The Foy Family

(Because of a lack of internet, please click this link to see the pictures)

What a crazy few days the past days have been! We’ve been so busy (and tired!) that we’ve barely had time to update.

We’ll start with the Cable Cars. On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to take a series of cable cars not that far from our hotel to one of the highest points in Germany. It was a spectacular ride because it was so quiet, and so vast, it was hard to not take in the immense beauty of it all. As you’ll see from the pictures below, nearly every mountain peak we’ve come across has a cross at the top, and this one was no exception. You’ll also get to see Gail (Chrissy’s Mom) right where she likes it – on the edge!

After the cable cars, we hopped in our car and drove 2.5 hours to Austria, specifically to Salzburg. This was the town part of The Sound of Music was filmed in, and since Annabelle and Charlotte have been watching that movie so much, we wanted to go and see it. On the good side, we did see it, and managed to avoid getting arrested (for driving through a pedestrian center when we got lost) and avoided a 200 Euro fine (for driving in a restricted area without a permit). Gail and Bill were not so lucky and got hit with a 100 Euro fine for not having a permit to be on the Austrian Autobahn.

We also discovered that we have very little interest in ever going back to Salzburg. But we did get some neat pictures of the fountain from the movie, and got to enjoy some of the biggest springrolls I’ve ever eaten at an Austrian Chinese restaurant in the middle of town.

On Friday, we hike to a gorge near our hotel. Well, you drive to the Olympic Ski Stadium where they once did the ski jump (and still have the jump and stadium up), and then you hike for 20 minutes to the entrance, 20 minutes through the gorge, and then a 5 minute steep hike at the end. You can then either turn around and go back through the gorge, or you can follow the rest of the crowds and do a 30 minute hike up and around to get back, or you can think you know what you are doing at end up hiking for an additional 3.5 hours – nearly all up hill – during which time you give up and hike all the way back to the gorge and just go back through it.

Of course, us getting lost came at nap time, so you’ll see from the pictures below where Annabelle slept for her nap (and Charlotte was asleep in the sling).

Finally, we checked out of our hotel in Garmisch and made the nearly 6 hour drive across Germany to Haslach. We’re staying on a farm which is absolutely beautiful. We got in Sunday night, and on Monday we drove over and got to see some really neat animals at a local zoo. Nevermind that it was 40 degrees F and raining (or at least, the girls didn’t seem to mind). We got to see sheep, alpacas, llamas, tons of owls, bobcats, pigs, and a very cute fox of some sort. All for 9 Euros for all 5 of us.

Then this evening we stayed on the farm and walked around to see the cows and take in some of the views. It is very hard to capture with pictures how beautiful the countryside is. We’re planning on riding the train, going to see the world’s largest cuckoo clock, perhaps going to EuropaPark, and many other things before we have to head out to Munich. Here on the farm we have no internet access, so updates will be spotty until we get over to Munich.

Enjoy the pictures! (Because of a lack of internet, please click this link to see the pictures)

Cory, Chrissy, Annabelle and Charlotte

This morning we took the family up to see Neuschwanstein Castle which is about a 70 minute drive from the hotel. This castle was what they modeled Cinderella’s castle off of, and is absolutely stunning. It is an interesting ride to get there – once you drive there, you park at the bottom, purchase your tickets, and then can either hike up to the castle (30-40 minutes) or take a horse carriage (30-40 minutes) or take a bus (faster, but doesn’t go all the way up). Chrissy’s mom, the girls and I all took the horse carriage up, while Bill and Aunt Kay hiked.

Once you arrive at the top, you then have a 5-10 minute hike up to the castle proper, and the tour takes you up approximately 160 steps (and then back down at the end). The history was really fascinating – the castle took either 11 or 17 years (I can’t remember) to build, and the King lived in it for just over 100 days before dying. Our tour guide told us that the King was found in the bathtub and died mysteriously. In talking with some other people who had been on other tours, they said that either he committed suicide, drowned, killed his doctor and drowned, killed his doctor and committed suicide, or was beheaded. Strange.

In addition to the castle, the girls got to eat a Schitzel Sandwich for the first time.

Anyway, tomorrow we’re likely doing a bike ride and perhaps a cable car ride, and then have several other activities planned. New pictures below!

Cory, Chrissy, Annabelle and Charlotte

Hi Everyone,

Chrissy, the girls and I are spending the next couple of weeks throughout Germany. After 16 hours of travel (13 hours flying, 3 hours airport and via car) we arrived in Garmisch yesterday. The girls were amazing troopers doing *very* well on the plane ride and in general just being their sweet selfs. We’re over with Chrissy’s mom, step-dad, and aunt. Today we got to do a hike from our hotel in Garmisch up to a lake nearby. We wanted to share some pictures from that, and hope to share even more pictures as we explore more of the amazing countryside and as the leaves change color. Be sure to click on the picture to see a bigger copy!

- Cory, Chrissy, Annabelle and Charlotte

Fall is always a fun time – though we do miss the leaves not bring in a more northern state now (heck, we miss sub-80 degree highs!). But no matter where you are, there’s two great things about fall – pumpkin patches and Halloween. Not to be left out of the fun, we got Annabelle and Charlotte dressed in the most adorable outfits and took them to a nearby pumpkin patch for some fall fun. And then tonight we teamed up with our good friends Jonny and Danielle and their son Tyler at the Citrus Park mall for some trick or treating.

We’ve posted the pictures in the gallery. You can click this link to view the gallery.

Cory and I are proud to announce the arrival of our second daughter, Charlotte Elizabeth Gail Foy. Charlotte was born at 7:49 a.m. on October 24 at the Labor of Love Birth Center in Lutz, FL. She came into the world measuring 21 and 3/4 inches and weighing 9lbs 1oz, with brown hair and dark blue eyes. Annabelle got to meet her yesterday afternoon and was mildly interested for a second, then decided she had better things to do. Overall, we are doing very well and are thankful for our beautiful new blessing. You can click here to see the latest pictures in the gallery.

Sorry for the huge gap between the last post and this one! Here are just a few of our most recent pictures taken over this past Labor Day weekend. To see the rest, please visit the gallery. Annabelle got to get dressed up and go to a wedding and a couple days later she enjoyed picnicking with Tyler at Starkey Wilderness Park in New Port Richey.

It was all happening at the Lowry Park Zoo this week when Annabelle got her first glimpse of some of nature’s more interesting creatures. We all had a great time visiting the animals, and Annabelle seemed to really enjoy being hands-on at the different exhibits. Here are some of the highlights, but there are loads more pictures in our gallery. Thanks for stopping by!

We finally got a chance to head down to Sears and got some really great Christmas pictures. Miss Annabelle was absolutely adorable (as you can see!) Be sure to click on the picture to see even more pictures from the Christmas shoot!

We hope everyone is doing well this holiday season! Cory and I have been so busy lately we’ve been really behind on updated this page…our apoligies.

In a nutshell, Cory is enjoying his job and gets to travel ALL around the world! Thankfully he’s home enough, though, to make up for his many absences. As for me, I have decided to postpone my SLP studies for the time being. Playing Mommy is way too much fun, and, frankly, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Annabelle is sooooo big, we just can’t believe it. Her current favorite things to do include standing, putting EVERYTHING in her mouth (especially her little toes), grabbing people’s noses, and watching all of the animals around here. She’s also been busy doing things like rolling over (back to tummy), reaching out for things (including me…so sweet!), babbling, and just generally being cute! She has a tickly spot between the rolls on her inner thighs and she loves a good game of peek-a-boo every now and then. She’s just amazing, and Cory and I are completely smitten.

Be sure to check out the new pics we’ve posted!
- Click here for Annabelle’s Halloween pictures
- Click here for Annabelle’s October and November pictures
- Click here for pictures of recent family visits

The entire family is excited to announce that at the end of this week, we will be loading up shop and heading back home, to Tampa, FL! I accepted a position with Microsoft, and the exciting thing is it is position out of Tampa (even if I will be having to do a bit of travelling).

Chrissy and I are very excited, as is the family down there. It’s going to be a hectic week – my last day here is Wednesday and the movers come in Thursday to pack and Friday to load. We’ll head out Friday evening driving down, and should get in Saturday morning.

So keep your eye out for us – we’ll be back home soon!