Christmas in Budapest part 1

Here begins our Christmas adventure. I don't know how long it will take me to tell all the stories, so be sure to check Barclay's blog for his version & more pix. I'll try to post different pix than he does, but it takes a while to upload, so...here goes! Enjoy! ;)
Here is our tired fam between flights in Prague. We came. We saw the airport. We got a coffee mug w their national flag on it. :) This was the beginning of our 1st Christmas with "just our little family," which was really nice. (Yes, parents & brothers & sister-in-law, we missed you!) ...and that would be a worn out Langston napping on Barclay's chest. Zora had just woken up from a lengthy nursing/napping session.
The Great Market. Really neat. And a good pic. (My husband takes good pix.) There were all kinds of vendors in this *pretty much* indoor building. One could purchase local baked goods, fruits, veggies, dairy products, meats, etc. all on the bottom floor, or go up to the second floor for scarves, shirts, bags, toys, post cards...all kinds of stuff. Fun, touristy times.

Poor porky. Zora kept saying, "Pheg!" as if the little porker could hear her. DeWayne, I thought of you when I saw this. Outhouses, hog killin', chicken hockey, "bought" milk,...I hope you tell the kids about these experiences someday. :)
Lots & lots of piggie parts. This reminded me of that Beatles song..."have you seen the little piggies in their starched white shirts?...for all the little piggies, life is getting worse..."
Daddy, Zora & the Hungarian Christmas geese. Birds were everywhere. It gave new meaning to the phrase "have all your ducks in a row." While B. bought the kids a couple of Christmas gifts, I entertained them by getting their pic drawn by one of those cartoonists at the mall. It was a pretty cheap thrill.


Here we are at the "Tropicarium in Budapest," just as the pic says. :) The main reason we came here (on Christmas Eve, no less) was bc they offered a "shark feeding" session...(see: diver w the metal glove & shark swimming away from him below) which both my boys were pretty thrilled about. Also, as B. mentioned on his blog, according to the website, we could've "fondled Ray." Some folk did. (Poor Ray. How dare they do that to him. Ha! Translations kill me sometimes.)

This is what I end up doing pretty much where ever we go right now. I think Zora has moved back several months in the "I need to nurse" category. She was actually down to only 4 feedings before we moved here. Now I don't even count 'em. We'll have to readjust when we get home...and when those 2-yr. molars finish cutting. :)
My boys have a serious reptile fascination. Barclay used to really want a snake. Then we had kids & the whole idea of a "pet" kind-of takes a back seat. Maybe someday we'll get a pet. Although living in a city w dog poop everywhere & where people allow their dogs to fun around leash-less as they follow several yards behind them has somewhat turned me against the whole dog thing...
Langston is surprised to see a fellow gator...from same swampy area where he was born! Two of a kind!
What a good big brother. He even rides w her to the ball.
Silly Langston. It was Christmas Eve, so he was helping St. Nick check it twice. :)
The loot! Christmas morn & our tiny tree! Notice that the stockings are the kids socks! ;) Filled w candy & a tiny toy a piece.A family pic (via the self timer) w us and/in our Christmas stuff. I'm in my new p.j.s & everyone else is sporting a new Budapest tee.We tried about 5 times to get a good pic of both kids & their booty. Here's the best attempt. :) As usual, they got mostly books, workbooks, coloring books, sticker books, etc. But Z also got a tiny Hungarian purse, a Pooh, & two babies. L. got a car, an airplane, a pretend watch (he can get a real one if takes care of this one), & some craft supplies. OH! And I think that B. mentioned that we got so much stuff on the airplane (to entertain the kids: a comic, a pack of colored pencils, an airplane, a puzzle, a pack of cards...per kid) that we used some of that stuff as stocking stuffers, too. They have shared all their gifts pretty well. It was a fun Christmas & MUCH less stress than our ordinary ones.Langston taking a lick off of his giant 'pop, which he did not finish...even over the course of the two weeks!

I actually really enjoyed cooking our special lunch. We had ham w pineapple, steamed broccoli w cheese, butternut squash (prepared like a sweet potato...they don't seem to have those here), a few other sauteed veggies & bakery bread. It was yummy & somewhat like a what we eat at Christmas...only more healthy & more veggies. :)
Well, that only takes us up to Christmas day! Lots more to go! I'll post part 2 asap.