Mark Turns THIRTEEN!

Oh, Markovka, you are now officially a TEENAGER!!! Congratulations!!! 

Now you have entered the most exciting zone of your life so far. Look at that, you are just three years away from driving! And five years away from leaving the house for college...crazy...

So! December birthday, around Christmas is crazy. I always have to plan ahead with dates for Mark’s get together because everyone is so busy. 

Mark invited his tennis buddies to play tennis for a couple of hours at Ting Park in Holly Springs.

Mark, Joseph, Neel and Connor. 

Then we got home and had some lunch from Mark’s favorite Panda Express. 

Mark also had a movie and snacks night with his neighborhood friends at home. 

For Mark’s actual birthday, we hung out as a family, opened gifts and went out to eat...to... drum roll...Red Robin (again!). Mark got this super fancy massage gun to help with his recovery after matches. Tennis calendar (for some reason they had no good 2022 tennis calendar with a variety of players this time!!!), cream soda, and a few other things.

Here is our little family picture for Mark’s birthday. Finally Mark is 13, Alex is 16 and Katya 18. 

Yeah, this was not Menchie’s (Mark’s favorite) but still pretty great! 

And Mark really wanted a Dunlop cake again, so Katya made it for him! 

Well, Mark, You have had pretty incredible thirteen years on this earth with us, if I say so myself. I look at you and see so much goodness and strength, kind heartedness and determination, sharp sense of humor and maturity. I can’t imagine our family without you, we all agree around here--we are so glad you get to grow up with us. We love you!!! Excited to see where your you take your path. 

Height: 5’ 6’'

Favorite sport: Tennis

Favorite sport to watch: Tennis

Favorite Book: Scythe

Favorite movie: Spiderman No Way Home

Favorite Color: Blue

Hobbies: Ping Pong, Puzzles

When I grow up, I want to be a professional tennis player

 

Babushka Comes for a Visit

We were very fortunate to have my mom visit again this November. Her visits have been such good bonding experiences for all the kids, but particularly for Mark. 

I will be writing in more detail about our travels with her, but for now, enjoy a few pictures.

Mark won Second Place in the L5 in Charleston. Played really really well and Babushka was able to witness it! 

Supporting Mark all the way and learning all the ins and outs of tennis. 

And at home, this was their tradition--making Blinchiki (technically Mlinchiki in Ukrainian). 

And taking a walk on one of the quiet Sunday afternoons--at Harris Lake Park. 

Okay, and I will make an appearance as well. 

My mom left right before Thanksgiving as we had visitors coming to stay with us (Brian and James and families) but, unfortunately, Robert tested positive for Covid on Tuesday night before everyone was supposed to start their journey... so we had to cancel our celebrations. 

The end.

Lyana. 

 

Alex the Rower--Regattas Galore Fall 2021

During the months of October and November, Alex is extremely busy with rowing. The fall season training is intense! This year Alex is a junior which means he has great chances each time to row in the Triangle Rowing Club Varsity boat. 

Alex loves rowing. Rowing is TOUGH. But Alex is tough too and he is literally built for rowing. 

For someone like Alex, having a team and especially working together as a boat is what it's all about. 

He works hard, gets along with everyone and is just a fun guy to have around! 

The season usually starts out at High Point, NC, a little over an hour away from us. 

Then they have a regatta in Oak Ridge, TN where they go on a team bus (Alex's favorite part). 

Robert is usually our regatta parent. He helps with grilling and knows a lot of other rowers' parents. Here is their team as of Fall 2021. 

Here is a picture of Head of the South in Augusta, GA where Alex won two races! 

More crew pictures. They won in Mens 4+ and Mixed 4+. Alex had to row over 30K that day and had to hotseat for all of his races so he had zero rest at all on land. 

They also went to Chattanooga, TN. 

To be honest, it's hard to tell what regatta what pictures are from!!! 

These I know where from Chattanooga because they were taken from the bridge. 

It's probably my favorite venue! 

One of the exciting parts of the Fall 2021 season was that Alex's boat qualified for the Head of Charles in Boston, the biggest regatta in the world! 

So Robert and Alex flew to Boston and had an adventure of their own. 

Robert also explored some bits of Harvard. 

And since Alex didn't race on Saturday, they walked around downtown as well as Little Italy. 

We are definitely going back to Boston as the boys secured a spot in the 2022 regatta too! 

The Donkey Statue by the Old City Hall. 

This definitely felt like a charming European city. 

And this is the TRC boys in the boat in Boston. 

And they did great! This regatta is HUGE!!! 

And a few more pictures of this beautiful sport. 

Alex is doing a great job being part of the crew. Until recently, rowing in college was still something he was considering but somehow he decided not to pursue it after high school. Men's Rowing is actually not an NCAA sport, but Women's is. There is no money in rowing, unfortunately, so no scholarships really. Alex has a lot of choices to make and a lot of work ahead of him applying to different universities. No matter what, rowing is fantastic for him! I am so glad that he found it for himself and that he is happy doing it. 

Lyana. 

 

Showing off Charleston to Babushka

Charleston is such an easy drive for us that, of course, we needed to take my mom there while she was visiting. We timed it pretty well with another L5 tennis tournament for Mark as well as a couple of days of visiting a tennis training academy, recommended by his fitness coach Quentin. 

We stayed at a Hampton Inn and Suites on Daniel's Island so we could explore easily areas near Charleston. First morning we walked across the Big Big Bridge (that's what we call it). It's a famous huge bridge, a popular path for walkers, connecting Charleston to Daniel's Island. 

I love that we are getting these beautiful pictures of them together. 

And a beautiful mama with Mark. Yes, that's me with Mark. 

We took my mom to the beach on one of the days and left her there for a while actually. She took some long walks and read a book while Mark and I had to go to his training session. But before then Mark and Babushka were able to play some Goodmiton. Gorgeous place!!! 

This is middle of November so it's pretty incredible it's still so warm. Look at this sweet picture. 

Next time she comes to visit, he will be a lot taller. 

On another day we decided to be very adventurous by taking the boat taxi from the Patriot's point to Charleston Downtown and back. This is near where we get on the taxi. 

The boat ride took about an hour. 

We saw an amazing impromptu dolphin show as we were on the boat. It was quite fun! 

And that's the iconic big bridge that we walked over the day before. 

We actually left my mom on the boat and she went back to downtown on her own to walk around and explore as Mark had to go to his tennis training. 

That's the water taxi stop. 

The following day we ventured out to the Cypress Gardens! It's a quirky place with a Butterfly House, an actual real Alligator and a bunch of fun places to take pictures.

We rented a boat to row along the swamp. My mom sat in the middle and enjoyed the picturesque ride. 

Mark and I did a lot of paddling and maneuvering through the narrow canals, sometimes getting stuck within the roots of the old cypress trees. 

I loved that place! 

And I love these pictures of me and my mom as well.

Later in the day we drove to Charleston downtown and did a bunch of exploring. 

My mom loves stuff like that. 

That's by the Battery Park. 

And that's AT the Battery, where we had pictures taken in 2018 with all three kids, on a very-very cold February day. 

It's actually always surprising to see tall buildings like this in Charleston, and it's amazing to imagine what it must have been to live in Charleston in the 18th and 19th century. 

Finally, one of the cool things was that our favorite Giles drove two hours from Columbia to see my mom and to see Mark play his matches. It was so kind of them! 

We had lunch at a shrimp place (as Mark requested). They really enjoyed their time with us!!! 

And this is how our Charleston adventures ended! We had a great time there and surely will go back, probably for tennis.

Lyana.