Our Prague Adventure

Earlier this year we were blessed to be able to spend a few short weeks in Prague.  What a beautiful city!  We were visiting my parents who have been serving a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  They will be finishing up soon, so it was great to have the opportunity to see them and the amazing city they have been living in.

Taking 2 young girls on such a long journey was not at all enticing, but they couldn't have been more perfect.  We had a wonderful time and saw so much.

Here are a few highlights from our trip:

1.  Spending time with these two.  

 

They were so generous to us and we loved spending a few weeks with them.  They are the perfect tour guides also!

 

2.  Wenceslas Square.  

 

We would walk down this square most days on our way to explore the city.  It was right by where we were staying.

3.  The Food.  

 

The food is Praque is AMAZING!!  and so CHEAP!!  We over-ate...all the time, and we finished most days with an ice-cream, right outside the apartment.  I didn't actually take a picture of the ice-cream store, but it was divine. 

4.  Random parks in the city.

This was perfect for miss Eadie, who,  despite being very willing to be dragged everywhere sightseeing with us, still needed some time to play.  It helps to have a 'local' with you to help find these hidden treasures. 

5.  Prague Castle

We ventured here a couple of times.  Only a short tram ride from home, and so beautiful.  Not the best place to take a pram, but we managed!

 

6.  Charles Bridge

Very popular and a must see.  Despite walking past it many times during our stay, we only actually managed to walk onto it on our second to last day.  It was pretty long, and crowded, so we didn't even walk the whole way across.  These pictures are from both ends of the bridge.

7.  Prague Zoo

An amazing zoo, but not a lot of fun on a really hot day.  It's built on the side of a mountain so there were lots of hills to climb.  A good excuse to eat ice-cream though :)

8.  Petrin Tower 

This was a great place to go to look out over Prague and then only a short walk to Prague Castle.  Again, we had our trusty tour guides to show us the way.

 

 

9.  Swans on the Vltava River

These swans were hiding out right near the Charles Bridge.  We took a secret passage down to the banks (along with our tour guides) to take a look.  We couldn't actually feed them, but it was great to watch them.
 

10.  Karlstejn

We loved this little excursion.  We took the train to Karlstejn and then took the horse and carriage up to the castle.  If you ever go, take the horse and carriage!  It is such a steep and long hill to walk up.  Everyone has to walk back down, but why walk up too?!

Our time in Prague will be cherished.  I only wish the girls were old enough to remember.  One day when we are rich and famous we'll have to go back!

We also took a little side trip to the Netherlands.  Next post coming soon! 

Then there were 4

A year between posts isn't too bad...is it?

Well, now we are a family of four!  Our second daughter Frances was born on April 1st.  We are going to have fun with that when she is older. 

Time is really getting away.  She is nearly 3.5 months old already! She is a delight though and we love her to bits.

The best way to catch up on the year we've missed is with pictures, so here is a snap shot of the past year.

They grow too quicly.

We are off on an adventure to Prague in less than 2 weeks.  Let's hope there is a blog post to follow :)

Budding Artist

Just recently, our daughter has taken up drawing. By "taken up", I mean that she occasionally rips the drawer open, scatters the crayons on the floor, tosses a couple of pieces of paper in the air and then starts to scribble on them where they fall. I love watching her concentration as she scribbles on the page and I have to laugh (to myself) as she looks up for an approving nod or a comment on her latest masterpiece. She looks so pleased with herself as she holds up (usually the wrong way around) her latest offering to the world of modern art for critique and appraisal.

It makes me wonder about how important it is at this young age to help instill them with confidence and a sense of achievement. To me it's as though the crumpled piece of paper, with its riot of waxy rainbow colours, is a representation of her self esteem offered to us for approval. How could I NOT say that it's a wonderful drawing? In my mind, I hope that each masterpiece and corresponding positive critique helps her know that she CAN do wonderful things and that one day she'll offer up something to the world that will be received with just as much praise and positive feedback. It's a while off, because as I write this, she's trying to eat a plastic box.

Her first published artwork. It was quickly removed by the artist and has been replaced by her preferred medium of finger paint on paper.

The Kitchen Window

I love looking out of our kitchen window, especially on a nice sunny day and even more so when the lawn has been mowed and the garden is tidy (it was almost all three today).  As I looked up from doing the dishes I added a fourth love to the view from the kitchen window - seeing E helping her daddy hang out the washing. 

With great delight she handed each peg over, one at a time.  Several had to be recovered from the grass, but that was probably more exciting than getting them from the peg basket.

When she's tall enough she'll be able to hang the washing out all by herself! :)

False Start

After three posts and almost two years - I'm trying this again. This time I think it might work, because instead of just me contributing, it'll be us...so here goes.

Yesterday we took advantage of the great weather and our VIP passes to go and visit Sea World. As you can see from the picture, some of us were more excited about this than others. In fact, the most exciting thing in our daughter's day seems to be getting to put on that hat. The excitement levels lifted substantially when the Dolphins came out to do their thing, but they were fighting for attention from the resident seagulls and pigeons - not exactly the major drawcards for Sea World.

After the Dolphins, my wife treated our daughter to two goes on the carousel, followed by a quick lunch and a swift exit - the benefit of the VIP passes. We didn't tell her that the real reason we were leaving early was so that we could leave her at Grandma's place whilst Mum and Dad went out on a date!

Random Rundown

So this Blog thing is looking very much like my personal journal... vacant.

At the moment we're in the middle of having our kitchen renovated.  I have to admit that I'm really excited by the prospect - not so excited about the pricetag.  The kitchen looks like a war zone and we found all sorts of delightful (mostly squashed) critters behind the old cabinetry, mixed with the oil and steam and ooze that came off the stove, and due to the fact that we didn't have an extractor fan, came to rest behind the cabinets.  But - now they are gone and we eagerly await the installation of the new kitchen.  If I knew how to put pictures up, I would.

We (being the royal we), have just recently planted our vegetable garden for the Spring/Summer season.  The Boss was a great inspiration - she said "I would like this, and this, and this planted" and then I somehow found the motivation to make it happen!  We have planted Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Tomatoes, Capsicum, Snow Peas, Beans, Parsley and Mint.  We already have a herb garden with Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and Tarragon so we're looking forward to adding to our fresh ingredients by actually including food and not just herbal tea elements.  So far only the Zucchini and Snow peas have sprouted, but there are promising signs in the tomato and capsicum areas.  I think we may have been a little early in planting the corn - I think the soil might still be too cold for it.  We will wait and see.  Again... if I knew how to put photos up, I would.  Maybe that will be my goal for next time - photos... maybe.

Queensland - beautiful one day, flooded the next... then you get a cyclone

After a terrifically awful start to this blogging thing, I think I need to change my habits.  Changing habits... much harder to do than say.

After one of the worst floods in the recorded history of Queensland and a category 5 Cyclone I got to thinking about how easy it is to take for granted the things that we cherish the most.  I have a running semi-serious joke with my wife that we "need a new TV".  We really don't.  The one that we have is more than adequate for our needs and was kindly donated to us by a family member.  After the tragedy of the floods and the storms, you realise how fortunate and how blessed you actually are.  The things I took for granted became valuable.  Like so many others I became truly grateful for all that I had and realised what was truly important.  After some further thought and seeing the outpouring of support from strangers to their fellow-men, I also became a little sad.  I realised that it shouldn't take some great tragedy to bring out those qualities in people.  I realised with a hint of guilt that for too long I had been content with sitting on my hands and watching others struggle through life as though I had performed some great deed that entitled me to the life that I live.  I also realised with a touch of sadness that in a matter of weeks or months or years that everything would return to the way it was and that the stranger I was working alongside in a flood affected house could quite possibly swear at me if I bumped into them accidentally in the Queen St Mall.  I promised myself that I would try not to let complacency become a habit again.