A good buy

Trying to keep Nathan occupied these days is a full time job. He is so busy! So, when we were at the store the other night I decided to buy him a doll stroller. Yes, a doll stroller. I actually can't believe Jon let me buy it. One thing that helped is that the stroller is blue and not pink. It was really a great buy because Nathan loves it. He barrels down the hall with it and he just goes and goes! For now it's keeping him happy...........for a minute or two.

Oops, I forgot this one.

During our time back in California we had the opportunity to stay at our church's missions house. Nathan quickly realized that the bathtub had a lower clearance making it so much easier for him to climb in. Sometimes when I couldn't find him he would be in the empty bath tub playing with the toys. Nathan loves the water but because of his eczema he is limited to the number of baths he gets a week. One night while he was "helping" me fill the tub with water for Josiah he took the opportunity while I had my back turned to jump right in! Thankfully he wasn't hurt or anything but he did get his pajamas all wet!

The Dungeon

This is where Jon parks our car. It is in a big building with underground parking. It take about 15 minutes to walk there and is actually great exercise. It's really dark and eerie inside. Some people use their garages to play their drums or have a band rehearsal. We use it to park the car! I hate going in there. I think it would be a great spot for a horror movie shoot.

Outside Time

Nathan just loves going outside. He is always standing by the door and screaming to go out. Josiah on the other hand is a home body. He is happy to watch a video, play with his cars, or just hang out.

I love the contrast of Nathan's green jacket against the white snow in these pictures.

What time is it?

Yes, it's sankee time. Or sled time. Not necessarily my favorite mode of transport but the boys love it.

Where a kid can be a kid.

Josiah had a lot of energy a couple of days before getting on the airplane. He was so excited to come back to Russia that he just didn't know what to do with himself. I decided to take him to Chuck E. Cheese to burn off that energy and to partake of the germ fest. He had a lot of fun and wow was it much cheaper than Crazy Park in Samara.

Intersections

During our stay in California we had the opportunity to live in one of the church's missionary homes. This meant I got to do some local shopping. I did most of my grocery shopping at Food 4 Less which meant heading west on Roscoe. I gotta say that I love the intersection of Roscoe and Van Nuys Blvd. It's like you've stepped into another country. It reminds me a lot of Russia. Lots of people walking and lots of people waiting for public transport. I just had to take my camera out and capture the memory.

 

My boys.

The Playground

So after the train ride we headed over to the playground. Big mistake. I was all by myself with the two boys. Nathan is the Energizer bunny and never stops. Josiah likes to just sit in one spot, gets bored, and then disappears to another spot. I couldn't keep my eyes on both boys so after a while we left. Nathan and Josiah didn't want to leave. Nathan was screaming his head off and then Josiah decided to join in. My mom said that next time she'd tag along.

Last Few Days in Cali.

The final weekend before returning to Samara, the weather was just beautiful. I decided to take Josiah and Nathan to Griffith Park and ride the little train. At first Nathan was super excited to ride but once we got going he got very serious. Josiah of course just loved the ride. I love Griffith Park. It is so big and so many different things to do. After the train ride we headed over to a playground. I will post those pictures soon.

Weather Report

We leave Wednesday the 7th for Samara. I thought I'd check the weather. It will be a balmy 9 degrees Fahrenheit!!! Can't wait.