Moscow

we went to Moscow beFORE our detour trip to the US, but many of you have asked about it, so I'll give you a brief run down and if you don't want to read, here are a bunch of photos and you can skip the rest:

first, to answer some of you, I think the whole Georgia Russia conflict broke out after I left so no I didn't notice anything strange while I was there. Although, it may or may not be a little fishy (remember this post) that John needed to stay in Russia another week after I left, we were home in the States for about 4 weeks AND just days after we return, John is back in Russia again (or has he been there the whole time?)  All the while working on "real estate."

Hmmm....? 

(I am kidding about this you know- it's just fun)

Anyway, back to our little vacation:

• the weather was great, blue skies, clouds and rain.  All things that we have been missing since our arrival in Dubai (our sky here is blue, but sort of a hazy, desert-dusty blue)
• I ate fresh produce everyday and loved it.  My pregnant belly just sort of popped out while was there- buffet breakfasts can do that to ya. It was all healthy and European-like, I just ate a lot of it- crusty bread, peaches, cherries, mangos, croissants, cheese and fresh squeezed juices.
• We took the kids to the Circus- it was very fun and we all loved it.  (favorite for me was the live Orchestra and the somewhat inhumane treatment of animals that would never fly in the U.S.)
• We also enjoyed a day at the Zoo, sans John (Asher's favorite was the polar bear because they had a machine that made "real snow"- so much for a fascination with Animals)
• I braved the subways by myself with the kids to not only go to the zoo one day, but to a flea market the next.  I say "braved" because all the signs were in Russian, all the people spoke Russian, there were lots of stairs, some escalators and NO elevators (with 2 kids and a stroller) and I didn't find the local train riders particularly warm and helpful.  Maybe it was the language barrier? I survived and we had fun.  Am I beginning to sound like a super mom again?  
• We visited with church members and explored 2 possible neighborhoods that we could live in, should we end up moving to Moscow.  As of now, we're staying in Dubai.  I'll let you know when and if that changes.
• We explored Red Square which was practically across the street from our hotel.  Our first night there we had dinner outside on the top floor of our hotel.  The view of Red Square with the Kremlin and St. Basil's cathedral and all the other surrounding buildings, was just gorgeous.  

It was a great trip.  Not on my list of vacation spots if I was paying and choosing, but we had a good time being together.  I decided that if all the logistics were in place as far as John's work and our living situation, I am willing to move there and I think I would be happy.  I'm starting to realize that for me,  the people and social network is more important than the actual location, and both English speaking compounds we looked at seem to have a friendly atmosphere, lots of activity and the church we would attend seemed to be a very tight knit group as well with lots of families living in one of the two compounds.  Both things make me more confident, but like I said, no move planned as of now.  I'll keep you posted.

the last 4 weeks (and then some)

Because I have such a hard time playing catch up when writing about past events

and because this song (see video* below) is stuck in my head too many hours of the day,

and because I like lists and having an outline to organize my thoughts, 

I'm going to be using the number FOUR to help me report on the 4 weeks that I spent with the kids in the USA!

here's the song:

first report:

After a week in Moscow I flew with the kids to Salt Lake City.  We flew from Russia to Georgia* and then on to Utah. Counting driving to and from the airports, one 11 hour flight, one 3.5 hour flight, and a 2 hour layover= twenty-4 hours total travel time.

 

*(I thought that sounded a little more edgy to not use the city names considering the political climate, but really the flight was from Moscow, Russia to Atlanta, Georgia.)

The flights and airports went very well- amazingly well.

4 possible reasons:

1. I am a super mom that can handle anything
   
2. I have amazing kids who are well behaved and just wanted to make their mother happy and calm.
   
3. there were LOTS of prayers on our behalf from family and friends and John and myself.
   
4. luck.

 

We slept in four different houses:

1. Annie Jordan and cousin H in Utah for a few nights, then on to 
   
2. Nana and Grandpa in Oregon (with my 4 sisters in law and all 4 grandkids together)
3. Grandma and Grandpa in Arizona
4. Quinn and Cameron in Utah again.

more about each of our stops over the 4 weeks and some other random thoughts, to come- later.

*special thanks to my SIL Emily for introducing us to this Sesame Street video, Ivy loves it and I think it's pretty cute too, although, like I said, the song has been perpetually stuck in my head.  If you have the same experience, thank Emily, not me :)

off to Russia!

We're taking off to see Moscow for a week My friend Brittany laughed at me when I wrote that we were going on a "little vacation to Russia"
Wish me luck navigating the city without knowing a word of Russian! John will be with us to hang out and check things out on the weekend and then I'll do some exploring and entertaining with the kids for a few days so he can get some work done. We're staying downtown close to Red Square, the Kremlin, St. Basils and that's about all I know- oh and the Bolshoi theater although I don't think we'll catching a ballet this time around. I'm mostly excited to escape the heat of Dubai for a week, breath some fresh cool air and eat some fresh produce- mmmmm! More when we return.