Back at it!

Well, fast forward to 2015 and here I am! Decided to get back to blogging about our lives, mainly for the kids to have a lasting record of our lives. I don't plan to write about everything and I definitely won't be writing everyday but some is better than none, right?

I am up at the condo by myself and loving it. Kat is in South Dakota with our church's youth mission trip to Rosebud Indian Reservation. Evan and Kurt are at home. I have been looking forward to this time for a looooonnnng time. We had a pretty rough spring this year so I'm finally getting some much-needed R&R!

I rode up Ute Pass today by myself. The river is running high. I'm proud of myself for going since I have a mild fear of riding alone, esp on highway 9. But the long ascent to Ute pass was calling my name and I had to go.

On the way, I thought about so many things. I thought about how I want the best for my kids. I love them so much and just want them to have a good life. It's not easy raising teenagers these days but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

More soon.

Vacations

We took three vacations in two weeks! The first one was staying at the Parks' condo and watching Kurt finish the Xterra triathlon (more on that later). But the second one was attending our 4th russian heritage camp, now known as REECA (Russian, Eastern European, Central Asian) Heritage Camp.

REECA is held up at Snow Mountain Ranch every July. Here are a few pictures from this year's camp. Kurt went with us this time (he didn't go last year) and he and I were in charge of Field Day.

We were kinda nervous about it but we got it figured out and it turned out to be much better than we expected! We really had fun with it. We had several relays with each age group...doing things like carrying a Ukrainian egg in a spoon or dribbling a soccer ball around some cones. You can see more pictures at www.dallowphotos.shutterfly.com.

The kids weren't scared to go into their groups and both seemed to have a good time. I think they are finally understanding what adoption means. Evan understands it better because he remembers not living with us but Katerina has never seemed interested in learning about it, which is very normal. She doesn't know any different so to her, it's been a foreign concept.

But as they years go by, I hope they both enjoy REECA and feel a stronger connection to their homeland. Maybe someday they will be counselors themselves!

Another nice thing about camp is that I get to run on the Granby-to-Frasier bike path. I love doing that because it winds around the hillside, in and out of trees and through some meadows. I ran 2.5 hrs this time! Then on the way home, Kurt dropped me off at truckstop near Longmont and I rode my bike home. That was a really different experience!

All in all, we had a good time. I will post more about the other trips soon.

New era

K and E have done something new this week: they have gone to the pool by themselves for the first time. It doesn't sound like anything earth-shattering but for us, it's a BIG deal. Yet, on the other hand, it feels very natural.

The idea just popped into my head the other day when I was stressing about how much work I have to do and the kids wanted to go to the pool. I thought, how nice it would be if they could go and I could stay here....then, I thought "well, they're 8 now, that seems like it should be old enough".

So I asked them if they would feel safe and they said yes. Off we went.

Today is the third time they've gone without me and I have such mixed emotions about it. I miss them and worry that I am not available enough to them...that I"m letting them "go" too soon....that they'll be forever damaged because I'm not there playing with them in the pool (just kidding!). I know they won't be damaged but I do worry that we will lose our close connection too soon and that's very hard for me.

But I"m proud of them too. They're growing up so fast. And I've got so much on my mind and so much to do that I treasure the time alone.

Today it was extra hard to drop them off because Evan got in trouble before I took them there. I had given him a bowl of soup that was very, very hot. I had to use pot-holders to hold the bowl because it was so hot. I set it down in front of him, warning him that it was too hot to touch. Katerina put her finger on the bowl (of course!) and Evan grabbed her wrist and held it there, keeping her finger on the hot bowl.

Now, I can keep my cool about most things but when it comes to physically hurting someone else, I get angry. I didn't yell or scream but very firmly (and angrily) told him that he did a very mean thing, that he hurt his sister, and that I was very disappointed in him. I said "how would you feel if I held your finger on this hot bowl right now?" and he said, very solemnly "sad". I was REALLY angry.

So, at first I told him to go to his room. Then I realized that that wouldn't punish him because all of his toys are in his room. So I said that he would have to make it up to her by vaccuuming her room (in addition to his). I thought that was pretty fair. But he got very upset and cried loudly. I still felt ok with this idea but he was very solemn (aka, pouty) for a long time after that.

I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do or not but I don't think it was too bad. Oh well...at least I have some time now to write and reflect on it....the joys of raising children!

Miscellaneous...

Because I started this blog as a way to record our memories, for my kids to read when they grow up, I think I'll jot down a few things right now. I always think that I should only write about the "big stuff" but really, it's all the little details in life that matter. Plus, I want my kids to know what their daily life was like when they are young, since the probably wont remember a lot of it when they grow up.

Not sure that makes sense but it's probably because I wait until it's past my bedtime to write in this darn thing and by then, my mind is fried.

First, let's talk about swim team. K and E are on the Hillside swim team like they were last year. Practice is M-F, 10:40 - 11:10 (although they start warming up at 10:20, outside the pool). We ride our bikes to practice so in the summer, we have all morning to have breakfast, clean up, play, whatever. I love the late practice time because we have PLENTY of time to eat and get ready.

And riding our bikes to the pool couldn't be any easier. It's not even a mile to the pool so it takes literally a few mins to get there.

The coaches are great - Patrick and Bradley - and the team is pretty big. Not sure how many kids are on it but its a lot.

Today we had a swim meet at the Greeley Country Club. Katerina hasn't wanted to do meets this year but she decided to try this one. Evan wants to do meets this year. We got a few relays in before the rain came but unfortunatley, it was cancelled due to rain.

We were waiting out the first rain when I heard a woman telling her husband that Michael Jackson died. Wow! Farrah Fawcett also died today. Very sad about FF but it was expected. But MJ, what a huge shock.

We went to Grandma's house to help her with her computer. It was raining so hard that I could hardly see to drive.

Later, we came home and watched all the hoopla re MJ's death on CNN. Then I decided to show the kids Thriller on YouTube but that was a mistake - it really scared them! Kurt's on call so they decided that they wanted to sleep in my room. Evan is on the floor and K is bed - they are too scared to sleep in their rooms. Bad mommy, me!

But I really enjoyed laying on the bed with both kids and listening to Evan read a story. He did a great job. Katerina wanted to look at her book re rockets so we did for awhile...too funny. I love times like that when we're relaxed and connected. We need more times like that!

More on that later.

Kansas Trip - Part 2

Here are some pictures of the family "reunion". We spent Saturday celebrating Andre's first birthday and Sunday (supposedly) celebrating Katerina's birthday. On Monday, we went to Worlds of Fun and that happened to be Austin's birthday.

It was great seeing everyone but to be honest, I came home feeling pretty sad. We are not as close as I would like us to be. No one's fault...just the way it is.

I enjoyed seeing the new babies, Andre and Miah, and seeing Kai and Austin again. They are all darling children and I look forward to seeing them grow up.

And even though Rick and I are political opposites, I feel strangely connected to him. I love my brother immensely and wish I could see him more often.

And Kelly is great, I enjoy staying at her house.

That's all I can say here. Not that anyone in my family reads our blog anyway but I'll write more in my own personal diary. I'm glad we made the trip but I'm it will be a long time before I do it again.

Reunion Trip - Part One

There's so much to write about this trip that I don't know where to begin. First, where did we go: Kansas. Why: for me to attend my 30 yr high school reunion and to see my family for a quasi-family-reunion. Several family members had birthdays this weekend (including Katerina) so the plan (I thought) was to celebrate them all together.

Let's talk about the class reunion first. We met on Friday and Saturday night in Gardner. I was a little nervous about it as I had not seen anyone from my high school graduating class in 10 yrs (I went to our 20th). Plus, not having good memories of my senior year, I was not super excited about it.

I had a great time! I really enjoyed seeing everyone and got some good "vibes" in return. As I mentioned, my senior year in high school - actually my junior AND senior years - were two of the worst years of my life. Too long to write here (and way too personal) but believe me when I say it was a dark time in my life.

As a result, I left Gardner ASAP after graduating and never looked back. I completely blocked those years (and everyone in them) out of my mind. So going back is surreal...it's like going back to another lifetime.

But I really had a great time. The one person I was really happy to see was Steve Reimers. He and I had crushes on each other in high school and I think I still have one on him! But now, it's a different kind of crush - a "respectful" one, if that makes sense. He is just such a great guy and I have a tremendous amt of respect for him. We really connected and it was so nice to talk to him. We really re-connected.

And the other person I enjoyed seeing was Bob McCarthy. He was/is one of the most well-liked kids in my class. He's funny (and ornery) and an all-around nice guy. Kurt and i stayed after the reunion and talked with a group of people for a long time and Bob was one of them. My other good friend, Theresa, was there too and we just had a nice time talking with them.

Then on Sunday night, Bob asked us over to his house (he lives across the street from my brother). Theresa and Steve were there and so was Robyn and a few others. I stayed for 2 hrs while the kids swam in their pool. Just had a wonderful time.

The one nice thing about this trip is that Kurt had a good time meeting my high school classmates! He is not usually interested in meeting old friends of mine and originally, he was not happy about going on this trip. But he really connected with both Steve's (Wallace and Reimers) and he thought Bob was a great guy. That was a nice change - for Kurt to really enjoy meeting people from my past life.

More on the reunion in the next posting....

Bolder Boulder

We walked the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day with Olzhas and had a blast. The weather was cloudy but warm and the rain held off until right after the military ceremony, which was great because the kids didn't get to see it last year.

We really had a fun time and the kids did great. This was my 20th Bolder Boulder and the first time I registered as a walker instead of a runner!