An Anniversary

so four years later . . .

we went out for our first four person family adventure, and boy was it a doozy. eleftheria pitched it a while back for us to go for a picnic, so we decided what better way to celebrate. headed out to olympus to hike down to a place we've been once before with Artemis when she was still super little. this time was a bit different, not least because Artemis hiked the entire path, i mean it, the entire thing. the whole thing is not that impressive, about 1 km hike which an average adult can handle in 20 minutes, but it is up and down with a lot of stairs, and taking into account Artemis' tiny legs she was amazing. lots of smiles lots of climbing and no whining. Emily was awesome as well, she fits in our carrier that is recommended for a 3 month old, and she hung out for the entire hike, it was wonderful. 

 Eleftheria and i carried the food, blanket and the spare baby parts; we were a solid crew.

 over roots

 around rocks (though we went over some of those too)

 up stairs

 to our final picnic spot. mousaka, tomato, cucumber, and yogurt were all on the menu

Artemis did all those stairs coming and going plus a bunch more. we sat in the shade, under a beautiful cave.

 the set up.

exhausted by the end of the day, it was a great experience for all of us, and a wonderful way to celebrate our family.

here's to four more years.

All Set For Burning Man

Quality Music and Quality Thoughts

As always, I am spending a lot of time in front of the computer screen these days. I like to have something on in the background in order to stay focused out of the fray, and to get distracted with when I am working too well.

Lumineers are not necessarily my favorite of the hipster folk revolution, but they are not as dark as either the Avett Brothers or Murder by Death, so just some Solid Happy Music. Plus I love KEXP and the Set is great.

Trevor Noah is very aware. Let's leave it at that. NPR is very good at interviews. Let's leave it at that.

40 Days and Around

there is a tradition on the 40th day of life that the baby is taken to the church and blessed, then there was a small ritual at the house. lots of healthy years and good fortune.

aunt Gogo is here, and we're at the beach?!

Artemis is a sweet older sister.

the harvest is beginning to arrive, and Artemis is becoming quite the agriculturalist.

chillin'

she is swimming so well these days, and is now blowing bubbles. a big step.

proud papa

G'ma Harrington has been making Artemis photo albums from each of the trips that we have together. Artemis treats them like picture books, remembering stories, memorizing names and learning about her family. now she uses them to 'teach' Emily about the family. it is so awsome. 

baking soda + vinegar + food coloring = a nice morning

Fitting In

 The first walk in the village with the local baton twirling team.

 the mosquitoes are the size of pterosaurs this year.

 The combine was a site to be seen

going to school to see if its cool

 the home baby scale system, who needs a doctors appointment

 like a puzzle piece

All the ladies in in the morning. 

I sleep on the couch.

The New Arrival

Welp, . . Emily Evangelia Harrington

the celebration at the hospital.

very sweet homecoming

all the girls

she is quiet, calm and beautiful. so lucky . . . 

'what in the . . . ?'

'oh, okay, this is awesome'

staying home from work is more work than going to work.

 1 dress, 2 dress, 3 dress, 4

 blue dress, red dress, yellow dress, more

she's gonna be surprised the day she catches one. 

Easter, Projects and The Cars New Clothes

after finishing up school for the easter break, this is what awaited me. sanded, 1st coat of stain, sanded and then a second coat of stain on i-don't-know-how-many pieces of wood. 

then it was time to start building. i enlisted the help of anyone unlucky enough to walk by.

artemis was keen to take the lead, if the second one so resembles her mother, i will be one organized daddy.

a jack of all trades.

we were finally able to take the whole thing outdoors.

helping out again.

hey, georgia, you haven't held any of the wood yet.

Aristidis was a huge help, provided many of the tools that i needed, know-how that i didn't know, and general filled in the gaps i created.

testing the slide.

with the onsight. if you are paying close attention here you will also notice, among that incredible climbing, you'll notice a little clue. the other project has been potty training. she is doing well. 

the whole swingset was built using money gifted to artemis through her bank account. thank you to all of those who contributed especially G'ma and G'pa Harrington.

then it was easter. artemis' nona senter her a lambadtha (a traditional candle to be lit at the church) and so we were off to a good start.

easter was held over at thia Katina's house where her flower bed (like mom's and Leanna's) was in full bloom. it should be noted that the majority of my easter pictures were actually taken by Georgia on a combination of cameras.  

i really like the subtle color shift on these dalia's (Georgia)

 roasting the goat, we also had some sheep from Saki's farm that Evangelia baked.

 Artemis enjoying the hammock.

the professional

 my contribution to easter has been an annual easter egg hunt. 

the oldest gets handicapped with the youngest

the car got a bowtie. looks good. G'ma and G'pa H provided the new baby with a thule roof rack and top box (not pictured as i am still drilling the air holes). thank you so much.  

its been a great break, I am finally feeling like a real person again (2 days before I return), and there are only 5.5 weeks left to go. eleftheria is full, we are waiting as patiently as possible.