Catching up...July

July brought Rafal's oldest nephew Mateusz from Poland.

He came for 5 weeks to practice his English and we got a glimpse of 14 years in the future.

Who do you think is the biggest poser here? Rafal, Mateusz, or the lady behind them?

 

 

 

 

 

 Tavish got indoctrinated to Polish rap.

Mateusz can't live without it.

 We celebrated July 4th at Grandma Linda's birthday party where Tavish was on fire duty with the boys...see how ready he is to squirt out any stray flames with his squirt guns?

 Then in the evening we headed to the big fireworks show at the local high school.

Just look at these angels...not! 







July was so hot we headed back to the beach to escape the 110 degree weather.

Remind me to never move any farther south. This Seattle girl can't handle the heat.

But a couple firsts this time at the beach...

Tavish learned how to pee in the ocean! 

 

 

 

 

 

 And he went on his first big boy ride at Funland!

I said "he's too little to go on a big boy ride"

Rafal said "he's bigger than the 5 year old next to him"

Tavish of course LOVED it.

I was bummed I couldn't go on it too.

Next year...for sure.

 In addition to Mateusz, we also had Brett, Shelby and baby Elinore come stay for a couple weeks before their big move to Utah. We inherited some patio furniture around the same time so we had a little going away smore's party.

Yum.

 

And that's July...up next...our big Polish adventure...



Catching up...June

June brought...

 the first popsicle of the summer

our first sprinkler

 a visit from our Pittsburgh pals...Lexi and Tavish got serious about their cookie baking

a trip to the National Harbor

where Tavish got to inspect the Awakening up close and personal

and Father's Day dinner.

There was no way I could compete with the awesome Mother's Day that Rafal pulled out his sleeve for me, so I thought I would take him out to dinner the night before. Usually he doesn't care too much what we do when we go out (probably because we don't go out enough, so he's just happy to be going out), but this time he was pretty vocal about wanting to go to Old Town Alexandria. So on the way there I asked him why he wanted to specifically go there...

His answer "don't you remember five years ago today I asked you to marry me...in Old Town???"

Oh, yeah.

You're right!

Sometimes we have a little role reversal in our relationship.

Good thing someone remembers :) 



Catching up...May in VA

Tavish and I got home from Seattle the day before Mother's Day and I have decided that is the best time to go on vacation without your husband because Mother's Day morning this was what I woke up to...

Breakfast in bed accompanied by flowers from our yard.

After church Rafal made me steak and scallops (which I didn't even know he could cook!).

Lana and Joe brought over homemade lasagna for dinner.

And best of all...Rafal did the dishes too...now that is hot!

May brought something I never thought I would see...Rafal at a baseball game!

Not growing up with baseball he has always said it's a boring American sport, so of course it took a work commitment to get him to a baseball game.  I forgot how nice it is to watch a game on a warm summer evening with good conversation and bad food. Rafal enjoyed it too and he even said the other day he wants to go to another game...wow!

May=Memorial Weekend=first beach trip of the summer.

This time Rafal discovered a horseshoe crab which apparently is unusual for this beach.

Here's the underside, isn't it gross?

Of course, Tavish has been asking to go back to the beach every day since.

Catching up...Seattle in May

In May, Tavish and I headed out to Seattle and for once we picked a great time to go...the weather was amazing and we had a lot fun playing and visiting family and friends.

Hanging with the monkeys...

Beachtime

Discovering a new favorite...Top Pot Doughnuts

Cacthing up with old friends...where is the picture with Lonni???

Mothers Day brunch at the Lobster Shop with Auntie Sarah and Macy.

It would have been more fun if Tavish hadn't been screaming "don't touch me!!!" at the top of his lungs as I was trying to guide him to the buffet.

Doing chocolate shots with Macy.

Mmmm....chocolate. He does have Marquardt genes.

And this is how we both felt by the end of brunch.

y6

Afterwards we headed over to  the beach where Tavish was gettin' jiggy and Macy was doing sun salutations for the great weather we had all week.

Looking for sea creatures.

Hunting for wildflowers

And a little cousin love...

that's why we love Seattle.

Catching up...April

April brought another Easter egg hunt, Tavish opted to hunt for more than just pink eggs, but needed to perform a mid-hunt candy inspection...

Afterwards, he walked his GF Elaine home...

                                         

This year was the first time we colored Easter eggs.

Tavish had a lot of fun, mom got to practice a lot of patience.



The final products...it took some convincing not to make them all pink. And then they sat in the fridge because neither Tavish or I like eggs and Rafal should just not eat them ('nuff said)...

Easter morning treats included a bubble gun

and chocolates...our Easter Bunny likes to stop by Poland on his way to our house...

Unfortunately the EB didn't hide any of the eggs we colored because someone was being too naughty that day...maybe next year.

Later in April, Rafal and I headed to Baltimore for a couples retreat, without kid, sponsored by the military. Check out this cool hotel room.

We didn't want to come back!

Catching up...March

March was spent settling into the Cool House.

We had our very first party, complete with Easter egg hunt, that had to be moved indoors because of the rain. Uncle Joe and Uncle Mike got to hide over 200 eggs all over the very bare house. Then the kids got to choose a basket and go crazy....

And guess whose pink basket this is filled with only pink eggs?

Yep...the boy still loves pink.

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