As promised....
An update on our visit with Jeff & Michelle, Mother's Day, and whatever else we feel like sharing!

Having Jeff and Michelle here was AMAZING! It was a whirlwind visit in their typical style, but still managed to feel comfy-cozy and like we had lots of downtime to just hang out. It probably helped that they had both already spent time in Prague, so seeing all the sights was not a top priority. Seeing Ella and Mattias was! And both kids love their "Uncle Jeff & Auntie 'Shel". Ella's still asking if and when they are coming back and is very excited to visit them this summer.

What did we do? Well...we went out for dinner at a VERY lovely restaurant, Palffy Palac, allowing the two Jeff's to reminisce about their springtime visit to Prague in 2006.


We went out for brunch at a local hotspot, Fraktal.


And we ate dessert in the beautiful garden of the cafe across the street.


The boys had a night out and the girls had a night out.


We did some sightseeing...


walked...and played...


Mother's Day was celebrated on Sunday after saying goodbye to such good friends. Jeff had planned for us to visit Strahov Monastery. This is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time and I was so excited to finally get to see it. The major attraction at the monastery are the libraries. Here are some photos:


As an added bonus, we walked past the Loreto on our way back home, another spot I've been wanting to visit.



In other news, and as some of you know, Jeff is working in Bonn, Germany for the next two months. He comes home on the weekends. I'm expecting him within the next hour or so. (An extra-big "YAY!" because poor Ella is sick with some sort of stomach bug so the last 24 hours has been particularly tough.) It is an exciting and challenging project for him - which is great! But it makes for a long week apart - which is not so great. In addition to Bonn, he'll also be visiting Malaysia and possibly Arizona, but only for very short trips. The jury is still out on whether I'll join him in Bonn with the kids, particularly as he's working late into the evening, but I think we'll probably go for a week or two in June. If nothing else it'll be a change of scenery (I haven't left Prague since October - gasp!) and a chance to see more of Germany. Hopefully we'll even manage a weekend trip somewhere.

And....drumroll please....Ella was accepted to školka (czech preschool)!!!! I won't go into all the details of the process, but suffice it to say that we are very pleased she was not only accepted, but accepted to our first choice school. WOOHOO! I have to admit to resorting to bribery to get her in - I offered to assist with their English program and the director seemed pretty excited to have me on as a volunteer. I'll let you know when I find out what this will entail. Although Ella's registered to start full-time in September, she'll start out going 2 to 3 mornings a week. This will expose her to the Czech classroom, as there is a good chance she will attend at least one year of elementary school here. It also helps integrate us into Czech society. And it gives me a little break - since having Mattias I've definitely started to feel the strain of living so far from family. The school, Materska Skola Na Vysinach, is located on the corner of our street and is associated with Charles University. So far, I am very impressed with them. We've already attended an information session and a classroom play session for new students. Upcoming is a theatrical performance and a play session in the school's playground, both for new students. In addition, they encourage parents to stay with their children for the first hour or so for the first few weeks in September, to make sure both parents and children are comfortable. Based on what I've heard from other moms, it is much more common to be told you have to drop off your child and leave. I'm sure it will be challenging in the beginning but they certainly do their part to ease us into it.

And finally, a couple bonus pics from our recent trip to Prague's urban, yet organic, farm - Toulcuv dvur. (The Mother's Day photo of the baby geese was also from this trip.)


And an "added bonus", a recent photo of "Little Britches"...


Over and out,
Maylia

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

To all the amazing women out there who are mothers - thank you for all that you do, all you have done, and all you will do in the years ahead. We love you!


Maylia speaking:
Mother's Day took on a whole new meaning for me this year. I was in the bathroom, annoyed by Ella continuing to try to open the door no matter how many times I told her, "I'll be right out!" (I've learned to lock the door when I want a little privacy.) When I finally opened the door she gave me a picture that she and Jeff had colored and said, "Happy Mother's Day! I love you so much, Mama!" And then she gave me a big hug and a kiss. Wow.

How did we spend Mother's Day? Will post more on this and our visit with Michelle and Jeff very soon, I promise! But now it's time for bed...

Almost There...Almost There...

Jeff here, blogging by blackberry in the Frankfurt airport.
I'm about to board my return flight home. Been away for just 4 days, working in Bonn.

-big pause-
Now at Prague Ryzne airport, waiting for my luggage.
It's 8:30, so Michelle, Jeff and Maylia are probably walking to the restaurant where we have a 9 o'clock reservation. Palffy Palace - can't wait.
-luggage coming, bye!

Happy Labour Day Czech Republic & Happy Birthday Grampy

Thursday, 1 May is a holiday here and back in Indiana. Jeff has the day off of work (pretty sure it's for Labour Day but HR neither confirmed nor denied).

"Ducks" by Ella

Hello there. I know how to make the pictures. I can choose pictures for you to see.
This is the Daddy duck. He liked bread a lot.


This is me feeding many ducks with bread Mommy gave me.
Aren't they so cute?



I had so much fun, the next day I brought my friend, Sasha here to see them.
Ducks followed us into the flowers. The ducks are our friends.

Here is a Mommy duck with all her babies. The baby ducks are drinking water from the puddle.