Easter Weekend

Easter egg hunt at Aunt Crista's

Coloring eggs

That Easter Bunny must be pretty tall to hide all these eggs up high

In their Sunday best they look like little angels

I don't know what happened with the weird circle of light around Tanner's head. I will have to redo his pictures next Sunday and pretend they are from Easter.

Of course she is striking a pose. Madisen becomes such a ham as soon as the camera is on her!

Well as with every holiday we were busy this weekend. Saturday we went to our ward breakfast at 8am. I now most of you are thinking 'wow 8am for the ward breakfast. I am surprised you even went.' To be completely honest I am way to antisocial to go at all no matter what the time but being in the primary presidency and helping organize the Easter egg hunt for our quarterly activity obligated me to attend. The kids had a blast making their little bags and socializing with their classmates outside of sharing/singing time. 

Next on the list was to get the rest of what we need to make spinach dip and cook the ham to take to the family Easter dinner. We went to Crista's house where we ate delicious food and the kids played outside for hours and had another egg hunt. 

We came home and it was time to color our eggs for the Easter bunny to hide. Tanner had a Star Wars Clone Wars kit while Madisen got the glitter kit. They were so fun this year. We didn't need to help them every step of the way but instead got to sit back and let them do their thing. Tanner had an egg that looked like plant earth and Madisen was thrilled with the glitter.

Finally it was time for bed considering I had been going at full speed since 5:45 in the morning.

Sunday morning brought Tanner into our room at 6am and i was able to convince him to let Madisen sleep until 7am so that she wouldn't be too grumpy the rest of the day. He woke her the second the clock changed to 7 and we went down stairs to see if the Easter bunny had come. They hunted for eggs and sorted through their baskets discovering the "potty putty", Nintendo DS games and sour watermelon candies. We ate pancakes for breakfast and got ready for church. Primary was great! My kids came home so excited to teach me about the resurrection and how much Jesus loves us. Madisen told me the Easter story using the handout she made in class and Tanner was very touched by the movie we watched in sharing time. That afternoon we went to my Mom's for dinner with Cristen and Bobby and their boys where, yep you guessed it, they had another Easter egg hunt. This one I think was their favorite because all their eggs were filled with money!

Terezin- day three in Prague

I haven't yet talked about day three in Prague because it was a very emotional and hard day. We took a bus about a hour to the town of Terezin known also as the Jewish Ghetto. The fortress, built in the 1780's was designed to protect the access routes used by enemy troop to penetrate into Bohemia's hinterland during the Prussian-Austrian wars in the 18th century. In the early 19th century it's Small Fortress served as a prison not only for army offenders but also for political prisoners of the Habsburg monarchy. 

Terezin earned it's worldwide notoriety in recent times when the Czech lands were occupied by Nazi Germany. The fortress was at that time set up as a huge place for persecution of the Jews. The Prague Gestapo Police Prison was set up in the Small Fortress and the Main Fortress the town of Terezin it's self became a Ghetto, a concentration camp for Jews. This was originally intended to be a transit camp for Jews but became like all other camps an execution spot. The town and it's original population were forced out as Nazi Germany took of the entire town. The Nazi's used Terezin in a propaganda campaign and showed Terezin as a "self -administered Jewish settlement territory" Some 14,000 men, women and children from Czech lands, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovakia and Hungary were deported to Terezin. In the final days of the war another 15,000 prisoners, mostly seriously ill or on the verge of total exhaustion arrived in Terezin from the concentration camps in Poland and Germany that had been vacated before the advancing front could save them. Some were already dead and the mass majority of them were executed shortly after arriving there, either at Terezin or after being shipped again to other camps near by. 

Terezin was not only a place of untold hardship and suffering but also a witness of enormous courage, devotion and never-ending struggle to save those doomed as victims of the Nazi genocide. Less than 4,000 of the 87,000 inmates who left the camp in "Eastern" transports survived. The victims also included children who left behind drawing that have since epitomized to the whole world the heinous nature of the "final solution", constituting a lasting memento to the post war generations.

This is a summary of the pamphlet from the Terezin Memorial.

As we walked from the bus to the fortress, or concentration camp, we first came to this massive burial site. More that 10,000 people are buried here. Their bodies were transported here from other mass graves around Terezin and given the proper ceremony and burial they deserved.  

This is a "cell" that would hold up to around 30 people at one time. This is a picture of the entire room. It was bitter cold in the winters and blister hot in the summers. They had no heaters in these rooms, although we did see a few in bigger rooms. But even then it was a single, tiny wood burning heater for a 100ft by 100ft room. After leaving here I don't think I complained once more about being cold.
Here they would stuff as many Jews as would fit in this room. They would sleep on all four levels of this bunk bed. About 6-7 deep and lying head to toe. These "beds" lined all three walls with a single "bathroom" and a single tiny heater. A few of the rooms had table lined up down the middle of the room.  
The white structure above the doorway is the guard tower. On the right side of the courtyard are the small cells that are pictured above that held about 30 people and on the left are the solitary cells. The solitary cells had no windows and no toilet. 
This is the execution courtyard. After being led down a long tunnel they would end up here where they would line them up on the wooded platform and shoot them. They would then take them to the crematorium in mass numbers, assign them a number and one by one cremate them. The only good thing I can say is that they did put their remains in a urn which you can find at the memorial sights throughout the city and even at the fortress itself. 
Here we are in the tunnel that led to the execution sight.
This was the "hospital." In the final days of the war a typhoid epidemic broke out which led to the death of many of the inmates who hadn't been shipped off to Auschwitz or other near by camps. 
Here is where the Jews were told to hang their clothes for sterilization. Needless to say they never got them back. They were given a prison uniform at that time.
These are the train tracks the prisoners were forced to build. They lead to Auschwitz. 

Being there made me so grateful that I live in a free country and get to worship who, what and when I please. From the moment I stepped off the bus there was a feeling of reverence in Terezin. I was walking on what is now sacred ground for those who had loved ones who were murdered at the hands of the Nazi's. I count my blessings everyday that I have a testimony of the gospel. I would hate to be standing in front of God and Jesus Christ having done what was done to hundreds of thousands of His children. Of everything we saw and did on this trip this day will stay with me forever!

Madisen cracks me up!

Lately Madisen has been talking more than usual which means that she basically never stops talking. She jumps from one thought to the other with no connection between the last and current thought. This makes for very interesting conversation especially when I am not completely listening to her. Here are a few things she has said lately...

I got pulled over for speeding the other day while coming home from soccer and while we were waiting for the officer to write up the ticket she was silent. WEIRD! I looked at her in the rearview and saw tears running down her cheeks. I turned around and asked why she was crying and she said, "i don't know how to drive a car and i don't even know the way to our home, so with you going to jail how do I get home? Do I just have to stay in the car?"

This one came out while driving in the car so I wasn't really listening to what she was saying before this comment but I do know it had nothing to do with our country or politics at all.

Madi-"Mom. that Obama dude who is like the president. Well he has a black face." 

 Mom-"Yep he does. Tanner turn around in your seat!"

Madi- "Hum...well Miss Lydia and Miss Evelyn have brown faces"

Mom- "Tanner if I tell you again how to sit in the car I swear... that's right Madisen. "

Madi-"Mom Tanner is turned around in his seat and is putting his cream face in my cream face."

Mom-"Tanner!!!..."

Tanner-"I know your swear.. whatever that means."

 Laughter erupts from both the kids

Kids say the funniest things!!

It's that time again!

SPORTS!!! The kids started playing again a couple of weeks ago, but this time Tanner has chosen to play Little League instead of soccer. He is a rookie this year and is playing on the Red Socks team.  

So I am learning a whole new set of rules and cheering to "keep your eye on the ball" instead of "get that ball." At least on Thursday nights. He is catching on faster than he ever did in soccer and he loves it. He is on a team with a couple of boys from our ward which is good. He is so hard on himself if he strikes out. He hangs his head and comes into the dugout disappointed but his team mates a very supportive as well as his coaches. We will just work harder and he will get better with every game.

 

Come Saturday morning it is off to the soccer field with Madisen who again this season is a super star on the field. She is a natural. Last week she was about 5 feet from the goal, dribbled with her right foot and slammed it into the goal with her left foot. She was so excited and her coach about fell over that she scored using her left foot from that far away. She is playing with a friend from our ward too named Brinley and I love that. They will hopefully be great friends forever if we as their parents have anything to do with it. 

Madisen our little "RUFF RYDER"

They are so fun to watch. It is the greatest thing for a parent to see their kids develop self confidence and make great friends who share the same beliefs and morals that we work so hard to teach them. I love having a few families with kids our kids age who we can socialize with and know that the conversation and activities will be some that we would approve of.

Day 2- Sightseeing in Prague

Jenessa, Leslie, Briton and Melinda in the hotel getting ready to leave for the day

The Municipal Building

Justin

The Powder Tower

Joe and Leslie

Jenessa, Joe, Leslie, Melinda and Briton. Joe says that the way they knew we were Americans is because every time you us we were standing in the middle of the walk way blocking the sidewalks with ourselves and umbrellas.

Jenessa, Leslie, Briton and Melinda at Charles Bridge with Prague Castle in the back round

Justin and Joe wanted to film a scavenger hunt of unusual things we stumbled across and it started day one while we were walking to find something to eat and saw two guys shooting up crack on the steps of a building in the middle of a busy sidewalk. As to not be too obvious they were filming them Justin turned the camera on Joe and Joe began to talk like a news reporter doing a story. So the rest of the trip they started and end the day with a "take" and added things that were interesting throughout the rest of the day. Justin's video is actually very good and will be on our website soon. I will post the website address when I get it posted.

 

Well here we are day two in the Czech Republic. We stayed in Prague to see the sights there and had a blast. We all woke up late so we got started about 11am. We visited the Municipal Building, The Powder Tower and did a little shopping in an open market in Old Town(i think).

The Municipal Building is where they use to hold meeting and court but has since been turned into a museum. When it was being renovated the government wanted the old columns which were damaged during their civil war replaced and the people objected. So if you look closely you can see white dings in all the columns which show where they were hit by bullets or canons.

The Powder Tower was used for years as the place where they loaded bullets and canons with gun powder thus earning it the name the Powder Tower.

Also we stumbled into Charles Bridge that night and took a few pictures of Prague Castle despite the rain that was drizzling on us. Joe and Justin wrapped up taping the closing broadcast  for the days events and we walked back to the hotel and played Jungle Speed until we were delirious with exhaustion and I was getting slap happy. I was laughing so hard at nothing by myself and missed my sisters. They would have laughed with me at nothing!!!

Prague-Day One

Justin and I getting ready to ride the subway for the first time as we head to the train for

 Kutna Hora.

The family crest made of actually bones.

Justin in the Church of Bones.

Stained glass in the St. Barbara's Cathedral in Kutna Hora.

Joe and I on the bus in Kutna Hora. I am smiling but behind the smile is pain from being sooooo cold! That day I had on thermals, socks up to my knees, a scarf, hat, gloves and hand warmers in my gloves as well as in my pockets and was still shivering all day long. But I pushed through and was very grateful that it warmed up a few degrees the next few days we were there.

 

I decided that since we had six full days in Prague that I would blog about each day individually so that I could add the pictures that I wanted to as well as being able to remember what exactly we did and saw each day. 

The first full day we had there we took a train about an hour out of town to Kutne Horna. While there I experienced many firsts. As I mentioned above we took the train which I had never done. Finding the train station we thought would have been very simple which it was. The tricky part was finding the place to buy our tickets as well as finding the correct platform that we would need to be at to get on the right train. We found it in the nick of time boarded and headed out to visit the Church of Bones and St. Barbara's Cathedral. 

The Church of Bones is exactly that, a small church which houses actual bones which make up the chandelier, a family crest, and basically every thing in there you see. The bones had been dug up from near by graves, cleaned and sterilized and finally used to decorate with. Sounds creepy? Well it sort of was. 

At St. Barbara's Cathedral was beautiful. The stained glass and old wood pews are beyond description. The pictures don't do them any justice. I tried so hard to get them as true to what the eye was seeing but failed miserably. 

We had some really great food while in Kutna Hora too. This was the first meal we ate that I thought "oh I won't actually starve in this country."  We rode a train, walked for miles, saw some great and interesting sights, ate good food and returned to Prague on day one.

13 days and counting...

Well after almost a year of anticipation the count down has begun for our trip to Prague. I am so excited! we leave Feb 25th and come home Mar. 5th. Yes folks that is eight days. Well technically we are flying for two days but still six days! It's gonna be awesome. We plan on visiting Prague Castle, the Jewish Cemetery and this little no name pastry place we saw on the travel channel. Hopefully we will be able to go to Austria and see  the concentration camps and maybe Paris to see all that wonderful city has to offer. I plan on not sleeping much and freezing my buns off and having the time of my life!! Did I mention it is 8 days with just me an Justin? YEAH!!!