Catch Up!

The boys are now back in school and things are starting to return to "normal" around here.  Over break, we took some drives and tried some new things.  The sun came out this week - for a couple hours.  And now Brian's getting ready for his trip back to the US next week.  We've also got company coming in February (YAY)!

After Christmas and Hayden's Birthday, we took a drive to a town called Sap.  It was tiny and near the border of Austria.  It was nice to drive around and see more of Slovakia.

We also got to spend some time with our neighbours.  They had us over for dinner after Christmas - it was Fancy!!!  They cooked a real Salmon - not just the fillet part like I would   :)  And, we had great vegetables with it - potatoes, carrots, parsnips and brussel sprouts.  I actually thought they were all good - I think it is the first time that I have had either parsnips or brussel sprouts.  We even got to partake in a Slovak tradition of Oblatky (crispy wafers) that we sprinkled with honey and garlic.  An unlikely combination for us Americans, but was actually quite good!

Then we also incorporated some English (that's capital "E" for UK English) traditions - crakers (you pull on them and they make a boom and a toy comes out) and Figgy Pudding.  Well OK, it wasn't called that officially, but that's how the song goes - "We won't leave till we get some."  Everyone really liked this - even the kids!  We'll have to watch for it to go on sale again next year at the English Department Store Marks & Spencer.

And of course, we had to bring some American items - we roasted Marshmallows in the living room fire place.  The kids had the most fun with this.  Their youngest daughter was super cute and kept coming back for more and more!  Then we all played some fun Wii games together - Michael Jackson's Experience & Big Brain Academy.

A couple of days later, we went got back together with our neighbours to go to the Transportation Museum. It was very nice - a little cold since it is in a large, old station with not much (or any) heat and a several trains outside.  We'll definitely go back when it's warmer and we also can't wait to take Ken & Curly there!  There were Trains, Motorcycles, Bikes, Cars, Tanks and also some really neat displays of how the whole train system used to work - communication, track switching, etc.   We may have to convince Kala to go back with us for Ken & Curly though, to help translate the signs!  :)

After checking out all of the cool trains, we made our way downtown to a mall.  We had hot chocolates at a cafe and then the kids got to race some really fast slot cars.  Then we all had dinner together at the food court.  We each got to eat what we wanted and still enjoy a meal together.  It was very nice.  We're really glad we lucked out and got to meet the Earls and live by them!

We also took a drive out toward Poland to see the Tatra Mountains (this made us all a bit homesick for our Rocky Mountains).  There were little stands on the road along the way selling Honey and also Eggs and Cheese (goat).  We ate lunch at a "Tex-Mex" restaurant which wasn't so much "Tex-Mex," but we had to try!  We'll have to go back and spend more than one day there.  We're actually planning to go up to the Tatras for a weekend in February with some families from the Boy Scout troop - we're going to Snowshoe, hit the Hot Springs, and go Dog Sledding!

Here is a link to all of the pictures:  FaceBook Pictures
And, I'll try to get back into a better routine of posting again!!