Williamsburg Busch Gardens

This summer we decided that we were going to make it an epic summer of roller coasters and slides--a special Busch Gardens summer! We got a special military pass for a discounted price that included unlimited Busch Gardens and Water Country USA admission in Williamsburg (plus free parking). We had been promising our kids for a long time that we'd go to a big American amusement park, so this was the perfect opportunity!

Busch Gardens is about 3.5 hour drive from our house, so we left around 6:30 from our house on Saturday morning and arrived a little before 10 am at the waterpark. I didn't take many pictures there as we were mostly running around from slide to slide and getting sunburnt-hehe. It was still fantastic and the lines were not horribly long!

Let me get to Sunday a bit later in my post, but for now, let me say that going to an amusement park on a Monday was the best idea ever! We were able to walk onto every ride, pretty much (except Verbolten which took us almost an hour for some reason and it wasn't even the best one).





The park is divided into countries so you walk through Ireland and Italy and Germany and England and France to different rides and different eateries. We had lunch at the German Oktoberfest house and were able to get some yummy meals plus a humongous piece of cake as part of the Busch Gardens online meal deals (and then we shared two meals among us five).

The kids love the Griffin ride! This is the one that stays up in the air with you hanging facing down and then bolting down. Insane. And I can't believe I am brave enough to go on it...although never in the first row which is our kids' favorite.



The crazy thing is that the littlest Watson is not afraid of the heights or thrills! He tries to go with "no hands" on the most intense ones, being barely tall enough, while I am next to him telling him to not talk to me or breath or touch me as I close my eyes scared of that rollercoaster creeping up the hill.




Apollo's Chariot is our favorite as well! This is the one that goes super-duper fast! This one is crazy!!! But absolutely amazing in the dark! Mark's new thing is to be the "sad face" in each picture.

It was pretty funny but the kids went five times in a row on this big swing. It is funny mostly because this is such a tame ride compared to all the other ones that they were choosing to go on. 

Oh, and I discovered my new favorite thing ever--as long as it's not ultra sweet--funnel cakes. Oh. My. Goodness. They were delicious here! My favorite ones are strawberry and chocolate with all the stuff on top. It's definitely a sharable dessert. 

We stayed at the park till around 7 pm and then drove home. It was a long day but so thrilling!

And now back to our Sunday! We didn't want to go to any amusement parks or water parks on a Sunday, so we decided to make it a practically free day by using our veteran's discounts and explore Jamestown and Yorktown.

First we visited the Historic Jamestowne. That is the place where Virginia Company settlers first established an English colony in 1607. The visitors' center had an amazing exhibit with a very informative movie.

This is the fence around the area where the actual colony was established. 

The views of the James River.

I think Katya was just happy to see a British flag:)

That's, of course, John Smith. But no, Pocahontas, was never married to him...although they do have a statue dedicated to her here. 

It was incredibly hot this afternoon, so after exploring the Historic Jamestown we drove towards York town, only about 20-30 min away. We had lunch at Carrot Tree Kitchens, a privately owned restaurant with fresh healthy food. I normally don't remember names of the places we eat at but I really liked this name! Carrot Tree! Who has ever seen a carrot tree??

At Yorktown we made it just in time for the 3 pm Yorktown Battlefield cannon firing. 

They explained how they cleaned the cannons and all the procedures. Kind of cool;) 

We also watched a movie inside the visitors' center about how Yorktown was one of the most important places during the Revolutionary War. We drove around following the self-driving tour to see the actual battlefield trenches. It was so eery and serene at the same time.

In Yorktown we found this street sign, which Alex thought was worthy of a picture.

The day was winding down but we still had more exploring to do! We drove to Colonial Williamsburg. The buildings with workers in period clothing were already closed so all we could do was walk around the historic part--which was more than enough for us. We got to see the fife and drum ceremony on the green in the middle of the Colonial Town which was absolutely fantastic and got us all in a very historical mood-haha. 

We wondered around a bit, bought some ice cream and tasted some famous delicious peanuts in The Peanut Shop. 

And then we waited for our 7:30 pm reservation at King's Arm Tavern.

This was definitely a one time deal as it's not cheap, but it was pretty cool and atmospheric with a waiter staying in character and all dishes cooked from scratch according to old-fashioned recipes (well, besides the kids meals).

Colonial Williamsburg reminded us a lot of old English streets and houses. It is a cozy beautiful place and definitely worth a visit. 

That evening we walked up and down the streets of this town catching fireflies and enjoying the warm summer night. And everyone was getting along and goofing around (for once;). Precious!

We will be back, Williamsburg! There is still so much to explore there!

Lyana.

Last Trip to Charlottesville

Right after school got out we made a quick trip to Charlottesville one last time for a while. Our good friends, the Grovers, were leaving the states once again and moving back to England to the same area as we all used to live. We have one word for them: LUCKY!

The trip was super quick, but we got to spend a lot of time together, play games and just hang out.



We did attempt to go to Monticello and got as far as the kids' exploration building...but...it was pouring rain when we were in the area so we decided against the actual tour as we, honestly, were simply not prepared for the rain (unlike our English days).

Oh yes, Monticello used to be Thomas Jefferson's home, in a beautiful setting. So the kids got learn bits and pieces about its history and some of the fascinating facts about how Jefferson ran his household.

Playing with friends. 

We also got to watch a neat 20 minute film about Monticello.

Spoons card game was a big hit with everyone at home (minus Katya asleep on the chair).

It was not easy to say goodbye, but it was not as sad as usually since we know they were going to a wonderful place! And maybe we'll get to visit them:)!

Till we see you again!

Lyana. 

Babushka Trying New Things

We were fortunate enough to be able to have my mom come and stay with us for a few months. She was able to participate in our many family activities and attend a lot of kids' performances and competitions. 

Her life was quite calm and relaxing here, but at the same time she didn't have a feeling that it was truly her life and the way she wanted to live as she is still very young and independent. It was a bit difficult for her to be always so dependent on me for driving and for translating. She did try to do her own things and take some classes and attend a few social events, but it was still too different from the life she was used to. After a couple of months, we realized that it probably would be best for her for now to stay in Ukraine as no matter what the conditions of her life are there, at least she is the boss of her own everyday routine and has friends (which is understandably a huge deal). Missing Europe, its relaxed lifestyle, city feel and liveliness, cafes and city squares, made it harder to adjust here, where we on purpose picked a house a bit away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy our wooded country roads. To each their own:) 

So in early June, my mom went back to Ukraine. She'll, of course, come back to visit, and who knows what the future holds, but for now this is where we are at. We are grateful she was able to get to know the kids better.

After Mark's piano recital. 

After Alex's show choir performance.

She finally got to watch Mark practice tennis (she always would see him at his tournament matches).

And hanging out with Katya once in a while:)

We are most proud of her for getting her driver's license in May! She'd studied for many hours prior to taking the theory exam. And she passed it on the first try, which is not an easy thing to do when you have to study in a language you don't speak fluently. Then she only took the driving exam once and passed as well! She, of course, still needs a lot more hours driving to feel more comfortable on the road on her own, but for now we'll take this!:) 

When I tell my mom about how the kids are in and out of the house, playing with friends in the basement and always are doing stuff inside the house like playing the piano and wandering around the house during summer months, she is happy she is not here as it is not something that she is used to any more after so many years of quiet living:) So it's all turning out for the best! But she does miss Pepper, the dog, very much:)

Lyana. 

Spring Sports Season 2018.

It didn't used to be like this... but I am embracing our new reality with kids growing up and doing extra stuff (that we don't make them do). I am happy they are busy with things that they enjoy after school and don't just sit around playing computer games.

Spring is a very busy sports season for us. This year Mark signed up for our local recreational soccer league so on top of his tennis practices three times a week he added another hour of soccer, plus Saturday matches. He had to skip a few matches because he either had tennis tournaments to play at the same time or soccer matches were scheduled on a Sunday.

North Carolina in May and June can be brutally hot:) Yeah, it looks kind of funny, but it works. At least Mark has been trained well to play hard in the heat.

Somehow we didn't get any pictures of Mark playing soccer!! But so you know, he scored in many games and in one game got his PB of a Hat Trick:)) 

I drive to the Cary Tennis Park multiple times a week and in the summer months sometimes twice in one day. Mark knows this place very well and feels so comfortable here. I think it's a wonderful facility! But I wish it were just a little closer (right now it's a 17-20 min drive). The good thing is that his practices are 1.5 hours long so I can sometimes drop him off, go home for an hour and spend some time with the rest of the family before Robert or I pick him up in the evening. He does group practices twice a week and a private or small group lesson once a week. We switch it up from time to time and know that as he gets older and wants to get better, he'll need to spend more hours on the court. Today, for example, Mark rented a ball machine (it comes free as well as the court for those who are in the Academy) and spent an hour in the morning practicing some shots. It's a great way to practice lobs as no one can be as consistent at lobs as a machine:)) My role as a "ball girl" is essential-haha.

And here is rowing! Alex decided he 100% wants to do rowing this next school year (we gave him a choice as it's not cheap and we didn't want to hear complaining). He says he really enjoys being part of the team and competing, so we are giving him a green light for another year of rowing on the Middle School Team. Katya is going to be the most experience designated coxswain on the team, so she is excited about that and hoping to make it work somehow with her theater endeavors in Raleigh. The only downside is that she doesn't really get any athletic benefit from being a coxswain, but she loves it (and it's free), so she'll keep going for now. Rowing season ended at the end of May and will restart right after Labor Day.

As of right now we are loving summer and fewer commitments. Looking forward to watching our kids practice, compete, win or lose and do it all over again. 

Lyana. 

Last Day of School 2018

So I receive the lamest parent of the school year award this year as I failed to take Katya's last day of school picture (not even a picture AFTER school). So the boys' pictures will suffice.

Well, actually, here is a picture of Katya the week before school was done. Does that count? No, she doesn't wear swimsuits to school usually.

So, Katya managed to complete her First year of High School and still be excited for more! She did great! Was it stressful? Yes! Was it competitive on many levels? Yes! I guess that's what you get with a high school of more than 2000 students. Next year she hopes to know more about what she is doing:) Waking up for seminary was not an easy fit but she managed it. I do wish school started at least half an hour later...right now it begins at 7:20 am. Adding 6 am seminary to that makes it really tough. She did really well in her studies and got only one unfortunate and frustrating high "B" in English! Her best subject! Which makes it even worse:) But she will live. She is looking forward to the next school year already! Lots of new goals and plans to fulfill! This summer she will be taking Drivers Ed and hopefully getting her learner's permit.

Alex survived another year of middle school and seems to be loving life, despite the fact that he has to move schools again, for the third time in three years. He has a ton of friends, takea the bus (but tells me I don't want to know how bad it is) and is actually excited for the new adventures at the new school. This last year (7th grade) he got all A's, was cast as a lead in their school musical and performed at the school talent show with a group of his friends. We are so proud and happy for him! He is around 5'9'' now and loves to tower over his buddies. He finished this school year without owning a cell phone but is begging for a phone for 8th grade. We will probably give one to him for his birthday as he thinks he absolutely has to have it to keep in touch with his friends. For now, Alex is spending his free time reading books, playing the piano trying to learn new songs or building cities with dominoes in our playroom. In between all that he eats and tries to sneak in some time for computer/iPad games, although he is not allowed to play them most weekdays.

And here is Mark, who finished third grade! It was a big year for Mark! He loved his experience with his new teacher and learned so much! He had no issues getting through the 4th grade curriculum of Math and tested to skip 5th grade math next year...but received 82% on the exam while you need 90% to qualify to skip 5th and go to 6th. The first thing he said when he walked in the house with his results in his hand was, "Well..another boring year in math next year", as he was really hoping to challenge himself further and was working hard at home on 5th grade math. But that is okay! 

He also did great in the Spelling Bee contest in January coming 4th out of 28 contestants. He already is making plans on how he is going to study the words next winter:) 

We are so very proud of Mark's achievements academically but also very grateful to hear wonderful reviews from ALL his teachers and coaches about how polite, obedient, responsible and proactive he is. He is a good friend and does not act like he is all that, but is very popular with his peers. His competitive nature sometimes gets in the way as he expects the same level of drive in achieving things from other kids around him and it bothers him when they don't care:) Something he'll just have to learn to deal with.

And no, no phones for Mark for now. Or EVER:)   

I am just so happy that they finished a school year and that we get enjoy a wonderful relaxing hot summer together!!!