Offner Day 2009

We celebrated our annual Offner Day to remember the day we became a family. This year we watched movies, went ice skating, baked cupcakes, and of course ate lots of food. As the years pass we are more and more thankful that God brought us together as a family. I know it sounds strange, but we have a better family life here than we did back in the states. We have both quality and quantity time. Happy Offner Day!!!

Trying to make a snowman

Who would have thought you could not build a snowman with snow on the ground. I tried to help Cameron and his class build one and failed. Since the air is so dry the snow does not have enough moisture to compact. I am sure it can be done, but this southern boy couldn't do it. We ended up with what looked like a melted snowman.

Ice Skating

We are learning how to iceskate and the boys ask me everyday if we can go. We have an iceskating rink in our neighborhood so it is convenient to go. Suprisingly the weather is not very cold, but still under freezing.

Merry Russian Christmas

We are trying to teach the boys about their Russian heritage and January 7th is the day Russia celebrates Christmas. In addition to this the boys also think Santa comes again. We did not make a great big deal of it, but we went out for coffee and donuts (that is a fun thing to do here in KZ). For you trivia enthusiasts, what do Russians call Santa Claus - Father Frost. Merry Christmas.

Hat Shopping

I went to one of the larger open markets with some friends to go hat shopping. There are many vendors outside that sell anything from pots and pans to clothes. It was snowing a bit that day so the vendors would take a small duster type item to knock the snow off the shoes. The hat section was outside in the very back with no cover. The hat my friend bought is the one I was wearing. I was the same size as her father so I got to try on all types of hats. The funny thing was that the vendor would knock off the snow, then place the hat on your head, and then carefully move your ears back so that the hat would sit better on your head. The personal service here is almost nonexistent so I was taken back by the hat shopping experience. The hat was made of "norka". It is very soft and comfortable and costs around $170. Do you think I would stick out in the US with that hat?

Jet Lag

Anyone who has ever traveled abroad knows about jet lag. You can't fight it and this is a picture of the boys from jet lag. It was 5:30pm and we I discovered them sleeping together in Cameron's bed. I was wondering why they were so quite.

Our First Snow

The night we arrived back from our Christmas vacation we were greeted with snow. This was our first experience here and we were all excited. The boys could not wait to go outside the next day to play. All Cameron wanted to do was throw snowballs. Unfortunately, the air is so dry that the snow does not compact well. The boys had fun anyway and now they are excited about learning how to ice skate. We have a rink in the village and will probably be going there quite a bit.

Christmas in KY

We spent 2008 Christmas in Kentucky. Stacey had not been home for Christmas in 12 years and the boys and I had never been. Stacey's family was very happy for us to come and we all had a great time. There were lots of family gatherings and presents galore. We had to tell everyone before hand not buy too many big presents because we had to put them in our luggage to get them home.

Some of the activities we did while there were bowling, going to the movies, playing corn hole, playing in the leaves, taking a rescued cat to the vet, and did I mention lots of good eating.

It was nice to see all the Christmas decorations since they are few here. We will be celebrating Russian Christmas on January 7th so Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year.