Thoughts from Logan

In addition to the kids' stories, I thought I would note a couple of my own. I'll sprinkle in some pictures here and there, but I might not say much about them.  I gots things to say!

View out one of our windows.

Cycling to work

It's different here from what I've grown accustomed to seeing in Austin. For one thing, I'm actually one of the people biking to and from work each day. That in itself is awesome/crazy/different for me.
I don't see folks coming into work on super-speed bicycles, decked out in tight, reflective attire, biker's shorts, or the clip-in shoes and pedals. They also don't wear helmets, at least not in general. It's much less intimidating to the novice commuter.

It's also really satisfying to not _need_ a car. If we need to grocery shopping, we walk or bike. If we go to church, we walk or bike there. If we go to a swim park we walk or bike there. We'll start trying out public transport soon enough, and will certainly take the train to Budapest this weekend, but not needing a car for daily activities is awesome!

Pictures from a park we biked to.

Selling a vehicle

We sold our van this week, with the help of Kenn N from Round Rock. We could not have done this without him. His assistance truly was invaluable. I'm not sure if he'll read this, but the work he put forth - setting up a Craigslist post, working with potential buyers, helping calm nerves when things looked like they were stalling, etc. - we just can't thank him enough.

We liked the van, and we'll probably get another when we return to Austin, but I'm thrilled to not be making payments on a vehicle we're not using. It certainly opens up opportunities to do more while we are here.

Eating Hungarian Gyros

Derí Museum

I don't really consider myself much of a cultural person. I'll easily pick a good movie over a good book. And I don't watch a wide variety of movies either. I'm sure this post has a dearth of SAT adjectives, and I've not attempted to find any split infinitives. My humanities and English professors probably wouldn't be too pleased with any of that. But the Derí museum was ASTOUNDING.

The exhibits held the kids' attention most of the time, and it wasn't filled with hands-on activities like the children's museums we typically visit. It was filled with artifacts provided by the founding family's collection from over 80 years ago. After walking though a couple of floors we came into a room where we got to view two of Mihály Munkácsy's masterpieces, "Christ Before Pilate", and " Ecco Homo!", pictured below.

These are massive 4m x 7m (13' x 22') paintings. The size and clarity made it feel like you were actually there, watching the Savior suffer through this. It was a great experience, even if it was cut a little short.

Pictures outside the Derí Museum.

Champ of the Week: Olivia

It was Evan's birthday this week, and we had a blast with him. That water park here in town is small, but just perfect for our kids. I think we made it pretty dang special.

But Livy this week really acted like a champ. She split her chin open at the pool place, and she and I had a full on crash at a cross walk (I slammed into her when she unexpectedly came to a complete stop. Totally my fault. She's OK.). But she's had a great attitude despite her bumps and bruises!