Hello dear reader – Profuse apologies for the long lag between posts. This transition has sucked up a lot of my mental energy, leaving my reserves depleted for things such as blogging. The good news is that we’re finally starting to get a handle on our life here, so I anticipate having more frequent blog posts for you once school gets underway.
We’ve been in transition for most of the summer. Nia and I left Almaty on June 19th for a six-week stint in Minnesota. The flight routing worked out such that we had an overnight in D.C., so we made the most of the opportunity by going immediately to a nearby restaurant to meet up with her best buds from 5th grade. It’s a good thing Nick wasn’t along, because he never would have tolerated getting off a 15-hour flight and heading straight to a social outing. :) We had the most amazing 3 hours with those dear friends and I’m so glad we squished it in.
Our six weeks in Minnesota flew by and were a wonderful mix of cabin and city time. Highlights for Nia included: trying her first sloppy joe, taking an improv class with a Children’s Theatre Company actor, and becoming a skilled stand-up paddleboarder.
The fourth of July is one of our absolute favorite times to be at the cabin. Every year my family participates in the annual Turtle Lake boat parade where you deck out your boat in festive décor and join a line of boats—mostly pontoons—moving at a snail’s pace around the lake, while all the non-riders sit on the dock and wave at those passing by. It’s a blast and perhaps the only thing that tops it is sitting on the pontoon at sundown and enjoying the neighbor’s impressive firework show (I’m talking at least a few thousand dollars’ worth!) Check out this adorable cousin photo we got! We have a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 12-year-old in the bunch now!
My 44th birthday also fell during our Minnesota visit and I got my wish to attend a Guthrie play (a musical, no less!). I haven’t been to the Guthrie in 15 years and it was a joy to return! We took this picture outside on the skybridge and it reminded me that the last time I was there was with Nick in summer of 2007, back when we were still newly dating, and when we came outside at intermission and looked to the right our jaws dropped as we saw that the collapsed ruins of the 94 bridge just a few hundred yards away. Much like 9/11, it’s one of those moments that I’ll always remember where I was when it happened. Freaked me out to think that only a few hours earlier we’d been crossing that very bridge!
Returning to more pleasant topics . . . The library had lots of great, free programming too, so we attended tai chi, art time, and a presentation from the Minnesota Raptor Center where we got to see an owl, hawk and bald eagle! It was something! Check out your libraries friends, there is great free programming for you to get in on!
Despite all the uncertainty of the transition ahead of us, I managed to push that from my mind and remain present for all the fun Minnesota had to offer. I’m especially grateful for the 15+ friend visits I got in and the five weekends I got to spend at the cabin with my parents, sisters, and their families.
Where was Nick during all this, you ask? Well, he had to stay in Almaty through the end of June, then went directly to Bend to reconnect with his parents for the month and begin getting our affairs in order (remember, we didn’t have housing, jobs, an orthodontist or a school lined up!). He did manage to pop over to MN for a long weekend mid-July, but we weren’t officially reunited in Bend until July 30th. I think that’s a good place to stop. In my next post I’ll fill you in on what’s transpired during our first three weeks in our new home of Bend, Oregon!
