And March is over...

Well, it seemed rather as though March was over before it even began. Sort of how it goes when you have a two and a half week visit in the middle as well as Spring Break. Those exhausting days seem to evaporate even as they take every last iota of energy. It was great having Mom and Dad here, and now I'm gearing up for Malin to arrive this evening. I have a load of pictures to add and stories to recount, but that will probably take a while seeing as how I'm also dramatically behind on my journal writing. Funny how life doesn't like to slow down in order for me to take stock of it all.
Anyhow, Mom and Dad are safely back stateside and seem to have really enjoyed the chaos here as well. I did my best to pack every moment with something, and they took it all in stride, much to the surprise of my students who made comments like, "They're the age of my grandparents! I can't imagine my grandparents traveling like that." Or "You still drive??? At your age???" Good times for certain. They made quite a splash in my little world, and also impressed them by the evident fact that, after all these years they're still very much in love. What a great illustration for the people here to see.
Of course, for me, the most important thing was having them meet Mark. I was really thankful that they all got along so well together. It was amazing to bring these two parts of my life together and seeing how they would all relate. And it went great, despite the fact that several things Mark had carefully planned ended up being closed for no apparent reason. What a frustration. But since Mom and Dad had no real plans or expectations they were able to roll with it and just enjoy everything that came their way.
So on that note here are a few photos to whet your appetite for more. The first few are from our first trip to Marianske Lazne where Mark really had a great chance to play tour guide and to introduce them to his home.



These next few are from their first visit to a castle. I was afraid that all the castles here would be close, but miraculously Loket castle, which is actually one of my all time favorites, was open, so I had great fun showing them around, as well as letting them get a taste of the creepy dungeon :)


So great to finally be able to show them around this place that has been such a huge part of my life over these past three years. Good times for sure.