Mom’s (and Kid’s) Time

There was no ovoda (preschool) the day after we returned from our church retreat, so I decided to invite some moms and kids over for a play time and tomato soup lunch.I expected it to be much colder than it actually turned out.  Not that it has to be cold to have soup, but no one seemed to mind. 

Since it was so nice out I decided to try to use up some of the home-made popsicles that I had made this summer. Sienna enjoying every bite of the blueberry, raspberry, yogurt popsicle.  And it even matched her shirt!

The kids enjoyed using the Strellmans’ yard along with our yard to run around and play!

Church Retreat

Our church here in Budapest had it’s 3rd retreat near the end of October.  We were glad for the opportunity to be able to attend, and even more glad that we didn’t have any responsibilities.  We were in charge of the other two church retreats, so it was a nice break.

We went to the same location as last time, so the kids knew there would be a trampoline and looked forward to it.  As soon as we arrived they went straight to jump on it. Sienna preferred jumping on it alone as opposed to Ethan, who loved being on it with other kids (especially “big kids”). Ethan is the one to the left in mid-air in the picture above.

Sienna was actually okay with others being on the trampoline jumping at the same time as long as she was being held.

There were some animals that the kids enjoyed seeing.  You could buy food to feed them, and someone gave Ethan some to give to the animals. Evidently, this ram has been fed by many children! 

I just had to get a picture of Sienna with these other girls from our church since they were dressed so similar.

The kids loved the pool.  The first time that Sienna was ever in a pool was this one at our last church retreat a year and a half ago.

Unfortunately we couldn’t fit all of the fun stuff into the free afternoon with Sienna’s nap time, but the kids still had a blast.

We were so thankful that the weather was SO nice, especially to be up in the hills of Hungary at the end of October.  It rained some during the last retreat, and this time, the weather was just beautiful!

Holiday Hike

October 23rd is a national holiday in Hungary, and we took advantage of the warm, beautiful weather to go for a hike. We went to an area in the Buda hills that we haven’t been to since I was pregnant with Sienna. 

Sienna was in the backpack most of the time.  She probably will be too big for the backpack next summer, so this was most likely her last time to have a nice, comfy, effortless hike.

Enjoying lunch

 On the way back we collected pine cones for decorating the house.  The best kind of decoration… free!We were so thankful for the beautiful weather and chance to go for one last hike before cold weather set in.

Yearly Pumpkin Pictures

We try to take pictures of the kids with the wheelbarrow and some pumpkins each fall.  We have typically done this in October each year.  It’s interesting to compare the dates and color of the leaves from one year to the next.  Unfortunately, we waited until all of the leaves were brown this year.  However, we took these pictures on the October 23rd holiday and did the same on a different year with there still being many yellow leaves.  So, you just never know.

Ethan helping move pumpkins from the front porch to the side of the house.  Sienna tried too, but decided that the pumpkin was too heavy. 

 

Beethoven Park

Our neighbors spontaneously invited us to go to “Beethoven Park” with them one Saturday in October.  (We call it that because it has a museum in a chateau where Beethoven stayed for a time.) I’m not a very spontaneous person, and was actually sick, but decided to go since it was such a nice day and to just be with the kids.

Sienna and I had never been to Beethoven Park before.  When I was pregnant with her (and very sick) Gary took Ethan and his parents one afternoon when they were visiting.  It’s only about a 20-minute drive from our house, so it’s amazing that I’ve not been there in all of these years.

It looks like Nathan and Ethan were “fishing”, but they were actually putting large leaves in the water and then using these sticks to move them around.

We  had a picnic lunch with the Strellmans in a nice, sunny spot by the pond and these huge, beautifully-colored trees behind us.

Everyone holding hands around one of the trees during our walk.

Another interesting find for the kids.

Taking advantage of naturally pretty backgrounds

I was so thankful that we were spontaneous and joined the Strellmans.  We all had a good time and enjoyed a warm day in October as well as God’s beauty in creation.

Fun in the Leaves

October is that time of year when the leaves from our maple tree fall to the ground.  The kids enjoyed playing in them last year, but even more so this year.

Our neighbors came over to “jump” into the excitement…

… and then took Gary down in the process.

Covering Dad with leaves is always fun!

And now it’s Sienna’s turn to be covered in leaves.

Our favorite picture