A Return to Normal Weekend...

Beautiful weather.
Playing some soccer.
A Farmer's market.
Lunch with my goofy kids and husband.
A little shopping.
Chinese takeout.
A walk through town.
Riding bikes.
Lunch on the patio.
Paid some bills.
Some chores.
Some homework.
Dinner and a movie in front of the TV.

Sounds kind of dull doesn't it? But it was one of the best weekends we have had here in Prague. We are starting to find our groove!!! It finally seems like life is settling down into normal!!! And then you have the added bonus of discovering new things and exploring our new hometown.

The boys and I went for a walk/bike through our village Saturday and then all four of us headed off to the famer's market. Caleb and Peyton found a booth of apple juice slushes. Apple trees are every where here and everyone sells them but a very enterprising person has created slushes out of fresh fruit juices. And I have to say they are fabulous.

We ate lunch at a Lebanese restaurant which is Peyton's new favorite thing. He can't seem to get enough baba ghannouj. He and I met the owner of the restaurant and found out his brother lives in our village. He also lived in Tulsa for some time and then gave us his number for delivery. I will have to hide it from Peyton!!

      

All three of my boys at the U Cedar the Lebanese Restaurant. 

Caleb has an abrasion on his cheek from a soccer collision at school.

We have also started a picture collection of buildings.  We are copying Chris and his bug photo collection.  Below is a building that Caleb wanted to add. 

 

Brunch with Caleb

Caleb and I had a lovely meal on Sunday. We went to a cafe named Giraffe. We were sitting outside and it ended up raining but we were under umbrellas and the wait staff handed out blankets and it was perfect!! Caleb had hot chocolate and we were very cozy sitting in the rain. It was also a first for Caleb - he ate escargot for the first time. You can see him holding a shell with one of those special clamps in the picture. He was very sweet and held the umbrella over me as we walked to the car. On the way home he told me, "thank you for the very nice lunch, Mom". I want to just wrap up moments like these and put them in my pocket. The boys are growing up so fast!!!

Tramming Day Courtesy of Peyton and Caleb.

The boys did not have school on Monday, September 12, and Bret was in Belgium so they wanted to go tramming. Both of them prepared with maps and scheldules that Peyton had researched and off we went.

What we did:

Bought extra tickets at train station since this is the only place I have found them but need them in our remote village if we need to take the bus somewhere.

Found a very cool memorial statue to the victims of communism. But the boys were disturbed by the naked man.

Ate at the "best" Mexican restaurant in Prague

Rode the tram around town for four hours

Ate some great ice cream

Found many more mosaic sidewalk designs.

Had a break in a plaza with a beautiful church turned museum.

Both boys did a great job navigating the city with the different trams and reading schedules. It can be quite confusing but they are already pros!!!

My Country, tis of Thee...

All I could think about yesterday was America and the tragedy of 9/11. Obviously, every one of you did too. We were isolated from all of the remembrances here in Czech and had to rely on the internet articles and pictures. And for the first time my boys asked about that day and what happened and where Bret and I was when it happened. We discussed different aspects of 9/11 throughout the day.

A strange quality of our day here in Prague was that we happen to live in the flight path of the Prague airport and heard up close planes flying in all day. I kept thinking that was what the people in New York and Washington must have heard on that day. Additionally we had to put Bret on a plane to fly to Belgium. He has flown on 9/11 before and it is not comfortable but bearable. However, this year seemed worse. I don’t know if it was because of the 10th Anniversary or because we are so far from home. He landed safely and will be home on Wednesday.

My prayers are lifted up for:

America

the ones we lost that day

the survivors

the loved ones left behind

the first responders (of that day and today)

the soldiers who continue to fight for our freedom!

God Shed His Grace on thee…

Shopping Opportunity Knocks!

You have to have patience to get what you want in Czech Republic. There is a small grocery store in Nebusice, Prague and this is where I shop often. This store is located in the same village as the boy's school and I will stop by after morning drop off to pick up a few items. It is small and about the size of an average Racetrac or 7-11 and does not carry large amounts of items or the same thing everyday but still very useful for milk, bread, eggs...

Right next door is a small vacant lot. Every other day or so a pop-up market will appear. I have noticed different items exhibited but never stopped before. A common offering from this market is bras. As I haven't had the need yet or spied a dressing room I have not indulged. Shoes, clothing, home decor and household items are additional possibilities I have seen. But I wheeled in the other day when I noticed what looked like dog supplies. And sure enough, it was a pet store. I was able to buy the flea and tick treatment for the dogs and a new dog bed for upstairs. Also available that day was a sausage store. I passed! Not ready to buy meat off a truck yet! And the ironic connection was not lost on me! Dog supplies and hot dogs???

While I still would love a Wal-Mart I suspect I will find all my needs here eventually.