Summer Time Pics

We had lots of fun this summer and the funny pics are here to show.  Enjoy, I know we did.

School is Baaaack

Today marked the first day in another school year.  The boys were excited from the moment they woke up and could not wait to put on their clothes.  This year the boys picked out their own clothes and Cameron always wants to look his best so he put on his best clothes and looked great.  Mason is more the cool laid back type so no tie was needed. 
2nd Grade and Kindergarten are going to be lots of fun.  Cameron finally has a few more boys in his class even though the girls still outnumber the boys 3 to 1.  Cameron will have all the boys looking up to him in the class since he is the only 2nd grader within a class of 1st and 2nd.  Mason has 6 students in his class with 3 boys and 3 girls.  I look forward to seeing them progress this year and I know they will amaze me.

Arcade and Ice Cream

The boys have been asking to go play video games and eat ice cream all summer and finally I said yes. The adrenaline was at an all time high. It was one video game to the next. We must have played every game two or three times. To take a break, the boys had Baskin Robbins Ice Cream. More sugar and then more games. Once all the money ran out on the video cards, it was time to go home. The boys are growing up and even helped each other on some of the games together. I don't know what I will do to keep them entertained if we stay here in KZ for another two years.

Recycled Art

Stacey kept keeping all these items to make something with and I finally decided to do it. We had a lot of recycled items like boxes, cans, etc. Of course we ended up making robots with guns. The boys had fun and we felt a bit more environmentally friendly since we recycled (well for a couple more days anyway).

Date with Mama

Mason was very excited to go on a date with Mama or was it that he got to go eat ice cream and play video games.  Stacey didn't mind and enjoyed spending special time with Mason. 
I gave Mason some tips on how to treat his date nice and he even made sure he paid. 
There will sure to be more dates in the future.  He already has holding hands down pat.

Slingshot Contest

Water, balloons, and a slingshot = AWESOME!!! to Cameron and Mason. I must have filled up over 50 water balloons that day, but it was sure worth the time. The boys would try so hard to launch the water balloons in the air that it would sometimes pop in the slingshot or just fall out and break on the grass. Mason's little sweet laugh kept a smile on my face and Cameron’s excitement kept everyone going and going.

Kazakh Wedding

It is an honor to get invited to a Kazakh wedding and last night we went to our first one. The tradition in Kazakh weddings is for the bride to have her own party and then the groom. Since the bride was our housekeeper, Elvira, we were excited to go. What a great experience to learn another culture. The invitation said to be there at 6 pm, but Kazakhs are known for being late so we showed up at 8:45 and still had to wait another hour for the bride and groom to arrive. We killed the time by playing thumb war and Stacey was teaching Mason how to tie shoes. The place held over 160 people and tables were full of food and drinks.


Once the bride and groom arrive the announcer spoke, but I don’t what he said since I don’t speak Kazakh. Then the speeches began. The family goes first and then it was us. Everyone at our table stands in the middle of the room and they call your name for the speech. We were honored to be one of the first ones to give a speech and I began with the Kazakh greeting hello (salamatzizzba). Everyone appreciated me saying that and I used my nanny, Kamazhai, as the interpreter of my speech. After you say something you fill your glass (mostly people do vodka which they are several bottles on the table), then you toast with everyone on your table and walk up and do the bride and groom. The bride and groom sit on a different table with the best man and maid of honor. During the speeches they have to stand the entire time. They must be exhausted since the party lasts until after 2 am (I am sure the excessive vodka drinking doesn’t hurt). It was a great time. I even got vodka spilled on my jacket and Cameron had vodka poured in his glass which he tried by accident. After drinking it he said, “Mama, this doesn’t taste like water.” For some reason we even got presents. We left around 10:15 because the boys were exhausted and we knew it was going on for a long time.

Mad Scientists

We did science experiments today and the kids were MAD. First we used old film bottles and added water and Alka-Seltzer tablets in them. This made them burst open and fly into the air. After one of these the kids were hooked and we kept doing them over and over again. They all tried to make theirs better by adding more Alka-Seltzer. Cameron was the overachiever and put so much in he couldn't get out of the way fast enough and it hit him in the face. It was funny since he didn't get hurt.
After that we did blow up the balloon with vinegar and baking soda, homemade compass with water, needle, and a magnet, and last but not least the coke mentos eruption. That experiment goes so fast you can't get out of the way fast enough so the coke explodes all over you.
We all had fun and the boys loved seeing things fly into the air.