Friday, June 18, 2010

Let the goodbye's begin...:(

Well, the hard part of leaving has begun!! All the goodbye gatherings, lunches, parties, dinners, etc., etc... We have met some incredible people and formed some great relationships that will last a lifetime!! Below are some pics from some of these special times we have shared!
We were invited to our friends, the van der Voort's, for dinner one evening. The kids had a blast jumping on the trampoline! It is always such a relaxing time at their house in the country!!


...Iwona and Rachel

This is from Claire's last day at school...
...Claire and Ola
...her class
...Claire and Pani (Mrs.) Monika, her teacher!

This is from a "grill-out" we had with some of our best friends here!!
...Claire, Emilka, and Kamilka
...Slawek and Shea

...chowin' down!!

...Philip and Kacper
...the parents, Slawek and Iza, us, and Basia and Maciek
Below are some photos from McKenna's last basketball practice...afterward, we went to a park, ate some pizza, and let McKenna enjoy the time with her friends!!
...yes, that's a volleyball...and...yes, this some form of dodgeball!! They do this from time to time for fun!!


...what's practice without a few "suicide drills" after a TON of missed freethrows!!


...Jazda, Jazda, Jazda...Bialwej Gwiazda!!! (GO, GO, GO...White Star)
...Coach Marta gave McKenna a few really nice gifts!!
...Karolina, McKenna, Klaudia, Agnieszka, Kasia, Natalia, Ola, Anetta, Sylwia, and Coach Marta


...the Wisla Star!!

Wieliczka Salt Mine!

We finally, after almost three years of living here, visited the Wieliczka (Vee-l-eech-ka) Salt Mine which is just outside of Krakow. 380 Stairs and alot of downhill walking and we finally reached the bottom, 135 meters (442 feet) underground. Follow this link to learn more about the history of this salt mine...http://www.kopalnia.pl/

...headed down the stairs
...looking down

...cathedral...everything is made completely out of salt!


Kid's program at church, my enormous muscles, and a beautiful "mummy"!!

The kids at our international church recently put on a small performance and then we had some fun family games after church!!




...muscle man contest!!

...the most beautiful "mummy" in the world (it's Rachel, I promise)
...McKenna had the idea to "accesorize" with the necklace

Philip "Bolt"...

Philip recently participated with his international school in a track meet against local Polish schools. He participated in 3 events, 60 meter race, long jump, and an obstacle course. He had a great time!!



...a little warmup

...a little stretching

...preparing for the start!!


...the race (he was the only 1st grader participating)



...obstacle course


...fun with friends after the events