Johnstein!

Rebecca and I were recently asked by the Junior class to join our friends Beth and Josh Wells and Thomas and Molly Gardners as class advisers...its a great group of kids, so we said yes. Last Friday the Juniors held another fundraiser to raise money for their senior trip at the end of next school year. It was a great culmination to the weeks of planning and last week was filled with shopping trips to various grocery stores (Casa Mexico - Mexican food store, Etsan - Turkish, and Kastner - the Austrian version of Smart and Final...not quite Costco...). Here's some pictures... We had a ridiculous amount of lettuce Happily cooking chicken yes... The finished product the crowd Rebecca showing off one of the baskets donated by Casa Mexico here I am raffling off the basket Rebecca with Thomas Gardner and one of the Jr. Students

We had the great pleasure of a 2 week long visit from my mom and dad a couple of weeks ago...We had a great time showing them around Vienna and giving them a glimpse into our daily routine on the first week; we took the train to Salzburg and showed them more of Vienna on the second week. Dad at the ice rink in front of the Rathaus Mom watching Justin and his classmates ice skating A bunch of the guys from ICSV joined me and my dad at Siebensternbräu Justin and dad waiting for the marionette show at Schönbrunn palace Watching some ducks on a frozen pond... in front of the HUGE doors to one of the buildings that housed the Arsenal Waiting for the train to Salzburg Enjoying a cafe in Salzburg while waiting for bells to ring  Ready for the Salt Mine tour! Dinner in Salzburg Onboard the Riesengrad (ferris wheel)

One of the biggest concerns that Rebecca and I have had regarding the coming of our second child is how it will effect Justin. He has obviously grown accustomed to living his life as an only child, so this looming new reality was initially quite disagreeable to him. In fact, he was kind of upset when he we first told him... But in the last couple of weeks, some pretty amazing things have happened. Justin has connected pretty well with our friends, Josh and Beth Wells (downstairs neighbors). Justin was home recovering from the flu on the day we found out. Josh and Beth were also home that day, so they provided some amazing support for Rebecca and Justin. Josh played the Wii with Justin for most of the morning and from time to time would ask how he was feeling about this whole thing...and encouraged Justin that he would be a good big brother, and that this is in fact a pretty exciting thing. Our friends here in Vienna (and around the world) surrounded us with so much support, but there...

that's right...our little family will soon become a foursome. We have found out that Rebecca is 6 weeks pregnant! There is definitely "something in the water" as all the families that live within our block have recently had a baby or are currently pregnant. Our baby will be the 6th baby born to ICSV staff in a span of less than a year (first one was born in early November and we will be welcoming our new addition in September). So, kind of unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!