Twick or Tweet

Lucy and Clark had a great day of dressing up and snagging candy today! Clark wore his clown costume to school, and Lucy wore her new princess dress from Katie for tonight's festivities. Zara, Sophia, and Allie came over for pizza and cupcakes first, and then we headed out to "Little America," the local destination for hundreds of kids (we approximated 500) - it's a neighborhood near the International School of Prague that really feels like an American suburb.

They all quickly got the hang of the whole thing - knocking on strangers' doors, talking to strangers, and taking candy from strangers - you know, all the things we tell them never to do the other 364 days a year.

Girls dinner (and Phil)

After church yesterday we had some L.O.F.s - that would be Ladies of Faith (Community Church) - over for dinner. I just made that up. Even though I was the only guy, I still had lots of fun and periodically checked the football scores.

Yummy

Pumpkin muffins, roasted pumpkin seeds... all we need is a Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Boo

Here's our pumpkin family this year... Lucy even helped me clean out the "innards" this year.

things that Lucy has recently said....

Mommy I need another plaster! translated Mommy I need another band-aid!
Where is the rubbish bin? translated Where is the trash can?
That is NOT very stylish! translated I do not like that.
I need some sweeties! translated Can I have some candy?
We went to Tunisia on holiday. translated We went to Tunisia on our vacation.
I still need stabilizers. translated I still need training wheels on my bike.

Send in the clown, and the witch

When we returned, we were greeted by a Halloween package from our Charlotte friend Katie. Thanks Katie, and Walmart!

Tunisia, the Indoor-Pool Vacation

(Brace yourself for lots of pictures) We just got back this morning - and I mean MORNING - from a great week in Hammamet, Tunisia. We went with the Normand family, another American family that we've gotten to know through Lucy's school. It was definitely the closest to a Mediterranean beach vacation than we've ever had, but the weather didn't completely cooperate with us. We had one good day of warm sun, but the others were mostly cloudy, rainy, windy, or all of the above.

The weather, however, did NOT put a damper on our spirits - only because the hotel we stayed at had a fantastic heated indoor pool. We clocked in several hours each day at the pool, and we really had a great time - Lucy and Clark are at a great age for this and had a blast with their buddies.

Highlights: our hotel room was great, the hotel property was very nice, TONS of sleep, beautiful sunrises (how does that go - "Red sky at morning..."?), water slides (I should be in the polar bear club), the beach (see below), and Carthage (see below)

Lowlights: the hotel food (egg and tuna, "blurred eggs," and unidentifiable meats), touchy-feely hotel staff, and midnight air hockey outside our room

The Beach

Our friends Stephanie and Craig checked out the beach before we did on our first full day. Here's the conversation:

Phil: "How does the beach look?"

Stephanie: "Remember that commercial with the Indian who looks at all the trash on the beach, and he's crying...?"

OK, that didn't sound good. But when we went to check it out ourselves, it wasn't that bad. There was definitely some trash and seaweed in places, but our standard has always been beautifully-kept East Coast beaches. (moment of silence) We went one evening for the kids to run around and touch the water, and then one morning we had decent weather and went back for lots more fun.

Carthage, or why I'm turning into my father

Two things struck me during this vacation that made me realize this apple didn't fall too far from the tree. One, we were given larger-than-necessary blue travel packets to carry our tickets and documents, which I wore boldly around my neck in the airport. If Lucy were 16 years old, she would have been mortified to be seen with me.

Two, I can't refuse a visit to any nearby Roman ruins. This is my version of my dad and Civil War battlefields - my mom and I would often wait for dad to read every single panel in every museum of every battlefield we passed.

Lucky for me, the Civil War was not waged in Tunisia - but Rome sure did love the place, and there are some nice ruins left in beautiful Carthage. Our hotel was only an hour from Carthage, so one day we rented a car and I carted off our family to look at these "old things," as Lucy called them. (There was also some protesting in the car - "I want to go back to the hotel," "When are we going back to the hotel?" - this wasn't from Shanna, although she might have been thinking it)

We did have a good time once we got there, and Carthage is pretty amazing. We saw the baths, the theater, the villas, and the museum. Everyone was a good sport about it, and we did get back to the hotel in time for a dip in the indoor pool!

Dad's been working out, but he needs more sun... and underwear...

So Dad, I'm sorry for all the times I made fun of you for your travel quirks - I guess we all have them.

Vacation

We're heading out in about six hours for a week-long vacation. Yay! We're off to Tunisia in North Africa. Hopefully the sun is still nice and bright there. We're not sure of our internet and email access for the next week, but we'll try to keep you updated on how we're doing. Pray for a great trip for us!

Science Day

Today was Science Day at Lucy's school. While the big kids did science projects, the little ones did what they do best: dress up in costumes. These had to be science-related costumes. After tossing around ideas (a beaker, Bunsen burner, molecule, Periodic Table, and photosynthesis) we decided on the basic concept of a star. A little cardboard, a little tin foil, a little body glitter - instant star.
Clark and Shanna got in on the fun too by helping out.

Kids + Big Red Trucks = Fun

Clark's class had a field trip this week to the fire station. This was the same fire station that Lucy went to two years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!) - click HERE for that epic post that I know you love.

First step: looking for the right tram to get on...
Next: find a truck and see how many kids fit in...
Clark and his friends had a grand time getting to look at all the trucks, watch the fireman put on his uniform, try out the oxygen mask (Hey kids! Real oxygen is coming out!), sit behind the wheel (Hey kids! Don't turn those keys in the ignition!), and watch the fireman and others slide down the pole (Hey kids! Check out Clark's dad sliding down the pole!).

Yes, it was good fun that only a Czech fire station could provide. Clark loves his teacher Miss Petra, and he bonded with this fireman (or should I say "fireboy," by the looks of his age).

great date

Phil and I went on a very fun dinner and movie date tonight. We went to a restaurant recommended by a good friend called Square. As we were getting ready to leave Phil was talking to the manager and found out that Square is relocating as to make room for STARBUCKS! Yes it is finally coming. I have one happy happy happy person in my house right now.

PS- for those of you who live in Prague the new location is at Malostranske Namesti tram stop

...and the speaker is

Phil was asked to help with one of the chapel/school assemblies at Lucy's school. He agreed to do it, as he thought it would be fun to be a part of Lucy's world at school. He was scheduled for an October date with the theme listed as harvest. Little did he know that he was scheduled for the Early-Years-School-Assembly, children's-play, various-songs-and-all-parents-invited, bring-your-camcorders Harvest (with a capital H) School Assembly in which he would be THE speaker. After the inital shock and realization, he prepped and did a great job. He kept all kids and parents entertained for a good 8 minutes, which is no easy feat. But more importantly Lucy did a fantasitic job with all of her singing, and the thrill of the morning for her was getting to play the rain stick! And she grinned from ear to ear all while playing the most coveted instrument.

someone just turned 34 in our house

Blue cake, X-box, enchiladas, friends, muffins, excitement was definitely in the air as we celebrated Phil's birhtday. Clark was beaming all day with excitement especially about the blue cake, we kept hearing him trying to open the glass cake stand which was on top of the nicely set table... so I worked off a lot of calories racing to the kitchen trying to protect the cake. Lucy also told everyone we encountered on the way to school that it was her daddy's birthday, that we were going to have a party for him after school and that they in fact were also invited! We had a fun day giving thanks for the special daddy and husband that Phil is in our lives! He loves us all very very well and leads us with great courage and strength! We love you!!!

that's my girl..

Lucy had swim practice this week which she has asked about every morning. Wednesday was the day. She got to practice and jumped in...started swimming, doing jumps and just really loving every moment. About half way through practice out of nowhere she leaned over the side of the pool had the hugest burp and then threw up. She got out of the pool and walked over to Phil and me where she threw up again... at first I thought she was really sick, then I realized that she probably was just drinking pool water... I immediately took her to the shower to rinse off and make sure she was ok. After her quick rinse off she without saying a word to me ran out of the shower and back out to the pool where she jumped in and did not miss a beat. Her new coach Radek asked her if she was ok, she said yes and he gave her a high-five and a nod of great admiration. She was determined to swim all she could.

On a side note her new coach is a high level swimmer and he is great with her class. At one point during practice the kids were sitting on the side of the pool and he did this amazing backstroke start off the wall. He arched his back and plunged into the pool. It was truly amazing to watch. We were looking at Lucy and her eyes got so big with excitement at what she was seeing, and then Phil leaned over and said those are not just eyes of admiration but eyes of anticipation, her eyes were saying just wait for the day when I can do that!

Sing and Dance

Click To Play

help....

..... i can't do a thing with my hair

Pumpkin Patch

As the fall rolls in, one of our favorite traditions is going out in the country to a Czech farmer's small home for a fabulous harvest day. Our team went together and picked pumpkins, Lucy rode a pony, they ran around and looked at looked at chickens and got their faces painted, and played with friends. We had pumpkin soup, hot wine, sausages, and baked potatoes. It was perfect!

Birthday's

Over the last week we have had the privilege to celebrate some special friends' birthdays! Sasha had a great pirate party with a cardboard constructed boat and fancy pirate grub. Next up Martha turned 6 with a super hero themed party, Lucy was a super princess and Clark was his new favorite hero Spiderman. And lastly we had a party in the park for Abby's 5 birthday. Lots of fun, cupcakes and chaos in our lives....just what we like.

Mr. Scott

We had a great time with Scott and feel so blessed that we got to spend time laughing, hanging out and getting loved on by him. Scotty thanks for coming to vsit us....

ladies man

Clark is such a ladies man... sometimes we are out and I am not sure where he has wondered off to and I just look around for a group of cute girls and he is right in the middle of them. He does not discriminate against age or culture!