another week has gone by...and we're getting closer to Christmas! Even though there's STILL no snow, the Christmas spirit is coming upon us and i'm getting more and more annoyed with the fact that we still have a week of school! This week is crazy because we have a ton of tests in all kinds of subjects, so i'm not looking forward to that. Pray that i will not procrastinate and will actually study for them! =)

so yeah, i'm trying to think of what happened this week... Oh yeah! On friday Caleb and Tensing (a youth choir here in Frydlant - Caleb plays bass and sings) had their Christmas concert! It was really cool! Caleb sang and played bass on the opening song - Jump by Simple Plan. He did great!

Then on Saturday we went over to the Ellenwoods' house! Mom and dad were going to a birthday party for Mel in Poland, so we hung out and watched movies. We ordered pizza too...yum yum. One thing that us and the Ellenwoods do every year (at least i think every year) is that we exchange Christmas gifts! None of us Pattys had our gifts with us, but the Ellenwoods were gracious enough to forgive us and let us open ours! Claire got some socks and cool boxes from Hayley, Caleb got a cool poster of a saxaphone player for his wall, and i got something really cool from Hannah... I guess she had been talking and figuring out with mom for quite some time something cool, and they accomplished it! As many of you know (or don't know, but now you do know), Switchfoot is my favorite band of all time and Jon Foreman (the singer and guitarist) is a big example to me in a lot of ways. So, mom sneakily took some pictures of me outside a few days ago (I had also asked if she could sometime so it worked perfectly) mostly with my guitar. And what Hannah did was get one of those picture frames with the three spots for pictures, and on the right and left side pictures of me, and in the middle two pictures - one of Switchfoot, and another of Jon! It looks really cool!!! =) I don't know if you completely understood my description, but hopefully you did (if not oh well)! =) Anyway, many thanks especially to Hannah, and some thanks to mom as well! =)

Today I led worship up at the hotel today again. We sang two Christmas songs and two normal worship songs. Then Mom and Katka (some of you may know her...others may not!) had a program ready! It was so elaborate that i won't explain in detail about it, but it was about Mary and what part she played in Jesus' life. They did all kinds of creative thingys and it went great!

So yeah, that's about it! Here are some pictures that mom took of me, hopefully you will be able to see how my hair is awesomely growing out! Doesn't it look awesome??? =) I'm so proud of myself... =) Don't forget to leave a comment! Enjoy!

hello faithful blog readers!

This week has been really full of school work etc so that's why i didn't post on sunday like i normal... And i need to go study soon so this will just be a quick post! (we'll see how it goes)

So yeah! Last Saturday and Sunday i was in Slovakia after a three month period of absence! I went to take Hudson's jeans (which he mysteriously left at my house sometime) over to Dawson so when he goes to visit his family over Christmas he can take them and Hudson won't have cold legs for the winter! (not that they'll get any snow anyway! Ha! Well, actually, we don't have any snow yet either so i shouldn't be the one being mean...sorry dudes and dudettes from Arkansas) =)

So yeah, i hung out for saturday and sunday morning i took a train back home! Then in the evening i led worship at church! It went pretty well, except it was a little hectic at first and i was getting stressed...but in the end it went fine. Next week i'm leading again and i'm going to do some Christmas songs! It'll be fun!

Today (wednesday) was the “Darkness” episode of Exit! It was a really powerful one and very well done. We had a great discussion afterwards too! Oh, and dad was the “mentor” in this episode! So he talked! Go dad! =)

Okay, well that's all that i can think of for now... Oh yeah, for those Switchfoot fans out there, you should be happy to know that they just released the music video for Oh! Gravity. on iTunes! So go check it out, it's awesome! I also just learned to play Awakening from their new album (which releases December 26th!) from live performances taped and put on YouTube! Here are the lyrics and the best version of it! It's an awesome song! (note for Hudson – i can ALMOST sing that high on the chorus – can you go through a few times and tell me if you can??? I'm really curious to know if you can... Probably by the time you get back i'll have practiced enough that i can get the pitch right!)



Awakening

Face down with the LA curbside endings
With the ones and zeros.
Downtown was the perfect place to hide.
The first star that I saw last night was a headlight
Of a man-made sky, but man- made never made our dreams collide,
Collide.

Here we are now with the falling sky and the rain,
We're awakening
Here we are now with our desperate youth and the pain,
We're awakening
Maybe it's called ambition, you've been talking in your sleep
About a dream, we're awakening

Last week found me living for nothing but deadlines,
With my dead beat sky but, this town doesn't look the same tonight
These dreams started singing to me out of nowhere
And in all my life I don't know if I've ever felt so alive,
Alive

I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want a heart that I know is beating,
It's beating,
I'm bleeding
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to live like I know what I'm leaving
I want a heart that I know is beating,
It's beating… it’s beating…
I'm bleeding


 

well! I had quite the weekend! This time Patrick, Jonny and I DID get to Budapest! =) It took about 10 hours of training there and then 10 back, and the whole trip went great.

We stayed in a hostel in the center of Budapest, right by the Christmas Market, Burger King and McDonalds! What more could you want!? =)



so yeah, we got into the Keleti train station at about 11:30 and walked over to our hostel to check in. I went to bed, but Patrick and Jonny scouted out Budapest for about 2 hours. The next morning we got up at 9 and had McDonald's breakfasts. =) Then we walked around town till 12, when we got a little hungry...so then we searched in vain for affordable food for about two hours and eventually found it in Burger King. During the time where we were walking around we saw the churches (they are being restored and cleaned, it's really cool), saw the Danube, walked over the bridge across the Danube, walked up to the citadel (where we got hungry) and walked along the castle walls up on the mountainside. Then we walked back down the mountain and found a Burger King. So overall it was a lot of walking... It was a pain at first but eventually i was concentrating too much on all the beautiful architecture that i forgot about the pain in my legs!

We then returned to our hostel, got our swimsuits, and headed to the bathhouse! We spent two hours there laying around and half-sleeping...it was really relaxing. We left at 5 and went back to our hostel again, and decided to take a nap! =) So we slept for an hour and then walked around a bit. We got some more food, walked over to the Danube, where Jonny took pictures of the bridge, and hung out and talked. Then at 8:30 we slowly made our way over to a Live Jazz Club i had found (on a map)...That was my favorite part of the whole trip! They had a pianist, a drummer, a standup bassist and a woman singer. It was the most fun two hours of sitting i've had in a long time! I wish we had a jazz club around here somewhere! Unfortunately it's not really the Czech kind of thing... I proposed to dad that we should make a jazz club though! Then i could go every day! =)

After Jazz we walked around town a bit, then once the lights on the castle were out, we walked up there and walked along the walls looking out at the lighted city. That was an awesome time too. We talked about politics and musicals for about an hour, then got cold and walked around some more. On the way down from the castle we told jokes, and i almost didn't make it back because i was laughing so hard! =)

At around 1:30 we decided we were tired and went back to the hostel and went to bed. The next morning we woke up at 8 and went to another bathhouse (not as fun as the other one, but really big). Our train left at 2:30 so after three hours we walked back over to the Christmas Market and bought some shishkebabs (don't know if that's how you spell it...oh well) and some Christmas presents. Patrick's headphones had broken the previous day so we spent our remaining time looking for some he could buy, and right before we got to the train station he found some! And i found something extra cool... A Coldplay - Rush of Blood to the Head poster! (for those of you who don't know, it's one of my three most favorite bands) I was so happy!!! They had a really cool Jamiroquai one too but i ran out of money.......... Oh well, something to look for when i go back! =)

We then spent another 10 hours on the train back, most of the time we slept and talked about all kinds of stuff. Overall it was an awesome trip and something i'll remember for a while! Have any of you guys ever been to Budapest? It was especially cool 'cause this is the very dead of the tourist season so it seemed like at times we had whole streets to ourselves! It was crazy how few cars were on the roads!

And then i had to return back to normal life...which wasn't so bad. Today was a good day, but nothing much happened. I'll be back with more info on my very interesting life hopefully on Sunday! =) Don't forget to comment! (by the way I look strange in that picture 'cause we were just in the bathhouse and so my hair was everywhere and i combed it kinda weird =P)

thanksgiving '06!!!



this thanksgiving was great! We met up with our JV family up at Malenovice again, ate lots and lots of good food, played games, and had the best talent show we've ever had!



but, it wasn't the same without the jones family. guys - we really really missed you! to me especially, it really didn't feel like conference and when it ended there wasn't a feeling of "i don't want it to end yet" because you guys weren't there to make it extra special! But we made it and overall it was a lot of fun.



i have a feeling hannah will write more about what happened during conference so if you are itching for a full-on detailed description of the happenings go to http://czhannah.blogspot.com ! =)



During conference Hannah and I led worship two nights for everyone! it was a lot of fun!






And for the talent show I did a really cool song - The Scientist by Coldplay! My mom played along with me on the piano so it turned out great! I'd like to thank two very special people who played a part in me being able to play it - Hudson for teaching it to me during the summer, and Suska for suggesting that i do it! Thanks guys!!! =)



So that's all for now, and here's something I threw together last night! Enjoy! And let me know if you want the full performances of anyone!

hey all! what's up?!

well, this week was pretty fun...well, school wasn't very fun, but come Thursday evening it got really fun and interesting. You see, on Thursday evening I got together with some friends again and we played Risk...it was a ton of fun. Even though I did lose...at least i've learned some lessons for next time!

Then Friday was some holiday so we didn't have school! Of course I slept till 10 (any later and I would feel bad that i have slept too long) and for most of the day just chilled. I don't really remember much from that day...except I spent a lot of time on the computer. Not completely sure what I did though...hmm...oh well! =)

Then on Saturday we took a trip to Ostrava...in our new car!!! =) My mom's dad bought my mom a four wheel drive SUV for the winter and tons of snow; it's awesome!!! On the left there's a picture of it! Dad picked it up in Germany on his way back from the States and drove it a loooong way! Go dad!! Anyway, we went to Hornbach because dad needed to check on something and mom wanted some new plants. Then we drove over to McDonalds and then went to some clothes shops looking for a tie for me...i'll explain all in due time, so don't worry! =)) We also found some nice black pants... And headed home. Okay, now i will explain. Ahem.

Anyway, Patrick (if you've forgotten already, he's the american who I go to school with, also the guy who forgot his passport on our "trip" to Budapest) has been taking ballroom dancing classes since the beginning of the school year. And no, he didn't chose to go, a girl in my class made him because her boyfriend couldn't go with her. So he went, and found out it wasn't as bad as he though, it just takes up a lot of time (two or three classes a week). So on Saturday at 6 was Patrick's group's final performance, and so i got to go to it! So i got all dressed up and met up with some other guys from school and we headed into the big building where it was all taking place at.

I went there thinking this was all a joke, and i thought it was all extremely funny that someone would want to learn something like that. Hehe. My view sure changed by the end of the evening.

Well, to keep it short, I was really blown away. It was really cool! Patrick and my other classmates all did a really good job. They had even invited two pairs of professional dancers who were really sweet. Overall it was probably one of the best experiences i've had in a while. It was fun being so "proper" and not looking weird because everyone else had to be like that as well! =) Anyway, the night has inspired me... Patrick told me that during the end he really started to enjoy it and he might go again next year. So, if all works out (if he goes, if I have time, and if I find someone) I think I would do it. I objected to it this year because I guess i didn't realize that it's a cool thing to know! So we'll see what happens........

Then today (Sunday) I led worship again after a month! It's crazy how fast it's gone by... This Sunday we weren't up at Malenovice, we were back down in Frydlant. But it went really well, even through some complications. After and during I felt that I'm getting better and better. We'll see where God takes me on this!

Well, I have some homework to do for Geography and Caleb wants to get on, so it was great telling all of you about my experiences! Don't forget to comment so i know you're all still alive! Have a great day!

well hello there! it's good to be back again... I skipped a week because I was sick and was home the whole time so there wasn't really much to write about...but stuff has happened since last sunday! So i'll tell you a little about them!

Well, my mom's parents have been with us for the past few weeks, and it's been great. Mom got back on Friday from the States (along with lots and lots of treats...thanks Michelle!!!). So it's great to have her back as well.

On wednesday was Exit 316 again, this episode was "addiction." it was a really good one. our discussion went really well and it was a great evening. a cool note - do you remember me talking about Robin a little while back? Well he accepted Christ a few weeks ago and now is coming to church and it's just really cool! And two more guys accepted Christ in the last week thanks to Exit! It's been really cool to see how the guys have grown in their faith so far, and I can't wait to see what God's got in store for them!

On saturday I took the train over to the Ellenwoods' and called my two very good friends Corrie and Hudson in the States! It was great to talk to them again (or, talk to you again!). Thank goodness for email and phones, otherwise i'd go mad... Hopefully we'll get to talk again, guys!

We had snow for about two days a week ago, but since it's all melted.....i was so sad...I want to go snowboarding again so bad! Aaaaah!!! =)

On friday at our school we had a "poetry and music evening", led by my home room teacher (also my math teacher), who writes poetry. So he asked me, Jonny and Mr. Till and Mrs. Till if we could each do a little musical performance to spice it up a little... So I picked the song "Is It Any Wonder" by Keane, a british rock band. It was fun! I've been really thinking about what song(s) to do at the talent show during JV conference coming up, and I can't figure anything out! If you have any suggestions, leave me a comment! I was thinking of something by Coldplay...but I don't know what! =)

Well, it's getting late so i will end for now... Hope you all are good and enjoyed my latest stories! All for now!

hey! another week has come and gone...and so a blog update must follow! First though, here are some pictures of our family that I promised you!





(By the way I was having a bad hair day that day so I want to reassure you that i am looking much better now! =) Plus the wind was blowing that day...so that didn't help much...)

nothing big happened until thursday...at 8 in the morning half the kids from our school (14 kids to be precise) met and we set off along with 3 teachers and the principal's 10 year-old daughter in two vans to Vienna! The drive was actually pretty nice, Jonny (the young teacher who was going with us to Budapest) drove one van, and so Patrick and I sat up front with him and chatted for most of the ride. Jonny had also burned six CDs with random songs on it, so that was fun to listen to on the way. Along with some Newsboys we also listened to some Irish music, Good Charlotte and anything you could imagine.

Once we arrived at our hostel, which was on the side of a hill with a view of Vienna, we unpacked and met outside. We got on a bus which took us to a metro station and headed into town! The first destination was the...drum roll please...papyrus museum. I have never seen so much old paper in my life. My life is complete! Okay, so seriously, I ran through, tried to decipher some German, headed back out and sat on the steps for about 15 minutes while the teachers (except for Jonny) enjoyed the excitement of decaying paper. =)

After the papyrus we moved on to a little more exciting attractions...but of similar nature. In Vienna there's this HUGE old library with shelves upon shelves of leather-bound books. It was really cool. Reminded me of the library in Beauty and the Beast. They also had statues and huge globes around the place, so that was sweet...

The town center was our next destination, where the huge church is. After a little while we walked towards the metro which happens to be right by...you guessed it...Starbucks!!! We were given the opportunity to take the metro along with the teachers to Schönbrunn, the big palace, but me along with a lot of other guys stayed in Starbucks...it was totally worth it! =) I sipped a Pumpkin Spice Latte and thought of all the people I wish were there with me...It was a lot of fun.

Once it got dark I voted for staying in Starbucks and just chillin' because I was so tired, but the guys convinced me to come to the Prater, the big amusement park in Vienna. I was dozing off in the metro...and barely staggered over to the Prater...but once I got on that roller coaster I was fully awake!!! =) That was a really fun night walking around and going to different Fun Houses and on all kinds of rides. I was so hyper when it was time to leave...but by the time we got back and after getting lost (of course) I was so tired... We were looking out at Vienna and all the cool lights and one girl was talking to me and I was soooo dead...she just kept on talking and I kept on nodding and thinking about going to bed...=)

So that night all the guys except for me were still hyper so they stayed up doing crazy stuff and talking...and I kinda half-dozed off to sleep. Eventually they went to bed and then I could relax. I actually had a good night's sleep. At 8:00 we had breakfast and then set off again. We drove the two vans into the city right by our next destination... The UN headquarters in Vienna! After going through security we followed our guide around and he explained stuff about the United Nations, how the systems work etc. It was pretty fun, until we got to a little theater and we watched this short movie about the UN...almost everyone in our group literally fell asleep during it! And it was only 10 minutes long! =)

After that we went to the market – food everywhere. That was a really cool place. Lots of restaurants, bakeries that make your mouth water, and seafood wherever you turn! Not my kind of food, but for some people it must be heaven! After figuring out that most of the menus were in German and essentially we would have no idea what we would be ordering, me and 3 other guys decided a safer route – Burger King! =) So after having a double cheeseburger with bacon, we went back to Starbucks to hang out. I knew that I would be mad at myself later if I didn't have a frappe. So that's what I did! Before we had to leave and meet up again I bought a very special CD... “Music from the Starbucks Coffehouse!” Lots of jazz, really fun to listen to.

So we met up again and drove back...as usual I was tired and everyone else was wide awake...so I sorta dozed off every once in a while and eventually the others joined me in silence, listening to the rest of Jonny's music mixes.

So overall it was a pretty good trip, don't you think? =) On Saturday I was so tired from walking around for two days that I just stayed home...didn't do hardly anything. But it was fun! On Sunday the time changed...so of course I was up earlier than I had to be. At 2:30 we had worship practice and at 4:00 we had church!

Today, or Monday, was also pretty good. After finishing school at 12:15 I went home, did some work, and at 2 I went up for the hotel for a seminar that's going on now! Today the theme was evolution vs. creationism. It was one of the most interesting things I've ever heard (besides my dad's talks, of course!). At 3:30 I went to my art class and finished one project. At 6:00 we had dinner at the hotel (dumplings with strawberry filling) and later on we watched “The Da Vinci Code.” The reason is because tomorrow the next seminar is on that. The movie was very strange... I hadn't seen it...and if I wasn't going to hear the seminar tomorrow then I probably wouldn't have ever seen it. But I'm really excited for the seminar tomorrow.

Well that's all for now! I will update you as soon as I have more info! If I get the chance I will also put up some pictures from Vienna once I get them from different people! Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know how you are doing!

man those weeks fly by fast! It seems like it was only yesterday that I had written a new post and was telling you all about my new predicaments! But, another week HAS indeed gone by, and I will try as accurately as possible to describe it to you...

First things first – Our desktop computer is acting very strangely lately.....just a few days ago it decided that it was going to stop connecting to the internet. So that sucks. But luckily the internet is cooperative with my mom's desktop and my laptop, so we're not totally in a jam, except that the internet itself has been acting up and isn't as fast as it should be. But I've gotten used to it.

So now i'm writing on my laptop, which in fact has no pictures on it so i'll have to put some up later. Because of this I'll try to keep my post as short as possible because without the spice, the meal is just a meal and is best to be over with it quick! =)

So. On wednesday we had another Exit episode! This theme was “disappointment” and the discussion went really well. Right before it aired, our family took pictures for our new prayer card! The reason we did it was because my parents just left for a few weeks of raising support (mostly for Exit) and we needed new prayer cards to hand out. I'll put up the final picture as soon as possible, and who knows, maybe you'll even get the real deal in the mail soon!

Another important factor in my parents leaving is that my mom's parents are here to stay with us till they get back on november 10th! So it's been fun with them so far! =)

This morning (Sunday) I went down into town to help prepare a welcome home thingy for Mark Krupa. For those of you who don't know, he's an JV missionary here in frydlant. Anyway, he flew back to the states to see his grandmother before she died and got back tonight. We made a big poster and prepared a table full of goodies etc. It was fun and i'm sure he's enjoying it right now!

So yeah, for almost three weeks we will be without our parents...hopefully we'll make it! (oh, and by the way – hi mom, I know you're reading this! =P) Mom'll be bringing back mostly christmas presents and some clothes...so we're looking forward for her to come back! (Even though the christmas presents won't make much of a difference for about two more months...)

This weekend i'm headed to Vienna with my school! We'll be there overnight and see all kinds of museums. It'll be lots of fun. Hopefully we won't have a HUGE breakdown (though I wouldn't be surprised if we had a minor breakdown or problem along the way...hehe)! Hannah will also be joining us, through her friend that goes to my class! So pray that we all find the Starbucks safe and sound! =)

On Saturday night we took our grandparents to the theater in Ostrava and saw a movie called Flyboys about the first american fighter pilots in WW1. It's a GREAT movie. Probably one of my favorites. If you get a chance, go see it! It's worth it! (for those of you who live in czech, it's called Rytiri Nebes)

That's all for now...maybe i'll remember something and write another post sooner than in a week! Don't forget to leave a comment if you can, remember, it's you I'm writing for! =) Thanks guys!

hey everyone! I have some funny stories to tell today...but it's getting late so i won't write too much if I can help it...

well, first of all I wanted to tell you about Wednesday which means the latest Exit episode! This theme was “image” and so our youth leader, Boza, decided that a fun thing to do would be to have a contest for the person with the most original clothes. But there was a catch – you had to come directly to the meeting with those clothes on, you couldn't change once you got there. So I decided it would be fun to dress up in my dad's big trench coat... But I had to come with it on, and I had Bible study with Mark before everyone else got there. So after we were done we decided to go to Albert and Mark had to get out some money, and i was hungry so I went inside to get a bottle of ice tea and a pastry. So after paying for everything, I started walking towards the door, only to find this tall man standing directly in front of my path, totally blocking my way out! He started to show me something, and my first reaction was that it was some advertisement for something. But what he showed me when he put his hand on my shoulder wasn't a flyer...it was an ID card. “Can you please come over here to the side and show me your pockets please?” So I, in my dad's oversized trench coat, wobbled over to the side, and after I showed him I had indeed not stolen anything, he let me go. I laughed so hard after that... Now I know that even our little Albert is safe from theft by secret security officers that are undercover! =) So there is my first funny story. And here is a picture of our group that was at Exit, I'm on the left so you can see how ridiculous I looked and why the guy probably picked me off as a thief! =)



So after that day things started to get back to normal... And on friday was my big trip to Budapest, as I've told some of you! It started off great, we first had to take a train to Valasske Mezirici (or Valmez for short) about an hour away and buy our tickets because you can't buy international tickets in Frydlant. This is when things started to go wrong. I guess they had been fixing the tracks in one place, so you have to take a bus from Frydlant to this one place, then get on a train that takes you to Valmez. So, both of them following my lead, we got on the closest train to us that seemed promising. We sat down, and a few minutes later started to pull away. I looked out the window to my right and noticed a little sign on the side of the train that said “Valasske Mezirici”. So of course I totally slapped myself for making us all get on the wrong train... Eventually we got to a station and found out that the train we were on also went to Valmez, it just took a different route. Phew!

So we got to Valmez, bought the tickets (Patrick Till, Johnny Lobel – 24 year old american teacher at our school who has known Patrick's family for a long time, and I), and ran outside to get on the train. Johnny had printed out our itinerary so we knew exactly what time stuff left and got in etc. About a half hour into the trip, the ticket dude came. He had a big mustache. He stamped Johnny's ticket, then took Patrick's and stared at it for a little while... Apparently the ticket lady had written the wrong date on it and we weren't allowed to take the train from next tuesday. So that sucked. He let us continue, but without stamping mine and Patrick's, but said that he hopes that the next guys don't give us any problems.

Another half hour into the trip, Johnny and Patrick were asleep, and I was dozing off. Suddenly this guy appeared and said “pasova kontrola” - he was here to check our passports. I woke Patrick up and he choked. Apparently his dad had just taken his passport from him to get a new visa and hadn't gotten it back to him. So, luckily the police dude was nice and helped us figure out a route back home. By now we had ridden for about two and a half hours and were at a place called Horni Lidec out in the middle of nowhere. So, after talking to the guard he said that the best thing to do would get our tickets “interrupted” or canceled so we could at least get some of the money back. So in Horni Lidec we went to the ticket booth and she stamped two of them, and then noticed that we were on a completely different route than we were supposed to be on. We were following our itinerary, but back in Valmez the ticket lady had heard me wrong and written something else. Hmm.

So after a long ride back to Valmez we went to the ticket booth to see if we could get our money back for it or get it changed or anything. By now it was about 8. There the lady said that we would have to come back tomorrow and talk to the lady that sold us the tickets, she can't do anything about it. I still don't understand everything... So today we took the same train we had taken the previous day at 2:15 and got there at about 3 something. Then......we found out that the person who was there at the same time yesterday had the evening shift and wouldn't be here till six. Ugh. So we went to a pizzeria and then to a tea shop and killed time until six, and then headed back to the train station. After much discussion all that I understand is that as long as we go after the 17th – it will work for two months after then – it will be no problem. The canceling in Horni Lidec doesn't affect it because we were on the wrong route. Sooo... It seems that we are going to have to plan it for another time! And man am I tired............I get really tired and frustrated with myself when I have to convince the other person that they made a mistake...so those trips to the ticket booths were nightmares. It's not that I can't do stuff like that – I just don't enjoy it. But I guess it doesn't bug me as much now. It really drains me though!

On the train ride back again, which happened to be at the exact same time we trained back last night as well – left and got back at the exact same time – Johnny, Patrick and I talked about college and SATs and stuff like that, it was cool and I learned a lot. It'll come sooner than I will expect!

And here's a fun fact mostly for Hudson - during these two trips that we took I listened to Imogen Heap like the whole time, so now whenever I hear her, I will forever remember...Friday the 13th!!! =) Did I mention that friday was the 13th? Well it was! Really! I'm not joking! Check your calendars! It's true! =)

Well, that's all for now! I'm really tired, as I've said many times, so I guess i will go to bed now! Oh yeah, and tomorrow at church I'm leading worship for the second time! So pray for me! Thanks!

here are some pictures from the Pitcher party that Becca sent me! Enjoy!

I'm having some problems with uploading pictures... so I'll try uploading them again so you can click and see them bigger. Here I go!







and here's a picture of me and Caleb goofing off during Claire's party on friday! =)



This is us on Saturday waiting for the filming!



And me and Becca on Friday!



There you go! =)

Hey everybody! another week has gone by, and here i am again to tell you what happened on my end of the line! I have pictures again, so you should be happy! =)

the first few days of this last week I was actually home sick... I went to school on monday but started to feel nauseous so I came home and was home till wednesday, and went back to school on thursday. It was a good rest time, and even though I still have a little cold left over, i'm doing a lot better!

On wednesday Caleb went for a usual ortho check-up......or so I thought. I was on the couch in our living room reading and I heard the door open and then close; I knew that mom and Caleb were back. As I saw Caleb walk past and up the stairs, I caught a glimpse of his "i know something you don't" face when he looked at me... Thinking it was nothing, I continued reading. Soon Caleb came back down, walked over to me, and smiled. I automatically smiled back...and then laughed! Guess what?! Caleb just got braces! I was totally shocked, especially cuz he didn't tell me that he was going to get them even though he knew! That little punk...=)



As many of you know.......Lost is back for the third season! Woohoo!!! I downloaded the first episode and watched it as soon as I could... I'm so glad that J.J. Abrams is back for this season. Hopefully he can organise the show more, i'm really excited for this next run of episodes.

Speaking of episodes and TV... My mom, Caleb, Claire and I will officially have our 5 seconds of fame on national television for the EXIT 316 episode "Prayer" that will be airing hopefully sometime next spring. Literally 5 seconds! =) Of course I was the best of us all...no doubt about it. What we did was play that we had just checked into a hotel room and were unpacking. That's basically it. Hehe... Of course my unpacking skills were far superior to any of my fellow family members'...=) After we ended us kids also got a picture with the "angels" of the show - Ales Juchelka and Johanka Vesela! Johanka is only a year older than me and is in the same grade as I am! Weird huh?! How would that be to be a star on TV at that age! Wow!



Claire's birthday is tomorrow - on the 8th, so I think we're doing something for that! Don't know what yet though! She had a Frydlant american friend party on friday through saturday morning with Becca, Grace and Lucy Till. They carved pumpkins, had pumpkin pie and stayed up till one watching a pumpki...sorry, movie! =) She had lots of fun!

Then today, after the filming for our debut on TV, we went over to the Pitcher's house for Nicholas and Zachary's party! That was a really fun time - we played a Lord of the Rings figure strategy game that is one of the coolest things around. You buy these plastic or metal models, and then you can paint them all by yourself, however you want to, possibly morphing the model a little with extra pieces or clay, and each figure has its own stats that you can then build an army up out of and immerge yourself into a full on battle! It's a really complicated, but incredibly fun game. The first time I played a fortress scenario with Becca and Mel Ellenwood against Nicholas, and got totally creamed... But then I played with Zachary against Nicholas and Mr. Till on a different map and we won! So that was good! =) We ended the night off with...you guessed it...a night game. Just a little "base tag." Overall it was a pretty good day!

And this is for Hudson...a while back you asked for a goofy picture of me... Leaving the hotel where we filmed my mom was taking pictures and the wind was really blowing so I thought to myself... "Weird hair should come with a weird face!" So here you have it. A rare picture of me goofing off. Enjoy! =)



I'll put more pictures up from the Pitcher boys' party as soon as I get them from Becca!

Hey! I'm back! Well, i guess i should start off and tell you a little about what's been going on!
On wednesday we had the fourth exit group!!! It was really good! The episode was Conflict, and it's my favorite so far. We had a great discussion in our guys' group this time, and now we're getting really tight so no one's afraid to say what they think. Oh, and about double the people that came last time were here on wednesday! So that was great.



Right before Exit on wednesday Matej (for you who don't know, he's the other guy in our youth group “team”) went to a tea place with a guy who is in our discussion group – Robin – and talked to him for about an hour and a half, mostly about God! Basically to sum it up Robin (who was also at English Camp this year, and also goes to school with me, though a year below me) said that he believes in Jesus! After a long discussion with Matej, Matej asked him a question: “If you were to die right now, where would you go? Heaven or hell?” Robin's hand went to his chin and his whole body started to shake. I'm not sure if he answered, but obviously God is doing something in this, so please pray for him!!

One thing that we as a youth group “team” do is every two weeks on friday we have spiritual growth meetings, where we have some teaching and then talk about plans for the future and make decisions. This weekend was a special growth meeting...all that we were told was to bring 200 krowns, that we were going to stay overnight somewhere, and to bring “spolecenske obleceni” (which in english is “formal clothes”). So of course I was a little confused.....=) (note the example of guys being confused below...click for full detail...hehe)



So we met on friday in front of my school at 4 pm, got it cars, and set off for an unknown destination! To cut it short, we were at a place called Stramberk, an old town about an hour away from us in the hills with an old tower etc. We stayed at this nice hotel, and on friday evening we got nicely dressed and went to a “vinny sklipek” - wine cellar – where we had great food and the others had wine! =P Unfortunately i'm not 18 yet...sometimes it's not so good being the youngest in youth group...But oh well! The food was really great and it was great just being together as a team. Before we went to the cellar we surprised the girls with flowers and got some pictures of us all! Don't I look smashing? =)



Then the next day, after a long night of listening to Boza, our youth leader, snore, we had breakfast, I led a little worship and had a little teaching. Then we walked up to the tower and planned and talked about what's in store for the future. I'm more of a listener than a talker, so most of the time I just sat and listened and watched, and it was fun! Then at 1 pm we got back in our cars, and returned from a great experience and probably the best time i've had with everyone!



So that's all for now! Thanks for reading, and...oh yeah! This is mostly for Huds, Corrie and Hannah...and any other Lost fans out there...: I'm catching up again!! After a long pause, i got the second season from Mark and am already on “One of Them”, it's like episode 10 or 11 or something like that...It's awesome!! =)

That's all for now folks! And if you ever see John Mayer's “Continuum” in a music store somewhere, don't hesitate and buy it right away!!! =) Talk to you later!

hey everybody...sorry I haven't written in a while! Lots has been going on and I haven't gotten to writing again! And plus I just wrote a really long post now and lost it.......so I'm a little sad. =/

anyway, school is now finnaly starting to get back to normal! Tests and assignments will come... But like i've said before, school is going good so far, and we have some really great teachers this year!

One thing i'm looking forward to is that at the end of october our school is taking a trip to Vienna!!! I'm really excited about that. We'll be there for two days and visit some museums and then just be able to wander around.....and hopefully end up at Starbucks! =)
On wednesday was our third exit 316 youth group thingy! The theme was friendship, and even though it was a slower episode, it was still great. Four new people came this time! Here's a picture we got of us all!



Another eventful thing that happened this week was that on sunday i led worship all by myself at our church for really the first time! It was great! I learned a lot, and can't wait for next month when i'll get to do it myself again! I played on my guitar and sang, and mom was there on the piano to back to up. It went well!

Last night was fun...at about 6 I went down into town and met up with 4 other guys and we played Risk! We hung out at a little appartment which two of the guys are renting because of school - they are in the fourth year at my school and live far away so it's hard to train every morning... Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I brought chips, another guy brought drinks... And we played... I had a really good strategic place, and could have even won!!! But, I showed mercy early on and didn't destroy one of the guys...and in the end he destroyed everyone else!!! Oh well... It was awesome though! Here's a picture I took with my phone of the board...and also of Patrick and one of the guys from the fourth year swordfighting...it was pretty funny!!! =)



One thing that you can be praying for though is my brother and sister...both have really bad strep throat, and are throwing up too. So that's a bummer. Luckily I haven't caught anything from them yet.

Well I guess that's all for now! Leave me a comment if you wanna make me feel special! =P Till next time...I am and will always remain to be, Tyler

it's late...and i don't feel like sleeping...so I'll just write!

this week of school has been actually pretty good; we got out at 11:30 every day, which was nice. We have some great new teachers this year which I'm really excited about. My favorite teachers so far are my history teacher and german teacher. The history teacher is this older guy who's really really cool, and he's just a guy you want to listen to. I think I'll learn a lot from him this year. And then our german teacher is a real German, which is really cool! He's a really neat guy too, probably in his early thirties, and I think i'm going to learn a lot from him too.

this next week everything starts. School will now go till 3 on certain days, and tests will come sooner than I'll expect. Actually, on wednesday we're writing a big test on all last year in biology, so I need to study for that...not something that i'm really looking forward to. But it's better to get it over with! Other than biology this year I don't think i'm really going dread any subjects...I still haven't had geography so we'll see how that goes on monday!

tomorrow on sunday at 2:30 then i'll go to worship practice as usual...and then at 4 everyone will meet up at the hotel and we'll have church! then after church we'll get home and eat some leftovers and then i'll go up to my room, go over biology for a few minutes, put on some music, and go to bed! So nothing special....hehe...

A fun thing happened today though...my uncle Mike, my mom's brother, flew in from the States today after not being in Czech for like ten years! So it's fun for him to be here. He brought lots of clothes from my grandparents....hehe.......booya... he said he ate 8 cheese sandwiches today. And also on the plane he sat by a guy who fell asleep right when the plane took off and Mike was by the window so he couldn't go to the bathroom for the whole flight! Poor guy! =)

Well that's all for now I guess...let's hope that I'll have more things to say later! Cau!

Well, today was pretty eventful! After a boring morning of mostly biology, at 12 I walked home, unfortunately with a dead iPod battery. So the whole time I was thinking...I can't remember what about though. Hmmm...

Anyway, then I decided to visit my good friend Becca and fill my iPod with music and audiobooks...and also get a silver Sharpie. So I walked over to the Pitcher's house, where she lives, and talked...and talked...and got my Sharpie...then talked...then had a quesadilla...then put music on my iPod! Then we talked...and then I had to go because I had to go to a youth group meeting!

So I ran back home, all the while listening to Move Along by All American Rejects, every once in a while stopping to play on my imaginary drums and rock out on my imaginary guitar, not forgetting to mouth the words I knew, which was about...two or three words.

So once I got home I cleaned off an apple I had picked on the way home, and got mom to drive me down to town and so I met up with Boza, our youth pastor. Then we got together with the rest of our team and talked about what was going to go on today and how today is going to look like. Because, today was a very special day.........after years of planning and lots of problems, something big finnaly happened today...something that's happened for a reason and something that made history. The first episode of EXIT 316 aired today, on national television.

The theme for the first episode was "jina dimenze" - different dimension/reality. It basically was about the spiritual world and how there is something other than what we see. It was 17 minutes long, including a Switchfoot music video of Meant To Live. Overall it was really amazing even though it was the second time I was seeing it. And the next episodes will just get better.

After watching, us 15 (7 of us were team, the others friends or invited people) divided into two groups, one guys, one girls, and discussed with help from a little work book that my dad helped write called "Jizda 316" which is "The 316 Drive". Our group went really well seeing as it was the first episode, and also the most spiritual one of all of the other upcoming episodes. I'm really excited for next week! So pray for people all over Czech that they would tune in and want to know more! It's one of those shows you can't really describe...it sounds strange when you try, but watching it is truly a unique experience. A lot of work went into making it all, and it shows.


I've been reading a lot of "Chuck Norris facts", they're some of the funniest things on the planet. I'll write out a few of the best:

• Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
• When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life there.
• In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World Records it notes that all world records are held by Chuck Norris, and those listed in the book are simply the closest anyone else has ever gotten.
• Kids have pyjamas with Superman on them, Superman has pyjamas with Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris' iPod came with a real charger instead of just a USB cord.
• Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at KFC, and got one.
• Although it is not common knowledge, there are actually three sides to the Force: the light side, the dark side, and Chuck Norris.

So there you have just a few of the hundreds of Chuck Norris facts. Oh, to be Chuck Norris... What's weird is he's a real guy, and has even read a few of these facts himself!

Well, it's getting late, and I have school again tomorrow...so enjoy your day and leave a comment if you get the chance to!

Acts 1:11
"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

As you may have noticed, I have come up with a name for my blog! If you look up, you will notice that it says "Tidbits From Tyler". Cool huh? That's what it will be for now, but if you have any other ideas I'm open to changing it later on once I get bored of this! =)

Today was an interesting day because...guess what??? I went back to school! I woke up at 7 this morning, put on Jamiroquai, layed down for another 15 minutes, then got up, took a shower, got my jacket, and headed out the door!

This year we have a new "homeroom teacher", a christian guy who is one of the only full time teachers to teach at our high school. He's a really cool guy, and teaches math and english, we only have him for math. I'm really glad for that because last year our math teacher wasn't my favorite...and therefore math wasn't my favorite either. I'm hoping that this year that will change!

I also forgot to mention that I'm a junior this year! But, as is in all Czech schools, I have one extra year of high school. So that means that including this year I still have 3 more years of school! Looking ahead, it may seem like a long time, but looking back on how far i've come so far, it's going to go by quick.

Something that i'm looking forward to this year in school is obviously being with my classmates, but also a special "volitelny predmet" which is a choosable subject. We have two seperate groups of the "VP", and we can choose from a list of about three each what to go to. This year, I will probably go first to a EU seminar, which will be more like a thing about government, which I'm looking forward to. It's going to be primarily in english, because the two american teachers at our school will be doing it. A part of the course will be lots of games too, all doing with government and strategy. The second group is a harder one to choose from. The subjects are - Christian Ethics, Psychology (which I took last year) and English Conversation. Because I took Psychology last year, I'm not sure I want to repeat it, even though it was one of my favorite classes before. That narrows it down to Ethics and Conversation. It may seem like an easy choice, either ethics because I don't need english or english because I should know about christianity. But i'm really stumped... Some kids in my class want me to go to Ethics, but one of the american teachers wants me to go to English! =) So i'll have to decide in the next few days. Any suggestions or advice would be great!

That's all for now, and one more thing. If you want me to send you an email every time I update, let me know. Otherwise I won't bother you and if you enjoy reading my blog you can check it on your own. Thanks! I appologize if i've been a little normaller lately, I have to be in a wacky mood to write wacky stuff! But if you stay loyal to me then eventually I'll go into weird mood again! =)

Since I know all of you are dying for some pics from greece, here are a few to start you off! Enjoy!