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!