Simister Leaving Party Part 2

Last week we went to the leaving party for our friends, Karen and Matt.  Today we headed over to the Simister's again but this time it was a going away party for their kids, Lucy and Grace.  The kids had a blast swimming in the pool and playing with their friends.  I do not think it has really hit them yet that their friends are leaving.  It is only starting to hit me and make me sad.  The upside of it not really hitting them yet is that they can still thoroughly enjoy their time with their friends.  Instead of trying to get a neat group shot Karen decided to have all the kids line up along the pool and jump in.  Sofia is in there with her striped bathing suit and Ali is there but mostly hidden behind someone.  I had pulled her back to the pool from eating pizza so she wasn't quite ready for the jump in the pool.  It was a fun party and we wish all the Simister's the best in their move back home.  They will all be missed!

Sports Day

Today was Sports Day at the kids school.  They had races and soccer matches and all kinds of fun.  Unfortunately I missed the girls races as I thought they started at 11:30 but they started earlier.  By the time I got there I was only able to watch with them and cheer on their friends for the final races.  After all the children had their races they had a parents race and a teachers race.  The girls really wanted me to run in the parents' race so I gave it a go barefoot since I didn't want to run in my flip flops.  I'm happy to report I was the first woman across the finish line.  The exciting part of the parents' race though was when one of the dad's running the race fell and pulled both hamstrings.  He was a good sport about it and took the ribbing quite well.  It added a good story to go with sports day.  After all the races and lunch the kids were presented with awards.  The school is broken up into houses which is apparently a British thing (think Harry Potter).  The Early Years kids are not part of any house yet and therefore they all got first place medals.  The primary kids all belong to one of three houses.  The kids all win points for their houses and then whichever house has the most points wins.  Sofia's house, Hus, came in first place today.  She was very excited to get a first place medal.

Another Going Away party...

Last night I went to another going away party. (Thanks Gill for the photo!) This time the party was for our friends, Vanessa and Hanley.  They have been long time residents in Prague and friends that I assumed would be here long past our stay.  Times change though and they have decided to move on to their next adventure.  Despite having four children (one of whom, Louis, is Sofia's friend) of their own they have sought me out to offer to watch my children when they had heard that I needed help.  Before we had a car they would often give Jason a ride back to the metro after dropping the kids at school when it was raining.  I'm sad to see them go and realistically I will probably not see them again as their travels will eventually bring them back home to New Zealand.  Who knows though...life is strange and the unexpected can always happen as shown by the fact that last night was not just their going away party but also their engagement party!  After four kids they have finally decided to tie the knot.  Congratulations Vanessa and Hanley and goodluck to you and your family as you move on to your next adventure!

Birthday Parties

Yesterday we had two more birthday parties to attend.  Our first stop was to Ali's friend, Vivienne's, party.  The party was held at a nursery that has a beautiful garden (back yard).  The kids had fun running around and playing on the swing.  After having cake and watching the presents being opened they had a puppet show as well which the kids enjoyed.  We left that party a little early to get to the next party.  The next party was for Sofia's friends', Bella and Matilda.  The party was held at my friend Laura's (Matilda's mom) house which meant swimming since they have a pool.  We lucked out with the weather and it was a hot sunny day.  The kids had great fun in the pool with their friends.  After time in the pool we had pizza followed by party games..freeze dance, egg and spoon races, and a three legged race.  Sofia and Ali were pretty tired though and Ali couldn't be bothered with the games and just stayed jumping on the trampoline.  Sofia joined in with the first round of freeze dance but then decided she had had enough and went to have her nails done in the shade.  After having cake the kids went for another round in the pool and then we headed home happily exhausted!

Elderflower

The warm weather brings with it the flowering of the elderflower.  I had never heard of elderflower until last year when my friend, Beanie, told me she makes a cordial from the flowers.  Cordials are not a popular thing in the States so I really had no idea how yummy it was.  Beanie gave me a small bottle of her homemade elderflower cordial last year since I didn't know if I would even like it.  This year, however, she gave me two big bottles.  I have put one bottle in the freezer and one in the fridge.  The kids absolutely love it and so do I.  It is very refreshing on a hot day.  The weather looks like it will actually stay hot for a while and the kids will finish school on Wednesday so I can see us sipping our elderflower cordial in our backyard very frequently! Thanks Beanie!

Simister leaving party

Jason and I went to another leaving party last weekend for our friends, Karen and Matt.  They have two children, Lucy and Grace.  Grace, whom Ali shared her birthday party, has been with Ali since Ali started nursery so they have had two years together  They play well together and Ali is sad that Grace is leaving.  It made celebrating their birthdays together extra special.  Grace makes me laugh with her cute smile and playful nature.  I love her cute British accent too although if you ask her mom she hears Grace picking up a strong American accent.  Maybe some of our American accents and words will stick with Grace to remind them of us as they settle back into their home.  I will miss Karen as well.  She is a strong woman who definitely gets things done.  She always backs me up when I ask the unpopular questions in PTA meetings and makes me feel like I'm not just the pushy American.  She is incredibly generous and always willing to help out.  As I mentioned in the post about Ali's party her house has become known as the country club which is not only becuase the garden and pool are beautiful but because Karen and Matt so generously open their house to their friends.  When the kids are around there are always snacks and it seems sausages are always on the ready.  Their going away party was no different.  The food and drinks flowed seemingly non stop.  Everyone chatted amd had a great time.  Once it got late enough the band had to stop becuase it was getting too loud for the neighbors so we all headed inside and put the iphone on and danced the night away.  It was a lot of fun and like the Noordhuis party it wasn't sad since we still have a little bit of time before they leave, although now we are down to the final countdown.

Ali's Birthday Party

We did a little better this year for Ali's birthday party and actually celebrated it in June.  Last year we didn't have it until mid-july!  It is such a busy time of year that it is hard to find a time to fit in a party.  My friend, Karen, and I decided to have our kids have a party together so Ali got to share a birthday party with her friend Grace.  This worked out really well.  The kids were happy to have their party together and Karen and I got to split the duties of the party which made it easier since both of our husbands were out of the country.  Karen's house is really wonderful for parties and is frequently referred to as "the country club".  She has a beautiful back yard and a gorgeous, big, warm pool.  Sofia even commented that Grace's house is better than Beckiland (an indoor playplace)!  We invited all of the kids from Ali and Grace's class along with all the siblings so we had about twenty-five children at the party.  The weather cooperated with us and we had warm sunny weather which allowed the kids to spend most of the time in the pool and on the trampoline.  They all took a quick break for food and cake but then got right back to swimming and jumping.  We also had two of the girls from the high school come and paint nails and put on temporary tattoos which were a big hit.  Sofia and Ali didn't take time out for that though since they were too busy playing.  Karen and I had prepared the present for the "pass the parcel" game but we never got around to doing it since the kids were all so happy.  All in all it was a successful birthday party.  Here are a few pictures of Ali and Grace.  The top photo also has her good friends, Cianna and Owen.

Jumping off the high dive

I know life is hectic for us right now but don't worry, I didn't jump off anything. Sofia was the one jumping.  At the end of swim practice the coaches allow the children to climb up to the high dive and jump off.  Sofia has never wanted to do it and openly admitted that she was too scared.  I couldn't blame her as it is very high.  On Wednesday, the last swim practice for the year, Sofia decided to give it a go.  She watched Nils, Lars' younger brother and Ali's friend, climb the ladder and jump into the pool from the high dive.  That made up her mind and she was going for it.  I couldn't believe that she was really going to do it.  I assumed she would get up there and then look down at the pool and turn around and climb down the ladder.  I was wrong and she actually jumped into the pool.  She LOVED it.  She just kept doing it over and over after that until it was the end of the practice.   Here is the video of her going off the high dive.

Sofia also takes swimming during the school day and she brought home her certificate today. She has achieved level six in the NPTS (National Plan for Teaching Swimming). This means she is, "Developing effective swimming skills - including coordinated breathing - across all strokes is the focus of this stage. Learners also have to swim a distance of 25metres using a stroke of the swimmer’s choice. Children also learn about aspects of water safety and about preparing properly for exercise." She has done a super job this year with her swimming!

Czech Countryside

With all the end of school activities, birthday parties and Jason's hectic travel schedule I have still found time for exercise.  I have found that it is one way for me to keep my sanity.  It allows me time to escape the busy world and take time to enjoy the beauty around me.  The Czech countryside has a lot of beauty to offer.  I had thought that it wasn't going to be that pretty this year since I hadn't seen much color in the springtime when everything is usually flowering.  I assumed that the farmers had just planted different crops this year.  I was wrong becuase it seems everything is starting to burst with color.  I guess our chilly spring has just made the flowers bloom later than usual.  The rapeseed is flowering and turning the fields into carpets of glowing yellow, the poppies are dotting the fields in redish orange and the wheat is starting to blow in the breeze.  I even saw an entire field of poppies in the distance during my ride but since I was already running late I couldn't detour to get a closer look.  Here are a few pictures from my bike ride yesterday.

Boat Trip and Detsky Ostrov

The end of the school year means lots of activities.  The girls had their activity week last week which is a week where the kids take a break from school work and have fun.  They have water day and dress up days, a BBQ and school trips.  Thursday was the big day trip for the early years and lower school.  I'm glad they were together becasue it meant

I didn't have to make two separate trips but could be with both girls on the same day.  This year the school brought the kids on a boat ride on the Vltava.  The kids got to have a snack on board the boat which consisted of cakes and cookies since I don't think any child ate the Chlebicky (little sandwiches) that were also on the tables.  Unfortunately Ali's class was inside the boat while Sofia's class was upstairs and then they switched half way through the boat ride so I didn't get to spend time with Sofia during the boat ride.  Fortunately the boat ride was only for an hour.  Here is a picture of Ali with her friend, Cianna, enjoying the sun while on the top deck. 

After the boat ride we all climbed back on the buses and went to Detsky Ostrov (translated means children's island).  This is the same place we went last year for the school trip which is an island in the Vltava that has an enormous playground hence the name, "Children's Island".  The kids had a blast at the playground and I was running around back and forth to be with both of them and to snap some pictures.  There were a couple times they were actually playing with the same thing.  Here they are with their friends, Michelle and Anna.  We were fortunate to have really beautiful weather the entire day.  The kids did not want to leave the park at the end of the day but we had to make our way back to school.  Ali had such a good time that she was exhausted and fell asleep on the bus ride back to school.  It was another successful school trip!

Happy 5th Birthday Alessandra!

Today is Ali's 5th birthday!  I can't belive that five years has past.  She is growing and changing everyday.  She has a great sense of humor and often makes me laugh even when sometimes I know I shouldn't be laughing.  She has a stubborn streak as well as an amazing ability to live in a fantasy world.  She is finishing up her year in the Reception class (pre-K in the U.S.) and can count up to 29, knows all her letters and has begun to read.  She loves exploring outside and boggles my mind with her love of rolly polly bugs.  She is afraid of every insect it seems but has no problem picking up rolly polly bugs and playing with them.  Now that we have the pool open she has started swimming again and has already gone down to get dive sticks.  It is hard to believe the little baby in my arms five years ago is capable of doing all these things.  She is really becoming an amazing, polilte and happy little girl.  We are blessed!!  

Above is a picture of Ali with her new hello kitty hair clips that Jason brought back from Hamburg, Germany today.We opened gifts before dinner since I didn't think we should make her wait all day before opening her presents.

For dinner Ali chose to have pizza with bread and butter.  I think bread with butter is by far her favorite meal.  She loves to lather the butter on the bread.  I think she would eat the butter straight with a spoon if we let her!  Normally we do not let her make a meal out of bread and butter but since it was her birthday we let her enjoy herself.  Happy Birthday Ali!!

Noordhuis Going Away Party

This year there are a lot of people leaving Prague.  Fortunately we still have a few more weeks with our friends but the farewell parties have begun.  This first party to celebrate was with our friends Inge and Romke and their three kids, Olav, Lars, and Nils.  Our kids have played so well together over the last three years.  Sofia and Lars have been in the same class for three years and have been great friends and often stated that they would be getting married.  Nils and Ali are in the same class and have been together since starting nursery.  They are also great friends and they crack me up together.  (Pictured right: Nils, Lars, Sofia, Ali) Olav is the oldest and so I don't see or hear as much about Olav but when we get the kids all together, Sofia just loves playing with Olav and even though he is older by two years he is always kind and genuinely seems to enjoy playing with both Ali and Sofia.  Inge has been a great friend to me as well.  She makes me laugh and is always kind.  She is always willing to lend a hand and I know if I need help I can count on her.  They will be moving to Doha, Qatar this summer.  I'm hoping for August but it will probably be July.  This past Sunday Inge and Romke celebrated their time in Prague with a fun party at a park across town.  There was plenty of food for everyone, a band, and a bouncey castle for the kids. (I think Ali bounced on the castle for a good solid hour if not longer!)  It kept everyone entertained and the adults time to socialize. I think becuase their leaving is still at least a month off it felt more like a party rather than a farewell which was nice.  For now I will push away the sadness of their departure and enjoy our friendship.

Enjoying the sun

We have really enjoyed the sunshine this week.  It seems we went from early spring to midsummer overnight.  Our pool has gone from 63 degrees to 70 degrees in one week.  Ali has gone in for a minute to staying in today for quite sometime swimming around.  We went to my friend, Karen's, yesterday.  Her pool is much warmer than ours and has steps going into the pool.  This was just what Ali needed to get over her fear of the water.  After a few short swims in Karen's pool, Ali was swimming around with all her friends and jumping in the pool without any fear.  She is still a little hesitant about getting dive sticks this year but did manage to get two today.  I'm sure after a couple more weeks she will see it as an easy thing to do.  Sofia, who couldn't get dive sticks last year, is swimming around the bottom of the pool picking up multiple dive sticks in one go.  Jason and I even had fun with the dive sticks today and competed against each other while the kids watched.  It has been a fun week.  The weather is suppose to cool off a bit for the next week but I'm hoping the cooling won't last long.

The sunshine continues...

As of my post this morning the sun has continued to shine all day!  I took the opportunity to see the countryside a bit and went for a fourteen mile bike ride.  I'm not concerned with getting lost so I headed down a road I had never been down before.  I ended up making a complete circle and came back to the same intersection where I made my first unknown left turn so it worked out perfectly.  That is the upside of not having too many roads in the Czech countryside!

We spent the rest of the day together playing in our yard.  The girls played with water all day...sometimes the hose, sometimes the sprinkler, water guns and buckets of water.  Jason and I both were so hot we joined in with the water guns and hose spraying.  Finally it was hot enough that I suggested the pool to the kids.  They both went in quickly followed by me and Jason.  Sixty-two degrees didn't feel as cold as I expected.  Don't get me wrong, it was still cold and I could only stay in for short amounts of time but it was refreshing.

Busy weekend

My first thing to report is that we had SUNSHINE!!!! It is so exciting.  The warm sun beating down on us all day was quite a treat and gives me hope that summer will finally arrive in the Czech Republic.  Actually the sun arrived on Friday, just in time for Jason's birthday.  Sofia and I stayed home on Friday since we had a little bit of upset stomachs still but by Friday afternoon we were both feeling fine.  Jason came home from work and we had a nice meal of orange chicken (homemade) and the cake for dessert.  I would have to upgrade my self to at least a C on execution of Jason's birthday.

The sun continued to shine on Saturday which was great especially becuase we went to the Summer Fayre at the girls school.  The girls had a really great time and did so many different things such as pony rides, bungee trampoline, face painting, button making, mask making as well as having lunch outside and some sweeties (candy) along the way. 

Ali and I left the Fayre a little early to go to a birthday party for Ali's friend, Sabina.  Unfortunately for me the party was at Beckiland which meant I had to leave the beautiful sunshine and sit inside for two hours but Ali had a blast.  The kids all ran around and played hard.  Ali ended up with a slide burn (like a rug burn but she got it from the slide) on her knee and a scrape on her elbow from the climbing wall.  One of Ali's friends fell off the giant crocodile unto the wood floor with her head and ended up with a nice big bump/bruise on her forehead.  All the injuries were soon forgotten in the face of running around with their friends and eating cake and more sweeties. 

After leaving the party we headed home to join Sofia and Jason.  Once I was sitting on the patio enjoying the sun the girls said, "I wish we could go in our pool.".  They were shocked when I told them they could go in.  After reassuring them multiple times that I wasn't joking and that the pool was ready to go in they decided to get their bathingsuits on.  I did tell them multiple times though that the pool was VERY cold and that they probably wouldn't want to go in. Well, even at 62 degrees (16C) Sofia jumped in and swam across the pool and pulled herself out a bunch of times.  She did say it was very cold and that she had to swim hard to stay warm and that it was way too cold to stand still in the water.  Ali climbed down the ladder and had water up to her chest but just couldn't jump in.  I'm impressed that she got so much of her body in though since the water was so cold.  Hopefully we will have a stretch of warm weather soon so that our pool will warm up an we can all start to enjoy it.

Even Watson was enjoying the sunshine.  Here he is taking a break on our front step and relaxing in the sunshine.

The sun is still shining this morning.  I'm looking forward to a fun relaxing day in the sun!

Happy Birthday Jason!!

Today is Jason's birthday.  Usually I am shopping last minute and running around like crazy to find everything I need.  This year I was very organized.  I had his present a month in advance and went to the grocery store and shops necessary to get all the things I needed to make his birthday dinner.  I get an A for effort but F for execution.  I got Jason tickets to see Mark Knophler in concert here in Prague for June 26th.  It was a great gift until we realized this morning that Jason will be in America on June 26th (although to my credit the trip was not planned when I bought the tickets).  My meal could still be great but Sofia and I started with a stomach virus last night.  We are both feelig much better this morning but not one hundred percent.  I'm just hoping that my "gift" to Jason isn't a stomach virus.  Here is to hoping the rest of his birthday goes much better.

Sun, Sun where are you??

Everyday this goes through my head, "sun sun mr golden sun please shine down on me.".  No it isn't because my children are always singing it.  It is because I haven't seen the sun in a long time and I miss it!  It has been so cloudy and dreary here.  It is June yet the temperature still hovers around 10C (50F).  Our pool is open but the water is freezing (around 62F) b/c ther is no sun to warm it up.  It feels like summer will never arrive.