Happy Fall y’all! Sincere apologies for my neglect of Novakistan these last three months . . . guess I needed a little break from blogging. The good news is I’m back, (mostly) refreshed and fully intending to post at least once a week going forward.
Since I’ve been absent awhile, it’s probably best to begin with a refresher. As you may or may not remember, Nia and I left Mumbai on July 13th, followed shortly by Nick two weeks later. First stop was Minnesota, with our top priority being to make acquaintances with 10-month-old Margo (Beth and Jim’s daughter), who came into the world just after we departed last summer. Unfortunately for us, Margo had recently entered the “stranger-danger phase” and was VERY skeptical of us–especially the guy with all the facial hair. She gave us lots of side-eye and stink face but eventually–many, many silly faces later–let us befriend and hold her.
I still wouldn’t say we’re the best of buds but my plan is to double down on the bonding over Christmas and win her over for good. I will prevail! :) While we’re on the topic of cousins, here’s a sweet pic of all Nia’s current ones (Another is coming in December!!).
The bulk of our time was spent at the cabin (in reality a lake home but we all refer to it as “the cabin”), which had undergone a major renovation since our last visit. The renovation added two more bedrooms so that each family would have a room of their own. A four-season sunroom was also added, as was a “bonus room” upstairs for the growing brood of cousins to hang out in. We were very grateful for the extra space, as it had gotten quite crowded when all 17 of us (+2 dogs) were there at the same time. Here’s the best picture I could find of the addition–you can see the sunroom behind the kids.
When not at the cabin in Wisconsin, we made some final memories at my childhood home in the Twin Cities because, after 32 wonderful years, my parents had decided to put the house on the market. Oddly enough, Nia was probably the most upset about the house being sold, I think because she viewed it as one of the constants in her change-filled life. I feel bad that she’s losing this touchstone, but at least she still has the cabin…
As you might imagine, the house and attic were stuffed to the gills with old toys and mementos after 32 years of usage. Though lots needed to go, we had a delightful time journeying down memory lane as we sifted through our old things and selected the few items that would stay with us.
The best find went to Emily who, it turns out, had saved her wisdom teeth in a special tooth container. She was especially delighted by her find and, being the awesome teacher that she is, has decided that they will have a permanent home in the “T” bin that comes out for “T Week” in her preschool classroom!
Time evaporated and before we knew it, it was time to transfer to Bend, Oregon to visit Nick’s parents for two weeks. We always look forward to our time there, although clearly word has gotten out about how awesome Bend is because boy oh boy was it crowded. Nature afforded us a bit of a reprieve, but for some of the more popular activities–like tubing the river–we just had to suck it up and join the masses. Highlights of this visit were spending time with one of Nick’s oldest friends,
sending Nia to sleepover camp where she spent a night in a tipi and rode her new mountain bike,
and seeing Nick’s 93-year-old Grandma who never fails to shock me with her remarkable memory!
There is lots more to say, but I will save the DC portion of the update for tomorrow. As always, thanks for reading!
