Wingsuits, Parties and Sunglasses, OH MY!
Between the two of us, since my last blog, there have been 2 trips to California, a trip to Colombia and a trip to the Czech Republic, where Bart is now! Things never seem to slow down around here! It's tough with swooping as there is no real "season". It pretty much goes year round - so I don't expect the travel to stop anytime soon!
Last month, while Bart was in Sacramento, I decided to head down to Z-Hills to take a wingsuit course. Wingsuiting is something I've wanted to try for a while. (Don't worry - you'll never catch me proximity flying the cliffs in Switzerland!) I've been searching for my niche in skydiving for a while now and I think I may have found it! The course was so much fun and my instructor, Miguel, was so thorough and made the day an absolute blast. It was supposed to be roughly an hour long course with 1 jump. He did an extra jump with me and spent the ENTIRE day talking with me and educating me. I mean, can you believe *I* would have an entire days worth of questions? Unheard of! ;) I haven't had the opportunity to do much more with the amount we've been gone lately. So I'm looking forward to doing more upon returning from Europe!
My trip home to California was also incredible. Between Moggy's 90th birthday, my good friend Cassie's going away party, and time by the pool, I think I got to see every single person in my life who means most to me. It was so amazing to be able to spend so much time with family and friends, and spend time in my happy place: Mom and Dad's pool! The only missing link on that trip was Bart. I so wish he could've been there for that week, but he was off representing Team USA in Cali, Colombia for the World Air Games. Due to some poor planning on the part of the organizers and some difficult conditions, it proved to be a frustrating comp for Bart. It broke my heart to hear him sound so upset on the phone. But then I saw some of the pictures (posted below) and realized that it may have been frustrating for him, but he still managed to have a good time! I think the Colombian ladies certainly helped him "unwind". ;)
When we reconvened in Florida we hadn't seen each other in almost 2 weeks so it was a nice reunion. I got in pretty late and Bart had made me a midnight dinner surprise of pierogies and blood soup! It was the perfect thing to eat while I was battling my TMJ issues. Very thoughtful. :) A couple of days later he even surprised me with flowers! Those of you who know Bart well know that this is NOT common. So it definitely gave me butterflies. We had a nice date night that week as well. We went to a nice dinner at Cress, the local "fancy" restaurant. It's hard to get into and is by reservation only. As we say in Polish, it's very "ęą". It was definitely good - but pricey! We were only able to get a table outside and didn't realize that there was a huge car show/fair thing going on in town. So it was a bit chaotic, but we still enjoyed the food and setting. Afterward we headed out for a few glasses of wine and then had movie night at home. I always love when we can have our date nights. Feels like the times we connect the most, just having fun with each other!
And now perhaps the most exciting news........................drum roll please.......................Bart has recovered his Oakleys from the lake!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tellin' ya, this is HUGE! Four or five weeks ago, we were floating in the lake and Bart's raft capsized and he lost his favorite, personalized Oakley's to the depths of his very own lake. It was TRAGIC, and Bart was absolutely crushed. I've been convinced they were gone. Either a turtle was swimming around somewhere with a brand new pair of shades, or they had been damaged by the silt and algae at the bottom of the lake. I also figured they had probably drifted somewhere way past where he dropped them. After all, it's been several weeks. But since that day, Bart insisted he could find them if he could only get in there and SCUBA dive. So I entertained him, all the while calling him weird. But we went and picked up a tank, he strapped on his gear and in less than a 1/3 tank of air, he found them. Right where he dropped them. You would've thought he struck gold! And I have to admit, he majorly proved me wrong! :)
And now, I'm looking forward to meeting Bart in 2 days in Prague! We'll be taking 10 days to see Prague, Poland and Berlin. I'm so excited to see all of these places and to get to see where Bart grew up! And of course, to try out my new Polish skills. They're not where I'd hoped they would be by my first trip to Poland, but if I need to ask someone where the Pharmacy is, or tell the tall man he has a nice black suit, or tell the cat it's on top of the house, I'm all set!
Anyway, enough chitchat. Enjoy the pictures! Even though ya'll have probably seen most of them on Facebook already. I promise the next blog will be more exciting as I'll have all kinds of European fun to share! :)
Last month, while Bart was in Sacramento, I decided to head down to Z-Hills to take a wingsuit course. Wingsuiting is something I've wanted to try for a while. (Don't worry - you'll never catch me proximity flying the cliffs in Switzerland!) I've been searching for my niche in skydiving for a while now and I think I may have found it! The course was so much fun and my instructor, Miguel, was so thorough and made the day an absolute blast. It was supposed to be roughly an hour long course with 1 jump. He did an extra jump with me and spent the ENTIRE day talking with me and educating me. I mean, can you believe *I* would have an entire days worth of questions? Unheard of! ;) I haven't had the opportunity to do much more with the amount we've been gone lately. So I'm looking forward to doing more upon returning from Europe!
My trip home to California was also incredible. Between Moggy's 90th birthday, my good friend Cassie's going away party, and time by the pool, I think I got to see every single person in my life who means most to me. It was so amazing to be able to spend so much time with family and friends, and spend time in my happy place: Mom and Dad's pool! The only missing link on that trip was Bart. I so wish he could've been there for that week, but he was off representing Team USA in Cali, Colombia for the World Air Games. Due to some poor planning on the part of the organizers and some difficult conditions, it proved to be a frustrating comp for Bart. It broke my heart to hear him sound so upset on the phone. But then I saw some of the pictures (posted below) and realized that it may have been frustrating for him, but he still managed to have a good time! I think the Colombian ladies certainly helped him "unwind". ;)
When we reconvened in Florida we hadn't seen each other in almost 2 weeks so it was a nice reunion. I got in pretty late and Bart had made me a midnight dinner surprise of pierogies and blood soup! It was the perfect thing to eat while I was battling my TMJ issues. Very thoughtful. :) A couple of days later he even surprised me with flowers! Those of you who know Bart well know that this is NOT common. So it definitely gave me butterflies. We had a nice date night that week as well. We went to a nice dinner at Cress, the local "fancy" restaurant. It's hard to get into and is by reservation only. As we say in Polish, it's very "ęą". It was definitely good - but pricey! We were only able to get a table outside and didn't realize that there was a huge car show/fair thing going on in town. So it was a bit chaotic, but we still enjoyed the food and setting. Afterward we headed out for a few glasses of wine and then had movie night at home. I always love when we can have our date nights. Feels like the times we connect the most, just having fun with each other!
And now perhaps the most exciting news........................drum roll please.......................Bart has recovered his Oakleys from the lake!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tellin' ya, this is HUGE! Four or five weeks ago, we were floating in the lake and Bart's raft capsized and he lost his favorite, personalized Oakley's to the depths of his very own lake. It was TRAGIC, and Bart was absolutely crushed. I've been convinced they were gone. Either a turtle was swimming around somewhere with a brand new pair of shades, or they had been damaged by the silt and algae at the bottom of the lake. I also figured they had probably drifted somewhere way past where he dropped them. After all, it's been several weeks. But since that day, Bart insisted he could find them if he could only get in there and SCUBA dive. So I entertained him, all the while calling him weird. But we went and picked up a tank, he strapped on his gear and in less than a 1/3 tank of air, he found them. Right where he dropped them. You would've thought he struck gold! And I have to admit, he majorly proved me wrong! :)
And now, I'm looking forward to meeting Bart in 2 days in Prague! We'll be taking 10 days to see Prague, Poland and Berlin. I'm so excited to see all of these places and to get to see where Bart grew up! And of course, to try out my new Polish skills. They're not where I'd hoped they would be by my first trip to Poland, but if I need to ask someone where the Pharmacy is, or tell the tall man he has a nice black suit, or tell the cat it's on top of the house, I'm all set!
Anyway, enough chitchat. Enjoy the pictures! Even though ya'll have probably seen most of them on Facebook already. I promise the next blog will be more exciting as I'll have all kinds of European fun to share! :)
Ignore the look on my face. I swear I was having fun. :)
Practicing our exit. If you exit the plane wrong in a wingsuit, you can not only kill yourself but you
can take the entire plane down! So I made sure we went over this at least 50 times. :)
Miguel and me :)
So my first jump went well....except that I didn't quite understand the body position. Bellyflying
in a wingsuit does NOT mean you're wingsuiting! But it DOES mean you'll get some hilarious
pictures!
2nd times a charm :)
Opening your parachute in a wingsuit can be tricky and if you're not careful, you could end up with
seriously painful openings and malfunctions! I managed to do pretty well on both jumps!
Here's a little random picture of Bart making his Polish "meat jello". I think it's disgusting
but he loves it. Especially with his Polish vodka.
Partying it up with the Colombian chicas. Now, does that look like a guy who's not having a good time? ;)
Nothin' like Absolute right out of the bottle. Nicely done, Bartosz.
Night 1 of The StillRoom closing. It was a fun couple of nights, but also sad.
Night 2. Enjoying some clams!
Stuffed lobster!
This picture is so classic AJ!
Does she look 90 to you????
Love this picture! The family that sweats together, stays together.
It was so cute hearing all of the kids ask Nick about his legs. You can just imagine what goes on in their minds!
Wedgie!
Some of my most favorite memories over the years have been from pool parties at Mom and Dad's, just like this one. It's my absolute favorite family/friends time.
I was so happy the Feners and Amanda could come out that day!
No caption necessary.
Cassie's going away party. Not sure why we were taking pictures in the bathroom......
My welcome home dinner! Bart has really turned me into a HUGE fan of the blood soup
and pierogies!
Dinner at Cress
Remember a few blogs ago when I took a picture of the dominatrix raccoon in the window of
the store downtown? Well, someone must have bought it because it's gone. And it has been
replaced with none other than the cocaine snorting pig.
My beautiful flowers from Bart along with the Italian pie I made for dinner. :)
There's Bart descending into the lake!
YAY!
How cute is he? :)
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