Day 52: A day of driving to Reutte, Austria (July 5):

  
  This morning, we say goodbye to Dorfgastein and the farm, and continue on our never ending adventure,  to Reutte, Austria, about a 3 1/2 hour drive. We find an apartment near Reutte, right outside of the Disney-made-famous, New Schwanstein castle. We move in and go to the grocery store to find dinner for the night. It starts pouring down rain, so we go back to the apartment, eat dinner and stay up late, snacking and playing Take 2 and Guess Who - which we just found at the grocery store.

Dad, Tanner's favorite person in the world.

Day 51: Happy 4th of July in Beautiful Badgastein! (July 4):

   Happy fourth of July from Austria! Too bad they don't celebrate it here! It's better than back in CO because you ar not aloud to have fireworks because there are really bad fires! People's houses are burning. 
    So this thing in Europe they do is called the Eurobowl. It's soccer. Like the Superbowl. Well, FYI: Spain won! My hometown=).
   Earlier today, we just ate breakfast. I read scriptures. We then went to a mini water park. I finally got a chance to tan. We all got in. It was warm. It had two water slides and three different temperatured pools. Not many people were there. We had races with the water slide. 
   So, something really different about Europe is fashion at the pool and ocean!! I saw topless women, an old guy changing his pants, so I saw his bare butt. I am scarred for life! Later, these little boys, like 8, pulled their swim trunks down in the back, so you could see their full butt! So they could go faster down the water slide. It was so weird, they just walked around like that, not even bothering to pull them up when they walked up the steps to go down the water slide again.
   After awhile, we got hungry, so we go back to the farmhouse for hotdogs and frozen pizza. Then we left to go to the GORGEOUS mountains with small waterfalls trickling down. It was just so lush and green. Amazing Alps. I have no idea how anyone can question the existence of God as they are standing and looking at this evidence of his handiwork!

    Later, we drove to the town of Bad Gastein, meaning good health, and found a restaurant in for dinner. I got spaghetti! Everywhere you to it's different, but it's always a safe choice.

Dallin, Benson and I share a huge feast of a meal on a silver platter - we almost finish it.

 Afterwards, we drove further into the town and saw an amazing water fall! We climbed the steps to the top. Dad and Dallin almost lost the Frisbee in the water fall, but Dallin climbed through the bushes and saved it.

  Later, we went home for our last night here.

   

Day 50: Day trip to Salzburg! (July 3):

   Well today, we woke up later and started driving a one hour drive to Salzburg, Austria. 

 It is a cute little town, protected by a huge fortress on the cliff above.

  We walked around, saw mimes, and street performers. 

dallin finds his name . . .

 . . . and Talie finds her shoes.

We walked by Mozart's home 

                                                                   and grabbed lunch.

    So you know that really cute boy from the Rhotenburg night tour? Well, I saw him in Austria! It was so funny!

    On the way home, I tell the kids that if they are quiet the whole way home, they will get a treat. They are great and so Talie, Peyton, Tanner and I ride bikes to the grocery store and buy some amazing chocolate, strawberry, and hazelnut filled cake rolls. Wow! I could easily get fat off of these babies! I also could become an avid bike rider in Dorfgastein. Everywhere you look you can't get enough of the breathtaking views! I guess that would be the perfect solution to too many cake rolls!

Benson plays farmer Ben and drives the tractor.

 We catch up on LOTS of laundry. Kennedi enjoys the warm clothes from the dryer - a rare treat this summer.

   We have found a number of favorite things here that have become our staples. Here are a few:

Chocolate filled pastries, "Ma Dirrecion", "Whistle" Nutella, baguettes, cake rolls, gelato, ice cream, Pringles, salami, Gouda, Reisens, and Mentos - ok., I'm thinking that we really enjoy food!

   Also, there are window boxes filled with bright red flowers, cobblestone streets, zip lines, cool potted topiaries and greenery, skinny, tall trees and big cow bells to ring when dinner is ready - all of these awesome things that we want to adopt at our house.

Day 49: Hallstatt! (July 2):

   Well, today, we woke up early to say goodbye to our friends. It was sad. They were so great! We drive 1 1/2 hours to Halstatt, a cute, ancient little town, built right on the mountainside of a large lake. We don't get too far along the drive, before we stop for an adventure.

 Don't let the pictures fool you, the water is freezing! Snow melt. The kids are promised two scoops of ice cream if they swim.

Ashy's face says it all. It's cold!

Ok., she doesn't know she's cute, does she?

Tanner & I don't win a double scoop ice cream cone.

     People have lived in Halstatt centuries before Christ, mining salt. You can take salt mine tours, but Tanner is too young. We find a cool park with a water slide ending right into the lake, a rope swing, a diving board and a zip line ( another favorite European park feature - Benson wants to put one in our yard).

 There was a huge lake! I didn't get in because it was freezing. But one time, Dallin went on a diving board and did a back flip on his face! Now there is a huge red circle on his chin! 

It started to rain, so everybody left, but we stayed at the park.

It starts pouring down rain, so we leave the park. The rain lets up, so Dallin, Peyton, Benson and I walk through the cute little town 

 

and find a church with a small cemetery. So small in fact, that the bodies only stay in the ground for 10-12 years, and then they are dug up, completely dried, and someone paints their name, dates, and a design on the skull, and places them in a small bone chapel behind the church. 

 

We run back to the car to get home to relax and play. Later, we rode a horse at the hotel.

 Tonight, there is a HUGE rain, thunder, lightening storm! We feel like we are right up in the middle of the storm.