Prater School Outing and Park Hopping

I had the privilege of attending a school outing with Nathanael's class.  I was one of two parents to attend and help out where needed.  Other than having to hold the hand of a girl who was making some very bad decision on the way back to school, I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know some of Nathanael's classmates better, particularly the ones I haven't really spend time with before.  We rode the underground to Prater and took a walk and then stopped to collect chestnuts and play a bit before returning to school.  I thought it was a good free outdoors outing for the kids, and they ended up using the chestnuts for art projects the following weeks.

After school (Nathanael gets out at noon), we had a classmate and his little sister over for lunch and then had fun park-hopping.

After school fun together

We have loved taking advantage of the nice afternoons to explore our favorite parks.  A few even have some new equipment which definitely ups the fun factor (and gives me an excuse for more pictures)!

Our new park

On October 1st, our church will celebrate our last worship service in our current location.  On October 8th, we will gather at a new facility, our new location.  It is an exciting move for our community, a long-awaited one.  It is the type of thing that has God's great fingerprints all over it, and it has been such a huge boost of faith for our little community.  We are excited to see what opportunities this new location brings.

One of our favorite parks is right in front of the the church.  It has the coolest obstacle course / climbing / balancing area, and the kids can spend hours on it.  We discovered it at the end of last year, but the lack of shade meant that we stayed away all summer.  Finally with the cooler weather, we've been spending 2-3 afternoons a week here.  (It is fun for ALL ages!)

Eva time

Yea for returning to the school routine!  I am not one to prefer a routine, honestly, but with kids, it is totally essential for MY survival.  And it just so happens, both of my kids, at least at this age, thrive on a somewhat predictable daily routine.  This year, due mainly to two big developments -- Eva growing up and not needing a nap at noon and our underground line extending to be a quicker connection to Nathanael's school -- I am able to spend over an hour alone with Eva in the morning and over an hour alone with Nathanael in the afternoon.  It is a wonderful thing.  Both kids seem to really be thriving on the individualized attention, and it's really a lot of fun.

Eva and I have been working on emotion words, and making faces goes along well with that.  She often practices her expressions in the elevator.

sad

excited

happy

On Saturday, she and I had a little time alone as well (Dad and Nathanael went to a kids' exhibit at the Papyrus museum!).  While swinging in the park, she sweetly exclaimed, "Schau, Mommy.  I flieg to the Himmel!"  I love her mixed world of German and English.  It brings me such joy.

Once in a while, Eva still falls asleep during her alone time in the afternoon.  This particular time, she had been upset about something (oh, the drama), and she fell asleep pouting in the corner of her bed, completely covered up by pillows!  I came in to check on her when it was so quiet, and I couldn't find her!

Another exciting development for Eva, now that she's in the "big kids" group at Kindergarten, is that she's really been taking a greater interest in learning her letters and numbers.  She concentrates hard and can actually write her name quite well:  E  A V  (we're working on the order)

What a delight it is to watch this little princess develop and learn!

U1 Verlängert!

We attended the opening day celebration at Oberlaa for the U1 extension.  Nathanael was one excited seven-year-old.  There were so many people.  Somehow, we still saw three different people we knew in the crowds!

When Dad is away

Dad was away in Ireland for a conference.  It happened to be the one week that our Kindergarten is closed during the summer, so we came up with lots to do to stay entertained (and sane).

First we had a play date with friends.  They really wanted to show Nathanael a video clip about the Titanic!

Proof that we had a blast:  Eva fell asleep just before dinner!

These friends live an hour away from us, so I rewarded the kids for the amazing behavior with a  2 Euro gift at Flying Tiger.  Eva was a bit excited about what she chose! ;)

The next day, we attended an exhibit at the Zoom Children's Museum in which they learned about how things float and built their own boats!  It was absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend it.  Eva needed a lot of help from me, but the idea and much of the implementation was her own.  Nathanael was in his element.

Our final day, we took advantage of an Open House for kids on the CAT (City Airport Train) and took the train to the airport.  The airport had their visitor's deck opened for registered kids, so we learned all about airport jobs and the work that happens there.


They were excited about the Eva Air plane.

We missed Dad, but as you can see, we had a blast as well!  Now bring on the school year!