Tree Stump and more Guitar Hero

Today was a fun-filled day. First of all, the newest news at the Clements' home is that our tree that was knocked down by a storm this summer is being dug out. Or, the attempt of digging it out is being made. Here are some photos.



Mia went over to play at Keira's while her big brothers, Riley and Liam, came here to hang with Terence (and Ali). They thought playing around the moat of the stump and on the stump was fun.



We found a store that had some Pokemon cards today so they each got a pack. It was a huge hit. Here is Terence with Riley (11) playing a game. Who knows if they even had official rules?!



Back to Guitar Hero. I forced Bill to take a turn while he was here to pick up the boys and drop off Mia. He was great and really enjoyed it!



Here's a video of him on his 2nd turn. I think it's funny as look at how much chaos is happening around him yet his concentration level is 100%.



Riley jammin'!



Mia has become really interested in cooking - especially watching cooking shows. She especially likes to watch the Barefoot Cantessa (an American chef) with me. She's always trying to help me in the kitchen but tonight she took it to a whole new level. She decided to make us all dinner when I wasn't looking. She mixed Doritos with grape juice and yoghurt drink. She even added a little water, stirred it around and scooped it into bowls. How do I even pretend to enjoy something like that!??! It was a mess and disgusting but I told her that she did a fine job and to next time ask me as it was far too late for a meal. I hope she doesn't try that again!

Anyone hungry?

Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero is a new game (or at least new to me) that works with the Play Station or Nintendo Wii. I had to get it the other day when I was at Saturn (an electronics store) last week. I was there to buy a replacement vacuum when I made the mistake of walking down the video game aisle. This is when I saw the big shiny box labeled Guitar Hero. Curt laughs as he is convinced that I enjoy it just as much as, if not more than, the kids. Yes, I admit I have had 3 turns - all of which I played the Go-Gos' We Got the Beat!

Our version of the Guitar Hero game is Rock the 80s so our kids can get exposed to REAL music and not this hip-hop / rap that they all get into! The game comes with the CD that fits into the Playstation plus a guitar. The cords are shown on the screen and the guitar player has to hit them at just the right time to score well or even finish the game. If the cords are missed too many times the fans boo the player off the stage. It's very funny and here is Terence giving it a whirl. He hasn't picked up on it too quickly because it's a bit too difficult for him still. He and Riley have just both left to play outside in the big hole where our tree is getting dug out. Liam and I will have to try and unlock some new songs. Actually, instead I will put Ali down for a nap while I pack for my trip to the US.

Terence Showing off his School Work

It's the funniest thing but Terence is taking Hungarian at school. He hasn't wanted to tell them that he speaks it already and he loves having an EASY subject. Even though he is fluent in Hungarian, I do not mind as the school is so hard that his brain needs the break and the confidence. He brought home his Magyar (Hungarian) book last night to show us and was so proud of his perfect marks! I looked through it and laughed when I saw him answer that he is English and not American. He gets that confused as he speaks English so he thinks he should come from England. In English he knows he is American but in French or Hungarian he sometimes makes the mistake of saying he is 'English'. Very funny.

Here he is singing the songs from his book to the girls. He cannot yet read properly but it definitely looks like he is reading from the book. Mia is funny as she echoes all the time. If I read to her she is a little echo and if I ask her what she is doing she'll say, 'I'm learning how to read'.

Terence with Buddies

These are Terence's really good buddies from French school. Tom and Lucas are twins. They are French but born in the US during their father's expat assignment. They lived there until the age of 5. Terence immediately bonded with them after learning that they a) spoke English and b) loved Chuck E Cheese as much as Terence. Chuck E Cheese is a kids' restaurant in the US for those of you that don't know.

Recently Tom and Lucas' family have experienced a tragedy. Their father, Daniel, suffered major injuries after a mountain biking accident. It left him in a coma with a broken neck and vertebrae. After a week of uncertainty, tests and intensive care, the doctors have learned that he will not have any paralysis. The amount of brain damage is still not certain as his memory and speech are just now slowly returning. He is still in the hostpital after 1 month and undergoing major rehab. Tom and Lucas mother, Olivia, has been a very good friend to me at the French school so we have helped her out with the kids as much as possible.

Here they are with Terence on our trampoline. They were pretending to be karate guys (hence the shirts off look). When I asked to take their photo they posed so nicely! Wish I could get more nice photos like this with Terence and his sisters!



Here they are being muscle men. Terence is about a foot taller than them! The red gym pants were a coincidence as they had phys.ed. at school.



Then being goofy.

Heidi Ovoda / Nursery

The nursery school that Ali goes to has a bus (actually a van but they call it the bus) that picks her up and brings her home when I cannot make it. Since this is the school that Terence and Mia went to occasionally Mia goes along with Ali when she has no French school. The nursery goes to age 7 as Hungarians start school later so Mia has lots of friends and peers to play with when she joins Ali. The school teaches in Hungarian and a little German.

There are about 6 - 8 kids that ride on the bus with Ali including the twins 2 houses away from us. Here is Ali and Mia coming home.

This is Marcsi (school owner and bus driver) dropping off the twins first.



Here's a short video clip of them driving up to our home while the dogs and I wait for them. Terence was inside playing.



Ali in her car seat. She always loves to take her shoes off (and often her socks off too).



Ali's such a big girl. Letting Kiraly in with her and closing the door all by herself. It's usually a slam.

Challenge Land Videos

A Day at Challenge Land up in the Buda Hills

Yeah, Challenge Land!

Terence in deep concentration. Throughout the entire course the kids were always clipped into the wires above with their 2 carabiners. When in between 'challenges' (this is a challenge) there are platforms around trees. On the platforms, while going between challenges, they needed to unclip and reclip their carabiners one at a time.

While most kids had looks of concentration on their faces, Mia always had a big smile. She's a natural climber and she was completely in her element here.

Harry Cooper (8) was the first to go on the course.

Ali hung out with me while Molly (behind Ali here) hung near Kim. They are 1 year apart.

Had a fab day today with 10 kids and my friend Kim. The day was filled with our 6 children (3 each) plus 4 extra friends (2 each). Very spontaneously we ended up at Challenge Land where Kim has been once before. A new climbing / swinging obstacle course that was opened in March. There are 2 courses: 1 for adults and children over 150 cm and 1 for kids under 150 cm and over 3 years of age. We spent the afternoon at the latter. Our kids ranged in age from 3 years old (Keira) to 8 years (Harry and Harriet).





They all loved it as did we. We walked along with them and cheered them on. Mia and Keira needed help in some places but kept up with the bigger kids very well. It was a perfect fall day for climbing and swinging through the trees!





After this vigorous workout we all went over to Normafa Cafe and Grill for lunch. They kids all ate SOOO much! My camera's battery died so I have no pictures but they had a fantastic time. There's a playground at this restaurant so they all played until the food arrived. They all ate as if it were their first meal in days! Then they played again until the ice cream arrived. They all got 3 flavors each - vanilla, lemon and strawberry - what a hit!!!!

In full Challenge Land gear:

Lining up took them some time to figure out as they all wanted to go first!

The girls brought up the rear. Again, Mia is full smiles!

Very serious boys! Terence with his buddy, Sean Fekete (7). Sean was visiting for the weekend with his dad, John, from Moscow. They moved from Budapest to Moscow over a year ago. Sean has 3 sisters and we miss them all so much.

More snaps.

Harriet Taylor (8)

Keira in full concentration. She was the smallest and youngest (4 in Jan 2008).

This is a shot of part of the course. The adults course if further up above in the trees. Very funny seeing adults and older kids swinging over our heads.

The moms! Me and Kim. Heros for the day! We made 10 kids very, very happy!

After a Day at Challenge Land

Boys all exhausted after all that climbing and swinging.


Girls seemed to still have energy left so we sprinkled glitter on the pinecones and chestnuts they collected at the Normafa Cafe and Grill during lunch. Then we wrote out their names in glue topped with glitter. Very fun stuff. Glitter made them very happy.

Not Enough Dada

Curt had been out with country managers during our conference Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Then, we had people from the office over for dinner on Thursday night. Curt came home from work Friday just as the kids were going to bed. Then we had dinner plans last night (Saturday). So, as you can image, the kids have missed him incredibly! Today he left for the US for 2 1/2 weeks! The kids all needed to wrestle with him this morning before he left.