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365 Czech Republic

Another Wild Day in Czech (In Photos)

Somehow I ended up with a ton of photos from today so I thought I’d just tell today’s story in photos (with captions beneath each). Let’s do this!

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

It was raining and cooler this morning so Titus and I donned rain jackets and umbrellas while walking him to school today. I probably should have sent him to school with rain boots, but I was worried we would be late for some event they were going to be leaving for. But I found out when they got there that it had been cancelled due to rain. Go figure.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

The word “easy” in the photo above is a little misleading. From Titus’ school I walked over to this cosmetic drug store thing (so hard to explain what it is) that apparently has the only instant photo machine in our town. It was 8:15am and they had just opened. There I was in my black rain coat, looking really shady walking around the store looking for something I couldn’t find which was the machine you see above. I eventually left without saying anything and I’m pretty sure I saw the lady checking my hands as I grabbed my umbrella and walked out the door. Thanks to Rachael and Martina who I texted about this, I went back to the store about and hour later and was able to find the tiny machine.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

I had to get prints made for Karis’ passport photos and this was my best option. I finally figured out the machine while the lady tried to explain things to me in Czech. I did finally leave with 6 prints, all of which cost me about $1.25! I was stoked and left a happy man.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

Here’s some of her mug shots, I mean, her passport photos.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

Karis had a doctor’s appointment today so Bethany gave her a bath just before lunch. I ended up taking Karis in her towel and placing her in front our little heater because she was a little cold and crying. She calmed right down.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

Bethany, Karis, and our friend Martina drove to the next town over to the hospital where they had referred Karis. They actually did an ultrasound on her hips/legs. They’ve done that in the States, but it’s just an internal check to make sure there’s no issues with her internally. I believe in the States they just do a physical check with the doctor’s hands, but here’s just a little different. While the girls went to the appointment, Titus and I walked over to the haircut place and I got a trim (no photos of that, sorry!). I did get to show some photos of the baby to my hairdresser lady so that was fun.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

When Titus and I walked to get a haircut we saw they they had set up a huge carnival deal in the town square. I believe it’s a big celebration for both our town and the sister city in Poland. I believe they are celebrating the founding of the city or something like that, but whatever it is, it’s important. They went big for this one with rides and tons of shops and food. Below are a ton of photos of what we saw.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

I love that the ride above has an image from Toy Story which is actually a sad part of the movie.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

Sweet tooth, anyone?

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

The grills were looking good! I may be wrong but I think something on there might be pork knee (a Czech favorite from what I can tell).

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

The huge stage already had local dance crew performances going on.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

This “bowl” was probably 4 feet across. Sausage and potatoes…yummy.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

We ended up going back to the town square as a family this evening so the kids could play and we could get dessert as a family. It was a much different experience from when Titus and I were there a few hours earlier because the place was jumping with people and live music. We ended up getting some traditional Trdelník with cinnamon (it’s so yummy!) and then bough tickets for the big bounce house slide thing.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

This is Titus and me waiting for his turn to go up the big slide. I had bought a ticket for Avery to go up to, but she wasn’t “up” for it…get it, “up” for it… because it’s really tall. Yes, tall… like me as I stick out like 8 feet above everyone else in this photo.

Here’s a 30 second video I got of Titus enjoying the slide.

A Wild Day in Czech (6/19/15)

Lastly, here’s Karis as she rode around in the stroller tonight. She was awake most of the time and did great. We had to bundle here up pretty good because it was like 55 degrees out (dead serious).

There you have it–another day in the life of our little family. In the words of Porky the Pig, “That’s all folks!”

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365 Czech Republic

We’re A Little John Deere Green

John Deere (9/12/14)

We’re still new to Czech. We’re still new to this town. Some might call us so new that we’re “green.” You know the phrase, “He’s a little green.” It means you’re a novice or a newbie. Tonight we felt a little “green” walking around our little town. Now, we were the only family walking around the “farm festival” with a John Deere wagon. I guess we’re a little John Deere green.

John Deere (9/12/14)

At the suggestion of our friend Rachael, we went for a little walk from our place over to where the path along the river on the Poland-Czech border. She texted us a few photos of a little festival that’s going on right now, complete with tractors, live animals (cows, rabbits, chickens, sheep, etc.), dancing, food, and a man playing some bagpipes that looked like they were made out of a goat.

Our plan was simple: take the kids on a long walk which would eventually tire them out and secure a good night’s sleep, and bring along their wagon to pick up a pumpkin from a local farmer. Both were a success, but what we didn’t realize was how much we would stick out. I guess not everyone has a green John Deere wagon in Czech. As we walked along the path looking at all the fun things, all I could understand as people passed and stared at us was “something something something something John Deere something something something.” At one point a little Czech boy was staring at the wagon until he finally kicked the tire. I guess he’s in the market for one?

It probably didn’t help that we took this photo below, but I really don’t think you get this kind of opportunity often.

John Deere (9/12/14)

While purchasing the pumpkin we picked out, we were having trouble communicating with the store owner and a nice Czech lady standing there said in English, “Do you need help?” “Yes, thank you,” we told her. She helped us buy our pumpkin and leaned over to Bethany and said, “That’s quite a carriage you’ve got there.” She was talking about the wagon.

John Deere (9/12/14)

After we finished buying and loading our pumpkin I turned around to where a lady was selling what looked like some amazing Czech pastries. I was eyeing what looked like jelly filled doughnuts with powdered sugar on top. When my cravings finally gave in to my flesh, I said kindly to the lady in the best Czech I could muster, “Sorry, I don’t speak Czech,” but motioned that I wanted two of those white covered goodies. She told me, “I speak a little English,” but promptly continued speaking a lot in Czech and continued packing my little bag with a lot more that 2 doughnuts.

John Deere (9/12/14)

As she would pick up each pastry and put it in she was telling me stuff in Czech. Finally, when the bag was full (as well as my brain), she handed it to me and I said, “How much?” She just smiled at me and said something nice and patted my arm as if to say, “For you… no cost.” I said to her, “No! I will pay” and she just kept smiling. She insisted on giving me the whole bag at no charge! I told her she was so nice and we said goodbye, and she sent me on my way with my bag o’ goodies. And goodies they were! The doughnuts were filled with apricot and the fruit pastries were otherworldly. When I showed the kids the bag they started jumping up and down and we got this photo of Avery holding the bag and Titus dancing a happy dance.

John Deere (9/12/14)

Here’s Avery stuffing her face. Each pastry was different than the next and we ate all but two before we left.

John Deere (9/12/14)

We had a great time and the kids thought it was really fun. The rain started coming down as were eating so we started making our way back home. It was actually a pretty good walk and thankfully the rain didn’t really start coming down hard until we got closer to home (we actually had forgotten our umbrella). Our pumpkin made it home safely and even though the wagon brought on some stares I think it was worth it. Here’s a few more photos of our little outing.

John Deere (9/12/14)

John Deere (9/12/14)

John Deere (9/12/14)

John Deere (9/12/14)

John Deere (9/12/14)