Polish mountains.....

Five days without WiFi and somehow I survived!!!!  A milestone for me for those who know about my addiction to anything electronic/computer related!

My cousin Katie, the kids, and I left on Monday afternoon and headed to Brenna.  Brenna is one small town among the few scattered towns in the Beskid Slaski mountains of southern Poland.  Katie’s uncle has a summer home there and we thought it would be a fun place to take the kids. It took us about two hours to get there but it was worth it.   The only thing that did not cooperate with us was the weather.

The kids walking down the hill from our house

Such a lovely mountain home!

balcony of our house

View from our house

The house was a perfect specimen of what a hideaway in the mountains should be like.  Up high enough to have a breathtaking view of the mountains and still full of country charm with the occasional “moooo” of the cows next door.  The first night we got to experience some wonderful thunder and lightening like you can only experience up in the mountains.  Chris (not a fan) was a bit weary but Olivia was quite exited about it.

The next morning we took the kids to Lesny Park Niespodzianek. It is a nature park for kids.  The kids got to feed lots of little animals while I tried to climb up the hills made of unpaved rocks and stones.   Christopher got to go on the giant trampoline (which I hoped would get rid of some of his energy- NOT).  We also got to watch a really interesting eagle show.  We were literally inches away from an American Eagle.  At one point, he flew right at me and instead of ducking (like a normal human would do) I kept standing and taking pictures. Thus the great picture- and thus the fact that half my hair got ripped off by talons.....kidding :)

Chris with the American Eagle

Notice how everyone else is ducking and I am standing straight....cause I'm the "smart" one....

Tomorrow- more about our trip.....

Happy Birthday Olivia!!!!

Today my little baby girl turned 4.  I can't believe it has been 4 years since I first met her and fell in love with her tiny cheeks and her bright blue eyes.  She has grown so much.  This morning she woke up and proclaimed "Today is my REAL birthday!". 

Are these the pictures of a happy birthday girl? Could it be that she is disappointed in her cake or her gifts? OH NO my friends- these pictures are of a girl who's mother did a terrible thing...a horrible thing....she made her wear a DRESS for some pictures yesterday.  How dare I!  After my grandmother watched Olivia in utter pain (as if the very fabric was causing terrible discomfort), she said- just let the child wear a shirt!  heheeheheheh....so I did and again I am even further away from Mother of the Year Award.

Kids with my cousin Katie

Well, this morning Olivia decided that she WOULD wear a dress since she is now 4.  I jumped at the chance to get a few pictures of her in a cute dress I had bought just for her birthday.  We started out the morning with a trip to the local park.  This was followed by a delicious birthday dinner and some birthday cake.  Then came the presents.  I bought a few gifts here.  Small ones- ones that I could easily pack to take back to the states. Since she is not a girl who plays with dolls I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She told me:

1. My own chewing gum
2. A mirror on the back of my bedroom door
3. A cellphone

Well- as Meatloaf said "Two out of three ain't bad".  The gum seemed to be a big hit :)

Thank you big girl for wearing the dress!

One happy birthday girl with a mouthful of gum!

Birthday girl with my Aunt Teresa

Tomorrow my cousin Katie, me, and the kids are heading out to Brenna, Poland. It is a small town in the countryside of Poland where her uncle has a house.  We are going there for 4 days for some fun adventures with the kids.  There may or may not be internet....but I will update as soon as I can!