Mark May Happenings

I know I already wrote about our busy May happenings as a family, but Mark has been particularly busy. He is continuing his tradition of being involved in multiple sports, and soccer is one of his favorites. This was his first time participating in our town's rec team. It was a coed team (7-8 year olds) with different levels of abilities. Mark has really high expectations of himself so I know he would do better in a more demanding team...but we can't commit to a serious soccer team AND do tennis at the same time. His dream is someday to be on an undefeated team:)



Mark also had his piano recital in May. His teacher, Miss Wendy is very kind and supportive of him. He does 45 minute lessons once a week and has been kind of on and off with piano practice, but he is still trying. I can see a tremendous potential in him, as a pianist, but as we all know, nothing will happen unless we put work into it.



Although he doesn't really look like it on this picture, Mark was very happy that Babushka was there to watch him perform:)



Lastly, Mark was finishing up his SECOND grade. He was switching schools again after his school year, so he mixed feelings about the last few weeks at Green Hope Elementary. He was very excited though because he received a very high score on his SSA (Single Subject Acceleration) test and that meant he could join 4th grade for their math instruction when he goes to 3rd grade. It was a very big deal for him as he didn't feel challenged at all the whole year in math particularly.

And here is Mark dressed up as a fairy-tale character. Any guesses who he is?

Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk;) Yeah...Our pinto beans had to become Magic beans for that.

And that's how we ended our school year with Mark. Thank goodness, no more carpooling! Yay!

Lyana.

Hilton Head Island

By Memorial Day Weekend, the weather here is smoldering hot. It was in the low nineties with high humidity already when we were leaving for our mini vacation to Hilton Head, SC. It was really a breath of fresh air to get out of our daily routine and go to the beautiful coast, stay overnight and explore the beach. 

We checked the kids out a little early on Friday and drove straight to Hilton Head. Our friends from Cary were meeting us there the following day so we could hang out together and let the kids play. 

Hilton Head Island is quiet unique and not because it's an island. It's like its own big community of condos and houses and tennis courts and golf course. It's very walkable and very bike friendly which is why we brought our own bikes there. It seemed that everyone had a bike! We stayed at a two bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and a balcony. Hilton Head Island is not a cheap place...so you should book early if you go. 

In the morning we headed to the beach (entrance by the Sea Pines Beach Club) bright and early. We biked to the beach and then ON the beach. We walked pass the most crazy busy part of the beach where people from big resorts hung out to the area which was empty. 

We met up with our friends and spent half of the day playing with them. 

And boogie boarding.

The sand was fantastic on that beach (although nothing can beat Destin to this day).

Kissed by the sun. 

In the afternoon we biked around "town". It looked like a nice warm paradise. So pretty, lush and green! It was very humid too but bearable. 

Do you see what I see?

Alligators were everywhere in the ponds. The animal control people, of course, take care of the numbers of these predators and make sure they don't grow too large. If they do, they move them out. We hope.

In the evening after dinner with our friends (at their place), we walked to Harbour Town, which is like a mini historic/shopping center. We watched the sunset and enjoyed ice cream.

My sweet Robert who still loves to take us on adventures. 

Alex got a bunch of nasty splinters in his finger minutes before this picture was taken. We tried all sorts of ways to get it out but instead just made it worse. Not until Monday night when we came home and did our new baking soda method did they come out. They were super painful.

Here are the kids with their friends.

The following day we went to the beach again but this time we biked all along the coast to the south tip of the island (the South Shore).  For lunch we went to the famous Salty Dog Cafe. Experiencing this American way to vacation is new to us:) The beaches are so different here than they were in England/Europe and especially Japan. 

After lunch we biked on the beach again for some more time to play. The day was cloudy but it was still incredibly warm. 

Setting up our beach tent is not super difficult but it requires a few helpers to fill the bags with sand. We bought it before our trip to Sardinia and so glad we have it. It's a changing room and "keep your food and purses out of the wind" room or "put your head in the shade room". It's pretty light and compact and has SPF 50 protection.



In the evening we had dinner at our place and then again ice cream in Harbor Town. Although the trip was only three days long (well, two full days on location), it was very rejuvenating. We loved this place! I really hope we can go back there and feel like we know the island a little more next time.

On our way home we stopped by the outlets (brand name clothes shopping) and ended up spending a few hours there. It was our first time at the outlets since we'd moved back to the states. Mark absolutely hated that place and I think it will be giving him nightmares for years to come-hahahaha:) He absolutely hates shopping of any kind, well, maybe not candy shopping.

Lyana.

Watson's Busy Life-Spring Edition

As I was sifting through the pictures we've been taking this spring, I realized how few I take on my nice big camera (that used to be my primary source of pictures in Europe!) and how many pictures are taken by my phone. It's unfortunate that most of the pictures nowadays are kind of boring...ish:) I mean they tell about our lives but they all depict a different kind of excitement that is happening.

For March-May season Alex tried out Rugby with Cary Claymores. He was very-very excited to play rugby as he learned how to play it in England and he actually loves it. We signed him up for the touch rugby team of U12, but unfortunately it was a bit too easy for him. He is not small in stature and decided he would also train with the tackle team. The problem with being in the tackle team was that every gymboree (match) they had was on Sunday... so he continued playing in touch rugby gymborees on Saturdays which was not very challenging or interesting for him. Thus this was the last season of rugby for Alex. For now. I hope he continues to play it somehow as this definitely something he enjoys.

Katya's rowing season was finishing up in late June but they had an awards ceremony party in May because the regatta season was over. Katya got her ribbon for leading her boat to the second place in the Head of James regatta. This was the second year of the rowing team racing and the last season before the team expanded adding Novice/Recreational/Middle School teams to their club.



In May Alex had another opportunity to play at the Blue Note Grill in Durham at their Open Mic. My mom was able to see him play this time which is such pure joy. I love seeing Alex enjoy himself on stage! And he feels so alive:)



Since my mom was here for a while, she got to enjoy the simple things of living with the Watsons and not just sight seeing:) She played with the kids outside and taught them how to play "Vibivala", which is kind of like monkey in the middle, but Ukrainian style. It's a game I grew up with .



Mark continues to play tennis at Cary Tennis Park. Some mornings we managed to go practice at the tennis wall even before his school started since it's across the street. He has been preparing for more tournaments that were coming his way in June. Although he is focusing on tennis a lot, he still wants to participate in other sports, especially soccer and basketball.



And finally, half of May Katya has been very busy with rehearsing for her musical "Beauty And The Beast" that her theater class at Raleigh ACT was performing. Here Katya is being fitted for her costume--she is Belle (but that's a story for another post).

And as you can tell we are busy. Busy with good things, all about the kids. They enjoy it, although sometimes even they want to just sit at home and do nothing. When I think about all these activities they are fortunate to be involved in, I realize that we are blessed. Our only job is to keep it all balanced and not let the days just fly by too fast, as they do sometimes.

Lyana.

Babushka Comes To Visit North Carolina

It was wonderful to have my mom come visit! She had a fabulous time visiting North Carolina for the first time. It wasn't a sightseeing type of trip but a very relaxing one. She came in April, right in time for Easter, then spent a week with us and left for a week to go on a cruise with her good friend from Ukraine. Then she came back and spent a month with us. And who wouldn't have a wonderful time here?:) It's nice, warm (hot), quiet and beautiful.

The pool opened just in time for her to enjoy it a few times.

We went to the beach at Topsail and loved it!

And people could see us from miles away because of my mom's fancy hat:)

She played with the kids outside and took her daily walks around the neighborhood. 

She walked several times to the strawberry farm next door and gathered yummy berries for us to enjoy. 

She and I went to Hillsborough to see a little bit of history. 

And she got to see Katya perform in her musical "Beauty and the Beast" twice. 

We weren't very sad to see her go though because we know she is coming back very-very soon and will stay here forever:)

Katya, Alex, Babushka, Mark and I.

Lyana. 

Talent Show 2017

This was a long awaited event in the Watson's household. For some reason the older two kids just love to be on stage and perform. Yes, they get nervous and feel butterflies in their stomachs, but they really enjoy the thrill that comes from being in front of people. This year, Davis Drive Middle School held its Talent Show at the very end of the school year. Approximately 55 students auditioned but they could only pick 15. Alex auditioned with his piano/singing number "Your Song" (Elton John's cover) and Katya sang "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. Robert and I were not surprised when they found out that they did get a spot in the final show. 

We were also very excited because my mom was visiting us and was able to go see the show!

Both Alex and Katya did so well! We were very proud of them! Alex was the first person to perform. He was the only piano solo/singer.

Katya was the last to perform. There were a few other girls who sang for their talent performance.

But...Katya was something else:) She charmed the judges and after all won the first place! It was a huge boost to her confidence, of course:) There were kids snapchatting about her as she became school's overnight celebrity (or so she was told by friends who have Snapchat). 

We, as parents, are just happy to see our kids do their best, work hard and enjoy themselves in "uncomfortable" situations. I cannot wait to see what else comes out of these two in the next few years!

Lyana.

Topsail Beach-On Repeat

This is going to be short and sweet:) 

We love the beach! We don't mind the drive of a little over two hours either. So any visitor who would like to go to the beach with us, is guaranteed a good time:)

This time we took my mom to the beach as she absolutely loves the ocean! 

She wanted to stay, swim and play in the water for hours!

The kids were perfecting their sand digging skills...

And their boogie boarding skills. Mark is the only one who is getting better though-hahaha. 

The waves are so big here almost always that we have to take extra precaution with Mark--he wears a life jacket. 

And now I will remember the fact that we went to Topsail Beach twice before summer even started!

Lyana. 

Beauty and the Beast

Since we moved to NC on 2016, Katya has been taking voice lessons from a wonderful coach Ms. Lauren. Katya loves musical theater and Ms. Lauren is a pro at that. She mentioned to us that the theater in Raleigh where she accompanies puts on a musical twice a year and that Katya should try out. The musical that they were going to be preparing for May was Beauty and the Beast. 

And so Katya auditioned for Bell. A newcomer, uncomfortable in a group of teenagers where everyone knew each other already and had been working for several season in different plays. According to her she didn't do an impressive job during the first audition. So it was surprising to receive an email a few days later from the theater director asking Katya to come back once more for them to listen to her sing. This time they just had the committee who decides on who gets what part listen to her. I dropped her off and only could eavesdrop from the outside at what was going on. Katya, this time, did an amazing job with the song "Home" (it's not in the cartoon, but is a song from the Broadway version).

We anxiously waited all weekend for the cast list to come out. Everyone who auditioned would get the part, but WHAT part is what Katya really was excited to find out. And finally, the email came! We quickly scrolled through the whole list to the very bottom ("W") and saw that Katya got the part of Belle!!! She almost couldn't believe it although I wasn't very surprised. It was a huge accomplishment for her! No one knew her and they trusted her to do a lead. 

So months of practice began. Finally in May, the show was presented to audience. We went a couple of times, and had many friends attend as well. 

Katya with her "dad" who seemed to sound more German than French:)) 

Katya and the Beast. Who was actually a very nice boy, Jack.

Of course, this was her favorite outfit. 

The cast did an amazing job!! Everyone sang and acted so well! This was obviously not just a regular middle school play. 

This was after the first performance! They had a total of four performances.

Gaston and Belle!!

Nice timing on my mom's part! She got to see Katya perform twice!:)

And here are some more pictures of the cast!

So proud of our beautiful little girl!

This pictures was taken after the premier. So happy Katya did such a fantastic job! Cannot wait to see what the future will bring. 

Lyana.