Evening swims & shadows

The inner lagoon of the resort was perfect for throwing rocks, wading in the water, and seeing how long Sophia could make her shadow in the fading sunlight…

Relaxation in Istria

We stayed on the northern part of the Croatian Coast, and the sunshine was very welcomed!  After the long (horrible) drive thru the hailstorms, we had dinner on a terrace overlooking the beach & watching the sunset.  Sophia complained about the sun in her eyes, and we realized we forgot Alexandra’s seat, but Troy & I loved it.  It was nice just to feel like relaxation was taking over us…

  

The next day we really fell into vacation mode.  The girls (sharing a room for the first time) were up at 7, with Troy, while I had a bit of a lie in, then when I got up, Alexandra & Troy went back to bed for the first nap of the day while Sophia & I scouted out the resort, the pools, and the closest cup of coffee.

When we all managed to get up & out the door together, we headed for the pool on the beach, and lunch in the sun.

 

  Alexandra collapsed from exhaustion and fun… After hours of swimming, and attempts to swim without water wings, Sophia found out one of the pleasures of vacation being almost endless hydrating treats (Fruit pushups being my personal favorite) and lots of late nights watching sunsets.

Croatia for a long weekend

Sophia had one last holiday weekend before the end of school for a German only holiday (no one else in Europe seemed to have the day off?!? But no one can tell me what the holiday is?) Since Troy’s travel has been so random lately & has included some weekend days (grrrr) we decided it would be a good idea to get away from Munich & have some really great family time before the summer travels start.

Originally we were looking at Ljubljana for the weekend, but the hotel that Troy wanted to stay at was full, so we decided just to drive the extra hour to get to the Croatian coast. We actually had a horrible drive thru Austria & Slovenia, lots of thunder storms, rain for most of the time, HUGE hail storms that had us driving 40 km on the autobahn, but once we got thru the mountains – and there are a lot of them! – we found sunshine & the temperature increased 20 degrees.

We stopped in Lake Bled for a very quick visit to the castle, and a small view of the lake, but pit stops with 2 kids dying to get to the beach doesn’t work out very well. It made for a couple of quick photos, and then back to the car.

After lots of tunnels, a new highway in Slovenia, and a very funny border crossing (Croatia isn’t yet in the EU), we arrived at the resort. A little odd, lots of Communist Era Apartments, and pools that have seen better days, but the new villas where we stayed were wonderful, had a terrace with curtains to die for, and had no stairs for Alexandra to play around on…

Alexandra's big steps

It is still a bit early, and she can't go more than a few steps at a time (especially when her big sister blocks her in) but slowly Alexandra is walking more & more!

Sports Day!

Yesterday at Sophia’s school the entire Lower School was split into 4 houses (shades of Hogworts) based on colors – Red, Blue, Green & Yellow.  They then spent most of the day out in the playground participating & competing (a bit) in various events:  running, obstacle course, jumping, throwing in hoops, etc.  There were a few fun breaks to play with a parachute, jump in the castle of Munich, pretzel & drink snack time. 

  

 

I would have to say it was enjoyed by all (controlled chaos), and since all of the classes were housed together there was some real cheering going on for everyone.

Sophia was very excited – her blue house won!

(even a few games of duck duck goose to pass the time between activities!)

Playtime in a bin

Why is it that kids have so much fun in a plastic bin?  Is it a boat?  A train?  Can we squeeze in there together?

Obviously Sophia & Alexandra were having a blast, and it is always so much fun for us to see them enjoying each other like this!  Sorry that the giggles don’t come thru the photos…

Alexandra makes a mess

Just a fun rainy afternoon at home while Sophia was at a birthday party... Amazing what you can do with ribbon.

Z update

Actually this should be more of a computer update...

Anyway, I'm having some majorly inconvenient computer issues, and despite being married to a MS guy with connections, it looks like the only thing I can do is go back to the original configuration of my computer - from 20 months ago (like dog years!!!) So I've gotten most of the posts updated for the major events in the past month, and it will probably take me the next couple nights to get the rest up & going (hopefully!). In the meantime, most of our photos are backed up in multiple places, as well as documents, and all the other really important things in our lives...
Hopefully when this is all done, things will be moving faster, and much more simply, than before...

and a few images to leave you with for the next couple days...

(Sophia with her self made hair cut - she actually did a pretty good job... Bangs only, she just couldn't see while she was drawing!)

Burghausen – The castle

We spent a very hot Sunday afternoon at the medieval castle of Burghausen, the longest castle in Europe with walls over 1 km long!  There were 6 different courtyards in the palace, and we could see the development of the castle thru the years, but mostly it was just hot.  We thought that on a hill overlooking the amazing old town we would get a bit of a breeze, but there was nothing.

 

Sophia ended up in the stroller, while Alexandra got a ride with Troy.  Both girls fell asleep in the car on the way home…

Thru the courtyards there were chapels, private gardens, a cafe, and an amazing view to a swimming lake down below (from now on we bring our bathing suits for day trips).

Alexandra at 13 months

As Alexandra’s world is expanding, and getting taller now that she is on her feet more, it seems like her development is on fast forward.  In the past month she has started really signing to us (more, please, milk, eat, and birds are the 5 favorites) and she really wants to do things just like her big sister, including eating off the same type of plate and being able to drink her bottle all by herself (which is so great in the car now!)

We put a table & chairs in her room, and she loves to sit there & read, or “put together” a puzzle.

We also have a red set in the kitchen next to the balcony doors where Alexandra can sit and look out on the trees, birds, get some sunshine thru the windows, and basically keep herself entertained while I make dinner or clear out the dishwasher.

The drool is back, which makes me think that we are in for some rough teething ahead.