Prague or Praha for those of you more cultured.....

I'm a junkie. It's official. I AM A TRAVEL JUNKIE. How am I going to come down from this high?   

Is it possible??? I mean at some point this will end... I guess I just have to just enjoy the ride while I'm on it. I wanted to preface that before I dove into Prague. Prague my friends? Is beautiful. The hotel we were at, the food we ate, the sights we took in, the history- all just breathtaking. For those who may (but more for those who probably do not know), my sister and her husband moved there in August to take an intensive class to become certified teachers of English. They will then most likely settle themselves over there for a while. My parents, to kill the proverbial 2 birds with one stone (?), flew over, stayed in the same hotel as us .. (actually in the same hallway) and we proceeded to do the unthinkable...vacation together.  I know what you're thinking, but this is the older, wiser, more mature Aly, and it was actually fabulous. Pre-trip, I was having paranoid flashbacks of family vacations from adolescence, but it was all good. We took in the sites, ate a lot of gelato, drank a lot of Pilsner, walked ALOT, and really just enjoyed one another's company. I know right???? 

How mature are we???

What did we see?*** PRAGUE RECAP*** My feet told me we had seen pretty much everything. My eyes unfortunately told me otherwise. Prague has a fascinating history. While we were only there one week, the sheer amount cathedrals alone to take in would have kept us there 2 weeks. We went to the Jewish quarter, which had a fascinating, though sorrowful history; the palace and the zoo each took up a day alone and then there were the towers, cobblestone streets, the outdoor flea markets and ALL the shops. My mom and I went on a ghost tour one night which went through town and underground.- slightly creepy, VERY cool. Will and I got to have a date night at a jazz restaurant where we had amazing food and basked in child- free lovers gazes. OHHHH and the architecture was breathtaking. Everywhere you turned there was a picture to be taken. Crazy. 
To keep Wyatt on board with the fast paced travel of the week he thankfully became OCD about collecting badges from each of the sites we went to(Charles bridge)( astronomical tower) etc. By the end of the trip he was officially obsessed AND pulling us all on board his crazy train as well. When one of the sites had two different badges to be bought, I don't want to even tell you how excited I got. Ah well. Wyatt got free rides on sore shoulders for nearly the entire week and bonded with his grandparents, which was pretty special to watch. 
Say it with me.....AWESOMENESS.

Oh and I hear that Prague is pretty amazing at Christmas. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

                              

                                               Spidey

chillaxin' looking at the ceiling to your left

                              

                                                           Awesome Cathedral

Date at the Ice Bar

Jewish cemetary

The Dynamic Duo

  

                          Ghost Tour

                                          

                                                               Weird, but oddly cool. This is actually a tombstone...

London

On the plane...our traveler

 

Summer....

It's been awhile and I've got a lot to say- so I better get started. 

Go for the gold man. Go for the Gold. 

Let's start with London. Amazing. Done and done. Really. Awesomeness. Because of my amazing girlfriend (KATI KELLY) we were able to get tickets to the Olympics AND the bonus of staying and overtaking her living room. Her sister's family was there as well so it was in two words- cozy and a whole lot of fun. We saw beach volleyball and two soccer(futbol) games. "Beach"volleyball was at 8:00 PM under the bright lights and a man made mini beach. We were wearing jackets and much to Will's dismay the women players were wearing long spandex pants and shirts. As we were there until 12 AM we saw the sun setting, Big Ben and castles in the distance... It was magnificent. Added onto this excitement WAS.... it was the men's and women's American teams that were playing... (Our women who would later go on to win the gold). See? Amazing. 
The two following nights were soccer games. To watch soccer on TV, I find it a bit of a snooze fest... But in person? You could throw stripes on me and call me a ref- I'm screaming, rooting for countries(Gabon?)that I've never heard of, and totally living in the moment. The first night GB women were playing which, having little loyalty, Wyatt dressed in GB garb(thanks AGAIN Kati Kelly) and we were waving their flag like it was our job. They won. Not that I'm taking full credit or anything. 
The second evening our seats were 18 rows behind the goal. Ahhhhhhmazing. An experience to remember for a lifetime. It's a bummer Wyatt was sleeping for 3/4 of it. Whatevs. 
During the days we toured, shopped, picnicked in the park, saw crown jewels, hung out with Beefeaters, walked like the Beetles and had an amazing time with friends.Seriously living the life and loving it.

                             

Beach Volleyball

Smells like Team Spirit

Sunset at Beach Volleyball Game

Walking around Pre-GB Soccer Game.

1st Soccer Game Women's team GB vs. Brazil

Hey sister.

Big Ben

London Eye

He's Awake! South Korea vs. Gabon

18 rows back baby.

Dr. Wynnedith Ritchey

I certainly cannot take credit for any of the following stories but perhaps you'll enjoy this DID YOU KNOW session as I did...

DID YOU KNOW THAT....

* At the age of 49, Wynnedith Ritchey went back to school and began her own Doctoral study?

* After she retired, she helped with the Red Cross Blood Mobile and Bedford County Historical Society?

* She cared so much for her students that she opened her home for multiple semesters in order to ensure that they could graduate.

* With a love for technology she bought herself a VHS camera, recorded each of her three children's Christmas' and presented them each a gift of a VCR.

* She was perhaps one of the first people in Bedford County to own an Apple II computer. 

(Who doesn't love an apple woman??)

* She also had one of the first personal tape recorders!

* She visited forty seven states and nine countries.

* She was sworn into the CIA for secretarial duties.

* Dr. Wynnedith Ritchey taught  English and Business Education at Everett Area High School from 1955 – 1990 and was fondly known to her students as “Doc."

* She also taught English1 for two years for the Penn State Bedford County Campus and also Juniata College. 

* She served as Past President of the Fort Bedford Toastmistress Club, Council II, ITC; Everett Area Education Association, Business Ed Section of PSEA VPAE, PA Business Education Association and Bedford Branch AAUW.

*Dr. Wynnedith Ritchey most certainly did not want Amazing Grace played at her funeral. She was NO wretch. 



P.S. Did you know that she loves YOU the most?



Thanks to:

http://obitsforlife.com/obituary/523392/Ritchey-Wynnedith.php

and Marshall Ritchey for the info : )

I'm back to Normal?!

I am unsure what prompted my funk/ writing hiatus...I just didn't want to do it. So there. 
I think I'm over it now. I was feeling just way to disconnected. So really. I'm over it. 
Where I left off- Hmmmmm. Let me recap and then flesh out the details. 
*Wyatt's school is out for the longest summer break ever due to an addition that is still in progress and to be completed before school commences on August 20th. I love my son, however some parts of this summer have worn down my resolve and spirits that I am indeed a stellar mother.
*Will's grandmother passed away and we headed out June 2nd for one week back to the states. The trip was indeed bittersweet. While refreshing to visit with family we were still home for the passing of a great woman who indeed made her mark in the world. 
*Will and I have been married 10 years!
*Upon return from the states, Wyatt attended 4 awesome weeks of summer camp 9-12 each morning. This was a sanity saver for this mother (aka me).
*I joined weight watchers. 
*I'm losing weight!!! Amazing I know. The program holds me accountable and I love it. 
*I'm running outside at least 3 days a week and feel awesome. Seeing results is a HUGE  booster for any woman who's been dying to lose weight for the past million yrs.  
*I continued volunteering through the month of June at the girls shelter and the migrant woman's shelter. Knowing that myself and a fellow volunteer were taking some time off during the summer the girls organized a special event for the two of us; planning a meal and presenting us with planned songs and games. It was simultaneously humbling and amazing. They are awesome. 
*I made cranes like a woman on crack. And I made my friends do it too. Ha ha. My sister had requested cranes for her(then) up and coming nuptials in July and I origami-ed my heart out. Really.I did. I have pictures.  
*Wyatt and I brought aforementioned cranes to Rachel (in Florida) as a surprise... Though I question if she didn't actually know. I met my nephew John, saw the parentals and witnessed my baby sister get hitched. ...amongst other awesomeness.* Sniff Sniff.
*The weekend upon my return from FL 10 days later was our pre-scheduled camping trip with a bunch of families of co- workers that Will works with. Camping in Taiwan was WAY different then my experience in the US. All of which were pretty unpleasant experiences. So with that being said, it was a good time. 
So here I am. Up to date. Almost. Let's see though- in between all the aforementioned items,  Wyatt lost a couple teeth, we've discovered the public library in which Wyatt got his first library card, had another modeling shoot and went on his first hike(4km). I got my nose pierced, learned how to share books on my kindle (which is super exciting) all while continuing to search for coffee spots around Taiwan and write articles for the Centered magazine.  Oh yes- we're headed for the Olympics and the Czech Republic this weekend. I know right?Ca-razy town. 

Happy "Mudders" Day.

Granted there are rough days. BUT...the best reason for being a mom? Well, you can see the evidence below. You gotta love it. I love that Wyatt calls me mudder and I love that he makes me the cheesiest plastic beaded necklaces known to man. I love that he's the not the kid who wrote in his mom book that all his mom does is eat and sleep all day. I love that he was helping me put away groceries and cleaning the bathroom completely unprompted because he was "showing kindness and being respectful."Oh, and the fact that he doesn't know my actual age is a bonus as well. I can happily cling to youth for another year. 

 

 

 

I Love you too buddy.