Banya & Happy Birthday Lucas!! - Apr 21 - 22

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Sauna

It was so cool to be here for Lucas’ birthday.  We decided to do something very Russian and go to a Banya for a few hours as a family.  The one we went to was very nice and was like a small apartment in itself…it had a large room for massages (which came in handy for Sophie’s naptime) and then a room for coats and shoes…and then a room with a table and TV and hot water pot for making tea…and then a steam room, shower room and small pool which was 2x3 meters and about 5-6 ft deep.  You pay by the hour and so we decided to try 2 hours and see how it went.  

Bucket of Ice Water (yes, we all got doused)

The time flew by as we would warm up in the sauna and then dump ice cold water on our heads from a bucket in the shower room…and then run jump in the pool which was a nice temperature…about 84 degrees or so.  Then we would repeat….sometimes with a snack break.  Sam was so excited and kept wiggling and saying “oh I am soooo ah-cited”.  When our 2 hours were nearly up we asked for another hour and it flew by as well.  We decided to order some food that was quickly delivered to the room …and quickly eaten as well and then showered and headed home.

In Swimming Pool

The only sad thing was that we forgot our bag that had our towels and suits in so Jamie had to go back (Lucas had a class in the afternoon) and that was a good hour of travel for her.  When she had left I realized I had left my watch in the shower room but did not know how to contact her so…bummer…. I lost my cheap watch that I have had for years and it is driving me crazy not to know what time it is!

Packed into the taxi

After naptime we headed to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner that was Lucas’ choice and a good one.  The funny thing here in Russia is that if you are eating out they bring the food to you as its ready…not everyone’s at once so one person may get their meal well ahead of everyone else.  So when pizza came that we ordered for Sam we all enjoyed some of it while waiting for our meals…then Lucas got his…finished it before I got mine…then Jamie got hers and then Roger was last…it kind of funny and makes for a long stretched out meal which normally is not a bad thing unless you have 2 young children with you.  The waitress was very nice and brought balloons that helped a lot!  Overall it was a great meal and fun time.

Enjoying cake on Lucas' birthday

When we got home we had chocolate cake and ice cream and gift time.  When Jamie went back the Banya to get our missing bag I made the cake and I have no idea what happened but the cake did not want to stay together for anything.  So we had a good laugh as it slowly broke apart when we put the top layer on top of the whipped cream topping and it slid off in chunks.  It reminded us of the thawing river we saw in Tuva so we named it the Siberian River melt cake.  It looked funny but tasted delicious.

Enjoying 33 years together

As I write it is Friday…..and April 22^nd that is Roger and my 33^rd anniversary.  What a blessing it is to be married to this amazing man for these years.  He is my support…my encourager…my love…and my best friend.  What a blessing it is to be on this trip around the world with him and as we come to the end of the trip to be able to celebrate 33 yrs together.  I hate the thought that we are leaving here tomorrow….it is so hard to say goodbye to our kids and grandkids and as a fellow MK who lived a life full of goodbyes…it makes it hard for me to leave knowing it is confusing to Sam to have us leave and its just the beginning of many goodbyes in his life but…on the other hand my life as an MK was also a wonderful heritage and I would not trade it for anything…and it helped me become who I am today so I embrace the goodbyes…once more ….I am sure there will be many tears but that is okay as well because I know my Father keeps them in a bottle and cares about each one….

She sure acted healthy other than than the cough

On a less sentimental note….today we had plans to do some things that did not happen because Sophie had gotten to the place where we all agreed a doctor should see her.  That is so hard in a place where you don’t know a good one and they practice medicine a bit different but Jamie called a clinic and they asked if she wanted to come in or have the dr. come here…a no brainer I would say :)  so the Dr. just left and she said Sophie had acute bronchitis….so we are glad she was looked at and will get some meds.   She has been happy as could be and sleeping well, eating fairly well so it is hard to tell she is even sick except for the slight fever and cough…so I am glad we found out before we left.  The Dr. also listened to Sam’s chest but he was fine….yeah! 

We (Lucas, Sam, Roger and I) went out later to a large mall that is full of stores with kids clothes and toys…its like Toys R Us on steroids…we were surprised at the variety of toys and things available.  There were at least 3 Lego stores!  And a lot of things we never even see in the states….I guess from European countries.  We bought a couple birthday gifts for the kids….save mailing them…ha ha ..of course I will still want to send packages…it’s too much fun!

So… where do we go next?

When we were planning our trip we thought about flying back straight to the states from here but we also thought it would be good to go somewhere else on the way back to complete the “around the world” trip.  It seemed quite extravagant at the time when we decided to go to Maui on the way home from here but now we are very thankful for this week we have allowed ourselves….not only to celebrate our anniversary but also to give us time to switch gears…debrief…and process these past several (5 and half) months.   We so loved each place we went…the people we met…the stories of those people’s lives…the things we experienced, saw and ate…and yet things are already growing muddled together and it will be good to review them…talk thru the things we have learned….look forward to what is ahead and define how this trip has changed our lives…and it has.   So all that to say we are going to enjoy a week in Maui and rest and reflect before heading home.  But….I have 24 more hours here to enjoy and I plan to go love on these grandkids as much as I can!