Two Fun June Weekends

Last weekend I flew to Michigan to take care of my niece and nephew. This was a team effort together with my mom; the kids love Omīte, but they are at an age where they are a handful! My sister and brother-in-law were on a well-deserved mini-vacation. So I fed the kids goats' milk yogurt (which they loved!) and scrambled eggs and lots of fruit, and played with them, read to them, went on outings with them, and - in 21 moth old niece's case - changed quite a few diapers. We were blessed with amazing weather, so a fair amount of time was spent outside. My nephews loves sports, and he and I played football several times and basketball once. Two walks were also taken, as well as a field trip to the beautiful Meijer Gardens. In my quest to experience something new each week this summer, I had the opportunity to visit Clique Coffee Bar, located  quite close to Meijer Gardens. The drinks and cookies we had were excellent, meaning I will need to incorporate stops here into our family's regular visits to the Gardens.

This bear guards the entrance to the wonderful children's garden.

Just one of the many fun and interesting sculptures at Meijer Gardens

These are the Great Lakes!

This weekend was full of social activities. Friday night four friends and I went to a concert at the Artisphere in Arlington. The group I was interested in seeing was San Francisco's The Family Crest, which was the opening act for Mother Falcon. The Family Crest was fantastic, and afterwards I met a few of the band members, all of whom were very nice (of course, they might have been so friendly just because they were hoping to sell me a t-shirt or two!).

My favorite TFC song is "Love Don't Go" - I could listen to that several times a day, and the video is just fun. Earlier in the day TFC had recorded a "Tiny Desk Concert" at NPR, and I am looking forward to seeing that. Mother Falcon had recorded such a concert at NPR last summer. 

Thanks to B,C,K, and R for joining me - it was a very fun night! And thank you to B and C for the photos!

Very cool poster for this concert!

With B & C

The Family Crest performing

Saturday afternoon a friend from work hosted a housewarming party and cook-out. Given that this time of year the weather is typically hot and humid, it was bizarre to put on a cute summer dress for the party - and promptly freeze. The weather was unseasonably fall-like. I had a good time at the party, but was happy to return home and change into warm clothes! 

Sunday turned out to be a very busy day. After going to yoga in the morning, and having a friend over for brunch, it was time for the biggest Latvian party of the year - summer solstice/Midsummer's Eve/St. John's - whatever you'd like to call it. I celebrated with Baltic friends in a lovely location in Northern Virginia, thanks to the generosity and hospitality of some Estonian hosts. I will probably post some photos and write a bit more about it later, but in the meantime - Priecīgus Jāņus!