Easter 2024

Oleg's family invited us for Easter. We had a great time with food, games, and an Easter egg hunt. Grammy came with us, but Oleg and Darcy were working. It was relaxing not to host or collaborate with the Easter Bunny.

The egg hunt was indoors and outside, and naturally, like every year, we didn't find all the eggs. That's become a tradition. 

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

The big 16!

The thing about weddings and wedding planning is that everything else is second best. Tonight, while celebrating Nikita's 16th birthday, Oleg and Darcy's wedding was the main topic of conversation, and with that came drama.

Oleg's family worries about following American traditions while also wanting their own. Since I'd been researching those, we discussed them at our end of the table. Darcy, at the other end of the table, didn't like that. She doesn't want help planning. She is insistent on doing things her way, and I'm trying to respect that, although I find my feelings bruised. 

And that is silly. I'm insecure about significant events. I should be thrilled.

Somewhere in the middle, we had dinner and ate cake to celebrate Nikita.

Later, Darcy and I talked over our feelings, and a few days later, she sat down with his family and explained how the wedding would proceed, using items on the restaurant table to represent all of us. 

Happy Birthday, Nikita. Next year, we'll give you our undivided attention!

Blueberry Picking 2023

April means blueberries in Florida. Tom and I took Oleg's family to the farm for some picking yesterday. It was hot. We lasted an hour and collected roughly twelve pounds or so. Nikita and I paired up to pick, and as we passed this forested area, I commented on avoiding areas like that in Florida.

Him: "Why?"

Me: "That's just a haven for gators and snakes."

Him: "Really, Cara? Really?"

I assured him I knew what I was talking about, and several minutes later, his mother and grandmother appeared by our sides with evidence. They had a video of a gator that walked right in front of them in that same area. 

I do not need fresh blueberries enough to run into a gator. Thankfully, we were at the end of the hour, and after checking out the spartan blackberry plants, we hightailed it to the car. 

Easter 2023

I contacted the Bunny earlier to ensure Easter was as fun as last year's when I brought fun to the PA household where I spent the holiday. Oleg and his family were bringing Ukraine traditions. It would be an excellent mixing of cultures.

I awoke early. The Easter Bunny met me outside for last-minute preparations.

Once everyone arrived (Darcy was working and not there), we held the Easter scavenger hunt paring "children" against "adults." I needed one of my family members on each team, but Tom was not as helpful as I intended. Example: they figured out the clue was on the fence.

Tom: "Now we just have to figure out how to get out there."

Steph: "Yeah, he wasn't with it."

After the treasure eggs were collected, we rolled the dice. Eggs were passed back and forth until the last turn. The golden eggs carried better prizes, but no one left empty-handed.

Next, we hunted for eggs. That took considerable time, and we still have not found about six eggs as of the last count. I told everyone that is one of our traditions.

From there, we played a crack-the-egg game from Ukraine. Oleg's family decorated eggs using colorful napkins wrapped around egg white slathered hard-boiled eggs. Much better to eat afterward than dyed eggs.

We hit one another's eggs, and whoever's egg didn't crack moved on. It came down to tech guy and Steph. The tech guy won.

We had a Steph charcuterie board, a honey-baked ham dinner, and a delicious traditional Ukrainian Easter cake to wind down the festivities. We also forgot to photograph our table. That is usually Darcy's job. 

Two days later, Maggie and I found three missing Easter eggs. A week later, in PA, Steph found one of the missing eggs from 2022! 

Keeping the tradition alive.

February birthdays

Nikita and his mother have birthdays a week apart, so it was a solid two weeks of fun and cake. We celebrated Nikita's with BBQ at Sonny's, and we pretty much closed the place down. On a Monday, with everyone coming from work and two counties, it was hectic, but we managed. By the time we left, I was swimming in liquid because Sonny believes in BIG cups. 

The Saturday after that celebration, we had brunch to celebrate Nataly's birthday, and then we played putt-putt on the beach. Putt-Putt is not a Ukrainian thing, and feeding the alligators was almost as exciting as the game.

I made sure to talk a lot of smack beforehand, which is hilarious since putt-putt is not my thing. It's my brother's family's thing. I'm not clueless, however, having come from a golfing family. The weather was wonderful, and because we were a big group, we had to split into two. That left me in the adult group with the two who had never played before, so yeah, I was safe. 

I ended up knowing the person who worked the front, and she was thrilled to see me. Our kids danced together, and I taught hers how to swim, so she hooked us up with great discounts.

The "children" group was not well behaved. They played in front of us, and I think their goals were how to play putt-putt in any way other than correctly. Oddly, holes-in-one were scored.

Maddy: "It said to keep on the path. We did that."

Darcy won overall, but I won out of my group. The other two caught on quickly, though, so I might have to practice some at home just in case this becomes a birthday tradition.