Good Friends, Fun Times!

We had the greatest evening last weekend visiting the Vatinyan's in Irving. Lena and I became good friends while working at Arthur Andersen together. We met in orientation class as one of the 3 tax new hires in 1999, and we have been great friends ever since. She was even a bridesmaid in my wedding! Since moving away from Dallas when I married Andrew, I haven't seen Lena near as much as I'd like. In fact, the last time we got together was to celebrate the birth of her second son Sam...who you can see is not a baby any more. So, we were long overdue for a get-together!

Andrew and I always have so much fun spending time with Eric and Lena. They are originally from Armenia, but have been in the United States for long enough to become citizens. In fact, I remember when Lena took her citizenship exam. I was amazed at all she learned about the US & was really glad I didn't have to sit for that exam! They would have revoked my citizenship!! :) It was a hard test.

Lena, Eric, and their sons Sergei and Sam were wonderful hosts. The boys set up a big Thomas the Train traintrack for Drew to play with! And, they gave him his very own Thomas the Train riding toy that plays music and makes real train noises. Drew loved playing trains and getting to be with the big boys!

Sam, Drew, & Sergei with the trains

Sam pushing Drew on his Thomas the Train gift from the Vatinyans

Eric and Lena cooked a feast for us to enjoy!! We had shrimp cocktail and all sorts of great pastries for appetizers, then steak, asparagus, crab salad, and mashed potatoes for dinner. We brought a birthday cake to celebrate Lena's birthday which had been the weekend before we got together. Lena said that they had a fun Armenian thing the did with birthday cakes. She brought out this big tulip shaped candle and put it on the cake. Eric lit the candle, and we all stood and watched as it erupted in a mini-firework show right there in their dining room! Then, when that candle burned out, Sergei asked if they could do another one. Sure enough, a second round of firework candles appeared. We haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Luckily -- we pulled it off without setting off the fire alarm!

Thanks for a wonderful evening you guys!! Your cooking was amazing, and we loved getting to watch the boys play and catch up with you. Six years was WAY too long between visits. We can't wait for you to come see us in Sherman.