Playin' in the Downtown Sun

As other parts of the world deal with bad weather (20 cm of snow in central Sweden, we're told), for us it was a wonderful day in the sun. It wasn't all perfect, but there was enough there to make it memorable. Part of it was spent at home. Another little part at one of our little bakeries for breakfast (where the girls tried, for the first time, almost croissant and loved it!) and then, the trip over to KLCC to buy a book for each of them. Daddy had promised and it was time to do good on that promise. The girls were told their budget and off the went. A short while later they came out with smiles on their faces and books in their hands. And daddy?  Well, given that we overspent the budget by 600% percent, he's seen better days. 

Then it was off to the park, to play, as it were, on the swings. But "oh so close" by is that pool and the day was so warm (hot almost) and the sun was out and, really, the pool was sort of empty. Sort of. Well, empty enough to not be crowded anyway. Good thing mommy was prepared 'just in case'. It turned out the 'just in case' became a necessary activity. 

Of course, even when girls are in a bad mood, as Irini was just before getting into the water, there is little that water cannot accomplish for the spirits of youth (and their parents). Before long the playfulness that is natural with water was rushing out. Laughter followed. Pulling one another through the water. Traversing water falls. A couple shots by the towers (just to make daddy happy) and it was a good day. 

Now if only Amalia hadn't decided to run down that hill and if only her sandal hadn't caught that little bit of grass. And if only she didn't come flying to the ground just where the grass meets the walkway. And if only she didn't have that scrape on her forehead and that nasty bruise on her chin. If only those things hadn't happened, it would have been perfect. But even with them, it was a pretty awesome day! 

Stefan & Vicky

And then, of course, there is Stefan and Vicky, our grandparents in Greece!  Now that the bilogical relatives have moved on they have become our de-facto family and the girls love to see them. It was a bit tricky this year, partly due to the time constraints of our visit, but also a visitor or their own, yet still we mustered a couple times to see them. The first was a meeting at our place and it came and went with the updates of how things were going, how we were, and they were, and Greece is, and the like. 

The second visit was a bit more spontaneous and the girls engaged with them both, but especially with Stefan who had some time to fill whole Vicky was at the hair dressers. The chat picked up, the girls became animated and it was only a matter of time before they were bugging Stefan. Amalia, in typical fashion, climbed all over him and tickled him and asked a whole bunch of questions. Stefan, tickled silly, went along and the interactions were positive and wonderful. We love having Stefan and Vicky in our lives, even if at times we see them sporadically. They are the grandparents we look forward to seeing in Athens and the friends who bridge the generations - pappou, giagia and, now Moca, and the lot of us!  They bring with them stories of old, of when daddy and uncle 'Eko were young, and with that oral history comes a sense of family rarely found.

We were off the next day, back to Malaysia, but it was a substantial emotional uplift to see them, as always. Have a wonderful year Vicky and Stefan!  Hopefully, sometime in the not so distant future, we will see you on our end of the world!!

Seven!!

It was a good day to turn seven. Irini spent part of it relaxing and watching movies on the computer. The picture above blew us away. She looks 20, doesn't she?  The afternoon was spent as a play area, out from the cold, sharing fun times with Stamatina, Mikaela and Anastasia.... and their parents too!  For a couple hours the girls ran around, climbed on things and slid down the slides. Then, we moved home. The pizza and salad arrived and we scarfed it down in fine fashion. Then, since cakes were not easy to find, we enjoyed small pastries of various styles. Mommy had also purchased a 'log' ice cream to come close to the ice cream cake that had been ordered (it was a day off in Greece, after all). There were a couple tense moments when Irini was putting out the candles but, in the end the evening was a success. The girls shared a bed - the bottom bunk of the bunk bed in the back. It was a long, tiring, but oh-so-happy day. Happy birthday, beautiful girl!  We love you so very very very much!

Reuniting with Friends (old & new)

The entire semester Natalia has been planning, organizing, communicating. What started rather small - a trip to see Scott and Rebecca as they had visited Greece last summer - quickly turned into a popular favorite with people near and far. In the end the trip prompted the family from Europe to descend onto Vienna, friends from KL to visit too, and, of course, the much anticipated reunion of Irini and her first friend, Isabel who now lives in Oman. 

For one afternoon (December 25) we had nearly everyone there, 19 of us. Some came later and some left early and the ebbs and flows of old friends and family gave shape to 10 days of wonder and wandering in Vienna with people as diverse as uncle Joe and Kirsty or Jen and Eryk or Gilda and Lydia or the "Scan Clan". We were happy as can be, especially when the snow arrived!

Mommy's wanting to head to Vienna, other than the obvious bonus of Scott and Rebecca (and Lizzie too!) was to see a number of friends who wanted to head to Austria, but also to visit the Christmas bazaars. And so we did. The cold reached to the bones of less-than-ideally-dressed girls straight from the tropics. They huddled and where held and fought both jet lag and the chill. Day by day the temperatures went down until finally it reached below freezing. Amalia, who had originally insisted on wearing her t-shirts and the dresses she loves so much finally succumbed to the pressure and put on some pants, and her mittens. It didn't stop her from running around in the snow, though.

The days got cold and the nights colder still but that didn't stop us from getting out and about, from watching strudel making sessions at the palace to eating Viennese fare at the local restaurants. We even went to the 3D cinema!  All in all we had a wonderful time, but what was perhaps the highlight was the reunification of Irini and her first best friend, Isabel. From their days in Amang to now they have both grown so very much, and have become quite the beautiful and fun-loving girls. But to watch them interact was as if no time had passed and the six years separating their last encounter and this one had been filled with time together. The giggles, the laughter, the dancing the playing and running around the house. It brought smiles to the mouths of everyone.  Irini was also the hostess of Isabel's very first sleep over (not counting family visits). Isabel was a trooper and dealt with her new surroundings perfectly, albeit a bit cautiously at moments, and Irini made sure that Isabel was comfortable and felt as close to home as possible.

Add to that the reunification of Amalia with her best friend Isabella and the additional visit by Lydia (a friend-in-the-making with whom we are increasingly overlapping our vacations) and the girls got a good amount of friend time. The adults did too!  Of course the time with John and Melissa (Isabel's mom and dad) was a great opportunity to be "like the good old days" with Scott and Rebecca providing all the hospitality one could ask for. It brought back wonderful memories of times in KL, a bit of nostalgia, and a whole lot of appreciation for our friends near and far! After years of travel and international living, one doesn't get many opportunities like this one, and we made the best of it, recognized the power of friendship and fell right into the groove of the conversations that - like Irini and Isabel - just flowed as if no time had passed since we had all been together in the same room.

Snow!

And then, of course, there was the snow. We had hoped that we'd run into some and Vienna (and Athens after it) did not disappoint us.  When the first snow fell we were at Stephansplatz in downtown Vienna. Amalia ran around with her friend Isabella chasing each other as much as the snowflakes. Our return to our small apartment (graciously offered by a friend a Scott and Rebecca's) was one of those "out of a movie" experiences with the snow softly falling in a quiet nite, highlighted just so by the streetlamps seemingly there only to add emphasis to the beauty of the moment. 

By the next morning there was now on our balcony and the girls were, expectedly, thrilled!  Irini enjoyed it a bit more than her sister did, and ventured out into it with a bit more gusto, but when Amalia realized the potential of fun she too happily joined the shinanigans. The highlight was the racing down hills on tiny sleds (bought by Rebecca at a nearby supermarket). The girls fought the cold (gloves and pants and essentially everything was not made for being wet, just staying warm... a crucial difference) and trudged up hills for the thrill of the descent. It was everything mommy and daddy had hoped for, for them. What a great way to start the new year!

The videos below are only two of many that we recorded on the two days of 'sledding'. It was awesome!