Memorial Day Weekend

Boy was this a busy weekend. I'm not sure we have recuperated from it yet. Friday we went with Mike's parents to Lake Waramaug. Aunt Trisha was home for the weekend and she came too. We had a nice picnic and enjoy some wonderful sunshine. Aunt Trisha brought Colby for a ride in the kayak. Mike caught a small fish and it scared Colby when it jumped out of Grandpa's hands toward him. Colby enjoyed "casting" his fishing pole with a bobber on it. He actually did very well.

Saturday Mike and I had a family wedding to go to so Colby spent the day with my parents. They brought him to an airshow where he was able to sit in different planes and see them fly. He had a blast! They also went to my Aunt Doone's to get the miniature horses ready for the parades on Sunday and Monday.

Sunday we had the Woodbury parade. It is a small parade but Colby enjoyed it. Once again he sat with cousin Corbin in the surrey. I drove Willy in the small driving cart. Part way through the parade, Colby sat with me and wanted to drive too. We both held the reigns for a little while but soon I heard, "No Mommy! I do it mineself!" Thankfully Aunt Doone was leading Willy so Colby was able to drive! He was so proud of himself.

Monday was the early day. We had the Naugatuck parade. Corbin and Colby were in the surrey again. The Naugatuck parade is very long so Mommy and Daddy got lots of exercise. After a little nap at home, we went to my Uncle Lou's for a picnic. Colby enjoyed playing with the other kids. It was a fun, but tiring weekend!

Unfortunately, the only day Mommy remembered the camera was on Sunday. My parents did take photos at the air show, which I hope to get soon. But for now, here's a few from Woodbury.

Driving in Russia

I'm not sure if I can accurately portray our driving trips in Russia. I know I have mentioned them to a few people but it is one of those things you just need to experience. Try to picture driving on a rural 2 lane road at varying speeds of 30-50 miles an hour. The road is rather bumpy and goes in and out of small villages. Along the way there are open areas in which all drivers speed up. However, be forewarned, there are MANY policemen along the way just waiting to stop anyone and everyone. That is our typical experience on our treks to Kamensk from Yekaterinburg. Top it all off, it is about an hour and a half trip one way on a good day.

Our first such experience happened last June on our very first drive to see Colby. We were alreaady nervous and unsure of what was going to happen. The drive could make anyone sick to their stomach the way we were feeling. Luckily it was a bright sunny day, unlike our trips now. Well, we made a game out of counting the police cars along the way. I think they were about every 5-8 miles apart or so. It was funny until we actually got pulled over. Svetlana had to get out of the car and the next thing we know she is in the front of the police car. Come to find out this is a common occurrance but the way we were feeling, I almost fell apart. After about 15 minutes she came back and we continued our trip to the baby home. What a first trip that was.

Well, fast forward to this trip. No longer sunny and warm. We went back to see Colby yesterday. When we left Ekat it had begun to snow. Just light flurries so no big deal. We left around 1:45 in the afternoon and the snow kept coming. Light flurries but the windshield wipers weren't working that great. Thankfully it was still light out. We arrived at the baby home around 4 and played with Colby for about an hour and a half. We then left and we brought Tatiana with us. She had some errands to do for the baby home. The ride back was terrible. Mike and I hadn't eaten since lunch at 12:30 and we were hungry and thirsty. The snow was really coming down and the wipers weren't working much at all. I closed my eyes for most of the ride because you couldn't see much anyway. It was a typical winter storm advisory type of day when Dr. Mel tells you to just stay inside. Here they are used to this weather so everyone was still out doing their typical day routine. It got dark fast and I'm not sure how but we finally arrived back home after dropping Tatiana off around 8PM. What an adventure. Luckily this time we didn't get stopped by any police but they were out there stopping others. Oh yeah, we did get stopped by them when we left Kamensk to go to Ekat to stay in the apartment. Just another adventure and story to tell. What a journey.