About Me
- by Ella K. Parker

It's been a very long time since I wrote to all of you. I think the last time was when I had to endure that horrible trip to the bank. Yikes! Mummy, Daddy, YaYa, and Baboo are in the kitchen finishing up supper. I think they're happy that I am "playing" quietly in the living room. Hah! They wouldn't like it if they knew I was on the computer! I'll have to drop some toys on the floor now and then to keep them from becoming suspicious. Since Mom says I'm too young to have a page on "MySpace" or "Facebook" I decided to get on the computer and make a blog entry about me instead. Because, frankly, I don't think I get enough airtime on this blog of theirs!

1) I like to sing. Here's a video of me singing "Twinkle Twinkle". (Notice how Mummy and Daddy cut me off - typical! No respect for the singing baby!)



2) I like to dance. Here's a video of me dancing with my doggie, aka UT Girl.



3) I like to color. Here's a photo of me coloring with Daddy. We're using the crayons and paper that Grammy and Grampy sent me. Thank you! (I really like presents and packages, too.)

4) I like to dress up (sometimes). Auntie Michelle and Uncle Jeff gave me this ensemble. I'm on my way to music class.

5) I like to go to the playground. Right now I'm really into the swing. This is at Children's Island.

6) I like to eat. I really like fruit. This is a BIG ORANGE that one of Dad's coworkers sent home for me. YUMMY!

7) I like animals. Here I am with a penguin at the zoo.

8) I like to figure out how things work. It's even more fun when friends can help me! Here, Linnea and I are trying to figure out how this swimming pool works. We've discovered that sometimes you have to break something to really understand it.

9) I REALLY like sticks. (Just look at the last two photos!) Every time I go outside I collect sticks...and rocks...and, if I'm having a banner day, FEATHERS!

10) I LOVE YaYa and Baboo. Here we are in the Wallenstein Gardens before they left for their trip to Spain. I'm so happy they're back! Sounds like Mom and Dad have to take me to Barcelona someday soon!

- ella xo

Like a Fairytale....

That's how Český Krumlov had been described to us and it certainly lived up to the description.

Mom, Dad, Jeff, Ella and I took advantage of the Easter holiday weekend to do some travelling. We left Prague Friday and travelled via train to this beautiful UNESCO town. Actually, via TWO trains. We switched in České Budéjovice. Ever heard of it? It is the home of the original and superior (sorry, Adams family!) Budweiser, aka Budvar. Unfortunately no time to take the brewery tour. We'll have to go back for that. České Budéjovice is a mere 28 km (17 miles) from our destination...or ONE HOUR by train. This was the slowest, littlest train I've ever ridden. (Only 3 cars!) The entire trip was through beautiful country and Ella handled the traveling very well.

Although we had heard and read lots about the beauty and charm of Český Krumlov, seeing is believing. It truly is enchanting! We spent Friday evening through Monday noon there and I am already looking forward to returning. We rented an apartment for our stay, Horni 147. It seems every building in this historic town has a story to tell.

While there, we visited the castle (second largest in the Czech Republic, which boasts over 2,000 castles!). We even climbed the 162 steps to the top of the tower with Ella in tow! Ella particularly liked the bears in the moat that guard the castle. Other than that, we explored the town, breathed the fresh air, ate good food, played at the topnotch playground, and generally enjoyed ourselves. The weather, by the way, has been fantastic. And the forecast (here in Farenheit) looks awesome! (Feeling sorry for all you shoveling snow back home!)

As for Easter...they have some interesting traditions in the Czech Republic and we got to experience a bit of it. Ella, Mom and I had our legs whipped with pomlázka for good luck! Unfortunately we didn't have any eggs to give the boys in return. We also saw people making their own pomlázka, which is quite a skill!

Ella was visited by the Easter Bunny and had lots of fun Sunday morning finding the hidden presents and Easter "rocks". (For those who don't know, Ella LOVES rocks (maybe a budding geologist?) and so called the eggs, "rocks".)

Now we're all back in Prague for the week. Mom and Dad are looking forward to their next trip. They leave for Spain on Saturday!

Adiós!
Maylia

PS Ella's boyfriend, Dylan, is back and she is HAPPY!

~The TPUK are Back~
(or my secondary title: Vacation starts with 'V')

Affectionately known as "The Parental Unit Kempts", May's parents returned from their whirlwind tour of Europe's Alps countries: Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

We just looked through their digital pics ... we thought we'd share a few here:

Bill & Bev (and the Hofburg Imperial Palace) in Vienna, Austria


Some classic scenary from Venice, Italy...


The Arena in Verona, Italy

Bill and Bev have a ton of pictures, both digital and on film.
Suffice to say they had a great time and came back with stories that make us really want to explore.

later,
-jeff

she's Back, She's Back, SHE's Back!

Over the weekend, friends Armand & Sean left Prague, while Maylia and Ella returned.

This ends my 3 days of bachelor life and I'm back to family life.

This is a good thing, really...having Arm and Sean here for a few days, especially St. Patty's Day, was a lot of fun, but I can only handle so much Czech beer, sleeping in late and so little responsibility.

May's back and it's nice to share life with my best friend again.

Ella's back and it's nice to have every day different from the last.

But another woman joined our family over the weekend. A woman I had written off long ago to save my marriage. And even though Eric out in Vegas has gifted me this 'woman', she ended up sold at our last yard sale when leaving the US.

Confused yet?

What I didn't know is that, at that yard sale, Michelle and Jeff K bought her. That allowed Jeff K to mail her back. Here are pictures of all 3 women since last weekend.

May's back!

Ella's back (trying out this year's Halloween costume)

...and the woman of honor is back.

The beautiful coconut lady ("that ugly piece of %&$" to others).

As Eric knows & practices, nothing says respect & admiration like a place on the top shelf. (so, what's with the painting?)

Isn't she beautiful?

Thankfully, I'm the one who does the dusting, so there should be no "accidents" during chores.

Thank you again Eric for her in the first place. Thank you Jeff & Michelle for reuniting us.

p.s. Interestingly enough, I kept the original 0.50 price tag on her head. But I noticed Jeff insured for a full $1.00. Nice! I can't even utter the postage Jeff spent to ship her ...that's respect and admiration!

-Jeff

~happy st. patty's day!~

Armand and Sean, en route to Amsterdam, stopped in Prague for four days.


In between sightseeing, like checking out the John Lennon wall, we've been enjoying plenty of local and Irish beers, doing our part to celebrate.






The family is touring Vienna for the week. May's expected back Sunday and TPUK are continuing on to Italy and Switzerland. Sorry for the short post, but on our way out...

-jeff