LT lately

 Starting middle school has been a big change for both LT and our family.  He's busy.  His school days Fridays are full now (until 6th grade their school has half day Friday) and he plays soccer for his school which is an hour and a half after school, plus games.  That means, he often isn't home until 5, I am driving an extra loop to school (though luckily with our neighbors, we have a carpool figured out sometimes).  In addition, he's joined student council, continues to swim, will be in a Shakespeare play and we encourage his desire to play with friends as often as possible.  All on top of homework.  Somehow he balances this all well and is, for the most part, a very happy easy going kid.  I don't have a lot of photos of him because a) he doesn't love having his picture taken, and b) he is gone a lot!

 Helping his brother decide what to keep from his stitch fix.

 Baking a spring fling cake with his buddy (which entailed multiple grocery store trips, a trip to the farmers market and a trip to his friends house to obtain all the correct ingredients).

 But it turned out well and was yummy!

 He participated in a triathlon at the end of August.

 And loves snuggling, reading, puzzling, playing legos and just being with the B man.

 And he's still a kid that loves nature, hiking, throwing sticks in the water and just being out on adventures.

Superhero Birthday

Lots of superheroes in the house yesterday, including the afore-pictured Thor (in his fat period), Black Widow, Spiderman, Captain America, and Batman. But the real hero (in my book anyway) was mom for putting together a very cool birthday celebration for one superhero obsessed four year old.

            

 

Salzburg- Day 3

 Our third day in Salzburg was very hot.  We promised the kids we'd find a pool, which we did, but thought we could squeeze in the Hohensalzburg Fortress on our way.  While on a map, this was on the way to the pool, in reality, there was a mountain in between.  Nonetheless, we wanted to see this fortress, so it was worth the adventure.   To get to the fortress, high on the hill, you take the longest running and very fast venicular up.  Once at the top, you have the most incredible views of Salzburg.  

 And then, with the help of GPS walking, we tried and tried to find this pool.  However, the route takes you through the mountain, in quite confusing tunnels underground.  Eventually though we found this, and it was well worth the long long walk (we opted to take the bus home).

B lately- late summer/early fall edition

 He's mostly given up taking naps, but occasionally he crashes.

 One of his favorite current locations-sitting IN the table to play lego.

 He finished up Hero Sports for the summer with his good buddy and neighbor of ours.

 He still loves grocery shopping, wondering when that will change.

 We found the most incredible haircutter who comes to US!  And she cuts ALL our hair.  Its amazing, and such a time saver.  And she brings her adorable little girl who plays beautifully with the boys.

 B's best buddy from Virginia Vale.  

Practicing measuring rice.

 A day at Berry Patch Farm with friends.

 We watched my friend's son for a day and did A LOT!  Sticker lines, volcanoes, trampoline jumping, sprinklers and a lot of lego time.

 B takes a theater class and one day they took the kids on a "field trip" to a stage to practice what they had learned.  Adorable.

Caught red handed trying to take his brothers things.

Wandering around Salzburg

 Our second full day in Salzburg was packed with site seeing tours and museums.  First is this bridge, with thousands and thousands of locks.  It was just blocks away from the Mozart museum, which I am sure is quite interesting if you don't have a 3 year old and can read the signs.  For us, it was a hot tiny museum that we rushed through as quickly as possible.

 It was a hot day, but luckily the two younger kids found these fountains.

 Almost like we were on a vacation alone.  Almost.

 I promise he wasn't choking his brother, simply trying to get him to look at the camera.

 In the evening we wandered through Mirabell gardens (opening scene for the Sound of Music).  We had read that there were gnomes hidden in the gardens.  Brian and I thought they were tiny things amidst the plants and flowers, but after some research, we found that they were actually big and in a separate part of the park.  We found them, but the best part was the playground we found after these.

We went to dinner at a pizza place that had a tiny stream of water running down an alleyway and little balls that the kids could watch float.  Obviously we got soaking wet.