Owen's 10th Birthday Party

Owen invited five friends to celebrate his 10th birthday with him.  He had a strict schedule - 5-6 play outside; 6-7 eat; 7-730 video games; 730-8 cake and presents; finally 8-10 a movie. His friends hail from all over the globe - Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and the US.

Dave hit the UN commissary for US burgers and hot dogs.  We "grilled" them on the stove-top and I made "french fried" potatoes.

The kids loved playing FIFA. They rotated in 10 minute shifts.

 Ivan gave Owen his favorite candy.

I can't believe he's 10!!

A Walk in the Park

The Rest of the Adventure

Emily and I took my parents to one of our favorite French cafes, Beaulieu.  We elected to skip the grandiose traditional Viennese cafe to instead enjoy delicious food.  Emily originally planned to hang back, but changed her mind at the idea of cheese.

We visited Sisi's ghost and toured her apartments.  I am not a fan.  I can't figure out why she is so idolized.  She seems selfish and narcissistic.  She obsessed about her appearance. (I mean who has ankle length hair and refuses to have her self photographed after age 20).  She used her money and power to escape rather than to improve much in society.  She neglected her living child....

Plus the museum is filled room after room of place settings. I just don't find china exciting let alone forks and spoons.  Why on earth does one family need dozens of china patterns with service for two hundred?

But my parents enjoyed the journey.

We also squeezed in a soccer match. My father watched Owen play in a few chaotic indoor games.  Owen participates in "Soccer Factory" every Friday.  They rarely hold games, but spend practices building basic skills and scrimaging.  They end each session with a parent versus child game - twenty versus twenty.  This indoor match felt as chaotic as these games.

My parents left a few days later.  I think they missed the turkey.

Thanksgiving at a Chocolate Factory

My parents came to visit us Thanksgiving week, arriving Tuesday morning to grey cold and rainy Vienna.  We decided to escape the dreary weather with our taste buds and traveled to the Zotter Chocolate Factory - because who doesn't like 165 tastes of chocolate.  Unlike our last visit, we walked through most sections alone. Once again, I loved the layout of the building and the opportunity to try the chocolate at each step of the process.

Brownie Eating Contest

Dear Beverly,

We had to hold the Second Every-Now-And-Then Brownie Contest with a different Miller family.  I wish you could have attended from Poland!

We decided to pit three home made batches, each made with a different type of chocolate, against each other.  Of course, we also had to include the Ghirardelli box mix. Dave made separate batches with Zotter, Lindt, and Trader Joes - which he picked up on his last trip home.  I know you would understand just how good the Zotter batter tasted.  Matthew made a batch with his champion, the mix.

We invited another Miller family who had kids in school with ours, to participate, but we did not let the kids votes mix with the adults.

Two of the older kids created plates with perfectly matched brownie pieces so the tastes test could be blind.  Though I could tell the mix brownies immediately by the texture.

The room became silent.  Everyone slowly tasted their brownie pieces and voted for their favorite.

And to our dismay, the mix once again won...though I have a few theories on that one.....