More December fun?

In December there are not only the organized must do Christmas events 

but there are always those other fun spontaneous ones that only come around once a year and I feel like we have to do them or our lives will never be complete and I really push for them and hope they are instilling all sorts of magical memories in my kids and I get all worked up excited about them knowing

my kids are totally going to love every minute and be in total awe and remember me as the best mom

ever and then... they don't love them at all and they aren't in awe and they are crying and fighting and telling me I am the worst mom ever. 

That doesn't happen to you? 

Oh good me either.

I will let you decide which ones were a success and which ones weren't.  

As you can see here is another activity where our family was divided, I think Mack was at a birthday party for this one.

There is a children's train here that is actually run by kids. Not just any ol' kids but ones who are training to work in the train industry when they grow up. Can you imagine such a program in the states?
At Christmas they run a special route where you ride with Szent Mikulas and are
given a HUGE bag of goodies and little toys.
So big that I am not sure how they make any money of this deal.

The gaggle of american children
You really have to feel sorry for the Hungarians when we Americans decide to go somewhere as a group we tend to invade and be a little loud. 

Creed and Callan spending time with Szent Mikulas. 

Hands down my favorite aspect of living in Europe during Christmas time are the Christmas markets.
Most major cities have them starting around Thanksgiving and ending after Christmas.
We saw London's while we were there and it was okay,
 I have heard Germany has some of the best ones {someday hopefully}
and Budapest's is actually ranked in the top 10.
Being a novice to the whole market scene,  I can only assume their ranking is accurate. Though we
do know it beats London's.
Next year baby, my goal is to hit at least two other nearby cities,
like Vienna and Prague.
Oh to dream.

The two most famous markets in Budapest are on Varosmarty Ter and the Bazilica.

I arrived early on the day the Bazilica market opened and was able to capture this picture before it got
crowded with people and vendors.
I felt it was a great reward to being early, maybe I should try it more often.

the boys and I had some last minute christmas shopping to do at Varosmarty Ter (brr...) and NO outing is complete without some yummy fresh from the fire Kurtos kolacs-- cinnamon chimney bread.

after our shopping was complete we walked over to the Bazilica market for some ice skating

life imitating art on the Imre Nagy statue 

Budapest really out does themselves around Christmas.
 I LOVE IT!
There are nativity scenes  all around and some in the most obscure places,
buildings and streets covered in lights,
it is truly magical.
One last holiday event we had to squeeze in was riding the holiday tram along the Danube.
They take 3 of the bajillion trams in Budapest and completely cover them in lights.
There is no extra cost or any special routes just an extra way to add some more spirit.

(If you look really close you can see the chain bridge in background over my right shoulder. )

This thing looks like it is on fire which it almost is....I really need to figure out how to take pictures of light at night.

Can you find the rest of us without blinding yourself?

The end or starting point depending on which way you ride is right in front of Parlament.

Well played Budapest, well played!

Crazy December!

I don't think I know I single person who doesn't have a busy if not extremely crazy 

schedule during the month of December. 

For a two week period I think my kids saw our babysitter and their school teachers more than me. 

In fact I think our babysitter came over 9 TIMES, 9!!

To be honest, I am not complaining I really do love

all the parties, open houses, and events that bring people together and 

help set a more creative and festive mood. 

However, I will also be honest in saying it has taken me days to

 recover from this months festivities.

And since I am being honest, I am going to tell you my most favorite 

events this month are the ones involving my kids.

Holiday breakfast with best friend Taewon

Apple Pie baking in Mack's class

Mack's Holiday Tea which was after their polar express party
 (hence the conflicting wardrobe of party on the bottom and business on the top).

At the Holiday Tea the kids read 2 of their own written poems and entertained us with song.
Fantastic.

and No, we did not move to Korea, but it does happen that 4 out of the 13 kids in Mack's class are Korean. The boy next to him Taewon also happens to be in Mack's primary class at church and they are best little buddies.

Gingerbread house making at the Ambassadors house...Unfortunately Mack was sick this day and couldn't come too.

This picture with only 2 of us, tended to be accurate description of our family this month.
We were never all at the same function together at the same time. And, I have a feeling this is just the
beginning of our tag teaming lifestyle.

Callan's school "required" all kids to dorn a santa hat all month. 

Can you believe that we are able to pull off cub scouts in Hungary! Well we can and we do thanks to a lot of dedicated parents. It is fantastic.  Here Creed is receiving his Bobcat along with many belt loops.
Mack too had some awards but this pack meeting was also on the day he was sick.

The tiger den performing their skit

Creed also had a great Christmas concert that is all on film and how I wish you all could watch it. 

My recording is a little distracting because there is so much laughter and giggling coming through, but it is pure delight. 

First Marine Corp Ball

I can't believe we have been living the military life for over 15 years and we had to move

all the way to Hungary to attend our very 

first Marine Corp Ball. 

Although one might think all military Balls are created equal,  

but that someone would be wrong.

The Marine Corp Ball can be a hard gig to get into. 

You usually have to "know a guy" or in our case

actually live somewhere where Marines are. 

Our Military life previously had been pretty Air Force exclusive. The Ball is always held around the Marine Corps birthday which was established November 10th, 1775 

and have been celebrated in some sort of fashion around the world since 1925.

 This event is full of rich traditions and meaningful symbolism and really can be the party of the year 

in the international diplomatic circles.

The Marines here in Budapest really know how to party and made it extremely 

memorable and did not disappoint this particular first timer. 

I found myself a little teary eyed and homesick during the national anthem

while being full of pride and gratitude to be an American and to be associated

with the men and women in the Armed Forces. 

I consider it one of my greatest honors and a distinct privilege.  

It is hard not to look sharp next to these guys. I mean seriously The Marines uniforms really represent.
Air Force's are nice if you are into the waiter, bus driver look.

With our first and dear friends here in Hungary John and Kristyn

Amy, Kristyn and I showing that our hearts truly do lie in both countries.

Party time!

I see London...

What do you do when you are living in Europe, with an extremely tiny oven, 

limited American food and a giant itch for travel and it is Thanksgiving time? 

You bag the whole thing and take a vacation!

Well that is what we did anyways.

London was the overwhelming choice by all.

And for my boys it wasn't for any other reason then to 

go to the Warner Brothers Studio tour of the Making of Harry Potter.

I may have had other motivations but whatever gets us all on the same page works for me!

The shuttle bus from the train station to the studio

This is pretty much how Mack looked the entire time. Too enthralled and excited to be bothered with pictures.

Some Privet drive in the back and some knight bus in the front.

My favorite Diagon Alley

Hogwarts castle at the very end was mighty impressive. It was a good time of 3 plus hours spent browsing and dreaming in the gift shop and touring the sets and memorabilia. 

at Kings Cross Station they have a nice little spot designated for annoying Harry Potter tourists like us. 

London eye views were incredible!

It was incredibly difficult to get a good picture from inside the pod but Big Ben looked pretty cool from above.

Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park

The boys really loved The Princess Memorial Playground at Hyde Park it is really well done with
creative and imaginative play structures suitable for a wide variety of ages.

Paddington Bears in the famous department store Harrods.
Let it be known that is the only store I went in the entire time I was in London.
Even with many many stores that I have missed immensely calling out to me, begging me to come in.
I spared my 4 boys and kept walking.
Aren't I such a good team player?!

See what I mean? Just look at the boys faces when they asked where we were going and we pointed
to the big Harrods sign behind us. 

One of the main draws for me to head to Harrods was the Christmas window displays
that were absolutely magical.
They had a Disney princess theme this year and they all were fantastic!

Our kids were apparently a little hungry and spent a good amount of time with their little faces plastered at the chocolate counter. The lady finally took pity on them and most likely wanted them to stop drooling on her glass so she gave them samples in an attempt to make us leave.
And we did. 

Has anyone else heard of this cologne brand? We hadn't but Creed thought it was pretty cool!

Oxford Circus Piazza

You can't come to London and not get a picture inside a red phone booth. 

Waiting outside Buckingham Palace for the changing of guard proved to be a disappointment. Our family at least
couldn't figure out what all the hype was about. 

I couldn't get enough of the cute little taxis everywhere. It was so refreshing to see these instead of a sea of yellow that happens so often in large cities. I really think it should be a law that all taxis should look like these. 

Our Yeoman Warder tour guide at the Tower of London was such a delight. 

The Rosetta Stone inside the British Museum.
We did a major fail and didn't notice what time the museum closed and missed our main attraction and although the clock still said 5 minutes left the guy at the door wouldn't budge and let us through no matter how much we begged. So we were obnoxious and stood in the door way trying to zoom in and take pictures while people were filing out. He would have been better off letting us go in for 1 minute instead of us blocking his door but we tend to be nice that way.