With the end of the school year drawing to a close for all of us, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Final exams and projects along with parties and celebrations have kept us all very busy. We have a new nine year old in the family.
Max's birthday happened to fall on the date of his school's summer fun fair. There were games, food, crafts, and a bungee trampoline. (Liability isn't much of an issue here!) 
Also, with 11 of his classmates celebrating birthdays in June, the parents organized a joint birthday party at an indoor playground. The entire 3rd grade attended and a good time was had by all.
We enjoyed having long-time friends Tim and Karin visit. Here we are in a Prague beer garden on a hot afternoon after sightseeing.
We also spent a weekend doing some sightseeing outside of Prague in South Bohemia. We visited the beautiful medieval town of Cesky Krumlov.
It's a popular place to raft on the Vltava river. We enjoyed the natural scenery and wandering through the town.
Our Czech friends urged us to visit Hluboka Castle which looks like something straight from a fairy tale.
We had some great Czech goulash and knedliky (dumplings) there.
Having a car gave us the opportunity to drive through many small villages and enjoy the countryside full of wheat fields.
Finally, we stopped at Karlstejn Castle, the most famous of all the Czech castles. It housed the jewels of the Holy Roman empire and after seeing the pinnacle of rock that it's built on, we could see why they kept them there.
Finally, after all those castles, it was time for a little ice cream. After school lets out at the end of June, we'll spend some time in Slovenia and Croatia. Then it will be time for us to pack our bags and head back home to Minnesota.
