Kazapalooza 2014

I am going to try and post all of the notes I have been taking over the last (more than) year so this might not be Pulitzer Prize winning writing.  Not that it ever was.  But I am going to get it all down because I don't want to forget a thing.  And the photos too.  These boys just grow so fast and I love having this record to look back at.  So all of our memories will be frozen in time here.  And really, perfection is not my thing and it shouldn't be yours either.  Life's too short for perfection.  

XOXO, -m  

Hi all,

Really, I want to just post the 400 photos I took over the course of our long weekend in the Finger Lakes area of NY since these really tell the story of Kazapalooza 2014.  But- as a person who loves to write- I really can’t help myself.  Must. Write. Words.  So here are some thoughts about the weekend that means so much to us as a family.   

The buildup to the weekend started way before the weekend.  There were a ton of posts on Facebook about people starting their trip to come here with their RV’s packed and cars full of kids as they drove and drove and drove stopping along the way at interesting places or to meet up with other KP peeps. Reading them made me so excited to get going. They were coming from FL, from TN, and from lots of other places that are nowhere even remotely near New York. 

 But best was that someone posted about a boy who was there at the resort with his family for a sporting event and someone asked if he was from Kaz.  Well, that really doesn’t happen to much and so he asked why they asked him that and they said they assumed he was here for Kazapalooza.  The kid had never even heard of it.  But of course after that he had to stay the weekend and he was sort of a guest of honor the whole time.  This kid who was 18 years old was all of a sudden, very unexpectedly surrounded by hundreds of kids just like him.  I mean, truly, what are the odds?  Astronomical I’m sure.

I keep confusing other kids with mine. Usually my kids are the only ones in any given area who actually look like my kids. But here, all the kids look the same.  There are a million Rinats and Aibeks running around and I have to stop myself from calling them by my kids’ names. I love it.  And I know that something in them loves it too.  They are not the odd ones out (although they won’t ever really be as long as we live in DC) but the parents are are the ones who are the oddballs.  It’s a nice little change of pace.  And I just love that my youngest (as well as Rin) makes new friends in a millisecond.  He was constantly asking, "Where my friend?"  And that I can let him just wander off with our Kaz friends and not worry for a second.  

Aizhan, the woman who wrote that article about us, is here to write about KP.  The photographer that came with her admitted that when she came out and saw the huge tent and all of Kaz kids running around, she had to excuse herself for a minute because she started crying and I totally get that.  It is an amazing feeling.  It is overwhelming the amount of love that is here.  The children and parents who found each other and continue to support each other as these kids grow older just fills your soul and it like no other experience I've ever had.  It is amazing and incredible and a million other adjectives that all mean that.  There really is no way to describe how I feel when I am here except that I am full.  Full of contentment and love and acceptance and just all around happiness for my family and all of the others.     

The kids all hunkered down to watch the movie and they start to play the slideshow of families.  It’s just one big long line of love, one family after another just like ours.  They started to play "Happy" by Pharrel and the kids all started dancing.  Adorable.  The sun is setting behind the mountains, the air has a chill in it and everyone grabs their warm jackets.  It is heaven.  

The water park was a big hit.  Of course.  But I think that catching frogs was the biggest hit for the kids and kept them busy for an entire day.

Rinat is a good soccer player.  Why knew?  I discovered it while he played with a bunch of teenagers who couldn't be any nicer for including him and making him feel a part of the group. Bek was off hanging with a big group of boys and Rinat was playing soccer with another group. Movie was playing, parents were bonding. It was just flat out amazing. The friendships that we are all making at these get-togethers are ones we would not have otherwise. We were all talking about how it will be when the kids are all teenagers and are trying to sneak out of hotel rooms to meet up with their friends. I so look forward to that. I would love this to continue for as long as possible. And with as many of our friends as possible.  But I also meet new families every time and that is fun as well.  I love to welcome them into our fold and hope they feel the love just as much as the rest of us. 

We went to bed at 11 every night and slept until 8 which is very unlike my children.  But then again, they were busy.  Like, the whole time.

And then it was time to say goodbye.  But the thing is- this year we're not leaving.  We get to stay another whole day.  Two actually.  So while it is very sad to say bye to most of our good friends, we still get to hang out with some of them and don't have to return to the real world quite yet.  When the majority left it just seemed so empty. The people at the resort were just regular old people and it was just us left. But it was good. We got to relax and hang out and wind down since our house was being torn up and bathrooms redone.

Met 30 people out for dinner and it was great.  We basically took over the entire restaurant in this tiny town.  The kids just went wild.  I love the spunk of these kids.  

We stayed with our good friends Diane and the kids get along amazingly. The entire time we were in NY there were no issues at all. They just played and played like 4 little peas in a pod. The last day, they spent the entire day together with each other and they got along so well. At the end of the day we got ice cream and hung out outside as the sun set. There was one group of kids playing catch and the other ones cooking up whatever kind of fun they could and just generally enjoying being together. And the adults got to sit back and watch it all.   It fills a mom’s heart right up to the top.   

Happy KP to all and we’ll see you in 2015! 

xo, -m

June 2014- Summer Begins

Hi all,

The end of the school year always bring such mixed feelings for me.  One the one hand, I love to see the kids so excited about the summer just getting ready to unfold in front of them.  On the other hand, there’s a whole summer to fill.  Yikes.  But it always ends up being lots of fun.  And this summer we had a whole lot going on.   

First up was a trip to Jville to visit Auntie Carson and family.  We had a great time swimming in their pool, playing outside, fishing, going to the beach.  Basically, I let the kids do whatever they felt like so I could soak up my time with my good friend.  I’m pretty sure they lost some brain cells with the amount of Mine Craft they played and I know they drank every single juice box in the house.  What evs.  We all had fun.  Wish we were closer and could do it more often.     

The following weekend was the Cub Scout camp out- Rin’s first camping experience. He informed me that he ate 16 s'mores and didn’t sleep because he was scared of bears attacking his tent.  Poor guy came home exhausted.  I was sad that his first camping experience was without me (Peter took him) but that's alright because he had fun and he came home all smiles. And really, it was nice to be able to spend a night focusing only on Aibek. We hung out and ate dinner together and he didn't get interrupted by super talkative Rinat every two seconds so I got to hear everything going on in his little head. I snuggled in bed with him extra long because I didn't need to also tuck someone else in. But it was such a strange feeling when I came up to bed late at night and Rin’s room was empty with the door wide open. Soooo weird.  Surreal almost.  Like the Twilight Zone or Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  I don’t know, it was just a weird flash forward to when he goes to college (I know, I’m being overly dramatic but I can’t help it) and it made me both sad for me and happy for him because I knew he was having fun and I know that it’s good that he’s comfortable without me.  I have raised him to be independent and that’s what he is being.  It’s good for him to not need me (I’ll keep reminding myself).      

But then sometimes I see that little bit of him that still needs me.  We had a talk about next year and he told me that he is nervous about second grade. He's heard 2^nd grade is harder and he is scared that he gets too distracted to learn everything he’s going to need to learn. I however am glad that this very emotional and difficult year is done.  I know he will be successful even if he doesn’t.  And I know that he has a wonderful future ahead.  He might not enjoy every second of his education but I do know that he loves to learn and that- by far- is the most important. 

And also during that chat, Rinat told me about how I should come be a teacher at his school because one of the 2^ndgrade teachers is leaving. And he would want to be in my class.  It would be so awesome and I would be the best teacher ever. So sweet.  I just love that kid.  He and I butt heads A LOT but it warms my heart to know that he doesn’t hold it against me.  And the other way around too of course.  I tell him that every single night- even after we have gotten into a fight right before bed- that I come in and tuck in his covers so he doesn’t get cold and give him a kiss while he sleeps so that he can sleep soundly and have good dreams.  I adore that sweet little sleeping boy of mine.     

And it was the end of school for Bek too and his end of school party was so fun. There was a bouncy castle and face painting and arts&crafts and lots and lots of friends to play with.  Everyone just loves my sweet little chunk.  His teacher even offered to come babysit him anytime or meet for a playdate over the summer.  It’s nice to know that I send him off every day to a place where he is loved.  

And the end of Rin’s year meant the end of Beck the school patrol. We will be so sad when he is not there next year. In the mornings he is in the kiss&ride loop to help the kids get out of cars.  I love to roll the window down so Aibek can yell  "Hey Beck!" and wave fanatically as we drive past. It's so cute. I mean how many Bek's can there be in the world? 

And here we are officially into summer.  God do I hate the heat but I do have to admit that I love it means that it is pool season. Give me a pool and I am a happy camper. It makes this time of year bearable. Some people are beach people. They love the sand and the sound of the waves but I much prefer the calm of the lake or the clear coolness of the pool. Unfortunately ours is closed for the summer.  Aaaahhhhkkkkk!!!!!  Thank goodness for sprinklers.

Keep cool.  Love to all, -m

May 2014- Babies, Performances and Projects

Hi all,

We took a trip to the lake over Memorial Day to meet the newest little one and she is just a little bundle of cute.  And little Gracie was there too and is starting to do fun stuff like laugh and smile which the boys both loved.  Even Bek was into the babies this time around.  I think they’ll win him over for sure.  He was interested even in Ingrid who although adorable doesn’t give much back yet at 2 months old.  There is hope for getting grandchildren out of him after all.  Just kidding honey, you have kids if you want them or don’t- it’s up to you.  The boys had a blast fishing and going on the ‘waterslide’ aka slip n slide and just generally running amok.  And Uncle MattMatt and Melissa came down too and it was so good to see them and I think they were taking notes for when they have babies (soon).  I just can’t wait (and I know Geri and Lamar can’t too) for when there are kids running all around this place.  There are plans to create a bunk room for them all to hang out and I think that would be absolutely amazing.  I hope these kids of ours can spend lots of time knowing each other in a genuine way the way they are with Sam/Sara/and Sutton.  The more the merrier is how I feel about it.  And who knows, maybe they will end up living across the country in the same city down the road like my cousin Kevin and my cousin Emma did here in DC.  I has been fun to have a little piece of my family here even if it wasn’t for forever.

Bek's end of the year dance performance was amazing.  I kept Rin out of school to see it because he asked to and it was my birthday and I wanted to have both my boys there with me- what birthday gift could be better than that?  It was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.  Truly. 

Rinat has entered this new era in his life. He is turning into such a big boy now physically. People routinely mistake him for a couple years older. But at the same time he is starting to enjoy being with me a little bit more again. He holds my hand when we walk home from school and actually talks to me about what went on during his day. And I am just relishing it. I am soaking up every single ounce of it that I can because I know that this is temporary and he will once again want to be out on his own at some point. But I hope he knows that I was absolutely always be there to hold his hand when he needs it. Always.  Like when he told me that he googled “Who is Rinat’s mom.”  Yup.  He did.  I won’t tell you what he/I found (google it yourself) but I think how it happened was that one of his friends asked him about her and he said he didn’t know much so they decided to google it.  He didn’t seem upset or anything, just curious.  And I told him that is totally fine to be curious about his Kaz mom and he can ask me anything he wants.  And I will be there to hold his hand if/when he wants to know more and we can try to find out together.   

He’s studying hard at school and beginning to write so well. He’s reading to his brother which is adorable and I hope a little bit of his love of learning will rub off on Bek.  For this year’s big project, they had to make a building offering a good or service using recycled materials.  He was really excited about it and we gathered materials for weeks.  He decided on a hotel with a lobby, restaurant and pool.  He did it all himself with the exception of using the exacto knife to cut out windows and I was so proud of him.  But even better was that he was so proud of himself.  Parents got to go to the classroom to see them all after the kids had given a presentation to the class.  It was amazing how creative some of these kids were.  

And finally we had Bek’s sleep study done to make sure we really truly absolutely no questions asked need to get his adenoids and tonsils out.  We do.  100%.  But that kid was an absolute trooper through the whole thing.  I have no idea how he could sleep at all with those things all over him.  And the guy running into the room every two seconds to adjust them all night long.  And Bek falling off the side of the bed at one point and he was literally tangled up in all the wires and I had to wrestle him free and untangle them all.  It was a mess.  But little man was great.  At least now there’s no doubt about the surgery.  Sigh.  I, however, am kind of a mess after what happened with Rin so long ago.  Anyone want to help me out with a Xanax?  Kidding.  Sort of.

And the next day was the Mothers Day brunch w Bek at his school so poor kid couldn’t even take the day off.  The kids made it, served it, and generally just treated us as guests.  So adorable.  That sweet boy can pamper me anytime…

Love to all, -m