Parks of Prague

Marvin was busy all day in class for 4 days of our vacation so the boys and I explored some amazing parks in Prague. 

Oh my goodness I had some serious park envy.  I love the park culture of overseas life.  Honestly it's been sad seeing these beautiful parks in the states deserted, no one playing in them.  I love how they are gathering points for moms, grandmas, nannies, etc.  Living in apartments it's so nice to have spaces to let the kids run around, and honestly walks are expected part of being a little kid.  There are times I would love to have my own little back yard playground, but love the social element of engaging with neighbors at the park multiple times a week.

Petrin Park (top of the hill)

Petrin Park bottom of the hill

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My favorite park in our city is about a 20-25 minute walk from our house that has been such a blessing and break from our usual park we frequent the most, but oh my goodness these parks had some pretty fabulous equipment.

Just look at it.  My monkeys were in heaven.

Petrin Park (Top of the hill)

 Petrin Park (Bottom of the hill)

In the middle of a francisan garden

We thought these were pretty fun bikes

Children's Island Park

 The water fountain was a big hit with Calvin, despite how cool it was that day.

It was nice how this park separated the big kid stuff from the preschool toddler areas.

It was on a little island, which added to the fun factor.

And it had a pirate ship, which made both my pirate loving little boys happy.

Up, Up and Away part one {Prague}

In the midst of a busy time of year, we had the opportunity to take a family vacation.  We are so glad we could get away for a couple weeks.  It was nice to get away from the stress of living where we live and just enjoy family time, while being in some pretty fascinating places.  

This spring brought some unexpected heaviness on my heart.  I felt like I was in a good place in this grief journey until we got closer to Seth's first birthday.  So even though our vacation was timed during a BUSY time of year (i.e. prepping to go to the states for 6 month and moving) it was such a gift to have some time to step back, reflect, grieve and spend some extra time with the Lord.

Marvin was already traveling through the capital and had been gone for a week prior to the trip, so the boys and I hopped on a plane and met him at the airport up north for our connecting flight.  It was the smoothest flying experience ever.  Thanks to be to a gracious God and whoever invented the kindle fire.  New shows always lead to quiet kiddos, that and snacks I never buy for the boys which make their day.

We met up at the airport a little earlier than planned, I abandoned the plan to let the boys play for a while in the airport playroom due to some tired grumpy kids and we surprised Marvin a couple hours earlier than planned (because I was done with the single parenting, tired and figured it was best not to subject other little kids to Micah's possessive toy hoarding when he's exhausted).  It was good to be together again.

We went a couple days early so we could check out the major sites, although not inside most places.  (We decided museums are much better explored with older children who know a little more about history and with longer attention spans.  After seeing that bribing Calvin with ice cream was not going to work during our first museum it became apparent our family was not ready for museums.) So we just enjoyed the beauty of Prague and had fun while we were at it.

Calvin did learn a bit of history while we were there.  The one museum we went into was in the Jewish Quarter and I explained a little bit about WWII and a little bit about Hitler, i.e. a very bad guy who didn't have Jesus in his heart and wanted to hurt people he didn't light.  We saw a star and several pictures of Jews who had to wear them.  He remembered that quite well especially as we made our way to our second city asked more questions about why he would hate people like he did and why he was so mean to them.  I'm sure with his incredible memory he'll remember that little piece of history.  What a gift to be able to step food in such historical places of the world.

My Favorite thing in Prague:  Prague Castle, so charming

Calvin’s favorite:  The crazy climbing webs

Marvin’s favorite:  Architecture and atmosphere

Micah’s favorite: Trains {metro and trams}

American Soil

Hey friends.  Our feet are now on American soil.  It was a whirlwind of a June, which can explain the silence on my blog, which I hope to update soon.  I don’t ever recommend moving right before heading to the states for 6 months.  However as we were packing up Marvin mentioned that it was the longest place we had ever lived in our almost 11 years of marriage.  I am so thankful to not have had to move for 3 ½ years.  We just moved our stuff to our temporary one bedroom apartment, and we hope to find something a little bigger when we get back.

Right before we left I jotted down a top 10 list of things I’m looking forward to while we are in the states.  Here’s my list………

1.       Seeing Seth’s Stone.  It’s been really tough not being able to physically visit the cemetery.  I’m not sure what to expect, but my heart truly longs to just sit by his stone.

2.       Grandparents.  Having our parents close enough to watch the boys for a couple of hours every now and then is amazing.  It’s one of those things that I really miss living so far from them.  I am thankful for the times we have a nanny, but it’s something different when they get to make memories with their grandpas and grandmas at the same time.  ***We’ve had more dates this past week in America than we had in the last year in Nineveh.  Thanks Mom and Dad, we needed it.

3.       Meeting family members we haven’t yet met.  Can’t wait.

4.       Almond milk & Sweet Potatoes.  These two foods top my list of things I plan to eat plenty of while in the states.  This whole lactose intolerance thing sure is a pain, but for 6 months I can just pop on over to the store and buy almond milk vs. making it.

5.       Seeing the doctor. I’m not sure what to expect.  My only birth in the US was filled with a room full of doctors and I didn’t even have a regular OB, only saw a perinatalogist.  So I have no idea what to expect but thankful to have regular care starting in my 3^rd trimester.

6.       Being able to buy strawberries past June!!!

7.       Spending time with sweet friends.  We’ve missed hanging out with you.

8.       Cooperate Worship.

9.       Target/Grocery stores

10.   Parks