Pyromania, an Anniversary and Finals

We've gotten enough snow that I don't feel gipped anymore.


Unfortunately after a week of nice snow it started warming up just enough to turn it all to a slushy mess.

It's been a busy three weeks since I last posted. I chartered the first Varsity Scout team in Poland back in December so our branch's young men could still advance in Scouting while abroad. We had our first official campout January 6th.

We must have been seriously jinxed. We were leaving fairly early in the morning so we wouldn't have to set up camp in the dark (the sun was setting at like 330 pm or so). We had gotten just enough snow that morning to make the Armstrong's stairs quite slippery, something I discovered when said stairs brutally ambushed my back. It provided some entertainment for Jake, who was right behind me when I fell. Concrete stairs don't have very good lumbar support.

We drove out to our campsite, which was a wooded fenced lot about an hour from the city owned by Dominik's family. Upon arrival, Dominik's key broke in the lock, so instead of driving in, we had to hop the fence with all our gear.

Eventually we got there.


It was a very nice area to camp. Unfortunately it took me absolutely forever to get the fire started. Maybe I'm just a little rusty since my days of winter camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Once we got it going, though, we were in business. You can't find marshmallows easily here in Poland, so s'mores aren't really an option.


However, kielbasa is something that is very easy to find. We roasted four different kinds and ate pretty well.

Every Scout knows that the real reason we go on campouts is so we have a good excuse to play with fire, right?


The bigger the better. There was a lot of brush laying around that gave us some nice big flames.

After the sun went down we had a great time playing some wilderness games until it really got cold. About an hour after we went to bed, Dominik got really sick and we ended up having to break camp in the dark, get everything back over the fence and get everyone home.

Hopefully our next campout will go a little smoother. We still had a great time, all things considered.

On the 13th Annika and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. I guess she hasn't gotten tired of me yet ;). It's hard to believe I've been married for five years. We went to the Magiel Cafe in Mokotów to celebrate. We got to try some rabbit and carp. It turns out that Little Bunny Foo Foo is very tasty in a good mustard sauce!

Later that evening some of the ladies from church set up a baby shower for us.


Paul got to help open stuff so he was a happy camper. We are very grateful for their generosity. We're a lot better equipped for the baby now that may come any day.


On a slightly more random note, Paul has decided that the crust is the best part of the pizza, and has started eating his crust first. I guess there's no wrong way to eat a pizza ;).

As for me, I'm halfway through finals and trying very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Almost done with the first semester of grad school; it has certainly flown by. Hopefully the baby will be accommodating and wait until my exams are done before he comes into the world.

Wesołych Swiąt!

A few days before Christmas we got a tiny bit of snow:


It wasn't quite enough to cover the grass completely, and it melted very quickly. I had expected the winters here to be far colder, because Poland is on the same latitude as Canada. It's been a pretty mild winter so far.

I was at a supermarket getting some last minute things before Christmas. I saw several different kinds of piernik in huge quantities sitting by the bakery. This was something that wasn't normally there, so I rightly guessed that it must be a Polish christmas tradition. I picked one up and brought it home.


I then got out a dictionary and figured out that piernik means gingerbread. I was so disappointed; I've never liked American gingerbread, and now I had a brick of gingerbread. I tried it with very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was delicious! It was a much moister gingerbread than I am used to, and the ginger was strong enough to be a nice accent without overpowering it. At least in my view the Poles make far better gingerbread than Americans.

We had a young men's activity at the Armstrong's during the week before Christmas. The highlight of the event was Dominik Lyzwinski receiving his mission call.


Dominik will be serving as a missionary for our church for two years in the Tacoma Washington Mission in the Northwestern United States. Lucky for him he is already fluent in English. It was exciting to find out where he is going. He leaves in May.

Christmas Eve we hosted a brunch for the Fulbrighters that were still here in Warsaw during the Christmas season. We got to meet Dara Weinberg's brother and his girlfriend while they were in town visiting her, and our friend Nathan Wood and his family were also able to join us.


It was great to get together. Paul certainly had a ball playing with Nathan's kids. He doesn't get to play with other children that frequently so this was quite exciting for him.


That evening we were invited to a shepherd's dinner with the Armstrongs and the Picketts.


The shepherd's dinner is a family tradition for the Armstrongs (who are attached to the embassy here). It means lots of finger food by candle light, reading the Christmas story and then having the kids do a nativity. It was a very enjoyable evening and made it a lot easier to be so far from home during Christmas. We are so glad to have such good people as friends here in Poland. I think we will adopt this tradition for our own family.

Here are some of the Armstrongs:


And here are the Picketts:


Brother Pickett is here helping develop Poland's shale gas resources.

Paul had a blast playing with the Armstrong kids:


He was very sad when it was time to go home.

Christmas morning finally came.


Paul was very excited to find Santa had put an apple in his stocking.


Paul has always loved his matchbox cars, which are always scattered around the apartment. Now he has a place to park some of them.


I think Paul enjoyed his Christmas.

We spent New Year's Eve with some of our D&D friends. It was a very pleasant evening, with great food and great company. I met a man from South Africa. All we are missing is someone from Asia and we have the whole globe covered!

I've been spending the short Christmas break trying to catch up a little on school and get some chill time before school starts back up again tomorrow. At my university the semester doesn't end until the end of January, so there's still a lot left to do. I miss having the semester over before the holidays. Finals will be coming right around the same time my second son is supposed to be born, so things are going to be a little hectic for a while. Hopefully Annika won't go into labor during an exam!