There is something about the months of April and May that sweep me up into a whirlwind. I always feel completely swamped and that I never really get anything done. Maybe it is a left over feeling from 20 years of school? I don't know... Anyway, I am happy that things have calmed down a bit here. Nik brilliantly finished his first year of medical school, I am so proud of him. He did great in all of his classes, was a wonderful Daddy, and a terrific husband. Not many of his classmates can say that. He has 6 more weeks of break left, (like the last real break for the rest or medical school), he and Raivis are having fun horsing around together and catching up on some errands. If only somebody would give me 6 weeks off too :).
Nik and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Saturday. We had a fun day with our boy, we went to our favorite place for breakfast, a farmer's market, a drive, did some sliding, got cupcakes at a shop that we've been trying to go to but are always sold out by the time we get there, took a nap, went for a bike ride, and played. Then Nik and I went out to eat after he went to bed. Thanks Grandma Carol for watching him for us! We went to a great restaurant that we have been wanting to try, Julep. They specialize in gourmet southern food and use a lot of local ingredients. Oh my gosh... sooooo delicious. We followed that up with the movie Thor in 3D, it was the 2nd movie that we have seen in Virginia. Such a treat. When I take a step back and think about it, it is hard for me to imagine that we have been married six years already. It seems like just yesterday we were in college at BSU. The journey here to Virgina was an unexpected one, yet it has given us another opportunity to grow closer, explore new things together and support each other in new ways. I couldn't imagine living my life with anyone other then my husband at my side and I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am. Ok, enough gushy stuff :)
I have a goal for 2011, I am going to go to the beach at least once a month while it is warm enough to go. We started in March, it was a little cold for Virginia standards, but for the Pacific Northwest in us it was perfect. After all we are used to wearing sweatshirts at the beach. Raivis was very happy to be reunited with the sand. In April we went to the Nags Head, North Carolina with some friends. We had perfect weather, perfect company, and were perfectly relaxed. We celebrated Easter at the beach. The Easter bunny even had his act together and showed up at the beach house and at our house back at Richmond. That Easter bunny better be careful about the expectations he sets up. In May we went to Sandbridge, Virginia again. When I told people that were from here that we were going to the beach for a day trip over memorial day weekend I was told how awful it was going to be. In actuality we had perfect traffic, perfect weather, and a perfect day. I showed them :). We've already hit our minimum of one trip in June, we went to Sandbridge, Virginia again and had yet another perfect day. I have to say, I don't think that this day trip to the beach is going to get old anytime fast. Ravis loves it, he loves the sand most probably. I got him to go into the water with me quite a bit this time (last time he got knocked over by a wave and refused to get back in after that). He loves to run from the waves and throw shells into the water. This was the first time that the water was warm.... ooo Atlantic ocean, I think I love you!

I leave you with some Ravi-isms...
When getting the beach chairs down from the attic (two of his most favorite things in the world: beach chairs and the attic) I asked him to count them. He says, "One... Two... Grandma's"

We went to a farmer's market on Saturday, on the way there we passed a couple of playgrounds and each time Raivis told us that he wanted to slide. I told him not yet and that we would have to "look" for one, not fully anticipating that we were going to stop. On the way home Nik and I decided to get off the main roads and explore some neighborhoods. We came around a corner and saw a school with a playground, Raivis says, "There it is! Blue slide!!" We were compelled to stop and had a great hot 10 minutes playing on the slides.
We passed on of our favorite ice cream shops the other day, Raivis starts yelling "I-Ceem, I-Ceem!!" Oh-oh, we can't get anything past this kid anymore... I think this signals the end of life as we know it :)