To the Aqua Park...better bring your wet suit!!!

Saturday, May 27

This morning we had to peel them out of bed after dosing them with Benadryl for sinus headaches. Stella would rather play gameboy than eat breakfast. Apparently whenever we go back the visit at the orphanage he trades out games. He brought home the Barbie one for Stella and she has been wanting to play gameboy ever since.

She decided to try on her outfit we brought for her to wear in court with her new shoes we bought at the Zoom. She had to make sure they went with it. She looks so cute in it. She likes to twirl and primp in the mirror fixing her hair. We had an English lesson with Alona today at 11:00 and she spent an hour with them each. It is going well and they are learning eagerly. We have another lesson on Monday.

Garrett has talked to them about how he wants to learn more Russian while they are learning English. Stella has taken this very seriously. Papa had Russian lessons for at least an hour yesterday. She would teach him how to say something in Russian or point to an object and tell him to say what it was in Russian, which he did not know. They decided to start on the Russian Alphabet. She is a tough teacher! If he did not know the answer she would say “No Leapster, no Gameboy, no computer, no good night sleepin’.” She may be a teacher in the future for sure!

After lunch Nastya came over and escorted us to the Aqua Park!!! We were shocked and amazed to find out the water was A LOT colder. It was nice and warm last week. The water was a nice shade of bluish this time though so they must have added more chemicals, water or the heater turned into a cooler! In no time at all Sasha was shivering and his lips turned blue. He wanted to go get in the sauna but we did not rent the room this time because last time we spent no time in the room at all. We must admit next time we may have to consider the room rental with the sauna. I was able to do some laps which helped to stay warm but if you stopped moving around for any time it got cold fast. The kids toughed it out and swam until we pulled their shivering bodies out of the water two hours later. Sasha would come over to the side of the pool and look at us with his goggles on and his bottom jaw shaking. We could not help laughing it was so funny.

The warm sunshine was a relief for our chilly bodies as we went outside and rode the taxi home. We may have to get a temperature report next time before going. We passed a bowling alley on our way to the pool. We decided we would try that some time soon.

We had fun talking to some friends last night on the computer. Skype is a wonderful thing and has made this trip much more delightful. The kids talked to our good friend Greg last night and are always happy to talk to someone in Russian. He was our translator over the last 9 months with the kids and we all love him very much. They chatted for a good long time about who knows what and had a wonderful time. Then we talked to our good friends Buck and Keira in Kentucky or Lu-tucky as their daughter calls it. It is good to have the love and support of friends and family. We can feel the prayer support and the love all the way on the other side of the world! We are eternally grateful and know great will be your reward in Heaven.