Sziastok! Thought I would check in before we head back to Bp. tomorrow. We had a pretty quiet week here, not much to report actually. Bill's mom and dad arrived on Weds, so Bill and I took advantage of our babysitters and went out on a hot date night last night. Found a great seafood restaurant about ten minutes from here, in a strip mall of all places, next to my favorite shopping place on earth, Kohl's Dept. Store. It's very hard to get used to the idea, but even the best restaurants out where we live are in strip malls. So much for the glamour and glitz of places like Goa or Spoon in Budapest.

Anyway, we had an incredible meal of fancy flatbread, salad, and crab cakes (Bill had huge shrimp and ginormous scallops), washed down with a big fat pitcher of yummy white sangria. We took a stroll after dinner (up and down the strip mall - soooo romantic) and grabbed a bottle of wine at a funny little wine shop before heading home. Got a horrible Pinot Grigio with a screw-top, and I know it will shock most of you, but I drank it anyway :) The boys ended up at Chuck E. Cheese with their ever-indulging grandparents, followed up by a trip to Coldstone Creamery. They have the best ice cream ever, but way too much for one human to consume in one sitting - check out their signature creations: http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/icecream/signature_creations.html - Pure evil, I'm telling you!!

The boys also got their mobile phones yesterday, and are very excited. Since they are getting on the school bus from Aug.18th, and since 'all their friends have had them for a hundred years' (slight exaggeration on their part), it was about time that we got with the program. Dad stepped up to the plate bigtime and splurged on phones that are much nicer than either of our phones, but they make it such a deal when you are signing up for a two-year contract, it's hard not to buy one step up. It only costs another $20/month to add two phones to our plan, so as long as they don't abuse the minutes, the only real cash outlay is the phones. T-Mobile is also introducing a new online system in the next few weeks, whereby I can monitor their usage, the times they can use the phones, etc... Pretty cool. We also each have 5 numbers to program into 'MyFaves', which we can call for free anytime.

In other worthy news of the week, we bought chaise lounge chairs. Seriously, I hadn't seen them anywhere, but we got the deal of the century at Bed, Bath and Beyond - 40% off clearance price minus an extra 20% because I bought the floor model with a few dents and dings. Here are Riley and I checkin' out the comfort level...

Even more exciting, our little baby palm trees got a haircut this week. Check out the before and after pics...yes folks, these are the headlines from Chez McGann this week - try to contain yourselves...

And now... please don't think that I didn't save the juiciest tidbit of news for last... here is rare footage of a cumulous cloud in the shape of a grizzly bear. Can you say, 'here's a girl that needs to get a job, or something to occupy her otherwise easily stimulated grey matter'. What in the world?

Might as well wrap up this edge-of-your-seat update with some shots of 'where the magic happens'. Took these photos yesterday because I'm soliciting ideas from a professional on what to do with the empty corner by the window. Found a sofa and ottoman that I love, but not sure if it really works with the rustic pine furniture. I definitely don't want to go out and buy new furniture, so I have to come up with something that will look okay with it.

Here it is, what do you think? Too foo-foo? I DO NOT have a great eye for this stuff, and not a whole lot going for me in the decorating dept. I just like it because it looks cozy and inviting. Also hadn't contemplated that it's a silk fabric, which means the dogs will probably scratch it up in a NY minute. Not very practical...but it's 50% off - that counts for something, no?

Will close with a couple videos of the danger brothers doing surfboard stunts into the pool.

Have a great weekend! Will try to update from the other side of the pond. I can't wait to see my little princess on Monday! I just talked to her on Skype, and she's having a ball, as usual. She went to the zoo with her boyfriend Boti on Thursday, and she's off to the waterpark again tomorrow. Rough summer. I'm sure it will take her a few days to get used to speaking English again. Linda's wedding is next Saturday, and Keira will be a flower girl (I think there are nine). Should be fun - in ten years, I've never been to a real Hungarian wedding. Will take lots of photos. Don't want to even think about Keira and Linda saying goodbye, but at least we know that Linda and Szabolcs will be here on Dec.26th. And we all know that Christmas is right around the corner. xoxo.