GIRLS TRIP - PORTLAND OREGON!!!

My sister, Vlady had planned to travel the US west coast for 2 weeks!!! Wow!! Starting in Portland, Oregon and making her way down to San Francisco, Calofornia.
My cousin, Martina, from the Czech Republic (who know lives in London) was also flying in for the trip. In my my mind I thought about going, just for the Portland part of it. I would have loved to have done it all, but knew that wasn't a possibility. Portland was on my list of US cities I wanted to see. After much consideration and talking it over with Ricky, we decided I should go. It was a pretty hard decision because  we just closed the furniture store and Ricky was in the middle of starting his new job.
I also knew if I didn't go I would regret it. I have not seen my cousin for 15 years!!! Not only that but I have a dear child hood friend, Aniko, who lives near there. I also have not seen her for 15 years.
Plus it would give me a little bit of time to get away and enjoy time with my sister. We haven't had a trip together, umm I don't think ever.
The trip was amazing. Portland was beautiful, friendly and very laid back. So much nature to see and be in awwww of. I think Vlady and I were excited about seeing hills and trees!! My cousin wasn't really sure what our excitement was about since she sees this kind of scenery all the time in Europe.
The first day was just Vlady and I. We spent it by going to Multnomah Waterfall. A beautiful waterfall! We also hiked the steep 2 miles up the mountain to see the waterfall from above. Breathtaking!!!
The second day when Martina got there we visited Ecola park. This is where a lot of the Twilight scenes were filmed. We might of actually stepped in the same places that Jacob and Edward did!!
The last night we met my friend Aniko and her boyfriend for dinner. It was so great and emotional seeing her after so long. Her family and mine were very close as we were growing up. Somehow we lost touch. Thanks to facebook we were able to reconnect.
On my last day (Sat - Tue) Vlady dropped me off at the airport as they continued their trip south. Sad I couldn't continue with them, but I was happy to get back home and see Ricky and my 2 beautiful kids.
I know this trip wouldn't be possible with out great friends to help out. Stacy and Charles for letting Hana and Ricky spend the night Friday since my flight was at 6am. Lorelei who had Hana all day Monday and Ricky after school and then again after school on Tuesday. Also letting Ricky be dropped of before school so big Ricky could get to work on time. Valerie for letting Hana be dropped of super early on Tuesday and taking her to school. I'm so blessed to have such amazing friends who are willing to help out.
Also I'm thankful that my amazing husband didn't say anything against me going. I know it wasn't the easiest thing to do or probably even the right timing, but no concerns were ever stressed.
Such an amazing trip!!!!

 Seaside Oregon.

 Dinner with Aniko and her boyfriend Cory.

 Having a pint at the oldest brewery in Portland, Bridgeport.  Portland is known for it's breweries.

 Rose Garden. So pretty and smelled so good.

 Japanese Garden.

 Portland has a lot of food street carts. We found a Czech one. We were super excited!!! I had planned to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there. But it didn't turn out that way. It was so good to have some authentic Czech food.

 Dinner with Aniko.

 Multnomah falls. So pretty!!I think this is one of the tallest falls in the US.

 After the treacherous 2 mile uphill hike. The waterfall from the top.

 Ecola state park.

 Getting warm and having coffee and a pastry.

 Gulash!! Yummy!!! Good but I have to say my dads is a little better. I did want to buy a ton of knedlik (dumplings) to take with me though.

Cheers!!


**Sorry the pictures are scattered. I pulled from 2 sources***

Eight Year Anniversary!!

I was sitting in my car and it dawned on me that I never blogged about my 8 year anniversary. Oops!!!!
On September 6 Ricky and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary. I am truly blessed to have married my best friend and the love of my life.

Ricky,
You are an amazing father and husband. I  love you more with each passing day. You are an amazing man. How did I get so lucky to have showed up on your doorstep 10 years ago. I guess God knew what he was doing. The kids and I appreciate everything that you do for our little family and how extremely hard you work. With you all my dreams have come true. I love you today and always.

SOCCER AND FLAG FOOTBALL!!

This fall Hana decided she wanted to play soccer and Ricky football.
So exciting!!!! Their 1st games were today. Hana's team is the Cheetahs and Ricky is the assistant coach. The game was exciting. The Cheetahs won!!!!! They dominated it was great!!! Hana played well and said she really enjoyed it. Ricky is great at coaching and all the kids love him. They just have a blast out there. I can't wait till the next game. Unfortunately I had to leave early because lil Ricky's game was an hour later about 15 minutes away.
Ricky's team is the Colts. They have a great group. It's pretty confusing out there, but little Ricky is trying to learn and he says he loves it. That's all that matters.
On top of practices and games, my kids also have gymnastics and take won do!! We're pretty busy around here. I think we have one weeknight that is free and that's only because Hana's gymnastics is during the day. Wednesday evenings we have midweek. Whoa, I'm tired already, but I wouldn't change it. It's so much fun.

 I know the red doesn't really do anything for the whole outfit. But I can find her in a field with out any issues - lol. I will be getting a different color for her next game.

                                               Go Hana and Addi!!!!

 

Coach Ricky getting his players ready. He did a great job. They won 8-0!!!

                                        A little practice before the game.

 

                            Hana supporting Ricky after her soccer game.

                               Hut. Hut.

                      Go Ricky go!!! He ran great. Just needed to go up the field and not sideline.

LABOR DAY!!

This Labor day we decided to visit my mom. Dad is in Europe so mom is alone. This was a special trip because daddy decided to come with us. YAY!!!
All we did was spend time sleeping, eating, at the beach and more eating. It was a very relaxing trip.

                      They couldn't wait to splash around in this clear water.

                       Not going to catch too many waves in this clear and calm water.

                   Even Hana got in on the action this trip.

                                        They LOVED being thrown.

                           Now that is some height!!!

 

                             She loves running and falling.

                           Hana helping the fisherman put his fresh caught bait into a bucket.