Sunflowers

I went for a bike ride this morning and brought my camera with me so that I could capture some of the beauty of my ride.  I had biked this route two weeks ago and came across a few fields of sunflowers that I wanted to capture.  I'm glad I decided to ride today becuase some of the sunflowers are already starting to pass.  I kept putting off getting pictures of the fields of poppies and then the fields passed and I missed my chance so I'm glad I didn't miss my chance with the sunflowers.

Week recap

Summer has left Prague this week.  I have been wearing jeans most days and making the kids where their sweatshirts/fleece when we go out.  We have had a good week though despite the cool weather.  The upside of the cool weather is that the kids have been sleeping really well and catching up on much needed sleep.  I thought the week would drag by since the kids couldn't be in the pool but our week has been filled with two birthday parties, a trip to the movies to see Shrek and a trip to the zoo.  It was actually fortuate that it hasn't been hot since our pool has not been swimmable.  Our chlorine levels had dropped to zero so I went to the pool store to ask them what to do.  They told me to shock the pool and sold me the chlorine and told me how much to use.  They obviously did their math wrong becuase we are over a week later and the chlorine levels are still too high although it is getting closer to a swimmable level.  The weather is suppose to warm up over the weekend which should time well with our chlorine levels.  Then we will just need some sustained high temperatures to raise our pool temperature which has dropped again below 70 (F) .

Beans

This year in Ali's class the kids all planted their own "bean stalk".  Ali would talk about it from time to time and would occassionally bring me outside to look at it growing.  The end of the year came and the plant was still small and it was sent home with us.  I eventually got it transplanted into a bigger pot and have been very good about watering it.  I didn't want the flood of tears that would have gone along with a dead plant.  Ali would check on her plant and ask, "will it grow all the way to the sky?".  To which I delicately answered since I didn't want to burst her excitement for a beanstalk like Jack and the Bean Stalk.  All my watering and tending of this "bean stalk" has paid off this week.  The kids came inside all excited to tell me there were two beans on the plant.  I assumed they were small since I hadn't noticed anything but they were, in fact, two full size beans.  I have not picked beans since I was a little girl so I wasn't sure when to pick them.  I told Ali she would have to call Grammie and ask her so we gave Grammie a call and with Ali's very limited phone ability the girls learned they could pick the beans and eat them.  I think that was the beginning of green beans entering our household meals.  I cooked beans tonight and the kids loved them so my green bean ban must come to an end.  I even tried to get away with not eating any green beans but the kids noticed and asked me why I wasn't eating any.  I told them there wasn't many and I wanted them to be able to enjoy them since I've had them plenty before.  They weren't exactly happy with that so I did take two beans and eat them.  Luckily this satisfied the girls and they ate up the rest of the beans.  I will admit I don't hate green beans with the passion I did as a child which I guess is a good thing as I will be making them more often.

Bike Ride

It was overcast today and not a great pool day so we decided to go for a family bike ride.  We originally thought we would go to the next village and back but the kids were doing so well we continued on the path and we went a total of six miles.  We did take a couple stops along the way to look at different things in the woods but none of our stops were very long.  The kids liked seeing a new path that they hadn't seen before and they liked hearing about Watson's favorite spots in the stream.  Jason and I were a little worried as the return three miles were on a slight uphill most of the way but the kids did amazing.  On some of the steeper uphills Ali had to walk her bike but as soon as she was able she hopped back on to ride.  As Sofia pointed out , "it is good exercise, very tiring but also a lot of fun". 

Pool Time and Bubbles

The last week has been hot so the girls and I have really been enjoying the pool.  (Jason enjoys it as well but since he has to go into the office he only gets to enjoy it after six o'clock.)  The pool has warmed up to a lovely 75F (23C) and is so refreshing.  Ali still uses her short wetsuit to stay warm but it means she stays in the pool for a long time.  She is now swimming down "like a whale" to get dive sticks off the bottom of the pool and swimming along the bottom so her belly touches.  She surprised me the other day with an excellent canonball.  I had to run inside to get the camera so I could take a picture of her cannonball since she had such good form!  Besides dive sticks and cannonballs the girls just enjoy swimming sround the pool, playing on the floaties and noodles.  They love doing "motor boat" which is a fun thing that I played as a child with my mom.  I love that I can pass down a memory to them so even when I'm tired of doing "motor boat" I do it again as I'm sure my mother must have done when I was little.

We had a slightly cooler day on Thursday so we didn't spend the entire day in the pool.  The kids played in the playroom for a while but I like them to be outside in the summer so I had to think of something to entice them outside.  I started with bubbles that they could play with which they very quickly used up.  I was pretty proud of my mothering skill when I thought about making my own bubbles.  I made LOTS of bubbles that day.  I even used pipe cleaners to make giant bubble wants so the kids could make big bubbles which they loved.

Watson

This week we took Watson to the Vet and the groomer.  It was time for his check up, or so I thought, so I stopped by his vet and scheduled his apopintment.  We went in yesterday and I found out that I was suppose to have brought him in earlier so we are basically starting his vaccinations over again.  We will be back at the Vet next month and then again in November.  At least I know now what I need to do for him and the Vet gave him a good bill of health so we are all set.  I brought him to the groomer today for a hair cut because he has been so hot lately that he has not been himself.  He is very lethargic and while he is still willing to play fetch, we can't play it with him for long for fear of him getting too hot.  He has been so hot he willingly stands and gets sprayed by the hose!  Anytime he hears the hose turned on he comes running to drink from it.  He does have water in his water dish but he just loves the water from the hose.  Anyway, I called a new groomer to make an appointment since I didn't want to drive to the groomer we used last time and I wanted to save some money since the new groomer would cost less than half of what I paid last time.  Unfortunately I got what I paid for!  I specifically said I would like his hair short but NOT shaved.  Well, Watson is pretty much shaved.  Ali thinks he looks great but I think he looks a bit silly.  At least Watson doesn't know what he looks like and seems much happier now that he is cooler.  Here are pictures of Watson before and after his haircut.

The Dentist

I have not been as good about going to the dentist since we have moved to Prague.  It is a bit overwhelming to find a dentist.  There are the many expat dentists that charge an arm and a leg which I paid the first time I brought myself and the kids to the dentist.  I had amazing sticker shock though when we had our teeth cleaned for the first time in Prague that again I waited longer than recommended to go back to the dentist.  Fortunately my friend gave me the name of the dentist that she used for her daughter so I didn't have to go back to the same dentist and spend a small fortune.  I went yesterday for my cleaning.  I was very impressed with this dentist.  She used a laser to clean the plaque and tartar of my teeth and then polished them with some kind of water system.  I feel like my teeth are cleaner than they have been after any previous cleaning and they seem a bit whiter also.  The big bonus though was that it didn't hurt.  There was no horrible scraping of the teeth just the laser moving over them.  It was easy.  Today I brought the girls in to have their teeth checked.  Sofia did great and sat in the chair without any problem.  Ali was afraid of the dentist so the dentist let Ali sit on my lap for the exam.  Sitting on my lap gave her the courage to open her mouth big and wide for the dentist.  I'm happy to report that we are all cavity free. Since I'm not overwhelmed anymore with finding a new dentist or with the cost, we will be visiting the dentist again in six months.

Biking

After I dropped my mom at the airport this morning I needed something to occupy my mind and give me space to have quiet so I went for a bike ride.  I wasn't sure where I was going to go when I started down my road but then I decided I was going to ride the bike path from Stromovka Park to Kralupy.  I have always seen the signs for it when I run on the bike path from Stromovka but since it is so far away it just isn't feasible for me to run the distance but I knew I could do it on the bike.  I didn't take into consideartion though the really bad sections of the trail.  I assumed it was a nice bike path the entire way but I was WAY wrong.  There was about a 2 mile stretch that was very sketchy.  The beginning and end of the sketchy section of the path was barely visible behind all the overgrowth but that wasn't even the worst of it! The worst part was being on a very narrow path that had a minimum 6ft straight drop down to the river.  There were times that I had to get off my bike and walk it becuase I was afraid that if I had any mishap my bike and I would be in the river after a long fall.  I didn't want to swim and I didn't want to lose my bike either!  I did feel a little better when I got off the horrible section and stopped to brush myself off and check for ticks that the guy who came out behind me told me that he also had to get off his bike and walk.  It made me feel like I wasn't a complete wimp.  After getting through that bad section the path was nice again and I made it to Kralupy but now I had to find my way home from Kralupy because I was not going back the way I came.  I just couldn't face that terrible section of the path again.  After going back and forth in Kralupy I finally found my way out of town and back in the direction I needed to go in order to get home.  My bike ride was a little longer that I anticipated (33 miles) but it gave me the release I needed to accept my mom's leaving.  I have also learned that I will NEVER take the bike path along the river to Kralupy again!

The week with Mom

The last week has gone by way too fast yet we didn't do a lot of sight seeing with my mom.  The last time she was in Prague I took her to the main sights...the castle, old town swuare, Ptetrin hill etc.  This trip to Prague I showed her a different side of the Czech Republic.  We spent a lot of time walking in nature.  There are so many paths through the woods nearby to where we live that we took a different path every day and managed to get in a three mile walk on most days (even with the kids!).  We walked along the Vltava River, through the woods to the next village and through the woods near Okor Castle ruins. 

We spent one afternoon walking through Stromovka Park over to the Botanical Garden (pictured left) and then back through the Troja Chateau gardens.  We all had a great afternoon but we were also happy to get back home to the pool. 

We wrapped up our days of walking yesterday with a trip over to Hvezda Summer Palace.  It is one of the places that Jason and I have never managed to get to so it was nice to finally see it.  We drove over near the entrance and started our afternoon with a ride in the bike playground for the kids.  What is a bike playground you ask?? Well, it is a playground with streets and street signs that the children have to follow so that they learn the rules of the road in a safe environment.  Ali was very into following the road and going around the roundabouts but Sofia just ignored all traffic laws and rode around wherever she wanted.  Fortunately they were the only kids there and so it didn't matter if she disregarded the rules.  After playing here for a while we headed out and down the long path to the summer palace.  The kids reached the summer palace first since they were on their bikes and they quickly ditched the bikes for the playground there.  They had a lot of fun but after all that riding and playing it was time to head home to the pool again.  It was so hot that even with the pool temperature only at 71 degrees my mom was hot enough to get in!

It was a great week and we are sad that it is over.  My mom left this morning on an 8am flight.  I'm happy that she has made it safely back to the States but sad that I won't see her for a while.

Salzburg and The Sound of Music

My mom arrived last Friday.  We were all happy to see her.  The girls had been counting down the sleeps until Grandma arrived (and so was I) so it was exciting when we picked her up at the airport.  She arrived just before lunch so we were able to have a leaisurely afternoon and send her to bed early to catch up on her jetlag. 

On Saturday my mom and I headed off early to Salbzburg, Austria while Jason stayed home with the girls.  Since we were just going for one night and going on a four hour sound of Music tour it would not have been a fun trip for the kids.  It also gave me some alone time with my mom which was nice since with the girls chatting away I was finding it difficult to get a word in!  The drive to Salzburg took six hours since we hit some traffic but we still managed to get there at a reasonable time so we checked into our hotel (which we learned didn't have air conditioning) and headed out to check out the old town and the fortress on top of the hill in Salzburg.  We managed to get in about four hours of walking around before dinner.  The Old town is very small so we also took time to stop in the shops to see if there was anything worthwhile. :)  Before we called it a day we took the railway up to the fortress which was amazing.  To think they built it 1,000 years ago seems incomprehensible.  After spending time walking around the fortress we headed back down to the town and found a restaurant for dinner and then headed back to the hotel for showers and bed.

In the morning we got up, had breakfast and waited for our pick up for the Sound of Music Tour.  We were both excited to see the places in the movie that we had watched together so many times.  I was a little skeptical when I realized it was a giant tour bus but it turned out to be perfect.  The bus kept us nice and cool and we stopped at most of the sights and got out of the bus to take pictures.  We saw the back of the villa on the pond where the kids fell into the water off the boat, the lane she was walking down singing, "I've got Confidence", the glass gazebo from "Sixteen Going On Seventeen", The monestary from a distance, the church where Maria and the Captain were married, and Mirabell Gardens where the kids are singing "Do Re Mi".  It was a lot of fun.  After finishing the tour we got back in the car and headed home.  We didn't have any traffic so we made it home before the kids went to bed.

Teachers

The kids have both had good years this year and a large part of that is becuase they have had good teachers.  Thankyou Mr. Haig and Mrs. Jelinek amd Mrs. Falk! (Mrs. Jelinek and Mrs. Falk taught Ali's class this year.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap a pic with Mrs. Falk on the last day.)

Last Day of School

Well, we made it to the last day of school.  There have been so many activities in the last two week of school that it has been difficult to get to everything but I think we managed to join in in all the fun.  Last Wednesday was the last day of school. 

I joined Ali at her school building for the Early Years leaving assembly in the morning.  Ali received her swimming certificate.  She has achieved level two this year.  This stage focuses on developing safe entries to the water, including jumping in, basic floating, travel on the front and back up to a distance of five metres, and rotating the body to regain an upright position.   She was very proud of herself.  The leaving assembly was also a time to say good-bye to friends that are leaving, Grace and Nils.  Grace is going back to England and Nils is off to Qatar.  We are sad to see them go.  Fortunately we still have Nils around until August.  After singing a few songs and saying good-byes the leaving assembly was over and the kids headed back inside to have some fun. 

I picked Ali up early from school to bring her over to the primary school.  School was a half day and the primary leaving assembly was from 11:00 - 12:00 followed by a BBQ so I didn't want to miss anything to pick Ali up at twelve.  I'm glad I did because Ali joined right in with Sofia's leaving assembly and sat right next to Sofia for the entire time.  Again good-byes were said to all the kids and teachers leaving the school this year.  For our kids that means saying good-bye to Olav, Lars, Sofie, Jose Miquel, Alex, Sophia, and Louis.  Each class did something different for the children who are leaving.  Sofia's class made a book for the two children leavingfrom her class.  The book was made with everyone in the class making one page with either writing, drawing or pictures of the children.  It was very cute and a really great memory book for the kids to take away with them to their next home.  The assembly also included the kids singing songs which they all seemed to have a lot of fun doing.  Here is a video of one of the songs.