Farewell Europe...She is happy to be heading home!!!

Stupid Human Tricks and Black Feet

Today we stopped in a park and were showing off weird tricks, like the way Summer can do ballet fifth position ... and she showed us how she can touch her toes to her head ... but I think she strained and hurt her tummy muscles a bit; she stopped three times on the walk home to bend over, but all I could get out of her was that her stomach hurt but she didn't need anything. The girls can actually sleep in until 10:30 tomorrow since I need to go get the train tickets back to Munich in the morning. Then we are going to the Prague Zoo! I've been thrilled with how well Summer and Zoey have bonded -- random 13-year-old from Oregon and random 17-year-old from SLC ... but they are great friends. I think they are tired and have exceptionally dirty feet (sweat and street grit and black flip flops). Summer had her caricature done on the bridge today and it turned out fun!

A few more tid bits from Summer and Lisa

From Summer:
Hi :) Today we went to a salt mine that was really cool :) Then after we ate we went to their mall :) I got a very cute dress its purple :) I really like it :) Tomorrow were going to Auschwitz im kinda excited :) Its going to be a 6 hour tour were leaving at 8:30 and getting back about 2 or 3ish. Then were gonna go to the mall again because we werent there for very long and Zoey wanted to look for something cute and light to wear :) i love you and miss you guys so much :)

From Lisa:
Wow! What a day! Yesterday we spent eight hours on a train to Poland. Mike got a bit of heat exhaustion, but he's doing better today -- still, he'll hang back today while I take everybody else to the salt mine. Summer made flags of all the countries with her color crayons and she and Zoey made their own deck of cards, so she's gotten some use out of her crayons! Krakow is a fun city with mostly pedestrian streets and something going on everywhere. We ate breakfast with grocery store food and had random things like pastries, drinkable yogurts, banana juice, pita sandwiches, dried apricots and candy. :) Gotta go, Love you, Lisa

Here I am! Krakow, Poland! Yay! Parts are very, very Russia-like, with the same forbidding kiosks, beggars, grit ... the touristy old city is pretty and full of street performers. Talk to you later, Lisa

Tears came out when I read Summers email today! I miss her soooooooooooooooo much!!!! She said....
Im gonna go to bed night I love you and miss you so much :) Ill email again tomorrow if you could will you please update the blog for me ill reas it but I dont know how to post or comment on anything I love you:)

From Lisa...

My student Zoey did Summers hair in braids today and she looks extra cute...we are going to a salt mine (random) where the minors have made carvings in the salt --an entire cathedral underground out of salt! Here we go!

From Summer...

From Summer today!

Umm i do get a little homesick here and there but it happens! I have taken lots of pictures!! Right now its so pretty here were in Hallstatt (i think thats how you spell it)(so far its my favorite place)!! We havent met very many people but its nice because a lot of people here can speak english and its easy to understand!! I havent been able to read the blog yet but i will tonight (my night) and read everything. I cant believe Gav was scared to ride the plane!! ( btw have you asked him what he would like from Germany?? I got you something i hope youll love i wont tell you what it is but it has blue with black and white spot things on it!! Its not jewlery cause i kno you dont really wear any but youll like it i hope!! That will be funn how long is everyone staying at the house?? (Or is it just Kim??) I love and miss you soo much cant wait to tell you all the stories :) I kno i shouldnt be on a count down but 1 and a half weeks (about) till i go back to the U.S :)1 thing 2 do 3 words 4 you I Love You :)

From Lisa today!

Actually from Lisa ... Hotmail wouldn't work in France, so I had Summer email from my work account ... but I'm glad to have your email and let you know she is doing well. She's a trooper! We walk all day long! She is loving all of the same things that I think are cool, like castles and pretty flowers, etc. but the time she laughed the hardest was when she was chasing pigeons by the cathedral in Salzburg! She is a cutie and I'm enjoying her a lot. Take care, Lisa Thornbrue

Summers email from today:) Austria is sooo beautiful!!!

The cotton candy did make me sick after the second ride :( but whatever it was still funn! Too bad you coudnt go on the boat that wouldve been funn :) Were in Salzburg Austria we`ll be here for 5 days 2 in this hotel 1 in another and our last 2 days in a different hotel! I have a really ba dknot in my shoulder and the start of one in my other shoulder it really hurts :( but im gonna have someone see if they can massage it out so i hope they can so it will feel better!! I love and miss you guys so much :)

Update from Lisa

Summer is having an experience all right! Our road trip had some rocky moments (90 percent incredible and wonderful, 10 percent stressful, but only for the adults -- Summer slept through our difficulties finding two hotels) Then last night, oh my gosh, we had a crazy hotel ... it was sticky, sticky hot and noisy, noisy, noisy ... right across the street from a carnival. The good news is: Summer has now ridden random rides and eaten cotton candy in Strasbourg, France ... the bad news: I took a picture of her last night curled up on the floor underneath the window because it was cooler -- she was sort up wrapped up in fetal position around her suitcase and I thought ... here I've been entrusted with this beautiful girl and she looks like a homeless person in a sweathouse. Crazy! We are back in Munich and it's not quite so hot. Summer has bought a couple of neat things so far and a fair amount of candy. I've learned that she goes through gum like a chain smoker and I've also learned she is really hard to wake up! She really gets along well with my student Zoey and they are having a blast. Talk to you later, Lisa.


And from early this morning:
Yup -- we saw the most fabulous castles (the one I have pictured in the blue hallway) in the morning -- so incredible-- and then our drive to Leichtenstein took twice as long as it should have (3 hours) and Mike had a ridiculous tizzy fit (but he's better now) .... and so instead of going to our planned hotel, we drove to the Zurich airport and found a nice Radisson. The driving in Bavaria was difficult (I thought it was hilarious and entertaining and enjoyed it, but Mike was not amused). 1) The roads are really, really, really narrow which leads to dangerous moments and 2) you have to go through roundabouts every 1-3 minutes and at each roundabout you have to make a decision where to go ... and so you have a tense navigator in the front seat calling out the names of obscure little towns so we could head in the right directions ... just having to make route decisions that often was crazy. The infamous German autobahn (freeways) roads were fabulous ... totally normal freeway driving very very similar to Oregon and Washington with beautiful trees ... only the speed limits are in kilometers (100-120 kilometers) and there are gorgeous villages and castles everywhere ... so cool! Love you tons!