New Blog Finally!!

Here is the link to the new blog.

http://growingupluce.blogspot.com/

Next Stop U.S.A.

This ends our blog of "Luce In Prague" since we are no longer in Prague! Stay tuned for the new address of our blog when I start blogging about our adventures in America.

See you later Prague

I have learned in this process of leaving Prague that it really isn't "good-bye" but rather "see you later".  We have loved all of our time in Prague and enjoyed living in such a beautiful city.  Who knows where life will bring us but I'm sure we will travel back to Prague again some day.  We have said good-bye to people we are friendly with and see you later to our good friends becuase our true friends will never be gone from our lives.  We have not lost our friends but rather we now have the opportunity to make new ones......and as our friends move on to their next expat assignment or back to their home country it just gives us a good excuse to travel around the world.

Last, Last, Last.....

So many "last" things to do....  After leaving Beckiland we headed home and I did some more packing and we waited for Iva to arrive.  The kids were excited to see Iva just as they are every Friday night.  They were extra excited because Petra was also coming to say good-bye to the kids and Watson.  They arrived and not only to Iva and Petra come but also Iva's son, Michal came as well to say good-bye to Watson.  They have watched Watson over the last 4 1/2 years and have really taken to him as a family pet and with Petra moving out of Iva's house Michal didn't get to see him as often so he wanted one last time to say good-bye as well.  It is nice to know that Watson has been so loved while we were traveling.  Petra did break down and started crying but as Iva was having none of it Petra was able to pull it together.  Jason and I said goodbye to Petra and Michal and headed out for a last dinner at our Italian restaurant.  We had debated if we would go there on our last Friday or if we would stay closer to home but since the owners invited us back for out last dinner on the house we couldn't pass it up.  We had a fantastic dinner as usual and I held it together until the end...leaving our Italian home away from home put me over the edge and I finally let a few tears fall.  Funny the things that tip the balance.  If I'm ever back in Prague you can be sure I will be having dinner at Cicala!  We came home and said our final good-bye to Iva which was also difficult since she has really been like a grandmother to the kids and a mother to us while we have been in Prague.  I finished up my last hours packing all the last minute things and finally got in bed about 1am and up at 5:15am to catch our early morning flight out of Prague. 

Last Day of School

Friday was the girls last day of school (15 April) and they had a half day. At the end of the morning the school had a end of term assembly in which they also said good-bye to all the students that were leaving.  I was surprised that there were quite a few kids leaving at the end of term.  It was sweet to see how they said bye to each child.  Sofia had been fine with leaving, at least on the surface, but I saw a moment where she waivered and fought with her emotions after she had been called up and given her good-bye.  She sat back down and kept her head down looking at her leaving book.  I thought she was going to lose it and break out in tears but she managed to pull it together and her friend Matilda was perfect with a jovial grab of the arm and a quick comment and Sofia was back to being happy.  I am definitely grateful that Sofia has some good friends.

Rather than go home and spend time sad that we were leaving Prague we decided to head to Beckiland for one last time with a bunch of friends.  It was great for the kids to run around and have fun and it was nice for me to have another time to chat with my friends. 

Kids Good-Bye parties

On Wednesday and Thursday before the end of the school term we had parties for the kids in each of their classes as a farewell party.  Sofia had hers on Wednesday and shared it with her friend Bella who also left school at the end of term.  We brought in cake, chips, juice etc. and let the kids have fun eating together.  The kids also performed their part of the upcoming school play that they have been practicing so Beanie and I were able to see the part that our kids would have played if we had stayed at school for the last term.  It was nice to see what they had been working on.  Sofia's teacher put a book together for both Sofia and Bella in whch every child in the class made a page for the book.  It was very cute and Sofia loved it.

On Thursday afternoon I headed into Ali's class for her farewell party.  I was, of course, loaded down with all the goodies...cake, treats, chips, popcorn...as well as the plates, napkins and drinks.  Ali was happy to have a party in her honor and her teacher also had the kids in her class make a page each for a book just for Ali.  They also gave her a stuffed animal school bear which she loved.  Also her best friend Cianna's mom also gave her two photographs.  One of the photos is of Ali and Cianna's first sleepover together.  Ali loves the picture and it has traveled with us so she can always see it.

I have pics and video of the parties but I'm not sure if I have them with me or if they are on our computer traveling the ocean.  Therefore, I will have to wait to post them.

Parties Parties Parties

There have been a lot of parties and nights out since my last post.  I will start back on the first of April since I just realized I left off Quiz night.  On April 1st the school held a quiz night at a bar in town following by the Sixes Band and dancing.  We had a great time with our friends even though we came in seventh place.  I hit the back of my head on a shelf behind my chair which has taken over a week to not be sore.  I didn't let it slow me down though.  We danced the night away and didn't get home until after midnight.  It was a good night.  The next week Sofia was invited to her friend Francesca's house for Francesca's birthday.  I figured I would just take Ali with me to do something fun since she hadn't been invited to the party.  When we arrived to drop off Sofia Franscesca's mother and grandmother (I assume it was her grandmother) wouldn't let Ali come with me and insisted she stay for the party.  They both had a really fun time and when I picked them up they didn't want to leave.  Sofia was given her party bag and Ali a balloon and then to my surprise I was handed a plate of warm freshly made Korean food.  I was a great goodie bag for the adults!  Sofia was sad the next day to find out that we had eaten all the noodles since she really likes them as well.   

On to the next party that was for me on Friday morning!  I had no idea but my friends had organized a party for me as a surprise.  They completely pulled it off as I didn't expect anything.  Our friend Kerry (she moved away in December) was in town from the UK and we were all getting together to have coffee with her so you can imagine my shock when I walked in and was told it was all for me.  I totally thought they were joking with me but they weren't.  I have some great friends here and I'm really glad they did not let me leave Prague without a leaving party.  They made an amazing picture for me as well as giving me a voucher to a shop in Prague.  The picture is a picture of me from the Half Marathon that they uploaded to a website called moonpig where they inserted the picture on to a spoof magazine cover called "Running Today" and it has items on it like "Mary Luce's top running songs" and Win a years training with Mary Luce".  They put it in a nice frame and all signed the matting.  It was really a group effort as well since you can only send the moonpig items to UK addresses so they all worked together to gather the photo, upload it, write the content, frame it, fly it from the UK and sign it.  Definitely made me feel well loved by my friends.  Today I went and spent my voucher at Artel and got a beautiful glass bowl.

Friday afternoon Sofia and I joined our friends Daisy and Bella for birthday/leaving party at the bowling place near us.  It was pure mayhem but the kids all had a lot of fun.  I even bowled a few times since I would stand in for kids who were too busy playing on the trampoline or slide.  Ali did not join us for the party becuase she went to her friend Cianna's house for her first sleepover.  I was a little nervouse for her but she was nothing but excited.  She had a fantastic time and Cianna's mom sent me a couple pictures which just really showed how happy Ali was.  She was absolutely beaming in the pictures.   

After bringing Sofia home from the party and getting her settled in with Iva, our babysitter, Jason and I went out to dinner with friends to our favorite Italian place.  We had debated if we would go there again on Friday as the last time or not.  We hadn't decided but at the end of our meal the owners invited us back for next week on the house.  That made our decision for us! So our final meal in Prague will be with our Italian home away from home.

After getting home late on Friday night I had to get up and bring the kids to the Easter Egg Hunt put on by their school.  The hunt is in the local woods and actually requires quite a bit of walking through the woods and not just on paths.  Jason had to work (which he has had to work on the Easter egg hunt for the past three years!) so I was on my own with the kids.  Ali came to the hunt with Cianna so I ended up sending Sofia in to the woods with her friend Matilda while I waited for Ali so in the end I only had one child to watch out for during the hunt.  We met up at the end and had a picnic with friends before the girls and I headed into town to buy Czech hand painted Easter eggs.  While we were in town we also stopped and bought a Czech glass fish and Czech glass dolphin for the kids.  This is our time to buy all the things we haven't bought in the last four and a half years!  It was a busy day.  Even though the the day was over the night was just beginning.....On to the next party...

Saturday night was the leaving party for my good friends The Speirs and The Waddells.  The Speirs are heading back to the UK and the Waddells are heading up to Poland.  I don't get to see Kim (Waddell) to often but Beanie is my best friend here and we spend a lot of time together.  Our families get on well together and have had great time on Holiday together.  We are sad to part ways but rest assured while this was a leaving party it is definitely NOT a good-bye!  The party was a lot of fun and Jason managed to get out of work on the earlier side (10:30pm-ish) to join in the fun.  We stayed until the end and hopped in a cab and got home around 3:30AM.  We left Sunday morning open so that we could just relax a bit and not have to do anything while we were so tired but Sunday afternoon brought on the next party!

Sunday afternoon we dropped Ali off at her friend, Max's birthday party.  The party was at a rock wall climbing place.  I got Ali into her climbing shoes and then headed off with Jason and Sofia to the mall so Sofia could use her gift certificate to the toy store that she had gotten for her birthday.  After much internal debate Sofia ended up choosing a stuffed animal, 2 mood rings, a pet shop and some balloons.  We headed back to pick up Ali from her party.  She apparently did amazing at climbing.  I'm not really surprised since she has such amazing upper body strength.  For such a little person she is very strong.  This is the picture of the card that Ali made for Max all by herself.

It has been VERY busy and this week isn't slowing down either.  Today I brought Watson to the vet to get his pet passport.  Tomorrow I am bringing cake etc into Ali's class for her leaving party and then we are going to a friends for dinner.  Thursday I have to drive to the basket lady to pick up the baskets I ordered then be back by two for Sofia's parent/teacher conference followed by the leaving party in Sofia's class.  Friday is the end of term assembly where they say goodbye to all the kids that are leaving.  So, we will be busy busy busy right up until we get on the plane on Saturday morning.  Time is flying by!

Gymnastics



Petra, Sofia, Ali and Pani Ucitelka (Mrs. Teacher: Dasa)

 This last week may have been the girls last gymnastics class.  I say may be b/c Ali might go next week but Sofia has a birthday party to attend so I'm not sure if I will bring Ali to gymnastics or not.  The girls gave it their all this week.  I took a video of the first round of holding themselves up on the bar.  As you will see in the video Ali held herself up for the count of thirty four in the first round.  On the left hand side of the video you can see a little girl, Ester, is not happy when Ali reaches 34 because it meant that she beat Ester.  Well the rounds went on and Sofia, Ester and Ali really competed for first.  Sofia and Ali eventually beat out Ester with Sofia having 45 and Ali staying up for 52!  Needless to say they had some sore arms.  Ali woke up at 2:30 in the morning because her arms were aching.  They did a good job though.  It is nice to see my competitive spirit in them.  Ali was nice though and when it was all done and Ester was upset Ali went over and gave her a snuggle.  It is nice that she is not a sore winner because I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot Ali would have been doing the same thing as Ester.

Busy Week

This past week has been crazy busy for me.  The insurance for our move requires that I inventory everything that we own.  Yes that means me counting how many books are in the house and how many pairs of socks the kids have in their drawer.  It is a huge pain and very time consuming.  In between doing the inventory Jason and I had to try to sell our car again.  The person who was going to buy it backed out leaving us with 3 weeks to sell our car.  Needless to say we were not very happy.  I quickly posted our car for sale on czechinfo.net which is a huge email distribution list.  We had two responses the next morning and since Jason is at work it meant that I had to show the car.  This definitely cut into my inventory time since it meant cleaning the car and then showing it.  The first people looked at it and wanted to bring it to their mechanic which of course required more time.  Unfortunately those people completely low-balled us which was very irritating since we didn't really have the time to be wasting.  The second people that came to see it where perfect.  They came, saw the car, drove it and bought it!  It is a huge relief to have the car sold and it is now fine that the other person backed out since we got more money for the car then we would have gotten if we had sold it to a friend. 

In between all of that I did have time to have coffee with some friends.  While I may have had my last big family dinner with my friends Emily and Kirsty that doesn't mean I won't see them again before we leave.  We made time for a quick coffee  this last week.  It was nice to have a short break from all my "to do" items.  Emily's mom was visiting as well so we took the opportunity to take some photos together.  It is nice to know that I will have some nice pictures of my friends for when we are back in the States.

The Castle

 










Sofia asked to visit the castle one more time before we left Prague.  As she put it "the castle is so beautiful and we don't have any castles in America." so we headed back to the castle for one last trip.  I took the time to take more pictures of the small detail of the castle and we enjoyed just walking around.  We watched the changing of the guard and noticed some thing swe hadn't before and thought about how long it has been since our first trip to the castle.  Here is a picture of the kids on our first trip to the castle and then a picture from last weekend.  Times have definitely changed....

Dinner with Friends

After going to the market last Saturday we came home and picked up the house a bit and prepared dinner.  Our friends Kirsty & Radek and Emily & Radek came over for dinner along with their children.  We always have fun with them and the kids have a blast together.  We started a little later than usual so the younger kids were tired but the older three (Sofia, Kiera, and Annalee) had a grand time playing together.  It is one of many "lasts" that we will be doing in the coming weeks so we tried to enjoy it as much as possible  We had hoped the nice weather of the week was hold through the weekend and we planned a BBQ but the weather didn't hold.  It was fine though we just brought the BBQ inside. 

It was funny to watch the kids play together as Sofia Kiera and Annalee play well together and at times Ali joins in with them and has a great time but at other times Ali really enjoys playing with Oliver so she splits off from the girls and has fun with him.  This time it may have been that they were both (Ali and Oliver) hungry since they both kept coming into the livingroom for snacks.  They both tuckered out early also.  Oliver fell asleep in the livingroom and then Ali decided it was time for bed and left the party and went to her bed and fell asleep.  It was a good night all around.  We will definitely miss our friends when we leave.

Spring Market

Last Saturday my friend had told us about a spring market being held at Okor.  I have written about Okor many times before but it is a ruined castle very near to our house.  We decided to check out the market and see what the stalls would be selling.  Unfortunately the day was not very nice and we did misjudge how cold it was so we didn't stay at the market for very long.  The market was held on the grass area in front of the castle so we followed the circle of stalls and checked out everything that was for sale.  We finally bought the kids Easter whipping sticks which they have wanted in past years.  We also had to stop for some mini donuts and of course a trdelnik.  We finished our time there with the kids having a ride on the merry go round swings.  We ran into some friends while we were there and had a quick chat before we headed home and out of the cold.

Easter Bake Sale

On Friday the girls school had its Easter bake sale.  Since it was last bake sale we will attend at their school I decided to make cupcakes.  Most of the bake sales I don't make anything and opt to help set up instead but this time I didn't want to have to do any work so making the cupcakes the night before was easy.  Anyway, the weather was nice outside so as soon as the kids were done having their faces painted we headed outside with their sweets to enjoy the day.  I got there early to browse the different stalls and finally bought some baskets from the basket lady.  These baskets are made out of plastic and I have looked at them for a while but have never bought any but I decided to buy two of the smaller baskets to go in the kids bathroom of the house we don't yet have in the United States. Haha, at least I'll be ready when we find a house!

The Dump

Over the last week I have been cleaning out closets and drawers and donating the things that are in good condition to a food and clothing drive that is being held by the kids school.  It really came at the perfect time for me!  Over the weekend Jason and I attacked the attic and the basement to get them all cleaned out for the move.  The attic was fairly simple as we only had a few boxes up there but the basement was a little more involved.  We did manage to get it all cleaned out and had piles for "move back to US", "give away" and trash/recycleing.  Most of the trash/recycling was easy and just went in our outside trash can but we did have 4 old winter tires and the old crib mattress from Ali's crib which couldn't just go out with the trash.  They needed to be disposed of separately and since I knew where the dump was I headed there today to see if I could get rid of the tires and mattress.  I found my way to to the dump and went into the office building that was there.  Noone spoke English so I used some horrible czech since my automobile czech and dump czech are not my best and got my point across that I had tires and mattress to get rid of.  They found a man to help me and the rest of easy.  He brought me over to the "little house" where i drove the car onto the scale to be weighed.  We went inside and filled out some paperwork.  The man then came out with me and directed me to drive to deposit the different items.  After dropping off everything I had to drive back to the "little house" and drive onto the scale again.  I then went inside and paid about $12.  I guess it doesn't matter what you dump since you pay for how much it weighs.  It was an interesting experience and even after four and a half years in Prague I still get to do new things.

Flights booked!

Jason and I have started the moving process in full now.  We have made our to do list and have divided the items to complete.  It feels much better having our lists in place and knowing when everything has to be completed.  Last night we booked our flights back to America (the girls and I on April 16, Watson on April 18 and Jason on April 23rd) .  Finally booking the flights was a big hurdle for me.  It makes it seem real and definite.  I wanted to feel excited about the flights but I actually felt sick to my stomach.  I realized that I felt like I was in a sort of limbo...I can't stay/don't want to stay but also am nervouse about making the transition back to the States so it is a can't stay but not ready to leap forward yet either.  Today I am feeling better about it but am still a bit torn.  As I have said to the kids and Ali repeats back to me often, "it is happy and sad".  Either way the limbo feelings won't last forever though becuase come April 16th the girls and I will be on a flight bound for the United States.  Even as I write this a smile comes to my face...maybe my limbo feelings will end sooner than I think! We're coming home!!!!

Outside playtime

The weather was absolutely beautiful over the weekend.  Jason was in Chamonix and Melissa left on Saturday morning so it was just me and the girls.  The kids are at an age now that they don't need me outside with them which gives me the flexibility to get things done in the yard or in the house and I don't have to worry.  The girls love being outside and they have such great imaginations that even in a small yard like ours they can spend hours.  On Saturday they were outside for about 4 hours and Sunday they spent the entire time from after lunch until 6pm when I called them in for dinner just playing together in the yard.  I am happy that they enjoy the outdoors so much and I am thrilled that they are such good friends.

Chamonix

While Melissa and I finished out week of sight seeing in Prague Jason headed off to Chamonix, France for skiing with his brother.  His brother had asked him if he was interested in joining him and a group of his friend for a guys ski weekend.  Jason thought about it for a while but I told him he should definitely go since when would he have the opportunity to ski in Chamonix again?  No time in the near future for sure!  He decided to make the trip and he had a great time.  The snow conditions weren't great since apparently it was a bad snow year for Chamonix.  They still skiied it and they had a Chamonix Guide for the day on Saturday so they got to see things they wouldn't have seen had they just done it on their own.  After hearing of crevases I'm glad they had a knowledgeable guide with them.  Jason may post more about his trip but in case he doesn't here is a picture of Jason, his brother Graham, and the Chamonix Guide Robert.  Jason and Graham looking a little worn from their day of skiing with the guide.

Tour of Prague

Melissa and I toured the city while she was here.  It was nice to see the sites again.  We did not sight see every day but the days we went into town we spent the entire day walking around the city.  We were able to see Prague Castle, Old Town Square, the Powder Tower, Obecni Dum, Wenceslas Square, Strahov Monastery libraries, Petrin Hill, Mala Strana, and my favorite view of the city from Letna Park.  We ate at our favorite Italian restaurant twice and had lunch with my friends one day so Melissa got to know some of my friends as well.  It was nice to catch up with her after not seeing each other for two years.  It is nice to know that nothing has changed between us and we fall right back in where we left off.  I guess that is the benefit of being friends since third grade!  I'm glad she had the chance to see my life here so that when we move back it won't seem so abstract and she will be able to picture things when I tell stories.  Being here for a week does make it a bit of a whirlwind tour for her but I'm glad we fit in as much as possible.  It was a fun week.

1st Lost Tooth and 2nd lost tooth

Sofia lost her first tooth last Sunday!  The tooth (lower middle) has been loose for a while and she has been playing with it non-stop in hopes that it would fall out.  She is the last of her friends to loose a tooth.  Some of her friend have lost multiple teeth so she didn't understand why hers weren't falling out.  I told her it was because her baby teeth didn't come in until she was a year old so since she got teeth late she would loose teeth late.  I don't know if this is an accurate assumption but it was the best I had and she did seem to buy it.  I'm happy that she finally lost a tooth.  She was very excited.  The American Tooth Fairy came last night and left her $1.  I have been playing up that their are different fairies for every country since some of her friends received expensive toys from the tooth fairy so I thought it only fitting that she would receive American money.

Quickly following the lost of the first tooth Sofia lost her second tooth.  She lost the second one at school.  It is a little unclear to me if she just fell on her own or if she was pushed during some game the kids were playing but either way she fell and smacked her face on the ground.  Since the tooth was already loose the impact with the ground knocked it out so now she is missing her two bottom middle teeth.  The American tooth fairy is making a lot of transatlantic flights!

Melissa arrived!

My best friend, Melissa, arrived this morning from the U.S.  I'm excited that she was able to make it over to visit before we move back.  We will be dropping the kids at school everyday and seeing the sights of the city.  It will be a good chance for me to see everything another time before we leave.  I'll keep you posted on our adventures.