We have had a couple of big years for us here at VIB. In 2010 we bought the house, in 2011 we got married, and in 2012 we renovated. I don’t even know what to expect from 2013. But before looking forward, I thought it would be fun to look back. We have managed quite a bit in the 12 months of renovating.
Family: We hosted my mom and sisters three times (twice without a proper shower!). they were troopers though, and when they came for christmas, everything was nice and ready for them. We also hosted Sergey’s parents for Thanksgiving, with everything pretty much in place. Sergey’s brother and girlfriend dropped in a few times on us, and helped with our coin floor.
Images: Siblings. * second photo by Sergey.
Friends: We hosted many a gathering here, including those where we invited our friends to come help us work on the house (thank you!). In addition to the demolition party, we had a 4th of july rooftop and bbq (no kitchen to cook in, and only one working bathroom with a curtain instead of a door) party, Sergey’s birthday party in November and an end of the world party in December. In addition, we had a friend stay with us in July-August, which was awesome since we could always use an extra pair of helping hands. Thank you Kirill! Plus we hosted some friends from Russia –twice! in May and August — showing them around DC for a couple of days, and a group of friends who used to live in DC for a little reunion in October.
Images: Friend helpers, 4th of July*, Washington DC*. * photos by Sergey
Travel: We flew to Florida to visit my dad in February. I managed to travel to Russia twice -in April and June – for work, and a bit of recreation as well. In June I got to visit St Petersburg, a city near and dear to my heart. Sergey also got to go in June, for the first time in 11 years! He came by a way of his native city of Moscow, and we reunited in my hometown of Petrozavodsk where he got to meet my grandma and friends. We also took a week-long vacation in September to Maine and Boston. In between, we mixed in several weekend trips to CT to visit Sergey’s parents, to the Hamptons, Cape Cod, and Boston for a wedding and related festivities, stopped by NYC twice to see friends, spent three days in Delaware and one day in Maryland for music festivals, and again to Maryland’s solomon bay for a weekend with friends at the cabin.
Images: Moscow*, Petrozavodsk, St. Petersburg, Maine*, Maryland*. * photos by Sergey
All in all, for a year that seems to have been all about the renovation, we have managed to squeeze in quite a bit of quality time with family and friends, and travel, see, and experience.
Three cheers to 2013!
