Lydia has had enough. Mommy and Daddy learned a valuable lesson ... we are now in a period of our life where tours of parliament buildings are probably not such a good idea. We lasted approximately 15 minutes before we had to ask the security guard to escort us (and our little angel) out of the Budapest parliament building -- screaming and kicking all the way.

Our final stop on the way home: the Communist Statue Graveyard. Following the fall of Communism, the city council of Budapest decided to move 41 of their Communist statues to one location. The park was quite... well... Communist. But intriguing nevertheless.

See what happens when Mommy is away for the morning and Daddy is in "control"?!?! This morning I went to a lovely women's brunch Emily Stone organized for the ladies in our church fellowship. I came home to the "horror" of Lydia's first tattoo! Shame on Daddy! Although I do have to admit... it IS quite fitting for Lydie's pipes o' steel! :-)

It appears as if the Christmas Letter-Writing Elf is hard at work in his workshop! Also, take note of the white background. Seems that our first snowfall this morning was the inspiration for the elf's Christmas spirit.

Lydia is a natural at metro-riding in Budapest!

Mid-way Layover

We are currently in the Tatras Mountains in Slovakia where we quickly discovered what it means to visit during the "off-season". Yes... lodging is cheaper, but tourist attractions are not open either. Yesterday we drove an hour to see the largest castle in Slovakia only to discover it closed for the season on October 31. Same for the many caves in the area. So, we have enjoyed a little down time and even stumbled upon a great pizzeria last night where Brandon claims he consumed the "best pizza he has had in all of Europe"! Quite a distinction, huh?

Lydia was Grumpy (yes, with a capital "G") yesterday. Maybe she's tired of the car time, or switching beds every 2 days, or she's just 21 months. Who knows, but I think it was a blessing that we were forced to take it easy for a day before heading off to Budapest today.

Sorry... dont have the ability to post pictures so we'll have to save that for our return at the end of the week. Please keep Lydia's emotional state and her mommy and daddy's patience level in your prayers!

Back in the Saddle

With Brandon's remaining 5 vacation days this year and a Czech holiday next week the equation seemed perfect for a road trip of Eastern Europe. Although I am feeling a bit apprehensive about a week in the car and inconsistent sleep locales for Lydia (she didn't bounce back so quickly post-Berlin!), I AM looking forward to seeing some very beautiful places. We will drive to Krakow, Poland tonight and hopefully arrive by 10 or 11 pm. We'll spend 3 days there, visit Auschwitz concentration camp and then head for Budapest, Hungary stopping mid-way for two days in the Tatras Mountains of Slovakia. We'll be driving 5-7 hours every 2-3 days so with a toddler that doesn't enjoy the car you see where my apprehension comes from. In a positive light... After this, the flight home for Christmas will be a piece of cake!!!

The Future is Not So Bright...

Think I'll pack away my sunglasses until next June. Or maybe I will just trade them in for some night vision goggles.

I was just beginning to accept the fact that most fall days in Prague are gray and cloudy when my psyche was dealt another blow this week. It was an event you may also be familiar with: Daylight Savings Time. Yes, they also change the clocks here in Eastern Europe. Why was this so different than the 29 previous DSTs I have experienced? Well, let's just say we better stock up on lightbulbs around here. Some internet research revealed that by the time mid-December rolls around sunrise will be at 8:00am with sunset at 4:00pm. A quick calculation by this stay-at-home mommy revealed that we will have approximately 1 hour of post-nap daylight. Not exactly enough time to trek to the park (our standard afternoon activity). With this grim realization I am now quite worried that Lydia will be reciting her VeggieTales movies from memory by Christmas! Guess we're going to have to become creative with our afternoon activities. I sure am glad I have that I invested in that 101 Fun Activies for Toddlers book! At a rate of one per day we may just survive our first Prague winter.