Czech please!

This past weekend we went to Omaha for a funeral and to visit family.  We wanted to make the best of the trip so we decided to try somewhere new to eat.  We wanted to eat somewhere very "Omaha" so we decided to try the Bohemian Cafe.  First, a little history lesson.   Ryan's mother's family is from a little town in Nebraska named Howells.  Almost all the families in Howells are from Czechoslovakia, including the Mejstrik family.  You might remember when we attended Polka Mass a couple of years ago as apart of the Mejstrik family reunion.  If you don't, I would gladly tell you all about it. 

The Bohemian Cafe has been open since 1924 and is located in old town Omaha.  If you are a fan of dumplings and kraut, this is the place for you.  Ryan was brave and tried the liver dumpling soup as an appetizer.  Most of the items on the menu I couldn't pronounce and I had no idea what they were so with some guidance I tried to play it safe with the Czech goulash.  Ryan had some kind of roast beef in a sauce served over dumplings.  Pretty much everything was meat, kraut and dumplings.

It was very different.  Very different.  Wendy said I was a good sport.  I think I have fulfilled my dumplingand kraut quota for at least the next year.

For dessert we had a traditional Czech pastry, Kolacky.  It's a sweet roll filled with fruit or cream.  The cafe makes them from scratch daily.  They were delicious!

Great Grandmas

Camilla recently has been able to spend some time with her great grandmas. 

Great Granny Clark lives nearby so we get to see her the most often.  It's fun to visit Granny on her farm and see the horses.  We also recently enjoy Granny's 85th birthday party this summer as well.

Great Grandma Myrtle lives in Omaha.  I love the 4 generation photo.  Grandma Myrt recently moved into an assisted living and she is loving it!  We got to visit Grandma Myrt at her new place this past weekend and it was so nice to catch up.

Great Grandma Fidelis is Camilla's namesake.  Grandma Fidelis is going to be 97 years old next month!  Yes, 97!  Grandma Fidelis is the matriarch of the BIG Mullen family in Omaha who all adore her. 

Great Grandma Mae passed away in 1998.  I know that if Grandma Mae was here she would just be crazy about Camilla, she always loved babies.  Maybe that's where my mom got her love of babies.  She was soft spoken, sweet and kind. 

Ryan and I both love spending time with our extended family.  I'm looking forward to Camilla being old enough for us to tell her stories about her Great Grandmothers and the legacies they have left for our families.

FHE

Family Home Evening (FHE) tonight consisted of:

-opening song, "Popcorn Popping"
-2 minute lesson
-3 closing songs
-dance party in the kitchen to 70's and 80's rock music.

BEST.FHE.EVER.

Camilla loved it, so did her parents.

Olympics

We've really been enjoying watching the Olympics this summer.  Especially the women's gymnastics.  I watched last night as they won the gold medal!  I remember being a teenager, staying up late and cheering on the 1996 women's team as they won gold.  I was jumping up and down in the dark living room trying not to wake everyone up (thank you Mom for letting me stay up late).  I am usually not much of a sports fan, but there is something about the Olympics that really gets me going.

We've been having our own Olympics at our house with Camilla learning how to crawl.  This event I am calling the Mullen version of the gymnastics floor routine.

8 Months

A month of photos.

 

 Camilla and her Great Grandma Clark at my Mom and Dad's birthday party.

Blowing raspberries. 

 Heading to the ward picnic.  Did I mention it was 100+ degrees out? 

 

I may have overestimated her enthusiasm for eating a couple of months ago.  Acutally, yes I did.  She didn't really enjoy eating solids until a couple of days ago.  I tried her out on them at 6 months and she just wasn't ready yet.  So we took a 7 week break and when we tried again we've had a lot more success.  We've discovered that she isn't a big fan of pureed food.  She loves to feed herself and loves any food with a crunch. 

We headed down to Wamego for Piper's 5th birthday party earlier this month too.