Halloween 2023

This year we did one of the most Halloween things ever! I made THIS crazy thing for a party. It was quite an achievement for me! 

As you know it’s not very characteristic of me to get into the whole Halloween spirit very much just because I don’t particularly love scary stuff and costumes. But...I do have a bunch of trusty wigs that I rotate through the years. This year was the year of Lyana, the brunette. 

And I had a ton of fun attending Carrie Stroud’s Witch Party! She definitely gets into the whole Halloween thing! Here are Melissa, Melanie and I. 

The boys did their own thing this year. Robert was gone flying back from Arizona that night. Alex went trick-or-treating somewhere with his big friends dressed as a...safari guy/tourist? 

And Mark...well, Mark decided to go all fancy and be Iceman from Top Gun because his friends Tommy and Noah were going to be Maverick and Goose. 

They look super cool-hahaha. 

Mark’s hair required a lot of work. We actually watched the original Top Gun movie with him just for the purpose of him knowing who he is dressing up as. 

And here are the three amigos...I mean, Tommy, Noah and Mark. All cool and grown up.

Mark’s flight suit was a legitimate Top Gun costume and we even got him Iceman tag! Thank you, West family, for letting us borrow the costume! 

Now more like themselves. 

Someday, we hope to show these off at some “Holland Farm” reunion party-haha. 

The boys went around our neighborhood a few times, counted and exchanged their candy...and then it all was over. Don’t know how many more Halloween nights we have left before they stop trick-or-treating... hoping for a few more.

Lyana. 

 

Mark’s Random Life Stuff

This is Mark. A typical 13 year old teenager who tries not to smile too often to appear “uncool”. Who rolls his eyes and mumbles “you are so weird” to his mom on a regular schedule. Who still thinks school at home is the best thing that ever happened to him but who is ready for something different for next school year at high school. 

He is growing up so fast! Katya won’t recognize him when she comes home from her mission. 

So what have we been up to? Honestly, I don’t seem to take a lot of pictures these days. The ones I take gravitate around tennis...So here we go. In October, Mark had a tournament in Midlothian, VA. They were holding two tournaments in VA that weekend, which was wild. Mark comfortably got into the L4 and was really hoping he could get into the L2...but to no avail. Our friends, the Kents, whom we knew in England, live near Richmond/Midlothian, so they came to watch Mark multiple times to support his crazy matches. It was fun! 

They had no doubles at the tournament, unfortunately. Otherwise, he would have played them with Connor. Instead, he just got to hang out and eat with Connor-haha. 

Back on the home front--more tennis at Cameron’s. Mark goes to around 11-13 hours of tennis a week there plus Quentin’s fitness session once a week. 

Here is Mark after a super intense and fun hitting session against his fitness coach. 

And when Mark played a tournament in Charlotte at the end of October, the Butler boys, our family friends, came over to watch him as well! Always SO fun to have friends come watch Mark. 

First evening of the tournament we discovered this amazing creperie, Hazelnuts. I had amazing gluten-free savory crepes and Mark had something of an American style crepe. Mark LOVES crepes. So we actually went there twice!

Daniel Lvovich and Mark played doubles at this tournament. They work well together! Daniel’s parents are Belorusian.

In fact, they did so well, that they won the whole thing! L5 in 14s.

The following day, we had some rain delays, so we went on a food journey. Got some Korean hot soup which was amazing. 

I find some unique places when we are not in a hurry! 

Singles went great as well! Mark beat some really tough opponents and ended up losing to Rafael Lopez in the finals. 

They had to finish their match in really damp conditions with a lot of mist, practically rain, but they did it. 

In other news...Mark is growing super fast out of his clothes. He also absolutely despises trying on clothes to see if they fit. It’s unbelievable and funny how it seems like such a big chore to him. It’s one of my favorite things ever! He also tells me he wants all those baby pictures off his wall....so yeah, they will be coming down soon:). 

His eye check up went well, just FYI-haha.

And we’ll finish with another picture of Mark eating, because he does that quite often these days, especially in the evening after tennis. 

 

Head of Charles 2022

Ahhh, Boston!  Beantown, The Cradle of Liberty, The Olde Town, The Athens of America, The Hub of the Universe!  Whatever you call it, you’ve just got to go there.  This was Alex’s and my (Robert here) second time going to Boston, again for the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s LARGEST 3-day rowing competition.  According to HOCR.org this regatta attracts “400,000 spectators, 11,000 competitors  and 2400 volunteers.”  So yeah, not a small event. And Alex got to compete in it for the second year in a row!!  

Okay, so here we go.  First, gotta fly there.  Not too eventful thankfully, not that I remember at least.  Some folks’ flights were delayed or cancelled, but everyone eventually made it in time.  Our flight was fine though.  First day of the event (Friday) basically everyone gets to do a test run of the course.  It’s mostly relaxed, but very important for everyone to be comfortable with the several turns and bridges on the river.  Speaking of bridges, this is the best way to view the race, so the bridges are packed with spectators.  Here’s a quick view from my perch. 

So basically that was Friday.  Alex is on the water and I’m left to my own devices, wandering around the area.  Watching the river or exploring Harvard campus (next door). On Saturday we had all day to explore the city.  One thing we did this year was the famous Duck Boat tour.  Yay, more time on the water for Alex!  It was actually a lot of fun, though the time on the water is actually quite short compared to what one would expect from the name of the tour.  We drove around the city, mostly while we looked at lots of old buildings (yeah, that’s about all I can rememberr).  Once on the water they let passengers who wanted to come up and sit in the driver’s seat and “drive” the boat (aka steer around in open water) while we took photos of them.  Kinda fun.  We happened to be on tour with some other folks from the team. This is Alex with his teammates Annalise and Sofia (who raced in the women’s U19 4+) and Nate (who raced in the men’s U17 4+). Alex raced in the U19 4+.

This was Alex walking back from driving the boat.  Notice all the signatures on the roof?  Later in the tour they asked if anyone was a military veteran.  I was the only one on the boat.  They gave me a sharpie and I got to sign my name on the ceiling.

Rigging the boats takes time and precision.  The kids do ALL the work themselves. 

Alex and Charlie, his pair partner (the guy who sits behind him in the boat).

Just Alex.  You can see the lot full of boats and trailers in the background.  SOOOO many boats and trailers.

This is a view of the main boathouse on the river.  There are several boathouses similar to this on the river (Harvard, MIT, Boston University, etc.). A lot different than what we’re used to with our tiny Lake Wheeler and small fenced in lot for boat storage. 

We saw several Ukrainian flags there, flying in support. I stopped the Ukraine women’s team and took a photo with them.

Sunday was the day of Alex’s event. He was in the (4+) which means 4 rowers, one oar each person (sweeping) with a coxswain (a fifth person).  I think this is Alex’s boat in the pic.  Can’t always tell for sure from a distance.  I do know for sure it is Triangle Rowing Club because the oars of every team all over the world have a unique, registered design.  This is often the only way to tell for sure the boat is from our team when watching some races.  Even some other teams have orange uniforms but the oars are always unique to your team.

I zoomed in, as they went just under the bridge I was on, so I know for SURE this is Alex’s boat now. 

And there they go.  They did very well, placing 30th out of 91 teams.  But if you ask anyone who was here at the race, they will tell that just being invited and to be in the race is totally worth it.  I am going to miss having a child race in the Head of the Charles, and I am so glad I was able to witness this twice!  If you are ever in Boston during this regatta it is a MUST SEE event.  

And that is our trip to Boston in a nutshell.  I mean we did lots of other things.  We ate tons of good food, especially loved Pinnochio’s pizza near Harvard square.  I spent lots of down time, while Alex was busy with his team, wandering around the area.  I especially enjoyed sitting and relaxing in Harvard’s football stadium which is open to the public.  Quick travel tip: if you’re in the area and need a good, clean restroom go to the stadium.  On one of the evenings we met up with a high school classmate of mine who lives in Boston.  We went to dinner at a small Italian place and I really enjoyed catching up with her.  I hadn’t seen her since 1997!! Yikes!  Oh, and just like last year, on one of the evenings several of the parents got together and went to a tiny Polish restaurant for dinner and just talked and enjoyed the evening.  And the subway is not as bad as everyone says it is.  :)

Anyway, there really is so much to see in Boston.  I want to go back and revisit some places but also there is so much more that we didn’t have time to explore.  

Robert

Katya’s MTC and Romania

As I am writing this, Katya has been on her mission for NINE MONTHS!!! Oh yeah! 

I wanted to write this quick post though to leave a memory of how it all began, back in September of 2022. Katya left for the MTC on September 6th and then spent a month learning the language and receiving missionary instructions. 

She absolutely loves her district! She has seen many of them in Romania when they have district and zone conferences and it’s always a wonderful feeling for her as if she is “coming home”.

At the MTC’s classroom. 

On October 6th, this cohort departed from the MTC and headed to Romania!!! 

Katya’s travel outfit wearing “the bear”. 

They had to take a train to the airport. 

Katya is a pro in Transatlantic flights, probably coaching everyone else on how to behave-hahaha. 

I hear she barely got some sleep, but no one cared! They all were SO excited! 

And finally! Arrived in Bucharest on Oct 7, 2022! President and Sister Rucker were there to meet them all. 

Look at this fun group! 

A nice meal and some rest time before they were all distributed to their areas. Such exciting times! 

   In the last nine months, Katya has served in two areas--Oradea and Iasi. It’s been quite an adventure with ups and downs. We pray for her strength and safety every day. She is doing amazing things and is growing with her experiences. 

 

We love you, Katya!