Thursday, June 14, 2007

Emily Turns 1 Year Old

Emily certainly was the "princess" Sunday night at her birthday party--lots of pink clothes, baby dolls and froo-froo girl toys. I love the "princess" sash! She really got into opening the presents and playing with the helium balloons. I can't believe she is ONE already.

I have a hard time believing Chandler is almost 16 years old! Even with his goatee! I wonder how many grapes he got into his mouth?

Olivia is 2 months old. She seems so tiny! Her grandmother is always willing to hold her!

And cousin Samuel is excited about possibly getting his Gigi's camera! What more could anyone ask for: lots of cousins to play with, cake to eat, and a pool to splash in to cool off. The perfect birthday party!

Mikey the Monkey

It is hard to believe that cousin Mikey is only 6 months older than Magdalena.  He is all over this play fort/slide just like the older kids!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Maybe This is the One

We think we may have found our house! We signed an offer today and should know by tomorrow if the builder will accept our offer. It is a little hard to see what it will look like since it isn't finished. :) They began putting the brick on yesterday, so I'll post a new picture when that is done.
This is the view from the back window. The lake is still and green--beautiful! The little pines in the right of the picture will be removed when they finish up the yard. That will make our view of the lake even better!

Private Concert


Steve's Bogus Adventure

Steve, my brother, did almost really have a "bogus" adventure! A trip to China was planned for months now: tickets bought, shots given, global phone ordered, etc. But no where along the way was he told he needed a visa! Not until he arrived at the appointed day at the airport did he hear that important information! Many dollars and days later, the expedited visa arrived. In the meantime, Steve stayed at our house, "mooching" (as he claims) off us. Actually, it was rather nice having time to spend together. He and Jeff watched "Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventure" one night: thus the name of this blog.

This (the front porch) was one of his favorite places to hang out--even though it got quite hot in the afternoons and he'd have to go inside to get some air!

I hung out with him too!

Here he is at the airport (for the second time!), packed and ready to go! This time with the required visa! YAY! Ready for the 18 hour flight?!


Monday, June 04, 2007

Bohemian Tailgating

Instead of Bulldog tailgating, we have Bohemian tailgating. It is about the same thing, only no football game to watch after. But looking at bones worked up an appetite! (see next post) Good thing we brought picnic items for lunch! Magdalena enjoyed the paprika (red pepper) chips as much as we did. By the time Rebekah started feeding Magdalena, the rain had begun, so we all climbed in the car to keep dry.
The rain didn't want to let up and since we didn't have umbrellas, Petr dropped us off in front of St. Barbara's Cathedral. We ducked into an alcove to get a picture. It's a little crooked, but that's what happens when you try to hurry to not get your lens wet. Petr ran from the parking lot and caught up with us before we got to the entrance. The cathedral is undergoing some renovations and restorations. But we were still able to see the frescoes dating from the 14th century--truly amazing!

The rain still had not let up and we were all wet anyway, so we wandered to the roof of a nearby building to look at the view of the city across the valley. While we enjoyed the view, Magdalena enjoyed making friends with a water spout. (You can see from Rebekah's jacket how wet we were!)

Kutna Hora in the Rain

Last weekend we defied the rain by heading to Karlštejn, armed with umbrellas and stroller cover, we won the battle: no rain the entire day! This weekend we took on the weather again but didn't fare as well. The rain came! Our mistake: we forgot to take umbrellas and stroller cover, our weapons against the elements. Nevertheless, we forged on, determined to see Kutna Hora, the ossuary/chapel "decorated" with the bones of war and plague victims.


The chapel was built in the early 14th century, although the cemetery has been in existence since the mid-13th century. The earth in the cemetery became part of the Holy Land when an abbott is said to have brought a handful of dirt from Jerusalem to scatter in the Kutna Hora cemetery. It is incredible to me (and to most Americans) that something that old has survived for 600-700 years!
The bones had been piled up due to lack of space for burial until 1784 when the bones were used to decorate the chapel. Above is the chandelier.
I'm standing in front of a pyramid of bones with a coat of arms made from various bones.
Petr and Rebekah pose between four candelabras made of bones, with cherubs on top.
Magdalena walks between graves in the Kutna Hora cemetery. Does this mean she was actually in the Holy Land?

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Stromovka Park

Every year on June 1, Project Antioch and the city of Prague sponsor Children's Day at Stromovka Park. Thousands of children come for the afternoon for a water color painting contest, moon walk, chalk drawing, music activities, fishing, skits, dog sports, balloons, food, you name it! Last year Magdalena was too young to appreciate the fun and cried for her mommy most of the time. But this year was different. She loved the atmosphere of kids and dogs everywhere and the chance to walk/run where ever her little legs would carry her.Ducks are another favorite of Magdalena's. She spied them swimming in the pond. She did manage to make it to the edge of the water, but here, she is admiring them from a distance.
The dog activities took place in this field. Magdalena was enjoying her freedom before the contests began. But the significance of this picture is a tree in the background. Do you see the man in the navy shirt behind Magdalena? The tree directly to his left fell toward this area just an hour or so after I took this photo. By that time, we were up the hill at the main arena when we heard a crash coming from below. Upon inspection, there lay the tree across the sidewalk, into the field, just missing a bench by about 3 meters (sorry, yards). Petr ran down the hill, along with Jonathan Augustine (Project Antioch's director). Thank God, no people or dogs had been in its path! It's a good thing since the tree was estimated to be about 60 feet tall!
Magdalena inspecting something in the grass.
Hitching a ride! Petr looks headless. :)
Mommy and Magdalena drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Well, actually mommy drew a flower, while Magdalena mostly ate the chalk. :)

Friday, June 01, 2007

Karlštejn

Sorry, Jessica, I already had this post started when I got your comment that you would rather have Magdalena! :) So, here is another travel commentary! But next time, I'll get back to your favorite subject.


On the weekends, since Petr is off from work, we have been site-seeing. Last Saturday we headed to Karlštejn, about an hour outside Prague. Charles IV had the castle built in the mid-14th century. The coronation jewels were brought here originally during the Hussite Wars for safe-keeping, then kept here for 200 years.




It sure is hard to get everyone looking at the camera, especially when one of the people is Magdalena! Her attention span is about 3 seconds!

The weather prediction for the day was rain. We decided to chance it anyway. We took umbrellas and the stroller cover in preparation. As you can see, the rain did not come. It turned out to be a beautiful day--almost a little too warm!


Petr is carrying Magdalena's things; the hat was easiest carried on the head.

Vysehrad


One of my favorite places to visit when in Prague is Vysehrad. This is the mythical site for the founding of Prague by Libuse in the 8th century and the site of Prague's first castle built in the 10th century. Its location overlooking the Vltava River makes it one of the most scenic places to visit. Elizabeth and I have come here in the dead of winter (it was even snowing) with our cameras and baguettes to wander about and enjoy the quiet beauty. Rebekah, Magdalena and I brought Catherine Crawford (a former CFT student, who happened to be in Prague a few days) to see our favorite site.
The focal point (after the view of the city and river) is the Cathedral of Sts. Paul and Peter decorated inside in the Art Nouveau style (think Mucha). Surrounding the church, on one side, is a park (above with church) highlighting statues of the members of the founding Premyslid dynasty.
The other side has a cemetery with many of Czech's famous citizens buried here--Dvorák, Smetana, Mucha, Milada Horakova (a martyred Czech resistance movement member). This is a view of some of the mausoleums.
After walking the area, we took Magdalena home and to bed. Petr babysat while the three of us went into Old Town to eat at the Bohemia Bagel--always a treat. Of course, we realized we hadn't taken a single picture of us while together, so I can't prove Catherine was there! :)