Thursday, January 14, 2016

Czech Us Out in {Romantic} Prague

Derek and I just got back from a 'just the two of us' getaway. It was perfect in so many ways!! I love to travel, it is truly my escape. I didn't realize how much I NEEDED this little getaway though until we were actually on our way. I love my kids. They are my world. But they are needy and can be whiney and so it was nice to have a break from "work." Of course we missed them. Very much! But I was able to free my mind, relax, enjoy time with my husband --- which isn't something we do often.......and it was all SO REFRESHING!!!

I chose Prague mainly because it seemed like a city that our kids probably wouldn't enjoy so much. There aren't a whole lot of sites, just a lot of walking and taking in the beauty and charm of the city. I had heard so many mixed reviews. People that were not impressed at all and people who just absolutely LOVED it there. I'm not much of a city girl, so I was worried that we may have made a bad choice. But it was amazing!! So pretty! And it was the perfect place to have no real plans and just aimlessly wander the romantic streets.

Karluv most {Charles Bridge}
 
 
 
Views from Prague Castle
 

 
Prazsky hrad {Prague Castle}
 
 
Changing of the Guard
 
 
St. Vitus Cathedral
 
 
 
 
 
 
Royal Palace
 
Czech/Bohemian Crown Jewels
 
Golden Lane
 
Lennon Wall
 
St. Nikolas Cathedral
 
 
 
Weird sculptures in Kampa Park
 
Old Town Square
 
Astronomical Clock
 
Charles Bridge at night
 
Near our apartment, which was in the heart of Old Town. Not something we usually get to do when we have the kids with us.
 
Views from Letna Park
 
 
Views from Petrin Hill
 
Mirror Maze at the top of Petrin Hill
 
Town Square at night
 
I was slightly obsessed with the doors. All so beautiful and unique!
 
The food!!!! It was so amazing!!! We had the trdelnik every day!
 
Hot chocolate was not what we expected. It was like drinking straight up melted chocolate. This shot of chocolate costs more than a pint of beer!
 
We had this for lunch twice. It was so tasty!!!
 
Traditional Czech goulash and potato soup in bread bowls
 
You don't see many pictures of us together because we are still inexperienced selfie takers! haha!
We would have to set up the tripod or ask someone to take our picture!!
 
We brought back the kids some traditional Czech souvenirs. Wooden toys are typically what kids play with there.....marionettes specifically. The girls love them! We got Blake a British soccer club set of nesting dolls, which he loves as well!!
 
Such a great getaway! Of course we thought of the kids, but we didn't have to worry about them because we knew they were in great hands. So grateful to have someone we trust enough to be able to do this. It's definitely hard to get any date, let alone a trip out of the country when family is not around. I didn't think the kids would miss us at all since they would be staying with their besties. Allie cried when we dropped her off and Avery and Blake were both very quiet. Avery gave me her big hugs! When I picked Blake up he was still quiet but came running right up to me and just hugged me for the longest time. The girls stay after school on Wednesdays so I picked them up after school hours. Allie saw me and came sprinting to me and immediately started crying. She is her mother's daughter!! Avery came down the stairs with her teacher and was, again, quiet but gave me her awesome hug. Her teacher said she had been waiting for that moment all day! :)
 
Melissa said the kids were good. Though I'm sure she was ready to get them off her hands. I know that is a lot to take on! She admitted that the kids had their moments....fights and arguments and such. Especially Blake and Wyatt who were together all day long and "fought like they were brothers." I think Blake did some bossing around too. It's probably kinda cool for him to be older than someone for a change. The first night Blake and Wyatt dumped every single toy bin in Wyatt's room, then started getting things from the girls' room, including Allie and Avery's suitcases and emptying all of their contents into their masterful mess. Allie wasn't too happy about that. Melissa also said at 6:30 every morning they would be woken up to, "donnnne poooooping!!!" It was Blake. They aren't used to being up that early! ;) Allie said Blake pooped about 5 times a day. hahaha! Derek was pretty proud of that.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Christmas Break & Welcoming 2016


Happy New Year!!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, love and laughter! Wishing everyone a beautiful 2016 --- full of many blessings!

We had a great Christmas break. No travel, which was the kids number one request. Lots of family time, which was wonderful and even a date night (we managed to squeeze in TWO this year!)!!

After the kids uncooperativeness with pictures in front of the tree, I set out for a family picture with our new Christmas jumpers. We decided that we'd make it a silly one this year......to go along with the kids silliness. I think it's actually pretty perfect.


We did a lot of last minute shopping before Christmas and this moment was too cute not to capture.
 
The kids cookies for Santa......


Christmas morning........The kids were so good. I'm not sure what time they actually woke up but they just sat at the top of the stairs talking quietly until Derek and I finally heard them and got up at 7.


It was a great day! Lots of Skyping with family too!!!!

The next day we took their new scooters out for a ride!

We also went to the circus over the break. I had entered a few contests for a couple pantos and the circus.....and somehow got lucky and one the tickets to the circus!! They were ringside tickets and little did we know, we'd also be a part of the show!! It was so fun, hilarious, and also kept us on the edge of our seats!!
Luckily no pictures of my part. I had to put my camera away because water was being sprayed and thrown at everyone. I was part of the 'Christmas Day' story and had a fan blowing in my face....then snow blowing in my face.....then the wind picked up so I had a leaf blower blown in my face! Quite funny!

The kids got a couple new lego sets for Christmas so Derek had the grand idea of putting together every single one of their lego sets (in hopes of keeping them organized for future building). So our living room looked like this for several days! This isn't even all of them. Some had already been put away.


New Year's Eve.......we had our wonderful friends over for the evening. Dinner, games, fun and memories being made! Great way to ring in the new year. We like to refer to this family as our 'meant to be's'. Our family's match up so perfectly it's so crazy! The two oldest girls are only 2 weeks apart in age. They have been in the same  class the past two years and are best friends. The two younger girls are both named Avery/Averi. And the boys are both the only blondes in the family. We're just so grateful for their friendship. We hope to be able to find a family we can click with every move and we've been lucky to be able to do that!