Passed !!

My god - she can swim. Not far but she can keep herself above water. Now I just have to make sure we go swimming enough to keep it up. One very pround little girl with her certificate.


The comfortable phase is over of just having to keep an eye on her in the pool with her swim rings on her arms - now she thinks she can do everything and just jumps in without her rings where she wants - so back in the water Mum and all the time !


Very hot here at the moment. Kinda like a monsoon season. 31 C in the shade yesterday and then a huge lightening and thunderstorm in the evening. This has been happening most evenings so we haven't had to water the plants much which is good. The thunder is so loud and the lightening streaks across the sky and is amazing to watch.

Mike's Kitzbuehel project - a private bank, is nearly finished so we are all excited about the completion date and offical opening party. Should be good and the building is looking great. Here are some before and after shots.

Before:


After:




Harvested our cherries the other week which were really yummy. Charly ate a heap before they even got to the pot but hey !




Spent the last weekend in Graz visiting friends which was nice and it was sooo hot there. Went to the theater and out for dinner and the babysitter was built in (friend's 20 year old daughter - Charly loved her). Great weekend.

Also visited the Salzburg Zoo recently and checked out a few nasty wolves and a heap of other animals. Stinking hot again so kept to the shady parts.


Hope all of you are well. Feel free to leave a comment or to say hello if you want.

Love us 3 xxxooo

Swimming Course

Pool Depth: 90 cm
Charly's Height: 96,5 cm

Normally a recipe for disaster but she's doin it !

Monday 4th of June 2007 - Swimming Course starts at the local pool here in Kitzbuehel.
We go along just to see what happens and if it is at all possible due to age and height. There were at least 70 kids plus Mums all waiting for the Swim Instructors. They divided us up into groups of age and as usual our madam is the youngest and the smallest but the most determined.

Charly has a book at home about Connie and in this book Connie learns to swim at the pool and it tells you all about what she has to do and how she got a special certificate and a patch for her bathing suit. Anyway, we read this book quite a bit and when Charly heard about the swimming course at the pool there was no stopping her. On the first day they let the kids into the pool just to see how tall they were. Charly was standing on her tippie toes and there was only her head showing out of the water but they let her stay. We said we would see how it goes for a couple of lessons and then decide whether to carry on or not. The lessons are 50 min every day (4-6 June, 11-15 June and 18-22 June) and we are starting to develop fins. The Mums are not allowed to stay - what a bummer! We have to go into the restaurant (ooh ! coffee) or outside on the terrace so that the kids can concentrate. Have to admit I peer through the window every few minutes or so to see what they are up to.

It is going really well as Charly has no fear of water or getting her head under etc. At the beginning they had no swim rings on and were walking through the water practising the arm movements and then sitting on the side of the pool doing the feet movements as well. They have been in the deep end the last couple of days with swim rings on. Jumping off the diving board and even taking off one ring and swimming from the diving board to the steps. They have been swimming backwards and forwards and letting themselves just fall backwards into the pool and all sorts of things - great !!

I checked with the Swim Instructor if it was a good idea and he said it would be no problem with her as she is the cheekiest and most active in her group. Wait and see ! The sooner she learns the better really.

Our routine has gone out the window though at the moment. Normally Charly does not sleep during the day (hasn't done so on a regular basis since she was 2 years old) and now we come back from swimming at 2.30pm or so and she crashes on the couch for an hour or more ! This means she goes to bed at 9pm at night or sometimes later - great fun ! I am hanging out for the end of the course and then we will have to set things right again.

Keep you posted on development and hope to attach a few pikkies as well.

Lara xxxooo

Kitzbuehel

Hello Again

Thought I would show you where we live (for those of you who don't know) so you get an idea of what Kitzbuehel is like and why I got stuck here.

Kitzbuehel is a village of approx. 8,000 people in the middle of the Alps in Tirol, Austria. It is the hot spot for the rich and famous from Germany and Austria so it's a bit of a ritzy, glitzy town but good fun as well. Unfortunately shopping wise it's a bit unaffordable as only shops like Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, to name a few are here, which are sponsored by the rich international tourists and german second home owners (tax dodgers) that live here at the weekends. Many of the houses and apartments here are second homes and are empty most of the year. The rent is basically unaffordable unless you are lucky and have a house from your parents or something like that. The locals tend to live in small suburb areas which are a not located in the central area. It's not a big place though and you can bike from one side to the other in about 10 mins or so. It is located in a valley with mountains all around and is a skiing hotspot in winter with the most famous and feared downhill skiing race in winter. The town is really quaint with a medieval walled town area.




We live just outside the town area approx. 5 mins walk away. The property belongs to Mike and there is a carpentry and house building business on the grounds (always something happening) which is leased out. Our house is just a little place (55 sqm) on top of Mike's architecture office. Downstairs is Charly's room and the bathroom and upstairs is one large room with the kitchen, living and bedroom all together.

This year the whole of our apartment will be made into office space and we will be moving into the old family home across the driveway which we are really looking forward to as it's much larger (110 sqm).

I have a painting room on the top floor of the old family home which is pretty cool because I can make a total mess and leave it standing without worrying about paint on the floors or walls or anything else for that matter. Charly comes up with me sometimes and we let rip !



This is our van with the SEP (Stoeckl Egger & Partner) logo on the side which is great for Roadtrips as we can sleep in it. The bike below is our transport (Charly and I) and is really all we need in summer. Looks a bit old lady like but is really practical. In winter we have a sledge or we walk, depending on the snow conditions.


Kitzbuehel has lots of festivals and things on all year round. We have just had the Ferrari Rally with 100 Ferraris in town as well as an Oldtimer Rally. Then there is an international tennis tournament each year, Harley Davidson Festival, Ski Races in winter and lots more !

This is our garden in winter !


Well that's Kitzbuehel and where we live so now you all have an idea of the place.

Take care.

Lara, Mike & Charly xxxooo

Greece Holiday

Hey People,

We are back and it was a great week with only two cloudy days which we used for travelling around the island and going to Rhodes town. The rest of the time was spent either at a beach or the pool at the hotel. It was at least 27 degrees most days - nice !! Not too hot and great for swimming - the water was a bit cold still but that didn't stop us.

The flights were fine and Charly was great as usual. 2 and a half hours is nothing for her and she visited the other kids and pushed herself to the front of the loo que on the plane saying she would do it in her pants if she had to wait - really funny. She slept a little bit on the way back as we had to get up at 5.30am to catch the plane.

We visited Lindos and Mike. Charly and I stayed to have dinner in the restaurant where I used to work (Symposio). It was the best meal we had on the whole holiday. I talked to my old boss (Phillipo) on the phone as he was away at the time and we had a laugh. Charly was trying all sorts of things such as octopus, calamari (squid), greek salads, king prawns and all the rest of the goodies that you get in Greece. She was cool.

The kids had a great time together. There were a few daily squabbles but they got over it each time and then were happy together again. Charly had her bucket and stuff and just loved the sand and pebbles. Charly was asleep most evenings by 7pm and it went like a treat with our family room. We had two separate bedrooms and she thought she was all big and grown up in her double bed.

Visited a few ruins and stuff and had a look at the Acropolis in Lindos again as they have restored some pieces.

Charly was diving under the water herself with her goggles and also tried it without goggles at the end of the holiday which was cool. We were able to sit on the sun beds and relax and keep an eye on them jumping into the water from the rocks on the beach and into the pool at the hotel complex. Didn't take any pikkies of the hotel but if you want to see it at all just look up Hotel Mikri Poli in Rhodes, Greece and I am sure you will see a few. I even managed to read a book it was that easy. The bigger and older they are the easier it gets (to a degree) huh !


The hotel food was pretty crap but we expected that as 5 star in Greece is the only way to go to get decent food and we booked 4 star to suit the other families. It was an all inclusive thing anyway so we figured the accommodation, flights and all the drinks (gin tonics in the evenings went down like a treat) and snacks etc. are included and we ate out at different places to make up for the crappy buffet. Didn't bother us at all. On the whole it was a cheap trip really.

I got a lovely Mother's Day present of a sterling silver encased turquoise bracelet from Mike - spoilt !! We bought it in Rhodes town. Charly gave me a stolen flower and she had made something at playgroup for me before we left which was a little red paper heart with her hand print on it - cool !

I managed to stick Charly's bum cheeks together with a spray liquid plaster - hah ! She had a little chafed bum from her togs and the next day we went to the beach and the salt water stung so I sprayed a liquid plaster on her and she moved because it was cold. Next thing her little bum cheeks were stuck together and the tops of the thighs to her bum cheeks - it look so funny and didn't hurt thank goodness. It was just a little bit funny to walk and at first she didn't want to until Mike talked her into collecting shells. Along the way she said "ooh - it's better now Papa" because with the walking they had separated. You should have seen it !!

Well that's all for now.

Number One

Hi there,

First time with this sort of thing at all so please forgive any teething problems as I get used to this all.

Hope you enjoy checking up on us now and then.

Lara, Mike & Charly xxxooo