Lake Mode

Hi All-

There’s just something about the lake. Wonderful things happen there. We are calm, we are relaxed. It’s how we should always be. But like most people, we don’t get to live on perma vacation.  So we have to make the most of the couple of trips we take down here each year and enjoy our break from reality  to the fullest.

We leave the crazy and hectic city of DC and head out, worrying about if we brought everything we could need, if the kids will behave or be horrific in the car, did I remember to lock the door/start the dishwasher/feed the cat?, and we set off hoping to regain our sanity in the few days we have there.  The road is long and not always easy.  We start off in the hurly burly world of traffic out of the city as we cruise down the highway.  No, that was an over statement.  Usually, we slowly creep down the highway as holiday weekends are bumper to bumper traffic around here.  But eventually we make our way out of the city and the cars begin to thin out and the roads begin to get hilly and curvy. There are cows and crops.  Grain silos and old farmhouses.

And we take a breath.

We turn off the highway onto a country road that winds past farms and through one stoplight towns.  We have to slow down and wait to pass a tractor going 5 miles an hour.
And we take a breath.

The two lane road turns to a no lane road- the lines are gone and it is only blacktop guiding us on our way.  We turn into the driveway and know we are somewhere like home but better.

  
Our pulses slow to a crawl, our blood pressure drops, and we can take a deep breath again.  There are 7 blissful days of lazy mornings, boat rides, digging in the sand, playing with family, frosty boat drinks, novel reading, nap taking, and floating in the water ahead of us.  The trip is long but we always arrive glad we came.  Despite the screaming from the backseat, despite the bad fast food, despite the packing and “arewethereyet”-ing, and despite the sheer effort it takes to pack 4 people into a car for 5 hours it is worth it. 

Growing up, we had a sailboat a few hours away and we went pretty often- at least it felt like that to me- and I have amazing memories of my childhood days there. Playing Crazy 8’s with my brothers, picking blackberries from an island in the lake, rowing around endlessly in the dingy, catching frogs and making giant holes for them to live in, sitting on the boom reading books for hours on end, special two-yolk fried eggs that I am pretty sure the lady at the marina faked for us. And I am so happy that we have a place for our boys to build memories like that. A place far enough away from our daily life and our daily interactions that it can be special. Like our own little secret getaway from the world. And maybe it’s part of the magic that the getting here is so hard. It makes you all the more happy to be there once you are. Sort of like our family I guess. 

  
I have said before that I really don’t think I would appreciate our sweet boys nearly as much as I do had they come to us easily.  I guess it’s just the world’s way of making sure they have our complete and unabating adoration.  And they do, more than they will ever know.  I know that the lake won’t be a part of our boys’ lives forever so I try to appreciate it for all that it is and have them store up just enough memories to last them a lifetime.   

  

And please check out my sweet youngest’s face.  Still not a fan of the sand or grass.     

The water on the other hand is a different story altogether. He could float for hours. And he did.

Go and make some lazy summertime memories- it's already half over!  Eat popsicles in the backyard, take a stroll to nowhere in particular and enjoy the company of the people you love the most.

Love to all, -m

WHO Makes it Rain?

Hi All-
It's been crazy rainy around here lately and the other day, the kids and I were just sort of puttering around the house and Rinat asked,
"Mommy?  Why are they making it rain so much?"
I stopped what I was doing and looked at him because I knew this was going to be an interesting one.
"Um..WHO is making it rain so much, Honey?"
and he looked at me through squinted eyes like he knew it was not the right answer but he said it anyway
"The weather people on the TV." 
After him telling me to stop laughing, this led to a short and frustrating discussion about God.  He keeps my on my toes. As does the little one. Just had to get that down before I forgot about it.

Can you believe the 'creek' in our new backyard?  More about our new digs soon.  We're finally settling in.  FINALLY.  And so far so good.
Love to all, -m

A Perfect Day

Hi all-

Have you ever had one of those days that you are sort of dreading but it actually turns out BETTER than you thought it would? We have been busy with moving, people in town, babysitter drama, Peter working non-stop, and just our everyday insanity and I was just plain worn out. So we get to this weekend and the flurry of busy-ness, reached its crescendo. We met up with one set of people here, another there, housekeepers in the house so baby gets no nap, have to get ready for wedding events and meet the new babysitter who I have to give a diaper changing lesson to (not instilling a ton of confidence)… you know how it goes. Well, we get to Sunday and I will admit I was a little stressed out about the day (and maybe a tad big hung over too, or maybe just tired). I foresaw lots of run here, run there, missed naps, cranky kids. It started when we were up and going at 5:45 with our darling baby boy. He is not one to go back to sleep once he’s up so we were up and at ‘em early. Then Peter was off to work and the boys and I met GigiMar for brunch up the street and Kate/Jason/Matt joined us too which was an unexpected bonus. Rin got to eat unlimited amounts of maple syrup from his grandma and Bek lots to meet some of their LBurg friends. Then we ran back to the house with the stroller in hyperdash mode for a diaper change and to grab some things and headed out to a birthday party across town for one of Rin’s friends from school. I was a little unsure of how my sweet eldest would be due to the amounts of sugar coursing through his system but he was fairly well behaved. It was tons of fun. And it’s amazing how different Bek is turning out to be. He seems to be feeling more safe and although he is still way more clingy than Rin ever was, he finally ventures off on his own at the playground amidst all of the kids. It’s taken a while to get to this point.
But the best part of the party was post cake (which Rin didn’t even eat because he was sugar-ed out). My friend, Sohaer, and I were talking while our boys (BFFs at school) played in the field. Next thing I know, I see them systematically running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth across the field. I look closer and see that they are running through a puddle. A really big puddle. Oh well, their shoes can get wet, no biggie. So we keep talking and I see them out of the corner of my eye and overhear that they are pretending to be dinosaurs hiding behind a tree at the edge of the field. They disappear from view for a few minutes so we sort of walk around the corner to see THIS

 


HOLY SMOKES

All I can do is laugh. I mean, they are too far gone to even attempt to keep them clean and dry. So we go with it. They look up at us, we look at each other, shrug our shoulders, and say ‘Go ahead and play”. And they took us at our word. They knew that this was no ordinary playdate. This playdate was special. And they made the most of it. These two beautiful boys played their hardest and made the most of the hour that they spent wallowing in the mud like pigs. They jumped, they rolled, they gave each other ‘mud hugs’ and splashed to their hearts content. They were in heaven. And when the time came that every single person had left to go home and little Aibek started to show the signs of missed nap #2, we had them strip down to their underwear, washed them off at the water fountain, wrapped them in a blanket, and strapped them into the car with huge smiles on their little angelic faces.

Then, because our landlord was showing our house, off we went out to new house 30m minutes away to meet up with Peter who was done with work. But it really didn’t matter how far it was because the kids were asleep in the backseat in 2. As a matter of fact, they were so out that when we got there, I quietly scooped Bek up and into a pack&play for nap in his new room. And I had to literally shake Rinat awake. Then he spent a good 30 minutes lying on the floor in the living room trying to wake up. It’s amazing how completely a puddle bath will wear you out. When he was somewhat coherent, we let Rin christen our new fancy bathtub. He love love loved the jets and didn’t want to get out. The water, after we drained it, left a ring of dirt. Not surprising.

After naptime when we were still hanging out at the house it started pouring rain and Rin said “Oh my gosh, there’s a waterfall in the backyard! Can Arman and I go play in it?” Um no. But maybe another time. I'm glad that we have a sometimes creek back there.  I'm hoping for tadpoles next spring. 

We ordered pizza which we ate out of the box on the kitchen floor and I got really excited to move. It’s peaceful out there. The kids can run around.  I don't have to worry about them being run over by a bus or screamed at by the neighborhood homeless person.  I think it'll be a good place for us.  And most importantly for the kids. 

Then the day and the kids slowly wound down and we headed back into DC. On the way home, there was the kind of rainbow that only comes along every few years.  It stretched from one side of the highway all the way across to the other the entire ride home. I told Rin about the leprechaun at the end with the pot of gold which he, of course, took as truth but he’s no dummy. He was a little suspicious. But he also loves to pretend so he let it roll and just asked a million questions about it. He is question crazy these days. And I wouldnt’ have it any other way. To me, questions mean curiosity and curiosity leads to a love to learning about the world. It’s the greatest gift that I could have passed along to him. All in all, it was a good day. Just one perfect day in our almost perfect life.

And other than that, the last weeks at our old house were spent playing, laughing, and packing packing packing. Oh and there were a few Spring puddles to jump in along the way.

Go jump in a puddle.

Love to all, -m

BTW- that second photo is a of Bek taking a snooze with his little bum stuck straight up in the air.  I have been told that I did the same when I was a baby.  Guess it runs in the family ;)

I Never Wrote about Easter!

Hi all-

I can’t believe that I completely and totally forgot to write about Easter and Beks’ first road trip.  What is wrong with me?  Oh yeah, we adopted a baby and bought a house in the last few months.  I knew there was something.  In any case, I didn’t want to let the weekend pass me by so here’s the deet’s about Bek’s first Easter with us.  Well, mostly just photos.  But don’t photos tell most of the story anyway? 

We started out in LBurg where Kate was in town for someone's wedding.  We figured it might be a good time for a trip down for her to meet Little Man #2.  So we drove down at the last minute and hung with GigiMar and got a visit from the Easter Bunny who brought Rin a pirate outfit (could you tell?).

 

Then we were off to RNoke to see Peter's Dad and Nancy.  After many Rin-sponsored egg hunts in the back yard we headed off to the park and fire station.  At first Rin was absolutely terrified of the fire station and refused to set foot in but I found a police motorcycle out back that he was so excited about that he forgot to be scared.  And then he was in total fire station heaven.  Sometimes people are so nice- especially the big burly ones. They are all softies underneath. 



It was a good holiday and our little Bekers seems to be fitting in just wonderfully.  He's a good traveler and pretty adaptable which is a good thing since our lives require it these days.  And most of all, we are fitting together as a family and genuinely enjoying our time together and with all of our extended family.  I am hoping for many many more wonderful times together- hunting eggs, driving fire trucks, or just making Playdoh animals.  As long as we're together life is good.

Love to all and more backlogged posts soon.

-m  

It's a Small Small World

Alright everyone- sing it with me. “It’s a small world aaafter aaall…It's a small world aaafter aaall…It’s a small world aaafter aaall…It’s a smaaall smaaall wooorld”  Is it stuck in your head now?  Me too.  As a matter of fact, it’s been stuck in my head for the last week.  After a calm and wonderful Memorial Day weekend that we spent at the lake house (I’ll write about that trip later), we were home for one day and then hopped a plane for Florida.  Destination  Kazapalooza- with a stopover at Disney on the way.  After an exhausting plane trip with a just-learned-to-walk toddler, we checked into our hotel and hung out for the afternoon.  The next morning we got up and headed straight to the land of Mickey where we somehow lucked out and got into the Disney castle's breakfast with the princesses.  At first Rin wasn't so into meeting the characters but once they informed him he was getting a sword, he was all in.  We met them all- Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Ariel... all of them.   

Then it was off to enjoy the rides.  I love Rin's face on the spinning teacups.  Can you tell he's having an absolute blast? 

The Snow White ride didn't go over so well.  Rin said it was too scary.  For all of his fearlessness, he's still a little boy.

We stayed the whole day long riding rides and wandering around marveling at the pure Disney-ness of it all.  We met up with our friends Diane/Ceira/Tienna in the morning (the ones in Karaganda with us in 2010) and our friends Meagan/Tony/Taylor (part of the Astana 2007 crew) in the afternoon.  We stayed ALL DAY LONG and closed out the day watching the electric parade and fireworks before heading home at 10:00 at night.  The boys were troopers despite being completely exhausted.  They fell into bed and slept past 8 the next morning. 

And while we were in Orlando, we also spent some time chillaxing by the pool.  It was Bek's first pool experience so I had to get it on film.  He did pretty well and seems to like the water. 

And then it was off to the sunny beaches of St Pete and the wonderful people who have adopted from Kaz. Let me tell you that there is nothing like getting together with people who really get you like these people do.  There was no 'look at baby, look at parents, look at baby with quizzical look on face followed by well meaning but sometimes annoying questions'.  It was just "Oh my gosh, he's absolutely ADORABLE!" from everyone that we saw. 

Another first for our littlest one- the ocean.  He's a little texture wary and wasn't super fond of the sand.  As matter of fact, it pretty much just led to tears and pure misery when he discovered that it was actually STUCK TO HIS HAND (Aagh!!! Get it off!!!)  Then we took him to the water and that went over much better.

But you can tell from his face here that he was still a little unsure.  But check out Rin's face.  There's no place he'd rather be than sitting in the sand as the waves roll in.

And, being the constant daredevil, Rin faced the mighty blow-up slide and won.  Well, most of the rides anyway.  This one not so much since Daddy decided to take Ciera down instead of him. 

And there was a very rushed but nonetheless wonderful dinner with our dear friends from Astana.  I swear these kids are almost closer than cousins.  There's none of that awkward getting to re-know you time, it's just straight back into play mode.  With us adults too.  I don't really know how to describe it exactly.  They are just sort of like extended family.  We have shared with them things that we have not with our own families even.  There's something about experiencing what we did together that outdoes any kind of description that we could give.  You just have to have lived it right along with us.  And they did.  And I am hoping that these children know and enjoy each other their entire lives.  There knew each other before we knew any of them after all and there's just nothing that can replace that.  My friend,, Jila, was telling me that she always remembers Rinat being in the high chair next to her daugher, Kiana, at the baby house before we had even met him.  Sometimes I forget that there was a time that we didn't know him but I am glad that he was surrounded by his little friends and that we can keep up with some of them forever.  We are so lucky.

And post dinner was the pirate show.  And if there is one thing that this little man is passionate about, it's pirates and he was so excited to meet a real life Red Beard. 

And of course he had to load up on pirate paraphernalia and get in character. 

He even refused to take it off for the photo with our good friends from Karaganda.  Oh well, he is who he is stubbornness and all.  Or should I just call it excitement?

And as the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico, our weekend was almost over.  Our beautiful friends, old and new, scattered to spend the last few precious moments on their own.  The next morning we met up and said goodbye to everyone, got a little more beach time, and it was back home.  When I was downloading the photos I realized that as excited as I was about the weekend I really hadn't taken that many.  What can I say?  I guess I was just having too much fun. 

And isn't it a truly small world?  Five years ago, I didn't even know where Kazakhstan was and there we were in Florida celebrating a place from across the world with people from all over the US and Canada.  It's a small small world.  And we are all the better for it.  

Love to all,
-m
Next up- our big move.  Two days and counting...