Hungary and Italy

We left for Budapest on Thursday and arrived Friday morning.  We had traveled all night from Salt Lake City to Chicago to Germany and then finally to Budapest.  I had a hard time adjusting to the time change because morning in Budapest is in the middle of the night in the U.S.  Luckily, Ben decided that he could use a nap too, so after walking around a little, we took a nap which helped me immensely.



We walked around the area and found a bank to get some Hungarian money.  We also had our first   Hungarian meal.  It was so delicious and I loved hearing Ben speak Hungarian. Even after 16years, he did really well.  Many of the Hungarians complimented him at how well he spoke.



We were in Budapest for 4 days.  One of the days, Ben took me to the Castle District.  Picture it like Fisherman's wharf in San Francisco, a tourist trap, but nonetheless, super fun to see.  We had great views of the city.



We also hit the museum while we were there which was very interesting to see.



I'm glad I brought my 5D, my biggest and heaviest camera.  It was a pain to carry around but the pictures I captured made it worth it.  Sometimes, you have to sacrifice comfort in order to get the what you want in a photo.



There were several bridges that we crossed across the Danube.  Buda is on one side of the Danube and Pest is on the other.  The chain bridge is the most famous bridge.



We didn't tour the parliment building but took some pretty neat pictures of it during the day and night.  It was neat to see it in real life because I've only seen it in the movies.  If a movie takes place in Budapest, the parliment building is what they show.



We took the public transportation everywhere.  Cable car, buses, trains, and subways.  On Sunday we made it to church and I was able to meet one of the members that was there when Ben served and also a sister missionary, with whom he served with in one area.  She is actually from Hungary.



Klara, the older one was hilarious.  I didn't understand a word she said, but I could tell from the conversation that she was cracking jokes.  I asked Ben later what she was saying and she told him that I was pretty and called me Mulan.  He told her to not let me go to war.



On another day, we went to Hero Square where they honor their heroes.  One thing I noticed while in Hungary is there is never a shortage of statues.



On our last day, we decided to take a trip to Esztergom which is home to the largest basilica in Hungary.  We got to go inside and even checked out the crypt in the basement.  I enjoyed our time in Budapest and it was fun to share it with Ben.



Our next stop was Venice, Italy.  We flew from Budapest to Italy. Throughout our entire trip we stopped in Frankfurt, Germany three times.  And on two legs of our trip, that is where our luggage didn't make it on the same flight as us.  When we got to Venice, Ben's luggage did not arrive.  We thought we were so smart by packing a change of clothes in his carry on, but forgot to get important things like toothbrushes and contact cases.  The luggage ended up arriving the next day.  Phew! We thought because we were only staying 1 day in Venice.



We took the train into the city.  My entire day in Venice was so much fun.  It felt like a part of Disneyland, like they have frontier town.  I loved wandering around and getting lost.





I also loved how instead of parking their cars, they parked their boats!





We wandered all the way to St Mark's Square.  We rode the elevator to the top of the clock tower and had splendid view of the city.







We ended up taking the water taxi up the canal and was able to see the city while on the water.



We passed the famous Rialto bridge which is lined with many vendors trying to sell their products.  We found some great Italian ties there.



Ben was in love with the pizza in Italy.  It's funny how much more we ate while we were in Italy versus Hungary.  The food was just so good!  They also have these yummy slushes that we had almost daily.  It was very hot while we were there.  We also ran into some Mormon missionaries while we were there.



After spending a day in Venice, we took a train to Florence.  We walked several miles from the train station to the hotel.  We walked more because we were trying to find our way.  After we found our hotel, we dropped our luggage off and wandered around the city.  Within a couple of hours, we saw most of the highlights of the city.



We went inside the famous Duomo and the next day we had tickets to the Accademia which was Europe's first school of drawing.  We saw Michelangelo statues and his most famous one, David.  It was so amazing to say the least.



In the Piazza Signoria  they have a replica of the statue David as well as many other statues.  We enjoyed the art in Florence and had gelato everyday.  It's one of a kind and so delicious.

I'm so glad Ben and I had the opportunity to go to Europe.  I finally have a stamp in my passport!  We are so grateful for Ben's parents who watched our kids the entire time!  

The Shortest Birthday Song

On Zoey's birthday, her Grandpa sang . . .

"This is your birthday song, it isn't very long. . .HEY!"

That is the coolest birthday song ever!  Despite having the shortest birthday song, Zoey had an extended birthday.  We were with family for the Fourth of July and so that in itself was a present for Zoey.  

She loved having so many cousins all around her.  Even today, she ask or talks about her cousins.  On her birthday the cousins each made her a birthday card, which she toted around in her custom made purse.

Grandma Porter brought a cake to the cabin and we sung "Happy Birthday" to Zoey, whom all the while asked me "My birthday?" "Happy Birthday to me?"

Then the week we returned home from Utah, I organized a little party for her.  I made it water themed because she absolutely loves the water and would wear her bathing suit, 24/7 if I let her.  

We had sailboat corndogs, little pools with lifesavers in them, and cupcakes with a worm and hook.  We also had many of Zoey's favorite foods like goldfishes, pretzels, cheesesticks and fruit kabobs.

They played with her giant water ball, the kiddie pool out with slide, they could fish in her water table, and jump on the mini trampoline out where they could jump while being sprayed.  I also had two activities, one where they had to fill the bucket with water by passing water with cups, and the other one I tried doing water pinatas (I got this idea from her grandma).

She had a wonderful time and I had a great time watching how happy she was.  Zoey is such a pleasant, happy, and fun girl and I am so lucky to have her in our family.  She makes me smile every day and always has a hug and kiss ready for me. I love this girl!

INTRODUCING OUR BRAND NEW KITCHEN!

Here is our kitchen, BEFORE, BEFORE. . .

I disliked our cabinets SO MUCH that I painted them because I couldn't stand them.  They didn't close all the way and some of them I had to kick shut each time I used them.  We also redid the flooring because that too, was ugly and gross.

Here's a BEFORE picture. . .

Then we decided that we needed a new dishwasher and that led to this. . .
(Read Ben's blog for more details on this)

We took down all the old cabinets, which then resulted in replacing all the drywall.  Ben installed a new sub panel and wired in new electrical outlets.  I was the demo girl and took down all the drywall and pulled up the flooring.  We found that there were 4 layers of flooring!

We also tiled for our very first time, which resulted in our purchase of our very own wet saw!  Let me tell you that I have learned that in order for you to do certain jobs, you need the right tool to do it with.  Not only did we have to purchase the materials for the job, we had to purchase the tools to do it with.  It sure does add up!

I've decided that this and only this will be the only time I will ever be grateful to have a small kitchen.  I can't imagine doing all the work we did in a bigger kitchen.  

I learned that mudding the drywall is frustrating and that I would much rather paint, which I did.  I really like the color that I choose because it opens up our very small kitchen space.  Ben had various other projects to do that he had to do alone like moving duct work up in the attic, plumbing, and electrical things.

I was so amazed at everything he could do or learn how to do.  I have always wanted to marry a "handyman".  My Dad is a handyman and I loved that he could fix everything.  I had no idea when I married Ben, that I had married my very own "handyman"!

We worked non-stop for weeks.  Working late into the night was a daily activity almost.  Finally we got to the point where the contractor that we hired came in.  They installed the cabinets and within days  I watched it go from this. . .

To this. . .

Today Ben finished installing the garbage disposal and hooked up the dishwasher.  I've been washing dishes by hand for 7 months!  The past month and a half has been in the bathtub since we didn't have a sink. I will not miss that!

I am SO HAPPY we are done and I get to enjoy my new kitchen.  My kids keep saying, "Mom, I love our new kitchen!"  

Me too.

"Hello" granite countertops!

"Hello" new cabinets that open and close so nicely!

"Hello" handsome man that I love!

I love our new kitchen!

A Teenager Among Us

It is official.

We have a teenager living in our house! 

CJ turned 13 last week and this week, she gets to have a PAR-TAY!!!  Her first girl/boy party in fact.    Ben and I will be the coolest parents that day.  We will have a movie outside and Just Dance inside.  We will pump the kids full of pizza and snacks and we will most likely pass out at the end of the day.

CJ got lots of clothes for her birthday.  In fact, that is all I think she got and she couldn't be happier.

What lies ahead for us during these golden teenage years?  

I'm hoping the opposite of everything that I've heard!

Memorial Day Camping-Big Sur

In our ward, there are little groups of families who have these vacation traditions and there are a certain select families who are invited in each group.

Take for instance, the boating group.  Every year a bunch of families, who own boats, of course, vacation together for days.  In fact, it is a good size group, that when that does happen, the attendance in church goes down.

Now there are other families who have organized themselves also.  For the past two years, I have known about these groups but did not care whether or not I was invited.  I personally think that exclusive groups are dumb because there will be someone who feels left out.  In fact, a couple of years ago I organized my own little camping group and told them to invite whomever they wanted.  "Ha!" I thought.  "Take that exclusive families!"

Last year, we didn't go camping because it just didn't happen because someone (um. . .me) dropped the ball and waited until the last minute and then it got to be too busy.  Then , unexpectedly, a friend who is part of one of the camping groups, told me that I may be asked to join their group for next year.  It seems our family was being discussed and reviewed.  "How silly", I thought to put so much effort into selecting a family.

Then the time came to book the sights at Big Sur, which I found out later, was a hidden piece of paradise. I had no idea what a big deal it was and how fast camping spots fill up, especially during the holidays.  We all had to go online at 7 a.m. in November of last year to book the sights.  Minutes later, the entire campground was filled.

May came quickly and since it was so busy, I waited until the day before to pack and do everything.  Not my usual way of doing things.  I'm usually a "do a little here and there" kinda of person.  So saving it all to the last minute was stressful, but we managed it.

We coordinated most of our meals together and so we only had to cook a couple of times.  "How convenient!" I thought.  It didn't take long to see how awesome our weekend was going to be.  Every single one of my kids had someone to play with, even CJ who always seems to be the odd one out.  I was thrilled!

We jumproped, played sky ball, rode bikes, hiked, went to the beach, caught and saw lots of insects and tadpoles and roasted marshmellows.  We went on the best hike ever with the kids!  They call it the water hike because we hiked over rocks and the kids got all wet and loved it!  

There was this one part where we ended.  The kids played in the water and my friend Jane decided she would swim to this rock.  "Scary" I thought because there was a little current.  She made it look so easy and it looked like so much fun that I decided to do it too!  I am not a strong swimmer and it  honestly was a little scary for me.  I couldn't believe how strong the water could be when it was moving.  I finally made it to the rock and decided that I would climb to the top and jump.  Now others may think that that was the scariest part, but for me that was cake.  The swimming part is scarier and harder for me but I did it!  One day, I hope that I can become a strong swimmer.

So remember how I was totally against exclusive groups?  Well, towards the end, I understood a little more why it is so hard to invite everyone.  Another ward was camping near by (yes, the Mormons were taking over Big Sur!) and I could see how it would get to be too much work to organize such a large group.  I could also see how it could be bigger and bigger each year and by having a smaller group, things were more contained and manageable.

So now every year we can look forward to Memorial Day camping.  My kids will have a blast growing up with this tradition and a friend to do it with.  Our kids fit in so nicely with the others and it made it so Ben and I could enjoy ourselves as well.  Can't wait to go to Big Sur again!

Who Am I?

I am a smart , nice, kind kid!  I have a brother and two sisters.  One sister is tall.  The other is tall for her age.  My favorite thing to do is make gifts for people.  My favorite type of meal is Top Ramen.  My favorite movie trailer is Brave.  I am a girl.  I love shrimp.  I love doing crafts.  My favorite sport is softball and gymnastics.  My favorite story is the Gingerbread Man.  I love making eggs.  I am creative.  My favorite insect is a butterfly.  My favorite pizza restaurant is Skippilini's.  I have brown eyes.  I have glasses.  I have self control.  I am 7 years old.  I love to write.  I have a cat.  I love to dance.  I am healthy.  I have my own style.

WHO AM I?

Mia wrote this about herself and there was a silhouette of her head above it for Open House night at school.  The parents had to read the description and guess who their child was.  I just love everything she wrote about herself because it is all so true!