It’s 12:30 a.m. I’m awake because hunger has taken over. It’s definitely time for some dinner. This has been the schedule for the last few days. We wake up around 6 a.m. and go back to bed around 4 or 5 p.m. Then we sleep until 12 or 1 a.m., get up for a couple of hours, and go back to bed. I’m hoping it’s jet lag and that it will pass. By 5 p.m. yesterday, Lauryn and Ava looked like zombies; pale with bloodshot eyes and vacant stares. Zac and I power through to boost team morale. He has really been the team leader more than me, but sometimes he forgets that the rest of the team are a bunch of girls who need to stop frequently for food, water, and bathroom breaks. Still, I ... read more

Ava and I landed four days ago and we’re both still exhausted. I remember being tired for a day or two when I went to Israel and Japan, but not like this. I must be getting older! China is a 12-hour time difference, so I’m concerned about that now. As for getting home from the Czech, I did have an issue with the subway in Prague. The station that I needed wasn’t open until after 3 pm, but I didn’t know that until I got there. Ava and I got off one station away from Florenc (our actual stop) and asked a nice young man to help us get our bags up the escalator. He actually took us to the tram as well. It was there that an older couple from England helped us get the ... read more

“Let’s drink beer and burn the children!” Monica exclaimed with great enthusiasm. While this may sound a bit alarming, I can promise you it’s all in good fun. 15 minutes outside Hradec Králové, there’s a lovely little village. Jayna was nice enough to bring Ava and me there for Walpurgis Night. If you would like to read more about the history of the festival, you can follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night. Though the forecast called for rain, it was only a bit overcast and pretty warm outside. Jayna had told me about her village, so I was really excited to see it for myself. She told me her village was a peaceful place where everyone knew each other and helped each other out. It sounded like my own village on Chandler Hill, and I was excited to ... read more

"The monkeys have pink, puffy butts" was the response Ava game my mom concerning the zoo. We had walked the entire zoo, which took approximately 5 hours, and that was her big report. I had to laugh. It was a great day and the weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot or too cold. It was mostly overcast, but there were quite a few moments of sunshine. Overall, I thought it was great and the animals were also busy enjoying the weather. I was happy to see that there were a lot of baby animals. They were all so cute! The were only two big disappointments. They were cleaning the seal enclosure and the seals were therefore nowhere to be found. Also, I was really excited to see the new elephant enclosure, but the elephant were ... read more

Wiping tears away, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I was about to break down sobbing. I decided to step onto the bus and tell mom that we were going to leave, which was fine with her as well. We waived our last goodbyes as Ava and I walked away. One month has gone by at lightening speed. Mom, Ava, and I traveled to three countries (Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria) and now she was on her way to the airport to return home. It was a great, busy, hectic, and most of all memorable month. I decided to focus on the positives. “Well Ava, now we can take lots of stairs and escalators.” That was enough to excite Ava for the day. My mom was scared of the fast, steep escalators in Prague, which are so ... read more