run-bike-run

I got to participate in my first race in a long time last weekend, a duathlon just outside the city. (So now, as a duathlete, I'm not as cool as a triathlete but cooler than a mathlete.) It was a 5K run, 24K bike, and 2.5K run. And it was all in the woods, so it was trail running and mountain biking, which was very fun. It was certainly one of the hardest things I've done, but I'm so glad I did it. (I drew a lot of inspiration from my 1/2 marathon-running wife!)

Our unofficial team - me, Michal, and Martin. We were definitely not as competitive as many people there, but we had a great time.

Hoping to do more of these in the future!

cheering section

While Phil was racing we were cheering him on.... and in the down times we climbed rocksterrorized our sisters with sticks
spent a lot of time of time skipping ropeand hanging out with Sam and Jake.

It was a fun day and we are so proud of Phil!!!

this is how we roll...to school

Phil has been biking Piper to school in the morning before his morning ride. She loves it and now refers to Phil's bike as hers. She is also known to try to wear her helmet to bed so she will be ready for the next ride.

Welcome Picnic

Saturday we had a welcome picnic at school. It was so fun to reconnect with parents and see all of the kids, meet new parents and just be outside. We had fabulous weather which has been a rarity here in Prague. And a highlight was all of the family games we played, egg races, three legged race and sack races. It is good to be back.

America the beautiful

America was the focus country last week in Clark's class. They learned about President Obama, peanut butter sandwiches, the pledge of allegiance, the statue of liberty and on friday Piper and I brought in cookies to be decorated. Thanks to Yaya we had some good ol america shaped cutters and made cookies in the shapes of the USA, flags and stars. The kids decorated with red, white and blue frosting and lots of sprinkles. We all had blue teeth for the rest of the afternoon.

the zoo

Piper has Wednesday and Friday mornings off from school and two weeks ago we headed to the zoo with Melissa, Sam, and Foard, and another friend Joanna with her two children Natalie and Patrick. We had a great time, the kids ran around, we ate lunch, played at the playground and enjoyed the animals. The highlights were the Giraffes more for the adventure to get to them, and also the monkeys. Piper talked about them for a couple of days she especially liked "The Really Big Monkey's" aka Gorillas.

First Day of School

Another year is here and I really can not believe how fast they are growing up. Lucy is in Year 3 (second grade), Clark is in Year 1 (kindergarten) and Piper is at her second year of preschool. They just finished their first full week and everyone seems to be settling in great. They all really like their teachers and love being back with all of their friends. We have rounded this week out with a couple of play dates and birthday parties. Next week after school clubs and swimming start.

Aren't they so cute!

big girl bed

Piper has some exciting news.. she is now sleeping in a big girl bed! The first couple of days it was pretty rough because she was still a bit jet lagged so we did a little bribing with a certain Buzz Lightyear pez dispenser, but she is sleeping great now.

Also the other news is that she also has a new room, Clark's old room. Clark has moved to Lucy's old room and Lucy has moved downstairs - this was all because the toddler bed that only fits in one room due to the built in loft beds. So we have been busy moving rooms and cleaning out and getting ready for school!

Such a big girl! We are so proud of you....

End of summer

We ended the summer with a missions conference at Uptown Church, a bit more shopping, packing, one last hurrah down the slip n slide and a few tearful goodbyes. Traveling was uneventful (which is always good) and we made it home with two days before orientation at school. We have had horrible jet lag this time which has made for a lot of 2am family movie bonding time. But we are glad to be home, to unpack, to see friends and to get ready for another year here in Praha.

Duke

On the way home from the beach we stopped by Duke University where Phil went to school. He gave us a tour and shared stories of college life (well only appropriate ones). We ate lunch and ran around. It was fun.. we may have a few Dukies in our midst. They are wearing their t-shirts proudly.

Davis Beach Trip

Isn't she lovely!Every year we head out with all the Davises for our annual pilgrimage to Ocean Isle. It is a time to just be, to enjoy each other, to slow down, to sit and sink your feet into the sand, to swim in the vastness of the ocean, to laugh hard, to build sandcastles, to play games, to read, to share, and to create a legacy for the years to come.

Growing up by the beach has set a foundation deep within me, that I feel the most like myself in the sea salt air and the slow pace of life. It is the place where my soul finds rest and God speaks to me. It is my favorite time of the year.

Our days went something like this- wake up, eat breakfast on the porch with our bathing suits on and already lathered up, leave plates from breakfast on the porch, run as fast as possible to the ocean, jump in, swim for two hours, dig in the sand, swim in the ocean for 1 hour, run back to the beach house, swim in pool for an hour, each lunch, lounge out by the pool or on the porch for an hour, have a snack, run as fast as we can to the ocean again for another hour of swimming, float around in the pool again till dinner, eat dinner, play games till the wee hours of the night and start again. Bliss I tell you.

Lucy, Clark and Piper love the ocean almost as much as I do. They are all fearless in the waves, especially Piper who wants to swim by herself (with her life vest on of course-but still she is only 2.5).

Lots of competitions in the late afternoon swim a thon
My children all adore cousin Sarah. She taught Lucy how to french braid hair this summer... a mad skill every 7 year old needs to know
We also celebrated Aunt Loretto's birthday, Piper was very excited about the cake and ice cream involved in this celebration
We had such a lovely time we were rested and restored. We were sad to leave so we didn't... we headed to Garden City beach for another week just the 5 of us!

mani-pedi

My girls LOVE to paint their toes and fingernails. They like to have an assortment of colors and patterns. Before we headed to the beach this year we decided to have a girls outing. Yaya and Aunt Loretto joined the three of us for a little pampering. Piper and Loretto shared a special bonding moment in that these were their first pedicures. These are Miss P.'s toes, she picked the colors and designs.

Camp Qualla

One of my most favorite things to do each summer is to go to Phil's Aunt Margaret and Uncle Tom's house which is lovingly referred to as Camp Qualla. The house itself sits on a pond surrounded by trees and is more beautiful and quiet then one could imagine. I am hoping that one day they will build Phil and me a little shack on the property. They always have a project or two going, they raise Koi fish, they have a whole pond stocked full of other fish and turtles, and they have a few dogs and a cat. We are never at a loss for things to do and the conversation is never boring! One project many years ago was a slip n slide that would drop off into the pond, and over time he continued to make it bigger and better... and this my friends is where we are at now, 10 feet high 50 feet long ending up smoothly in the pond. When Phil and I were first dating and on my first trip to Richmond, he said the one thing I had to do was make a trip out to Camp Qualla. It was amazing. The slip n slide was fabulous. But Margaret and Tom and their children Ben, Sarah and Alan captured my heart. I loved them all right away. (And hoped in my heart I would be a Davis too...) All 5 of us....
They LOVE it.
Once we were all done for the day (or so we thought) Piper had decided that she really wanted to go again. I told her that she would have to go by herself because everyone was finished. Hoping that might deter her and she would find something else to do. But instead she just headed straight for the stairs and said "I do it my self" and she did. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she flew down the slide, but as soon as she stopped she immediately said "I do it again" and off she went for another 20 times. She is the youngest to ever go down at 2.5 years and all the cousins spotted her as she went down and I caught her at the end so that she wouldn't float out in the middle of the pond. This was her favorite part of the summer, and she still is asking for it.
We also jump off the dock and swim around, feed the fish and look for turtles.

And this year we tried our hand at fishing...

Until next summer Camp Qualla!

getaway!

Every year Phil's parents keep the kids for us for a couple of days so we can have a fun couple of days to ourselves. This year we went to a resort outside of DC called Landsdowne. We slept in late, lounged around the pool, read lots (I read The Help, and LOVED it), went out to dinner saw movies, saw the black eyed peas in concert and just got to be with each other. It was great to have a couple of days just to enjoy each other and reconnect. I truly love this man and am so blessed to be married to him. Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful gift.