Our First Visitors

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Phoebe (who I've known since living in Ohio in the 7th grade) messaged me on Facebook and said that she and her boyfriend, Andrew, were thinking about stopping through Salzburg on their way to Italy. They were studying in Spain and after their course work, they decided to travel around a bit. I was more than happy to accommodate them during their visit last week.

We had a wonderful time. I showed them around the city, we sang karaoke, I cooked them some homemade meals, we visited Eagle's Nest and we partied like we were in college again. Good times! Yay for visitors!! :)

Shootin' The Hooch

Okay, okay. I have been gone for a while. I am so sorry. I was in the States for my birthday, then back in Austria with some visitors and now in Prague. Life is hard. ;)

While I was back in the States for my birthday, that Saturday a group of us went Shootin' The Hooch. It was Jason's first time and there were about 15 of us. Beer, plus tubes, plus water guns always equals a good time.

Here are some pics.

We had a total blast! I am so thankful I was home to spend my special day with such wonderful family and friends. Love you guys!! x

27

Holy cow! Where does the time go?? Seems like yesterday we were in Thailand for my last birthday. So blessed for yet another great year and thankful to be spending it with my lovely hubby, family and friends. Happy birthday to me! ;)

Jack Update

Jack has lived with us in Austria for a month now. I am so happy that he is here!

Jack was staying with my parents for the past year. I couldn't bring him to Singapore because we were traveling so much and because I didn't want him to have to go into quarantine for several months. At my parents, he got used to playing with  their two dogs, Gracie and Allie. When we first moved to Austria, I was worried that Jack would be lonely because he's either lived with the girls or with Bella (although I'm sure he would have rather lived alone than with her).

The amazing thing about Europe is that dogs can go EVERYWHERE with you. And Jack has done just that. So I don't have to leave him alone all the time, I take him with me pretty much wherever I go. He has been to Ikea, out to eat with us, to Budapest on my girl's trip... you name it. I try to take him everywhere I can because I don't want him to be alone and sad.

When we do have to leave him, he cries and it just breaks my heart having to hear it through the door while we are waiting on the elevator. And you better believe that when we return, we are smothered by sweet kisses.

The only issue I have really had so far with Jack is his eating habits. He hasn't really eaten much and has lost some weight so I am now mixing some wet food with his dry food so he doesn't starve. I didn't want his 4 lb. body to shrink to nothing. Other than that, he has been amazing. I'm sure his appetite will pick back up once he gets used to his new living arrangement.

The hardwood floors are also something he has been getting used to. When we first arrived with him, he was sliding all over the place. He wouldn't jump on the couch or the bed and wasn't used to it at all. He has now conquered his fears and prances around the house like he owns the place.

I love my little man! :)

Bucket List Update

Life sure is funny sometimes. In November 2009, right after I met Jason, I decided to create a bucket list for my blog. At the time, we had just begun to date (like 3 weeks into our relationship) and Jason must have inspired me by all of his stories about traveling abroad, meeting new people and seeing new places. It was at that time that I made a list for myself of things that I wanted to do before I die. I have looked back at it from time to time and am amazed at how much I have accomplished in the last (almost) two years. Where does the time go? I am so blessed to have experienced all that I have and am looking forward for what is to come. Out of 100 things, here's what I've done since then:

1. Learn to speak a foreign language. (Well, I'm trying to anyway. I can understand more than I can speak but I'm taking classes and am getting there.)
2. Visit Australia, Costa Rica, Paris, London and Thailand.
3. Move out of the country.
4. Fall deeply in love--helplessly and unconditionally-- and get married.
5. Drive the Autobahn and speed as much as I want.
6. Go snorkeling and scuba diving.
7. Learn to cook well. (Not sure if it's "well" but I can cook much better than I did before...)
8. Learn to become more artistic. (I started to paint a bit)
9. Learn to drive a 5 speed.
10. Go rock climbing.
11. Take a spontaneous trip for no reason.
12. Help someone in need.
13. Become a cowgirl for a weekend. (Helps when your inlaws own a buffalo ranch) ;)
14. Fish for blue marlin.
15. Visit a rainforest.
16. Take lots of pictures and actually print them out and use them.
17. Build something. (Does Ikea furniture count?)
18. Live every day as if it's my last.

I can't wait to complete the other 82 items! I am blessed! x

Via Ferrata Mountain Climbing

Over the past few months, Jason has taken up rock climbing with some friends. It is called via ferrata climbing and consists of a mountain route containing cables, bridges, and ladders. You basically have a harness and work your way up a cable so you are strapped in at all times. You are constantly hooking and unhooking yourself (you always stay hooked in, as you have two hooks) to move along the trail.

Tait (Sego's husband) introduced this type of climbing to Jason. So on Sunday, the five of us (including their baby) headed out so us girls could finally have a go at it. While Sego and Tait climbed, we watched baby Leo. And then it was our turn.

I was so excited to finally get to try it and I loved it! I am very glad that I am not afraid of heights, as you are just hanging off the side of the mountain, praying that the cable is secure.

Here are some pictures of our day:

 I can't wait to go again! The views were amazing!! :)

Budapest Girl's Trip

Last week me and several friends (and babies and Jack) decided to go on a girl's trip to Budapest since all of our hubbies were out of town for work at the same time. The original plan was to go to the beach in Croatia but the apartment we wanted to rent was not available. So, with some very last minute planning, we were off to Hungary.

Since I do not have a family pass for the train, my ticket would have been uber expensive so I decided to drive and Izzy and Lou (baby) joined. Our drive was 5 hours and it flew by. We chatted and caught up the whole way while the baby slept, making our trip truly pleasant.

We arrived before the other girls and decided to wait at the cafe next to the apartment and had a glass of Hungarian wine and ooohhh was is yummy! We eventually met the landlord and were shown around our new pad. It was two bedrooms with a nice kitchen, living room, and bathroom and plenty of sleeping space for us all. Sounds great, huh? Well, it was but I'm not quite sure what we were thinking having 5 ladies, 4 babies under 1, and a dog all in this one apartment. Needless to say, the trip was an adventure from the very start.

After we settled in, we changed, got our things together and went out to a lovely dinner. And by lovely I mean it was good company and the babies were asleep because my meal was less than mediocre. After dinner and a couple bottles of wine, we all raced home. Literally. It was the start of the infamous kinderwagon races. For all you non-German speakers, a kinderwagon is a baby stroller. I was running while trying to take picture and laughing my butt off but here is the pic I took. Maybe you just had to be there.

Now I'm sure you all could have seen this coming, especially all the parents out there, but the sleeping arrangements were horrible. By the time one baby was asleep, another would cry and wake him/her up starting the whole cycle over again. The domino effect in real life. This was a problem every night, making us all the more exhausted each night. By the end of our trip, we all needed a vacation from our mini vacation.

The following day, Sego was our tour guide and showed us around town. This was a very stressful day because each baby would cry or poop or eat and we were constantly stopping. Surprise, surprise. If you ever want a good birth control, just come on one of our girl's trips and I'm sure you'll get over that real quick. ;) We spent the whole day walking around and seeing a bunch of the sites. I must say, Budapest in one of my favorite cities. I loved it!! Our tour guide wasn't too shabby either! :)

After walking around the city all day, we walked towards our apartment and found a nice Italian restaurant to eat at for dinner. I will spare you the details but it was probably not the best idea to take the kiddos out after such a long day. Here is a basic outline, not including names...

I. Baby 1 starts crying

   A. Mom 1 gets food

   B. Mom 1 eats real fast

   C. Mom 1 races home to get baby to sleep and leaves dinner early

II. Baby 2 starts crying

   A. Mom 2 takes baby to park outside restaurant and changes diaper

   B. Mom 2 returns with poop all over her shirt

   C. Mom 2 changes into one of our extra shirts

   D. Mom 2 finally enjoys her meal and a big glass of wine

III. Baby 3 starts crying

   A. Mom 3 takes baby to park and changes diaper

   B. Mom 3 walks around with baby, trying to quiet her down

   C. Mom 3 returns and finally enjoys her meal and wine

IV. Mom 4 and I eat and drink merrily

   A. We outlast other Moms and hang out at table while Mom 2 and 3 take babies home

   B. We accidently didn't leave enough money for the check and are chased down by the server 

       1. This is very embarrassing being that it was in front of several cafes

   C. Jack gets run over by Mom 4's stroller as we try to leave quickly

Needless to say, it was a pretty "shitty" dinner. At this point you should realize that getting the kids to bed was difficult every night.

The following day we decided to separate up a bit since the day before had been so stressful. Sego and I joined forces and walked around the city. Our first stop was the train station so Sego could buy her return ticket home. We then walked to the park and enjoyed lunch and the sunshine, where Nichole met up with us for a bit. While walking towards the Jewish quarter, we ran into Kim and Izzy. We chatted for a bit before going our own ways again. We went shopping and exploring and had a wonderful day.

For dinner, we decided to cook in the apartment. We made risotto while the Moms tried to put the babies to sleep one by one. Around 9:30pm we were successful and had a lovely dinner. We chatted, drank good wine, and finally had somewhat of a relaxing evening. 

The next morning we were up and at 'em. We cleaned and got all packed up and headed back to the Burg. Our trip was fun, minus a couple of bumps in the road. I'm pretty sure Jack had the best time, being that he ate a ton of people food that the munchkins kept feeding him. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'd go back on a trip like this unless we had our own sleeping quarters. I can look back and laugh now but at some point I'm pretty sure we all wanted to cry. It was definitely an experience and I'm so glad to have gotten to know my friends in Salzburg even better. They are some pretty cool chicks.

The end.

P.S. I must be crazy because none of this has changed my mind about wanting a baby. ;)