Week 37--Ridge Rehab

This entire week was devoted to Ridge Street for me.  Outside of still doing life like kid commitments, cooking, previously scheduled dinner with the girls, etc....aside from those 'normal' things, I was at the house from 7am til 10pm most days.  Lots of work that I will put into a separate Ridge Rehab post with before and afters.  It was very physically demanding, such a circus of coordinating workers, so many trips to Home Depot and just trying to hold it all together!

Monday, Sept. 7th

We woke up to the news that Elia Valor made her safe arrival and Mama and Baby were both great!  She has a whole post of her own HERE.

Perfect weather for our tradition at Harkness!

The loveliest of evenings for our annual Girls Night Out in Mystic.

The dog was having a few bad days and I felt bad I didn't have more time to devote to him.  I also started wondering if we needed to make some difficult decisions before I left the following week.  He laid in this spot, not eating or drinking, and only getting coaxed outside to pee a couple times a day.

Tuesday, Sept. 8th

ONE day old.

A memory from Harkness popped up.

This was the big demo day for the bathroom.  This was the only professional job.  The rest of the house was me, Colombo, and my handyman.  This one involved plumbing, electrical, flooring, etc, so we left it to the pros.  I had interviewed multiple contractors and ended up using Thumbtack for the first time and found a small, local biz made up of three brothers.

Wednesday, Sept. 9th

Another memory Maddy sent to me.  

My dad stopped by to see the new place.  He wasn't there to work, but he couldn't leave without fiddling with something.  

Thursday, Sept. 10th

I attended "Back to School" Night at East Catholic.  I was on my own so had to do my best to meet Rocco and Renna's teachers.  I focused on meeting new ones who didn't know me since I couldn't be in two places at once.

Friday, Sept. 11th

Typing that date....I will never forget :(

The dog started acting himself again- even being nosy (just like Bo) about who was in and out of the garage.  

I wanted to keep my commitment to have Bo for the day, but I still needed to meet contractors, etc, so he came with me and grabbed his nap where he could. 

My mom stopped by to drop blankets for Ezra and Elia, so she got to see the new place as well.  Paint buckets weren't the most comfy place for a visit, but we made it work!

Saturday, Sept. 12th

Looking so handsome in his little man church clothes.

Sunday, Sept. 13th

Maddy was so sweet to send 'daily doses' of Miss Elia.

Renna's game was in Hartford so that made it easy to take a break between coats of paint and watch.

NFL week 1.  Albano's hosted the kickoff to Football Sundays indoors / outdoors, with the sweetest of boys. 

Week 29--Riga, day 3 & 4

UPDATE:

I had previously posted what I thought was Day 1&2.  However, I was off a day and am trying to get the pictures on the blog to match the recap video.  So, I added Wednesday to my previous post.  Go re-read if you missed it.  Now...onto Thursday and Friday.

And for the video recap of Riga day 3&4, CLICK HERE.

Thursday, July 16th

My morning walk:

Baby Bo had his dad up early when we got back from picking up Ezra at the hotel.

Morning snuggles!

A small crew of us set out on an adventure to the Market.  It felt a bit like Faneuil Hall and is open all year round with vendors of every kind, fresh seafood and produce, flowers, and dining options.  We walked there at a toddler pace, pushing an empty stroller- the best!

Berry came, too!

I took Ezra back the apartment for her nap and the rest of the gang topped off for lunch and coffee.  Reportedly, this was the best meal had in Riga.

Then Maddy and Mason came over for their afternoon break.  We also planned to have Tina's sister and fam over for a joint early dinner and visit.  It was loud and toasty warm but so much fun.

Once the parents left to go back to the evening session at their conference, the rest of us headed back out to the park.

Friday, July 17th

I walked to the President's residence, taking note that a portion of it was a museum open to the public.

Morning snuggles!

Rocky struggled with the time change and was up too early each morning, but that gave him some extra special uncle time.

Baby Bo was slow to warm up to Uncle Mason.  We think it was the facial hair.  He eventually came around.

Maddy and Kelly packed up all the baby gear.

We ventured out for authentic Latvian soft pretzels at my request.

We sat in what felt like a a traditional European beer garden chatting and laughing, soaking it all in.

From there, the girls peeled off to do some shopping and the rest of us went to explore the museum at the castle.

Bo got a new hat!

We explored 5 levels, starting underground.

The views!!!!

Back to the apartment.  C4 and Kelly did a date night and Renna got to try the scooter while most of the gang caught the last service.

A quick check-in from Lisa-- the dumb dog had another 'episode'.  Lisa thought we'd have to FaceTime to say our goodbyes.  I suggested that Juliet should visit to see if that helped.  He finally drank some water for her and perked up when he saw her.  Lazarus resurrected!

Final thoughts on Riga:

Nothing flashy, but really appreciated the ease of it all.  All very walkable-shops, cafes, and the food market all within a block or two.  Parks nearby, super-safe, super-clean, beautiful weather, everyone spoke English, great AirBnB, no sirens, no bugs, and  a very sweet reunion.  Not high rankings for the food, but we felt like we got to know the city and checked it off the list.  It didn't feel "foreign" so it was a treat to visit but also felt like a familiar climate and landscape.  We loved our time in Riga and it will forever hold a special place in our hearts.