First Haircut

It was finally time. As much as we hated to see the cute little girl curls go. Little Lady needed a cut. Every morning there was a screaming battle over having to get her hair brushed so it really was time. I made an appointment the day before for her, so we had time to prepare. She cried while I made the appointment. This was not looking like it would be a good experience. We went home and practiced what it was like. She eventually was ok with the idea of it. We left the house 30 minutes before our appointment. The salon is right outside of our neighborhood gate... less than 5 minutes to walk there. We had to stop every few minutes while she got ready. She needed to think about it as she said. So eventually we made it there. She was ready until they pulled the cape out. Somehow I had completely forgotten about the cape. She did not want it and refused to wear it. It is also when the tears started. She had to sit on Daddy's lap. Eventually we calmed the tears enough to get it down and she looks adorable! We then went to dinner at her favorite place, the pizza place around the corner to celebrate. It was a very interesting experience!

Like I said she had to psych herself up for this event

Getting better

Ok Here we go!

All Done!

Family time

S has been traveling a lot this summer. It has been Little Lady and I sorting out our adventures during her summer vacation. So when we realized there was a long holiday weekend coming up and S would be home for it we planned a last minute get away for some family time. We took this opportunity to explore Gdansk and dip our toes in the Baltic. I had been saying since we moved to Poland that I wanted to hit the beach in August and it actually happened. Woohoo!

On Friday we packed up the car and drove 3 1/2 hours to Gdansk. We found our hotel (Radisson Blu) and we pleasantly surprised to find it that it quite literally was in downtown on the square and exactly where we wanted to be. Walk out the door and we were where the action was yet it was a very quiet, large room and we had no trouble at all with our stay. We explored Old Town on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There was just so much to see. We timed it right that there was a festival going on and a marathon, plenty of free outdoor concerts, lots of entertainment for kids, shopping for me, and street food that we adore. We rode a ferris wheel, and LL loved bumper cars with her Dad. We even made the trip to the beach on Saturday afternoon. It was quite the experience in and of itself. It was very crowded but we had no problem getting parking. We walked through a small carnival, and found the very crowded beach. We staked out a spot near the water and in we went. The first wave was chilly but we quickly got used to it and had a great time. The water was amazing. There was a strong pull with the waves but there was no usual beach/fish smell, no seaweed, lots of soft sand, shells, far too many speedos, and great people watching. We had a fabulous time. One downside to all that was going on was that we got so caught up in exploring the markets and enjoying the entertainment we didn't really explore the actual sites of Gdansk too much. We walked by many of the churches and historic buildings but it was hard to see them with all the tents in the way. Sunday morning we slept in until almost 10 and then wandered the ever expanding markets. We met up with some friends for lunch and then headed back to Warsaw. We learned one valuable lesson get gas in the city before you hit the highway. The first gas station/rest stop we came to had a line down the off ramp we decided to skip it and try for the next one. The next one was the same situation only this time our gas light was on and we had no choice. We waited 40 minutes to get gas. Yikes! Every 60+ km there was a gas station/ rest stop and it was the same scenario. You may be wondering why we didn't just get off the highway to another town. Well we were in the middle of no where. There are only forests or farms as far as the eye can see. Even the GPS shows nothing. We made it home before 7pm relaxed the rest of the night and just settled back into being home. It was a wonderful weekend as a family. Lots of laughs and memories made.

We had been here all of an hour before she needed some Lody

Red Fish. Her newest friend. She decided she had to have him

Not so sure about going so high

Checking out the view

View from the Ferris Wheel

Our hotel was just to the left on the other side of this building and that is the main street. Dluga

We may have bribed her with the bumper cars if she smiled for a picture with us.

After all the fun with the bumper cars we walked down the street and found bubble guy, well in this case bubble girl.

She hoped that blowing on it would help

Amber street. This street was full of Amber shops. We may have made a few purchases.

Daddy bought LL a bracelet. I may have decided that it looks better on me.

Not sure why but there were roosters all over the city. LL says that this one was her favorite.

investigating a lady bug

YAY. We found a splash pad.

Though we did not bring a swim suit.

All that fun at the splash pad we decided to hit the beach

not so sure about getting her feet wet

We really had a great time.

S was called in for assistance to help this lady fight the tow and get back into shore

Warm up break

I stayed in the sun for a bit while S and LL went back in again

she loves her Daddy

Warming up again. This time using shells to decorate her castle.

back in

JUMP!

back from the beach, showered, and ready to hit the town. We found more bubbles.

Neptune's fountain

and someone is over family pictures.

Golden Gate

Street Food

Fresh bread, a layer of lard spread like butter, caramelized onions, bacon and sausage, and then pickles on top. Quite  DELICIOUS! Though probably a heart attack waiting to happen

She got her balloon she had been eyeing since Friday just in time for us to go home.