Budapest or Bust

Happy Halloween, Part 2

2009-11-08T16:20:00.006+01:00

No need to worry that the kids miss out on Halloween just because we're over here in Budapest. At the American School they are sure to celebrate Halloween. Friday the 30th was deemed close enough and the afternoon was filled with parties, activities, treats and games topped off by the Parade of Classes and Trunk or Treat at night.

This year Vito went as Optimus Prime and Katie was a 1960's Flower Child. Thanks to Grammy for bringing over our costumes from the States.

The kids helped me carve our Jack O' Lantern.

Vito and two of his best friends: Holden (USA) as Bumblebee, Flynn (Germany) as a Ninja and Vito as Optimus Prime.

Katie's 3rd Grade Class.

We of course decorated our car for Trunk or Treat. We were happy that Katie's best friend, Shiraz, could join us again this year.

The girls went around by themselves but Anna escorted Optimus Vito while I stayed at the car to hand out the candy.

Our friend Bob Lowe came as the Football Fairy. You can probably guess this but, yes, he did indeed lose a bet.

On Halloween we also were invited by some friends at the Embassy to the Marine House where they had games for the kids, beer and American hot dogs, and a haunted house. Vito insisted on going through the haunted house since Holden wanted to and enjoyed not a second of it. The Marines did a really great job.

Everyone had a great time this Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Part 1

2009-10-30T23:36:00.003+01:00

I have lots to post about...and hopefully I'll get to that soon. In the mean time, here's some fun stuff to wish you a Happy Halloween.

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And of course, what post would be complete without a funny picture of my Dad? Just for Halloween, here is Zombie Frank:
Happy Halloween!

Frank & Bobbie on Soul Train

2009-09-18T12:00:00.000+02:00

It's been a while but it's time for More Fun with my Parents' Pictures!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Don't feel too bad for my parents. They like to see themselves dressed crazily, as evidenced by this picture from the mid-70's:

First Day of School

2009-09-17T19:02:00.003+02:00

The kids have been back to school for almost 3 weeks now, but still...better late than never.

As a 3^rd Grader, Katie started out at the "big" campus this year. All the kids will be here by the end of October (Please God, let the New Elementary School Building be completed soon), but until then my kids are on 2 different campuses.

Here's the pictures we took in the morning, with the sun in her eyes and at a bad angle as I was trying not to get hit by other parents' cars.

After school was a little bit better time to take a picture.

Because they are on different campuses Katie takes the "bus" to school.

Here's Vito on his first day of Kindergarten. We are very happy that he has the same Kindergarten teacher that Katie did.

Croatia and Venice

2009-09-14T12:00:00.001+02:00

After being home for two straight weeks we decided it was time for another vacation! We spent 4 nights in Poreč, Croatia.

After a 6+ hour drive, it was nice to take a swim at the beach. Croatia is on the Adriatic Sea.

After dinner we took a walk on the beach. The sunset was was AMAZINGLY beautiful.

While the sea water was refreshing, the beaches in Croatia are very rocky. It was very difficult to stand up and so we decided that the resort's pool was the better option for swimming for the rest of our stay.

The resort had a kid's club that we could check the kids into while we relaxed. The club held all sorts of games and activities for the kids, like races in the pool.

While there we celebrated Anna's Birthday. No Birthday Cake but no worries because the beer and wine were all included!Venice is just a little over 2 hours across the Adriatic from Poreč so we took the ferry over one day. Although we could have wished for a little more time here, we still had a really nice day.

A gondola ride was a must, of course.

Anna and the kids in Piazza San Marco.

The whole family poses on the Rialto Bridge.

On Saturday we ventured an hour south to Pula. The main attraction in Pula is the Pula Arena. Very similar to the Colosseum in Rome, albeit a little bit smaller. They still hold concerts here and were actually getting ready for one when we visited. (According to a poster in a store we saw we apparently just missed our opportunity to see Michael Bolton in concert...may be next time - not!)

We were very lucky and had a really easy drive home. We went through Slovenia - which was VERY picturesque and we look forward to heading there for a visit next year.

Lake Balaton

2009-09-13T20:07:00.005+02:00

After getting home from the States and settling back in (Katie had a really bad case of jet lag) we spent a really enjoyable Saturday with several friends down at Lake Balaton - a popular Hungarian get away - about 1¹/₂ hours drive South of Budapest.

Vito and Katie with their friends Brianne and Haley making sand castles. The 5 families rented this boat and the kids had a great time siding into the lake.

There was even these great slides to go down! Katie had a great time but Vito only slid down once - under protest.

A really fun day capped off by dinner with our friends at a local Hungarian restaurant.

Summer - USA

2009-09-10T17:53:00.012+02:00

Sorry for the delay. The start of the school year has been super busy. But enough excuses, on to the post:

We had a fantastic time in the US. We started off in Houston for 2 weeks. Anna worked in Houston for most of the trip and a lot of time was spent going to Dr.'s offices: 6 Doctor's Appointments (4 check up and 2 pedia-dermatologist check ups), 5 Dentist Appointments (check up plus I had to have an old filling replaced), 2 Eye Doctor Visits (Anna & I still can't see sh*t without our contacts) and 1 Mammogram.

But it wasn't all Medical Appointments. We had a great time visiting our friends and family in Houston. Renee and Marissa hosted their annual Independence Day Party. No fireworks this year due to the burn ban but the Fire Department did come and spray the kids from the Fire Truck. Lisa Marie was, of course, the designated photographer and took beautiful pictures as always. I mean, I assume they are beautiful as I forgot to request a copy of the files! Oops!

We also had a fun day at Schlitterbahn waterpark with Grammy and Aunt Reba. Katie was very happy that she could go on the water slides all by herself. It was a perfect day at the waterpark...due to some early morning rain, many people stayed away and the park was not very crowded at all. Again, no pictures. Sorry.

The rest of the time was spent visiting our favorites restaurants including The Outback, Wings & Things, Sweet Tomatoes, Chuy's, The Outback, Texadelphia, China Bear, Pei Wei and The Outback. I even took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese 3 or 4 times (it's not so bad when you go when they first open at 9:30am and you are the only ones there).

We then spent 3 weeks in Troy (Anna stayed for just 1) and had lots of fun with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Frankie, Cousin Ava and the rest of our family and friends.

We visited our friends the Mitola's at their place on Lake George. The kids fished off the dock but didn't have any luck this year.

My parents and I getting ready for the boat ride...

but uh oh! Look who's driving!

This is not any better.

We visited Saratoga Race Track one morning and met some of Uncle Tony's horses.

It's not quite true that there are only two names in my family, Vito & Frank. But it's not far from the truth. Meet the four Frank Salvaggio's, from left to right: My cousin Frank, his dad (my Granduncle) Frank, my brother Frank and my Dad Frank.

We spent another afternoon at Hoffman's Playland. Here's the family on the train.

Ava REALLY enjoyed the boat ride and my kids really enjoyed spending time with her.

My parents and I took the kids to Six Flags Great Escape. We had a great day, riding the rides and meeting many of the characters.

Here are the kids with Shaggy.

Vito loved to see the Batmobile...

...but refused to go any where near Hawkgirl. So Grandpa stood in for him.

Just had to take this picture, right outside the entrance to Ghost Town (if they even still call it that). Wells Fargo is where we do our banking in TX.

Bugs Bunny & Marvin the Martian.

Katie and I in front of the Steamin' Demon. I've been coming here since I was a kid, but this was the first time I ever went on this roller coaster. Katie REALLY wanted to go and since Anna was already back in Budapest... It's really is not a scary ride but Roller Coasters aren't my thing.

Riding the Desperado Plunge with Grandma...

...and then Grandpa.

We had a fun picnic with many of our friends. I only grabbed a couple of pictures of the kids in the pool. Vito and Jack played nicely while...

...Katie enjoyed jumping off the diving board.

We had a great time catching up with all of our family and friends this summer and look forward to seeing at least some of you this Christmas.

Katie's First Communion

2009-07-18T04:02:00.005+02:00

Katie made her First Communion last Sunday. Special thanks to Fr. Ed for getting us the materials to "home school" her to prepare her and especially for making the mass all about her. She felt very special.

Katie looked beautiful in her First Communion dress.

Katie receiving the Body...

...and Blood of Christ for the first time.

Katie with Fr. Ed and her proud family.

Proud Grandparents.

And a very special thank you to Katie's Godmother, Lisa Marie, for not only coming up from Houston for the occasion but for taking all the awesome pictures. Including the slideshow below.

Lisa Marie took several photos of Katie in her dress just before we left Houston and put together this terrific slideshow:
www.life-lens.com/Katie2009-07-08

Katie's Dance Recital

2009-06-22T14:09:00.009+02:00

Katie has been working hard all year in dance class. This is the first year she attended the 2 hour Saturday morning class, rather than just the 40 minute Friday after school class. Which meant that this year she had a ton more stage time than last year.

The "frame" of the show was that of a Birthday Slumber Party...which is why the costumes look like pajamas. Katie was the first "guest" to arrive at the party. Even though you can't hear it that well, she did a great job on her speaking parts.

Katie was in the oldest group of girls in the Junior Show.

Tap Dance was a new skill practiced this year.

Flashy costumes for "I Want to Be a Rock Star."

Flowers from Mom & Dad for a terrific job!

Prague

2009-06-21T20:41:00.010+02:00

The last weekend in May was a long weekend so we took the opportunity to visit Prague. It's only a 5 hour trip from Budapest...which just cracks me up. In 5 hours we went through 3 countries: Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In Houston I could maybe get to Dallas in 5 hours.

On Saturday it was a bit rainy but we still managed to take a nice log walk around town.

Here's the whole family in the Old Town Square.

The kids and I pose for a picture on the Charles Bridge, an important Prague landmark. Lots of walking this day...the Charles Bridge was located about halfway between our hotel and the Prague Castle (seen way in the background) where we ended our walking tour...but we still had to walk all the way back!

Outside the Prague Castle.

On Sunday we went to the Prague Zoo and met our friends, the Gardners.

We got to see the penguins (Grandpa's favorite) really up close. No zoom needed!

The Zoo had several play areas where we stopped to have some fun.

Vito liked the tiger exhibit.

And of course we needed some ice cream to cap off the day.

We had a great time in Prague!

Happy 8th Birthday, Katie

2009-06-02T19:47:00.007+02:00

Katie has been counting down to her Birthday for quite some time and we ALL were glad when it finally arrived.

We had her party the week before her birthday at the Arena Plaza Movie theater.

Katie and her friends had a private movie theater with all the popcorn they could spill...err...eat.

The kids almost had as much fun fooling with the reclining chairs as watching the movie "Hotel For Dogs." We were lucky that the theater was able to get it in English AND that only 2 kids had already seen it!

Special thanks goes to my friend, Saksia, for baking the delicious cakes. The strawberry cake was especially good!

Everyone gathered to sing "Happy Birthday."

Katie and her best friend Shiraz.

Mom and Dad's present of a Nintendo DS (pink, of course) went over extremely well.

On Friday the whole lower elementary school sang Happy Birthday to those kids (& teachers) with birthdays this week.

We happened to be in Prague for her actual birthday. On Saturday we had dinner with our friends the Lowes at the Hard Rock Cafe where the wait staff came and sang Happy Birthday.

The kids enjoyed that so much that they asked to go back the next night (Katie's actual Birthday) and so she got another free sundae and another round of singing!

Happy Birthday Katie!

Salzburg

2009-05-10T14:09:00.012+02:00

Last weekend was a long weekend (May 1^st is like Labor Day in Europe) so Anna, the kids and I went to Salzburg, Austria.

On Friday we toured Old Town Salzburg including a visit to the Salzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg).

On top one of the towers of the fortress.

There were A LOT of steps on the Fortress tour.

On Saturday we took the Sound of Music tour, visiting many of the places where the movie was filmed.

Including the Gazebo:

In Mondsee (a town close to Salzburg where the church where the wedding of Maria to the Captain was filmed is located) we took a break for some delicious Apple Strudel.

The highlight of the tour were the Mirabell Gardens where many of the scenes from Do-Re-Me were filmed. We had a great time exploring the gardens despite a brief rain shower.

One of the many stone dwarfs in the Gardens. This guy appeared in the movie during the Do-Re-Mi song.

The kids wanted their pictures taken on the stone unicorn, then insisted that Anna and I take a turn too. Anna declined.

After a late lunch of hotdogs and ice cream...

...and beer, of course...

took a cruise on the Salzach river that runs through Salzburg.

Anna scored two seats up front that were just made for the kids so they took turns "steering" the boat.

We had a great time in Salzburg. It was well worth the long drive, but our adventure was not over yet.

Fucking, Austria

We left Sunday morning and despite facing a 5 1/2 - 6 hour drive home I convinced Anna that we really needed to detour about 30 minutes north of Salzburg. Just so I could get this picture:
Yes, there is actually a town in Austria called Fucking. It's a tiny, "blink and you drive through it," type of town. Apparently since becoming "famous" via the internet they have had trouble with people stealing the sign that welcomes them to the town.

Anna was so embarrassed as she took my picture, in her words "feeling like a 12 year old" I had to promise to speak in a British accent if anyone said hello to us so as not to reflect poorly on America.

In whole the detour took about 90 minutes (it was a little off the main highways and ot well marked until we got to it) but I say that was 90 minutes well spent.

Dance Class Photos

2009-04-29T09:46:00.004+02:00

Not much to say. We just got Katie's Dance Class photos back and scanned in and wanted to share them with you. Her actual recital is in the beginning of June.

Spring Break Fun

2009-04-25T15:28:00.011+02:00

Staying in Budapest for Spring Break is not all bad. On Wednesday the kids and I had some fun taking a boat ride on the Danube.

They listened to the pre-recorded tour guide for about 10 minutes before deciding it was boooring.

Passing by Parliament and enjoying the open air deck.

View from the back of the boat.

Now we are inside enjoying our fruity cocktail drink.

Nice children who pose as we pass Parliament again.

Goofy Children

On Friday we went to the Railway History Museum with some friends from school.

Climbing on Board

Vito driving the train

Katie and Vito pose nicely for Dad.

The Whole Gang. It took several tries to get everyone mostly looking my way.

We were lucky that they also happened to be having an "Old Time" car exhibition when we visited.

Katie was immediately drawn to this car. You can't really tell from the photo but it looks like someone took a BeDazzler to the hood and made a nice pink flower design.

Vito thought that this jeep looked like Sarge from the movie "Cars".

We also saw "Monsters vs. Aliens" and went to the park to enjoy the awesome Spring weather. What a fun Week!

Easter 2009

2009-04-22T13:20:00.006+02:00

Sorry that this post about Easter is a week+ late. That's due in about equal parts to procrastination and then my internet connection being down.

Since we decided not to go to Amsterdam after Anna's accident (or "Hamsterdam" as VJ calls it) the Easter Bunny was able to leave all the goodies out in the garden. Thankfully the weather this Spring has been AWESOME!

Katie and Vito Jr are ready to go outside and look for eggs.

Which are eggs and which are just rocks?

Vito finds an egg by the tree.

Katie was very excited to see the new basket that the Bunny brought to replace the one that got stepped on and broken last year. It even has a pink lining.

Vito shows off his haul.

Counting their loot to make sure that the Bunny was "fair." The Bunny is not stupid and made sure that they each had the same amount.

Not So Good Friday

2009-04-11T07:44:00.012+02:00

Anna is always complaining that I don't post enough to the blog. I tell her no one wants to read how the kids went to school, you went to work, I ~~surfed the internet~~ cleaned the house all day. Repeat. Unless something interesting happens, what is there to post? Well unfortunately, something "interesting" happened yesterday.

So Friday started out just like any other day. Anna got up early and went downstairs and did her 40+ minutes on the treadmill. Then she came back up to shower. It was after getting in the shower that things go horribly wrong.

You see, she wasn't alone in the shower. There was a bug in there too. And not just any bug, some sort of mutant killer bumblebee. A HUGE bee, like it's from a hive near a nuclear plant or something. Fleeing ensued.

Mutant bees not withstanding, you really shouldn't run in the bathroom. Her first couple of steps were OK:
1st Step: Bath Mat
2nd Step: Little rug in front of the sink
3rd Step: Bathroom tile...uh oh.

Thump.

She fell pretty hard and hit her head on the corner of wall. I came rushing in and was immediately directed to kill the bastard bug that caused all this. It was not until that was completed that I turned back and we both realized she was bleeding. Profusely. She had a nice sized cut in the back of her head.

Now this all happened just after 7am. A message left at our doctor's office was promptly returned and we were directed to come in right when they opened at 8am (you try REALLY hard not to go to the hospital over here unless it's REALLY necessary). During this hour Anna had to sit holding a towel to her head while I got the kids breakfast (poptarts), snacks for school, dressed, etc. I also made very funny jokes like asking her if she wanted to drive or should I. Luckily for us, another 2nd grader and friend of Katie's lives two doors down from us and her mom took the kids into school so we could go right to the doctor's office.

Anna had to have a few stitches which they did right there in the office. The doctor wanted the cut covered and since they can't use tape 'cause of her hair they wrapped gauze all around her head. The best way to describe her is that she looks like an amnesiac from a soap opera. Good sport that she is agreed to let me take and post a picture.
She rested and took it easy for the rest of Friday but to be on the safe side we decided to cancel our trip to Amsterdam so we'll be home for Easter/Spring Break. Which meant that I was running around Friday getting groceries and more Easter treats (the Bunny brings more stuff when you are home than when you are in a hotel...at least that's what we had told the kids when we expected to be at the Amsterdam Marriott for Easter).

Anna's doing just fine and is actually more worried about her hair. Here it is in her own words:

I am fine, but sadly (or funny depending on your point of view), Vito says I look like an amnesiac patient since they had to put gauze around my head to hold the bandage. Oh, also, my hair is entirely gross. Since it was right after my shower (or at least I had just washed my hair) - my hair was all wet and not remotely untangled to begin with - then add a crazy looking amount of blood and then after that has dried in pretty good - throw some Betadine on top. Picture Medusa, with a bandage around the snakes :)

The bright side of the whole thing is that if we have to stay home for Spring Break at least the weather in Budapest is supposed to be GORGEOUS the whole week...Sunny with highs in the mids 70's!

Captain Frank Salvaggio

2009-04-09T12:00:00.000+02:00

Frank from Vulcan

2009-04-09T06:00:00.005+02:00

Fooling with my Dad's picture just never stops being funny.

Cooking Class

2009-04-07T16:56:00.008+02:00

No not for me. Why would you think that?

Last week the kids were off from school (school conferences) so a friend organized a cooking class for kids at the Intercontinental Hotel. They made bread, "colored" chocolate Easter eggs with frosting, painted real eggs and sculpted treats with marzipan.

The kids had a great time and the best part was that the hotel staff did nearly everything so the parents just had to sit back and enjoy their coffee and treats (although I do want to point out that I had signed them up for this BEFORE I knew that I only had to drive them there and pay).

We had about 17 kids participating.

Paying attention to the chef's instructions.

Not so much paying attention but ready to start.

Rolling the dough for the bread.

Vito needed a little help.

Ready for the oven.

Katie is concentrating on her design.

Vito is reaching for a different color frosting.

Time to paint the eggs. The best thing that can be said about the water color paints they used is that even if it didn't color the eggs that well, it also didn't stain our clothes.

The kids had a great time and we will definitely do this again if the opportunity presents. Thanks to my friend Monica for sharing the pictures with me since the bad Dad forgot his camera at home.

BrainFreeze Laboratory

2009-03-23T11:08:00.001+01:00

Here's more fun with my Dad's picture.

Here he is at Slurpee's BrainFreeze Laboratory. Enjoy.

Happy 5th Birthday, Vito Jr.

2009-03-21T21:23:00.006+01:00

Happy birthday to my big boy, Vito Jr. He had many birthday celebrations this year - three in fact. It started with chocolate cupcakes (with blue frosting by request) at school. Sorry no pictures - I guess he is getting too big for that.

Then we celebrated with the family at home.

Here he is showing us how old he is

Blowing out the candles

Posing with his presents

I can tell he is getting older, because I recognize less and less of his presents. This year was all Transformers and Bakugans (balls that transform into stuff when they are on the magnetic cards)
OK, can you tell this is Anna writing and not Vito? - He knows all this crap!

Good thing is he is still not too old to feel weird about giving Mommy a kiss. And he closed his mouth by the time the kiss was given!

Then on Friday, he was called up to celebrate at the morning assembly. Here he is:

Then we had a party at our house with some friends. He was so excited, but let Mommy get a picture in:

But then, being a BIG boy, he had to take a picture of Mommy:

We had lots of good food - pizza, veggies and dip and fruit:

And made-to-order brownie sundaes (which was a great idea from our friend Monica) and a huge hit with the kids!

And here is the whole crew of kids - Lars, Andrew, Vito Jr and Holden in the front row, Katie, Brianne and Flynn in the back row.

Of course, now he thinks he has moved into the BIG boy category - which brings with it a whole new set of things he is able to do - such as using a knife and being allowed to put DVDs into the player. Well, they have to start somewhere.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T09:34:00.002+01:00

I saw my friend Chris this morning when we were dropping our kids off at school. Chris is from Australia but is of Polish descent. That got me thinking...what if there was a guy from Australia but he was of Irish descent. And what if he looked like my Dad.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Speaking of Egypt

2009-03-13T05:00:00.002+01:00

Prior to our recent cruise my experience with Egypt was limited to the 17th hole at the Around the World minigolf course in Lake George. There are three pyramids and a camel (just like the real thing!) that you had to get past. Hit your ball wrong and you could hit a pyramid and get shunted off to the side.

17th Hole at Around the World Minigolf Course, Lake George, NY.
Thank you internet for having pictures of everything.

This was especially tragic if you and your friend were tied at 47 strokes going into the 17th hole and you get a hole-in-one but it takes her 5 strokes to complete what one person said is "the hardest hole on any minigolf course they had seen" (I might be that person).

That reminds me of the time when Annette, Dan, Bill, Bill's GF & I played the course.

Having trouble reading it? Well you can either click on the card to see a bigger picture or I can just tell you that I kicked Annette's ass. And yes, I did save the card for lo these many years.

By Popular Demand

2009-03-12T11:53:00.005+01:00

Here's some more pictures from our cruise.

It was a little windy on deck as we passed the Italian island of Stromboli. I'll always remember Stromboli as the cool volcano island on the placemat/map of Italy at Testo's.

The kids and I in front of the Parthenon.

The kids really enjoyed walking on the beach and throwing rocks in the surf in Rhodes.

Also in Rhodes, Katie thought this tiny pink truck was too cool.

If you stand just right you can make goofy pictures like this in Egypt.

I just like to say "We rode camels in Egypt." I may have to get a t-shirt made.
Did you know that camels aren't even native to Egypt? Not that it matters because: We rode camels...in Egypt!

Just so you don't think I only post goofy pictures of my Dad.

We had a long wait between when we got dropped off at the airport (11am) and when our flight actually left (10pm) so we found an open plug and camped out for the day. This sadly is also the last picture that shows our 160 GB ipod working as it was dropped shortly after this was taken. It currently is doing it's impression of a very expensive paperweight.

The Most Awesomest Vacation Ever

2009-02-24T16:15:00.025+01:00

Just got back from the best vacation we've ever had, an 11 day Cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean. The ship left from Civitavecchia (Italy - near Rome) and made stops at Savona (Northern Italy), Olympia (Greece) , Athens (Greece), Izmir (Turkey), Rhodes (Greek Island), Limassol (Cyprus) and Alexandria (Egypt). Three Continents in 11 days!

We saw so many wonderful sites that it's almost too much to post so I'll just share 1 or 2 pics from each place...except for Egypt which demands many pictures to be shown!

Our ship, The Costa Concordia.

During our first stop in Savona, we took a 2 hour bus ride over to visit Monaco. Monaco was beautiful. While there we saw the Monte Carlo Casino and the gravesite of Princess Grace.
In Olympia, Greece we visited the site of the Ancient Olympic Games.
In Athens we first stopped at the stadium where the first Modern Day Olympic Games were held in 1896.Then we visited the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis.Izmir, Turkey was both in turn, interesting and disappointing. We enjoyed seeing the ruins of the Basilica of St. John and (pictures below) the House of the Virgin Mary.Izmir itself was a bit of a bust since we couldn't find a good marketplace, just a bunch of rude shopkeepers trying to sell us designer knock off crap. But at least we got to see the Izmir Clock Tower.
We had a great time in Rhodes, Greece, exploring the Old Town section of the city. Old Town Rhodes is contained by the old walled part of the city and has many shops and restaurants. We even climbed the wall to look out at the Aegean Sea.
Limassol, Cyprus was probably the most disappointing port. We had been lucky with the weather the whole trip, enjoying cool but sunny weather until Cyprus. It barely sprinkled but was definitely much cooler than our previous stops. Also the ruins we saw were of the like 3rd or 4th Temple of Apollo we had seen since beginning our trip.
Egypt. We had a 13 hour excursion in Egypt...much of it was the bus ride from Alexandria to Cairo where the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are. What can I say about Egypt except that it was AMAZING! Seeing the pyramids up close was really awesome. A couple of downsides were the sandstorm we had to endure while there...nothing so bad as like you see in the movies, just annoying. By the end of the day we all felt like we had taken a dirt bath. Also there are so many locals at the sites trying to sell you crap souvenirs, post cards, camel rides...you name it.
The Sphinx was my favorite site.

A picture from an Official Costa Cruises Photographer.For the first time ever, the kids favorite part of the trip was NOT the ice cream that they had, but the Camel ride!

The scary part of Egypt is all the security they have at the tourist sites. The buses from the cruise ship (about 8 of them) rode in a caravan with a police escort in front and behind and an armed policeman on each bus. I really think this was more to protect us from thieves than terrorists but still a bit unnerving.
In addition to the Awesome places we visited we had 3 Days of just cruising on the Mediterranean. There was lots of stuff to do on the ship. The kids had a Kid's Club where they had organized activities and games as well as free play. They could also have dinner there and we took advantage of that 2 out of the 3 "formal" dinner nights.

The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool of course, but were not very fond of the salty sea water that filled it.

Vito really liked the fruit punch drink and had a few of them but Katie really only liked them for the umbrella.We explored the ship and enjoyed watching the water from the top deck.
Vito Jr. could not wait for the formal night that he got to go to. He was really looking forward to getting dressed up in a jacket (thanks LMU) and tie but got mad when I made him put the tie inside his jacket. He didn't think people could see it well enough.
We took the kids dancing after dinner one night. They had a blast!
Then on to the arcade for some video games and air hockey.
Friends of ours (two other AISB families...each also with a boy and a girl) also booked the cruise with us and we all sat together at dinner and went on many of the excursions together. Here's a picture of us at one of the formal dinners that we did NOT bring the kids to. Steve & Sharon Knode (front) and Bob & Monica Lowe (back).

Other than the couple of pictures the guys leading our camels took of us and the few "over the shoulder" ones I got of Katie and Anna, we would not have that many pictures of us riding camels if we weren't lucky enough to be riding next to the Lowes. We just took pictures of each other!And here is the picture of "Team Budapest" after we won one of the Quizzes that the ship ran through out the day. The crappy picture is courtesy of the guy at the next table who also tried to cheat off of us.

I could keep going on and on... we have about 1000 pictures from the trip but suffice it to say that this was our most AWESOMEST VACATION EVER! Or at least so far...

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-12-31T17:07:00.004+01:00

This year was the first year since 1995 that I celebrated my Birthday in Troy. Plans for an Outback dinner were canceled due to the snowy weather but my Mom did a great job on a steak dinner. And the kids were very excited about my Birthday cake and singing Happy Birthday to me.

36? No way I could be THAT old.

Me, my Parents and the kids

Elf Yourself 2008

2008-12-16T18:29:00.015+01:00

Back by popular demand, Elf Yourself! This year my Dad is joined by my Mom, my Brother and my Kids. They are all very excited (at least my kids are...my Brother will probably beat me silly when he sees me).

Country

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Disco

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Charleston

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Classic

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas!

Katie - Guest Host of Fri Morning Assembly

2008-12-14T11:45:00.009+01:00

Each Friday Katie and Vito's school has an assembly and each week two 2nd graders are the "Guest Hosts." They introduce each speaker, activity, etc. This past Fri was Katie and her classmate Dooho's turn.

Katie did a GREAT job. Especially considering it was a bit of an atypical assembly. The teacher that normally runs the show and works with the Guest Hosts was already off on winter holiday and the teacher who stood in for her all week called in sick Friday. And it was Pajama Day and all the kids wore pajamas. I'd be hard pressed to speak in front of a large audience, much less in my pajamas! I mean, I no longer hyperventilate (much) when I have to speak in a group but Katie seemed really comfortable and in control.

Introducing Mr. Brown to talk about the Food Drive.

Katie caught sight of Mom & Dad in the audience and paused nicely for me to take the picture.

She did a FANTASTIC job and we are very proud of her.

AISB Winter Concert

2008-12-11T16:13:00.014+01:00

Today was the Winter Concert at AISB and we have lots of pictures and video to share.

Pre-K really enjoyed singing "Tapping, Tapping Little Elves"

and "Icicles"

Vito thanked the audience and introduced Kindergarten. He practiced hard all week and remembered his lines without any prompting. He was the best out of all the Pre-K speakers.

Pre-K came back to sing a couple of songs with Kindergarten

The 2^nd Graders enjoyed themselves and were a little more focused than the younger kids.
"All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" was their favorite song.

1^st and 2^nd Grades got together to sing "We Wish you a Merry Christmas"

Everyone did a great job!

A Visit with Mikulás

2008-12-11T14:49:00.003+01:00

Last Sunday ExxonMobil hosted a Christmas party for the XOM families. There were cookies, pretzels, hot chocolate and crafts. The main attraction was, of course, Mikulás (Hungarian Santa).

I would say that we went right away and got in line to see him except that might give you the impression that there was a line. Or any concept of "taking turns." Basically there was a big mob aroud Mikulás and we had a delay until the lady with the infant got to see Mikulás (can't push babies around). Once she moved I just pushed the kids right to the front next to Mikulás.

In Hungary, to get a treat from Mikulás you have to sing a Christmas song (another reason for the long wait). The kids did a pretty good job singing "Jingle Bells."

Decorating Cookies at the Arts & Crafts table...

...which promptly got eaten

The kids really had a good time.

Down on Pre-K Farm

2008-11-29T11:14:00.008+01:00

Vito's Pre-K class performed "Down on Pre-K Farm" for the school at Friday Morning Assembly. The kids were all different animals and...well...just watch the video below.

Vito, his buddy Lars and Yealin were Roosters. Vito was the one who Cock-a-doodle-doo 'd the loudest.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T20:31:00.005+01:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving meal and are enjoying their leftovers today.

Anna had to work yesterday so I was in charge of the meal. It wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined it would be. I find that advanced preparation really makes a difference. About a week before, you call the Intercontinetal Hotel and arrange for the entire Thanksgiving meal to be delivered. Easy Peesy.

I did prepare the dough for the homemade crescent rolls but Anna took over when she got home.

The whole rest of the meal, including a bottle of wine, was delivered. It was pretty good. Not great like when we make our own or go to my Mom's but you can't beat the prep.

It was a good thing we didn't need the kitchen to make dinner since the guy came to fix our dishwasher and didn't leave until about 5 minutes before dinner was to start. We thought we would have to make an extra place for him.

Katie and Vito really enjoyed dinner so much that they didn't barely touch their dessert...which is OK since that meant more pumpkin pie for me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HSM 3 - starring Frank & Barbara

2008-11-26T20:55:00.004+01:00

For your viewing pleasure, more "Fun with My Dad's Picture."
New and Improved with 100% more of my Mom.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Technology Rocks!

Savings Bond Fun

2008-11-24T20:02:00.008+01:00

Being long distance grandparents my Mom & Dad can't always be there to share the holidays...to give too much candy for Halloween or hide eggs at Easter. They do however send a card with a Saving Bond in it to mark the occasion.

The kids have come to really look forward to each new Saving Bond and it was with much joy and anticipation that they opened their Halloween cards this year. They were so excited that they could not wait to go and play with their Savings Bonds so off to the park we went.

Katie and Vito took their Bonds on the swings first.

Then for a ride on the See-Saw.

Katie and her Bond had fun spinning around...

...while Vito gave his a ride in his truck.
Then it was time for a slide.

They had a great afternoon.

I know you're going "huh?" Here's the explanation. A while back, when we still lived in Texas, I saw this commercial for Toys 'R Us about a kid playing with his Rain Check. It was hysterical. Then a few days later my Mom asked if the kids had gotten their savings bonds and I said something like "Yes, they are playing outside with them."

My Mom doesn't usually get angry at me. At my Dad and my Brother, yes, but not usually at me. But boy did she get pissed. I had to quickly explain about the funny commercial and she calmed down but still didn't really see the humor.

That was then. But I think about it every time the kids get a bond from them. And this time, when Katie opened her card, she held up the bond and said "I always get one of these pieces of paper." I just died laughing and had to take these pictures.

I hope your laughing at this Mom because we love the Savings Bonds and I know that Katie and Vito Jr. will appreciate them when they get older. Just as much as I did mine (how do you think I paid for Anna's engagement ring?)

First Snow, Part Deux

2008-11-23T19:02:00.005+01:00

So you've heard the saga of the late evening walk home. Let me add that while the kids complained about the walk in the cold, they did not whine about it. There's a big difference and I am very proud of them. Don't feel too bad for them since I was the one who had to walk back this morning and get the car (of course I'm also the one who sat on his ass Friday rather than getting the snow tires on so I guess that point is a wash).

It started to snow some more today so the kids and I went out and had some fun in the snow.

There wasn't really enough snow for sledding but don't tell them that.

Time for some Snow Angels.

The only way to get them inside was a promise of hot chocolate!

First Snow

2008-11-22T21:55:00.001+01:00

Today was the first snow here in Budapest. Very exciting stuff. The kids were so happy. They kept looking out the window at the flakes. At around 2pm, there were just flakes in the air and a little bit of accumulation on the grass - nothing on the roads.

However, at around 4:30 pm, we had to pick Vito up from a friend's football (read soccer) birthday party which was near a nice park that we sometimes go to have a picnic, ride bikes and such. However, this place is at the top of a big hill, two hills over from ours. And, it started snowing again. Only more....Lots more.....And sticking.

But we pick him up. And then go to dinner at the local Friday's.

Now, we knew it was getting somewhat icy and snowy on the roads as we went to dinner.

So, we carefully and slowly proceed back home - across the Margit Bridge and on up the hill towards our house. One intersection was a little slippery but all in all, we were doing great.

Now, we live up the road about 1 mile past the last bus stop, so we know the road does not get plowed as often past that section. But, it seemed pretty good. We were making good progress - then - about halfway up the last section, the car just started slipping. I put on the brakes and we are still sliding down the hill. We make a few half-hearted attemps to get further but realize the road only gets steeper as we get closer to the house.

So, we turn (slide) around and slowly slip and slide back down the road to the bus stop and turnaround. There is a nice parking area there. So, we park and proceed to walk.

Oh, and (little) Vito fell asleep the last 5 minutes of the drive. So, now, we have to wake him up, convince him that he needs to walk by himself and no one will carry him.

Meanwhile, it is about 25 degrees out and windy. Luckily, the kids have hoods (no gloves of course) and I was lucky enough to have my scarf. Vito was out of luck as his woobie is permanently retired.

Well, after so slipping and sliding, a little bit of grumbling and some complaining about being cold and having to go to the bathroom, we all made it back to our house. Little Vito was a bit worried about us leaving our car, but we assured him Daddy would go get it in the morning. Alone.

Oh, and did I mention that Vito said he was going to get the snow tires put on, but decided not to, as he was still recovering from his night out with the girls (other AISB parents) on Thursday.

AISB Pictures

2008-11-07T17:08:00.024+01:00

Just a quick post to share some pictures from the kids' school. Most of them will be of Vito since his teacher actually updates their class website.

Vito and his buddy Lars (Belgium) collect leaves for an art project.

As the snack helper, Vito makes sure that the table is ready for snack time.

Flynn (Germany), Vito & Holden (USA) with their bears.

Marco (Italy), Lars & Vito enjoy swimming during PE.

Anita (Belgium & Canada) & Vito make a pattern during Math time.

Mei Lee (USA) & Vito in the Book Corner.

Mei Lee, Vito, Océane (France) & Anita.

Katie & Vito waiting to enter the gym during the International Week Opening Parade.

Go USA!

Vito works on a self portrait for his journal.

Vito and Lars play in the sand after school.Soccer is one of Katie's After School Activities. I was lucky to get this action shot since...
...most of the time she spends in the middle of the field playing with her hair. I don't think that she will pick Soccer next time.
Flynn and Vito can't wait to carve the pumpkin for Halloween.The class made scary masks with Ms. Meyer in Art Class.Playing the Trick or Treat Game.Vito as Batman and Holden and Samuel (USA) as two Red Power Rangers.

At the Assembly on Halloween Katie's class played "Pass the Witch's Broomstick" (think "Hot Potato"). The kids really enjoyed this game and were excited that their class was picked (out of the four 2nd Grade classes) to play it at Assembly.

The best part was that Katie was the winner!This morning Katie gave a book review of "DW the Picky Eater" for the entire school.

This afternoon Pre-K showed us what they had been learning in Music Class. Vito and Anita are ready to play the Xylophone during "Wheels on the Bus"

The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

The kid's did a great dance based on Dr. Seuss's "My Many Colored Days." Each kid got to pick what color/animal they wanted to be. Vito & Océane picked the purple dinosaur and had to do a "sad" dance.

Wow, it's been a busy start to the school year, but the kids are having a great time!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T05:00:00.001+01:00

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Katie and Vito enjoyed the Halloween Parade at their school and then Trunk-or-Treating in the evening. Many thanks to Grammy for bringing over the Halloween costumes.

Vito Jr. as Batman

Katie loved this Pink Cheerleader outfit.
Katie and her teacher, Mrs. Lehner

Katie's Class

Shiraz, Katie's friend shown next to her, joined us for Trunk-or-Treating. That's where we go to the school and everyone decorates their car trunks and the kids go from car to car ~~begging for candy~~ Trick or Treating. Anna and the kids had dinner in the cafeteria while I decorated. Then she took them around while I handed out the candy to the HORDES of children.

Katie, Vito Jr and Shiraz by our decorated trunk

Vito Jr. would like the final word:

Roman Holiday

2008-10-31T11:25:00.006+01:00

Anna, the kids, my mother-in-law, Linda and I went to Rome last week. Let me just say that Italy sucked. It did not live up to my expectations AT ALL.

I mean, sure the Colosseum is AMAZING and the Pantheon was BEAUTIFUL and I felt extra holy for having been to the Vatican and seen the Pope up close and in person (OK...not so up close...but still in person).

But whatever. I had one goal for my first trip to Italy and that was to finally buy some personalized "Vito" merchandise. I expected to come home with a bag filled with "Vito" key chains, "Vito" coffee mugs, "Vito" bicycle license plates, etc. Not a single "Vito" item was to be found. As far as I'm concerned, the trip was a waste.

Joking aside, we had a great time in Rome. We saw some amazing sites and we know we just scratched the surface in the 5 days we were there.

The first day we saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I asked the kids what their favorite part was and of course they said the ice cream.

On Day 2, we toured the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. The kids favorite part: The pop tarts they had for a snack before we went into the Sistine Chapel.

Starting on Day 3, I stopped asking about their favorite part.

The tour of the Colosseum was terrific.

Mom Price and the kids take a break in the Map Room of the Vatican Museums.

The view of St. Peter's Square from the steps of the Basilica.
Despite their goofy uniforms the Swiss Guards are in charge of guarding the Pope.
A well deserved beer after traipsing through the Vatican Museums all day. The food in Rome was awesome. I had some great Lasagna and probably the best Eggplant Parmigiana I've ever had.

The view from the bottom of the Spanish steps. Only Katie and I braved the steps to reach the top.

One of the fountains in the Piazza Navona.

The General Audience with the Pope was both exciting and a bit anti-climactic. The Catholic School boy in me was very excited about seeing the Pope in person. The reality of it was that it was 80 degrees in direct sunlight with no seats (we got there 15 minutes before the start). The audience lasted for about 90 minutes but that was because the Pope and the priests/Cardinals that spoke basically said the same thing in 5-6 different languages. And naturally, after waiting all this time I had to take the kids to the bathroom (no line for the Men's room...my hand over Katie's eyes) and THAT'S when the Pope gives his blessing on the crowd.

Thank God for the Zoom on my camera.

Still, I'm glad to have gone. But we had to rush back to the apartment to catch our ride to the airport.

One last thing to share. Vito drew this picture of St. Peter's Square and the Pope and the teacher wrote down exactly what he said (click on picture to enlarge).
"We went to the Vatican in Rome, really called Italy. Italy is a fun place, but I didn't bring any toys, only my stuffed animal, Sparkles. We saw the Pope, he was asking a lot of questions."

International Week Opening Parade

2008-10-13T13:42:00.007+02:00

It's International Week at AISB again. Mom Price is visiting and she and I got there extra early to get good seats (the gym fills up quickly).

Katie was super excited since she was picked to be the "Sign Bearer" for USA this year. And it was extra nice that she walked in with her brother, holding his hand.

Too bad they didn't look my way as they led the American contingent into the gym.

Katie sits with her class...

...and Vito with his.

Katie's good friend Shiraz was the Flag Bearer for Israel.

Katie's friend Courtney and her sister Skye who is in Pre-K with Vito, represented South Africa.

The South Koreans always look terrific.

It was a great morning and a good start to International Week.

Happy Birthday Dad

2008-10-10T07:00:00.001+02:00

Happy Birthday to my Dad, today on his 61^st Birthday. And now that moment you've all been waiting for (at least since my Mom's Birthday last month) it's time for

"Frank Salvaggio Throughout the Years"

1949. I never pictured my Dad as a "Little Elephant Overalls" kinda guy

1^st Communion.
He wasn't fooling anybody with that "angelic" pose.

Sometime 1963-1967 High School Picture

(just not sure from which of the 3 High Schools he attended)

1967 USAF
I think my brother looks EXACTLY like my Dad in this picture.

1971 USAF Sgt. Frank Salvaggio. Protecting the beer and...
...basketball courts of Okinawa from the Vietcong.Audition Photo for the part of Arthur Fonzerelli for new TV Show "Happy Days."
(The part eventually went to Henry Winkler.)

1973 Baby Vito & Dad outside our River Street Home.

The Birthday Boy and his lovely wife. 2007

Happy Birthday Dad!

IMBROKE2 1990 - 2008

2008-10-09T16:45:00.008+02:00

So this summer my Dad had to say goodbye to his 1990 Toyota Corolla. After 18 years of service, it finally had to go (16 years if you don't count the 2 years it spent sitting in the driveway). The car is an institution in the Capital District, with it's many distinctive features: Rust Holes the size of your foot, a back bumper that has been hanging down, seemingly about to fall off, for the past 10 years, an ugly, discolored hood and of course the famous IMBROKE2 license plate.

Reaction to his loss was varied:

His coworkers suggested having the car mounted on top of building in Albany, replacing the U-Haul truck.
My brother Frankie's friends, having been the recepients of many a 3:00am sober ride home, desperately tried to convince him to keep the car.
Bill, the manager at the Tire Warehouse in Troy (where most of the nearly weekly repairs and maintenance was done) wept for three days at the loss of his biggest cash cow.
The neighbors cheered at the removal of the neighborhood eyesore.

Those aren't rust holes, it's just extra ventilation.

The bumper sticker reads:
"This Car Is A Status Symbol. It Symbolizes Me Being Poor."

My favorite story about the IMBROKE2 takes place just a few short months after my Dad bought the car...his first brand new car since 1972. He got it in the late summer/early fall of 1990. That November he was driving home from work and on his way to pick up my brother at the YMCA after school program. He was going over Burdette Ave when a Troy High School student pulled out of the THS parking lot in front of him. Did I mention that it was freezing raining?

As he pulled into our driveway my mother and I looked out at the car. The hood was crumpled and bent nearly in half. Both headlights were still working but one was now pointed up at the sky. He was so angry that for almost 30 minutes he could only say "Not now" in answer to our questions. The worst part was that he had to use his old car until the Corolla was fixed so it was back in the school bus for me.

Anna the Spelunker

2008-10-04T09:29:00.006+02:00

Anna had a team building exercise one day after work last week at the Palvolgi Caves. These team building exercises usually involve some activities after work followed by dinner. The Bonus was that the caves are literally 4 minutes from our house.

Anna had two choices for stuff to do: go into the caves for the main exercises or opt out (due to claustrophobia or limited mobility) and play the Wii and drink. Anna of course chose to go into the caves, a decision she would come to regret.

Anna went into the event thinking that the Palvolgi Caves would be something like Howe Caverns in New York. For those of you not familiar with Howe Caverns, you ride an elevator down to the caves where there are lights, walkways, handrails and even a boat ride.

She admitted to me that her first clue that Palvolgi Caves were not like Howe Caverns should have been when they handed her the coveralls to put on and asked if she had brought any hiking shoes. Missing this clue, she then spent the next 3 hours alternating between walking and crawling through the caves. In the dark with only the light from her helmet available. You can see why the guy is handing her the wine glass before she even changed...she needed it.

A week later she'll now say that she had fun, but for the first 3 days after she could barely walk she was so sore.

Moral of the story: when one of your choices is to play a videogame, you play the videogame.

Pictures from School

2008-09-21T20:19:00.011+02:00

Not much going on over here. The kids are enjoying school. Vito had no problems adjusting to the new school and has made several new friends. Katie, of course, is back with the same kids and teacher as last year.

Here are some pictures of them at school that I got from the school's website. Only a couple of Katie's class as her teacher hasn't set up the class's web page yet.

They look like a nice group of 2nd Graders...

...but they're really a bunch of goofs!

Having fun in Music Class.

Vito's Pre-K class.

Vito & Océane.

Vito and Océane outside at the playground. I look at the picture and have a nightmare flash forward to VJ with some chick on a motorcycle.

Playing in class.

Everyone made bracelets in the colors of the Hungarian flag for Hungarian Week.

Working on Math.

Acting out the play “Brown Bear Brown Bear , What do you see?”

Smiling in Music Class

More fun in Music Class.

Katie starts After School Activities today. She has Swimming, Arts & Crafts and Soccer this trimester. Vito & I will have to wait for her to be done each day, but that's OK since that means more time spent at the school playground (hopefully with lots of friends who are also waiting for older siblings).

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-09-19T19:35:00.008+02:00

Happy 60th Birthday to my Mom! In honor of her Birthday, I've decided to post a bunch of pictures that I scanned in while I was home this summer. (Special thanks to my Aunt Sissy who let me borrow her Big Box of Old Photos).

Baby Barbara

When the world was still in Black & White

4th Grade

The picture I was told never to show anyone.

Troy High School

1967

July 2008 with Baby Ava

Happy Birthday Mom!

VJ's 1st Day of Pre-K

2008-08-25T13:54:00.004+02:00

VJ could not wait to start school. Despite our best to prepare him, he was very annoyed last week when Katie started but he had to wait.

No problems this morning except for when I tried to adjust his Batman Backpack and the strap broke. Anna was able to fix it up but we may need a replacement...we'll see.

He went right over to his cubby, changed to his indoor shoes and on in to the classroom. I kissed him good-bye and asked if it was OK for me to leave and he said yes. No tears. No clinging (like some of the other kids). What a big boy!

Vienna Zoo

2008-08-24T13:46:00.011+02:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to Vienna for the weekend. We spent the better part of Saturday at the Vienna Zoo. A great time was had by all even considering that it rained on and off all day long.

The Vienna Zoo is probably the best Zoo I've ever been to. It's really quite big and we got see some animals that we either hadn't seen before or doing cool stuff.

Katie and VJ got to see Pandas for the first time.

There was a baby Tiger.

And two Polar Bear Cubs.

For the first time we got to see the Hippos OUT of the water...and up close, too!

And of course my favorite, the Rhinos.Again with the Giraffes. At least this time it was very G-rated fare. Check out this crazy young giraffe running all around the place.

Luckily the sun came out for Vito & Katie's favorite part:

One other attraction is worth mentioning: the Bat Cave. I don't know if that's what the Zoo people call it but whatever. They had a room that you could walk through where there were Bats that were flying all around you. As we came up to it, VJ clearly expressed a lack of desire to go through. I believe his exact words were "No! No Daddy! No! No!" Honestly I wasn't that in to it either but Katie was all for it. Since Anna was out getting some more rain gear at the time we had to skip it until just before leaving and Katie and I double backed to check it out. It wasn't that bad but not something I ever need to do again.

A New 2nd Grader

2008-08-21T09:36:00.002+02:00

Katie started 2^nd Grade today. She's been very excited to see her old friends. We are very lucky in that her 1^st Grade teacher is now teaching 2^nd Grade and the school gave the class the option of having her again this year and the whole class accepted! The only "new" kid is Valentin who was Katie's classmate in Kindergarten.

Katie was especially excited to she her friend Shiraz. And joy, their cubbies are right next to each other.

Today is only a half day and VJ does not start until Monday so I'm not free yet but it's a good start!

Happy Birthday Anna

2008-08-20T19:21:00.006+02:00

Since we've moved to Hungary Anna has enjoyed having her birthday fall on a holiday, St. István Day (St. Stephen's Day) and thus having the whole day off.

She enjoyed the day by sleeping in, reading her book, taking a nap and playing the Wii with me and the kids.

I'm not allowed to say how old she is, but maybe the pictures will give you a clue.

The Official Birthday-Girl-Approved Picture

The more Factual Mom & Kids Picture

Happy Birthday Anna!

P.S.
The cake was terrific! I rule.

Baking a Cake

2008-08-19T18:07:00.004+02:00

So, since tomorrow is Anna's birthday and no one should have to make her own cake, I decided to make a cake today. From scratch. I know you are impressed.

Anna went over the recipe with me last night and gave me some pointers. She also made sure I knew that I had to get some stuff at the store this morning before I started (more on this later).

Naturally the kids wanted to "help." The kids helped out by holding the measuring cups and pouring stuff in. I also had Katie re-read the recipe to me so she felt like she helped. What I did not find helpful was her telling me, several times, "That's not how Mommy does it."

VJ's contribution was to get bored half way through and leave the kitchen...which would have been perfect except that a few minutes later, when I was busy adding the ingredients into the mixer, I hear him yelling from the bathroom "Daddy, I went poo poo in the potty!" Which is little kid code for "Daddy, come help me wipe my ass!" Also not very helpful.

All in all I have to say that it didn't go too bad and the cake at least looks good. I'll let you know how it tastes.

Oh, about the store...Anna told me to buy two sticks of butter (not the kind in the tub we usually get...I won't go into how much of a pain in the ass it is to have to convert from Metric to English and weight to volume, etc.). Anyways, after the cake was in the oven and I was cleaning up (no help from the kids at this point) I was wondering why Anna had me buy two sticks of butter when I only had to use part of just one. And then it hit me. She had me get extra in case I fucked up the cake on my first try and had to she had to re-do it tonight. Pretty sneaky honey, but I figured it out.

Update:
Anna helped out by making the frosting. Looks pretty good.

Happy Anniversary

2008-08-12T10:44:00.004+02:00

Today is my parents' Wedding Anniversary and what better way to say "Happy Anniversary" than with embarrassing photos from their wedding day.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T21:18:00.012+02:00

Anna and I don't really exchange gifts for Mother's Day or Father's Day. However, this past Mother's Day I decided to go to the movies and see Iron Man and gave Anna the gift of some quality time with the kids. For Father's Day Anna did me one better and has left the country for the week (she's in France).

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad ever.

A special "Happy Father's Day" to my brother Frank on his very 1st Father's Day (you have only yourself to blame that I don't have a more updated picture of you and my niece).

Here's a picture of me and my goofs from our recent trip to Ireland (which I still have yet to post about...Coming Soon).

And of course the obligatory "Goofy Picture" of my Dad. Since it's Father's Day I decided to be nice and post the picture of his portrait hanging at the "Best Dad's Museum" in NoWhere, USA.

Happy Father's Day!

Election 2008

2008-06-10T16:35:00.004+02:00

My Mom and her sister are a bit upset that Hillary won't be running for President this November. Maybe they can get behind this candidate:

Katie's Dance Recital

2008-06-10T14:27:00.003+02:00

Katie's Dance Recital was this past weekend. We had dress rehearsal (2 hours) last Sunday (6/1), dress rehearsal (4 hours) on Saturday and then 2 shows this Sunday. VJ and I, having already attended both dress rehearsals while Anna was in Houston, skipped the 2^nd show.

Katie did a great job and really enjoyed herself but personally I'm glad that it's over.

VJ Dance Class Video

2008-06-07T14:21:00.005+02:00

I had some technical difficulties so I was not able to load these on the previous post.

VJ's Dance Review

2008-06-05T20:41:00.003+02:00

Today was Vito's final dance class. The kids are really too young to have a big show or recital but the parents were invited to the last class to see what the kids have been doing this whole time. Dani, the dance teacher, brought in a bunch of costumes for them to try on. The girls loved the colorful dresses with wings, however the pickings for the boys was a little slimmer. Dani offered VJ and Carlos some "Sparkley Pants" which they thankfully declined. They did go for the striped vests though, which were not too bad.

Dani had them run through all the dances they've done this year like warming up exercises, pretending to be animals, marching and a lot of running around the gym.

Vito and Tyyne

Vito had a GREAT time and participated enthusiastically, even after some of the other kids started to get tired and slow down. He was very disappointed to learn that this was the last dance class.

1st Grade Movie Set Field Trip

2008-06-05T13:47:00.010+02:00

Katie's classmate Mate's dad is director Herendi Gábor. He invited the class to come and check out the set for his new film Valami Amerika 2 (apparently the first one, which he also wrote, directed & produced, was a big hit over here).

The kids got to see some scenes being filmed, got a chance to talk to the Director as well as the American actress Lucia Brawley and some Hungarian actor (who told us that he is a very famous Hungarian actor and we may remember him as one of the extras from "Seven Years in Tibet").

Despite attempts by one of the Hungarian kid's mom to explain it to me, I have no idea what the movie is about other than that there are 3 brothers and Ms. Brawley plays a choreographer. Sounds like a winner.

Lunch from the Craft Services Truck

A very interesting morning. The kids seemed to enjoy it. I think they were also a little bit proud that they were the only class that got to go on a field trip.

1st Grade Zoo Field Trip

2008-06-04T07:45:00.005+02:00

The First Grade Classes at AISB have been studying animals and went to the zoo yesterday. I volunteered to chaperone and had Shiraz (Israel) and Misbah (Pakistan) in my group.

Misbah, who also lived in Kenya for many years, highlighted one of the things I most like about this school with these comments.

Conversation #1
Me: "We need to be sure to see the rhinos. They are the best." (Rhinos are my favorite)
Misbah: "I don't like rhinos."
Me: "Why don't you like rhinos? They're awesome!"
Misbah: "Well, one chased us one time, so..."

Conversation #2
Me: "Hey, check out the zebras."
Misbah: "Zebras are boring."
Me: "Zebras are cool. They're like horses...but with stripes!"
Misbah: "Well, I've seen a herd of them in the wild, so..."

The zoo just wasn't doing it for Misbah. But it goes to show how many different life experiences these kids bring to the table and can share with their friends.

I took this pictures of the giraffes. I thought it was nice of them to stand so close together, as if posing. Then Tarek (Egypt) helpfully shouted out some info that clued me in on why they were "posing"

Tarek: "There's the giraffe's wiener! Look at his wiener!"
Luckily it was post-lunch and I had just bought the girls some ice cream so they weren't paying close attention and it was easy to shivvy them along. (Go ahead and click on the picture to enlarge it...the picture that is. You know you are curious.)

All in all a good day and everyone had a good time (especially the boy giraffe).

I'll post some pictures from our Ireland trip just as soon as I can. Been a bit busy with end of the year stuff (chaperoning another field trip tomorrow).

Happy Birthday Katie

2008-06-01T14:22:00.005+02:00

Birthdays in general, and her own in particular, are never far from Katie's mind. For example, rather than saying "School starts in August 21st." Katie says "School starts the day after Mommy's Birthday."

The Birthday countdown started in earnest over a month ago though when we started to get daily updates about how many days left until her Birthday.
Katie: "Daddy, can you believe it? it's just 35 more days until my Birthday."

It's hard for a parent (or at least this one) to show enthusiasm when the daily countdown starts so far in advance.

On Friday her Birthday was recognized at her school assembly along with the other kids and teachers with birthdays this week. Anna made cupcakes and we brought them in for her class.

On Saturday we had a Bowling Birthday party. We had a good turn out with about 17 or so kids showing up. Everyone seemed to have fun even if it was a little chaotic at times. Naturally the boys were the trouble makers: How many times must you tell a boy to stay off the lanes if it's not their turn? I'm still not sure but the answer is definitely higher than 25. If they weren't trying to stick their heads in the ball return they were climbing on top of it.

For the 2nd game we had them do "Crazy Bowling" where you had to bowl differently each frame (though someone's legs, wrong handed, eyes closed, etc.). My favorite was having them bowl with an oven mitt on.

And of course we had pizza and a really delicious chocolate birthday cake.
Happy Birthday Katie!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T15:45:00.005+02:00

We would not want this day to go by without a special thanks for our mothers and grandmothers. You are all very special to all of us and especially today, we wanted to send our love and appreciation.

Here is a small bouquet of flowers - so you don't yell at us for spending too much money on the real things.

Some of our favorite pictures with our Mom's:

Spring Time Fun

2008-05-02T12:52:00.008+02:00

Anna has been out of town for the past 2 weeks...1^st in Brazil and now in Houston. But that's OK since: Spring is finally here! The kids and I went out last weekend and had fun just running around the yard.

Vito is off from school today (but not Katie) and the weather was so nice we just had to go and take a ride on his new bike.

He had a great time on his bike (and only fell over once).

The pictures from Paris are finally uploaded and you can see all 700+ of them here.
More Spring Time Fun pictures here and VJ on his bike here.

Paris

2008-04-21T12:12:00.017+02:00

Before I talk about our awesome trip to Paris, I need to start off with an apology:
Sr. Marcia: You were right, Sister. I should have taken French IV instead of Pre-Calc as I've now officially used my French language skills way more than any knowledge of Calculus that I (used to) have. Sorry I didn't listen to you.

OK, now that that's out of the way, let me say that our trip to Paris rocked! Paris had a ton of cool touristy places to visit. So many that we didn't even try to see them all, thus giving us an excuse to go back.

The Flight - That 7:10AM flight seems like a good idea when you are making the travel arrangements but boy when the day comes does it suck. Getting up a 4:00AM in never a good idea. The up side is that we landed by 10:20 and got to the hotel before 11:30 so that we were in line for the Eiffel Tower by 12:30!

I say it each time but it remains true: our kids are great travelers. They know the drill and behave very well in the airport and on the plane. After we got through security and were having coffee and pastries at the airport cafe, Katie was very helpful keeping us on track.
Katie: "It's now 6:10 and the flight boards at 6:40."
Good reminders. Vito, Jr.'s contribution to the same conversation was slightly less helpful.
Vito: "If you fall into the lava in a volcano you will burn up and die."
Important safety tip for sure, but not really on topic.

On the first day we saw the Eiffel Tower. Our hotel was just at the other end of the Champs de Mars (the park in front of the Eiffel Tower)...just a 10 minute walk. VJ insisted on bringing his puppy since "she wants to see the Eiffel Tower, too."

The view of the city was amazing. The Eiffel Tower has 3 levels but we did not go up to the tippity top as we didn't want to wait in another long line as the early morning start was catching up to the kids. After a quick nap at the hotel (for everyone but me...I went and got week passes for the Metro) we took the Metro over to the Arc de Triumphe. After walking up almost 300 steps, we had another great view of the city.

On Sunday we took the Metro over to the Louvre. Whatever you have heard about the Louvre does not come close to describing how amazing it is. One half day (with 2 young kids) does not begin to be long enough to see everything. We of course saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo but there were so many amazing works of art to see. I think the piece below, new to the museum, is my favorite.
After the Louvre we went for a walk outside. Starting at the Louvre pyramids & fountains, through the Jardin des Tuileries ending at the Place de la Concorde. We found a carousel in the Jardin that the kids really enjoyed.

And then we took an ice cream break before we dragged the kids into another Museum, the Musée de l'Orangerie. Don't feel too bad for them though. As you can see by the picture below, we had to go somewhere to beat the rain anyway.

Monday we went to Notre Dame Cathedral. The most amazing thing about the cathedral was the stain glass windows. They were absolutely beautiful. Other than that, I don't think Notre Dame lived up to it's hype. I feel like a bad Catholic for saying this, but it was just another old church.

We decide not to walk up the 400+ steps to the top of the North Tower. And I'm glad we did because how pissed would I have been to have stood in a long line, walked up all those stairs and instead of a beautiful view of the city, I got rained on. Did I say rained on? I meant poured on. Plus some hail. Luckily at the time this started we were walking across the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris (ironically so, since it's name means "New Bridge") to get to the Metro station.
OK...at this point I'm going to finish this up quickly since I've been forever preparing this post. Between starting it days ago, having internet problems (which that continuing saga will get it's own rant/post in the future), writing some more, taking a break, coming back to it...it's time to wrap this puppy up.

Monday night we met friends from Budapest at the Hard Rock Cafe. Much better experience then the one in London. Alan works with Anna and Kim and I do parent volunteer stuff at the school. Their kids are the same ages as Katie & VJ so we put them all at one table and they had a great time and we got to talk and actually enjoy dinner.

Tuesday was some more museums. The Musée d'Orsey has a bunch of Monets (among other stuff) and Monet being Anna's favorite painter, it was a must see. Anna & Katie had this amusing exchange:
Katie: "I like this picture, Mommy." points at some Monet painting.
Anna: "Wow Katie, you have excellent taste. That was done by Mommy's favorite painter."
Katie: "I like it because the clouds look pink."
Anna: sighs

On Wed we were flying out in the afternoon but we had enough time to run and see Napolean's Tomb at Les Invalides.

All in all we had a great time in Paris. It was a plus too know some French, but I actually didn't have to speak it too often since I only ran into like 2 people that didn't speak English. Eventually I will load up the 700+ pictures we took...if the f#%*ing internet connection in our f#%*ing housing complex f#%*ing cooperates.

Updates

2008-03-30T09:43:00.009+02:00

I'm behind on posting so here's a few quick updates:

"My Country" Presentation
I went to Katie's school for her "My Country" presentation. All the kids put together a presentation about their home country. The parents went from kid to kid and they had to present the info they had collected and answer our questions. Katie decided to do a hanging presentation (sort of like a mobile). Some kids did posters, some were living statues (walk up to them and they start spouting their info) and some did PowerPoint presentations. I think that she, and all the kids really, did very well. The only question that I heard Katie get stumped on was what did "DC" in "Washington, DC" stand for.

More "My Country" pictures on our Kodak Gallery. Thanks to Katie's teacher for the pictures since I forgot my camera at home (and Katie's backpack, and my belt...it was a bad morning).

Disney On Ice
I can't say "Disney on Ice" without thinking about that Saturday Night Live skit (I think it was SNL) about how Walt Disney's body was frozen after his death and that the time had come to thaw him out and it was your last chance to see "Disney on Ice" (cut to picture of coffin sliding across the ice rink). Totally tasteless but still funny and having nothing to do with anything we did last Saturday.

We took the kids and Vito's friend Carlos to see Disney on Ice. Despite being all in Hungarian the show was really enjoyable. We got the boys Buzz Lightyear Swords and Katie a glowing Princess Scepter. And if you thought Hungarian was a hard language to learn and understand, you haven't heard anything until you try and make out what the hell Donald Duck is saying in Hungarian.

Vito was really happy with his sword as he "always wanted a power sword like He-Man's, but one that would change him into Batman instead."

More Disney on Ice Pictures.

Easter
Of course we decorated Easter Eggs and the Bunny came and hid them and lots of other candy around the house. Unfortunately due to the crappy weather of Easter weekend (it snowed on Holy Saturday and Easter Monday) our Egg hunt was limited to our living room.

More Easter Pictures.

Katie's Haircut
Katie got her haircut yesterday. We decided to cut it a little shorter than normal for the summer. After the lady dried it, she looked much too old for my taste.
Luckily, after a good night's rest, it curled up nicely so she looks like a little girl again.

Happy Birthday Vito, Jr.

2008-03-18T19:40:00.010+01:00

Then

Now

Vito turned 4 years old today. The fun started when Katie, Anna & I all went in to his room to wake him up and wish him a Happy Birthday. He was very excited but we were told not to sing to him until later "When there was cake."

Anna made cupcakes and I brought them in to his school for the class to enjoy after lunch. The kids sang Happy Birthday and he received a gift of a finger puppet from the class.

Doma and Vito enjoy their cupcakes.

Vito's buddy Carlos came over for the afternoon and they ~~wrecked the house~~ had fun playing. Carlos just turned 4 in Dec, he's just REALLY tall (or Vito is really short).
We all sang Happy Birthday and then enjoyed the cake that Anna had made (from scratch!). It was delicious!

The present from Mommy and Daddy went over pretty well.
More pictures on our Kodak Gallery Homepage.

You may have noticed that there was no mention of "VJ" in this post. About a week ago, Vito informed us that he no longer wanted to be called "VJ". We were to call him "Vito." OK, we can work on that. So we started to call him Vito. And then the problems began.

He corrected how I pronounced ~~his~~ my our name. He did not like the way I pronounced "Vito." I never realized that I tend to pronounce the "t" more like a "d". This is NOT acceptable to Vito, Jr. When you next speak to him, make sure that the "t" sound comes through loud and clear.

I haven't broken the news to him yet, but he needs to prepare for a lifetime of people saying his name wrong. For 5 years, my next door neighbor in TX called me Vidal. A woman I worked with at Samaritan Hospital thought my name was Guido. She'd greet me with a "Hey, Gui."
Me: "Union National Customer Service, Vito speaking. How may I help you?"
Customer: "Good morning Peter. Can you tell me the balance on my checking account."

You get used to it after a while and it is just easier to answer to whatever they call me (as long as it comes close). Just don't tell ME how to pronounce MY name.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-10T23:16:00.001+01:00

OK, this is the last one for a while. I just stumbled across this site and had to do it for St. Patrick's Day.

Mean, Horrible Parents

2008-03-09T18:54:00.006+01:00

This is so going to affect the nursing home we are sent to.

Bad News...for my Dad

2008-03-06T13:52:00.005+01:00

Some Bad News for my Dad. I found this really cool site where I can do stuff like this:

and this

and this

(apologies to Heath Ledger)

Expect more pictures in the future as this will never stop being funny.

More Pics of Ava

2008-03-06T11:56:00.005+01:00

I finally got some more pictures of my niece (which I know you've been dying to see). It was easy to pick out some good ones since over half of them were REALLY blurry (my brother is apparently a worse photographer than I am).

Ava and Daddy

Grandma and Grandpa Salvaggio

Frowny Face

Catching a Snooze.

Pink Rules!

A few more pictures are available on our Kodak Gallery Homepage.

More Fun with My Dad's Picture

2008-03-02T14:12:00.003+01:00

Since my brother hasn't sent me any more pictures of my niece I had time to have some more fun with my Dad's picture.

I don't know about "one of the richest people on the planet" but he was always good for 20 bucks for the weekend.

Ava Judith

2008-03-01T20:57:00.004+01:00

Congratulations to my brother Frank and his girlfriend Lisa on the birth of their daughter, Ava Judith. Ava arrived at 1:34pm today, weighing 7lbs 9oz and was 21¹/₂ inches long. Mom, Dad and baby are doing just fine!

As soon as he can get to a computer (and may be after he gets some rest) he'll send some pictures taken on a REAL camera but for now we can at least see her from some early pics directly from the hospital via his camera phone (technology rocks!).

Ava Judith

Proud Father

Meet the Grandparents

Ski Vacation

2008-02-24T12:19:00.018+01:00

What we would call "Mid-Winter Recess" in the States is called "Ski Break" in Europe. So that's what we decided to do. We just got back from our Ski Vacation in the Austrian Alps (just south of Salzburg). We stayed in a small village called St. Veit and skied at Alpendorf. We had a FANTASTIC (albeit exhausting) time.

Anna is the only one of us who had ever skied before. And her experience was limited to exactly 3 times, the most recent of which was over 12 years ago.

Our inexperience was OK, since our trip included 5 days (4 hours per day) of ski lessons for everyone. We dropped the kids off each morning at 10:00am and picked them back up at 3:00pm. The ski school even supervised them over their lunch break.

Katie and VJ both had a great time. VJ never left the enclosed Kindergarten area since he never quite learned to stop. He still had a great time, skiing, sledding and playing with the other little kids.

Katie shocked us by how well she did. We were able to see her on Monday & early Tuesday and she was not doing that great. She had trouble standing (& staying) up and couldn't get up without help after she fell. So imagine our surprise on Thursday when we stopped for lunch at a restaurant at the top of the mountain and looked over and saw Katie and her class! They had already skied down the mountain twice that morning and had taken the chair lift back up for another go after lunch.

Anna and I both enjoyed ourselves. We started in the beginner's class Monday morning. After lunch our instructor told us we would be moving up to the next level class as we were doing so well. Monday afternoon was spent with just Anna, myself and one other woman with the instructor. We made some easy runs and really benefited from the extra attention the small class size allowed. And apparently we did well enough that the next morning we were told that we were moving up to the Intermediate Level class. Our instructor was a guy named Johann who really pushed us over the next 3 days. I learned so much and really skied so much better than I ever imagined I would.

However, all this fun came at a price. By Thursday afternoon we were past tired and heading toward exhaustion. We decided to take Friday off from class and just follow the kids around. This ensured that we wouldn't get hurt because we were too tired and also let us see the kids in their races. 'What races?', you ask. Well on Friday morning each class ran a time trial and at the end of the day the school had an awards presentation. Every kid was recognized and received a medal for participating. VJ placed 3rd for his class!

While Katie didn't place in the top 3 (although if you talk to her know that she somehow decided she came in 2nd), she still did awesome! She ran the entire course without falling once and was smiling and enjoying herself the whole way!

Lots of videos to check out:

Katie's Time Trial

VJ's Time Trial

Katie skiing down the mountain. Look for the little girl in pink (5th in line).

VJ Skiing

Ski School wasn't just about Skiing.

The tour company that organized the trip held events each evening. We only made it to 2 of them. The welcome party on Monday night had a limbo contest for the kids & teenagers. Katie and VJ both had fun dancing around. VJ was definitely the youngest kid, but had a great time dancing around and bugging all the little girls.

On Tuesday we stayed in so we could rest up to go and see the fireworks on Wednesday evening. They also had a curling event for the kids which Katie and VJ participated in. Although VJ turned up shy for some reason but was fine as long as Big Sister Katie went up with him for his turn.

On Thursday and Friday we enjoyed going to bed at 8:30pm and falling asleep as fast as possible.

This was definitely one of the best vacations we've ever had.

There's a ton more pictures and videos on our Kodak Gallery Homepage.

Busy Day

2008-02-15T22:24:00.003+01:00

A while ago, much to my dismay, Anna got the High Score on Snood (the most evilly addictive game EVER). After much hard work and effort on my part, I am happy to report that the natural order of things has been restored.

International Week

2008-02-11T19:30:00.000+01:00

International Week at Katie's school started today. The week focuses on the various cultures, customs, etc. from all the countries represented by the students at AISB.

The kickoff was the parade today. The kids and teachers marched into the gym under their country's flag à la the Olympics. They were encouraged to wear outfits representative of their country; either traditional outfits or their country's colors. I was very impressed at the level of participation and really enjoyed the morning.

Monica Lehner, Katie's 1^st Grade Teacher, was the lone representative of Austria.

That's Katie's friend Anya with the "Russia" sign.

Katie and her classmate Annie.

Lots from the Good Ol' USA.

I got pictures of every country EXCEPT Belgium (just missed him) and Pakistan (came out too blurry, even by my crappy photography standards). They are on our Kodak Gallery Homepage and definitely worth checking out.

One funny thing I wanted to share. Each country has their own table (located in the halls all over the school) with items/artifacts that are supposedly representative of that country's culture, history, etc. The USA table is right outside Katie's classroom and she was looking it over when I arrived to pick her up today. Someone had brought in a bag of Oreo's for our table, so Katie had this question:

Katie: "Are Oreo's a traditional food of America, Daddy?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that. I mean, they're not exactly as All-American as Apple Pie, but I know I had way more Oreo's growing up than Apple Pies (I had the 13 cavities -no exaggeration- from post-freshman year to prove it)!

Misc

2008-02-05T23:43:00.001+01:00

I laughed at today's For Better or For Worse Comic Strip. Specifically this part:

That is SO not how things work in our house. In our house I would say something like "Hey! Work it out amongst yourselves or I will take. It. Away."

Needless to say, I don't get called on to referee that often.

*******

We say Grace every night before dinner. Nothing fancy, just the standard "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts..." etc. But you have to really watch VJ. If he thinks we are not paying attention he'll just sit there until we're done, hands clasped but mouth not moving. When that happens we make him say it over all by himself (we're mean like that).

A week or so ago when Anna was in Brussels, VJ chose not to participate in saying Grace. So when Katie & I finished I told him:

Me: "VJ, since you didn't participate, you have to do it by yourself. So go ahead, say Grace."
VJ: without missing a beat "Grace."

Oh my God, I almost bust out laughing. It was all I could do to keep a straight face.

I'm pretty sure it was a legitimate misunderstanding of the instructions I gave him and that he was not intentionally mocking me. If I recall correctly from my experience with Katie, the intentional mocking doesn't start until around age 5.

*******

The Waffles Incident

So I've gotten better at cooking. I'm still not terrific, but hey, it's been a year and no one has starved yet. But this weekend I did have some problems.

During the week we eat cold cereal for breakfast. But on the weekend we cook real breakfast food. The 2 days/weekend, 2 kids in the house situation works out well since VJ always wants scrambled eggs and Katie always wants waffles. The problem is that Anna cooked eggs on Saturday and then left for Thailand Saturday evening, leaving me to make waffles on Sunday. Which I've only done one time before. With Anna's supervision. And I didn'twrite down the recipe.

That's right, I said recipe. There is no box of pancake/waffle mix over here. It's make it from scratch time. I remember thinking the first time that it was a pretty easy recipe. I liked it because it had a lot of "2's" in it:
2 cups of flour
2 eggs
2 cups of milk
2 packages of Sütópor (that's Hungarian for Baking Powder. Or may be Baking Soda. I don't really know which but it's the orange packet in the cabinet and not the green one in the fridge.)
?? cups of oil

Now I remembered that it was not 2 cups of oil and that it was less. But I wasn't sure how much less. So I went with 1 cup.

As I poured it in, I knew it was wrong. Way too much. When I told Anna the story later she said "So you had to start all over, right?" Of course not, but for two good reasons. I didn't really have enough flour to start all over and even if I did, I still didn't know how much oil to use other than "less that 1 cup".

I considered just chucking it and making eggs/french toast but having already promised Katie waffles I decided to persevere and hope for the best. I added whatever flour was left (a little over a cup) and added another cup of milk and an egg and another package of Baking Whatever Powder. I now had enough batter to make Waffles for my whole extended family but whatever.

To top it all off, I was still thinking about the ingredients and not paying attention to which scooper I was using when I poured the first round of batter on to the Waffle Maker and poured WAY too much and got to watch it spew out all over the counter once I closed the damn thing's lid.

All-in-all not one of my prouder culinary moments. The waffles came out..."OK" I would say. They were some what crunchier than normal and I could taste the "extra" oil. VJ ate as much as he ever does (which is to say not much) while wondering out loud why we couldn't have eggs instead. Katie said that they were good and was happy which was the point of the exercise so we're going to mark this one down as a win.

I'd like to close with this observation: This all could have been avoided if Anna had made waffles on Saturday LIKE I SPECIFICALLY ASKED HER TO BECAUSE I KNEW THIS SHIT WOULD HAPPEN. I'm just saying.

BTW, I'm told it's supposed to be 1/3 cup of oil.

Farsang Party

2008-02-02T13:32:00.000+01:00

VJ's school had a Farsang Party on Friday. What's Farsang you say? Well, I only know the bare basics but essentially it's a Hungarian Celebration that takes place just before Lent to "scare away Winter." Think Hungarian Mardi Gras. In effect the kids dress up like it's like Halloween but without the candy.

The school did a pretty good job of making the party fun. The kids had Farsang Books and we had to go around the school and find various teachers (dressed as a Clown, Cow, Pig, etc.) and get them to stamp their book. There was also games to play and they got stamps in the books for playing. Best of all, at least from VJ's perspective, was that they had Donuts!

Having fun on the Conga Line!

Carlos and VJ take a Donut break.

The Rabbit was hiding in the business office but we finally found her and got her stamp!

VJ had fun doing the mini-obstacle course.

To top VJ's day off, Carlos's mom picked him up after school and he went to their house to play and have dinner. The best part: they have an indoor swimming pool! He wasn't really excited to see me when I picked him up at 7:00pm.

You can see all the pictures on our Kodak Gallery Homepage.

Sports Superstar

2008-01-31T17:12:00.000+01:00

The new round of After School Activities has started for Katie. She has signed up for Floor Hockey (Girls Only), Gymnastics and Basketball. So far she is enjoying them very much, with Floor Hockey as her stated favorite.

Here are some pictures (I tried to pick some "action shots" so forgive me if they are a little fuzzy).

Taking a shot (or at least trying to).

I'm glad the thing is not any higher!

Ready to pass the ball.

You can see all the pictures on our Kodak Gallery Homepage.

Almost Got It

2008-01-30T19:24:00.001+01:00

I would say he got it 85% of the way on. What do you think?