Graduations in Iowa and Slovakia!

 This is the longest time between posts so far, but I guess the cross-Atlantic travel, twice in the span of five days, is the only lame excuse I can offer!!  LOL!!  So, here is the run-down on the past week and a half............

The blog left off in Bratislava Wednesday evening where we had traveled by train after school.  Thursday morning, we walked to the bus stop with Katie, rode with her just one stop, then caught the direct bus to the Vienna airport, all without a hitch!  We got there in plenty of time to check in, go through security, then relax with a cup of tea and our breakfast rolls from Billa that we had picked up in Bratislava the night before.  (We correctly assumed that food would be ridiculously high priced at the airport, so we only bought tea there!)  The flights to London and Chicago likewise went smoothly, but there was a half-hour delay into Des Moines, so we didn't arrive until 11:30 p.m.   (About 6:30 a.m. for us!)

It was kind of cool how our plane with the British Air logo was reflected in the airport windows as we waited to taxi and take off!

Sunset out the airplane window, with a sea of clouds below us!  

The surprise "Welcoming Crew" at the Des Moines International Airport!!  It was so awesome seeing not only Paul and Beth, but also Grammy and Papa, AND Nancy, Dawn, and Jeremy.  It was so sweet of them all to stay up so late to meet us, even though several of them had to be at work in the morning!!   LOVED the smiles and hugs!!!  :-)  

I miss these girls SOOOOOO much!!!  Our time at the airport was really precious!!  

We went home and crashed in our own bed, but set an alarm for the morning!  We had a long "to-do" list starting with haircuts for both Tim and myself.  We didn't get everything done we had hoped, but so it goes!  

With our neighbor, Curran, across the street!!  It was so good to see Curran and his family!  

We met Beth at the DMU picnic for lunch on Friday.

It turned out to be a beautiful day for the picnic, the food was delicious, and we had a great time having Beth all to ourselves!   :-)

The Nadas were playing at the picnic!  WOW!!  Top-class entertainment - impressive!!  

Then in the afternoon, we made a trip to Wal-Mart with Beth to stock up on some items we wanted to take back to Slovakia.  We had brought one suitcase home full of the kids' birthday gifts and items we want to leave at home in Iowa, so we filled that suitcase again with things like vitamins, hair gel, index cards, and some other random items that are either really expensive, or that we can't find here in Slovakia.  Tim mowed the lawn because it had been raining all week and really needed it.  I even did a couple loads of laundry, so we could wear the same travel clothes on the return journey.   HA!  

Friday evening, DMU held a formal banquet for the graduates and their families, so we were honored to have family come to attend!  

Tim's mom and his sisters, Sue and Deb, arrived first at the banquet.  There was a cocktail hour ahead of time where we got to visit with other friends from Boone and Ankeny, as well as Beth's DMU roommate's family.  

We were seated at two separate tables for the dinner, which was very elegant.
Front = Grammy Maurene, Beth, and Papa Ed Failor.
Back = Aunt Andrea and fiancé Tim (Muscatine)

It was so awesome for everyone to come from near and far!!  
Front = Aunt Sue Kerr (Florence, WI), Grandma Betty Olson (Forest City), Aunt Deb Olson (Clinton)  Back = Alana and Paul (now in Ames)

Lute was at home from Fairbank by the time we got back from the banquet.  Alana had to head back to Ames, but we decided to give the kids their birthday presents, since we had missed all 3 spring birthdays!  We obviously went with a "Slovakia" theme - and they all seemed pleased with their gifts!   :-)  

Lute: a soccer shirt  -  Beth: a Slovak Olympic team jacket and slicks, so she's kayaking (Liptovsky Mikuláš is known for some kayak olympians!)  -  Paul: a hockey jersey.  Of course all three are acting the parts of their costumes, just like always in this family!!  :-)   Love these crazy kids!!  

Beth met with some of her classmates for pictures before the graduation ceremony on Saturday morning, since they figured it would be too crowded and chaotic afterwards to get together.  So I went with her to be photographer and ended up helping the girls figure out how to arrange their master's hoods, thanks to doing Tim's at the AHS graduations for so many years!  

Getting ready to send our girl on her way!  We were so excited to be there to share in her graduation ceremony!!  

The venue was really huge, and there was a really big crowd, so we were quite far away from the stage.  Thankfully, there was an enormous big-screen TV where we could see close-up shots of Beth as her name was announced.  

And here is one very happy young lady during the recessional!!  Congrats to Beth, our Physician Assistant!  

The Olson ladies all dressed in pinks for the dinner Friday night, and they corresponded again for Saturday's graduation in their greens and yellows!  The graduation ceremony lasted about 2 and a half hours because of the large D.O. class.  

With my folks, who now live in West Des Moines.  

We are so proud of our Princess!  

The grandparents and grandkids!  

It was absolutely wonderful to be all together for Beth's graduation!   

We are so proud of all four of our wonderful kids!!   :-) 

After graduation, Grammy and Papa hosted a celebratory dinner for family at the Waterfront Restaurant in Ankeny.  It was so much fun being together with everyone to honor the graduate!
Left side = my brother Ed and Kristin (3 of the 4 Failor cousins were there too)

The food was great, and everyone had a super time together!
This end of the table has the Failor cousins, plus cousins from my mom's side of the family.  It was such fun to see everyone!!  

With Uncle Ed and the Failor cousins:  Kristin, Edward, Beth, Ali, Andrew and his girlfriend Natalie, Jeff, Alana, Paul, and Lute.

This is Beth's red-headed second cousin once removed, Kate Wilson.    What a couple of cutie patooties!!     :-)   (Kate's Dad, Aaron, was the ring-bearer at our wedding!)  

With the cousins from my side:  Lute, Andrew Wagner, Kate Wilson & Beth, Arnie Wagner, Judith Walrod, Aaron Wilson, Vicki Wagner, Steve Julius, and Aaron Wagner.

After the reception/dinner, we went back to our house and kicked back for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  Jet lag wasn't really too bad, but we were pretty tired by that point. We gave Alana her Slovak birthday gifts early, since her day isn't until August, but we forgot to get a picture of her in her Olympic team gear!!  The six of us played board games, ordered pizza, and just hung out having fun together.  There was lots of laughter, that's for sure!!  Tim and I conked out earlier than the rest, needless to say.  

We decided to just go to church with Beth to Prairie Ridge in Ankeny because the timing worked out the best - we had to leave for the airport about 11:15.  We said good-bye to Paul, Alana, and Lute before they headed to church at the Ankeny branch of Cornerstone, and Beth took us back to the airport.  We are glad it will only be a short while before we see everyone back in Iowa again!!  

All the flights again went incredibly well, and we were shocked that we made our flight from Madrid to Vienna despite only an hour connection time.  Not only that, but our luggage made it too --- Iberian Air rocks!!  :-)  We took the bus back to Bratislava again, but the second bus, to the train station, didn't get us there in time for the fast train.  So we had to kill 2 hours waiting, plus take a 4-hour instead of 3-hour train ride back to Liptovsky Mikuláš.  Oh well.  The car was a really old and crummy one too, but it wasn't a big deal, since we were really tired by then!  We tried to sleep as much as possible on the way back, and we definitely slept really hard once we finally got back to our flat that night.  (We lost a day in traveling back - it was Monday evening when we returned!)  Whew!

We had to be at school extra early Tuesday morning for the Maturita examinations.  It was a very interesting process to watch each senior student come in for a 20-minute oral examination in English.  There were three sections:  a picture comparison / discussion, a set of questions on a certain specific topic, and a role-play scenario, which is the part Tim and I helped with, as the second person in the impromptu dialogue roles.  The students for the most part did really well, and of course they were all dressed up in business attire - suits, dresses, etc.  We also taught our regular classes, so we had a busy three days during the testing.  All of the students passed!   

This is the V.AP class photo collage board, which is displayed in a shop window on the main town square.  We will really miss these wonderful kids!   

The Octava and V.AP classes joined in singing a song at their graduation ceremony held at the church Thursday evening.  

This is just an awesome group of kids!!  We have been so fortunate to get to know them this school year!

Two of the IV class students read the graduates' names and some commentary during the graduation ceremony.  

One last glimpse of the fabulous V.AP class.  Each student's name is announced, then he/she comes forward to bow/curtsy, then accept handshakes from the mayor and the bishop, their diploma from their class teacher, and a gift from the headmistress.  

Here is a link to a video of the classes singing their song..........
EGJT Graduation Song 2013


Our normal evening activities kept us busy, but we tried to get to bed early all week to catch up on sleep and avoid jet-lag.  Tuesday was the worst, but we survived.  I certainly didn't have the energy to stay up late blogging and still get up for school every morning, hence the delay in this latest post!   So tomorrow, we will NOT set the alarm, but Tim came home from basketball saying we now have a lot going on later on Saturday.  More on that next time!   

One of Tim's priorities when we were in Ankeny was to find an American baseball cap for Zuzka's son, Timko.  We wanted it to say IOWA, and we think Timko likes it!!  :-)  

We are thankful for safe travels, for the opportunity to see family and friends in Iowa over the weekend, and to be back enjoying our time in Slovakia!  God bless you all!!  

Trip to Tisovec

First, this is the maypole in the town center in Liptovsky Mikuláš, which we saw on the way back from our bike ride Sunday.

Monday was another warm, beautiful day, and on the way back after lunch at the primary school, I wanted to get a picture of the prettiest bushes of bridal wreath I think I've ever seen, along with our two Slovak daughters, Janka and Katarina!    :-)  

On Monday, we had another trip planned, this one by car!  Arden Haug, the Global Missions director for Europe who trained us, picked us up after school to drive southeast through the mountains to meet the American lectors who are at the school in Tisovec.  

The drive through the mountains was another gorgeous trip, but it was difficult to get pictures from the back seat!  Arden dropped us off at this salaš, then continued on to pick up the girls in Tisovec, since the car wouldn't hold us all!  So Tim and I walked up the hill to look around and get a table.  

I may have to start a whole series of photos of Tim with the wooden traditional figures!   This one is of a shepherd, right next to the salaš (sheep ranch, now a restaurant.)

Heading up to check out the sheep behind the salaš.  It was about a half hour before the others joined us, so we just enjoyed the peaceful setting and cool mountain air.  

We had a delicious dinner of traditional fare such as pirohy and halušky with bryndza (sheep cheese), mutton, sauerkraut, smoked cheeses and sausage, etc.  with the gals who are teaching in Tisovec and Arden.  

Arden with his newest recruit!   ;-)  

We again waited for Arden to drop the gals back in town, so we went out on the porch and enjoyed listening to the many bird calls as the evening shadows lengthened.  We particularly enjoyed the persistent cuckoos!  

Sunset through the forest!   What a wonderful way to end the day watching God's handiwork on this beautiful spring evening in the forested mountains of Slovakia!  

We got home about 10:30 Monday night after much good conversation in the car with Arden.  Tuesday was a busy day at school, followed by our Slovak lesson, church choir (which was moved from Monday after we said we couldn't come the next 2 Mondays) and an English lesson with Eva and Tana.  We got all packed for our trip to Iowa, and Tim actually got to sleep at a decent time.  Maybe now that I've shared our last couple of experiences, I'll finally be tired enough to fall asleep too, despite the excitement about leaving tomorrow for our trip back to the good old U.S.A.!!  

LATER..........  Well, Wednesday went by in a blur, everything went great at school, and we were on the train to Bratislava by 3:30.  After a nice dinner with Katie, Tim and I strolled around the old town for a while soaking in the European atmosphere.  And now, we're ready to take 2 buses which will get us to the Vienna airport!!   

CONGRATULATIONS to Beth - we can't wait to see everyone!!      :-)

Žiarska Chata

We leave tomorrow on the first leg of our journey back to Iowa for Beth's graduation from DMU, we're all packed, Tim is sleeping, but my mind is racing.  So I thought I'd post something new on the blog!  

Sunday after church we decided to bike into the Žiar Valley, north of Podbreziny.   We packed a lunch in a backpack and headed out under sunny skies.  We ate our sandwiches on benches in the village of liar, on benches with a view of this bell tower.  

We went by several of these tall "maypoles" which are put up by young men in front of houses of the girls they are sweet on!  

We took a detour off the road to check out this church, which has recently had its steeples renovated in the traditional wood shingle style typical for this area.  

Most of the ride was close to this mountain stream, and we crossed over it several times.

The day was absolutely beautiful, with white puffy clouds in a bright blue sky!

Once we got into the forest, this sight caught our eye --- a warning about looking overhead for road construction above.   LOL!  

This was the entrance to a cave, but they were giving a tour when we arrived, and we didn't know how long we'd have to wait, so we continued our ride. 

The road started getting much steeper after gradual inclines for the first part of the trek, so for the last 4 kilometers, we walked the bikes uphill.  

We brought snacks and water along, and we stopped a few times to take in the gorgeous scenery along the way.  

There were so many wildflowers along the way, so I took many photos, but the pictures don't really do them justice.  The spring colors were so beautiful!!  

Continuing our climb into the Žiarska Dolina - finally Žiarska chata came into view - the restaurant/pub at the far end of the path into the mountain valley.  

We made it!!  :-)  

The day kept getting warmer all afternoon, so we were definitely ready for a cold beverage by the time we arrived at the chata.  (cottage)  But room temperature was O.K. too, since the cooler evidently wasn't working!!  LOL!!  

There was a sign for trails up beyond the chata, so next we left the bikes behind and checked out that area. 

This area had a wooden fence around it, with the cross and bell, as well as many plaques.

We guessed it must be a memorial area for those who have died in the mountains here, from climbing accidents, avalanches, etc.  

There are many of these carved wooden figures in villages all over the region, so I asked Tim to pose with this one!        :-)  

We climbed up farther yet, and found this waterfall which was fed by snow still melting up in the mountain.  

Another picture of the waterfall from farther away.  

More mountain views - it was spectacular scenery! 

Flowers and scenery on the ride back down the valley.  Which, but the way, was all downhill.  Those first 4 kilometers back down we used the brakes a lot, but after that, it was so relaxing just coasting all the way back for miles!  

There's even a bee in this pic!   

Buttercups, I think!  They remind me of Ella Chabot!!   :-)  

The bright yellow hill is rapeseed, which is the crop used to make canola oil.  There are many fields of it around here, and the yellow is incredibly bright.  

As you can see, there were many stops along the way to photograph the beauty of the mountains, meadows, forest, and fields.  The parts that can't be captured on a blog are the sweet scents of spring flowers in the mountain air.  Amazing!!  

We stopped again for some mineral water and cake at a café in Podbreziny before heading back to our flat again after almost 6 hours of enjoying nature!  What a wonderful day!!