How to Beat the Heat, The Viennese Way

Dehydration is your worst enemy!

I haven't written much lately because I've almost been afraid that writing about it will somehow pop the awesome little bubble we're living in.  First of all, It's Summer, y'all.  And not simply meaning we've officially passed the first day of it on the calendar...it is HOT.  It is humid.  And we are having a grand old time keeping cool.  I'll admit it's taking me much longer than usual to get used to the way your skin sweats even when you're not moving and your lungs reject the amount of water vapor they're suddenly forced to inhale with every breath, but I know humidity--I've got over 22 years of living with it under my belt.  We are all over this.  Unsurprisingly, we've been investing our time in finding new water parks to splash in and figuring out how to say "I'd like to purchase a fan, please" in German.  (seriously, Germans?  Ventilator?  It sounds like something that I'd install in a car...)

Ice cream always beats the heat

We've been living the simple life...Monday we took our traditional jaunt to the Nashmarkt and stopped at the neighborhood park for lunch on the way home.  Tuesday we met up with our friends at the beach and spent the entire day splashing in the river. Wednesday the girls asked to go back to the Butterfly house (Audrey was eager to overcome her previous fears and had high ambitions of letting one land on her finger) We ended up eating lunch together at the Palmenhaus (a portion of the Hofburg palace greenhouses that was converted into a restaurant), checked out the butterflies (Audrey did much better--she walked the whole way though by herself and even smiled when a Butterfly flitted past her), and then stopped for some much-needed ice cream.  (When you don't have a river to dip yourself in, it's the next best thing.)  Thursday, we headed back to the waterfront to a fantastic splash park on the Danube Island.  The girls had a heck of a time splashing through the freezing cold pools and riding back and forth on the wooden ferry 'boat' that kids could power across one of the larger water features.

Taking a ride on the ferry

Sisters in their new cool jammies

Really, life has just been grand.  Our focus is spending time together, having fun and I love it. The groceries and laundry and ticky tacky errands are just fluff that gets swept under the rug of our grand adventures.  We stop to talk to old ladies almost every time we wait for a train.  The woman who works mornings at our grocery store now knows Audrey and Bailey by name.  The girls make eyes at strangers and put crinkly smiles on people's faces wherever we go.  We are out in the world spreading joy and having a good time while we're at it.  Praise the Lord!  If this is our mission, I think I could get used to it.

Me and my bear--soaking up the sun

In other news, I've made some great strides in my struggle with my blood sugar this week (which probably accounts for at least half of the chipper outlook on life).  I am restoring some imbalances with supplements, controlling my cortisol levels through that and limiting my caffeine intake.  I feel well rested, solid and energetic all day.  And that makes an amazing difference in how I am able to love on those girls...or even how I am able to carry both of them home, tired and wilted from a day of having too much fun. 

I am so thankful for the sunshine, for my new-found stable strength, for my sweet darling girls and my amazing little family.  God is good.  Life is Grand.  All is well.

That's all I've got...again...and it's still so overwhelmingly much.