PHOTOS AT LAST!

Thanks to the help of our friends, we are finally able to put together an entry with some new photos. This first set is from the lovely Midsummer party we attended at the home of our Swedish friends. We unfortunately got rained out of our back garden and into their flat, but it did nothing to dampen our spirits. We made flower wreaths for the children to wear (aka flower hats). In truth they were more popular with the adults than with the kids...photo opps were a bit of a struggle! Jeff made Ella's...my husband has so many undiscovered talents! And we ate some yummy, yummy food...lots of fish. Turns out Ella likes smoked salmon and caviar. (Oh my!)

The kids in the second photo are Sasha, Ella, Victor, and Linnéa.

Here are some bonus pics from Midsummer in Sweden (their biggest holiday of the year)...some other friends travelled there for the celebrations.

The following day, Jeff took Ella to an air show with some of her friends. It was apparently quite an impact, especially the large helicopters buzzing their heads. A week later, if I ask Ella what we did today, I may be expecting to hear we went to a birthday party, but the response I get is, "airplanes, helicopters"! Jeff really enjoyed the show as well...it was "neat to see that old Soviet machinery up close."

Ella and I attended a birthday party yesterday for three of her friends who turned 2 in July...Sasha, Patricie, and Janella. Big fun! This photo was taken after the party with my phone. The party was over but Ella was still in the mood.

And some big news....

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY SISTER, ERIN, AND HER FIANCÉ, MICHEAL, ON THEIR RECENT ENGAGEMENT!

We are particularly impressed that Micheal was brave (dare I say "ballsy"?!?) enough to ask Erin in front of my parents!!!! We are all so very happy and excited for them. And the timing couldn't be better as we will be home for the wedding next summer. Although we haven't officially met Micheal, we've talked to him so much via Skype that we feel he is already a welcome part of the family. WOOHOO!

And in other big news....

ELLA IS GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!!!!!!

We've officially hit the end of our first trimester, 12 weeks, and can no longer keep it to ourselves. To save you from doing the math, we're looking at a due date of early to mid January. Based on previous experience, we're not ruling out a Christmas baby! Good timing for our trip next summer, too, as "New Parker" will be about 6 months old to meet everyone back home. Yesterday Jeff and I saw the babe via ultrasound during the first trimester screening. It never ceases to amaze...And as the doctor said, everything is "dobry!".

Happy Canada Day to all you Canucks out there!

And Happy 4th of July (Wednesday) to all you Yankees! (Ella and I plan to attend a picnic.)

Maylia

** Holding Mail **

We've had a bad experience -twice in fact- with packages being returned because we were not in town to pick them up. Ceska Posta holds packages for 1 week. They notify us when a package arrives and again 3 days later. If no one picks up a package after 4 more days, then it's "Return to Sender". A pricey and painful lesson.

In late July we are going to Croatia for 10 days (and Ella's birthday is right when we get back), so we figure it's best to warn folks not to send anything until late July (okay, Grammy?). Anything sent before today will very likely to get here. Since they hold for a week and we're gone for just 10 days, the risk of something being returned is small.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Just wanted to post a quick "THANK YOU!" to everyone out there who has sent along birthday wishes, cards, and gifts via snail mail, email, facebook, and skype. It's been wonderful!!!! I had 7 different versions of "Happy Birthday" sung to me on voicemail alone! And I loved every one of them! I had a marvellous birthday and felt completely spoiled by friends and family here and abroad...not least of all by my awesome husband, Jeff.

And my birthday will continue as Jeff is planning a trip to the ocean for us...Croatia here we come! Woohoo!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Maylia
xo

Festival Season!

Prague marks the beginning of summer with lots and lots of festivals! June is full of them!

Last weekend we took in the Prague Quadrennial....the world's largest scenographic exhibition. What is that?!? Good question! It was a HUGE exhibition from theater people around the world showing off costume and stage design. Very, very interesting to see...if we felt a bit out-of-the-loop at times. Ella enjoyed it too, as they had interactive displays that were kid-friendly. Unfortunately, we are still without a camera so I will just include an older photo of the location of the exhibition (Výstaviště Exhibition Ground).

AND....I almost forgot to say we were interviewed by a Brazilian reporter for the newspaper Estadao. Photos and everything! I haven't been able to find anything on us but she gave me her email address, so I will contact her and certainly let you all know if we've become world-famous!!!!

Coming up this week, starting today in honour of World Music Day, is the United Islands of Prague Festival, which features free music on three of Prague's islands as well as on the banks of the Vltava. Here's some more info in english. I'm sure Jeff, Ella, and I will try to take part in some of this.

However, it will be tough competition on Saturday because we will be busy celebrating the summer solstice with a traditional Swedish Midsummer party. Our friends, Annika and Ingvar (and Victor and Linnéa) will be sharing this festive event with us. If it's a sunny day they will be hosting it here, in our garden. Hopefully we will be able to share some photos with you as I'm sure someone will have a camera. At this point I only know that we need to bring flowers to make wreaths and that there will be lots of new-to-us yummy food...

To top it off, my friend and "co-worker" (we teach the children's music class together), Leah, and her husband, Mirek, have organized an amazing street theater festival taking place July 2 to 4. It's called Teatrotoč Street Theatre Festival. WOW! It looks awesome! Can't wait to take it in...

I know this is only a taste of what's happening here in the city these days. Everyone's been telling me that June is a crazy festival month in Prague. Very happy we're here to take advantage of it!

Maylia

PS Here's a bonus Ella photo from the archives...June 6, 2007.

Praha Welcomes JoAnne
and misses her....


Last week we were so lucky to have our friend, JoAnne, stay with us. It was a short, but very sweet, visit of a mere 6 days. We still imagine she is here with us...particularly Ella who sometimes says, "JoAnne! JoAnne!" when she hears a woman's voice nearby. Ella is a big fan of JoAnne and it was a treat to watch them become friends!



We packed alot into 6 days! I got to see some things that were new to me, as well. We shopped at a Czech flea market, Bleší trh:


We attended a Fringe Festival play, (I also attended one with Jeff and another with Ella earlier in the week) and re-visited Kutná Hora with its "bone church". We admired artwork at the Mucha Museum, and were educated at the Jewish Museum (which includes several synagogues and a cemetary):


And of course we took in many other Prague sights, like walking the Charles Bridge (during both day and night) and witnessing the bells of the Astrological Clock:


JoAnne even had the opportunity to visit one of her long-lost Czech travel mates in their hometown of Jindřichův Hradec. This beautiful town in southern Bohemia is now on our "must-see" list. Ever the adventurer, JoAnne made the train trip down and back (complete with 3-minute transfers!) solo.


But, by far, the best part was just spending time with Jo.


Although JoAnne is by no means a novice traveller, this was her first trip to Prague; in fact, it was her first trip to Europe! If her claims are true, she has fallen in love and will return to us.



We can't wait!

Maylia

PS During a walk on the Charles Bridge, I dropped our digital camera. It is really broken this time! I say, "this time", because Ella has dropped it so many times but it has kept on ticking. Ironic that me dropping it is the fatal blow. Anyway, you may notice a decrease in the photo department for the next little while...