out a bit, and get the rest of our stuff here to really make ourselves comfy.

So this weekend, we will take what belongings we have now and move them over to our new, empty apartment. Right now, the stuff we have includes the luggage we brought on the plane with us (clothes and tolietries) and a small shipment that arrived by air a couple weeks ago. This small shipment included enough kitchen items to get by, some bedding, the kids scooters, and a few other essentials that I projected we might need in starting out. We will definitely be 'roughin' it, but I think along with a couple borrowed airbeds (thanks to our lovely friends in the ward), we will be fine.

So typically, when you imagine a small move such as this, you probably imagine loading up a friend's pick up truck, or even the back of your own mini van and driving across town and unloading it. But since we don't have a car, we have to improvise. With a tip from a friend, we decided to sign up for a car sharing program called Zip Car. We have reserved a cargo van for friday morning and will be charged by the hour while we use it. Not a bad deal - until you realize that instead of pulling up into the driveway, you have to find a a parking spot as close to the apartment building as possible - which may not be close at all, and then haul all the items down the stairs, out the door, and to the van. Only to drive it to the new apartment, where there is even less parking available, unload, walk to the building, and go up the stairs. I have a feeling that this small move is going to take a long while. Luckily Eric found out he has Friday off of work. Great timing for an Islamic holiday!

Here's a few perks about our new place:

It's big. Decent sized even for U.S. standards - but giant for Vienna standards. We will have plenty of space for our stuff, and room to romp. (PS - we will have a rather large guestroom as well, so get ready to come and visit!)

It's situated on a pedestrian shopping street. The whole street is lined with little shops - a chocolatier, a bakery, a cafe, an antique shop, a juice bar, a book shop, clothes shops, etc. I am not much of a shopper myself, but there is something really cool about being right in the middle of where everyone wants to be. There is always lots of foot traffic, but hardly any cars. Its in a nice area of town. It feels happy and energetic. I love it.

There is a huge, green, quiet courtyard in front of our building. Although we're on a popular shopping street, our actual apartment building is set back one building from the road. You turn off the shopping road, and through an entrance way into a nice quiet courtyard, and then enter our building from there - so it's super quiet where we are. And the courtyard will be a great, safe, confined place for the kids to play hide and seek, ride scooters, and get outside time - and I can watch them from my open window!

There is a grocery store right at the entrance of the apartment. This was probably one of the biggest selling points for this place. I can see into the windows of the Spar Gourmet grocery store from my living room window. You can't get much more convenient than that!

It's much closer to the kids' school. Our travel time to the school will be cut in half, at least. The kids will be able to ride their scooters to school on nice weather days, but otherwise there is a bus that drops us off just in front of the school.

It has TWO bathrooms! I know that doesn't seem like much to many Americans. But the majority of the apartments here only have one bathroom, and sometimes an extra guest toilet room. We are so excited to have more than one bathroom in our new place! This will cut bathtime in half, and eliminate waiting time when nature calls. I feel spoiled already.

It's old but new. The building itself is probably over a hundred years old, like most of the buildings in Vienna - but the interior of the apartment has been completely renovated and we are the first tenants since renovation. It still has tall french doors into every room, large double windows that open up wide, and ornate carvings on the ceilings that date back to the original construction. Also, the walls are about 2 feet thick. No joke. This blocks out sound from adjacent apartments, and also helps the building self-cool during warm weather. So while the orginial construction still stands, it has all new bathroom and kitchen appliances, new flooring, and new paint. So right now everything is nice, new, and very, very white. After a couple hours of hanging out there with my two little boys, however, there are already a pluthera of black smudges and marks all over the walls. I'm sure we'll have it 'broken in' in no time flat.

Empty is an understatement. We are quite lucky that our new aparmtment is equipped with kitchen appliances and bathroom essentials. A lot of times, Vienese apartments don't even come with that. However, our new home is still a lot more empty than a U.S. apartment would be. Here is a list of some things that we will have to purchase ourselves:

Bathroom mirrors, toilet paper holders, towel racks, shower curtain racks, and bathroom storage (drawers or cupboards).

Window coverings and Light fixtures (right now we have light bulbs dangling from the cieling and bare windows - "Hello, World!")

Closets - typical Vienese apartmets have ZERO built in closets, and ours is no exception. We will have to purchase all of our closets, shelving, and storage space - including a pantry for the kitchen.

A washing machine. There is a space in the back bathroom for a washing machine hookup. There is no dryer hook up, however - which is pretty typical. We may purchase a washing machine/dryer combo. Basically, and extra cycle after the clothes are washed, tumbles the clothes (mostly) dry. And even still, no Vienese apartment would be complete without at least one laundry drying rack.

The more I think about, the list just keeps getting longer! I have a feeling that IKEA is going to be my new best friend.

So, we're super excited to move in and start making a home there. It will take some time, lots of organizing and probably many, many trips to IKEA to get totally settled, but we'll get there eventually.

Stay tuned for pictures!

The kids are adjusting to school. They seem to like it, actually. They have both made great friends at school, which helps. I have made friends with a lot of the parents at the school which helps too. Everyone is very nice, and very helpful, and everyone - students, teachers, and parents alike are capable of speaking English - which helps a lot.

Cooper and Addie both have an English teacher and a German teacher. They are taught some courses in German, some in both languages, and some courses in English. Their course subjects include Math, Science, Social Studies, German Reading and Writing, and English Reading and Writing (including cursive with a fountain pen). They also have Arts and Crafts, Library time, and Gym Class throughout the week. Cooper and Addie both have expressed frustration that they don't understand much when only German is being spoken - but that is to be expected. However, I must say that their German is coming along quite nicely. Slowly but surely. I'm pretty sure that they will be teaching us German really soon.

Public school here compared to public school in Texas is very similar in some ways and very different in
many other ways. Here's a brief rundown...

Similarities:
KIDS DON'T TALK MUCH - It's just as hard to drag out details about how school is going from the kids. No matter how many detailed questions I ask, I can only get a very vague picture of what is actually going on at school. But overall - the responses are positive.

HOMEWORK - So far the kids have about the same amount of homework. There is usually homework and reading every day, along with a list of weekly spelling words. Most of the time Friday's are a little more lax, and homework is less or none.

Differences:
SCHOOL DAY LENGTH - The school day is much shorter here. School begins at 8am and ends at 12pm or 1pm depending on the day.

DISMISSAL - Time of dismissal varies by day, can also vary week to week, and sometimes can change with only 24hrs notice. (I think this is a lesson in flexiblity.) Dismissal time also varies between classes! (this has been the hardest thing to adjust to for me - the pick-up lady, it makes things very difficult when it takes 30 minutes to get to school (with two very tired little boys, mind you) and then Cooper gets out at 12 and Addie gets out at 1pm. We get to sit and wait around for an hour?!) Luckily, I've met a mom with siblings in the same classes as mine, who actually lives very near me - and we have teamed up to trade pick-ups and avoid these hour long waits. Who'da thunk, right?

SWIMMING?! - Cooper gets to have swim lessons during school. From now until mid November, his whole class travels to an indoor swimming pool for swim lessons every Friday. Cooper is learning breast stroke this week. He digs it.

HOUSE SHOES - Every morning, upon arrival, the kids go to a cloak room where they take off their jackets (or other external wear (the kids wear full on snow suits on super cold days) and change out of their street shoes into house shoes (crocs, or other slippers only worn inside the school) to wear for the remainder of the day.

PERMANENT CLASS - The teachers and classes remain the same for all four years of elementary school. Meaning your first grade teacher moves up with you for second, third, and fourth grade as well, along with your classmates. Because of this policy. The teachers and the students (and parents) feel very tightly knit and cohesive as a class. There is a bit of class pride that I can sense as well.

SUPER TEACHERS - The class teacher is also the gym teacher, the librarian, the art teacher, and so forth. The staff at the schools is very small. These teachers do it all and esentially never get a break by sending them off to "specials" during the day. (no wonder they end so early in the day, right?)

SCHOOL LUNCH - The kids do not eat lunch in the cafeteria at school. There is no cafeteria at the school for that matter. The parents are encouraged to pack a healthy "snack" for their child each day. About every hour or two, the kids have a snack break. They take out their cloth napkin, spread it on their desk, and eat their snack. Since they have so many oppurtunities to eat, I pack essentially the same amount of food (and very similar items) as I used to pack for their lunch at school. They usually end up eating it all throughout the morning.

STAIRS - The school is inside an old Vienese building, on the first five floors. Lots of stairs.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION - For gym class, the kids actually change out of their street clothes, and into a t-shirt and gym shorts. They go barefoot to gym class. Natural minimalists, I suppose.

DRESSING OUT - The boys and girls all change into their gym clothes in the SAME room - together (GASP!) As mentioned before, Austrians have a completely different (much more relaxed) attidude about nudity and privacy. So, where it would be a HUGE issue and concern for many Americans, it seems to be no big deal for the kids (or parents) here to have the kids change together. Cooper and Addie were appalled when I warned them of this policy - but they both seemed fine after they realized that none of the kids make a big deal of it, or stare, or snigger, or giggle, or poke fun. It's just normal here.

RELIGION - In addition to course subjects, an hour of religion is taught once a week. We had the choice between Catholic, Prodestant, or Islamic religion classes. We also could choose to opt out completely, and the kids could go and sit in a room by themselves and do worksheets, if prefered. After talking with the parents and teachers, we found out that about 85% of the class stays in the Catholic religion class - and that generally it indludes bible stories, children's songs, and lessons about Christian values and moral standards. We talked to our kids about it and they said they would prefer to stay with the majority of the class. So far they have really enjoyed it, and they have learned some really cute new songs about Christ - in GERMAN!

PARENT/TEACHER COMMUNICATION - This is a doozy for me. I still haven't quite figured this one out. There is one little notebook in which the teachers paste notes about happenings in the class, upcoming events, and forms to sign and return, and then there is another notebook in which the kids write their homework assignments. But between everything being in German - and most of it being severely abbreviated (German abbreviations make NO sense to me), I don't understand about 95% of it. But between what the kids have heard, and what I can get from other parent friends, we've made it this far...

SCHOOL BAGS - It is highly reccomended that every grammar school student wear a hard framed back pack. These are heavy and horribly big, but I've seen them on almost all of the students. When I inquired as to why they are so highly reccommended, a teacher told me (very seriously) that the hard frame of these school bags serve as more of a protection to the students in case of an acciddent, like getting hit by a car during the commute to school. Interesting reasoning, I think. However, I think more than anything, it's just one of those culture things that they just do here.
We have not yet adopted this part of the culture, but we'll be sure to look both ways for cars.

I had read somewhere in a book, that when invited to an Austrian's home for dinner, you should arrive with flowers, wine, and/or chocoalates as gifts for the hosts. I confirmed this fact with a few other Austrian friends that I've made (namely our realtor, Noemi and a couple from our ward). They all agreed, that it is almost imperative that you arrive with such gifts when invited to dinner. This is very different than what I am used to in Texas where, if invited to dinner, I would usually would say something like "Alrighty! BBQ sounds great! We'll bring the potato salad and chips!" But after learning about the formalities of these special occasions, I realized that the Texan way of doing things wasn't going to fly here.

Apparently Austrians, being the formal traditional people that they are, do not vary much from wine, flowers, and chocolates for this type of engagment. In fact, Noemi explained that traditionally, when the guest couple arrives at the host couple's home, the woman should present the male host with the wine, and the man should present the female hostess with the flowers and/or chocolates. However, since we don't drink alcohol at all, and therefore have no idea how to choose a decent wine, I decided that we would forego the wine altogether, but go ahead and get both flowers and chocolates.

The chocolate aisle at the little grocery stores here are amazing. Europe knows how to make dang good chocolate. (Not to mention the wonderful chocolate shops that entice you from the streets with their wonderfully chocolatey aromas...) I had a hard time choosing which chocolates looked the best - but I went with the ones that said "Thank you" on the box because we are truly grateful for this wonderful family and how generous they have been to us during our stay here.

We arrived at their home promptly at 6pm. (It's really important to Austrians to be prompt for appointments and meetings, and extremely rude to be late.) When Peter invited us into his home, my children gave him the chocolates and flowers. He took them, thanked us, and set them aside. (He's obviously seen a lot of chocolate and flowers in his day). We went on into the living room, and immediately discovered something about Peter that we didn't know before. He is a geologist, a rock and gem collector, and owns the largest personal collection of petrified wood in the world. His collection that was displayed in the living room was enormous! So many awesome geodes, rocks, fossils, and all kinds of cool things that you would only see in a science museum otherwise. They kids were immediately enthrhalled and wanted to touch everything. Peter handed a large heavy speicmen to Cooper and asked, "Do you know what that is?" Cooper responded very inteligently with, "Um... a rock?" and Peter laughed and exclaimed, "No! It's petrified dinosaur poop!" Cooper wasn't sure if he should think it was totally cool or totally gross. We all laughed.
After asking him a little bit about it, he told us that this was only a small part of his collection. He owns two other apartments that are completely full with more specimens. He travels the world presenting parts of his collection at Geology conventions, writes books, photographs his collections for other books, and publishes his photography in magazines like National Geographic. And this is only one of his many hobbies.

Dinner was served. Peter cooked spaghetti, becuase he knew that the kids would eat it, and he was right. We all ate spagetti, salad, and fresh baked bread, until we were full. For dessert they brought out a large bowl of fresh plums that they had just picked at their cottage in lower Austria. The kids devoured them - they were so sweet and yummy! It turns out that Peter loves to cook, and he always cooks in very large quantities (which is not typical Austrian style) because he often has guests coming to his home unexpectedly. He also bakes, and cans fresh fruits and vegtables from his orchards and gardens out in the countryside. He even sent us home with a jar of plum jam to try that he had just cooked up that day. Did I mention this guy has cool hobbies?
(I failed to snap a photo of Peter's plum jam, but it looked a lot like this.)

At dinner time, we learned about another of Peter's hobbies. He is an avid musician! He plays many instruments including the piano, guitar, flute, drums, and the Handharmonika - or diotonic button accordian. I had never seen such a thing! His wife rolled her eyes when he got it out, and mumbled something under her breath (I could tell it wasn't her favorite instrument) - but we all were very excited to hear it. He gave us a lovely rendition of a series of Austrian folk songs. We danced and swayed in our seats. It was rather awesome. I want a hobby like this!

Later he showed the kids that you can really make music with anything - Even a watering can! They were throughly impressed. After he played a song on the watering can, he brought out his very own hand-made Devil's Fiddle, which is basically a giant noise maker made up of various trinkets attached to a broomstick. You really can make music with anything! Devil Fiddle hobby.

Speaking of hobbies, this is the same man that, when I found the apartment online and emailed an inquiry, instead of emailing back, he called me... from the middle of the Swiss Alps. He was in the middle of a four week long bicycle trek. A pilgrimage through Switzerland and across several other countries following the ancient paths of Saint Jacob, to the destination of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Just another hobby.

To say the very least, it was a wonderful oppurtunity to get to know this man and his family. He was full of stories, experiences, world travels, talents, and well - awesome hobbies. We were truly honored to be in his home and share and evening with them. He even invited Cooper back to come and polish his very own geode with his professional rock polisher. Cooper has already begun a new rock collection.

When I grow up, I want to have cool hobbies.

Tucker was still moving slowly, so I took the rare oppurtunity I had to lie down next to him and get in a good snuggle session. After only a few minutes, however, his tummy started waking up and he started asking about breakfast. Although Tucker has always seemed to require more sleep than any of my other kids, it has always bothered him that he often misses out on all the action while he snoozes a while longer. This morning, like many other mornings, he wanted to know what the other kids had eaten for breakfast. I explained that they had yogurt with müsli, toast, and bananas. Usually he wants the very same things that they had, and yogurt is one of his favorite things, ever. (There really is no comparison to European yogurt... SO good.)

I was surprised this morning, however, after I explained the breakfast menu, that Tucker started to cry - big, long, heart-broken sobs. Completely confused, I started asking him why he was so sad. It took a little while to translate his woes through all the sobbing, but I finally figured it out. He thought the kids had eaten his beloved, stuffed moose, Moosely (adorably pronounced Moose-sully) for breakfast. When I finally figured out why he was so heartbroken, I had to stifle a smile while I tried to locate Moosely in the midst of all the pillows and blankets on the bed. I found the stuffed animal, and he immediately stopped crying and hugged Moosely with a sigh of relief. I explained that the kids would never eat Moosely for breakfast - because afterall, she wouldn't even taste that good!

After the problem was solved, Tucker quickly came out and chose his favorite yogurt. I showed him the bag of müsli, and asked him if wanted some with his yogurt. He politely declined saying, "No, I don't think moose-sully tastes good for breakfast."