Camping at Evangola State Park, New York

The Boyds and the Bongornos embarked on a camping trip to Evangola State Park in New York this past weekend. The trip was a little over 2 ½ hours, but thankfully Fiona slept through most of it and I was able to entertain Sofia just enough to avoid a meltdown. We arrived on Friday afternoon and promptly set up our tent and gear.


Joe and Sofia relaxing after setting up camp

Afterwards we went on a short hike to explore the beach and park. Lake Erie was just a few feet away and the water was very blue in the distance.



Chris, Naomi, Nora and Sadie arrived later that evening. Joe started a fire and made popcorn, which Sofia loves. I was afraid she might not sleep well since she’d be in a sleeping bag in a tent with us, but Sofia went down easily and slept through the night, as usual. She did kick off the sleeping bag though, and managed to kick off the blankets I put over her during the night.

Saturday we had a leisurely breakfast and went for a long hike. At least it felt long since I carried Fiona in the Ergo and Joe carried Sofia in the hiking backpack. Merlin and Sadie had a great time running without a leash along the marshy trail. The sun was quite strong and we weren’t very prepared for the hike (no water), so we turned back and had a nap.


N & N down for a nap




The dogs after the hike

We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking, eating and playing Scrabble.


The Boyds and Bongornos


Fiona started rolling from front to back and back to tummy about 2 weeks ago


Sofia liked entertaining Nora (laughing in the background)


Our campsite (notice Sadie lying on the ground)


Lake Erie at sunset

Sunday morning we packed up and headed home. The girls were asleep within a few minutes.



Click for more photos

Blast from the Past

My dear friend Alisher was in the States for a couple of weeks visiting friends and he swung by Cleveland to spend the day making pilov, a traditional Uzbek dish. Alish is basically my Uzbek host brother, having spent nearly every day with him, and three other friends, during my stay in Tashkent. His parents took a roadtrip through the US several years ago on their way to New York from North Dakota when his dad was at the University on a Fulbright. I hosted them while they were in Chicago and his dad made pilov for my family then.

Alish and I had last seen each other in October 2000 when I returned to Tashkent to do research for my Master’s Thesis on Building Civil Society. I was able to time my trip to coincide with his and another friend’s wedding. We’ve since kept in touch via email and just recently by phone. We’ve now committed to using Skype, so that should be especially fun.


Fiona meeting Alish


Alish said Sofia reminded him of his daughter, Lola

We didn’t have much time to sightsee and all we managed to do was to go to the West Side Market to buy ingredients for pilov. Alish really liked the market and it reminded him of a Central Asian bazaar. We then had lunch at the Great Lakes Brewery and Alish enjoyed a Holy Moses.

After a nap, Alish spent three hours preparing dinner. Molly and Joel, and the kids, stopped by to say hello but were unable to stay for dinner. We finally sat down to eat around 10PM, but the wait was worth it.


Dinner’s served

The next day we went to Erie, PA to meet up with Jon, another Peace Corps friend.


Like old times…(Alish & Jon)


But with new additions


Jon not dropping Fiona

While in Erie, Sofia enjoyed the hotel pool and we also visited Presque Isle. That evening, after the girls went to bed, I joined the gang for an evening of music. A Cajun/blues band was playing and the guitar player climbed onto the bar.




We haven’t changed a bit…14 years later

It was wonderful to see Alish and hangout with Beth and Jon, whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade. It would have been even better to have been able to see Lorel, another close friend from back in the day, but I’ll have to make a trip out to Austin for that reunion.


The next day Joe, the girls and I went to the Puerto Rican Festival in Cleveland. It was too hot to stay very long, but Sofia rode her first carnival ride.


Sofia pretending she’s in England (hence sitting on the British driver’s side)

Click for more pics from that weekend

Coming soon…pics from our upcoming camping trip!

Fun in the Sun

We spent the last week in Orlando due to a work conference I had to attend, but we took advantage and arrived a few days early and stayed a day after. Joe’s parents accompanied us for the week, giving the girls a great opportunity to spend with them.

Sofia points out planes in the sky, so she was very excited about riding in one. The excitement didn’t last as long as the flying time, however. We distracted her with books and as the last resort pulled out the Barney and Elmo videos.


Waiting to board the plane

We spent most of the time in the pool. Sofia loved the water and jumping into Joe’s arms while in the pool. It was extremely hot, though, so Fiona didn’t get to hang out too long. We also went to a petting zoo and SeaWorld. The petting zoo was more like a sad, trailer park for animals. And it was $21 per adult!



Regardless, I think the pony ride was worth it. We were doubtful when Sofia said she wanted to ride a pony, but she got on and loved it.


Getty up!


She’s getting big!



We visited Shamu at SeaWorld. Sofia loved the penguins and seemed entertained by the sea lion show.


Nana and Papa pose with the girls.

The real highlight, I think, for Sofia, was breakfast with Elmo. Sofia was a little scared when the characters came off the stage to mingle, but she posed with Bert and Ernie.





Unfortunately she refused to pose, or even look at, Telly.

"No Telly!"

Fiona just hung out with the grandparents.



And finally…a cute summer photo of Fiona sporting an outfit given to her by her godmother Rosy.


Aqua’s a good color for her.


Look at Fiona’s big eyes!

More fun pics

Busy Few Weeks

Busy Few Weeks

In the past few weeks before I returned to work, we were busy enjoying the summer and celebrating birthdays and visits.

Kiki’s Visit
Joe’s brother Brian and family came to visit for a few days. Sofia was very excited that her cousin Keira, AKA, Kiki, was coming. It was so cute to hear their little screams of “Sofia!” and “Kiki!”when they saw each other. They promptly started playing with dolls and of course fighting over toys. Regardless they seemed to have a very good time. We went to the zoo and to the library while they were here and overall enjoyed the cousins together. Little Brendan was very close to crawling. He’s a mellow, cute baby. Michelle and I managed to run twice and the boys got a chance to golf. It was great having a running buddy!


Edie, Sofia & Keira


The girls competing to be the sloppiest eater…


I think Sofia won


Keira’s not far behind

Edie’s Second Birthday
Edie invited us to celebrate her second birthday this past weekend and we got to the park just in time for a strong storm to hit. Although we were huddled under a pavilion the strong winds swept the rain inside and got everyone wet. Luckily the storm passed quickly and left large puddles of water throughout the park. Edie loved splashing in them.




Edie’s walking on water!

Chris’s Big 3-0 Birthday Party
After Edie’s party we went to Chris and Naomi’s to celebrate Chris’ birthday. The party provided an opportunity to get all the kids together for a group photo.


From oldest to youngest (Will, 2 ½ yrs, Sofia, 2 yrs, Nora, 8 months, Alta, 6 months, Mae, 4 ½ months, & Fiona, 3 months)


After


Before

More photos

Fiona Update


I tried capturing Fiona's double chin

Fiona will need her fat reserves because she’s refused to take the bottle. I’ve been back to work for about a week and she’s waited for me to eat. Joe’s tried hard to coax her into drinking, but so far no type of bottle, nipple or bribe has worked. Thankfully she doesn’t cry too long (perhaps she has no energy given she’s not eating!) and sleeps a lot. She seems to be making up for not eating during the day by waking up every hour and half at night. I’m exhausted! I’m hopefully she’ll come around soon. She’ll have to because I have my first overnight trip in a month.





Oh, rabies, maybe?
While on a run, about a week ago, a small, but ferocious dog ran out of its yard and chased me before he bit my calf.


It smarted!

I continued running, but after too much time to think I began worrying about the potential for rabies. Seems that once you develop symptoms it's too late to administer a cure, so I went back to the owners and they showed me "Suzy's" tags. The vet suggested I contact the city kennel so that the dog would be quarantined and if it died then I could worry. So far no news...hopefully that's a good thing.