June 5

I love the lazy days almost as much as the days where we have major Moscow plans. Today started at 10-ish for me & most of the rest of the household. The a.m. starts on our own with fetching our own breakfast, showering, etc. The kids often use their 1 hour each of Wii time first thing in the day, so by early afternoon, they're all used up & have to get creative in their play the rest of the day.

After our mid-day meal--meatloaf made in muffin cups (the kids loved this touch), mashed potatoes, & veggies, we sat down around the family table & tried to start a schedule of the rest of our stay here so we don't miss anything we really wanted to do. It was fun; we have a list, but haven't nailed down dates or actually prioritized--in case the days get away from us. Then their other team member of the mission here came over for a sit-down meeting to nail down things for the youth team that will come to work & play for a month in July. So I met her & she got a small taste of Wii before she had to leave. The kids played outside after this & Madeleine met a young girl her age named Yanna, who she really liked.

I've been working on cropping & deleting some of our not-so-great pictures of the trip, so that was super productive. Then we decided to give Christy some peaceful time while the rest of us walked to a local chocolate shop about a 20 minute walk from here. I love walking everywhere, though it takes a lot more planning ahead on things. The walk was great & was accompanied there & back by 2 young boys--12 or so--who Ethan met yesterday & have been very friendly. Patrick enjoyed visiting with them the whole way there & it helps him learn Russian better because kids are more patient & can explain things slower & with easier words, so it was nice. They were very willing to try talking with all of us even though the language barrier was obvious. The more outspoken of the 2 just smiles with huge dimples every time we look at him & don't know what he's talking about. They went into the chocolate shop with us & helped us figure out somewhat was inside all the different flavors. We did a sampling pot--as Patrick would call it: choosing 5 or 6 of different kinds to take home & sample. When we find the ones we're really fond of, then we go back at a later time to buy bigger quantities & try others again. We found a creme brulee one that I will definitely get to bring home to the librarian I work with during the year--her favorite desser is creme brulee. And we found the kind that Madeleine wanted to find that Uncle Patrick has brought to the states before. We found a few that are horrendous, but I guess that's how you learn what you like & what you don't like. It was a fun trip for me cuz I'm a super sucker for anything chocolate. The boys on their bikes accompanied us all the way home, too, & had seen the kids flying their kites earlier so asked if they could fly kites again with them. They played together for several more minutes before coming in for the night. Patrick is thrilled with these new boys & hopes they will be a better match for friendship for Ethan than the first friend he met--Alex. I took a few pictures of the boys as they were with us for at least an hour--this will help me to pray for that friendship when I return home. I'm a sucker for the one kids' dimples--his name was Leon & the other was named Simon (actually Sergei, but that is such a common name here so his friends call him Simon while his parents call him Sergei). Friendships make a huge difference in a child's life & helps fill their days with more fun. It will also help them as they learn Russian & can teach their new friends a bit of English, too.

I got Skyped from my homefront in Kingman & we talked for quite some time; it was nice to catch up. Thanks, guys. Welcome home from camp, Connick, today. Hope you had a great time with new friends & old!

Popcorn for our late evening meal--yummmmmmmmmmmmm! That's my kind-a-cookin'.