US visit 2015

We travel so much with the boys they have learned to sleep anywhere and in any position.

I took this picture to show our T friends how big the grocery stores are in the US and how small the carts can be.  They love it because they have never seen anything like it.

Steven needed glasses so I let him pick out the ones he liked best.  Once he put them on I was taken aback at the resemblance to Jesse.  You can see it in the comparison (Jesse is on the left and Steven is on the right just in case you can't tell).

One of the things I crave most when I come to the US is Red Lobster.  So many people have tried to "introduce" me to "better" seafood but I always come back to the butter soaked deliciousness of Red Lobster.  Mmmmm.

This is T people's "fine dining".  Mmmm?

 Since there is no dentist here we can see we all get our dental work done in the US.  Matthew had several cavities that had to be fixed.  I want to thank Dr. Dan Howell (http://www.carypediatricdentist.com) for all the work he did for Matthew.  He is such a kind man with an amazing staff.  I tried to make desserts for them as a thank you but it can not compare to everything they did for us.  I'm sure Matthew will thank you one day too. :)

My favorite, most relaxing time for me is when I'm fishing.  The only time I get to do that is when Mr. Greer takes me on his boat, which he always offers to do every time we're in the US.  It's always the highlight of our stay for me.  Thank you Mr. Greer!

 My dream refrigerator.

My cousin graduated from college while we were there and I had the privilege to make her a cake.  Congratulations on everything you have accomplished, Rachel.  Great job!

 Strawberry picking.

Jesse wanted to try a new project with the boys so he decided to try to make each boy a knife.  Here are a few pictures from that.

Until next time!

Updated picture blog 2

So, I'm back with more pictures from our time in the US last year.  As I look back on these pictures I'm sitting in our kitchen starring out the window seeing snow and a coal dust cloud hovering over the city and -50 F outside.  You might notice a lot of the pictures depicts beautiful summer weather and greenery. Of course, I have to include food pictures. 

I added this picture so you can see the difference between the playground in the US versus the best playground we have found here in T.  Can you tell which one is from where?

Jesse has a tradition of taking each boy camping every summer.  This is the camping trip he took with Matthew while in the US.  It was so much more expensive to camp here because you have to pay for a campsite and even for firewood.  I think it's better in T-land.

Above is camping in T-land.  The following pictures are in the US:

I took this picture to show friends here in T.  They were amazed at the amount of different doughnuts.  There is only one kind here.

Hiking with the cousins.  Beautiful green.

Matthew had his birthday with his cousins.  It was so awesome to be there!

The kids playing in my brother's front yard.  I miss seeing green grass.

I love this picture.  Matthew loved his cousin and still talks about how much he misses her.

We're back

A lot of you thought we had given up this blog.  The truth is we've just been too lazy to update it.  The last time it was updated was almost a year ago so we have a lot to catch you up on.  I think pictures speak best so i'll just spend the next few blog posts updated you with pictures (and maybe a few explanations).  Enjoy!

 Matthew wanting to fly the plane.  He spent about 10 minutes asking the pilot "what's that?" and "what's that?" and "what does this do?".  They loved it.

 Spring is so beautiful in Cary (where my parent's live).  My favorite flower is the tulip.  This yard has beautiful tulips every year.  We came back after 4 month of cold, dark, and dirty (coal dust) Siberia to a warm, beautiful North Carolina spring.  It was just what we needed.

 Matthew in my parent's yard.  Good job on that green grass dad.

 Of course, the boys were overly spoiled by their grandparents (as they should be).

 The most glorious site ever.  After 2 1/2 years of eating chicken, potatoes, and mushy soup this is what my mom cooked for our first Sunday back (it was Easter).  I couldn't eat fast enough.

 Yes.  This is me consuming a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts and I'm enjoy every minute of it.  So what that I felt sick for 3 days.  It was worth every bite.

This little cafe is where I spent almost every day of my senior year in High School for lunch.  It hasn't changed one bit.

I'll leave this for now.  Check back in a few weeks for the continuing saga our the last year.  

Ho Ho Ho

Winter Activites - a blog by B

It's been a long and busy winter.  The pictures are pretty self explanatory but I'll inject a few comments here.  As most of you know Siberia can get pretty cold.  It's difficult to spend more than 20 minutes outside.  On the warmer days (those that reach above -30) we get to have a little fun at the ice park the city has every year.  

The small slide

It has small slides for the younger kids, a huge slide for the older kids, an ice maze, ice animal sculptures, and a small ice skating rink.  The boys love going there and we would spend all day there if it weren't for their wimpy parents who are freezing after 30 minutes. We usually bribe them with hot chocolate to tear them away from the slides.

The ice maze

Matthew says he will marry this girl when he becomes a man.  How cute!

I even roped J into making Christmas cookies this year

Steven opening his stocking

Skyping my parents so they can watch their grandchildren open up their gifts

It's tradition for kids to dress up for New Year parties - like Christmas and Halloween combined!

Of course, Christmas/New Years is always a busy time for us.  Between making Christmas cookies, opening gifts on Christmas Day, having New Year's parties at the school we stay busy.  In between that, I had a few cake orders to fill.

In other news, we have bought a garage for our car.  J can explain why it is necessary to have a garage (it has something to do with the oil freezing and the tires freezing to the pavement) but in the end we needed one and thanks to a friend we have one.  It's only a 10 minute walk away which is really nice since most garages are at the end of town (a 30 minute van ride).

Our new garage

School has been out for 3 weeks because of the flu spreading fast in this region.  So, they shut down all the schools to slow the spread (which according to the news it worked) and the boys go back tomorrow.  It's been nice having them home and catching up on homeschooling and spending time with each other.

For those who don't know yet, we will be coming back to the States from April-August.  So, put your request in now if you want us to visit you since our schedule is filling up fast!

My pride and joy!  I had always wanted to make a peacock cake and now I have! (buttercream and fondant)