A lot can happen in two months, like getting settled in a new country thousands of miles from family and friends. Just your typical move - NOT

Today marks the two month anniversary of our arrival in Budapest. In many ways it feels like we've been here much longer because we've done so much in the last two months: getting our car; moving in to our flat; learning to speak survival Hungarian; settling in at school with lots and lots of meetings; trips to/from Immigration; unpacking our shipment; numerous trips to IKEA, grocery stores, specialty stores; trips into the city whenever we can; gatherings with new friends; squeezing in runs to maintain our sanity....... the list goes on and on. The best news is we really do feel 'at home' here amidst all the chaos. We don't find ourselves longing for our house in Oregon or the chaos of our old morning routine with four people going in four different directions. It is better here. The morning will always remain a bit of a track meet, but we are going to the same place. I think any parent would tell you (especially two working parents) that makes a heckuva difference. It still is hard and life isn't easy here, but I don't think it's easy to move anywhere and settle in to a new house, job, city, etc. And to be clear, living in Europe is not like being on vacation in Europe. Let's just lay that one out on the table right now :-) But we continue to have those 'a-ha!' moments like we did yesterday, which I shared in an email to my parents. An excerpt:

"We had a great day. We rode the tram into the city and S and I got hair cuts while the boys ran some errands. S was so excited to go to the 'fancy salon' with Mommy. This was the first time she hadn't been to the kids salon and this time, she got to have her hair washed, etc. Usually they just do a dry cut. She thought that was pretty neat! And the fact that they made her hot chocolate to drink while getting her hair cut; I had tea. It was pretty cute. As we were leaving, in walks her new best friend and her Mom! All of the English speakers go to the same places. Anyway, it was nice for S and I to have that time together. We met up again a few hours later and went to the mall to get a present for one of L's friends who's having a bday party tomorrow. Each of the kids also got a new toy - inexpensive - since we've bought them nothing new since we've been here. Then we took the subway to an area across from Parliament and near the Chain Bridge, right on the River Danube. The view is stunning. That parliament building is HUGE. Much bigger than London's. It is a sight to behold when you come up from underground and BAM! there it is right in front of you. We walked a few blocks to a great restaurant we read about in our Rick Steve's book.

I believe the beer is brewed by the monks and the entire restaurant is below street level, so it has those big old stone arches and a very old European feel. The restaurant is at the base of the Castle area so there is plenty more to see and do at your fingertips. The food was excellent. It will have to be a place we take our visitors.

We also met two older couples traveling together - Americans - who started talking with us and were very intrigued by our adventure living in Budapest. It was kind of fun to say, yes, we're living here! The kids had fun at dinner and really enjoy riding the subway and the tram. L especially loves the public transportation. Today was one of those days we needed to have... the "wow" days when we think, "wow, we are LIVING in Europe!" The past few weeks have been hard and very busy at school so it was nice to have a day like this. Much needed. In three weeks we'll have our Fall Break when we're off for 10 days and will spend five of them in Vienna.... yippeee!"

So much has happened since August 3. I wonder what we'll feel like two months from now in December, with snow on the ground and the spirit of Christmas in the air. We certainly hope that things can only continue to get better and that we'll have more "a-ha!" moments to share with you between now and then.