A Holiday Wrap Up

2013 was an amazing year for our family! In total we lived in three countries. Brayden has now lived in or visited 5 countries! We had a lot of highs and some lows. Both Justin and I lost our Grandfathers within a month of each other. We moved a lot (3 times) and bought our first home. Here is a quick picture summary of 2013...

 

 

 

 

Christmas & New Years have come and gone. It's crazy how time flies! Here is a recap of our family's holidays...

Our little family took a short trip about 1 hours drive outside of Vienna to Semmering on December 23-24th. It is the closest ski resort to Vienna. It was nice to get away from the big city, and relax in the mountains. There is just something about being in the mountains that brings me to a very happy state of mind.



Enjoying their beverages of choice at the foot of the ski slope



Although there has not been any snow in Vienna, we were lucky to have snow on the ski slopes. It was the first time that Brayden got to play in it, and he couldn't get enough. He loved every minute of it. He really enjoyed watching the skiers come down the mountain.

We decided that night to go sledding down the 3 km (almost 2 miles) toboggan trail that was part of the ski slope at night. It was awesome! Brayden rode down the mountain with Justin via his Ergo carrier. The trail was awesome with little chalets that are only accessible via toboggan to stop in at to have a hot chocolate (or a beer). In total we did the trail three times, and called it a night. We went back to the hotel and opened our Christmas Eve package of Christmas pajamas and treats to watch A Christmas Story.



At the top of the toboggan trail





Chalet along the toboggan trail





Bedtime Christmas movie snuggles



The next morning we enjoyed a Christmas Brunch, and then went back to the slopes to let Brayden enjoy a little while longer until we headed back to Vienna.

 

 

Later that night (December 24th) we headed over to hang out with the families on the team and enjoy a Christmas celebration.

On Christmas morning we opened up gifts from Santa Claus and from our family. We stayed in our PJ's and played all day.

Later that night we got to Skype with our families back home, which is a highlight of our holidays since we never get to see anyone.



Skyping with Great  Grandma Lillian



On New Years Eve, we headed over to a family's apartment on the team for some drinks and eats. Brayden always loves getting together with all the other children. He especially enjoyed when all the guys on the team gave him treats!

Fireworks are huge in Europe for New Years, so the boys went out to shoot some off. The sky is lit up from dusk till dawn with fireworks! Justin and Brayden headed back to our apartment, and I headed downtown Vienna to enjoy some New Years festivities at the Rathaus (town hall) with the girls. They had a huge stage set up with gigantic big screens all around for the Rolling Stones/Beetles cover band that played that night. It was Vienna's version of New York's Times Square to celebrate the New Years. We had a blast!

 

 

That about sums it up for our holidays here in Vienna. I hope everyone's new year is filled with love and happiness. May 2014 be the best yet!

p.s. I hope everyone back home is staying warm! Not to brag but we have been sleeping with our window open at night, going for runs outside, and having our patio door open for the past several days as it has been around 50 degrees!