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.

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!